Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1287: The Invitation

An hour ago…

Inside the ginormous and pristine Imperial Palace, Kahn held an urgent meeting with the officials and title-holding individuals of the Rakos Empire right the next day after his declaration of participating in the Great War with the allied forces of the Abyss Empire.

Kahn’s throne hall was now filled with thousands of people from all important departments of the empire. While the majority were present physically, some attended the meeting through broadcasting artifacts, either due to their distant locations from the capital or simply because they couldn’t leave their posts.

In his presence were hundreds of important leaders, various ministers, some of whom were Saints, and also the main leaders of the 3 noble factions.

Along with Kahn’s 12 Subordinates who held Commander-In-Chief positions as well as Kassandra, who was now the leader of the Neutral Faction, all had taken their seats.

“Your Majesty, the general reaction to your announcement yesterday is… mixed.” announced Mr. Rotich, the Head of the Department of Finance.

Gasp!

Some people gasped while some simply kept their mouths shut as if they had swallowed a mouse.

“That was a given. No one likes to hear that their country is going to war without someone attacking them first or having a proper justification that appeals to their individual lives.

What I did yesterday was only scaremongering them to prepare for the war.” said Kahn with an anticipatory tone.

And that was an evident truth. The imperial decree yesterday was just Kahn raising plenty of alarms without actually showing the proof.

Unlike what he did in the hidden Abyss Empire, where he exposed his true powers, such as his Cosmic Aether form or even the Dragonoid form… Kahn had done neither of those to reassure the people that if they went to war tomorrow, they would be well protected.

In all honesty, due to the Rakos Empire’s geological location, no one dared to openly attack them since one side had ceasfire zone and the other was inhabited by the Godbeasts.

Also, their military forces were acting only on the borders, while the common population did not truly see the empire’s might. Hearing things and seeing them for yourself was much different.

“No one has directly felt the impact of the war or faced enemies who caused any casualties.” spoke Kahn as he looked around the assembly of ministers and officials.

“People won’t feel the urgency or even the will to fight for their nation unless their daily lives are impacted first.

Things such as goods and vegetable prices rising, shortage of food, or even loss of manpower… those affect people more effectively than someone warning them about an enemy attack.

To all of them, I’m just crying wolf for now. They will not feel the gravity of the matter unless they’ve seen the wolf themselves.” he elaborated.

Many people nodded. Because plenty of them shared the same sentiment.

Despite their important positions, most were also unaware of this upcoming participation in the Great War. Many didn’t even know about the existence of the armies of the Abyss Empire already relocating on their borders.

“Just because I told them to fight, doesn’t mean they will be willing to risk their lives.

Saying that it’s done for the sake of the nation doesn’t bode well either. Not everyone is stupid enough to fall for a mere provocation or raising banners of war to rile up the masses.

People care about stability and self-preservation first, above anything else in their lives.” his words now resounded in the throne hall that was 3 kilometers long.

Allister Mor Vandereich, who now attended the meeting as one of Kahn’s vassals, also added a remark of his own.

“My time as the Chief of Military had been stable for at least 70 years since I took over because no one really bothered to wage a full-scale war against us.

We haven’t really fought with our lives at stake, even when the Whittlock royal family held the reins back in the day.

We have fought more civil wars within than against another nation,” explained the vampire patriarch.

“People who have known only peace do not hesitate to question the existence of violence… Even if that violence is necessary to protect that very peace.” he added and looked around the other members.

Jeremiah Themis and Stalin Joseiph, the other two Peak 7th-stage saints of the Rakos Empire, also nodded in agreement.

Although they no longer held their previous positions as the absolute authority in the empire, they were only below the Emperor and his commanders-in-chief.

With their entire bloodlines on the line, they didn’t dare to oppose Kahn’s decision even if they wanted to.

It was Kassandra who spoke next…

“Even if we ally ourselves with the Abyss Empire, we can’t expect them to fight all the battles on the front.

I believe honest communication will save us more troops and resources in the long term instead of treating them as an external force.”

To her words, some showed shock while a few showed disdain.

Letting an external force in their ranks and offering them equal standing would never be welcomed by a major force. It was not only done to maintain their monopoly but also to secure their future prospects.

War often gave birth to new heroes and powerhouses who grew up to be future figureheads. No one wished to share either the glory or the rewards that came with war.

“Matriarch Mikealson is right. While I understand that the dialogue with an outer force, even if they are our allies, is mostly done with a conservative state of mind; it affects negatively only if they answer to a different body of authority.” spoke Kahn as he explained his own reasoning.

“What I did not tell the whole empire yesterday is that I not only control the Cult of Darkborne, but also the leaders of the Imperial Family and the Senate of the Republic.” revealed Kahn.

“What?! Does that mean you’re basically their Monarch?” asked Jeremiah, the old elven saint.

“Unofficially, yes. And my official title is the Supreme Commander of the Abyss Empire.

That alone holds a lot more power than just someone who commands their entire force in name only.

Hence, I intend to assimilate their saints and some key officials for the time being.” spoke Kahn as he relayed his will.

Whisper…

Chatter…

The vast hall was now filled with indistinct chatter amongst the people. What Kahn intended to do was basically received as a forced coalition.

“It will negatively impact the morale of the troops and commanding officers, your majesty. Please rethink your decision.” said Allister.

When it came to commanding the military troops, no one here was more experienced than the old vampire leader.

He hadn’t earned so many accolades and fame for the past seven decades just by sitting idly.

“I understand your concern. That is why I intend to keep their involvement based on the number of troops, the ranks, the specialty of their divisions, as well as the saints leading them.

And before anyone says anything… No, I am not doing it to share our intel with them.” said Kahn as he assured everyone.

“It is simply to balance all the forces, avoid skirmishes among the troops just because they are in bigger or smaller numbers on the ally’s side.

But it is also to let us learn their methods so that the Rakos Empire can adapt to new tactics and weaponry. When the Great War is done, the Rakos Empire will stay true to its identity and evolve as a military force.” he elaborated his plans.

Kahn’s allegiance was to both empires. And hence, he didn’t intend to favor one over the other.

Besides, those who bled together would also be prepared to fight to the death with each other.

This was his way to form unity among both forces as fast as they could, and also have some healthy competition among the soldiers.

Just the right to brag about your enemy kill count alone fired up many soldiers who were forced to work with each other.

People like that grew with shared victory as well as loss. The same could be said about Saints.

“It will also help us save lives… lots of lives.” said Kahn in a stoic voice and laid out his plans.

Even Allister was impressed seeing how Kahn already had an elaborate plan ready.

Kahn intended to allocate teams that not only complemented each other but also made up for their respective disadvantages.

Each saint would also be paired with another saint based on their class and skills so that they could help each other to make up for their shortcomings.

After the future plans were revealed to the members present in the meeting, their queries and disapproval died down.

As an Emperor, Kahn needed everyone’s sensible cooperation, something that couldn’t be forced down just because he had their bloodlines enslaved.

They needed their own motivation and reassurances.

******************

After the main topic was finished discussing, the main chamberlain, who was in charge of announcing all the important messages, was escorted by a group of Royal Guards.

The invitation was sent by the Council of the Great War, an alliance that turned active only during this monumental phenomenon.

And the invitation letter included the phrase…

“We invite the Emperor to the No Man’s Land.”