227-237

Chapter 227 The Girl and The Woman

In the King's Chambers of the Lanthanor Kingdom, there was a table at one edge of the room which had 3 metal blocks which were decorated with flowing patterns.

The blocks were in the center of the table, with mechanisms with which they could be detached when necessary.

Each day, this was where the King of Lanthanor spent a minute of his time multiple times during the day to check whether there was anything that needed to be addressed.

Each of the blocks represented each of the 3 major divisions into which the government was divided: security, finances, and welfare.

When Daneel touched each one, any and all information that was deemed to be at the level of "Important" was shown to him.

Of course, the truly crucial pieces of information which needed Daneel's urgent attention would still be informed by his commanders or the Grand Court Mage.

Apparently, this was a setup which had existed since the age of the first King.

In Angaria, as Kings also had the responsibility of being powerful enough to be a symbol of strength to their people, their time was limited. Hence, the purpose of the table was that the King would be able to analyze all important information and decide whether there was a need for a Royal Court to be held.

Today, in the 'Welfare' section, Daneel found a new message which slightly startled him.

"A woman and a girl from the Burberry Village who have settled down in Lanthanor City request an audience with the King. They say they want to bring to light a problem that plagues the Kingdom."

Since Lanthanor had been ruled for decades by Kings who treated those under them as ants, the very practice of directly approaching a ruler with problems had almost been forgotten by the people.

Still, after his ascension to the throne, there had been a few requests where some people had wanted to show their gratitude to the King.

It wasn't possible for a King to meet each and every one of his subjects for trivial things such as this. Hence, Kellor had ordered for such requests to be kindly denied quoting that the King was busy training.

As for other requests such as those from businessmen, they were redirected to other departments after sending a message to the appropriate block.

From his experiences on both Earth and Angaria, Daneel knew that one of the most foolish things a King could do was to ignore his subjects.

Hence, he had already laid down the order to directly send any request to him in case it was about a subject wanting to talk about their problems.

In fact, he had also made plans to place public communication trinkets where any one could place complaints.

These plans had been placed on the backburner due to the war. Now that the war was past, Daneel decided to put them back into motion before ordering the government officials below him to immediately send those two to the Royal Court.

As he entered the empty Court alone, he was surprised to see a pair of bright green eyes look into his with adoration burning inside them before shyly glancing away as if embarrassed.

Seeing such a thing for the first time in his life, Daneel missed a step and almost stumbled before thankfully regaining his balance before he lost his image in front of the two.

In fact, this adoration clearly bordered on fanaticism, as the girl who those eyes belonged to had to be nudged by the woman beside her before she realized that she had been brazenly staring into the King's eyes without even bowing to him with respect.

With an expression of slight panic appearing on her freckled face, Dalia hurriedly bowed down on both knees and hid her head between her legs.

Seeing this, Helena who had just knelt on one knee became dumbstruck.

Her daughter had first frozen when the King entered, and she was now curled up on the ground like a porcupine.

Thinking that they would definitely be thrown out for indecency, she secretly tried to jolt her daughter to sanity without the King noticing.

Meanwhile, Daneel had already sat down on the Throne.

Seeing the girl on the ground who looked like she wouldn't unfurl herself no matter what happened, he felt amused before saying, "Rise."

Although Dalia was feeling the most embarrassed that she had ever felt in her life, she still heeded her idol's command.

Getting up, she made sure to keep her gaze down while blushing fiercely.

"You said you have a problem which needs my attention?"

It was only after the King posed this question after a few seconds of silence did she finally look up.

As she did so, Daneel finally noticed that she was only a little girl of 10-12 years of age.

Knowing that this was usually the age at which kids might get attached to idols who affected them in some way, Daneel realized what was going on.

The basic information about the two had already reached him, so he knew that his actions had helped this little family tremendously.

Thus, the look that she had had in her eyes before made sense.

Still, seeing the real change that he had brought about, Daneel felt truly happy and grateful that he had decided to embark on his path.

Engraving the little girl's cute expression of shyness in his heart, Daneel waited for an answer.

Yet, even after a few seconds, there was none.

Finally, it was the woman who spoke, who seemed to have given up on waiting for the girl to speak as she was still too busy staring at her toes.

Beginning with them settling down in the Capital, she explained about everything that had happened while gesturing at the black box that she had brought with her.

As Daneel listened, a frown came on his face as he realized that this was, indeed, a problem that needed to come to light.

Not one to dally when he decided that something needed fixing, he immediately summoned the Police Commander whom he had seldom interacted with since taking the Throne.

Just like the previous Grand Court Mage, the Police Commander was an individual from the previous administration who had yet to do anything to win his trust.

Although he was an Exalted Human Fighter, there hadn't been a situation before where a single such individual would have made a difference, making it so that he had almost never needed to be called upon except for executing his responsibilities.

Still, Daneel realized that he was another asset who had to be put to good use.

Keeping this thought in mind for later, he asked, "Why was the case against bogus claims not registered?"

At this, the Police Commander, who was a bearded man with a bald, shiny head, sighed before saying, "My King, it is because we have no way to confirm or deny any claims. This is one of the types of cases where both parties swear under oath that they are telling the truth, My Lord."

Hearing this, Daneel was perplexed. If the seller said that the embroidery trinket would work for 6 months to make a sale, then how could he avoid admitting the same under oath?

"Do you remember precisely what he said? Did he say expressly that it will work for 6 months?"

At the stern question from the King, Helena could only stutter while looking for an answer.

She could not remember the exact words of the seller, yet it was a fact that she had walked away from the sale with the thinking that the trinket would last for 6 months.

Finally, it was Dalia who opened her mouth and answered in a hesitant voice after finally getting over the shock and awe of finally meeting her the idol who often appeared in her dreams.

"He said… that it would definitely come for 6 months… if what he was told was true. But the last part was in passing."

Wording. It was all about wording.

By leaving themselves enough wiggle room in what they said, these sellers were clearly exploiting poor folk like the two in front of him.

