novelArriving in Aazoon
| ← Ch.468 | Ch.470 → |
Pacing in his chambers, King Wilheim was playing out mental simulations of the sudden war that targeted his nation. Nearly all ended in catastrophe as even those where Aazoon was victorious it was accomplished at a great cost.
With his steed being readied for departure, all the king could do was wait and worry.
But the king's concentration was abruptly broken by the sound of footsteps within the room, other than his own. Wondering if he had been ignoring his messenger, King Wilheim turned around and was instead tackled to the ground without warning.
"Father!" Erina cried as she was finally able to see her father again.
"Erina... and Willim?" Unsure what to say or think, King Wilheim readjusted himself to the crowd of people that arrived via spatial rift, something the king had only seen done by Jack and his party."What's going on? How are you two here?"
"We brought them along, " stated Sterfen, stealing the king's attention."Willim warned us about Naparn arriving in Maldor and we thought it was unfair for them to have divine aid. So we're here to keep that from happening."
As most of his mental burdens were lifted by that statement, King Willim sighed, "Oh, thank Halmut..."
"No, thank Jack! Never thank that lying pestro of a dragon!" Lunara corrected the king's figure of speech, making sure to give credit where credit was due.
"Right... Sorry about that, " Wilheim chuckled along with the others at Lunara's comment."That means you're here to help, right? Will you be staying?"
Shaking her head, Lunara replied, "No, we're not staying here. I'll be living in Trodar from now on with my family."
"I see... Then you may as well leave now. Without a god in our borders, there's no point in us warring with Maldor. Even if you help repel them, they'll just come back time and time again..." stated the king, dejectedly.
"True, but we may have a plan to fix that, " added Sterfen.
Standing himself back up, King Wilheim gave the god a curious look."Really? If it can save this country then I'll do anything, even sacrifice myself."
"No need to die, King Wilheim, just make a decision. Abandon Aazoon--"
"What?!"
"Abandon Aazoon and come to Trodar, " Sterfen continued, not letting the king's startlement interrupt him."After reclaiming our former territories, Trodar is now about to war with Sandros. Though it's very different from this country, we'd be glad to offer the territory we win from the war to you and your people."
"Are you serious?! I accept!"
"No need to--"
King Wilheim energetically interrupted Sterfen, adding, "If you have the means to transport my people, I'll take any free land you have. There's no need to offer me a country."
"Then how about this?" Sterfen explained, "Limneer, Prachten, and Iscantor just rejoined Trodar but as independent Trodan territories. They're self-governed still but fly the Trodan flag along with their territorial flag. Churstin should be joining soon too, thanks to Choron's influence. Would it make you feel better to receive that land if you became a self-governed state within Trodar?"
King Wilheim thought about it for a few seconds but didn't take long to nod and smile."In exchange for protection and freedom from this threatening war, There's no need to think twice about it. Upon our arrival in Trodar, not only will we become a state under the Trodan flag, we'll aid Trodar in claiming the land that we'll inhabit."
"There's no doubt that you're an amazing king, Wilheim. I just hope your people and your family will agree, " sighed Sterfen.
"If they don't then they'll perish here, " stated Wilheim."Half of the surrounding nations have agreed to join Maldor or at least aid in their war to overrun Aazoon. There's no hope left for this country where it stands now."
"Then it seems we showed up at the right time. I'll make sure everything is ready. Can you bring all willing citizens to the capital via your teleportation circles? They still work, right?" Sterfen asked before informing Moranti about the update.
"Of course! Cut I'll call them here for a national conference before telling them. There, they'll choose to join me in Trodar or to face the invaders with hope that the invading armies be merciful to a kingless kingdom, " Wilmeim explained, surprising everyone with his decisiveness.
Lunara spoke up, looking to the rest of the party, "Then allow us to help your armies hold out until then. How long will you need to gather them for the conference?"
"I'll waive all travel fees and with the news about the war spreading, I think the people will understand if I hold the conference tomorrow."
"Wow... Are you always this impulsive?" Sterfen asked.
Nodding, Wilheim proudly replied, "Always! I've trusted my gut all my life and I'll continue to do so until it costs me my life!"
"He's always been like this, " added Willim, getting the party to nod and sigh.
'Moranti, Aazoon agreed. They'll hold a national conference tomorrow for us to send them to Trodar, ' Sterfen passed the information on.
'Great! Just make sure they gather tightly together before I show up and take them away. We don't want to forget anyone, right?'
'Right!'
Sterfen laughed as he returned to the conversation in the room."We'll be ready to transport them tomorrow, so long as they're gathered tightly together."
"Sounds easy enough to me." Wilheim shrugged and laughed. He found it hilarious how quickly his mindset was able to shift from the pits of despair to the heavens of hope."Is it really alright if--"
"It's fine!" Eliza shouted, not wanting the king to doubt Trodar, the guild, or Jack."We'll gladly have you in Trodar. You don't even have to offer your daughter like some people had to..."
"Hey! I think it worked out just fine!" Argyle shouted, not taking kindly to his daughter's verbal jabs.
"Oh? You're the one who paired them up?" Dargas glanced at Argyle, a smile coming to her lips."You are a sharp father..."
"Let's hurry up and get going. I've got an idea as to how we'll stall them. I'll need to run it by Rikko and Moranti first, but I'm sure they'll agree, " stated Sterfen, walking towards the door.
"Alright, but we'll take the wyrms, " replied Lunara, surprising King Wilheim."We couldn't bring them with last time so we can't forget them now. And since the nation will be run over, why not bring all of the wildlife along?"
"I'll leave that up to you, my dear." Sterfen smiled, happy to have such a smart woman in his life.
"Then Erina can ride on my back!" Lina shouted.
Maura shook her head."No, Lina. We'll need to save our energy. The wyrms can already travel so fast without any trouble, so let's just go with them."
"But..." Unhappy, Lina frowned and looked to her parents.
Lunara felt her heart soften and sighed, "Well... How about she rides your back after the war. Then she'll live in Trodar and you can play all the time."
"Okay..." Shrugging, Lina accepted that and gave in.
| ← Ch. 468 | Ch. 470 → |