12

261 Hostage Situation

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Putting the ring on his finger, Faxul walked to the pew where the Raven was waiting.

With a gesture, it hopped onto his finger.

Having seen the process in the recording, Faxul scratched the Raven's head, nudging it towards the point on his finger where the ring was there.

The degree of connection that he had with this beast was once again shown at this point. After reaching the ring, even though it felt the pain of having its blood absorbed, the Raven didn't even flinch and looked straight into Faxul's eyes.

The smile that came on his face unwittingly after seeing this froze, as a flood of thoughts suddenly assaulted his head.

Friend.

Trust.

Hungry.

Drowsy.

Meat.

Old brothers.

Talon needs sharpening.

Although the thoughts were simple, the feeling of having foreign thoughts invade his made him lose his senses for a moment.

What he didn't know was that unless someone had a prior experience of bonding with a Raven, the process was actually dangerous in its own right and had to be guided by a professional.

In fact, the majority of people could only bond with one Raven at a time. Some individuals, such as those who had reached the peak of the Exalted Human Level like the King, could bond with multiple, but it was said that only one could be used in combat because one's mind would be overwhelmed in the heat of a fight with two different sources of thoughts converging to form a cacophony to drive them insane.

Hence, historically, there had been very few who had been able to fight with two Ravens at once. Of course, all of these individuals had enjoyed an almost unbeatable status in the Central Continent, as their opponents would essentially feel like they were fighting three people, not one.

Thankfully, Faxul was no stranger to having his mind attacked. Previously, when he had had to handle the attacks from the entity living at his chest, he had figured out a way to keep himself sane.

Using this technique now, he bundled all the foreign thoughts before placing them to the side, away from his own.

This enabled him to think for a moment with clarity before the bundle unfurled, assaulting him again.

The technique, after all, wasn't perfect.

After several times of this repeating, Faxul finally got up with a sweat-stained face.

"Go land on the pew,", he said in his mind, controlling the Raven for the first time with his thoughts directly instead of using gestures.

The message made the Raven snap its head towards him before immediately going back to its previous position.

Taking a deep breath, Faxul felt a happiness like no other filling him.

Finally!

Finally, he could truly understand his companion!

Wait, this guy likes kicking my ass?

This last thought faintly startled Faxul, who had always thought that his companion felt regretful for hurting him when they sparred.

Yet, now that he could feel and understand its thoughts, he realized that the regret had always been that it couldn't take enough advantage of the opportunity to kick his ass.

Just like humans, it seemed that Ravens also had individual personalities.

Remembering that he was smack dab in the middle of enemy territory in the disguise of someone they had killed, Faxul's eyes snapped to attention as he tried to decide what to do next.

One thing had been puzzling him since seeing the recording. How had the King been able to form a connection so easily if he didn't have the true blood?

The only information that Faxul knew about this 'true blood' was derived from his experiences so far.

When he had started to communicate with this Raven, there had been a barrier between them which had taken some time to dissolve.

Now that he knew the feeling of connecting with the Raven, he was quite confident that he wouldn't have been able to emulate the same if he tried.

The bond made by the trinket was in such a way that the human or Raven could break it at any time, hence, deciding that he would have enough time to sever the connection if he was going insane, Faxul walked towards another pew to give it a try anyway.

This Raven had a scar across its face, and one of its eyes was gouged out. The rest of its body also had numerous scars that were imperceptible until he moved closer to it.

Looking into its eyes for a little bit, he started to scratch above its beak.

The well inside him caused an 'echo' to sound inside his head, allowing him to understand vaguely what the Raven was feeling.

Doubt. Anger. Desire for revenge.

After a few seconds, he inched it onto his finger before mimicking the actions of the King.

Yet, with a loud squawk, the Raven flew back to its pew before looking to the side, as if annoyed.

What…went wrong?

Didn't he even connect with it slightly?

Walking back to his own Raven, Faxul took it onto his shoulder before pausing for a bit to ponder.

Was it the power level? Faxul was weaker than the King, after all.

Yet, this didn't make sense as the probability of connecting with a Raven didn't change much with level.

What else could it be?

