New World XXIII

Normally, the guild master, Corwin, would first try to find out whether the horde was real or not before discussing it with the king. Still, this time, he decided to first discuss it with the king.

The reason was that the information came from a seasoned adventurer, and the chances of it being fake were low; even so, he decided to send some adventurers after the meeting to find out more information about it.

"I need to meet with his majesty, please tell his majesty that it is a matter of grave importance."

Corwin spoke to one of the guards stationed at the castle's entrance. And because he was the guild master, all the guards knew about him.

"Please, come with me, guild master."

The guard recognized him, invited him into the castle, and guided him toward the guest room. Once he was seated, the guard bowed and left to inform the king about him.

Corwin waited in the guest room, thinking about the future. He and the king had a cordial relationship, so he knew that he would be able to convince him of the horde, but the problem was the Nobility.

To counter the horde, they would need a sizeable army, and even though the nobles in the royal faction would offer their soldiers, the same could not be said for the nobles in the nobility faction. 

And he might have to convince them to send their soldiers as well.

~Sigh~

He sighed while thinking about the hassle he might have to go through. The nobles in the nobility faction only cared about the coin and their own well-being. Nothing else mattered to them.

'I need to think of a way to convince them.'

While he was thinking about how to convince the nobility faction, the guard returned, bowing respectfully. "His majesty will see you now, guild master," he announced, leading the way to the king's grand chamber.

As Corwin entered the king's grand chamber, he saw King Ramposa sitting on the central throne, and the Warrior Captain, Gazef Stronoff, stood by his side.

'Fortunately, there isn't a noble here.'

The guild master entered the throne room and bowed when he was an appropriate distance from Ramposa.

"Greetings, his majesty," The guild master spoke in a respectful tone.

King Ramposa gestured for the guards to exit the room and close the door, which they did since Gazef was present.

"At ease, Corwin. There is no need for such pleasantries between us. you are free to speak," He spoke while cracking his neck.

"I thank you," Corwin spoke while straightening himself up.

"Then, tell me, what did you want to talk about?" Ramposa was curious as to why the guild master wanted to meet him. And according to the guard, the matter was of grave importance.

"Yes, your majesty, it is about a monster horde."

"A monster horde?"

Unsurprisingly, Ramposa was shocked. During his years of reign, he had never heard of a monster horde; he had only heard about it in the history textbooks. 

"Yes, an Adamantite adventurer's team reported it to the guild of the E-Naeurl."

He then started telling him all the information he had available about it. As he continued, both King Ramposa and Gazef's expressions grew increasingly grave, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Even after the guild master stopped talking, the throne room remained silent for a while before Ramposa broke the silence.

"If what you say is true, then we might have a major catastrophe on our hands. What is your opinion, Gazef?"

Ramposa asked while looking toward Gazef.

"I concur with his majesty's deduction. We might need to send an army to deal with this horde."

"I agree, but first, we need to confirm it. Corwin, send some seasoned adventurers to check out this horde and report to me about the result. We need actual proof if we want to convince the Nobility."

"Understood, your majesty."

Corwin respectfully bowed and left the throne room. As soon as he left the room, Ramposa slumped down in the throne room.

"~Sigh~ Another thing to take care of, why can't I catch a break."

Ramposa spoke while caressing his temples.

"Don't be like that, your majesty. You handled that pretty well."

Gazef spoke, trying to cheer Ramposa up.

"Anyways, what are your honest thoughts about the situation?"

"If what the guild master spoke is true, then we might need to ask for help from the Theocracy. But we should wait for accurate information before deciding on anything."

"Yeah, I agree with your assessment; also, have you been contacted by Ramses?"

Ramposa asked while standing up from the throne.

"No, master Ramses has still not contacted me."

"It's a pity; we might have been able to make use of his strength in this situation."

Ramposa spoke in resignation while walking toward the throne room's exit.

'A pity indeed, but I can't help but wonder if this monster horde is somehow linked to the Dark Lord.'

The reason he thought about this possibility was that they encountered the War Devil when they were close to the Great Forest of Tob. This monster horde also originated from the same forest.

Even though he didn't have proof, he had a hunch that his assumption was true, but without any proof, it would be very difficult to prove it to people.

'After dealing with this horde, we must send a search party to the Forest of Tob.'

