chapter 11: War Is Coming
Ronald looked at his worried deputy, then laughed.
"Come on, Killian, it doesn't matter how strong he is when he's sealed with mana-resistant chains."
Killian sighed, and his eyes automatically raised.
"Don't stay here too long. I sense something ominous behind that door. Something not on our level."
Ronald looked at his Vice, and he wasn't acting childish anymore. He was aware of his capabilities, and if he was that serious, then he was being honest.
"OK then.."
Ronald sighed as he put the Yeti's body in his space ring. It was worth the risk of coming here.
He got a lot of money, and another slave too!
***
A man with a semi-transparent body looked at Cassian's being kidnapped and couldn't help but laughing out loud.
'What a great adventure his laziness had caused! I doubt those mana shackles will work though.'
Jore laughed a little at Ronald and Killian's thoughts, then looked one last time at Cassian lying on the ground with his eyes open.
The world gives as much as it takes...
Naturally, in the two and a half months that passed, he noticed many things about Cassian, including many things that were supposed to be secret.
One of those things was obviously the Mana Curse. Fortunately, the Idleness Will Art didn't require any mana to use; otherwise, he would've needed to think about getting rid of Cassian and finding someone else.
But he noticed something else as well: his body was extremely exceptional. It grew at an extremely fast rate and was beyond even his rank.
Even more impressive was how quickly his
The world gives as much as it takes...
Those were the legendary Belphegor's last words as his body began to disappear into the fabric of the world.
***
Although the ship was certainly huge for a pirate group, it would've been more appropriate to say that a village of pirates lived there, with approximately 60 people.
The ship was made of a particular, durable type of wood to withstand the attacks of higher-class sea monsters.
The ship was also tall, which gave them a height advantage over the other pirate crews.
This group was led by many strong people with unique skills and had recently become famous at sea.
Their captain was climbing a ladder that had been lowered to him from the top, muttering in a monotone voice.
He had a strange look in his eyes as if he was suffering from severe mental pain, unlike his looks when he was around people.
When he reached the top, his face returned to normal as he welcomed everyone even though only a few hours had passed since they had parted.
He handed the Dimensional Cube to one of his men and ordered him to imprison Cassian with mana chains.
The crew celebrated as much as they wanted that day as their next mission, which could be as lucrative as it could be, is near.
Some hoped to earn enough profit to retire, as they greatly missed their families and children, and this profession was also dangerous.
Not everyone was like Ronald, who enjoyed being a pirate, collecting endless money only to die without getting a chance to spend it.
Their captain obtained a map from somewhere and claimed to have found a legendary island, enough for everyone on board to retire.
Also, he didn't hesitate to state that the source was reliable at every opportunity, even though everyone believed him the first time.
They loved working under this captain who was different from others, who despised their subjects and treated them like slaves or as chess pieces that could be sacrificed to achieve a greater goal.
He was childish but serious in situations that required him to be serious, and he often saved the lives of crew members in exchange for various injuries.
On this ship, everyone trusted Ronald. They won't hesitate to follow him to where he said, as long as there is payment…
Their families are still waiting for them with money after all...
…
***
The center of the human nation is the area that was right in the middle when looking at the map.
It is as close to the west as it is to the east, and the same goes for the north and south.
A tall tower was built, its top piercing the sky like a legendary spear, and the borders of the city could be seen if those in it looked carefully.
It was the tower in
This planning certainly took hundreds of years to complete, and it was indeed so.
This day coincided with the anniversary of the victory in the last war, the first day of January, and the day of the imperial meeting held annually between all the royal families.
Several years ago, families from other races used to come as well, but events in recent years have ended that practice.
At a + shaped table, a chair was placed on each edge, and three men sat there with a frightening aura emanating from them.
The aura was sufficient to cover the entire city and kill everything in it, but due to the high altitude, the effect didn't reach there.
On one end of the table, one of the men hung a flag of a Star rising above a castle with a blue and red background.
Behind him stood a woman with a relatively faint aura, but that was only when comparing her to these men.
The man sitting on the chair was currently the first in command of the Starhold Family in the absence of Family Leader Maximus Starhold.
He is his younger brother, Octavius Starhold; their father had an exciting style.
The woman behind him was Loana, the second in command since she was the King's wife.
On the other side, there were strong men as well, but one of the seats with the hammer flag and moon background in front of it was empty, and everyone's faces darkened when they saw that.
Perhaps only people inside this room knew that the four royal families were about to become three, and no one was happy with this development.
Since the two most important members had yet to arrive, the three began to discuss 'random' topics.
