"I hoped that I would be able to spare more forces but it seemed I underestimated Vestargo." The Arcadian Emperor smiled at Theresa. "But it's good to have reliable allies for once."

"The feeling is mutual." She beamed a smile that was followed by a cheerful nod from Guad.

"The fact that, for once, we have a fighting chance against hostile Dungeons is worth all efforts on our part." Guad pointed out with a serious expression. "It's like Theresa said- we can deal with Mortals but Dungeons scare us. We will guard the borders of our alliance as if our existence depended on it. Because, well, it does."

Theresa smiled flatly. "That's true enough to be depressing. Thankfully, we are no longer dead weight. The Lake Hope project is progressing smoothly and we have already managed to store enough water to establish farmlands nearby. Thanks to Guad, my people have a safe place to settle for the time. But we will never forget about the help of Arcadia, Theon. My Army and Navy are growing each day and, right now, I can field a single Legion-sized army. With the Carriers in service, we are not defenceless."

"Indeed." Guad smiled. "I'm quite jealous of Victor and the training help he provided for Iceleon. But just a little... Metakan soldiers were humbled by the soldiers of Arcadia and even were beaten during our joint training with Iceleon. I'm happy they lost because, now, they have run out of excuses and I can finally implement the changes. The Army is, once again, under the full control of the Metakan Emperor. I looked through my notes and interviewed your field Commanders, Theon. My country is also in the process of implementing changes and upgrades. We won't be useless..."

"I'm glad to hear that." Theon nodded and looked at the map in silence before he pointed to something in the north. "What is there? Between Iceleon and Ebrus?"

"It's... Well." Theresa exchanged an awkward gaze with Guad.

"The Cursed Land," Guad said with a nervous smile.

"A cursed land?" Theon gave them an incredulous stare.

"Yes." Guad nodded.

"No! The Cursed Land." Theresa disagreed. "I know how it sounds, but that land is cursed. The legend says that those lands were once a bountiful kingdom. But once upon a time, a dark sorcerer rose to power and decided to reign that land. The people living there fought against him but they couldn't defeat his dark magic and abominable servants. As they attempted to flee, the dark sorcerer cursed them and a horrifying plague killed most of them."

She took a sip of water and gave Guad a piercing stare.

"The Empire learned about the sorcerer and sent the army to deal with him. If the records are true, we lost nearly one million soldiers." Guad rolled his eyes. "Like, really? A million soldiers? Even I question those records... What? Fine... The battle was barely won but a few survivors told the story that, at the end, the sorcerer cursed the land. The dead roam it and kill all living who dare to disturb the dark sorcerer's kingdom."

"So it's a land plagued by undead?" Theon shrugged.

"No idea." Guad opened his arms powerlessly. "No one has returned from it to tell a tale. While I question how many soldiers died during the war with the sorcerer, I can't deny the land itself is cursed."

"On the brighter side, that particular border was always the most peaceful." Theresa grinned. "You can say it was gravely quiet."

"Very funny..." Guad sighed.

"I'll send my Slimes to investigate. But I don't particularly believe in curses..." Theon rubbed his chin.

"Why do you ask about it, anyway?" Theresa shrugged.

"I find it hard to believe that lands nearly as large as Iceleon are free to take. Once we learn what's there and, optimally, deal with it, you could expand your borders, Theresa."

"Ummm..." She looked uncomfortable.

"What? Don't be ridiculous. If it's just something as simple as a curse, I think Irene can lift it in an afternoon." Theon chuckled. "But I would guess that there are one or two very nasty Dungeons. I don't particularly like the idea of leaving our backs open for Vestargo. My forces will inspect the area so I will know if there is anything to be concerned about. Then, I believe, Iceleon can expand. Or does Metaka claim some parts as well?"

"Not really." Guad shrugged. "My Empire is already large and taking more land would be problematic."

"So it's decided." Theon grinned, making Theresa nervous. "Relax. If there is anything, I'll ask Hera and Zephyr to cleanse the lands once Irene breaks any spells or curses, if there are any. A team of ten Noble Slimes should be enough to check what's really there."

"All right..." Theresa meekly nodded.

"I would like to-" Theon suddenly furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, but I just received an urgent report from Everlight. The border patrol craft intercepted a group of five airships that, apparently, arrived from Ebrus... Their envoy wants to meet with me as soon as possible."

"I didn't know that the Kingdom of Ebrus had airships..." Theresa blinked a few times in shock.

"Neither did I," Guad admitted in shock.

"Now we have to figure out if they are friends or enemies..." Theon sighed and crossed his arms. "In the meantime, I heard there was an interesting play in the theatre..."