Realizing this, Daneel was actually reminded of the "Terms & Conditions" back on Earth, which almost no one read. Using this fact, corporations often sneaked in statements that forfeited the rights of the people who signed them without them knowing.

Although this problem had been brought to light, for once, Daneel could not figure out how to solve it right away.

This business was definitely entrenched with the roots of the Kingdom, making it so that it would require a radical purge for which he currently didn't have the funds. In fact, Daneel's agenda for today had been to finalize the plans for solving the debt of Lanthanor.

Thus, putting aside that problem for now, Daneel focused instead on a different one that had come to his mind.

Why didn't Helena have other options to resort to?

Why hadn't there been a way to help and encourage people like her who had talent but no surety to give to obtain loans from lenders?

With these thoughts, one of the most revolutionary organizations in Angaria was born.

Chapter 228 A Step Down

As one of the largest loan sharks in Lanthanor, Abrams had been sipping the costliest wine in the country when he had been notified of the message from the Palace which was inviting all the prominent people in his line of work for a meeting.

The only reason that he had been able to keep his business thriving for so long had been that he had always spent as much as needed to be kept up-to-date on the decisions of the government.

For instance, when all the wine importers and bar owners had been called to the Palace, he had guessed that the Kingdom would mostly impose sanctions, as it was common knowledge that Lanthanor was in need of money.

Hence, he had hastened to collect all the loans given to bar-owners before the meeting even took place.

His reasoning had been simple: if sanctions were placed, the profits in the business would go down, meaning that it would be more difficult for those who had taken the loans to pay the interest.

Usually, in the cases of other businesses, Abrams would have been happy at this as it would mean that he would be able to take over the assets placed as surety with the loan.

Yet, the problem was that here, the bars themselves were the surety.

Hence, if the business of wine did fall, the value of bars might also lessen, resulting in an overall loss for him.

In his life, "loss" was one thing he was determined to avoid no matter what he had to do.

It was this mentality which had enabled him to rise from the status of a slum-dweller to that of one of the richest individuals in Lanthanor with estimated assets of half a million Gold Lans(50 Million dollars, in Earth currency).

It was also this mentality which had made him branch out to almost all the Kingdoms in Angaria where it was allowed for outsiders to do business, as it was common sense to not place all eggs in a single basket.

After listening to the message, Abrams first contacted all the friends who were also in the same business.

On confirming that they had also received the same message, he started the inquiry into just what had happened in the Palace while looking forward to finally meeting the King whose idealistic schemes had led Lanthanor to a debt-laden for the first time in decades.

'He won't ask us for money, will he?'

As this thought floated into mind, he couldn't help but laugh thinking about the absurdity inherent in a King asking his subjects for money.

....

The next morning, 26 men and women entered the gates of the Palace of Lanthanor in carriages that were each more lavish than the next.

All of them were Ether-drive, yet the black boxes which were usually the mechanisms which drove such carts were replaced by artistic sculptures of mythical beasts such as dragons and phoenixes.

As for the carriages themselves, although each looked small, it was quite clear that they had been enchanted with the costliest enchantments that existed: space enchantments.

Like the carriage into which Daneel had jumped where he had the first fateful encounter with the Church of Rectitude, these carriages all had larger spaces inside than the size of the carriage that was visible to the outside.

The main thing that gave away this fact was that the carriages' wheels left deep ruts in the ground when this shouldn't have been possible if they were really the size and weight that they appeared to be.

Space enchantments were one of the trickiest and, thus, the costliest in Angaria. The smaller an object, the harder it was to cast space enchantments on it, resulting in the fact that making small pouches which were capable of holding a large number of things were impossible to make, at least for all the forces in Central Angaria.

Even the ones cast on carriages needed top-tier enchanters, with the cost for expanding a carriage of 10 m2 area to 20 m2 being over 100,000 Gold Lans.

Hence, these enchantments were only used in a few cases, except for in this situation where the only reason was to show opulence.

On entering the Palace while chatting amongst each other, the 26 people seated themselves in a large waiting room while waiting for the King to arrive.

Almost all of them had businesses in multiple Kingdoms, making it so that it was simple for them to shift base if needed.

In essence, they were like the businessmen from Earth whom governments invited and even tried to please because it would result in a growth in their country's economy.

After a few seconds in which some already started to complain that they were being made to wait, the doors opened to reveal a retinue of soldiers.

With the King entering the room, the 26 people only stood up and bowed by bending their back.

In a way, the salute showed just how much respect a person was willing to bestow to the King. A bow on one knee was the standard, which meant that the person giving the bow was a loyal subject.

As for this bow, it only meant that the person was respectful about the position of the man they were giving the bow to, but weren't ready to be ordered around.

After the King took a seat in the chair that faced all of theirs, he first looked around at all the faces present.

The combined wealth of the people in this room reached a staggering 10 Million Gold Lans.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "First of all, Lanthanor thanks you for being present in this meeting which will change both of our futures. Before I begin speaking about why I called you here, can I ask what the biggest problem is that you all are facing?"

A businessman, especially a loan shark which was the occupation that everyone in the room had, could tell when someone wanted something from the other party.

After all, they had built their businesses on deals where they had often been on the same side.

Hence, when they heard the King speak so cordially, they immediately sensed that he was going to ask something of them.

Realizing this, the first feeling that actually went through them was relief.

Abrams, in particular, felt very happy that the worst case of sanctions being placed on loans would mostly not come to be. This was because if that was the case, he would be among those who were majorly affected, as he currently had the most business in Lanthanor.

Taking a sip from the wine that had been served to him, he grimaced slightly at the quality before answering, "People who run without paying back their debt."

Indeed, this was the single biggest problem in their line of work. Even if surety was a must when taking a loan, losses were still incurred when a debtor left especially in cases when the value of the surety fell for some reason, like in the case of the wine importers and the bars they owned.

Hearing the answer, the King smiled before saying something that startled everyone in the room.

"I agree. Oh, by the way, do you think a Kingdom is something that can run away without paying its debt?"

After a brief silence, it was Abrams who spoke again.

This had been a notion that they had actually scoffed at, so seeing it become reality was quite jarring.

