After giving the command for the system to proceed, a second later, he appeared right in the center of the cavern, where a heated discussion seemed to be taking place.
He was standing, concealed, behind the Head and the kind old lady who had healed him, and on their faces, extreme frustration and even quite a bit of anger could be seen, which was quite strange as the latter was someone who was supposed to be able to stay calm no matter the situation, due to the experience obtained from all the centuries that she had spent living while watching all the happenings of the Order, and the continent.
What could it be that was infuriating even to this legendary G.o.ddess of Healing?
It took only a few seconds for this question to be answered, and as soon as Daneel understood the reason, his blood started to boil in his veins.
"Anyone who discusses this anymore is just a fool! Isn"t it simple? We all saw that gigantic figure in the air! There is no possible way that a Champion can create it, even if the Grand Inheritance is taken into the equation! I"ve even received news from some of my confidants who were present in the crowd! They all saw it with their elementary vision- it was real! And so, although it pains me to say it, the king who saved all of our lives really is a traitor! Only pairing up with the Church can explain it!"
"Yes! It must be an elaborate ruse to bring the continent under him without any bloodshed! I bet all those Heroes who we thought had died in the attack are just sitting somewhere, sipping wine and laughing at us! It"ll all seem fine at first, but before we know it, Angaria will have fallen to the enemy!"
"Now that I think about it… something similar must have happened when he brought down that creature who was acting as the Overseer, too! We heard his story about where he got those 100 Heroes… But none of us believe it! The Church must have given them to him to turn the tide, and earn our trust!"
"Oh, Heavens above! Yes, it all truly does come together! How blind have I been? I can"t believe I almost doomed Angaria to this cretin, thinking that he was our best hope! But what must we do?"
"Fear not! If the fight was a sham, then even the attack was fake! If all of us attack at once, we will thwart his plans! Right now, the priority is to convince those who are still thinking to join us!"
"Well said! Think about it, fellow Heroes! Is it really possible for someone with that background to rise, and keep rising, so much so that he can now defeat so many Heroes at once? Is it possible for someone who is a fraction of our age to surpa.s.s all of us, the true elite of the continent? All of us gathered here are those who do not have any patience with politics and other useless stuff that the rest concern themselves with- we only care about power, and all our time is spent trying to obtain as much as we can, for the good of our home… Hence, we are also the most knowledgeable when it comes to these matters! If we allow ourselves to be fooled without doubting even a bit about how something so fantastical can be possible, wouldn"t we be betraying the trust that has been placed on us by our weaker fellow members? If you"re not convinced, then why not simply help us to detain him, so that we can find out what means he used to bring about such an incredible victory? It would benefit the continent, and also remove all suspicion! Isn"t this reasonable? Listen to me, fellow Heroes, before it is too late! We cannot take any risks in this matter!"
The entire cavern quieted down during this impa.s.sioned speech, and the one who gave it was a Hero whom Daneel had not paid much attention to all these days.
But it wasn"t his words which rekindled the fury that had come into being after hearing of the reveal of his master"s ident.i.ty, as it was to be expected that people like these existed in the Order.
The reason behind his face turning almost completely red with rage…was the reaction that these words had on the rest.
Even those who had been thoughtful until now started to get doubt on their faces, as the argument started to make sense.
For some, the reason behind this was pride, and for others, it was jealousy.
"This is… Preposterous! They"re acting like common power-hungry idiots who just want to beat down someone who managed to get stronger than them so that they can take their secrets! After detaining the king, they"ll keep giving excuses, and maybe they"ll even tempt the others with promises of rapid improvements in one strength! I can"t believe… That this is the Order I"ve always admired so much!"
Sitting in front of Daneel, as the Head said this, the old lady sighed before replying.
"Times like these bring out the best… And the worst in people. At the end of the day, with nothing much to do, the Order became too preoccupied with more power, and longer life. This… is what such an atmosphere leads to. There are a considerable number of people who are not being swayed, but sadly, this number… Is far less than what I expected. His words contain the poison of greed, and it is so potent that even my best medicine cannot stop it…"
Daneel couldn"t agree more with the old lady.
As he continued to look at the Heroes who were completely engrossed in their attempt to sway all of the Heroes towards their cause, his anger only grew, until at last, he made his decision.
He had spoken boldly in his declaration here, before, and now… He was going to stick to them.
After a brief conversation with the system, he deactivated the cloaking spell.
All of these were Heroes whose minds were always constantly searching the surroundings for threats. Hence, when someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere, all of them stopped everything they were doing, and looked at him as if they were looking at a ghost.
In the absolute silence that came to be, Daneel clasped his hands behind his back in a kingly manner, and spoke in a crisp voice.
"The war shall begin in a month. We don"t have time for your bickering. All of you…kneel."
As soon as the last word exited his mouth, a gigantic foot once again shot down from the ceiling of the cavern, and in a move that would go down in history as one of the most magnificent displays of power since the beginning of the Order, 145 Peak Heroes were crushed to the ground with froth starting to appear at their mouths, while the G.o.dking looked at the rest, challenging them with his eyes to either take the side of those who had been crushed, or to kneel willingly while they still had the chance, as they had been sensible enough to think, rather than give in to greed like the rest whose bodies were starting to becoming one with the floor.