CHAPTER 167: | THE BREWING OF A MASSIVE STORM

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  ~ ? ~ West of the Lahaina Empire — In the Kingdom of Loika — Inside the Conference Hall ~ ? ~

  In a dimly lit chamber heavy with the scent of polished oak and bitter coffee steam, a long table stretched like a silent battlefield from one wall to the other. Nobles sat around it, their eyes locking in tense stares, the air thick with the faint rustle of silk robes and the occasional clink of porcelain cups. Suddenly, the man right beside the governor, his left hand, slammed his fist down on the table.

  To everyone's mild surprise, the sturdy wood absorbed the blow without a crack, and he barked out, "The cultists cannot be ignored now or ever! Their strength is growing at an alarming rate, at this pace, they'll become a threat to the kingdom itself!"

  Elay, the governor's left hand and a noble who oversaw a couple of cities near the border along with a few hundred scattered villages, shouted to snag the attention of every noble in the room. But to his dismay, those not stationed on the border just yawned, their faces slack with boredom. They had no clue about the cultist threat Elay was ranting about, the kind that clawed at you in the dead of night.

  He fumed at these so-called leaders, who couldn't care less about the cultists slowly gnawing away at the kingdom's edges. Elay was baffled by their blank reactions, he figured these pampered fools would sing a different tune if they'd lived through what he had just a few weeks back.

  It had started during his routine inspections of the cities in his territory, checking on his inns, smithies, and various shops dotted across the region. The sun had beaten down mercilessly on the dusty roads, the air shimmering with heat and the metallic tang of forges.

  It was meant to be a casual tour until a frantic messenger arrived, sweat-soaked and breathless, reporting that his wife Aliya had vanished, leaving only a single letter behind. Shock hit him like a gut punch, how could this happen? Then he unfolded the parchment, its edges crisp and faintly scented with her favorite lavender oil, and read the words that shattered everything.

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  [Elay, my dearest husband, I am sorry for leaving you behind in pursuit of enlightenment at the side of the goddess of the night. I am sorry for my sudden disappearance, but if ever we meet by fate, I hope you're doing well. P.S. Aliya Isaiah.]

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  So, staring at the nobles nonchalant expressions now, their eyes glazing over like they were half-asleep, he couldn't hold back his pent-up rage. He slammed the table again, the thud echoing off the stone walls, and roared, "Y-you people! Can't you see how this small cult of over a thousand easily slaughtered the Templars the Holy See sent their way? Can't you fools see their numbers swelling at an impressive rate?!"

  The nobles could at least nod along that yeah, this cult was sprouting up faster than your average ragtag heresy popping out of the desert sands. But they couldn't be bothered to dwell on it, not when the Holy See would probably dispatch stronger Templars or even a heretic inquisitor in a month or so. So they stayed mum, letting Elay vent, especially since they all knew his wife was tangled up in the mess.

  Elay whipped his head toward the governor, who was calmly sipping his coffee, the steam curling up like lazy smoke signals. Then back to the nobles, some mimicking the sip from their own cups, others crunching on flaky pastries that scattered crumbs like tiny confessions. He shouted again, his voice cracking with frustration, "At least have some brains, you stupid bunch! If we let these heretics grow unchecked, it's only a matter of time before we've doomed our kingdom!!!"

  The nobles carried on with their munching and sipping, unfazed. One of them scoffed at Elay's outburst, then chuckled through a mouthful. "What's there to be alarmed about, Elay? A group of women gathering to form a coalition, a church would gladly spread their legs like a bitch in heat when swords are at their necks."

  All eyes turned to Miguel, the governor's right hand, as he took another bite of his favorite pastry, the buttery flakes clinging to his fingers. He smiled softly, almost innocently. "Hmm, did I say anything wrong? It's in their instincts, they'd spread their legs when swords are pointed at them. So why worry about your wife is among them? You could just redeem her at the church using your wealth, Elay. Aren't you richer than me? So why fret?"

  The nobles nodded along to Miguel's words, a ripple of agreement like a lazy wave. The governor stayed silent, his face a mask of quiet observation. But Elay? He was fuming, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened, the veins pulsing under his skin. He said coldly, "Then so be it! It seems my advice to eradicate these cultists is just seen by you lot as my insecurities toward the Holy See!" His eyes sharpened like daggers. "I don't fear the Holy See nor anyone in this world, so don't delude yourselves that my concerns are about insecurities or fear of my wife being snatched away. Let's just chalk this up to my ranting."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The room fell quiet, but Miguel chuckled again, wiping his hands on a napkin. "See? Didn't the great Elay Isaiah himself declare he fears nothing, and he's just advising us to watch out for some dirty bitches? So what's there to be nervous about? Let's bond together, it's been ages since we've all gathered like this!"

  The nobles glanced at Elay, who had simmered down a bit, then at Miguel, before exchanging sly looks and smiling. Soon, the room buzzed with chatter, Elay sitting silent, stewing over their foolishness in his mind.

  "Huhuhu, I was worried for a second there," one noble muttered, eliciting nods.