After all, a Kingdom was something that had the power to simply raise taxes to obtain as much money as it wanted.

Apart from this, there were myriad ways in which the King could go about procuring enough Gold to refill the treasury.

If so, why was he considering taking loans from them with an interest added on top?

"My Lord, I do not understand. Apologies if I sound rude, but I need these questions answered. You wish to take loans from us? Why not just raise taxes? And what's there to say that you won't use military force to make us 'forget' that we gave you the loan in the first place?"

The latter question was the second reason why the loan sharks felt disturbed. Kingdoms seizing their money wasn't something new; in fact, it was why they took care to spread out their assets as safely as possible.

"It is because I want to build something that can be trusted in the entire continent. A place where anyone can give their money without having to worry that it will be lost. To achieve this dream, I need an impeccable track record. And to kickstart this dream of mine, I am prepared to swear oaths to you myself that your worst fears won't come true."

What Daneel said simply shocked the loan sharks in the room.

A King taking a step down… to swear oaths personally?

This was something simply unheard of.

After all, Kings were individuals who usually saw it a beneath them to even interact so cordially with civilians such as them.

Here, they would actually be receiving an oath?

…..

A few hours later, the 26 people walked out of the room with indecipherable expressions.

Their net worth of 10 Million Gold Lans had been halved, but they only felt hope for the future.

Hope that the name "Bank of Angaria" would ring across the continent one day, and that they would be able to tell proudly that they were its first customers.

Chapter 229 Banker

On seeing off the loan sharks who had hopeful expressions on their faces, Daneel smiled before going back to his chambers.

Although idealistic notions were all well and good, at the end of the day, business came down to numbers.

Daneel had promised them that the gold and/Ether they would send over would safely be returned with interest if he was informed 6 months prior. The interest rate was set at 5%, after he had haggled it down from 10.

The deciding factor had been that of safety.

Both the war that had been won at the border and the display of top-tier power and talent by the King of Lanthanor were signs that this was a Kingdom that wouldn't go down any time soon. Besides, it had existed for centuries with very few instances where its existence had been threatened.

Thus, given a choice between given multiple loans which had a degree of risk in them and giving one loan which was as safe as it could be, it was quite clear which was more appealing.

In fact, Daneel had gotten this idea from the debt system on the Earth.

Although this was a very deep and intriguing topic that he had decided to study and analyze at a later date, there was a simple takeaway which he had applied here.

The safest loan was the best loan.

Here safety could mean multiple things. In the case of the Earth, individuals and corporations were almost always ready to give loans to the United States, both due to the stability of the Dollar as a currency(as this was the currency with which the loan would be repaid) and the record that the country had of not defaulting on its debts. Hence, having the power to receive loans with almost no interest due to these factors, the US took as much as it could, not caring about the fact that it was going more and more into debt.

This was because of the fact that even if it was in debt, that money which was taken as a loan that had to be repaid in a set period of time could be doubled or even tripled before that point came by making smart investments.

To make it simpler to understand, it could be parallelized to the scenario of a school.

In the school, there were a set of bullies who stole or took the lunch money of kids in the morning itself, before lunchtime.

Agitated by this fact, the kids decided to pool all their lunch money in the morning with the school clerk, who would definitely be able to keep it safe. All he needed to do was to give it back by lunchtime.

Being astute, after taking the money in the morning, this clerk went to a market and bought all the items required for making snacks like biscuits.

After making them at his home, the clerk came back to the school and sold the biscuits during the snacks break to either those who didn't need to fear the bullies or even the bullies themselves.

After keeping the tidy profit, the clerk simply gave back the original money he had been given for safekeeping to the kids during the lunch break.

In this scenario, the US was the clerk, the bullied children were the organizations, individuals and countries who feared economic fluctuations, loan defaulters(or other factors) and the bullies were these fears.

Daneel's goal was to build an organization which could be trusted like the clerk by Angaria.

As the famous saying went, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."

Hence, his first step had been to take a step back to personally swear an oath that the assets would be returned in whatever form they wished.

As the individual with the top-most talent in the entire Central Continent, his word was as good as gold notwithstanding the fact that there was also an oath on top.

All these things had finally managed to convince the loan sharks who were usually very strict with their money.

Almost each and every one of them had pledged over half of their assets, as the rest were not in liquid form to be moved.

[Achievement Unlocked: Banker

Banker: By using the knowledge from your previous life, you have embarked on a mission to build a bank that can bank for them all. Congratulations on becoming a banker!

5000 EXP awarded.]

At this moment, Daneel did not know whether to smile for earning precious EXP or to cry for being called a name that was used as a curse by many from his home planet.

Regardless, the treasury that had been empty for so long would finally be refilled with 10 Million Gold Lans worst of assets that he could use to further his goals.

After entering the Energized Training Chamber and taking a seat to continue his training, Daneel started to make plans for the scheme he had in his mind for helping people like Helena and the little girl whose embarrassed and cute expression still brought a smile to his face.

Yet, the hands that were going to be plunged into the red solution were stopped in their tracks when he casually asked the system to show him his statistics.

...…..

At the same time, on the grounds of the Royal Palace of the Black Raven Kingdom.

As two men watched on from the sidelines, a woman and a raven could be seen standing opposite each other on an open field in one of the sparring grounds in the Palace.

Unlike the raven which Elanev had fought against in the Battle Royale which had been bulky, this one was lithe.

Its agile body looked like it had been built for speed, unlike the other whose only goal was to destroy opponents by using its overwhelming penetrating power.

Hence, although it did not look as big, it was very long, with the length from the tail to its head being at least 3 feet.

It was only when the raven opened its wings did it become clear that this was a bird which was actually much larger than it looked.

With a combined length of over 6 feet, a single flap of the wings allowed the raven to directly fly up and catch an air current which it used to drift higher and higher.

As for the woman, on seeing the raven take to the skies, she only raised her hand to make 4 ice pricks appear in the air in front of her.

After a few seconds during which she scanned the skies, the woman's eyes sharpened as she realized that the attack was coming from behind her. Although she had been turning around frequently to check everywhere, it seemed that her opponent had chosen the perfect time.

