A King's Request Gone Wrong

Caught unaware by the King's question, Aegon was at a loss for words.

It was a tricky question to answer and Aegon knew it. If he answered wrongly, he could offend the king and he wanted nothing to do with offending a king.

"As much as I would like to answer that question, I'd rather not." Aegon shook his head. Depending on his answer, he might find himself in an uncomfortable situation or an unfavorable condition.

"Come on, she's beautiful. Isn't she?" King Daryog asked with a smirk on his face.

Aegon weighed the answer and when he saw it wouldn't place him in a bad situation, he nodded.

"Her drawing alone would be a stunning piece of art. I must congratulate the queen for birthing such a royal beauty." Aegon's eyes shifted from the King to the Queen and he gently bowed with a palm on his chest. "Congratulations, your Highness."

His actions brought a smile to the Queen's face and before she could reply, Aegon added. "She's a perfect replica of you."

"Oh, my. You certainly know your way with words despite being so young." The Queen smiled, placing her hand on her chest.

Aegon had successfully complemented both ladies without managing to offend either.

The others in the room were getting uncomfortable. They could smell trouble brewing.

King Daryog laughed and then pointed out an observation. "You've been here all along and yet you refuse to let go of your concealment. Is there a reason?"

Aegon's eyes squinted. Was the king trying to measure him in the presence of others? He felt disrespected nonetheless, he kept it to himself.

"I was simply concerned for the well-being of the others in the room. Not everyone here is on the same level as you, Your Majesty." His distaste was masked underneath his gentle smile. Then Aegon added. "For instance, the queen and the princess."

"Hahaha, I'm sure that was a joke. What greater assurance is there than I in this room? I should be able to easily withstand the pressure for all three of us." King Daryog laughed loudly as he listened to Aegon's remark. "Besides, you are heavily underestimating the queen and princess."

The King gestured with his head to the other individuals in the room. "The others are sure to go their ground as well. If things get out of hand for them, it'll be no problem for me to help out."

Aegon wanted to let him know that underestimation was not his forte. He could easily read everybody in the room and although the queen and princess had the highest mana capacity in the room after the king, none would be able to withstand him. Not even the king himself.

The King read Aegon's expression and frowned. "Don't underestimate me, little mercenary."

Little?

Aegon's eyes widened. Did he just hear himself being referred to as little?

Indeed he didn't know how he'd ended up with such a mercenary name but those names just didn't go to anyone. The ring on his index finger also didn't get there because he simply bought it. He had earned both.

And now, someone dared to belittle him. A sigh left his mouth. He couldn't afford to snap in here. He would take it out elsewhere.

"So be it," Aegon muttered and the others readied themselves for the pressure that was about to crash on them.

Woooong~

Every one of them heard a soft humming sound that felt tender and harmless as Aegon released his mana.

Then, in the blink of an eye, something changed. The humming stopped and everything turned upside down.

Crack! The window glasses cracked and then shattered.

The round table they'd just finished making use of, flattened.

Even the walls of the room had cracks on them but that wasn't all. That couldn't be all.

The individuals in the room found it hard to move, speak, or even breathe.

They couldn't hear anything save their struggles to breathe and their heartbeats which had slowed down in great detail.

They could barely remain on their feet as the pressure from Aegon crashed against their bones. Creaking sounds rang out but they were too busy trying to breathe that they didn't notice.

One by one, they fell to the ground.

Some on their knees, some on their faces.

Wooooong~

Those that fell felt the pressure lift off their bodies and the humming sound returned. However, they were so busy trying to battle the wave of exhaustion that crashed on them that they didn't give much thought to the hum which was way louder than it originally was.

Others noticed that those who fell had the pressure alleviated and soon, they fell as well. They had given up.

The king still stood his ground along with the queen and princess.

They all stood unfazed by the pressure that had been evenly distributed around the room.

As the others began to give up, making Aegon reduce the range, the pressure steadily rose. Slowly, King Daryog's face twisted in dissatisfaction. This wasn't what he wanted.

He wanted to show the others that a mere mercenary couldn't possibly defy him and by doing so, he would publicly embarrass Aegon. If the mercenary's pressure couldn't affect him, the mercenary would simply be humiliating himself and feel less of himself.

However, that wasn't the case. King Daryog's expression had twisted notably as he'd been forced to keep his word. He withstood the pressure meant for three individuals and even then, the pressure only continued to rise.

The King's knees creaked and bent forward as the pressure slowly built up, pushing him to kneel. Something considered absurd and an abomination.

The others could only watch as their king slowly went down, inches away from kneeling.

Why would a king kneel before someone who was barely half his age?

How does that happen?!

No, does that even happen?

One thing was certain. King Daryog was now furious and his fury only kept rising the lower he went. If things continued, he would be at the receiving end of his stick.

He wanted to end it but it was taking all that he had not to keep himself from kneeling.

His eyes boiled with rage and greed. If he had the power, the things he could do. He acknowledged. He couldn't simply let this mercenary go.

As quick as it had appeared, the pressure vanished totally, leaving the others panting even though they'd been relieved earlier on.

Aegon bowed as he concealed his mana once more, his presence vanishing from the weakened senses of those around him. "My humble apology, Your Majesty. I had to give it my best and ended up taking things too far."

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A/N

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