Chapter 495: The Thing That May Destroy The World
Within the Kraetor Army Encampment, the Young Empress tossed and turned on her soft bed. For some reason, she was feeling anxious.
She had asked the Protectors of the Kraetor Empire to interfere with the war in order to give William some breathing s.p.a.ce. This would allow the Half-Elf to feel indebted to her, and would become the foundation with the follow up she was preparing when morning came.
Although the Elves’ had acquired two more powerful Guardians by their side, she was confident that the plan she had in mind would still be doable. However… a sudden feeling of anxiousness crept over her heart, and she didn’t know where it was coming from.
< Can’t sleep? >
Morgana hugged her other half who seemed to be feeling restless. Both of them shared the same body, so it was only natural that she could sense Sidonie’s current mood.
‘I’m feeling restless,’ Sidonie replied. ‘I feel like something unexpected is going to happen tomorrow.’
Morgana nodded her head. Things had really taken a different turn from how this war was supposed to turn out. The first variable was William acquiring the help of the Minotaur Race.
The second one was the arrival of the Two Guardians of the Silvermoon Continent.
< Everything that happens once can never happen twice. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time. >
‘Big Sister, you’re not helping.’
Morgana chuckled and lightly pinched Sidonie’s ear inside their shared mindscape.
< Worrying about things outside of your control is a waste of time. Just focus on the things that you can control. Regardless of what happens, we will know when morning comes. For now, rest. You will be able to think clearly once you are properly rested. >
‘Big Sister, take over for me.’
< Okay. >
Morgana took over Sidonie’s body while the latter weaved a coc.o.o.n inside their shared mindscape. This was the only way to forcefully get herself to sleep at night without worrying about the outside world.
Since her other half was manning the helm, she could rest easily without any worries.
Morgana hummed a lullaby as she lay on the soft bed. It was not only Sidonie who was feeling anxious. She was only able to hide it better since she was the Young Empress’ pillar of support.
“Darling, don’t do anything stupid,” Morgana said softly, as she closed her eyes to rest.
—–
Inside the Royal Palace of the h.e.l.lan Kingdom…
William, Conner, King Minos, Prince Alaric, and a few others gathered inside the conference room.
A few minutes ago, the discussion had been heated, but now, everyone was silent. Although the walls of the city were strong, it wouldn’t take long for the Elves to break them.
Conner had come clean and admitted that the only spell that they could use at the moment was the restriction of flight. This included Flight Magic.
So, they didn’t have to worry about the Magical Beasts, or the Elves, using their wind Magic to soar past the walls and engage them in combat.
Even so, that didn’t change the fact that they could just bombard the walls with strong magical attacks from afar.
King Minos may be able to keep Drauum occupied, but there were four more Guardians to worry about. William had also used up his Heroic Avatar, and had to wait for a week before he could use it again.
“Looks like a battle inside the city is imminent,” Jekyll said as he leaned back in his seat. “Still, I don’t understand. Why are the walls protecting the Second Level of the city more st.u.r.dy than the city gates?”
“It is because the third King of the h.e.l.lan Kingdom was paranoid and was afraid of a Coup D’etat,” Conner smirked. “In case the ma.s.ses were swayed by his younger brother, he decided to reinforce the secondary walls that separated the n.o.ble district from the commoners.
This way, he would be able to hold back any kind of rebellion and still come out on top. Well, I guess the genes of betrayal are part of the Royal Bloodline.”
Conner had dealt with both princes of the h.e.l.lan Kingdom, so he knew what he was talking about. Lionel and Rufus were perfect examples of brothers who wanted to topple each other in order to gain the throne of the Kingdom.
William listened to the discussion half-heartedly because he was thinking of something else. The bodies of Erchitu, and the members of his Legion were now inside his Thousand Beast Domain.
He had visited a few hours ago and saw Kasogonaga’s and the others’ sad expressions, as they mourned beside the bodies of their comrade at arms. It was a heartbreaking scene, and William had to use all of his willpower to prevent his tears from falling.
Aside from Erchitu, Bastian had also died.
Spire barely managed to survive due to Ella’s protection, and was currently recovering from its injuries. William knew that when morning came, the proud Guardian would once again rise to its feet, and fight with its head held high.
This time, William had a feeling that Spire and the others would also depart from the land of the living and it made him feel helpless.
While he was deep in his thoughts, the meeting continued. It was Conner, Prince Alaric, and King Minos that steered the conversation. However, the Leader of Deus needed everyone’s cooperation, so William was not spared from his inquiry.