Finally, he hit upon the anomaly in the situation.

The old man.

If the old man had been able to trap the Protector Raven which was actually a Warrior Level being for so long, then it was possible that he had also done something in this matter.

After all, it wouldn't be the first time that he made the impossible possible.

Putting the matter aside and decided to discuss it with Daneel later, he walked towards the door through which he had entered.

Pausing before leaving and taking a few breaths, he huffed for a bit before taking off at a run and banging the door open.

His eyes had an expression of both hope and the desire for revenge, while his fists were clenched so tightly that blood would soon seep out from his palm.

"Good job! Now feed the bond with the blood of the one who killed your companion! I will come with you!"

Seeing the determination in Faxul's stance, the wizened man from before got up before smiling and saying these words.

In the room, there was another similar woman who had clearly just taken over the guard duty.

The last part, of course, had made Faxul almost curse.

Yet, he only nodded, knowing that they could handle stuff outside. The barracks was simply too dangerous a location to be caught in.

"Allow me. I know where the fight is happening."

Saying so, the man caught Faxul's shoulder with a blinding speed before teleporting both of them away, along with their Ravens.

After opening his eyes and adjusting to the sunlight, Faxul resisted the impulse to raise his eyebrows seeing the scene of pandemonium.

This was the street where they had taken their room, but the inn was nowhere to be seen.

In its place was a semi-transparent barrier under which stood over 30 people.

They had varied expressions on their faces, from fear to anger to even one of accepting death.

Arranged in a circle, they were facing outside, while there seemed to be a figure in the middle who couldn't be seen.

Yet, what was visible were the numerous ice pricks which were at the throats of all the civilians.

"Give it up! The area has been space locked!"

"Coward! How dare you hide behind women and children!"

"Come out if you dare!"

"May the Might Black Raven smite you!"

Shouts like these could be heard from the crowd who had been kept quite a distance away for safety.

Indeed, the people were just innocent maids and their families who used to live in the inn that had been at this place.

"Damn, it's a standoff. Just wait. He has nowhere to go. Even more troops will arrive soon. Word is, the King is also on the way."

Folding his hands, the wizened man spit on the ground with disgust on seeing the situation before saying these words to Faxul.

What he didn't know was that the person he had safely teleported from the barracks was an accomplice of the man responsible for this situation in the first place.

A few seconds after Faxul arrived, a thunderous voice appeared from the center of the group of people who were waiting to be saved.

"HAHAHA, WHERE'S THE STRENGTH THAT YOU BOASTED ABOUT ON THE NETWORK? DID IT STOP ME FROM WALTZING INTO YOUR KINGDOM AND HOLDING SO MANY PEOPLE AS HOSTAGE? YOU FOOLS, YOUR KING IS WEAK! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF! NOW WATCH AS I SIMPLY WALTZ OUT! I DARE THAT WEAKLING TENEBROL TO CATCH ME!"

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Index262 Fleeing

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This arrogant proclamation sent the watching crowd into a tizzy, with rage and fury clouding the faces of the many citizens of the Black Raven Kingdom as they started hurling insults and retorts at the man in the middle whose blood they now wanted to drink.

Even the wizened man beside Faxul displayed a temper that didn't match his age, making him feel a heat as the elementary particles around the man reacted to his emotions.

Watching the entire situation around him, Faxul wondered again if there was any other option.

According to the discussion he had had with Daneel, this commotion was necessary for their future plans.

Yet, Faxul had argued that it would better serve them if he managed to stay behind in his disguise.

Sadly, there was no way to hoodwink the identity detector. Hence, they had no option but to flee.

Of course, before running away, there was a small something they had to do.

Closing his eyes, Faxul teleported to the predetermined location where Daneel would soon arrive.

…

At the location of the hostage situation.

The wizened man who had teleported Faxul looked to the side, unable to understand why the young Black Raven Fighter who had been so hell-bent on revenge had teleported away at this instant.

His instincts of a soldier who had spent years on the battlefield before retiring due to an injury tingled, telling him that something was wrong.

With his face still twisted into an angry expression due to the words of the intruder, he raised his hand to report this matter to the superiors.

