Chapter 60

"Dad, Tod!" Elizabeth yelled surprised to see the two of them leave.

Their parents had never hit them before. Darthañan's cry and the moment he slapped Theodor had startled her. The instant she realized that the two of them had run off she tried to free herself from her mother's arms to chase them.

"Sweetheart, leave them. Right now they need to have a conversation alone," Frigglene explained adjusting her daughter so that the little girl could see her face.

Elizabeth tried to resist, but seeing her mother's slight smile soon calmed down. The serenity that gesture conveyed eliminated any of her ideas of running away.

" You heard him, we'll wait for them at the hotel," Frigglene said with a stronger tone of voice their followers.

"Yes ma'am," they answered starting to walk down the hill.

Meanwhile, the soldiers who had been keeping an eye on everyone involved had another problem in mind. Theodor had run off onto a path that led to the other barracks facilities.

On any other occasion, they would have tried to stop them, but when they saw the raging second magnitude human none of them dared to do so. Like their captain, the only reference to second magnitude people came from the overseers.

"Continue your patrols. I'll take care of it" Yonka said letting out a sigh trying to get rid of all the stress he had been through during the last hour.

An uncomfortable smile appeared on his face as he started to walk down the hill.

Thousands of kilometers away on Kinzoku, one of the smallest islands in the lower area, a seed of discord planted by Darthañan began to show its fruits after germinating for several days.

"You are all useless! How come no one can find out who it was that made up all those lies?" Baron Jinshu shouted furiously.

All of his closest assistants paled as they were on their knees.

"The duels against Ienaga and Namba are in two days. If we don't solve this, we will lose all the power that we have gained over the past years," Jinshu said aloud as if he was trying to advise himself.

This whole situation was due to a rumor that appeared more than a month ago in the city of Gorudo. For some reason, people were beginning to speculate that Zihan's death was due to Jinshu's fear that he might surpass him in strength and one day take the barony for himself.

Unlike the way other species handled nobility titles, the voidmaw held tournaments every ten years to determine the individual everyone should follow. This tournament consisted of duels where the strongest would achieve the recognition of all the voidmaws of Kinzoku.

On rare occasions the voidmaws could demand a duel from the current leader before his ten-year term was over; if and only if, the honor of the voidmaws was at stake. And in this case, a leader who killed out his strongest subordinates for fear of losing power was a great affront to the dignity of all voidmaw warriors present and past.

And Jinshu's concern was not only due to this. When he returned from the meeting with the other barons, the news that Yaiban, Zihan's brother, had died made the rumors grow stronger.

The duels against Ienaga and Namba, mayors of the towns of Do and Gin respectively were already more than confirmed. The rumors reached all corners of the island of Kinzoku. And no matter how many excuses he had, the reality was only one: two of the strongest warriors of the voidmaws had died under his command.

"Double your efforts. I'll give ten thousand royal credits to whoever manages to find out where those damn rumors came from," ordered Jinshu passing his metallic hand over his face.

"Understood," replied his assistants getting up and leaving the room.

Once alone with his most trusted followers, Jinshu sighed.

"Ha! How is the war against Lhimkio going?"

"The front lines are stagnant. According to our latest reports, we can confirm that all their combat ships are unmanned…" A black canogon replied.

"Which means that our side is the only one with casualties," Jinshu added interrupting his bodyguard, his face turning dark.

"From the beginning, I knew that the Quinoids' plans were insufficient to deal with Helvella," Jinshu said, starting to speak out loud.

"If it weren't for the magnitude three signals, I wouldn't have even thought of facing that crafty mushroom."

Jinshu began to play with his sharp fingers as he tried to think of a way to fix all the problems he was facing.

"Who besides us knows about the Lhimkio wave signals?"

"Just us and the officers in the communications room. If there is any survivor of the group we sent to Lhimkio, they might also know about it," the other white canogon replied.

"Gashi silence the officers who know about the subject and all those who have been told. No one other than the four of us can know about what appeared in Lhimkio."

"Fush!"

With the sound of the wind the greenish voidmaw that had been standing behind Jinshu all along disappeared.

"Even if I lose the barony that object must be mine," Jinshu said. A sinister shadow falling on his face.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Lhimkio was totally different. Many of the civilian population had not even known that they were currently at war with the alliance of the three neighboring baronies. The mansions of the rich and powerful families were shrouded in festive atmospheres. The performance of the children and young people demonstrated in the tactical room had been higher than expected. Anyone could tell that their futures were now guaranteed.

The castle atop Vorpiax was no exception to this atmosphere of joy, but the happiness in the atmosphere had nothing to do with the war that was raging. In the rooms of the medical village, Fusca had awakened.

Mushi was waiting at the door of the medical villa where Fusca had been while he was in a coma. All his other siblings, except for Brevi who was on the imperial island studying, were waiting just like Mushi.

The first to hear the comforting news was Helvella, who immediately appeared in Fusca's room and ordered the nurse who had been caring for his son for the past few days to get out and tell everyone that he wanted to have a moment alone with his son. This comment was obviously an order that not even his children could defy.

"I know Dad told us not to ask but is anyone else curious how Fusca ended up like this?" Rivularis asked.

"It must be a sensitive subject. If our father considers that we should not know, it is most likely true," Latispora replied.

"What can be more delicate than a war? We are literally running a war," Rivularis refuted "Even Mushi has killed who knows how many people and is not even five years old."

"Asking that question indicates that you are not strong enough to know," Albella commented.

"You too Albella?" Rivularis raised his arms in exasperation. "You are the strongest of us and you can't know either."

"That shows how delicate the situation is. It is better not to complicate things." Albella answered.

"But Albella, I don't think there are more than fifty people stronger than you in all of Vorpiax."

"You just confirmed that you are not ready," Albella said smiling at her brother.

Rivularis opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything, Albella's comment left him even more confused.

"Power is not just about physical strength," Latispora said not holding the urge to explain what her sister was referring to.

"We have been fighting Kinzoku, Enplua, and Jangalee for several weeks; and we have only achieved victories in defensive battles.

Latispora paused for a moment and let out a breath, which showed how frustrated she felt with what she was going to say, continued.

"The humans who stayed with us passed through Kinzoku no more than a month ago. When we lost their trail a rumor emerged about Baron Jinshu and according to what I estimate in less than a week they will be withdrawing from the war."

Latispora turned to see her brother to confirm that she had understood but her brother's eyes showed that although he understood the general concept it was still not clear to him.

"They defeated a barony saying no more than six words. They did not hit anyone and without anyone noticing, the only humans on the island disappeared without a trace."

"Does that mean you can also fight using words?" Mushi asked trying to understand what his sister was saying.

"Yes. You need not only physical strength but also intellectual and spiritual strength. But strength, by itself, is not so important, the techniques with which it is refined are what make the difference." Latispora replied.

And before Rivularis or Mushi could continue to ask, Helvella's voice was heard:

"You can enter now."