Corvinus smiled slightly, seeing their reaction.

Solomen the third, the King of Azure Kingdom, watched everything with a hardened face. But beneath it, he was also smiling in his mind.

Corvinus was his right-hand man and the one who was responsible for keeping the storm tower in check. He was speaking what he wanted to say, but couldn't because of his identity.

"That's right," Corvinus interjected. "The young man, Zephyr Venturi, is the one guarding the lighthouse. A genius like that wouldn't let it be destroyed without a reason. So, we must assume that something terrible must have happened."

Speaking aloud, Corvinus once again turned to look at the Tower Masters.

The five tower masters glanced at each other, searching for the right word to speak.

However, Corvinus had no thought of giving them time.

"What action did the storm tower take in response to the destruction of the lighthouse?" He pressed, gazing into their eyes.

As a Master of 9-star rating, he was one of the few in the kingdom capable of challenging tower masters. He raised his eyebrows and waited.

The tower master took a deep breath. Then the oldest of them, who was of similar strength to Corvinus, the second-in-command of the storm tower, Master Zolt, began to speak.

"We have already sent messages through the tower network to Viscount Whitewater, the lord of the land, asking him to find out more about the situation. However, we have yet to hear any news from him."

"Could it really be a demonic invasion?" Duke Forest, sitting next to the nobles present in the hall, asked.

The council of nobles was led by the eight dukes. They were sitting a few meters away from the Throne, just next to the Royal Academy's Masters.

Although they sat in that position, it doesn't mean they were aligned with the Royal Academy. In fact, the Royal Academy's strength didn't come close to the strength of the noble houses.

They were a third separate entity within the kingdom that held control over the majority of the armed forces. The only one who could control them was the King. And he does it by balancing the power between Storm Tower, Royal Academy, and the nobles.

"It is not. There hasn't been a demonic invasion in ages." Another Duke shook his head. "It is something else."

"Don't be so sure, Kaladin. We are responsible for protecting the West Coast. We can't take any chances." Duke Forest said bleakly.

If it were really a demonic invasion, they would have to gather the army and leave for the West Coast promptly. Or else, the entire West Coast would be covered in blood before they could do anything.

While most people forgot what demons could do because of the long-lasting peace, he had personally seen their cruelty when he went on demon-quelling expeditions. These creatures were one and the same with carnage. They exist to hunt, kill, and consume everything in their way.

Once a demon invasion starts, many would die. Stopping it early would be the best option.

"I agree. We can't take this lightly." Corvinus added. "So when will the reply come?" He asked.

Zolt adjusted his navy blue robe made out of luxury material to the side and said,

"Any minute now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Zolt had personally sent the message and asked a mage to investigate.

"If it is a demon invasion, do you have a plan to respond?"

"We are here to discuss that, Master Corvinus." Zolt raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's right. And we are also here to discuss what we should do if it isn't a demon invasion. After all, we need to know why the lighthouse, a strategic tool of the kingdom, was destroyed."

Corvinus was insinuating that someone needs to take responsibility for it and be punished.

No, his target was not Zephyr.

Zephyr was a small fry, an insignificant person in front of a goliath like Corvinus. His target was among the higher-ups of the tower.

By trying to tie them to the issue, he wanted to gain some advantage. Mainly when recruiting the next generation of mages.

The Royal Academy, as the name suggests, was a premier educational institution of the kingdom that trained both knights and mages.

However, the storm tower had the right to make the first pick among the students who participated in talent grading exams. Because of this, the number of highly talented students joining the mage class of the academy was gradually decreasing.

Zephyr was one of the students who passed the talent grading examination with flying colors and was later picked by the Storm Tower to be part of them.

At that time, Corvinus was green with envy, thinking that a good seed like Zephyr was slipping away from his hand. The storm tower had also mocked him and his academy while taking in Zephyr. But later, his envy turned to pure joy when he realised that Zephyr was just a defective mage with a good trait.

Still, he was unwilling to let a talented person slip away from his hand again. For that, he needed to get the right to make the first pick.

He had to get it…

He firmly believed that and was waiting for the tower to make some mistake. And fortunately, they did.

The lighthouse that the failed genius was working in exploded abruptly. It was his opportunity to take them down a peg.

"We will provide you with a satisfactory answer," Zolt replied.

At that exact moment, a messenger arrived and requested to enter, then walked into the opulent great hall.

The noble council, Royal Academy members, and the Storm Tower Masters all turned towards the man wearing a mage robe.

The man stopped, bowed, then walked a few meters forward and knelt in front of the throne.

"We received a reply from the west. There seems to be an artificial fog blocking the area around the lighthouse. The mage we sent to investigate believes it is a high-level fog formation. They are requesting back-up." The messenger spoke and stayed silent.

"Is that it?" Corvinus asked, unsatisfied by what he heard.

"We have yet to receive any information after that." The mage raised his head and said.

"Is it the demons?" A duke asked.

"There was no mention of demons."

"Anything about the lighthouse?"

"They failed to navigate through the fog and had to step back and ask for reinforcement."

"When will the next message come?"

"I…"

The messenger hesitated. He really had no idea when the next message would come through.

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