Overwhelming Firepower

After saying all of that, the King’s hard gaze softened, and the corners of his mouth curved into a sudden, bright smile, as if brushing away the tension with a single expression.

”Did that news alarm everyone?” The King scanned the people present. ”In truth, there’s no need to worry too much. Those b*stards from Inevir have always made moves like this, but they never do much. At most, they would station a few battalions near our borders to provoke us.”

”Will you tell the other nobles about this?” Vardon asked calmly.

”Most of the nobles have their ways of gathering intelligence. They would most likely receive similar news from their own intelligence networks. Still, I will tell the other Dukes not to do anything, since their actions might actually lead to war.”

Hearing what the King said, Vardon nodded his head in agreement. Based on their personalities.

The very second Kaelvar hears that there is a chance of war, he would immediately head out to Inevir and attack head-on by himself.

If Seraphina learns that a war is possibly coming, she, like Kaelvar, would say it’s better to strike first than wait for the other to strike you. She would try to burn the nearest city of Inevir to the ground with everyone from the Red Tower.

One would think that Elandor, who was a pious holy knight of the Goddess Thalara, would not try to do anything stupid, but the second he hears of the possibility of war, he would go out of his way to supposedly save people. The way to save them was to beat them up until they didn’t think of doing something stupid like war.

”So even if there is no war to be had, it would be in our best interest if more people in our kingdom knew how to use those weapons of yours. If possible, can you teach some of the soldiers how to use that weapon?”

The King spoke to Lucen, who was in a daze. Hearing the King’s voice, Lucen woke up from his own thoughts. Still, using Acting Adept to look calm on the outside, he responded.

”I understand, Your Majesty. Please send the people who want to learn to Ironhold. My men will teach them how to use the Arquebus.”

”That’s good to hear. Now, of course, even as your King, I’m not asking you to do this for free. I will grant you one wish, of course, you can’t wish for just anything. It needs to be a wish that I could grant, a wish that won’t harm our kingdom of Norvaegard, and it must not be too excessive, like asking for the entire treasury of the kingdom.”

Lucen was quite surprised, even though there were restrictions on the so-called wish; in essence, he could ask for rather absurd things like the sword of the first King Richard Vaelgard.

”Thank you, Your Majesty, for such a generous offer,” Lucen said evenly. ”But at present, I don’t know what I should ask for.”

He spoke in a rather neutral tone, and his face was also as stoic as his father’s, but that was because of Acting Adept.

Inside, his mind raced through possibilities, treasures, secrets, artifacts, the sort of things one only obtained through the royal route in the game. Not only that, he could even ask for more land, men, and materials.

There were so many possibilities that his mind was swirling, but he remained neutral on the outside.

”Is that so…” The King’s gaze lingered, weighing him. ”Very well. The offer will not vanish. When you know what you want, truly want, tell me.”

After speaking with Lucen, the King had a conversation with Vardon.

***

Upstairs, the King’s private audience continued. Down in the ballroom, the music played on, though more than a few eyes flicked toward the doors.

Several guests had noticed the royal guards approach the Thorneharts and their companions, and more importantly, that the King himself had disappeared from the party.

The other royals were still talking to some nobles, but the King himself was not here.

Many nobles were curious as to what the king would want with the Thorneharts. Some nobles started talking about it.

”Do you think there’s trouble brewing in the North?” one noble murmured into his wine.

”There’s always trouble in the North,” another replied. ”If it’s not the monster waves pouring out of the forbidden zones, it’s the barbarians raiding villages.”

”True, but…” the first leaned in, lowering his voice, ”the King doesn’t pull someone away in the middle of a ball unless it’s something... Unusual.”

Another group of nobles were also having a similar conversation.

”It could be because of the young Thornehart.”

”Lucen Thornehart?... Yes, he did defeat a young dragon. Even though it was wounded and he did not do it by himself, he did slay it.” The noble spoke, trying his best to diminish the feat, but even saying it all that, it still sounded incredible.

”It could also be about that rumored weapon that he created. The one that makes the sound of Thunder.”

”Was that true?”

”The rumor about him defeating a young dragon was dismissed as false before, but it turned out to be true. The other rumor that said he created the game Territory War was thought to be false as well, but that, too, turned out to be the truth.”

The noble drank down the wine in his hand and continued.

”There was also the fact that many thought he was a sickly and untalented child. If that child, who was crowned the champion of the underground arena, a sickly and untalented one, then we all might be diseased and fools.” A noble responded with slight irritation in his voice.

Many were having similar discussions all around. Not far away, Viscount Reval Drenwick stood frowning into his glass. One of the people who was part of the group the King was meeting was none other than Robert Duskwell.

Even he, a Viscount with great magical talents, was unable to speak to the king in such a private setting, but the commoner Robert Duskwell was able to do so. Of course, his mind dismissed that it was not Robert who was called, but the Thorneharts, and Robert just came with them.

Reval was already blinded by his hatred of Robert, especially after what happened just before. He was already extremely irritated, humiliated, and now this.

’Why is it always him?! How can a commoner be better than I?!’ Reval’s teeth clenched. ’I, who have the superior bloodline and talent?! Why am I always being compared to him, and why does he always get the praise that should only be reserved for me?!”

The more he thought about it, the darker his mood became, and Reval became more irritated. He who had stopped improving himself saw that Robert was not at the same level as him anymore, which was true since Robert had long ago surpassed him.

They were rivals once upon a time, but now Reval was no longer the magic prodigy he was before, only an indulgent noble. Clinging to his title and past praise that has long been forgotten.

***

In another part of the ballroom, Viscount Cedric Darenthal was having a conversation with a group of nobles.

”What are your impressions of Lucen Thornehart?”

”The heir of the Iron Duke?” A baron asked.

”Yes, him, what do you think of him?” Cedric asked again with a rather kind smile on his face.

”He was much better than I could have imagined. All those rumors about him being sickly and talentless must have been rumors spread by those who don’t like the Iron Duke.”

”Yes, I have been too many battlefields before, and the way the young heir of the North moved was filled with discipline and confidence.” A knight at the fourth mantle answered.

”I see... Then why do you think the King called for them?”

”It must either be something about the North or about something the young heir made.” A noble answered unsure.

”Is that so...” Reval said, and while the other nobles started talking about the gifts that were given to the Third Prince, Reval continued to think about why the King asked for the Thorneharts.

’If the King just needed something from the North, he would simply call for Duke Vardon, and would not bother to call for Lucen and the others. So it must be something that’s found in the North.’

Reval then thought about all the different reports he had regarding the North and Lucen Thornehart. It was quite hard to get new information since Vardon had all the spies in the North killed or imprisoned.

’The only variable I can think of that would attract the King’s attention is Lucen Thornehart... It must have something to do with that rumored weapon the bards sing about, the one that makes the sound of rumbling thunder... A weapon, even though it is interesting, would the King really call for the Thorneharts in such a way that everyone could see and speculate about?’

Reval was still talking to the other nobles, but his mind was focused on something else. This was a skill he learned even before he inherited his title from his deceased father.

As he was thinking about it, he remembered a strange report he received a day before he received the invitation to the Third Prince’s birthday party. It was about unusual movements going on in the neighboring Kingdom Inevir.

’Lucen Thornehart... Weapons... Unusual movement of Inevir...’ The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit in his mind. ’Is Inevir about to declare war on us?’