chapter 12: Betrayal

Daphne's tone was soft, but her words weren't.

The expressions of everyone in the room changed, and even the calm Octavius slammed the table with both hands. He leaned his head forward and looked at the king and the queen with trembling eyes, not only from fear.

War...just thinking about the events 80 years ago made them tremble in fear. Even though they had not witnessed it themselves, history alone was enough to make even the strongest people tremble.

"What happened? Our intention was just to hold a trial! How did this turn into a war between the Races?!"

Octavius's scream was loud, no one judged him since this reaction was understandable.

War...it's not a thing that can be declared so easily.

Amon raised his hand, calming everyone down in a second. Against their will, this man continued to show his strength constantly, he couldn't be blamed for that.

"It's a war between the three races."

Another blow hit the table. All three of them got up from the table. The weight of the words they heard was too much.

"But we are already at our limit, the numbers of monsters have increased recently, and demon attacks from time to time still occur."

Ceasar spoke, and Tasos continued the point.

"Another war will cost us more than we can afford. Our S and SS ranks are largely outnumbered by both races!"

Amon did not respond immediately. A cup containing a strange liquid appeared in his hand. He sipped it slowly while thinking. Since he arrived here, his expression hadn't changed once.

As if his feelings were dulled and nothing in this world was enough to causing a ripple in his feelings.

"They have the numbers, we have the quality."

Everyone in the room was speechless. Although his words were a bit ridiculous, he was right.

After all, Legacy skills were something only humans had, and a good amount of -SS and S ranked people have Legacy skills.

Not everyone is like Cassian. One Legacy skill means multiplying power several times, but on the other hand, it is very rare, and developing it takes more time and effort than developing ranks.

This is why people with Legacy skills find that their progress is much slower than others - because the things they have to focus on are more.

Loana, behind Octavius, leaned down slightly and whispered in his ear. His expression changed slightly upon hearing her words.

He calmed himself down a little, and his mouth moved again.

"Have the charges been confirmed at least?"

Erasing a royal family was more than enough reason to start an all-out war, but the thing was that they simply couldn't do it unless they found a way to stop the continuous waves of monsters.

"The charges were brazenly confirmed. If we don't declare war we will appear weak, and the Supreme Court is more controlled by the dwarves than we are."

Daphne spoke, her voice carrying a calming effect, unlike Amon who was unconsciously stirring things up.

"Whether we go to war or not isn't up to us in the first place, it is a matter of what will our respond be-"

Amon interrupted, his tone still indifferent, as if the whole matter had nothing to do with him.

"We will be the attacking party. Our defense is too weak to bear, while our attacking strength is somewhat better."

Daphne continued, looking slightly annoyed by the unnecessary interruption, tapping on the side of the throne at a rapid pace.

She said: "But we need to come up with a solution to another problem first. That's why we called you today."

"A way to stop the waves of monsters?"

Tasos rested his head on his hand and seemed to already know the direction of the conversation, everyone in the room looked at him.

"Correct..."

Daphne sighed, were her thoughts really clear? Or have these dull-minded people finally evolved?

Octavius remembered Loana's words a short while ago and hesitated a little. Ceasar noticed this and didn't hesitate to push on him.

"Do you have something to say? Octavius."

This wasn't the time to hide something important. Humans only intended ill for themselves in times of peace. At the first sign of danger, they became best friends and hid nothing from each other.

But Octavius decided that speaking in private with Daphne later is better.

"Actually yes."

In an impatient tone, a soft woman's voice was heard behind Octavius. She finally dared to speak.

The aura of the room had been suppressing her for a while, and just being here was constantly testing her endurance, making it more difficult to speak after every second.

But she endured, for her child sake... she must put him in the light at once.

"We have the solution to stop the waves of monsters, but it will take several years. The process can be accelerated with the support of those in this meeting."

Loana quickly bowed her head before someone else forced her to do so. Drops of sweat streamed down her face like water, and her heartbeat was audible to those around her.

"Is this correct?"

For the first time since the meeting began, Amon's gaze changed, and he looked at Loana as if he were analyzing her soul.

'She is honest... but her intentions are directed towards something else...'

Amon read her thoughts in one moment and didn't pay much attention to the last part, the first part is the most important.