Indeed, the raven swooped down silently with its wings aloft, like an assassin who was hiding in the shadows.

By the time she shot the first ice prick, the raven was already only a few seconds away from penetrating her neck with its sharp beak.

With a simple sway, this ice prick and the one that had been shot after it missed, making it look as if the woman would have no choice but to be impaled.

Yet, after a second, it became clear that she had only held them back for a final attack.

At the last moment before the raven's beak collided with the woman's neck, the last two ice pricks attacked from below, accurately striking their target and disappearing as if they had entered deep inside the raven.

As for its beak, it made its impact on the neck of the woman who gasped before clutching her neck and flying backward.

Both crumpled to the ground, while claps rang out from one of the men who had been watching the entire thing.

Yet, the man who accompanied him said something in a lazy tone which made the woman who had fallen on the ground glare at him as if she wanted to kill him.

"Meh. I could have killed it in the first try."

Hearing this, the man beside him who was bald with a handlebar mustache got an exasperated expression on his face before saying, "Sir, it's a spar! The goal is to understand each other so that they can fight better later on!"

Indeed, both the raven and the woman stood up massaging the spots where they had been slightly injured.

The ice pricks had been blunt, and the woman had been wearing a special trinket which produced a barrier that protected the neck area.

As for the raven, its beak had also been blunted by using rolled cloth.

Still unimpressed, Elenav, who had entered the Palace on making bold and blasphemous claims that there was nothing special about Black Ravens, shrugged before saying, "Still. I see no advantage whatsoever. Either match me up against a top-tier fighter of yours at my level that I can't defeat, or let me bond with a Raven to find out what's so special about it! Or you can simply admit that I'm right….."

Chapter 230 The Black Raven King Speaks

In the chambers of the Black Raven King, a man stood in front of a full-length mirror wearing armor that looked like it had been through a lot of battles.

Multiple holes could be seen all over his body where the material of the armor had had no choice but to give way to the piercing blows it had had to endure.

Blood could still be seen on the edges of these holes, as if it had been soaked in so much of it that some had seeped into its very being.

In a way, it represented the tenacity of the warrior who had worn it and continued fighting no matter how many injuries he had endured.

That was how the Black Raven King saw himself in the mirror: bruised, battered and bloody; but holding his head high because he had snatched victory by doing everything he could.

Sadly, the image only lasted for a few seconds before being replaced by reality.

In the warrior's place stood a man who spent all his day cooped up in the Kingdom, handling various matters while fearing about the future.

Indeed, he wasn't averse to admitting that he felt fear.

As a warrior who had been through many situations which should have resulted in his death, he knew that fear was a power which spurred men and women to fight with the best of their abilities.

Many times, it was this fear which allowed one to overcome their limits to step towards new levels.

Yet, before, he had feared that a blade would cut him down, rendering all his training and dreams moot.

Now, he feared that he would be remembered as a coward.

A coward and a fool who allowed the Kingdom he ruled to be manipulated to result in its destruction.

He wished that his fears could still be averted by simply plunging the blade in his hands into the hearts of his enemies.

Alas, that wasn't the case.

Looking around one last time and putting aside the fervent dream of being back on the battlefield without any responsibilities instead of having to handle political and economic matters, the Black Raven King let out a long sigh before heading to the Throne Room.

Their Kingdom was one built on the idea that power was absolute. People revered power, and those in the military were, in many cases, the most popular and wealthy individuals in the entire Kingdom.

Now, it seemed that someone had come questioning whether the offspring of their legendary god really did give a huge boost in power as claimed.

On reaching the Throne Room and seeing the damned old man who was responsible for everything standing there as he always did like a shadow that wouldn't go away, the Black Raven King felt the anger that he always bottled up rising up to affect him.

Before, he had actually been a moderately cool-minded individual who didn't resort to getting angry at every small thing.

Now, it was that bottled-up anger that often reared its head in the presence of that old man to give the illusion that he was a hot-head who could easily be manipulated.

His day would come, he thought for the millionth time before sitting on the Throne with the enormous Black Raven above him.

The two men who had been outside before to watch the spar between the woman and the raven were in front of him. One kneeled, while the other bowed.

After they stood back up, he said, "Hmm. My soldiers would have already torn you to bits if you hadn't gathered the attention of the people. They just want to do it … publicly. Still, I've stopped them because I don't want Angaria to think that the Black Raven Kingdom indiscriminately kills those that foolishly question the blessing of our deity. I have an offer for you, but I wonder if you are brave enough to accept it."

Hearing the words of the Black Raven King, a cold sweat had formed on Elanev's back.

He had known exactly how risky this whole scenario was, but he had been banking on the renowned pride of the Black Raven Kingdom to save him.

After all, from his journey, he knew that it was only by taking risks that one could grow.

Although he did have a backup plan utilizing something he had acquired by chance after leaving Lanthanor, he thankfully did not have to use it anymore because it did not seem like he would be killed in cold blood.

Getting back the same swagger he had had when he had commented on the woman before, he said, "Unless it is something that is unfair, I am ready to take any offer that fulfills my wishes. I've traveled far and wide for this, and there's no way I'll go back empty-handed without many others hearing about it if I do."

Perception was a powerful thing. If it really became known across the continent that someone who had come to the Black Raven Kingdom seeking to find out about the specialty of black ravens was either sent back without an answer or killed, it would make everyone think that someone was right.

As a prideful people, this was definitely something that the Kingdom would be unable to bear.

Hence, Elanev's confidence was well-warranted.

Yet, what the Black Raven King said next startled him, making him almost drop the facade of a strong expert looking for a rival.

"I will personally fight you in public after limiting my strength to yours using special trinkets. I will also only use a similarly leveled Black Raven as a companion. What do you say, Challenger? The Black Raven Kingdom never backs down from a fight. It is high time the continent is reminded of this fact."

...…

[Host status updating. Please standby.

Host status:

Host Fighter Level: Human-7(22%)

Host Mage Level: Human-7(22%)

Host Body Potential: A+

Host Comprehension Level: ????