Yet, right at this moment, both the barrier and the ice pricks at the necks of the civilians vanished, leaving them stunned as to what was going on.

Was the man truly surrendering after realizing that there was no way out?

After all, the wizened man had been pretty sure that this would happen as he was well aware of the equipment that had been deployed for this operation.

For instance, the space lock itself was so high-level that even a peak Warrior level existence would have difficulty in breaking through it. Besides, this was a special space lock trinket they had acquired which could also detect if an attempt was being made to break through it.

Also, all around the hostages stood the most elite of Black Raven Fighters and Mages who would definitely even be able to take down an Exalted Human level person in no time.

"Ya, what happened to the bravado now?"

"Come out and accept your death!"

"Serves you right!"

Amongst these shouts, the 30 civilians finally came back to their senses and ran forward.

The sight that greeted the crowd and the soldiers silenced everyone, making them drop their jaws as they wondered what the hell had happened.

At the spot where the rude intruder was supposed to be was only a piece of parchment.

There was nothing else, and as everyone tried to peer through the rubble of the inn to make sure that they weren't missing anything, the realization slowly started to dawn on them that the man had actually done what he said.

The superior among the soldiers, a middle-aged man with an exceptionally robust Raven on his shoulders walked up to the spot with a stoic expression on his face while carefully looking out for any traps.

After reaching the location with the parchment, he gave a signal to the army to indicate that their target was, indeed, missing.

Just as the wizened man started putting two and two together to realize that the one he had come with was definitely a suspect, the superior bent and picked up the parchment with an expression that was being tightly controlled to not turn into one of rage.

"HAHAAAA, TOLD YA! YOUR KING AND KINGDOM CAN PISS OFF! DON'T EVER DARE TO BRAG AGAIN WHILE BEING RULED BY SUCH A COWARDLY DOG!"

These words resounded across the street, being heard by thousands of citizens who all gritted their teeth at the taunting and overconfident tone.

...

Hearing the echo of the shout, Daneel chuckled after teleporting beside Faxul.

"That should rile them up. Let's go. We don't have a moment to lose."

Giving a look to Faxul who had a faint expression of struggle on his face, Daneel teleported again to a street near the Royal Palace.

After a few moments, Faxul also followed with the cold, neutral expression back on his face.

Not having the time to address anything else, Daneel asked the system to scan the security of the Palace.

The initial plan had been foolproof: at this point of time, they were supposed to be making their escape. Of course, he couldn't have predicted that Faxul would meet the protector Raven for which they would have to come back.

Still, Daneel knew very well how much of a game changer it would be to get the Warrior level beast on their side. Hence, he had changed the plan to at least try and enter again.

Yet, as he waited for the system's answer while assessing the situation himself, he realized that there was simply no way.

Each and every entrance of the Palace was surrounded by teams of Black Raven soldiers who were looking in every direction alertly.

The Palace's doors itself had been replaced by steel barricades, making Daneel wonder why they didn't have a similar system in Lanthanor.

[Analysis complete. Space lock and teleportation detection formations detected. In the database, this has been termed as a triple-layered trap. Even if the space lock is broken, any intruder will activate the traps that have been deployed. At least Warrior-level strength and reflexes are required to escape the trap and teleport again. Even if an individual endures the attacks from the traps, they will be subjected to a backup space lock and teams of soldiers. Host is currently not capable of safely breaching this trap]

The thorough logic behind the trap impressed Daneel, making him wonder just who it was that had come up with it.

Essentially, by sacrificing the ability to teleport inside the Palace, the Black Raven Kingdom had set up a foolproof trap to engage any enemies who would still dare to attack. In fact, it was slightly similar to the traps in the Valley of Mist, but here, the deployment could be done at any time.

"Faxul, there is no way. We cannot go to the forest now."

As Daneel sighed and said these words, he turned around to see Faxul's eyes fixed on their target.

Even he could guess how it must feel to leave such an important companion behind. Yet, sadly, they had no choice.

"Don't worry, we will return soon. Very soon.", he said, in an attempt to console Faxul.

Knowing that this was true, Faxul nodded after a few moments and turned away, not wanting Daneel to see his expression.

