Chapter 318: Undercurrent
Translator: Atla.s.studios Editor: Atla.s.studios
The bright suns.h.i.+ne pa.s.sed through the window pane and illuminated the gorgeous hall. A young girl was half-lying on a woven blanket made of white feathers. She closed her eyes lazily, as if she were resting. In front of her, several women wearing silver armor stood respectfully while wearing a serious expression.
“Your Royal Highness, the parliament has denied all of our allegations and has rejected our request to send people to investigate.”
“It’s not surprising.”
Lydia turned around, raising her hands high and stretching her body. Then she stood and walked towards the window. She was watching the bustling, beautiful Golden City below.
“The rats always like to hide in the darkness while keeping the food they stole… Rats that use a despicable method to gain the power will surely never expect themselves to be targeted by others… After all, corrupted soil can never grow a beautiful flower. What else did they say?”
“They also said that… because of your existence, our investigation has no credibility at all, so the parliament has decided to organize a group to investigate.”
“Oh?”
Her eyes were gleaming.
“This is really interesting. I remember that I never gave them my approval.”
“I am very sorry, Your Highness.”
The woman in the forefront quickly bowed in panic.
“We have also expressed opposition, but… the parliament has obtained the permission of the Dragon of Light.”
Hearing this remark, Lydia closed her eyes. Then, she looked up. She bathed in the bright suns.h.i.+ne as her six wings reflected the sun’s radiance which added a psychedelic l.u.s.ter to them. Lydia stood there quietly for a few minutes. After that, she sighed and began to speak once again.
“The radiance of the sun will always exist no matter when, where, and how. Whether the sky is clear or gloomy, it still won’t be able to cover the sun’s light. However, the gloomy weather still makes me feel somewhat unhappy.”
Having said that, Lydia waved her hand.
“Alright, notify the Holy Cross Guards. I hope they can thoughtfully welcome our guest, who is coming from afar. The Munn Kingdom is a small country, and if we have poor hospitality and neglect them, it would be very impolite to the guests.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Hearing this sentence, the woman’s face turned serious. She bowed and turned around to leave.
Just then, a lady-in-waiting hurriedly ran into the room. She lifted her skirt and bowed, then whispered to Lydia. Hearing her report, Lydia gently frowned and quickly issued an order.
“Invite them in.”
The lady-in-waiting dismissed herself and soon, heavy footsteps could be heard. Three people walked into the room. The first one to enter was an old mage. He was rubbing his beard while grinning as he looked at Lydia and he bowed towards her.
“It is a great relief to see that you’re as healthy as usual, Your Highness.”
“You don’t have to be so modest, Teacher Amund.”
Hearing the old mage’s greeting, Lydia chuckled. Then, crisp laughter echoed in the room, and even the two people behind the old mage fell into a panic.
“Didn’t we travel together before? It shouldn’t be too long since we last saw each other. These two are…”
Hearing Lydia’s words, the old mage turned sideways, and at this time, a man who stood behind the old mage immediately came up and bowed to Lydia. He looked about 40 years old, and his height was up to two meters tall. Heavy armor wrapped around his strong and st.u.r.dy body. His square-shaped face was filled with heroic spirit, and with his combed dark brown hair, he looked scrupulous, like a regular military commander. The most eye-catching part about him was the scar on his mouth, extending from his lips to his brow bone and completely destroying his originally handsome face, but also because of this scar, part of his eyes and mouth were deflated, making him looked scary.
However, Lydia looked at the man with equanimity. After thinking for a while, she smiled and said, “Ah, Ashram… Long time no see. Speaking of it, the last time we met was at the Dragon Soul Festival four years ago. Even now, your impressive swordsmans.h.i.+p skills are still deeply etched in my mind.”
“It’s my pleasure to have gotten your attention, Your Highness.”
Ashram smiled, making his face look stiffer. However, Lydia didn’t seem to be dissatisfied with him. To the contrary, she even reached out both of her hands as if she were admiring Ashram’s face like it was artwork.
“The reason I came here is to report something back to you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s like this.”
Having said that, Ashram paused as if he were organizing his wording in his mind. After a while, he finally spoke.
“Something bad happened in Soraka Mountain recently.”
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Lidya twitched her brows.
“Your Highness must know that Soraka Mountain has always been the border between us, the Country of Darkness, and the Country of Light. Also, it is nominally under our jurisdiction, but in fact, it belongs to the scope of self-government. We have maintained a good relations.h.i.+p, but recently, strange rumors have been revolving around Soraka Mountain.”
Having said that, Ashram stretched out his hand and handed a letter to Lydia. After she took it, Ashram continued to speak.
“It is rumored that the people of Soraka Mountain want to leave our jurisdiction and seek refuge in the Country of Darkness. Although I initially thought that this was merely a rumor, soon, the news spread further. Not only did it spread among travelers, but also the people of Northland. In the end, I received this from Soraka’s governor…”
“…”
Lydia opened the letter and carefully read it. After she finished, she put the letter down and sat while closing her eyes.
“Interesting… When did this happen, Ashram?”
“Not long after the trade route got attacked…”
“Do you have enough evidence to support the statement in this letter?”
“We have done our best, Your Highness, but nothing has been found. As you know, I also can’t move the troops too obviously since it’s a border area. If I did so, our intentions might be misunderstood by the Country of Darkness and…”
“I understand what you mean, Ashram.”