Host Condition: Nominal]

"System… why are there question marks beside the comprehension level? Playback all recent notifications."

[System does not contain enough data to assess host's comprehension level. Playing back:

Confinement completed. System congratulates host on breaking through his limit. Mageroot has broken through to the next level. Data insufficient, system is unable to assess and classify the level of host's Mageroot.

End of playback.]

Hearing the notification, Daneel's hands which had been about to plunge into the red goo to continue training fell to his side.

His comprehension had…broken through?

But how?

And why wasn't he feeling anything different?

After thinking for a moment, Daneel understood why this was the case.

Comprehension decided the ease and speed with which one could comprehend and connect with elementary particles in order to use them at their will.

The simple fact was that he hadn't cast any spells since this 'breakthrough', making it so that he had had no chance to experience whether there was any change.

Getting up, Daneel raised his hand in the air to try and conjure the same attack that he had used to defeat the Axelorian Commander: "Wood Cleaver."

Daneel was, after all, someone who had the talent of a legendary mage. Hence, although he had only seen Kellor's attack for a small period of time in order to let the system analyze it, he could still try and form on it on his own without the system's help.

The long, wooden handle which was the body of the axe was the first thing that started to appear.

This was when Daneel started to notice a difference. Usually, he would have already felt a resistance from the wood elementary particles in the air as he did not understand their patterns and behaviors as well as Kellor did. Hence, he would have had to resort to brute force, which would have ended up tiring him immensely.

Now, even as the handle was slowly being conjured, Daneel was rapidly understanding the very essence of wood which Kellor had taken years to grasp.

Although there were many aspects of wood, he understood that the one needed right now was sturdiness.

Layers and layers of particles, arranged in intricate patterns that added a resilience comparable to metal when the wood was thick enough.

Yet, just as he was about to delve deeper into the mysteries that he found fascinating, the particles that he had been guiding till now started to get out of control.

Soon enough, he realized that he would have to brute force it if he wanted to continue.

Stopping the conjuring, Daneel sat on the floor with an astonished expression on his face.

He had actually reached this point so fast!

There was only one explanation: his comprehension really had increased.

But why?

As he asked himself this, Daneel thought back to the moment before he had fainted beside Faxul in the Chamber.

Till then, he had been resisting the pressure from the entity which had wanted to destroy and consume him.

Yet, at the moment when the pressure had been removed due to the system confining it, he had felt … liberated, as if he were a flower that would only grow higher if it were stepped down upon.

That must definitely have been the moment of breakthrough.

As Daneel thought along these lines, another question appeared to him.

"System, is there any change in my training speed and time to becoming a Warrior because of this breakthrough?"

Chapter 231 Foolish or Brave?

[Due to increased comprehension level, host's training speed as a mage has improved by 50%.]

The King of Lanthanor could only stare into space for a few seconds after hearing this notification.

50%! This was just…unbelievable!

Calculating in his head, Daneel realized that he would be able to reach the Warrior level as a Mage in…less than a year!

Usually, if the level of the surprise was below a certain level, one would be able to comprehend and jump in the joy, assuming that it was positive.

In this case, it was well and beyond what Daneel had ever imagined.

Just the thought that he could reach this legendary level in such a short time….made him dumbstruck.

It was said that one had to go through the toughest of difficulties to gain something truly valuable.

By taking the decision to fight against the entity, it seemed that Daneel had gained so much more than he thought he would.

Besides, according to the level classification that Daneel knew about, legendary potential was the minimum if one wanted to get to the Champion Level before their life ended.

Of course, Crimson comprehension level only meant that one would be able to touch on the Champion Level if they spent most of their time training, while also being lucky enough to pass the final hurdle that blocked one from becoming a Champion.

As for those with Gold comprehension level, it was said that just by staying safe and training nominally, they would be able to reach the Champion level without too much effort.

This was also why every candidate with legendary comprehension level would send enemy Kingdoms into a frenzy.

If a Champion level powerhouse did emerge from any of the forces in Central Angaria, they might even be able to unite the entire area because of their overwhelming power.

Yet, not even one had appeared in centuries.

According to the memoirs of the previous Kings of Lanthanor, this was because of the final hurdle to reach the Champion level from the peak Warrior level, which Daneel still did not have a clear idea about.

Coming back to his condition, if legendary comprehension was required to become a Champion, then would his level correspond to….the rumored Hero level?

Daneel had heard not a whisper about 'Heros' since coming to Angaria, except for the legends in the books that he had collected from the Town Library all those years ago.

Hence, he did not even know if there was someone at that level in the entire continent at the moment.

Even the matter of the absurd boost in training speed would be able to be explained by this fact.

After all, the way power scaled in Angaria was that each major level was exponentially more powerful than the one before.

This would mean that getting to a level above that of a Champion really would require exponentially higher training speed.

Finally, after a minute or so, the King of Lanthanor came back to his senses before avidly plunging his hands into the goo to continue training.

"Warrior level, here I come.", he thought, before starting to train alongside the clone with renewed vigor.

.....

Meanwhile, in the underground room that was the headquarters of the Network of Angaria.

In a private chamber that had been constructed just for her, Eloise sat in front of a map of the continent with an expression of serious thought on her face.

After the success with the advertising scheme, offers had started to pour in all over the two Kingdoms in which the NOA was prevalent.

Yet, knowing the importance of not flooding the Network with too many ads and driving away people, Eloise had decided to take a moderate approach by introducing a few ads every day, and rotating them during the week.

In this process, they had found out that ads right now were most beneficial to only a certain number of people who were listening.

This was the core problem that if solved, would generate much more growth in business for those opting the advertise using the NOA. If they could accomplish, Eloise knew that the NOA would generate revenue in the range of hundreds of thousands of Gold Lans, opposed to the present where it was still around the tens of thousands.

Yet, although the problem had been identified, they were still a long way from figuring out a solution.

Deciding that she would have to speak to the King about it soon and haplessly blushing again at the thought, Eloise turned to the next major problem.

Expansion.

