A LOW LEVEL ACT
Chapter 4: A Low Level Act
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"Lord John, if someone were to hear your words, they might think you are the Tyrant Emperor himself."
A voice came from outside the tent. When the curtain hanging at the entryway was lifted, Markus entered, followed closely by Malyva. It was Markus who had spoken.
John was still sitting on the chair, staring at the metallic glass. The Elven soldier remained in his spot, but his eyes were blurry, lost in a state of subconsciousness, with a look of terror etched on his face.
Markus spoke with a serious tone, his gaze fixed on the Elfen warrior. "I see. It seems I have offended Lord John greatly by making you wait so long. But I still believe this isn't the correct way to treat one of my warriors."
John put down the glass on the table and stood up, walking toward Markus with a smile. "It looks like I have offended you, Sir Elfen King, 'The Moon of the Elves,' by playing this little prank on your warrior. I sincerely apologize for my unsightly, low-level act." By now, John was standing in front of Markus.
'The Moon of the Elves' was a title given by the people of the Elfen kingdom to their king, expressing their love and admiration for his beauty and wisdom.
Markus, without a word, walked to the Elven warrior. After looking into his eyes for a few seconds, Markus said, "I can definitely say that Lord John's act was not low-level. Using a 7th rank illusionary magic spell for a prank can never be considered as low-level." Markus then flicked his hand lightly, and the soldier regained consciousness.
For a moment, the soldier was disoriented, struggling to understand what had just happened. He had experienced the terror of dying by a mere glass.
Seeing his King in front of him, he was shocked, he fell to his knees, his voice shaking. "I pray for the good health of my King. I have committed a grave sin by not fulfilling the task given by the Elder Advisor General. I am ready to accept any punishment to atone for my sins."
"It's fine. You are to go out and have some rest," said Markus.
With tears in his eyes, the Elven soldier said, "Thank you, thank you, my King, for your mercy."
He walked out of the tent, bowing multiple times towards his king.
"After witnessing His Highness break a 7th rank illusionary magic spell with a flick, I can definitely say it isn't an exaggeration to say that the King of Elves is well-versed in both the sword and magic paths," John remarked, walking back to his chair.
Markus also walked to another chair and sat while Malyva stood beside him. Markus said, "Lord John, please don't speak like that. I believe I am still lacking and am trying my best to become what my people expect of me. Please, have your seat so we can continue with the matter for which you came here."
John sat down, a taunting smile on his face. "Lord Markus, I fear if you grow your strength even a bit more, then my entire Liberation Army wouldn't be able to stand against you."
Markus, looking at John with suspicion, replied, "Lord John, you speak as if you have plans to stand against me and be my enemy in the future."
"No, no, I wouldn't dare. My only plan is to remove my tyrant brother, Rother Mark Klera, from the throne of the Empire which was built by our ancestors with their sweat and blood. But Now, he tramples over their teachings, expanding the Empire with fear and the bloodshed of innocents. I only seek to bring peace back to our land and work for the progress of the Empire's people, as our ancestors taught us. And as you know that is why I am here to seek your help in accomplishing this good deed," John explained.
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Rother Mark Klera was the eldest son of Mark Luther Klera, the former Emperor. When Mark became Emperor, there was only one independent neighboring human kingdom remaining, rest all were already part of the Empire. As Mark and the princess of that Kingdom often confronted each other on battel field, they eventually fell in love, The sole heir to that neighbouring kingdom was a beautiful young princess, whom Mark married. With their marriage, the last independent human kingdom was assimilated into the Empire.
Over time, Mark had six children with his wife, with Rother as the eldest and John being the third child. Mark was a loving husband, a responsible father, and a generous, kind ruler. He raised his children to be righteous and truthful. Rother, the heir to the Empire, grew up to be intelligent, handsome, well-versed in politics, swordsmanship, and magic. He was a responsible elder brother and a role model, loved and praised by all.
But at some point, Rother's attitude changed, even towards his family. He became ruthless and arrogant, thirsty for power, land, and wealth. Instead of walking on the path of kindness and mercy that he learned as a child, he became ruthless and arrogant. This behavioral shift was evident to everyone around him. His behaviour, Disappointed The Emperor, so Mark decided to appoint John as the crown prince. But Instead of correcting his ways, Rother turned to rebellion, his behaviour got worse, he killed his siblings and disguised the acts as accidents.
John, only four years younger than Rother, was also intelligent. He realized his elder brother would come for him next.
Mark, a loving father, failed to punish Rother for his deeds. Neither the nobility of the Empire nor John could act against Rother's cunning methods and because of lack of evidences. Despite long investigations, no evidence was found against Rother. One by one, all the siblings died under mysterious circumstances, leaving only Rother and John.
The second daughter was poisoned by a maid. Despite brutal questioning, the maid refused to speak. She and her family were charged with treason and sentenced to public burning. Even as her family was being thrown into fire and died one by one, the maid remained silent.
With this, all evidence of Rother's crimes was turned to ashes. No investigations could bring evidence against him. Killers who worked on his orders remained silent until death.
Later, a new organization, The Chaos Army, emerged. This organization had no known leader, and its motives were unclear. Some maids in the castle were assassins of the Chaos Army, linked to the killing of the second princess. Conspiracies suggested the unknown leader of the Chaos Army was none other than Rother himself.
John realized he was the last obstacle in his brother's succession plans and that he was next on Rother's death list. He began preparations to confront his brother face-to-face.
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