Skkrag did not keep them waiting. In a decisive voice, he spelled out the request of the Hidden Kill Sect.
"In return, the Hidden Kill Sect requests the aid of the personage who enabled Your Majesty to master the legendary Dragon Heart Formation in very little time."
Daneel's heart suddenly tightened as he heard the request. Although his expression was the same, a storm of emotions were swirling in his mind right now.
The information about the time and level required for one to master the Dragon Heart Formation which protected the Royal Palace of Lanthanor was quite well known. Yet, in the eyes of the enemies and even the ministers themselves, Daneel had somehow managed to circumvent this and take full control of the palace.
Many guessed that it was definitely because of a figure that stood behind him.
Although some suggested that it might be because of an item, those who were informed about the world of trinkets scoffed at these notions. Such items, which enabled one to immediately master a formation without needing to be at a specific power level, were unheard of in the continent of Angaria.
The closest trinkets to these were the ones like what the Withering Leaf Sect had left behind- those which hastened the speed of comprehending a formation in order to master it.
In fact, this in itself was a very limited use case. Trinkets such as these only worked on unmastered formations. A unique situation like the one Lanthanor had found itself in was very rare, where an unmastered formation left an important location ripe for takeover by hostile forces.
Due to all these reasons combined, most, if not all, suspected that there was someone behind Daneel who enabled him to take control of the formation and secure his place on the throne. This could easily be accomplished by a Formation Master enabled with close access to the root of a formation with a communication trinket, exactly like what Daneel had done. After all, Formation Masters were those who spent decades studying and understanding different formations thereby increasing their skill in them. Yet, this also required a very high-level master in order to have such a high speed of comprehension.
Of course, the people who discussed these matters were only in the higher echelons of the Kingdom. All the commoners knew or cared about was that there was now someone on the throne who cared about them.
Daneel's plan had been to let the rumors stay unanswered. With time, they would either fade away due to lack of proof or be forgotten due to the reason that no such figure would come in front of the general public.
Although it wasn't a very good solution, it was the only one he had. After all, this was not the only occurrence where a master supposedly expelled from the Big Four took interest in an individual and helped them to reach a certain position in exchange for some benefits. Daneel had already been told by the system about such cases in the past, which was the reason he even decided on the plan to storm the palace and the Dragon Heart in the first place.
In cases like these, the Big Four were known to turn a blind eye unless their own interests were affected. Thus, this was also what gave Eldinor the gall to demand an audience. This, and the fact that the personage was definitely below the level of a Champion, which was evidenced by the logic that such a person could simply break down the formation directly with a fist.
Hence, it was not surprising that Skkrag knew of the 'master' behind him. What was troubling was that he needed the aid of this non-existent master.
Daneel was the master! And there would be no way he could leave the Kingdom and go to their Sect on their request, especially at such a crucial time when so many things needed to be handled. There was one way, but Daneel was too far from the level required to even think about using that method.
He was only even considering this because he knew the value of what the sect offered.
100 Fighter Assasins and 100 Mage Assasins! Any Kingdom would be willing to pay any price required for such an offer.
Strategically, a single well-trained Fighter or Mage Assasin would equal 100 regular individuals on their level. This was simply a modest estimate, but it was true that this was the figure quoted by the Sect when they gave the price for their contracts.
In fact, Daneel wished there was a way to go himself. The system would definitely be able to develop many, many precious techniques from the experience.
Seeing the King ponder on the matter with an expression of consternation, sweat started to form on the back of the scaled man's neck.
"We have already offered the most important thing we can!", he thought, frustrated at the silence that stretched in the room.
Gritting his teeth, Skkrag proceeded to speak the words he had been ordered to in case the request did not garner a positive answer.
"Your Majesty, we assure you that we mean no harm to the personage. We even do not require his presence right now. In around one year's time, on the auspicious occasion of the Hundred-Year Blood Moon, we request his aid in mastering the Basilisk Heart Formation which lies underneath our Sect. As you must know, this is a peculiar formation whose root is only exposed for a specific hour of time every hundred years. The Basilisk Heart of the Hidden Kill Sect holds the founding treasures of our Sect inside. As payment, the personage can ask for any one item out of these, regardless of whether it is an ancient trinket or the ancient assassination arts of our sect."
Skkrag felt his heart almost breaking in two as he stated these terms. The matter of the Basilisk Heart Formation was indeed something which plagued the leaders of the sect in the past few centuries of the sect's existence. Aside from asking help from the Big Four who would demand a much higher payment, they had tried everything else.
Now, with no other option, the sect had decided to give up one item. Yet, Skkrag felt heart broken over even this because these were the items given to the sect by their forefathers in order to be used when the Sect grew powerful enough to access the heart, or when they faced a Sect-ending calamity.
The conditions during the time of founding had been different, and the sect had wallowed in its present power for centuries with no means to compete with stronger forces. Thus, it was their hope to master the formation, extract the items and try to grow stronger in the continent of Angaria.
As Daneel saw the expression on Skkrag's face as if he were giving up something he cherished very deeply, he realized that the items were definitely very precious.
Yet, he wasn't someone who would risk everything without a reason. But, the point of the matter was that he had a year's time. In a year, he would be able to use the method he had considered before but rejected due to his low power level.
"All right. Give me a day's time to present you with an answer."
Relieved that it hadn't been a straight no, Skkrag sat back down and tried to control his emotions.
Since the matter of speaking with all of the envoys was done, it was time for Daneel to dismiss them and get to the matters pertaining to the Kingdom.
"Envoys, I thank you for gracing Lanthanor with the messages and gifts from your respective forces. You will receive my answers by noon tomorrow."
Knowing that they were dismissed, the three remaining envoys stood up and bowed again with a respect that was definitely greater than what had existed at the time the Royal Court began. As they walked out, the doors closed behind them.
Besides understanding the general attitude each ally had for the Kingdom, Daneel also felt that he matured a bit after undergoing the pressure that came from Eldinor's stance. He now knew that being a King meant being able to use his words just as effectively as he could use his fist, or in some cases, his mageroot.
The decisions regarding both of the requests could be made by tomorrow, but it was now time to address the promise he had made to the citizens who cheered his name until their throats became sore.
It was time to announce the decision he had made regarding the fates of the Nobility of the Kingdom of Lanthanor.
Comments