"My King, they said…!"

"Screw what they said. Hey, I need to speak with you. Get over here."

Crack!

The next second, the sound of something being broken into was heard, after which the Minister turned to the side and realized that he wasn't alone.

This man was wearing green-colored robes which fit him perfectly, and he had a trimmed, short beard that gave him the look of some stately advisor. His clothes were old school: he had a ta.s.sel around his neck, which was draped on one arm of his that was held aloft.

Right after he appeared, he had a suspicious expression on his face, as he looked around as if he had sensed something strange and wanted to find out what it was.

"Hmm…could have sworn I felt something at the Hero-level here…"

"Who're you? You're not the one…"

"Quiet."

The moment he said that word, the King shut his mouth, going so far as to even bite his own tongue in the process as it hadn't gone back into his mouth fast enough.

Blood was visible on his teeth, which were being held together rigidly as if someone had their hands around his head and was making sure that he wouldn't open his mouth.

The Minister could tell that this was done by this bearded man, but what he couldn't figure out was…how?

His elementary vision had been switched on, yet, he hadn't noticed any attempts at controlling elementary particles.

What was going on?!

After a few moments, the man finally shook his head, as if dispelling some thought of his.

"All right. Speak. Why have you contacted the Big 4, King of Axelor? Take caution in what you say. There is somewhere I need to be, right now, so my patience wears thin."

Coughing uncontrollably, King Safiros spit out a portion of his own tongue with fury in his eyes before he forcefully controlled his anger and said, "The King of Lanthanor directly or indirectly controls 4 of the 6 forces in the Central Continent. He has already allied with one of them. Why aren't you doing anything to stop him?"

Yawning, the man said, "Because we are keeping a close eye on his Mages. They are crippled. And we know of your plan to target Lanthanor as soon as it's weak. Even though we explicitly stated that methods of great bloodshed should be avoided."

This made the King narrow his eyebrows and take a moment before replying.

Yet, cutting him off, the bearded man said, "We have an eye over all 6 forces. At the first sign of a unified alliance forming, we will interfere. Right now, that alliance is still only as powerful as you and Arafell. As for the other links: those are fine unless the King of Lanthanor brazenly uses them in some way. Now, then. I hope you've learned your lesson that you shouldn't call upon us unless you have something important to discuss. Next time, it won't just be your tongue that gets…cut off."

Saying so, the bearded man left in the same manner that he had arrived.

Silence greeted the Throne Room, while the Minister waited for another angry outburst from the King.

Only, surprisingly, the King burst out laughing with that blood still staining his teeth.

"Fool. Couldn't even detect the Hero-level formation around my Kingdom. Just you wait. The moment I a.s.semble the Grand Inheritance, it's your head I'll be coming for, first. Well, at least, now I know that these guys are all clueless about the real deal that will dictate the fate of this continent."

"My King, what do you mean?", asked the Minister, thoroughly puzzled.

"My dear Minister, you know that we only recently put up the Hero-level formations after breaking the second seal using a few…unique methods. I wanted to know if he can sense it. If he could, I would have disabled it. And it was best if he had no reason to suspect the reason behind my anger and me calling him. He glanced at the display trinket, and inferred what I must have been watching. And…he didn't detect the parts of the Grand Inheritance that are waiting to be s.n.a.t.c.hed up, either. After all, it is best to know whether there are any additional contenders I can worry about in the Race. Now, if only that b*tch in Arafell took the bait…"

As the Minister saw the King sink into deep thought, he remained silent, with his arms folded behind his back.

He had to admit that the King had surprised him: until now, he had only been thinking that the man was mad. Yet, it now looked like there was a method to his madness.

Still, when he heard what the King said next, he couldn't help but rub his ears, wondering whether he was the one that had gone crazy.

"Minister, when were the last War Games in Angaria conducted, and why?"

The Minister had to spend a few moments to recall the history of the continent, after which he replied, "Around 375 years ago, My King, when the Kingdoms were on better terms. At that time, a very valuable Ether Mine had been discovered at a spot that wasn't under the authority of any of the Kingdoms. As all 6 forces were in a state of equilibrium at that point, a major war was brewing, and it was suggested by the late King of Axelor that War Games, where tactics and skills of armies would be tested on a ma.s.sive field with differing scenarios, should be conducted to come to a decision regarding the matter. As this was a method without bloodshed, the War Games were conducted, with Axelor achieving victory due to the superior discipline of our soldiers. This was a private event, with no spectators. Only, the Big 4 later lay claim to the Ether mine, as there was a Ker Gem Mine hidden underneath it. We won glory, but we did not win what we wanted. In fact, the other Kingdoms even gloated on seeing our plight, as we had no option but to let the Big 4 take away our 'winnings'."

As the Minister rattled off this significant moment in history, the King took a moment and said, "We do know that runt likes to put on a show. Propose an event like that, with the reason being that we should sharpen our forces before the invasion so that we can identify any weaknesses."

"B-but why, My King?"

This question made the King stand up and spit out a mouthful of blood, before saying, "To cause a distraction- the biggest distraction possible, while I go to the Core of his Palace to get the part of the Grand Inheritance that is stored there. And if it isn't present…I'll have found out that he, too, is in the race. Send the message, and send a healer."

Giving this order, the King walked away to his chambers.

Finding himself alone in the Throne Room, the Minister looked at the Throne, wondering how this glorious Kingdom of his had reached this state.

Sighing, he left to send the official message.

…

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel was in a room along with Eloise and various officials that she had called together.

The plans for the train were laid out on the large table in the middle, while a discussion was raging on regarding what the best method of implementation was.

He recalled the rest of his conversation with Faxul, where his friend had agreed and had subsequently been given the spell to delve into the memories of the Ancient Black Raven.

Daneel knew that it was a risky endeavor, but he had no choice but to ask it of Faxul. Axelor was sealed off just a bit too tightly. Now, with the Hero-level formations, not even a fly could enter that Kingdom without the knowledge of the King.

That was when he received an urgent message from Kellor, who relayed the communication that had just been received by Axelor.

Daneel had to ask Kellor to resend it twice, as he couldn't believe his ears.

War Games? Seriously?

He had already known of this significant event in history, as he had researched about all previous events when setting up the Olympics. Yet, he hadn't tried something like that, as no Kingdom would arbitrarily agree to expose their army tactics in that way if there was nothing to be gained except honor.

Yet, now, the King of Axelor was proposing one, by himself?

Was he crazy?

Oh, yes. How could he have known that Daneel had just come under the possession of various army tactics from the Empire, itself?

At the same moment, Daneel also started to think whether he could use this opportunity to accomplish something else.

As his eyes took on a dangerous light, he called for an emergency meeting of all army-related top personnel in the Kingdom of Lanthanor.