His good mood that had come from having a great trip completely destroyed, Daneel closed his eyes and took a moment to calm down.
Indeed, this wasn't some fantasy movie where his other opponents would sit idly while he handled other things.
No, this was real life, where they would all be planning behind his back to use the perfect opportunity to do something exactly like this.
Now that he thought about it, it made sense that the Queen Arafell must have had some method or the other to keep a tab on the Big 4, and as the Legacy Battle was quite a momentous occasion, she must have found out easily that Daneel was going to take part.
So…she had struck, and it looked like she had used all the time she had perfectly.
All of these towns and villages situated between the Kingdoms and the forces on Angaria typically had to depend on themselves for almost everything. Defending themselves against bandits, governing themselves, making sure that adequate security measures were there for the inhabitants- everything had to be taken care of, and these were not simple tasks.
So, such settlements were usually happy to go under a Kingdom or a force if they could get something in return. In fact, in history, there was even a town that was famous for flying the flags of all of the forces in the Central Continent in just the span of a month, as their system was that their allegiance would simply be to whoever paid the most.
Typically, conquests of these sorts were usually just to stoke the ego and pride of the rulers, and smart ones would actually avoid these kinds of actions as it was just a pipe dream to want to control anything outside of one's borders.
Of course, Daneel had proven that wrong by taking three other forces under his control, but that was different.
According to many estimates, these smaller towns and villages had a number equal to the size of a typical large Kingdom, which meant that by ruling all of them, the Queen had a solid chance at breaking her own third seal so that she could be equipped with the same treasures from the Empire that Daneel now treasured so much.
That…couldn't happen.
True, these settlements could be ignored in normal times, but there was nothing normal about the current age, and Daneel felt like kicking himself because he hadn't identified this sooner.
They were just sitting there, like fat sheep that could be taken under someone's control to reward them with higher satisfaction level!
It couldn't go on. She had to be stopped.
But how?
Letting out that breath, Daneel addressed the court.
"Is there any way to stop this, or, better yet, reverse it? Arafell cannot be allowed to take control of so many people."
Hearing the King's serious tone, those in the Royal Courtroom felt shivers in their backs.
Why was the King taking this so seriously?
They didn't understand, but they still obliged.
It was a rotund man who spoke up first.
"My King, the easiest thing to do is to just use our army to take back all that land. We are now an Alliance-the first in recent history! With our combined force, Arafell will only be able to run back to their Kingdom!"
Sounds of agreement came from others around him, too, as he stated this obvious answer, but Daneel locked his eyes onto him, which made him panic as if he was being locked onto by some kind of feral beast.
"Any kind of violent means cannot be used. There also cannot be any means where there is a chance that violence can be incited by our actions. Whatever we do, our army should not move."
The-the army shouldn't move?
But why?
The King did not look like he wanted to give an answer, so those in the Court shrugged and began to think with these constraints.
Of course, Eloise could detect that something was wrong, so she chose to ask.
Kellor would usually have been the one to ask this, but he wasn't attending as he had said that his head felt as if someone had split it in two and then joined it back together using the shoddiest of healing spells.
Eloise had known that splitting a Warrior's consciousness could be dangerous, but as she had seen that scene, she had remarked that if the drawback was just this kind of pain, then maybe it was worth it.
"Daneel, why? I get that there should at least be three forces in the Central Continent, but why shouldn't we at least drive Arafell back? The Queen is really acting as if she fears nothing, so what am I missing?"
Eloise's voice had a calming effect that allowed Daneel to lessen the amount of irritation he was feeling.
She had asked in the form a message, and he sent back his answer in the same method.
"It's because I'm in a, well, a bad situation, at the moment. I told you all about the High Council, right? They're all pretty mad because I scored the right to go to all of the Big 4, so they're just waiting for something to use against me. Typical swollen heads that think they are better because I'm from the Central Continent, blah, blah. Anyway, even the small show of force will allow them to say that I am using my military might to bully others, and that, in essence, I can bully someone to come to my side easily, which would mean that the rules would be broken. I don't want to give them that chance, and somehow, the Queen knows that, too. We need other methods."
Eloise couldn't help but gasp as she heard this. So this was the case? But how did Arafell know everything so perfectly?
Knowing that it was a question for another day, she focused on the topic at hand.
The others in the court had already begun discussing, and it did not look like a solution would spring out soon.
Still, Daneel decided to wait, as this was too important.
He just couldn't have that crazy woman running around with that much power.
