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All is fair in love and war
🕑 Added 2022-12-17 12:00:06 +0000 UTC‘That was an exciting encounter. I should also pick up fate reading.’
<…>
Seth chuckled and continued walking around the city, passing by different stalls and looking at all the items they were selling. He barely bought anything, but he seemed a lot more refreshed by the time he returned to the tavern.
He spent the evening the same way as he did the previous one, listening to the bard songs while enjoying some sweet alcohol in the tavern.
Slowly, the days went by as Seth cultivated the nights on the tavern’s ground floor and spent the days roaming around the city. All the way until the ascended finally arrived in the city.
A considerable commotion could be seen extending from the Royal Palace to the mountain pass to the north, with people moving to welcome the kingdom’s guests.
Even the king left the Royal palace, bringing with him a small squad of knights as he traveled toward the city’s northern entrance.
Seth was also watching from the rooftop of a building not that far away, using the system to zoom in on the entrance.
A few minutes later, the entire crowd fell silent, and only the sound of horse hooves and the carriage wheels squealing could be heard, coming from the mountain pass.
Seth also looked towards the approaching procession and saw King Iwan riding in front on a white horse, followed by a young man and woman riding black horses right behind him.
Behind the three men in the lead were three more carriages and many knights protecting the procession.
Iwan started waving toward the crowd before he was even past the pass, but the two people behind him seemed not to care that much and were busy talking to each other.
The king of Pain also came forward, stepping in front of Iwan’s horse with a broad smile on his face.
Iwan laughed happily and jumped down, hugging the king of Pain like they were best friends. After a long hug, the king of Pain said: “Haha. Welcome to my home, Iwan. I hope you had an easy journey.”
Iwan laughed and nodded: “It was, friend. Who would dare make trouble for me when I traveled with these two respected friends.”, before pointing towards the pair riding right behind him.
The king of Pain turned towards the pair a well and said: “Welcome, honorable ascended. Thank you for taking care of my friend here. I’ll make sure you have an enjoyable stay in my kingdom.”
The man nodded and said: “King Lief is too generous.”
King Lief laughed and said: “You’re too kind. Let’s continue at the Palace.”
After King Lief gave his command, he quickly mounted his horse. He traveled along Iwan, waving toward the ordinary people as the entire precession started moving toward the Palace.
Seth also disappeared from the rooftop he was sitting on, reappearing inside his room at the inn.
‘Show me their meeting.’ He told the system and waited patiently.
A few hours later, his vision changed, and he could see a large room inside the castle. To Seth’s surprise, it was not the throne room but some guest room.
———
“Iwan, I got your letter, but you still haven’t explained what you all want to do.” Said Lief.
Iwan nodded and said: “We’re finally moving for the ascended knowledge. By spring, if everything goes well, that knowledge will be in the hands of the alliance.”
Lief sighed and shook his head: “Why do you want that knowledge so much?” he then turned to look at the two ascended before saying: “I apologize if my words may insult you.” Before turning back towards Iwan: “but ascended are nothing but trouble. I understand the temptation of power, but you might also sharpen the sword that would end your kingdom.”
Iwan sighed and said: “I know, but that’s easy for you to say. The Dream Kingdom has never had any interest in expanding; we’ve been friends for a long time, and Curse… well, they’re just a bunch of mindless barbarians. You can also trade for everything you need across the seas, but for my kingdom….”
“We have to live next to Oath, who might decide to send Ascended to wipe us out, and we won’t be able to do a thing… We must also sacrifice our armies in constant skirmishes to keep their ascended numbers low.”
“If we don’t get the matching military strength, we’ll eventually be taken over….”
Lief sighed and said: “Well, how you manage your kingdom is your problem. You said that you needed a ship to move onto Blood. What is that about?”
Iwan slowly explained what happened at the meeting and the changes he knew had happened in Blood.
“Council?” asked Lief with a frown. “If he’s truly one of them….”
“Don’t worry, King Lief, he’s definitely not part of the Council.” Added the male ascended all of a sudden. “We wouldn’t have taken the job if he was.”
Both Lief and Iwan turned towards him. Even Iwan was stunned, this being the first time he had heard of this.
“How do you know?” asked Iwan.
“We only know what our master told us, but apparently, the Council can’t live on the continent. He’s likely someone using the Council’s feared name to scare you all.”
“How sure are you of that?” asked Iwan next.
“Our master has had dealings with the Council before.” Said the ascended.