Right now, the NOA was only present in Lanthanor and Eldinor. Due to the tireless efforts of the assembly line, enough communication trinkets had been made to flood Lanthanor city with the Network.

Instead of the small community where NOA had been tested, the Network now had listeners all over the Capital, with a penetration of 70% in the population of around 500,000.

Of course, all of them had been given for free, meaning that right now, the NOA was only burning a hole in the Kingdom's pocket.

As for Eldinor, the adoption had been slower due to the fact that many of the Elves were much more learned in their worldview than the citizens of Lanthanor, who led their lives without much knowledge about the continent.

Hence, the penetration in the capital of the Kingdom of the Elves was at around 50%.

Although Eloise had many features and schemes planned to increase the adoption rate in both of these Kingdoms, the primary aim right now was to expand to more Kingdoms.

Yet, why would Kingdoms freely allow them to distribute trinkets knowing that they would be able to influence the minds of their citizens?

When thinking of this matter, Eloise realized that it was all about need.

In Eldinor, the Network had chosen the right time when there was no Queen or King on the Throne.

She surmised that as the network had been one of the contributing factors which had allowed the present Queen to win the election, it was being allowed to proliferate through the Kingdom.

If this was the case, then it all came down to need.

Unless there was a need, no Kingdom might opt to give the permission they needed.

If so, she had to identify a need which the Network would address for each Kingdom.

Thinking like so, Eloise started poring over all the news that was going to be broadcast next on the Network.

When she was doing so, a single news item became stuck in her eyes.

.....

"Your Majesty, Eloise is asking for an urgent meeting."

Interrupted after only having just begun training, Daneel initially felt frustrated for a bit because he had truly become hopefully addicted to the feeling he got when he reached nearer and nearer to a level where he wouldn't have to fear anyone from Central Angaria.

Of course, this only lasted for a moment. Eloise was actually his most hardworking subordinate, and the fact that she had called for an urgent meeting definitely meant that it was something very important.

Deciding to only use the clone, he said, "All right. Ask her to come to my chambers."

Yet, right after he gave the order, Daneel remembered the last time he had called her to his chambers.

Hence, hastily contacting Kellor through the oathstone again, he said, "You come too."

...….

After a few minutes, Daneel's clone walked into the Chamber.

After receiving the bows from the two who had arrived, he sat in the central seat before gesturing at Eloise to speak about the matter for which she had called the meeting.

"My Lord, someone has recently made a stir in the Black Raven Kingdom by challenging the claims that ravens give substantial boosts in power to Mages and Fighters who are able to connect with them. He seems to be someone who is capable of fighting above his level, as he has already defeated a Black Raven Fighter with a single punch. As the people of the Kingdom are aware of this and because pride is valued above all by them, the King himself has decided to fight this challenger in public after restricting his power level."

As Eloise took a pause at this point, Daneel couldn't help but feel awe at the person who had practically woven a story straight out of the legends about himself.

To challenge an entire Kingdom….was it bravery or foolishness?

Daneel couldn't help but incline his thoughts towards the latter, unless this person had the ability to protect himself if he were being chased by an entire Kingdom.

Regardless, wondering what this news had to do with them, he waited for Eloise to continue.

"The purpose of the fight is to let the continent know that the Black Raven Kingdom does not back down, and also to showcase the power of the descendants of their deity. I propose that we give the offer to do a live blow-by-blow broadcast of the fight on the Network, if they allow the Network to spread in their Kingdom."

Chapter 232 Cause and Effect

Hearing Eloise's proposition, Daneel was impressed that she had managed to identify such a great opportunity.

Indeed, just as she felt, Daneel knew that need was what drove any business or discussion. Hence, this could very well be the perfect way to spread the NOA to the Black Raven Kingdom.

"Kellor, initiate contact with the Black Raven King's point of contact immediately. Explain everything, and also ensure them that the strength of a Black Raven Fighter will definitely be emphasized heavily. Set up a meeting with me if needed. Eloise, well done. Time and time again, you've proven that you are the best one for the job. I am really glad to have you working with me to make my dream come true."

As Daneel said these heartfelt words to Eloise, he saw her blush and hide her face with her hand.

At the moment, the expression he saw in her eyes reminded him of the one he had seen in Dalia's.

Although the intensity of the adoration was lower, there was a different aspect to it which he couldn't place.

Was it… infatuation?

Not at all experienced in matters of this kind, Daneel really couldn't tell if that was the case.

Regardless, what he felt for Eloise was true gratitude and a growing sister-like feeling.

Besides, there was no way he would even consider any romantic thoughts unless the looming threat on Angaria was resolved.

Thus, he wished that his guess was wrong because if it wasn't, he would feel quite guilty for breaking the heart of someone whom he trusted and admired for her hard-working and smart nature.

As he had been absorbed in his thoughts, he realized that Kellor had asked something which he had missed.

Coming back to his senses, he realized that the question had been: "What if the Black Raven King loses? Won't the entire operation backfire?"

Thinking for a moment, he answered, "The chances of that are very, very minute. The King would only set up such a match in public if he is confident of winning. I've met him, so I know that he is most probably not dumb enough to just rush into the fight without taking countermeasures. Besides, he's a true-blue peak Exalted Human Fighter. Even if he restricts his power, his experience will still ensure a victory."

Although this was the answer he gave, there was also an unspoken reason that he had kept to himself.

As the King hadn't hesitated to try and cheat Lanthanor by giving the Echer seeds without explaining about their effect on the land, he would definitely not think of it as under him to ensure a victory by using dishonest means.

Little did he know that the Black Raven King and the Old Man were arguing about this very same point in the throne room of the Black Raven Kingdom.

.....

"No. I am a warrior, and I would rather die than use underhanded methods to defeat an enemy in an upfront fight. If I don't do so, even if I step into the level that has the same name as the one I call myself, it wouldn't contain any meaning. I will defeat him, no matter what tricks he has up his sleeve."

Hearing the words spoken in a tone that brooked no arguments, the Old Man who had just gotten out of the Natural Energized Training Chamber and heard about the news of the fight sighed and said, "I know. But in this crucial moment, we cannot take a chance. Just carry the trinket I give with you, and go on to defeat him without touching it if you can. But if I see you losing, I will activate it myself."