Lydia stretched out her right hand and prevented Ashram from falling into a panic.
“You have done well. This clue is very important to us, and I believe that you and your subordinates did your very best to meet my expectations… but, as you know, this matter is indeed a little bit troublesome. I believe that the people of Northland won’t betray us for no reason. The sea may reveal its unknown side at night, but it still cannot cover its clear, beautiful nature… unless it is contaminated with impurities. ”
As she said this, she paused and stood up.
“Amund, what do you think?”
“Forgive me for being frank, Your Highness.”
After Lydia called out his name, the old mage came out.
“The Northland’s situation is too chaotic; as Ashram has said, we are unable to do a large-scale investigation because not only is the Country of Darkness involved, we also have to consider the ‘merchants’ that have been planning something behind us.”
What Amund said was true.
Soraka’s location was too sensitive, located at the junction of the Munn Kingdom, the Country of Light, and the Country of Darkness. It was originally an empty zone, but it was precisely because of this that Soraka Mountain brought many unexpected factors. The races that resided there were mostly human, but there were also dark creatures like vampires and necromancers. According to the rules of the ‘Genesis Code’, Dragon Soul holders had the power to rule their own people. Naturally, Soraka Mountain was a disputed area.
Since the very beginning, both parties were not very concerned about this area, but with the discovery of astronomical crystal mines in Soraka Mountain, it immediately gained attention from the two major forces. In order to obtain this mineral resource and occupy this area, there were hundreds of large and small-scale war between the Country of Darkness and the Country of Light, and this even reached the scale of an all-out war.
However, in the end, under the restraint of the Dark and Light Dragons, the war did not break out. After mutual agreement, Soraka Mountain remained neutral and was nominally put under the Munn Kingdom’s jurisdiction. The result was something that both the Country of Darkness and Country of Light barely could accept. Because although the Munn Kingdom was a supporter of Light Dragon, they had a bad relations.h.i.+p with the ruler of the Country of Light. To the contrary, their relations.h.i.+p with the Country of Darkness was not bad. This fact made the people from the parliament unhappy. From their point of view, the Munn Kingdom was ruled by angels, and as an angel and supporter of the Light Dragon, how could they show their goodwill towards the evil forces of darkness?
However, to the Munn Kingdom, it wasn’t a big deal. Even though the Five Creator Dragons created this world together, the relations.h.i.+p between them had not changed. They just had different beliefs because they had their own goals and opinions. This was similar to “I like Western food, but you like Chinese food. Just because you don’t eat Western food, we can’t be a friend…” It was a total joke. Despite ‘light and darkness are irreconcilable’ and ‘the people of the Country of Darkness and the Dark Dragon are evil and need to be eliminated’ were advocated by the Parliament of Country of Light, it was only because their own understanding towards the Dragon of Light that was completely different from the truth. It really couldn’t be imagined how the people from the parliament who said that ‘the Country of Darkness is evil and should be completely wiped out’ would react when they knew that Country of Darkness was also as serious about wiping out the evil. Most likely, they would pretend to not have seen it.
However, the Munn Kingdom also realized that this mission was a burden because the influence of the Light Dragon had decreased and was replaced by the parliament’s own belief. The Country of Darkness also gradually began to lose their respect towards the Country of Light and they barely maintained the original peace and mutual recognition between them. However, since the Dragon of Light couldn’t achieve its mission and the parliament that held authority that was not friendly to the Country of Darkness, the other party was naturally also reluctant to befriend them. Followed by this imbalance, the danger of Soraka Mountain had once again emerged. The current Country of Darkness no longer had enough patience towards the Country of Light. Since the parliament needed to maintain its prestige among the people, they continuously glossed over the rhetoric that ‘the Country of Darkness is equal to evil’.
Now that the relation between the two countries was like two explosive barrels, just a little fire would cause it to detonate.
And Soraka Mountain was the source of that fire.
Certainly, Lydia knew that the parliament had been unable to forget the mineral resources in Soraka Mountain. If, at this time, they received news that the Country of Darkness had received that piece of land, it would be a big trouble. But just as Ashram had said, that area was too sensitive and no country’s military force would dare to enter it. For hundreds of years, the two sides had signed an agreement. Whether it was the Country of Light or the Country of Darkness, their flags stopped at the edge of Soraka Mountain and no one had ever dared to overstep it.
But perhaps this balance would now be broken.
There would soon be a storm that swept everything.
“I certainly understand what you mean, Teacher Amund.”
Lydia smiled, she walked to the window and looked down.
“But I already have an idea in mind… as Ashram had said, official interference has always been sensitive and p.r.o.ne to problems, but not all problems have no solutions. Since we cannot do it ourselves, then we can commission someone to do it.”
“What do you mean…?”
Hearing until here, the old mage frowned. He worriedly looked at Lydia. It seemed like he understood her intention.
“But, those people…”
“You have to be confident in my decision, Teacher. I already have the best candidate… I hope they will not disappoint me.”
Speaking until here, Lydia smiled. She looked at Ashram and nodded at him.
“Then, Ashram, you can go back and rest. I will prepare for everything next. At that time… I hope I will have your help.”
Hearing these words, Ashram lowered his head and bowed towards Lydia.