Chapter 121. Did he just declare war?

"Edgar, we've got company," Leo nudged the king, bringing back to reality and as he did so, a spring of hidden confidence seemed to erupt from him as he walked forward to the large group.

He first turned to a really intimidating ginger man who looked like he was in his forties and meant business. He walked over to him and spoke, informing everyone in the group, "Emperor Erik, this is my champion from the Lapis Kingdom, Leo. And next to him is his little brother, Lex."

Hearing this, all the musclemen in the group seemed to slightly nod in understanding as they had seen Leo in the same building as them. While on the other hand, the more well-dressed from the bunch whom Leo presumed to be the royals just stared at him, evaluating him as they stared him down.

Nevertheless, Leo decided to take the kind approach and he reached his hand out for a shake as he greeted, "Nice to meet you, Emperor Erik."

This seemed to be a bad move as everyone suddenly stared at Leo with hostility. A young man walked forward from the bunch, a very unsatisfied expression on his face, and he ridiculed him, "How undisciplined. That is the emperor of the empire that you are a part of. You should be addressing him as His Imperial Majesty! What makes you think you can call him by his first name?"

"Oh... My bad... I apologize for my lack of knowledge. Anyways, since you guys came to us, is there anything specific that you guys need?" Leo asked as he apologized to the Emperor who seemed to still be in the process of judging him. Leo, however, was inwardly sighing immensely in disappointment.

"You're not bad," Erik made a comment as a glint of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"We haven't seen Edgar's champion since he arrived so we were naturally curious about you. Someone who was arrogant enough to get on with his personal problems when there is such a grand ceremony to prepare for... Now that you have finally arrived, we wanted to see you for ourselves," the young man spoke out again causing Leo's eyebrow to scrunch up as he looks at him.

"Who might you be?" Leo asked directly, not bothering to keep his politeness anymore.

Hearing how he was addressed, the young man was dumbfounded as he struggled to formulate any words for a few seconds.

"Y-you dared to speak to me like that? What need does a man have to tell his name to a pig?" the man barked out, an extremely angry expression appearing on his face.

"I give up. I didn't expect a noble to act this way," Leo spoke as a deadpan expression appeared on his face. He then turned to Edgar and asked, "Yo Edgar, do you mind introducing me to this guy?"

"This is Prince Aiden, he is the youngest son of the Crystal Emperor and he is also one of the participants for the solo battles in the ceremony. His wife is the princess of the Ruby king," Edgar replied, adding a bit of extra info towards the end.

Hearing this, Leo gave a sturdy nod as he understood why the Ruby kingdom was able to directly wage a war on the Lapis kingdom without fear of any of the other kingdoms interfering.

"Well then, Prince Aiden, nice to meet you. I hope we will be able to restore the prestige of the Crystal Empire in the ceremony," Leo spoke with a smile.

"As if my son-in-law would ever need the help of someone from the Lapis kingdom for such a mundane task," another voice sounded, this time from an older male who looked slightly younger than the Crystal Emperor.

'Another one to the fray...' Leo thought as he turned his head towards the voice but as he saw the man, his eyes lit up with an unreadable emotion. He also felt some movement behind him and he could see Lex staring at the man with a glint of hostility and his fists clenched.

"Sigh... Ruby king Boris, what a surprise. I didn't expect to see you so soon," Leo commented as he observed the man in front of him.

"Do I know you?" Boris asked coldly in hidden surprise.

"How would I not know about the King who decided to wage war on my home kingdom?" Leo replied mockingly while maintaining eye contact.

"Haha! You must be the so-called 'Pharaoh of Fear' that the Lapis people have been worshipping. There's no way that Edgar would possibly choose anyone else other than you. However, I didn't expect you to be so young," Boris laughed as he suddenly realized the identity of the young man in front of him.

"Boy, I can see that you're incredibly talented and have a great aptitude for cultivation. Why don't you come work for me instead of the Lapis kingdom? How old are you? Eighteen? In such a small kingdom like that, your talent is guaranteed to be limited," Aiden spoke up as he had heard about the rumours of the 'Pharaoh of Fear.' This was an incredible opportunity to take Leo who was a rough gem in his eyes and sharpen him to become one of his greatest swords. He clearly saw Leo as a potential important chess piece in the future battle for the throne.

Hearing this, Edgar's face turned extremely ugly as the group in front of him were trying to steal his champion from him. But how could possibly dare to offend them? Each of their kingdoms had the power to destroy the Lapis kingdom. Alongside that, the offer by Aiden was incredibly appealing as it was true that he could not offer Leo anything else for him to grow.

"Interesting. Your offer is quite tempting but sorry, I prefer not to be shackled to any power. I want to live a free life and just travel this world," Leo replied nonchalantly after making it seem like he was deeply considering the offer by pausing for a few seconds.