"NO! Old man, I don't know if you have ever been on a battlefield. It is the desperation of there not being any other way that leads a warrior to give his all in a fight! If I have this countermeasure, I can't fight to my heart's content!"

SLAM

With the last word, the Black Raven King had slammed his fist on the handrest of the throne, making the sound echo all around the throne room.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face had turned red from the indignation he felt.

Yet, seeing the old man's usually neutral expression morphing into one of utter seriousness, his expression slowly started to turn into one of trepidation.

SLACK. SLACK. SLACK.

The sound of the old man's slippers echoed in the room as he took one step after another in the King's direction.

It was as if each step was tightening a noose around the Black Raven King's neck, as he felt as if the air flow were being cut off from his lungs.

By the time the old man reached him, his red face which had previously been so due to anger now had additional veins popping out as he was close to suffocating to death.

"I did not think that I needed to remind you of our… arrangement. Do what I say, or you die. I won't even bother commanding you through the oath you swore. Don't make me warn you again, or you might find yourself missing something other than the air. Something more… personal."

The last words were said while the old man looked at the crotch area of the Black Raven King.

As the King realized this, he couldn't help but helplessly clutch at that spot after the feeling of being suffocated disappeared.

Seeing the fear that had been renewed in the King's eyes, the old man smiled coldly before turning around and walking out of the throne room.

As he did so, it almost seemed as if the eyes of the enormous Black Raven that stood above the throne flashed, as if it were following him while he made his exit.

.....

"Dalia, enough! You haven't spoken a word or eaten properly in two days! I know you are embarrassed for what happened in the Palace, but this is taking it too far!"

As Helena finally reached the limits of her patience and berated Dalia who was playing with her food, her daughter only blushed again and bent, hiding her head under her hands which she had folded on the table.

After the meeting in the Lanthanorian Throne Room, they had been told that they would soon be called back to the Palace to have their problem resolved.

A few days of delay was something they could still handle, hence the family had gone back to their home while hoping that the call would come soon.

Yet, since that point, Dalia had become someone entirely different from her usual self.

Her talkativeness was gone, replaced by the activity of acting like so every so often.

Helena knew very well how much her daughter had been looking forward to seeing the King.

Thus, she had easily figured out that it was because she had become tongue-tied when she was supposed to explain the situation.

Although she had thought initially that Dalia would be able to get over it herself after a period of time, she had noticed that it was only getting worse.

Hence, she had decided to finally confront her daughter about it.

Yet, seeing that there was no answer, she thought for a bit before deciding on saying something that would definitely elicit a response.

"You know, by acting like you are right now, you are only decreasing the chances of talking to him again."

This statement finally made her daughter look up with a confused expression on her face.

Realizing that it was working, she carried on.

"You know who the King speaks to on a regular basis?", she asked, making Dalia look into the air as she tried to come up with an answer.

After a few seconds, she shook her head.

"To those who work under him, dummy! And do you know what the criteria is for getting a job in the Palace?"

"The head counselor said that…we have to be at the top of our chosen field."

This was actually the first sentence Helena had gotten out of her daughter since the incident.

Feeling happy, she said, "Exactly! Then if you don't eat and question things and be the Dalia from before whom the teachers always praised, how will you get to the top? Daughter, just put what happened out of your mind and work hard while being yourself to become someone the King can rely on. Will you do that for me?"

At the mention of the word 'rely', it seemed that a fire had been born in the eyes of the 10-year-old.

Nodding with determination on her face, Dalia got up and walked to the chair her mother was sitting on before hugging her tight.

"Mom, I'm starving. Can we go get some candy? After that, we should go to the library!"

Laughing at her daughter's cute expression, Helena couldn't help but laugh and nod, making Dalia run off to change her clothes.

Seeing her bobbing head and patting herself on her back that she had fixed her daughter's behavior, Helena also got up to change her clothes and fetch her purse.

She had no idea exactly what path she had set her daughter on at this moment, and how this would end up changing the fates of many in the future.

Chapter 233 Entering the Black Raven Kingdom

"They say the Network of Angaria will allow the entire continent to know exactly how powerful the descendants of our deity are, allowing the world to see and fear the might of the Black Raven Kingdom."

Gesturing at the messenger who had just spoken out the entire missive sent by the Kingdom of Lanthanor to leave, the Black Raven King sat back on the throne while waiting for the old man who had been standing at the side to speak.

Due to the recent warning, he had been behaving quite subdued unlike his previous self who had started to act unruly because of the long time that had passed since reaching the arrangement which tied his life to the old man's.

After pondering for a bit, the old man looked at the Black Raven King and said, "Allow it. I see more advantages than disadvantages. Your Kingdom isn't one where public opinion matters anyway, unlike the Kingdom of the Elves where a sway in opinion can change the leader itself. It'll also make the bratty King think that we are valuing the 'alliance' reached due to the Echer seeds. Make sure to send that part in the communication. Also, make a committee to keep an eye on the network, and assess whether there is any long-term risk for the Kingdom. And don't disturb me unless there is anything important. I will come out next when the fight is due."

The Black Raven King only nodded hearing these words, opting to look on as the old man exited the throne room.

Yet, at the last moment before walking out the door, the old man turned around to shoot a cold glance at the King as a warning to not play any antics when he wasn't there.

Feeling an instinctive fear, the Black Raven King couldn't help but grasp at his crotch area again, remembering the warning that had been given before.

Seeing the door close and finding himself alone in the room, the Black Raven King got up before walking towards the door himself and turning around to gaze at the enormous statue which had apparently existed for as long as the Kingdom.

Closing his eyes, he did the only thing he could think of right now.

He prayed. He prayed that someone could come along and kill this old man, whose only purpose seemed to be to wring the Kingdom dry for his own motives.

This was definitely not what he had in mind when he had taken the offer to become someone who could stand above all and below one.

....

In the King's chambers in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel, Eloise and Kellor were standing in front of a parchment while waiting for the communication from the Black Raven Kingdom who had intimated that they would be sending over the decision in a moment.