Finally, one of the ministers stood up and first spoke out the most obvious answer.
"My King, if a show of force isn't possible, then why not try a method of non-violence? As we are the Alliance, we have much more power than Arafell, and we can tempt those towns and village with various things so that they change their allegiance. We can even move our military might to take care of the bandits, as that is a very real problem for almost all of those settlements."
Daneel had already thought of this. So, he gave his answer.
"No. It also must not seem like we are actively going forward to do things to oppose Arafell by using what we have. I know that these restrictions sound strange, but they are real. The truth is that if we do not follow them, we will be attacked by a different force which does not wish for a Kingdom that is too strong to form in the Central Continent."
A hush came over the room as he said this.
Daneel knew that motivation went a long way in enabling creativity, so he had decided on this story as opposed to the truth, which was actually pretty close to what he had just said.
It worked. Instead of just discussing casually like before, a measure of seriousness could be seen on everyone's faces, as they all knew what that 'different force' was.
The Big 4.
As for them not going forward to do anything actively, again, it was so that the High Council would not have grounds to target Daneel.
Soon…almost everyone in the court began to agree that there was only one method left which was obvious, and that they would need more time if they had to come up with something else.
Daneel had also reached this conclusion, so when one of the ministers spoke it out, he wasn't very surprised.
"My Lord, in that case, the best thing to do would be to somehow make those settlements want to join the Alliance by themselves. We need to think of a strategy to entice them using things they cannot resist. So, for that purpose, we propose that an active committee should be set up which will analyze the specific needs of these settlements so that more information will be available."
For once, Daneel was happy that he had capable advisors who were smart.
So, he nodded and said, "Go ahead. Give this committee all the resources they need, and also set up another one to create strategies to sway the citizens, too. The Court is dismissed. Eloise, with me."
Daneel had to change his plans for the aftermath of the meeting as this was something that was too pressing.
Even as they spoke, Daneel could feel the satisfaction level of the Queen rising steadily, so he immediately called for a meeting of the nine sovereigns, even though two of them were indisposed.
His objective was to immediately begin a few countermeasures using covert means.
Also, he began to check on all the plans he had set in motion to see if there was anything glaring of this sort he might have missed. These included the pyramid schemes, the mass production of display trinkets, the shows on the NOA, the growth of H&D and the expansion of the train network, among the others.
As Daneel absorbed himself in this work, unknown to him, two men were talking about the battle he had just been through in a house that constantly kept teleporting all over the coast of Angaria.
These two men were actually just in the form of two humans trapped in glowing crystals, but if one looked closer, they would see that this 'crystal' was healing the grave injuries they had sustained.
The one who had used to wear the purple-colored robes now actually had skin that was a faint purple, as the flames had caused some of the material of those clothes to mix with his skin.
He was the one speaking now, and he used magic, as his face still did not have a lot of skin and tissue.
"We should hasten the plan to test his Mage Prowess, too. If we can send back results that show that he is a threat, maybe we will get a weapon he won't be able to defend against. And maybe…we will be able to use that weapon against that damn sweet-talker, too. I hate that Path! It's such a menace even on the Mainland!"
The other one looked fine, except for the gaping holes in his stomach.
"Yes, I'll take care of it. He will have to fight a Peak Champion this time, so there definitely won't be a repeat of what happened before. And that Chief…ARGH!"
As the man's voice devolved into howls of pain because of exacerbating his own injuries by getting angry, the other man also began to dream.
Soon…they would know, as the King would be placed in a situation where he would have no option but to pull everything he had out.
Either way, he was doomed. If he wasn't too talented, he would be killed by his opponent. If he was, he would be killed by the Church.
Looking forward to it, the man closed his eyes and cast a spell to go into hibernation, while the other man continued to suffer, alone.
…
Meanwhile, in Arafell, the Empire Spirit was in a joyous mood.
She had just gotten the news that the King had convened an emergency Court, and that he had seemed pretty disgruntled.
Oh, how good it felt to be one step in front of this guy!
But…why was that so? Hadn't she tussled with even greater foes during the Empire?
This thought was interrupted by a voice in her head.
"Is this really necessary? Do we have to go against him?
The answer was given with a smile.
"Silly girl, stop letting your crush speak for you. This is both a test and an opportunity. If I can break the third seal, I will be back in the Race. If he somehow still wins even when he is so close to losing, he will have proven…something. Just wait and watch, girl. This won't be a fight of power…no, it is one of wits, and in that area, I wish to see whether he can match me."