His eyes constantly scanned the door of the inn, as if he were waiting for someone.

A few moments later, the door opened to let in someone who had a scar across his cheek which looked like it had been recently inflicted.

Seeing his brother finally appear, Daneel smiled before getting up and directly hugging Elanev after he reached the table he had been sitting at.

Yet, hearing him wince slightly and flinch due to the hug, Daneel hurriedly let go before allowing him to sit.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed, after which both tried to speak at the same time.

This made them burst out laughing, while Daneel ordered another gla.s.s of wine and two bowls of the rat broth that he had grown to like over his time in this Kingdom.

"You sure have grown powerful. If I'm not wrong, that last technique you were going to use before the interference would have resulted in your victory."

Widening his eyes with surprise, Elanev said, "How do you know? And what are you even doing here?"

"Let's just say I have a talent in… a.s.sessment. As for that, I can ask you the same thing. How did my sworn elder brother end up becoming the foolhardy man who challenged an entire Kingdom? You are the talk of the continent now, you know."

"Long story. We can talk about it later. As for that fight, my only intention was to find out something about the turmoil that will supposedly happen in this Kingdom soon and see if it affects our Kingdom in any way. I had no idea it would end up resulting in a fight which would almost have taken my life. d.a.m.n that person who interfered.", said Elanev with frustration in his tone.

"You can't fool me. I know you were waiting to escape the moment the King even thought of attacking while you were down. About the interference, I have no idea either. Anyway, let's get to the matter at hand. I cannot give you the exact details, but the Black Raven Kingdom has ulterior motives against Lanthanor. Suffice it to say that if I weren't the King, our Kingdom would have entered a deal with the Black Raven Kingdom which would have destroyed it utterly. I need you to gather information inside the palace. Take these. They are disguised communication trinkets for audio and video, and I need you to have them on you at all times inside the palace. This is why I asked you to find a way inside during the fight."

Nodding, Elanev understood the reason behind the transmission after the fight which had startled him. In fact, he had asked something which only the both of them knew to ensure that it really was his little brother who was speaking to him.

Usually, he would not have accepted such an offer as it would mean tying himself down for no purpose. Besides, he had even been attacked in some discreet away when he had about to use another trump card which would definitely have seen him win.

It was only because Daneel had asked him to that he had stated that request to get inside the palace.

After all, his overall motive behind the entire thing was to find out if there was a threat against Lanthanor.

At this moment, the door opened letting in a Black Raven Fighter who nodded at the bartender before taking a table and scanning his surroundings.

Seeing this, Daneel said, "Let us continue our discussion on the communication trinket. As someone who could put up a fight against the King himself, you are definitely being scouted by multiple forces who want to find out just where you belong to. I will be taking my leave to Lanthanor. Stay safe, and I will make sure to come again so that we can have a proper reunion after things have settled down. I'll see you later, brother."

Elanev nodded hearing these words and looked into Daneel's eyes for a moment before starting to drink the rat broth which had been served at the table.

Although Daneel was currently under the guise of someone else, his eyes were still the same, filled with confidence and determination that pushed him forward to accomplish things one could only dream about.

Seeing him get up and leave, Elanev finished his meal and left the table after leaving some money, hoping that the day that Daneel had promised would come soon.

.....

A day later, a long stream of Ether driven carriages appeared at the East Border Gate of the Lanthanor kingdom.

The mercenaries who were in charge of protecting this group were bruised and bloodied, with their number whittled down to half of what it had been when they had set out on their journey.

Wearily, a man got out of the carriage at the lead and approached the waiting soldier of Lanthanor before handing over a trinket which made the soldier's eyes widen.

A few seconds later, a strikeforce of elite Mages and Fighters appeared around the group, arranging themselves around it and taking over the duty of guarding it from those who had been hired to do so.

The carriages made a beeline for the capital, making short work of the distance in between and reaching the Palace by night.

Daneel, who had just gotten back, stood at the gates of the Palace looking at the line of carriages as they were carefully escorted inside.

Kellor, who stood beside him, held a parchment in his hand before going to each carriage and checking them to make sure that everything was in order.

After he gave the go-ahead, the carriages headed towards the treasury of Lanthanor to refill it with Ether blocks and gold bars.

The fund to begin the Bank of Angaria had finally arrived.