Patting his friend on the back and taking one last look at the Palace, he teleported both of them away.

…..

"Sir, the teleportation detection formations have detected two individuals fleeing the Kingdom! Strike teams are already after them!"

"Good. It is as the old protector said. That man had an accomplice. Send more teams. We CANNOT afford to lose their tail. I'll go myself."

Saying so, the only Exalted Human Level Black Raven Mage teleported away from the barracks which Faxul had 'invaded' before.

As was custom with these situations, strike teams would teleport to the last known location before quickly deploying another teleportation detection formation to know the next location of those fleeing in case they teleported again to get away.

Essentially, if dealing with anyone who was not a Warrior, this devolved into a cat-and-mouse game before finally turning into a skirmish where the fleeing party would try to destroy the teleportation detection formations so that they could leave without being tracked.

This was what she expected, but what happened left her feeling a frustration that almost made her set her own clothes on fire by mistake.

After repeatedly teleporting and being tracked in this way for a few times, the two fleeing men had reportedly entered an area after boldly leaving another statement to follow them if they dared.

This area's specialty rendered the pursuing soldiers speechless, as they knew that entering would surely mean certain death. Hence, they had no choice but to give up the chase.

This area which marked one of the biggest defeats of the Black Raven Kingdom was – The Valley of Mist.

263 Back to the Palace

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After notifying Kellor and making their way back to the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel looked into Faxul's eyes and let out a deep sigh before parting ways with him in the Royal Palace.

This expedition had definitely changed his friend, but he had no idea exactly how and how much.

The feeling he had for the people of the Black Raven Kingdom had clearly been strengthened after witnessing them for himself.

Of course, he had no way of knowing how this would affect the future.

Never did he think there would come a day when he would have to think about taking countermeasures against his closest friend.

Sadly, today was that day. He was not the naïve kid like before who would have trusted in the 'power of friendship' to keep them together. No, how much ever it hurt his heart, he knew that he had to consider the possibility of being backstabbed.

After all, the images of the hundreds of people who had died due to him were still fresh in his mind, no matter how many months had passed since the incident. It was as if their dead eyes were watching his every movement, making sure that he wouldn't act in a way that might cause more people reaching the same fate as them if there was a way to prevent it.

At the last moment before entering his chamber, he said, "Faxul. I repeat what I said before. Harden your heart. A lot more blood will flow. And it is necessary if you do not want even more blood to flow in the long run."

Faxul, who was walking along the corridor to his own room, turned around at these words. Again, without a word, he only nodded and left.

Observing this and entering his room, Daneel collapsed onto the bed. It had been a very tiring expedition, and right now, he felt tired to the bone.

After all, following the system's instructions precisely to escape the traps in the Valley of Mist wasn't simple. They had even had to do it fast without any errors because the Black Raven soldiers had been hot on their tails.

By that point, Daneel had already been very tired due to the stress he felt during the hostage situation. It had actually gone smoothly in the beginning: after threatening the civilians in the restaurants and making all of them leave, he had simply destroyed the foundations using controlled fire to make the entire inn collapse in order to cause a scene and draw the crowds.

After doing so, the problem had arisen when the soldiers had reacted much faster than he imagined. He had almost been unable to hide himself underground before using the clone to hoodwink those watching that the perpetrator was in the middle of the civilians.

During the waiting time, he had even had to teleport underground multiple times as the Black Raven soldiers had kept expanding the space lock trinket around the hostages. Besides, he had also had to be on high alert in case someone decided to check underground for some reason.

He had only gotten a chance to relax when Faxul arrived.

Although the bed was very comfortable and Daneel wished he could fall asleep right away, he grumbled to himself slightly before picking himself up again.

There was a more pressing matter to be settled right now.

It seemed that Faxul was headed to his private training room, which meant that it was finally time to complete the system's development of the 'Human-Beast Link' technique.

...

Seeing the sight in front of her, Helena felt more shocked than any other time in her life.

In front of her stood over 100 people, all looking at her with eyes of hope, as if she was their salvation.