“So it’s like that…” muttered Iwan, suddenly getting excited. “Lief, I’ll need you to send the news to Ronald. This information is essential. We might even be able to move faster.”
Lief nodded and said: “I’ll let you send the news after the meeting. Since Sir Ascended is so sure, I’ll also lend you the ship you want, but I’ll only give you the men you need to operate it and no soldiers. Also, whatever happens, I don’t want my Kingdom to be involved in any mess.”
“That’s more than enough.” Said Iwan. “The two ascended only need a ride to Blood’s shores, and the ships can return after that.”
“Good.” Said Lief before pulling a small scroll and handing it to the ascended man. “This is a royal order allowing you two to take hold of one of the best vessels in the Port of Dale.”
The ascended grabbed the royal order and handed it to the woman, who stored it inside the small pouch she was carrying.
“When do you want to leave?” asked Lief next.
The two ascended exchanged a look before the man said: “We don’t care.”
Iwan from the side said: “You should depart as soon as possible to prevent any incidents from happening. I know you might have to spend a long time on the ship, but it would be better if you were in position ahead of time.”
The ascended man nodded and said: “Alright. We’ll depart tomorrow at first light.”
Iwan nodded and said to Lief: “Friend, then I’ll depart tomorrow as well. As much as I would like to stay more, there are a lot of things that I must prepare, and time is tight. I promise I’ll come, and we can have some drinks like in the old days once the war is finally over.”
Lief nodded and turned towards the ascended: “That’s fine. I’ve set up rooms for you; you can also move throughout the city. Iwan, I guess you must want to meet Olivia as well?”
Iwan nodded and said: “That I do. Where is she?”
“She’s been spending her time in the back gardens. She wanted to meet you, but I told her we’ll be busy, and she agreed to meet with you later.”
“Haha, friend, you don’t have to soften the blow. I know she must still hate me… how are she and the prince getting along?” said Iwan with a sigh.
Lief sighed and said: “My son is quite excited, but as for her… she at least has gotten used to the idea and is no longer throwing tantrums.”
“I have hoped they will grow closer to each other…” said Iwan.
“So did I, but we had already announced their wedding long ago. We can’t back down now. They’ll have to learn that is how things work.” Replied Lief.
Iwan nodded and stood up: “I’ll go see her. Once I’m done, I’ll give you the letter for Ronald.” He then turned towards the two ascended: “You two already know your mission. For now, take the ship and dock in the port of Noth. Your ascended status must not be revealed once you depart from Pain, and you must wait for news from me.”
The two ascended nodded, and the meeting ended. Lief ordered two servants to lead the ascended to their rooms and went to his own business, while Iwan went to meet his daughter.
———
Seth ended the playback and lowered his head.
“The best way to ambush them would be once they leave the city, but breaking their will would take a lot of work. With the large population of Pain, the chances of someone stumbling upon our battle is also not that low.”
Seth sighed and said: ‘Show me what they are doing. If possible, I want to get my hands on the girl ahead of time.’
His vision changed, now showing the two ascended.
———
After the ascended were led to their room, the two stepped inside, and each sat in his bed.
The man pulled out a vial of destruction energy and started downing it instantly. The woman looked at him before tying up her hair and dropping her pouch on the bed.
“I’m going out. I don’t feel like cultivating.”
The man nodded and said: “Be careful. No one should be strong enough to deal with us here, but we can never be too careful.”
The woman nodded back and walked out of the room. Seth had the system track her immediately.
“They could have at least given us separate rooms…” muttered the woman with a sigh.
When she reached the palace gates, the guards bowed and asked: “Do you need someone to escort you, miss ascended?”
“No need. Tell me where a good place to get a drink is.”
The two guards shared a look before giving her directions toward a tavern nearby, and she left again.
———
Seth stopped stalking her and got up from the bed.
‘This might be my chance. Pull the former records and see if she has a certain type of preference for partners.’
<She doesn’t appear to care about her partners’ looks.>
‘How old is she?’
<52 years old.>
‘Quite young…’
Since the system didn’t give him a definite answer, Seth changed himself into a new look so he won’t be recognized as Seth. He made himself look quite handsome and added some features of Kingdom of Life citizens.
After changing into comfortable clothes, he checked his looks using the system before walking out and heading for the same tavern.
‘All is fair in love and war.’
Comments
AZ
‘This might be my [change.]. Should be chance?