He thought while following Ramposa.

'I need to confirm my suspicions.' He thought while walking toward the library in the castle.

'If I remember correctly, there should be some books regarding a similar phenomenon.'

They reached the library in a few minutes; the guards at its doors bowed and opened them.

'What is she doing here?' Ramposa thought while looking at a young girl who was engrossed in a book.

"What are you doing here, Renner?" Ramposa asked while entering the library. On hearing it, she got up from her seat and approached him.

"Pardon me for my lack of attention, father. I was just reading some history books." 

She spoke just like a princess who was excited to see her father.

"Hoh, why are you reading history books?" Ramposa's curiosity was piqued by this because he had seldom seen her in the library.

"I was trying to uncover things about the Dark Lord, which the chief warrior mentioned." She spoke while looking back at the cluster of books.

"Is that so? So, did you find anything?"

"Unfortunately, no. There is no mention of anyone named Dark Lord."

"That's a pity, then."

Saying this, he started to move deeper into the library.

"What brings you here, father?" Renner spoke while walking beside him.

"Hm, I just received some information from the guild master, which is rather unsettling."

Her ears perked up at this. What Renner told Ramposa was not a lie; she was in the library reading about the Dark Lord. However, what she didn't tell him was the reason behind it.

The reason was, of course, to find a way to contact him.

"Is the information related to the Dark Lord?"

"I think so, but I am not sure. He told me about a monster horde that was travelling toward the port town, E-Naeurl."

Ramposa then began to explain the situation to Renner.

"Would you mind helping me, Renner?" Ramposa asked while picking up a book from a bookshelf.

"It will be my pleasure, father."

With that, they both began going through some history books regarding legendary figures from the past.

It took them a few hours to go through a few books, at the end of which Ramposa's suspicions were proven true.

When he first heard about the monster horde, his mind went to a piece of information that he had read in the past. 

According to this, when one of the Evil Deities made its base in the heart of the Great Forest of Tob, it resulted in a stampede of monsters that destroyed some towns in the vicinity.

The current situation was also similar to it. According to Ramposa's suspicion, the Dark Lord had made a base in the Great Forest of Tob, which resulted in this stampede of monsters. The fact that Gazef encountered one of its minions- the War Devil- near the Forest of Tob further solidified his theory.

If Helios could read his mind, he would have been shocked because he didn't know that such a thing happened in the past. In the original series, the past of the NW was barely discussed, and there were a lot of holes that needed information.

'If my theory is correct, then we might have a great catastrophe at hand.' He thought while slumping back into his chair inside his room. He had also discussed this with Renner because he knew that she had a bright mind.

He knew that the reforms done by her weren't normal, and he wanted to make her the official heir to the throne, but because he knew that the Nobility wouldn't take a girl as an heir, he did no such thing.

'Let's hope that the Nobility understands the gravity of the situation.'

~Scene Change~

Corwin was seated in his office. He had already called for the leader of Blue Roses in his office. 

~Knock~ ~Knock~

"Who is it?"

He asked while still seated in his chair.

"It's Lakyus. I heard that you called for me, guild master."

"Yes, please come in."

"Pardon the intrusion."

She spoke while opening the door, which revealed a beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair, green eyes, and a charming face. She was wearing her usual armor.

After entering the room, she closed the door and approached the desk.

"So what did the guild master want to talk about."

"Please take a seat," The guild master spoke while signaling toward one of the seats. Lakyus complied and took a seat in one of the seats.

"Now, before I explain why I called you here, there is something you should know before that."

Lakyus raised her eyebrow at that.

"And that being?"

Corwin dedicated the next few minutes to briefing Lakyus on the present circumstances. As he elaborated, Lakyus's countenance grew increasingly serious.

"Now, I want your help to confirm the legitimacy of the situation."

"You want us to go and check whether the horde is real or not and also check the monsters in it?"

"Precisely, and please don't worry about the reward. This is an official quest from the guild; your party will be generously compensated."

Lakyus thought for a second before speaking.

"Very well, because the situation is dire, we'll depart immediately after I've discussed it with my party members."

She spoke while getting up from the seat and walking toward the door.

"Very well, I'll look forward to your report."

Lakyus nodded before closing the door.

To Be Continued...