At first, before realizing what their looks meant, she had actually been scared whether they were here to cause trouble. After all, she was just a single weak lady who wouldn't be able to put up a fight even if a dog attacked. Even though the police might try to help her, she might already be dead in case this crowd did try to attack.

Yet, the meaning behind their expressions completely threw her off. How was she supposed to help these people?

"Let me through! Mum, I did it!"

The voice almost startled Helena, who had been completely immersed in the stillness brought on by the utter silence of the group.

Seeing her little daughter sprinting forward towards her while wading through the watching women and men, Helena blurted out, "Dalia, what have you done?! I can't possibly employ these many people!"

This was, of course, true. Although the King might have great plans for her, she was still only a single embroiderer whose love for her work brought out brilliant designs that were applauded by everyone in the Kingdom.

Hearing the admonishment in her Mother's tone, Dalia first frowned slightly. Yet, understanding that an explanation was required, she said, "Mom, they aren't here to work for you! They are here to work WITH you!"

Work with her? What?

Just as she was about to ask her daughter for more details, a bent-over old lady wearing a white silk gown that was exquisitely embroidered with rose petals walked over.

Seeing the wisdom in her eyes that came from her age, Helena respectfully greeted her, saying, "Hello, Madam. I do not know what my daughter has told you, but I simply do not have the money to pay you all. I am sorry if she caused trouble."

Hearing this, the old lady smiled, her wrinkled face lighting up with happiness and the same hope Helena had seen in the faces of the others.

Reaching the doorstep, the old lady first patted Dalia's head sweetly and said, "Your child is wonderful. By a single thought of hers, she has found a way out for all of us. We are all struggling embroidery shops whose orders have dried up because others have started to buy imported goods rather than ours. The traders sell those imported goods both at a cheaper price and with many discounts which draw the people to them. All of us, who have only humbly practiced our creed passed down from our ancestors, are at the stage where we might have to live on the streets if something doesn't change soon."

Hearing the plight of the people in the group in front of her, Helena sighed and shook her head with remorse. She knew exactly how it must feel to have no other option but to give up the business which was now their life and pride.

"Where do I come into this?", she asked, as the old lady paused to wet her lips.

"You don't know your status right now. Anything with your name sells like hotcakes. Do you know that there are people who set up shop with goods made by you and are selling them at prices 10 times greater than what you sold it for? People have even started making copies, but thankfully, none have flooded the market yet. You are something special, Helena. And we want to join with you to borrow that specialty."

"MUM, THEY WANNA SELL THEIR WORK WITH OUR NAME AND GIVE US A PART OF THE PROFIT!"

Unable to hold it in anymore, Dalia screamed out these words before blushing and lowering her head.

As the old lady chuckled, Helena looked on with a shocked expression on her face.

She would be paid just by letting people use her name?

Wasn't that too simple?

No, there was definitely something wrong.

Her tough life had taught her that if something sounded too good to be true, then it probably was. Hence, she put her mind to thinking about everything again.

If she let them use her name…then the people buying would think that she made them.

If so… they would be expecting the same level of attention to detail that had made her famous in the market in the first place.

Yet, if others made the product and it wasn't so…the people would feel cheated.

Angry.

Scammed.

And who would be to blame? Her!

As someone who abhorred such things especially due to her sad past, there was no way Helena could agree to something like this.

Realizing that her daughter had actually brought something like this which had such a looming danger for them, she panicked as she wondered what she could do now.

Would saying no make them angry? After all, hope could turn into desperation and then anger quite easily?

What could she say to diffuse the situation?

As Helena started thinking about how she could phrase the rejection, the old woman continued looking at her with a speculative expression on her face.

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Index264 Interlude

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After a few seconds, Helena finally hardened her heart and said, "I'm sorry, but I simply cannot accept to this. I make every piece of embroidery with my heart and soul, so I can ensure that it satisfies the customer. I am sorry if this sounds rude, but I don't know if what you make will reach that standard I set for myself. It is even OK if I am in debt, but I cannot sell a sub-standard product to my customer with my name on it. I am really sorry, and I hope you understand."

After saying the last words, Helena actually looked down with fear. After all, this was the first time she was speaking to such a large crowd. Although she was addressing only the old woman who had walked forward, the eyes and ears of everyone in the group were on her.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally looked up, wondering why there wasn't any reaction.