Right now, it was the fact that they were indirectly mocking each other.
"I heard that the Starhold family has so many heirs. You can't choose between them."
The Novahold Family King laughed lightly. It seemed like he was outwardly praising the family, but the meaning was clear.
Octavius didn't remain silent since that might indicate the family's weakness.
"Yes, I can't imagine having just one heir for the entire family to depend on."
That was an outright threat.
"A very aggressive attitude, as expected from Starhold, the Bears of the West."
On the other end was the representative of the SunHold family, the family that had faced the monsters coming from the sea alone and was the nearest to the Mountain of Fog.
"I heard some rumors about the Mountain. Is that true?"
Novahold's King, Mr. Tasos, looked at SunHold King, Mr. Ceasar.
Ceasar sighed, remembering what had happened almost two weeks before. He had tried to enter that temple in various ways but always failed.
When he used force, he woke up and found out that he had fallen asleep without noticing.
The same thing was repeated, and it was confirmed that a hidden force protected the temple, sufficient to hypnotize him while he was in the SS- rank.
Of course, he would never tell that story, ever...
"The news is correct, but I didn't find time to go and check what exactly happened."
It's still dangerous out there as tens of thousands of monsters have found their way out, wiping out several villages and threatening to crush more. The Family's army has recently been deployed there.
Ceasar didn't say this either to not reveal their private concerns to the rest...
Ceasar sighed. His family seemed to face many difficulties these days, but he knew… Starhold and Novathold were facing their challenges as well.
Octavius tapped on the table at a steady pace. He seemed to be steadily running out of patience. His facial expressions indicated that he wouldn't have attended if it weren't for the importance of the meeting.
'Doing work is annoying..' These thoughts filled his head, and he was busy thinking about the events ten years ago.
What he saw then still terrifies him to this day. Just the thought of his older brother facing that himself made him increasingly appreciate him.
Maximus Starhold deserves his title as King of the family. He is the only reason the Starhold family is still standing without significant conflicts, all while he is between life and death around the clock.
Ceasar and Octavius looked at Tasos at the exact moment. Although their families had been facing a lot of pressure recently, Thasos's family was still relatively calm.
This put him at an advantage over them. Despite the constant wars against monsters, humans always find a reason to fight each other. This has been repeated in history and is still repeated in the present.
Ironically, the main reason behind the death of humans since their creation is humans themselves, and it is ironic that this only happens to them...
Before they noticed, the two white thrones glowed far into the room, and two figures appeared, the human representatives in the union, and leaders of the human's goverment.
The table was designed in the shape of the letter +, but it was positioned so that none of the people sitting on it had their backs to the thrones.
It didn't matter now since the last seat is empty.
The chair was empty not for a trivial reason like being late or not inviting its owner, but because one of the most influential people in the human realm with the strength of SS- had recently died, and his family headquarters in the East had been wiped off the map.
One of the regions he was in charge of was almost on the border of the Dwarves' nation. With no force in the human realm capable of doing so, the dwarfs were automatically blamed, but no action was taken yet.
Today was the meeting of the Council of the Three Races, led by two humans, a dwarf and a goblin. The two people on the throne must've gathered information about the event.
Amon Crownhold, and Daphne Crownhold.
If there were someone who could suppress the entire human realm along with the royal families, it would be one of them.
These two people appeared at the thrones without anyone paying attention, and they could wipe out everyone in this room with the same speed with which they appeared.
Octavius looked at them with his eyes half closed; the hatred was unbearable.
Amon's eyes, which had been closed, opened and collided with Octavius's gaze.
His black hair was shaved back with just a glance from Amon, with no force applied. Octavius's gray eyes lost their color a little. He had to cover them with mana to prevent them from exploding.
After realizing the difference in strength between them, the hatred in his eyes disappeared, and he returned to his indifferent state, 'I'm still not ready..' Those were his current thoughts, and they stopped at that moment.
Amon's eyes roamed over the rest of the room, searching for another challenger and ending up disappointed.
He pointed to the throne behind him, motioning for Daphne to sit down, and then he sat down. He would've been decent if we ignored his attempt to blow out a colleague's eyes a moment ago.
He wore nineteenth-century clothes, an old-fashioned suit and a worn-out watch. It rested a monocle on his face.
On the other hand, although Daphne didn't act much, she had the same thoughts inside her. She was just confused.
Silence filled the room as the two kings thought about what to say, and the representatives of the royal families did not dare to speak before them.
A soft voice rang out in the room.
"War is coming."