“William, you already know our current state,” Conner said. “Do you have any suggestions on how we can live past tomorrow? If you don’t have any then that girl seated beside you might be the next one to die.”
Wendy glared at Conner, and the latter just smirked.
She was seated on William’s right, and Est was seated on William’s left. Since Conner didn’t know Est’s secret, the Leader of Deus was referring to no one else but her.
“Next to be dead…,” William muttered softly.
It was at that moment when an idea materialized inside his head. An idea that he had buried for the time being because he was too busy for the past few weeks.
William knew that what he planned to do might come back to bite him in the future. But, would there still be a future if he didn’t survive when morning came?
“I need to go somewhere,” William said as he raised his head to look at Conner. “It might take a while before I return, but I promise that I will return.”
“Meaning, you want us to buy you some time?” Conner frowned. “How much time do you need? An hour after sunrise? Two hours?”
The Leader of Deus smiled wryly as he eyed William. He was hoping that the boy still had other tricks that he was still saving for tomorrow’s battle, but the latter only said that he had to go somewhere.
As someone that had climbed up in his position, Conner was not unfamiliar with betrayal. Although he knew that the possibility was small, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that William was just saying these things, so that he could escape.
Right now, the Elves wanted him dead, except for a few like Ezkalor, Zyphon, and Princess Eowyn. All of them wanted to get their hands on William, so that they could torture him and lock him up.
“I don’t want to say this, but, are you planning to escape?” Conner inquired.
“William is no coward,” Est replied as he stared fearlessly at Conner. “You don’t know the battles that he has fought. Battles where his chances of winning were next to nothing. He-“
“Hold there young man. I’m not saying that William is a coward,” Conner stopped Est on whatever he was about to say next. “I just want to know what he plans on doing while we die to buy him some time. Am I asking for too much? I think not.”
Conner didn’t care about William’s accomplishments. He had seen many upright individuals that had turned coat in order to save their own hides. In Conner’s eyes, no one was innocent, not even the Saintess of the Silvermoon Continent.
“I’m sorry. But, I can’t tell you,” William said after organizing his thoughts.
Conner nodded his head. “I see. Well, in that case, we don’t have anything more to talk about. If you want to escape then go ahead. I will not stop you. My men and I won’t die for your sake.”
Conner stood up from his seat and prepared to leave the room. But, before doing so, he gave William one last glance and left his parting words.
“I expected more from you,” Conner stated. “Looks like I overestimated a child.”
He then walked towards the exit of the conference room and never looked back. Conner had spent hours thinking about how they could win against the Elves, but nothing came to mind. In truth, he was just looking for an excuse.
The Leader of Deus had already made up his mind before he gathered everyone to have a meeting. Since there was no chance of victory then he would just do what he needed to do and that was to… survive.
“Humans are truly interesting,” King Minos said a minute after Conner had left the conference room. “They like to put on an act in order to justify themselves. That man had already decided to leave from the start. He is a very smart person.”
The King of the Minotaurs then raised his hand to cast a soundproofing barrier inside the Conference Room. no matter what was discussed inside, no one would be able to hear, nor see it, even if they used scrying magic.
“Tell me what you have in mind,” King Minos said. “We have already made an oath to you. Regardless of what happens, we are on your side.”
William stared long and hard at the King of Minotaurs before nodding his head. However, he didn’t say anything inside the conference room.
Instead, he asked for the two of them to talk in private.
Prince Alaric was also inside the room, and there were things that William didn’t want to share with his distant cousin, who was also the Crown Prince of the Zelan Dynasty.
—–
“… Are you serious?” King Minos looked at William with a dumbfounded expression.
The two of them went to William’s private quarters. There, the Half-Elf told the King of the Minotaurs about the Undying Lands, and the floating island where Avalon stood.
“I am serious,” William replied. “However, I don’t know if I will be able to succeed. If I fail, our Plan B is to return to the Minotaur Sanctuary. We don’t need needless sacrifice anymore. If the walls of the city are breached, gather everyone to the second level of the city.”
King Minos didn’t say anything and simply stared at William with a serious expression.
“Are you sure about this?” King Minos inquired. “That thing may destroy the world, you know?”
William sighed. He also didn’t want to do this. The only reason why he was doing so was due to Takam’s advice when the two of them had communicated through his Blood Eagle, Scadrez.
As long as a possibility existed, William was willing to take it.