As she did so, she saw tears glistening in the eyes of the old woman.

At first, she thought they were tears of sadness with the frustration of having lost their last hope. Yet, after observing a little bit more, she realized that there was actually a smile on her face.

Not just her, even most of the people in the group were only smiling, with some looking at each other and nodding.

Unable to understand what was going on, Helena was about to ask when something shocking happened.

THUD

Each and every one in the group fell to the ground at the same moment, startling both Helena and Dalia and making them take a step back.

Meanwhile, the old woman walked forward and said, "You are everything we hoped for. If you had accepted that deal from before, all hope would have been lost. I don't know who your parents are, dear, but I wish I could find and thank them for raising you with such a staunch heart. We are saved. WE ARE SAVED!"

The last sentence was said to the whole crowd, who hugged each other and wept without abandon.

What…was going on?

The mother and daughter could make no sense of the scene.

Finally, the old woman started to explain.

"Dear, this isn't the first time such an effort was made. There have been other talented embroiderers from other Kingdoms who came to some of our shops to give the same offer. The market is flooded with cheap products right now, so many of us accepted without thinking too much. All of those who did went bankrupt, as the people who gave the offer had no care in the world about anything else but money. They eventually ended up besmirching themselves, plunging the value of all goods made with their name to 0. When your daughter came to me, I thought long and hard before deciding to proceed in this way. We need someone who values their work above money. We need someone like you, dear."

So…this was a test?

Although Helena had many questions about the explanation, one thing bothered her the most.

"I'm sorry, but I still cannot accept. You said it yourself. What is different now?"

Laughing to herself, the old woman replied, "You! You are different! You can make sure that everything that is sold reaches the quality you wish! You can bring back the prosperity that was once ours! Tell me, if you can make much more money by checking what we make and guiding us, would you still have to work by yourself?"

Finally, Helena understood the true proposal.

Indeed, by closely checking each of the goods that were being made, she could ensure that the quality was still up to the mark. By doing so, she could indeed earn more, while also guiding the others.

Helena had no idea if it would work, but the expressions of all those in front of her had truly affected her. She knew how they felt, as she had been in their position personally.

Hence, seeing that there was a chance where she wouldn't have to forfeit her ideals, she took it.

"Please come in. Let's discuss further."

....

Meanwhile, in the Palace of Lanthanor.

[Development resumed. New data is being analyzed. Ephemeral bond found. Analyzing bond with respect to elementary particles…..]

Daneel's head was overwhelmed by this barrage of information as he hid in the room near which Faxul had just begun to practice.

The speed itself was so high that he couldn't make sense of one notification before the next arrived. Hence, he asked the system to mute itself for now.

Finally having a silent head, he took a deep breath and waited.

Sadly, although the development did resume, it seemed that it would still take a little time before it would be complete. This was quite clear when he saw the progress bar for the development of the "Human-Beast Link" move slowly as the system continued to assess Faxul's movements.

Taking out the bowl of blood, Daneel resumed training while allowing the system to continue the analysis and development.

...

In the Throne Room of the Black Raven Kingdom

SPLASH.SPLASH. SPLASH.

This sound reverberated in the room as the old man kept pacing back and forth.

It was made by his boots repeatedly stepping on the blood which had seeped down from the two bodies which were pinned to the wall.

From the angle at which the Black Raven King was witnessing the scene from the Throne, he could fully see the gruesome sight as to how they were pinned in the first place.

The backs of their bodies had actually melted and fused into the walls, while the front was lacerated in multiple locations to cause a river of blood to flow from it.

Words couldn't clearly describe this image which was now imprinted into the Black Raven King's mind.

It had all started when the old man strode into the throne room and heard the news of what had happened. At that time, these two servants had been serving him wine.

Fury had erupted across the old man's face, making him wave his hand.

The two waiters had immediately flown to the wall with a scream, and the Black Raven King had only been able to watch on with horror as flames appeared on their back for a few seconds before they were pushed onto the walls again.