•••

Theon noted Ebrus' envoy needed three days to reach Avalon. Their ships were much smaller than the ships built in Arcadia or Metaka. They were a bit faster than the Bernan brigs but I doubted they could outrun my destroyers. Three schooners and two barkentines were escorted by two destroyers and I watched their arrival on the illusion screen with mixed feelings. It took the Ebrusian delegation almost an hour to reach the conference room in Triskelion. The envoy was a young man escorted by a, seeming, senior and seasoned aide and some staff. He was rather bulky with a strong build and dark hair held back with round fluffy ears on his head that indicated he was a kind of a Beastkin.

"A Bearkin?" I risked a guess.

"I have never seen any of their kind in my life..." Irene whispered in my ear.

I shrugged as I watched the delegation look around with a mix of awe and respect as they walked towards us.

"My God..." I almost rested my head on my hands but, fortunately, I stopped myself. "It's good we didn't host this circus in the throne room. They would have to set up camp in the middle and discussed everything they observed so far... What?"

"They certainly took their time..." Amber agreed with a nod. "But I think that most people would be overwhelmed by an audience with someone like you."

"Like us." I corrected her.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

As if on cue, one of the older diplomats whispered something in the Prince's ear and the young man straightened as he quickly moved to the other side of the large round table. They bowed to us and I stood up.

"Welcome to Avalon. The capital city of the Empire of Arcadia. I'm Theon Avalon. I was informed about the urgency of your mission but not about its nature. Please, take a seat and explain to us what kind of emergency brought you here." I said with a faint but friendly smile as I sat on my throne.

"My name is Islur Tawal Ebrus, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Ebrus. I was tasked by my father and the council of the Court Mages to warn people about the danger that will soon emerge from the Ancient Forest..."

"I don't want to disappoint you but, if you are referring to Vestargo, we know. For nearly two months we have waged a full-scale war with that bastard."

The Prince looked in confusion at his advisor, or more probably a mentor, and they exchanged a few hushed words.

"The enemy has no name but his Legions are vast and endless. They swarm the land and sky as they march and cover entire cities. Their hideous forms and disgusting practices are revolting to ordinary people..."

"That totally sounds like Vestargo..." Luna pointed out but when the Prince glanced at her, he blushed and lowered his gaze.

"The Farseers warned us that a new kingdom will rise and shatter the balance of power in Nilmerthis. However, they said that we must suffer their King's audacity and rudeness because, and I quote, only they can stop the enemy that dwells in the Ancient Forest..."

Guad and Theresa, who were sitting nearby, looked at each other, and it was Guad who first snorted. Theresa followed as their laughter instantly spread to my wives. I, for my part, tried to remain serious but I couldn't help but smile as that poor boy just handed me a loaded gun. I looked at the nails of my right hand intently and casually polished them on my shirt. With a, now, stone serious facial expression, I looked straight into the eyes of Prince Ebrus and once the laughter died, smiled.

"So the enemy is Vestargo, without a doubt, and that upstart kingdom is Arcadia. Sooo... That arrogant, audacious, and incredibly rude king has to be me."

The Prince paled for a split second before his face was covered by a red blush so intense that I was worried about him.

"I'm so terribly sorry for being impolite..." He started but I just raised and waved my hand to stop him.

"No, no, no. Now I reserve the right to be as blunt, rude, and audacious as you imply." I grinned which provoked another round of laughter. "It may come in handy later."

It was apparent that the Prince was embarrassed but an amused and somewhat-masked grin on the face of his mentor was reassuring. The young man took a deep breath and once again cleared his throat. He looked towards Guad and Theresa as if he were trying to guess who they were.

"The Kingdom of Iceleon is covered by snow..."

"Yes. We noticed that." Theresa Iceleon nodded as she tried to remain serious.

"Excuse me, but this is getting rather awkward and embarrassing." Guad shook his head and looked kindly at the Ebrusian noble. "I reckon you have arrived to warn us about the enemy that might soon attack us, unaware that he has already clashed with Arcadia."

"That would be correct, sir...?" The Prince sighed and looked with gratitude at Guad.

"Emperor Guad Darius Twentieth of the Empire of Metaka." Guad grinned while the Prince's eyes went wide in shock.

"To avoid any more confusion, I'm Theresa Iceleon. The Queen of the Kingdom of Iceleon."

"I've embarrassed my country enough..." The Prince lowered his head and he was visibly depressed.

"Why did you come here?" I asked with a soft smile. "To just warn us about this enemy?"

"No." The Prince shook his head and looked more firmly at me. "We were to aid your war efforts however we can even though many of us expect to die. The Navy of Ebrus is waiting for us to return with a report of whether you were eager to listen to us, or not. We must warn the people of Berna and Navell..."

