The next day, commoners woke up to constables and other members of the government going around the streets using loudspeaker trinkets which broadcasted their voice far and wide. The content of the message made many commoners rub their ears and wonder if they had heard right.
"All hail our previous King Jeffrey Lanthanore who breathed his last after dedicating his life to the service of the Kingdom of Lanthanor. Tomorrow morning, we will be honoring him in the ancient way: a march through the central street which leads from the gate of the inner city to the gate of the outer city. May his name be remembered forever!"
Listening to the announcement that was being broadcasted again and again, everyone finally realized that they had indeed heard right. The previous King?! Many didn't even know his name unless they were told by their parents or grandparents, because it had already been 60 years since the present King had taken command.
All humans who crossed into the Warrior realm from the Human realm enjoyed a life span of 200 years, due to stepping beyond the first major threshold that limited the human body. In contrast, most commoners only lived up to an age of 80, thus it was quite common that many assumed that the previous King had passed away long ago. Now realizing that he had lived for a very long time, they were once again amazed by the incredible benefits obtained by those who trained to reach the peak. Alas, without talent and resources, it was only possible to dream about reaching such heights themselves.
The announcers first finished with the Capital City before departing to all of the villages in the country side using the army's teleportation corp. Thus, when Daneel heard the announcement, it was already late afternoon. He had slept through the night and the morning due to the utter exhaustion from teleporting such a large object.
As the sound of the announcement drifted into his ears, the first thing he felt was relief. Daneel had never trusted the time line give by Radagast: he had already inquired from the system that lifespan would decrease with exertion. In fact, from the disinterest shown by the priests in him and the events that followed after he left, he realized that it was possible that the priest's plan had been indeed so; to make the King move to decrease his already limited lifespan.
Thus, he had spent the last three years doing everything he could to be ready in case events progressed faster than he expected. This was the valuable lesson he had learnt from selling the honey trap solution: things could always cross his expectations and bite him in the behind if he wasn't prepared.
In fact, he had set both long term and short term goals for each year, so that if the struggle did start, he would be prepared. In his mind, five years would have been perfect, because there were still some plans afoot that would increase his chances of victory. Yet, he would now have to make do with three.
Getting up from the underground room and climbing up the stairs, he was greeted by the marvelous smell of his mother's meat pie. He now knew that the meat in this world came from an animal that looked like a cross between a duck and a chicken, with a sharp beak and white feathers. Over time, he had started to enjoy this meat which his mother always cooked excellently.
Over the past few years, he had been regularly visiting his parents every month or so by borrowing the minister's space mage as he had not been powerful enough to teleport large distances. Of course, this was only after ensuring there was no surveillance. Now that he had broken through, he could do so himself.
His parents had settled into a life in the country side quite happily. There was a small farm which they tended to with the help of some boys they had hired in the village, and Daneel always brought supplies with him whenever he came. They had later told him that this was exactly what they had planned as a young couple for their future: to retire comfortably to a village like this and live their life peacefully.
Daneel felt happy that his parents were both safe and happy. Each time he came to visit, the love they showered on him made him work even harder to tackle the dangers that threatened him and his family. He was also very grateful to the minister who made everything possible, while also helping him out immensely by being the financial intermediary between the King and his 'master'.
Knowing that the King would soon be asking for his decision regarding the long range teleportation, Daneel prepared to go back to his room in the academy.
The only thing that puzzled him was the reason behind hosting the funeral. He wondered why the King chose to do so despite knowing that all the hostile forces in the Kingdom were waiting for exactly this moment.
Arriving at his room, he started thinking about what exactly the motive could be.
His room was very different from three years ago, with many black marks on the walls as if explosions took place regularly. Balls of various metals were strewn around the ground haphazardly, and the portable furnace in the corner of the room looked heavily worn, as if it was being regularly used.
Sitting down on the bed, Daneel started analyzing everything he knew about the situation. He knew for a fact that the main thing stopping everyone from attacking was a powerful formation that protected the palace. This information was actually given by his father, who had heard about this when he was in the military.
It was most probable that the formation needed someone powerful to command it, and the Grand Court Mage nor the King were nowhere close enough to the level required. In this crucial time, if the King wanted to save himself and his family while not running away, he had to do one thing: make a show of force.
Daneel very much suspected that this was true. If there was some new player in the game who would replace the King and have equal control over the formation, then the others would have no choice but to wait again. Yet, this wasn't an easy feat because even when compared to the surrounding Kingdoms, the previous King's level did not fall far behind from the top existences in those locations.
Calling Joshua to his room using a trinket, he gave a few orders and spent the rest of the day training. He had just broken through to a 4th Stage Eminent Human Mage, and he still needed to test out and consolidate his powers.
The next day, a cordon was placed in the central street making everyone stick to the side. Crowds of people flocked to the alleyways, hoping to get a glimpse of the figure who had lived for such a long time.
Mixed in the crowds were many people whose sharp eyes constantly looked around while waiting for the procession to start. One would be able to see that there were at least three such types of people, each dressed differently but keeping an eye on each other.
Thus, few noticed the teenagers mixed in the crowd who were doing the exact same thing but in a more subdued manner. Tension seemed to be high, as the crowd's chattering died down into utter silence on hearing the gate to the outer city start opening.
With a loud DONG, the much awaited funeral finally began.
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