The flames seemed to have even melted the rock of the Throne Room, as otherwise, he couldn't imagine how the bodies stuck on like so.

After this, the old man had conjured a whip made of something that looked like fluid metal. Using this, he had repeatedly whipped the two with the rage on his face only increasing on hearing the screams of the two men who were still alive through all this torture.

Finally, after a few minutes, both the screams and the whipping ceased. Since then, silence had reigned.

Even though their bodies were unmoving, it felt to the King as if the screams were still reverberating in his ears.

He had been able to do nothing, and if he were really honest with himself, he had even been scared that he would be subjected to the same fate.

In fact, it almost looked like a warning that he would be the one in their place.

Madman. This powerful mage was clearly a madman.

After walking for a little more time, the old man finally spoke.

"What was the delay? Why didn't you go over there immediately?"

"The-commanders said the situation was under control. I was standing by, ready to go if anything changed. I even chased them discreetly until they vanished in the-"

"IN THE DAMN VALLEY! I KNOW!"

The scream shut the King up.

"The people's trust has been shaken. This is clearly a ploy to accomplish just that. Do you suspect anyone? And who is the traitor?"

The reports showed clearly that the second man had been controlling a Raven. Besides, even that trinket had been stolen.

The first thing that all the facts presented was that there was a Black Raven Fighter who had gone over to the other side and done all this to steal the trinket. What could be their motive? What use could they have for that trinket without having Ravens to connect with?

The King himself was frustrated due to having so many questions, so he could imagine how the old man felt.

Finally, after a few more minutes of splashing, the old man left an order and exited the Throne Room.

"I'm going to investigate everything myself. Inquire about all the strongest figures in the Central Continent. Find which ones weren't accounted for during this entire incident. It was clearly planned, so check for those who didn't appear for at least a day. And put even more money into the search for the Ker Gems."

Hearing this, Tenebrol actually felt happy as he knew that the old man would definitely find the truth with his power.

Yet, looking around the Throne Room, he came up with another question which baffled him.

What was he supposed to say to those who came to clean up this sight?

Wouldn't the trust go down even more if it became known that the King was now killing innocent servants?

Seeing no other option, Tenebrol himself got up from the Throne and walked towards the mop to begin cleaning.

It felt like being back in the army all over again, which actually brought a smile to his face.

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Book265 Harves

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Two Months later.

On the fields near the border of the Kingdom of Lanthanor where the Echer seeds were planted, a kid was running through the fields with a smile of joy on his face.

It was finally the time to harvest!

Over the past one year, only he and his father knew how much they had to care for these plants which seemed to be very delicate. Even though his father had over a decade of farming experience, he had been baffled as to what these plants were.

Regardless, all they needed to know was that they would be paid very handsomely if they managed to reach the minimum quota. They had only chosen to take this opportunity after calculating that they would earn at least three times more by tending to these crops than if they planted other crops in their field.

After reaching the small hut which had been their home for the year, he was puzzled to see a man at the door talking to his father.

After handing a tinkling bag over, the man walked away leaving his father with a wide smile on his face.

"Bless the King for giving us this opportunity! We don't even need to do the harvest ourselves, there will be other people tending to that. We got the silver! Now we can finally move to the capital! I'll find some work, and you can attend the school so that you can have a better future!"

Hearing these words, the kid's face lighted up even more as he ran to his father who had opened the bag to see tens of Silver Lans jingling around. This was the first time he was seeing this much money in his life.

School! He had heard about it on the Network which was broadcast every day in the place where all farmers gathered, and he had spoken to his father about how he dreamed of going there and finding out more about the world. His dream was finally about to come true!

Laughing and talking among themselves, the duo went inside the hut and started packing their belongings to leave the location.

…

Similar occurrences could be seen all over the fields where the Echer sees had been planted. Families glowed with joy as they obtained the fruits of their hard work and made hopeful plans for the future while feeling thankful that they were being ruled by a King who was so kind.

A day later, all the farmers and the families who came over to tend to the fields had left.

Then began the laborious process of harvesting the Echer seeds. Just like their peculiarity where they needed special care to grow, even their harvest was very different.

As per the instructions, teams of mages had to use wind blades to cut the plants which were now around knee high at their bases.

