"I'll do it. Of course the King cursed at you Aran, you almost called him a fool! I've got a good feeling about this, so just leave it to me."
As a determined look appeared on Cassandra's face, the man in casual clothes who had just been called Aran snickered before saying, "You said that last time you lost 50 Gold Lans gambling. Anyway, do it. He's waiting, and this army is getting more fidgety by the second."
Although the trio knew time was tight, they could not help but use casual conversation to get their emotions in control first. This was a defense mechanism they had developed over the years; regardless of the situation, they would often talk casually so that they could forget whatever was burdening them for at least for a second. This would allow them to use that second to relax and come back swinging to tackle stuff more effectively.
Of course, the third man seldom talked, although he seemed to like being a part of those conversations even if he merely responded when directly asked something.
Also, it was just that there were too many memories of situations when talking back even if it were to point out something crucial resulted in them being scorned and ignored. Many times, they wondered what Lanthanor would do if it weren't for these walls which still managed to protect the Kingdom even with the King's many selfish decisions.
Nodding and choosing to ignore Aran's jibe, a serious expression came back on Cassandra's face. The same happened with the other two; unlike the atmosphere before, they now gave off the air of commanders who had marched countless times on the most dangerous of battlefields.
"My Lord, although it may be true that the enemy army wants to take advantage of the present situation, it is highly improbable that they have allied with the two forces which attacked the palace. Axelor is known to have irreconcilable conflicts with the two forces. With the facts as they are, it is more possible that Axelor hoped that the King would divert resources to protect himself, leaving the border open for assault. If they can break through and obtain a foothold in the countryside, then they would be able to form a link between the two Kingdoms putting them in a position to exact pressure on the capital city by closing it off. At that point, even if someone obtains the oathstone, it would be very difficult to face an army attacking from both forward and behind. This has been their goal for a long time."
As Daneel heard this, he felt glad that he had chosen to ask for advice rather than give his analysis as a fact. Incidentally, this would be quite clear to someone who analyzed the situation from a point of view which excluded the information that the Vice Sect Master was in possession of an ancient trinket which would save the day.
If such a trinket didn't exist, then the King would definitely order at least a part of the army to enter the city to quell the attacking forces. This would mean that there would be a deficiency at the border, which Axelor could use to attack and break through.
Only, due to the existence of the trinket, the King made the weird(to those watching) decision of sending all the soldiers to the border. This had, in fact, made the enemy army halt seeing that things weren't the way they thought.
Daneel realized that he hadn't even questioned this decision as he had been too focused on reaching the dragon heart and just glad that there weren't many soldiers.
Now that he thought about it, it all made perfect sense.
"Then Axelor simply attacked wanting to use the chaos arising from the Royal Family being purged? If the chaos is what they were aiming for, doesn't it mean that they would possibly retreat if we show them that everything is fine?"
The expressions of relief that came from hearing Daneel speak normally were followed by ones of slight admiration on hearing the new analysis. Indeed, this was the conclusion they had also reached, yet their new King had reached the same even though he said he had no experience with war.
"Yes, My Lord. Although they must have spies in Lanthanor relaying them live updates, they must be hesitating to turn back because it is actually a huge expenditure of resources to move such a large army with such short notice. Just a push might hasten their decision."
"Alright. Do you have the means to transport something small to the border quickly?"
A few minutes later.
The commander of the Axelorian Army sat in a tent which had been hastily erected on realizing that things in Lanthanor weren't turning out in the way they hoped. Instead of chaos from the Nobility dying, there was unification and cheering for a new King that came out of nowhere.
Having spent a huge amount of resources to transport the army over, he was reluctant to just leave.
The first dent was when he received news of the King's orders to send the full army to the borders. Already underway to the border and still expecting the King to make the logical choice and send a partial army which would allow him to break through with force, he had been hopelessly frustrated seeing that the spies had been true.
The second dent was the news of the new King, almost making him decide to leave. Yet, he still waited, hoping that some sort of turmoil might occur which might give him a chance.
"Commander! On the walls! There's a panel, sir!"
A soldier ran to his tent and saluted before uttering these words, prompting him to run out and see for himself just what was going on.
On the border wall, a panel showed a young man with hands behind his back standing in front of an enormous Dragon Heart which seemed to beat as if it were alive.
Although the panel wasn't very large measuring at 40 inches diagonally, he could still see and hear the message clearly due to his heightened senses from being an Exalted Human Fighter.
"Army of Axelor. I am Daneel Anivron, newly proclaimed King of Lanthanor.
"Under my rule, you can bet that we will take revenge for all the soldiers who lost their lives beating back your assaults on our borders. Just try attacking right now. I know that you dared to march on our border with your full army hoping that a barren wall would greet you.
"Instead, what greets you is the might of a united Lanthanor that will tear you to pieces and throw you back to your Kingdom for vultures to feed on.
"Either choose to face the consequences, or just scurry back to wherever you came from like the rats you are."
Each word made the commander's face redder and redder, while he bristled with an anger which tempted him to give the order to attack. Yet, he knew that if their full army engaged and got into a prolonged fight, his own Kingdom would be in danger. Their only chance had been to break through in one go, but that was now clearly impossible.
Thus, however much he wished to charge forth and stamp down on the new King's smug face, he called for a retreat. Appalled expressions appeared on the soldier's faces as they realized that they really did have to scamper back without a response like the man in the panel had said.
Meanwhile, the same speech had also been shown in the panels around the city. As the image shifted to the enemy army at the border turning back with drooping shoulders and marching away, many gasped with shock at the enormous size of the threat the Kingdom had been facing without their knowledge.
With this sight, the cheers which had started to quieten down only grew in intensity, as the people of Lanthanor saw Daneel drive away an enemy army just within a few minutes of being proclaimed as King. If anyone still had a slight doubt regarding Daneel's eligibility for the throne, that doubt was now shattered seeing his incredible performance just moments after taking charge.
Daneel smiled seeing this, enjoying the satisfaction that came from hitting two birds with one stone.
Putting the eye-shaped trinket back in his pocket and cutting off the transmission, he proceeded to walk back to the dragon claw to finally speak to the Vice Sect Master.
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