"Berna has fallen and its name has been erased from the pages of history. Those lands are now known as the province of Everlight. They are part of Arcadia, Prince Islur Tawal Ebrus." I said with an indifferent tone but the Ebrusian delegation was visibly astounded. "Navell, however, was overrun. We managed to evacuate the survivors from their last city. The people of Navell are still mourning their dead and, even though they swore their vengeance on Vestargo, the city-states of Navell might never rise from this defeat."

"How could our Farseers be so late in their warnings?!" The Prince looked at his shocked aides.

"How many ships do you have to spare?" I asked, ignoring his concerns.

"Thirty, of which we have twenty sloop-of-war, six brigs, four frigates, and the flagship, the mighty galleon." The Prince said with pride and snickered. "Your ships are large but we noticed that they aren't as heavily armed as they should... What? Did I say something wrong?"

Guad leaned back in his chair as he laughed again while Theresa covered her face with her hands in borrowed embarrassment as she laughed. My wives looked with pity on the young Prince while the older Ebrusian diplomat finally gave up and put his hands on the Prince's shoulder.

"My Lord... We have committed so many diplomatic blunders, so far, that you really shouldn't have added underestimation to the list. Didn't you hear Lord Avalon say that he destroyed Berna?" The old man's voice was full of patience and it betrayed him as a seasoned diplomat. "The Navy of the Holy Kingdom was one of the deadliest forces on the continent and stopped their conquests only out of fear of the Empire of Metaka and their Navy. Do you believe that such force would be destroyed by inferior ships? Because I certainly don't. There must be a reason why the Arcadian ships look like that. You seem to forget your own shock when their ships escorted us and easily matched our speed despite their size and lack of a single sail."

"But-"

"Your inexperience can't explain your behaviour, my Prince." The old diplomat sadly shook his head. "Please accept our official and most sincere apologies, Emperor Theon Avalon."

"You don't need to apologise because no offence was made, so far." I shrugged. "So let's make this clear. You want to aid the war effort?"

"Yes." The older diplomat nodded and it was apparent that he was now in charge of the delegation. "Once we deploy our ships-"

"I don't want to disappoint you and I will be painfully honest with you: your ships are standard tall ships which could be comparable to the bulk of the Metakan Navy and are a bit weaker than the ships of the Bernan Navy. If your bigger ships just scale up their power without other significant changes, your survival rate in a battle against Vestargo's forces is zero." I shook my head. "Please don't misunderstand me because I'm happy to find another friendly neighbour in these uncertain times. I won't send your soldiers to certain death just to prove a point. Without a doubt, you are brave people but the sacrifice you propose is nothing short of meaningless suicide. I see that you don't like my words and, now, you believe that I am underestimating you and your Navy."

I stood up and gestured towards the Praetorians standing near the large doors to the balcony. They opened the door and we could see a single destroyer lazily hovering nearby.

"Do you have the means to measure the magic output of this destroyer from here?" I asked.

"Yes." The Prince announced while the older diplomat glanced at him silently with anger.

"I supposed so." I shrugged. "What power levels do you think this ship has?"

"It's less powerful than the schooner that brought us here..." One of the Ebrusian mages extended his hand after the Prince looked at him intently.

I loudly snapped my fingers and the distant warship awakened its offensive and defensive systems.

"No! How?!" The Bearkin mage paled and he wasn't alone. The Prince was visibly shocked but not as much as the rest of the mages in his entourage.

"This is just a destroyer," I said calmly while the ship was still brimming with power so no one could say it was just a trick. It was only at a nominal combat power and it still made an impression on the Ebrusians. "Until our corvettes are ready, these are the smallest ships in the Royal Navy of Arcadia. Judging by your reactions, you are shocked by their power and yet, Vestargo's forces could overrun those ships and certainly destroy them if he caught them alone. Knowing that, would you like to send your people to certain death?"

"No..." The Prince lowered his head. "But we can't stand aside and just watch your people die. I was tasked with forging an alliance with any people willing to defend the world from the evil..."

"Evil lurks in the darkness just outside of our realm. It's growing in the souls of the people of Nilmerthis if it's embraced." Hestia said with a sad voice as she looked forward with an unfocused gaze.

"How many countries do you hope to muster into your alliance against Vestargo?" Mia asked calmly.

"I..." The Prince looked at the suddenly uncertain advisor.

"I believe that you should discuss everything with your entourage, Prince, and then we can start this conversation from the beginning." Irene offered.

The delegation looked among themselves and decided to accept her offer. After all, it was apparent that a certain Prince needed to do extra homework...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.