Apparently, roots did not have to be worried about as they would shrink and mix with the earth after the base was cut.

Hence, almost all the mages in Lanthanor were assigned this duty where they had to walk through the fields while collecting them in hemp baskets.

As there were not many mages in the first place, this process itself took three days with all of them working day and night tirelessly.

The seeds had been planted over an area of 50 acres. After the harvest was done, all the hemp bags which had been used were arranged neatly in an open area.

Standing at the eastern border gate of the Lanthanorian Kingdom, Daneel looked at the scene before turning around and noticing that the contingent from the Black Raven Kingdom which was here to collect the crops had almost arrived at the mark where they had been told to wait.

Giving the order, Daneel watched as mages in teams worked to levitate these numerous bags to the location outside where multiple Ether-driven carts were waiting to be loaded.

Due to the recent incident in the Black Raven Kingdom which had been a huge blow to their pride, the soldiers and even the King whom Daneel had contacted had all been a bit subdued.

Apparently, the unrest was still present as this wasn't an incident that could be forgotten so easily.

The loading went smoothly, with all the workers being very careful not to drop the bags.

After an official from the Black Raven Kingdom checked the number of bags to make sure that the quota was met, he nodded to himself and took out a communication trinket to speak to someone.

A few seconds later, Daneel felt an incoming communication from the trinket which connected him to the Black Raven King.

"Congratulations on successfully fulfilling your end of the deal! I've spoken to the member of the Big Four who gave the contract in the first place, and they told me that they will be coming soon to receive the plants as the ones responsible are currently under closed-door training. After they check and see that everything is in order, they will give an identification trinket and location where the person who wants to learn their secret spell technique must go. Well done! It was great collaborating with you! The gold has already been sent, and I trust all is well."

Seeing the gold bars which had been unloaded from some of the Ether-driven carts, Daneel said, "I'm glad to hear that. Yes, all is well. I'll be looking forward to it, then."

Closing off the connection, Daneel turned around again to look at the land which was now empty.

Although it looked normal from the outside, he knew very well that a year from now, it would be barren making his Kingdom suffer the loss of losing a lot of its most fertile land.

Of course, this was only if he did nothing.

Back when he had accepted this deal itself, he had made an outline of the plan which would stop this from happening.

It was only due to their expedition that he had been able to finalize it so that it would also bring tumultuous changes in the Black Raven Kingdom.

Over the past two months, he had been working hard to set everything in place, and it was now finally time.

"Begin."

Sending this message to Kellor, Daneel teleported back to the Royal Palace.

…

Tripping and falling on the ground for the third time since the morning, Sherry wondered why she had ever chosen this profession.

Yet, seeing the self-cleaning enchantment of her clothes kick into effect and making the dust fly away, she knew that the answer was money.

She was a professional Ker Gem mine hunter, and she was now in the Lanthanor Kingdom to continue her journey of finding the mine on the employ of the Black Raven Kingdom.

The way this profession worked was that mine hunters would be given a premium and be employed by Kingdoms to ensure that they would be the only one receiving the information about any new mine that was found.

She had always had a knack for this. Ever since childhood, she had always had a specific sensitivity to energy materials which allowed her to detect them, or at least their general location.

Over time, she had learned to control this feeling and tune it so that she would only sense high-level energy materials. This had led her to become one of the best Ker Gem mine hunters in the trade.

With the record of finding three mines, she was sought after by all Kingdoms.

Yet, she had been quite shocked when she was approached by the Black Raven Kingdom which usually wasn't known for its proactive actions in finding mines.

Of course, the pay had been great, so she had taken the offer as she had just been planning to get back to hunting after a period of rest.

How typical mine hunters worked was that they knew a certain number of clues which meant that a high-energy resource was quite close.

For one, the earth at the right place would be much more fertile than that around it as it seemed that Energy had some sort of effect on the fertility of earth in general.

Other than this, animals also loved to spend more time at spots like these.

Using these clues and intuition, mine hunters searched in the general area to find the entrance to the mine.

Right now, she was in the Kingdom of Lanthanor as she had just received a tip a day ago.

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