Tasos and Ceaser looked at Octavius in shock, since when did Starhold have such a legendary treasure?

Just thinking about it, Tasos and Ceaser looked at each other, and the intent in their eyes wasn't clear.

Octavius looked at Loana angrily, this was not the right time, he could tell Amon and Daphne later in private.

But her greed must always ruin things, first indirectly killing the family heir, and now exposing the second heir to ill-intentioned eyes.

"Is this true? Explain more."

Loana smiled, raising her head to meet Amon's eyes directly.

'Stupid..'

Octavius thought while surrounded her body with mana on the spot, she would throw herself to death without him.

"My son Darian, he can control monsters at the same rank as he is in large numbers! With your support, he may reach the required level in just a year or two!"

"good!"

Daphne raised her hand, "For the others..."

After saying that, she looked at the remaining audience.

"...anything else?"

The time passed very slowly, and it didn't seem that Sunhold and Novahold were carrying anything of equal use, or that theysimply decided to hide it.

.

"I request a one-on-one meeting later."

"I'm requesting a one-on-one meeting later."

Tasos and Ceaser who spoke at the same time looked at each other, everyone seemed to be carrying useful things.

"Anything else?"

Daphne spoke, after confirming that everything was over, disappearing just as she came.

"Our first movements will begin in about a year. Start preparations as soon as possible."

Amon then disappeared, following Daphne, but his voice still rang throughout the huge hall.

"Make sure to keep everything in this meeting private, violators will bear the maximum penalty."

Everyone shuddered a little when they heard the "maximum punishment" order, it's not like they wanted to publicize the matter from the beginning.

***

In a remote building on the corners of the city, outside the walls, and in the middle of a small forest.

Daphne appeared in front of a medium-sized wooden house, and her clothes changed into something modest the moment she appeared.

As her aura calmed down, she seemed to be a normal human on the outside but the trembling animals in the area said otherwise.

She walked up the stairs and sat on a wooden chair under the cover from the sun, her expression somewhat relaxed despite the nearby war.

A little time passed before Amon appeared as well, with different clothes but the same chilling look.

His work at stopping his aura was a little worse than Daphne's, but he still looked like a normal awakener just starting on his journey.

Amon looked at the wooden house, and his eyebrows relaxed, revealing another appearance. The war worried him more than it seemed to others.

He knew… he knew that war would come to their door even if they didn't act first. Goblins and dwarves hadn't been peaceful from the beginning.

The threat of demons made them band together, but after the last stagnation, their true intent came to light.

Remembering the despicable way in which a royal family had disappeared made his brows furrow together again.

"Are you worried?"

Daphne spoke with a laughing tone, and a strange type of tea appeared on the table next to her. There were two cups.

Amon sat on the other chair, where only the small table separated them, and looked at the cup of tea.

"Yes, I'm not even sure about the monster threat..."

Daphne's eyebrows rose, she returned the cup in her hand to the table and spoke after a few seconds of thinking.

"We still have a year to enjoy what life has to offer, don't be stingy and waste it worrying!"

Daphne playfully hit the back of the chair, and Amon's expression finally relaxed.

"You're not wrong."

***

Unlike the previous atmosphere, things were somewhat different for the Starhold representatives.

After leaving the gate for a few minutes, Octavius did not hesitate to confront Loana, he knew that she wasn't stupid.

He also knew that she had thought about the consequences of telling everyone about Darian's power, and even her love for him wouldn't ruin her judgment.

"It is necessary… it is necessary for his growth."

Octavius's eyebrows rose, and his aura intensified.

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

He was angry, really angry that this woman was manipulating him, and that he didn't know what her plans were.

"Unfortunately no.."

Several People covered in black appeared around Loana upon sensing Octavius's aura.

"Loana… Loana… Are you planning to stop me with this?"

Octavius finally noticed that something was wrong with the portal he had just passed through.

His aura spread outward. They were on an island in the middle of a vast sea, which extended even beyond his sight.

Outside, dozens of men were rapidly gathering their mana.

'This is going to be difficult..'

Octavius looked at Loana's retreating form through the portal helplessly.

"She thinks that's enough to kill me… she's still a weak woman after all."

Octavius spoke as his body expanded in size, but then noticed something.

'I can't fully transform!'