"Shackled? You actually have the gall to think that serving under me would shackle you? I would grant you immense power and status and yet you are idiotic enough to reject this," Aiden commented, angry that he could not rope in Leo.

"You're pretty dumb, how could such a small empire, the weakest of all the powers, even think of roping in my brother. I don't think your head is in the right place," Lex couldn't help but blurt out after witnessing such lowlifes try to rope in his big brother.

Leo gave Lex a small nudge to ask what he was doing but Lex simply gave him a reassuring nod that he would take care of this so Leo backed off and decided to Lex do his thing.

"Huh? Boy, do you know who you're talking to? I could decide your fate with a snap of my fingers," Aiden coldly spoke. It was clear that the Crystal Emperor and his son did not take those previous words well.

"From this small meeting, I have a vague knowledge of what the Crystal Empire is like," Lex replied back with a smile which also caused Leo to smile as he felt that something fun what about to happen.

He then firstly pointed towards the Ruby king and spoke, "This guy... Bucktooth Boris, an old man who is filled with greed and a disgusting personality of stopping at nothing to get what he wants. He probably never really cared about his daughter until the prince had her in his eyes. You caused a war, didn't even care about the lives lost. You destroyed a number of towns and villages of innocent people who had lives happier and more fulfilling than you would ever have. You even think of yourself as supreme just cause your eldest son managed to get into the Iudex sect."

Without stopping, he then turned to Aiden, "You, Audacious Aiden, an arrogant man who has been hiding under his father's wing. You think that the Crystal Empire is the greatest. Tch. I dare you to say that to everyone here. Anyways, what I hate most about you and that oldy Bucky is that you guys see everyone without a noble background as inferior. People like you are better off not existing..."

And then his gaze finally turned to the Crystal Emperor and his gaze turned to a more disappointing expression than an angry one as he spoke, "Crystal Emperor, I don't have much to say about you but I am incredibly disappointed over the fact that you are allowing your son to just continue babbling. You are a terrible parent, I don't know much about you but I know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

As Lex finished what he said, a burst of energy exploded as a loud shout sounded, grabbing the attention of everyone nearby again, "I dare you to repeat that!"

That last statement seemed to be the spark that ignited the fire, the Crystal Emperor's eyes scrunched up in anger, and Aiden seemed outraged, he stared at Lex and prepared to charge forward but just as he was about to take off, Leo interrupted.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Leo as he stood next to Lex.

"And who are you to stop him?" Boris asked in ridicule.

"Sigh... I give up. My patience can't stand it any longer. Hey bucktooth, I'm tired of you. You better watch out for your life otherwise unfortunate things may happen. And to you, Aiden, I need to clear this up. I did not join this competition to represent the Crystal Empire. I came for the rewards," Leo spoke out, giving up with all the kindness as it seemed like everyone would just try to find trouble with them.

"Are you implying that you are taking advantage of the Crystal Empire for your selfish gain?" Erik suddenly spoke with a cold voice and an extremely heavy aura fell on the ground.

"So what if I am? You don't even have the ability to stop me. The kingdoms under your rule are in war and weakening and you are doing nothing to solve this. Under you, the empire has not flourished at all. I wouldn't be surprised if other powers will soon come to attack your empire once the Treaty of Crystaliosis is over," Leo spoke back, showing no fear at all.

Hearing this, Erik's face temporarily paused in silent shock as he could not understand how Leo, a commoner, was able to find out about this. However, after a few moments of thought, the answer came to him and he turned his head towards Edgar and asked, "Did you tell him?"

Edgar's face immediately froze as he realized the trouble that he had gotten in. With no other alternative answers, Edgar could do nothing but reply, "Yes, your Imperial Majesty."

"Haha! Great! Let this be known. From this day forth, the Lapis kingdom is now no longer a part of the Crystal Empire. If you do not like my rule then let's see your feeble little kingdom try and survive being by itself," Erik laughed in anger as he made an imperial decree. He then turned to his fellow kings and decreed, "From this day forth, the Crystal Empire has declared war on the Lapis Kingdom!"

A loud explosion sounded in the brains of everyone as they were shocked by what they had heard... What had just happened? Edgar's mind was frozen in shock as he felt as if he had just been thrown into a den of lions.

However, everyone else who was present at the banquet was currently thinking, 'Did they really just declare war in a banquet?'

"My goodness... You're extremely resolute," Leo commented as a smile appeared on his face, "Feel free to try... I'm slightly worried that you might have more losses than you expected."

"Don't worry. I didn't forget about you. I'm afraid there will not be a way for you to leave this city," Erik spoke as he let out an evil laugh.

"I don't like people threatening me," Leo spoke coldly as he raised his arm slightly and bent his thumb, placing his middle finger on the thumb's philange. Just as he was about to crack it, he was stopped by Lex who suddenly spoke out, "The Jade Emperor and the Immortals are here."