  "Let us not worry about that matter," another jumped in. "From what I heard, the princess of the Peta kingdom is to be wed to one of the Ohar clan princes."

  "I didn't expect those eyesores would dare forge an alliance with a bunch of savages to get at us," said another, sipping his cup with a smirk. "Don't you all agree it's too petty, requesting aid from barbarians to deal us a blow?" Then another noble coughed lightly and added softly, "Isn't it a waste to sell their beautiful princess to some lowly barbarians?"

  The room grew louder, voices overlapping like a marketplace brawl, making it impossible for Elay to think straight about dealing with the cultists. But soon, silence fell like a dropped veil as the governor raised his hand. All eyes snapped to him, the air suddenly taut with anticipation.

  "Ahem, it's been a while since all of us gathered in the same room," the governor said, his voice gravelly from years of commands. "We are nobles of the same kingdom, yet we rarely meet unless facing an external issue. And that is why I've summoned you today." He scanned the room slowly, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on his stern face, confirming not a single one was absent. He nodded, satisfied.

  But instead of diving in, he stayed silent, observing them with an unreadable gaze. The nobles pondered, some fidgeting nervously, their rings clinking against the table, because there were only two reasons the nobles of the Loika kingdom ever assembled like this. One was a threat bigger than a full-scale invasion from the thirteen collateral clans of the Ohar, stationed at the edge of the western gorges in the empire.

  Then there was the other option, which could be a boon or a curse, the discovery of a massive mana crystal mine. That was dicey in the current climate, with tensions against the Peta kingdom ready to snap any day. It was the season when food reserves dipped low, the relentless sun scorching the land, crops wilting in the oasis.

  The Ohar clan would raid for women and grains to bolster their ranks in this drought, where the heat baked everything to dust. So the nobles mulled it over, the silence stretching from moments into an hour, the room growing stuffy with unspoken worries.

  "I've heard from the spies I sent to the Peta kingdom that they're about to invade us in a month's time," one of the oldest nobles finally said, his voice creaky like old leather. The others nodded as he went on. "Governor, is it the invasion that worries you?"

  The governor didn't respond, his silence like a heavy cloak. The old noble stroked his chin, then glanced at Miguel, exchanging thoughts via sound transmission, a faint hum in the air only they could sense.

  "Miguel, what do you think of this situation?" the elder asked.

  Miguel pondered, then replied back through the link. "The governor's silence means it's grave, so chances are high that the Peta kingdom is declaring war."

  The elder stroked his beard, nodding without a word, deeming further chat unnecessary. He eyed the other nobles, their faces paling like ghosts, as they calculated the logistics: the Cilo kingdom, perched in the northern ridges of the desert, would take months to send aid. Worse, double that if hit by snags or Peta sabotage. Odds of supplies arriving? Slim to none, especially with kingdoms at each other's throats, let alone in open war.

  On the flip side, Miguel, whose spies had whispered of something priceless unearthed by the cultists in an oasis near the Loika-Peta border, speculated it wasn't trivial. Especially after hearing that knights near the Ohar clan border, under branch chieftain Tashin, got wiped out by the ex-Templar Anastasia, now a cultist, right after their withdrawal. Miguel couldn't shake the hunch that the governor was gearing up for something huge.

  Seeing the governor's grim expression, his own face darkened, this screamed mana crystal mine or equivalent, priming for war. He sighed, glancing at Elay for clues, but Elay's nonchalant shrug just made him sigh deeper. Finally, Miguel stared at the governor and said, "Then, is the reason you've called us, Governor, that we're declaring war against the Peta Kingdom? Am I right?"

  The nobles reeled at Miguel's words, shaken to their cores, this meant that their carefully nurtured knights marching off as reinforcements, along with wagons of precious wheat. They all stared at the governor, but none dared speak up, questioning him was a death sentence. So they turned pleading eyes to Elay, who smirked at their panic and faced the governor. "Hmm, if war is indeed inevitable like Miguel concluded, then is there perhaps something valuable to gain from it, Governor?"

  The governor nodded, his voice dropping cold as desert night. "Indeed, I am proud of your minds, my left and right hands. The reason I've held back until now is that I lacked a true cause to antagonize the Peta kingdom in the past."

  He gauged the nobles' reactions, their eyes widening, breaths held, then pressed on. "But now that's changed. The Evernight Church, or cult, has uncovered a mana crystal mine in the oasis near our borders with them. This has ballooned into something massive. So I've gathered you all to conscript your knights as soldiers for the war, plus fifteen wagons of supplies each. And I, Kairo, will lead them to victory in a month's time."

  The nobles nodded, knowing the governor's presence on the field meant victory was a lock. But one coughed nervously and ventured, "All of us can provide support, Governor, we agree the Peta kingdom's an eyesore. But how massive is this mana crystal mine that it requires you to act personally?"

  The governor smiled thinly. "Not to be modest, it's over a hundred miles wide and a thousand miles deep, or maybe more." The nobles practically drooled, visions of their shares glittering like crystals in their minds. But reality snapped back as Miguel frowned and said, "Then this means the Peta kingdom has already discovered it..."