All of them had hopeful expressions on their faces, as an approval would mean that they would be able to tap into almost half the population of Central Angaria.

Seeing the parchment flash, Kellor walked forward and immediately held it in his hand, receiving the transmission.

After a few moments, a wide smile spread across his face which was enough for the others to understand what the message was.

Eloise immediately jumped up in the air, whooping and clapping her hands before calming herself down realising in whose presence she was.

Yet, the King himself had an even wider smile on his face and looked like he was resisting the urge to jump up himself.

Instead, he turned to Eloise who had just landed and grasped her by the shoulders before saying with excitement, "Well done Eloise! Time and time again, you keep exceeding expectations! Thank you for being by my side!"

Saying these words and looking into her eyes for a moment, the King turned around before beginning a conversation with Kellor about the logistics of preparing enough communication trinkets to deliver to the Black Raven Kingdom.

Thus, he didn't see that his small gesture of appreciation had made Eloise freeze where she stood and stare at him, completely entranced by the broad shoulders which gave her a measure of stability and security that she had always been looking for her entire life.

As this feeling swept over her, she realised that the feelings she had for the King had long surpassed those that existed between a ruler and a loyal subject.

Her stomach fluttering as if butterflies were flying inside, she left the room, replaying the moment that had just happened over and over again in her mind.

...

Two days later.

A man wearing the guise of a traveller entered the Black Raven Kingdom before heading towards a town nearby.

Although the Black Raven Kingdom was also surrounded by walls just like the Kingdom of Lanthanor, these walls could not even hold a candle to the impregnable ones that had thrown back enemies for centuries.

They were made out of stone bricks held together by a mixture of clay. On top, a metal layer had been applied for added strength.

Only Mages who were well experienced in handling metal elementary particles could even hope to melt enough iron in order to make such a coating possible.

Hence, this was one of the costliest projects the Kingdom had ever undertaken, but it had proven its value multiple times when it put up a strong resistance against foes who attacked.

Of course, unlike the walls of the Lanthanor Kingdom, these could be breached much more easily resulting in many villages and towns not opting to be situated near the borders.

Most of the land was barren, making it so that even if an invader did manage to breach the wall and enter, they would only be met with no cover and no stronghold to take control of.

Teleportation detection stopped people from entering however they wanted, and the strikeforce of the Black Raven Kingdom which was ranked among the top in terms of speed of response made anyone think twice before deciding to attack these lands.

Daneel had already read about all these facts in the dossier they had back in Lanthanor.

Although he had been reluctant to pause his training, he had taken the decision to investigate the Kingdom himself because he might soon have to figure out a way to take control of it just like how he had done with Eldinor.

This was actually his second stop after leaving from the Lanthanorian Palace, because he had first gone to the location of the Ker Gem mine to pick up the gems formed in the Natural Energised Training Chamber.

Glad that he at least had a way to train without taking the risk to expose the goo, Daneel had taken on this disguise before entering the Kingdom.

After reaching the village, he saw that the style of architecture was different from Lanthanor's.

In Lanthanor, even villages had houses made of stone bricks because the simple technology to construct such houses had been proliferated in the public long ago.

Yet, in the Black Raven Kingdom, he saw that many houses were still made of mud and thatch.

Of course, larger establishments such as inns were still made of stone bricks.

Taking lodging in one such inn in the town which was closest to the location where the Black Raven King would soon fight the challenger, Daneel ordered the local delicacies before asking the bartender, "I've been to Lanthanor and Eldinor, but this is the first time I saw houses like these which looked so primitive. Why is this the case?"

The bartender was an individual who had an eye patch, with an old raven perched on his shoulder who was looking at Daneel suspiciously as if he wasn't who he seemed to be.

Indeed, after entering the Kingdom he had realised that Black Ravens weren't as rare as he had thought in his mind. Out of 10 citizens that he had seen, at least three or four had ravens perched on their shoulders or resting on their hands while the people went about their daily tasks.

Although he had read this metric in the dossier, the sight was truly something to behold.

It was almost as if the entire society was built around this intelligent species and the humans.

According to what he had read, each and every Black Raven citizen would have the option of trying to bond with a Raven after reaching the age of 14.

This offer was not extended to outsiders, or even those that had chosen to marry outside their own society.

This reminded Daneel of some of the communities on earth who also acted the same way, being open to outsiders but still prioritising 'blood'.

Because the population of the citizens itself numbered in the millions, inbreeding wasn't a problem except in rare cases.

"Typical foreigner. Those are the houses of the true citizens, and they are a tier above when compared to the stone houses. They keep the houses cool naturally and are enchanted with special spells for added defense. I wish I could live in one of those."

Chapter 234 The Fight 1

Hearing the answer from the bartender, Daneel couldn't help but feel surprised seeing that there was this much demarcation between citizens and noncitizens, to the point that even the house they lived in was enough to tell who they were.

Opting to not respond, Daneel waited for a bit before receiving the local delicacy which was an animal that looked like a small rat poked through with a stick floating in a broth of some kind.

Taking the food and a glass of cheap wine and sitting at one of the tables in the inn, he started to eat while carefully looking around.

People wore mostly loose clothes because of the higher temperature, with some even opting to go shirtless and exposing the scars on their bodies.

Typically, these kinds of people also had ravens with them, showcasing that they had once been part of the military which was something to be adored in this part of Angaria.

As the common saying went, the weakest point of a chain was its weakest link.

From the way people interacted with each other, he could tell which ones were citizens and which weren't.

The citizens usually seemed like they had more swagger, confidently speaking in loud tones without caring that they were in a public setting where they could disturb others.

Although the noncitizens weren't very subdued, it could easily be assessed that they were acting while keeping their lower status in mind.

Although the Black Raven Kingdom always insisted that it allowed outsiders with open arms, the difference in status was something that was very glaring.

This made it so that the number of noncitizens living inside the Kingdom was pitiful, coming to around just 20% of the total population.

Hence, Daneel's initial plan of riling up tensions between citizens and noncitizens to cause riots and bring about a change in leadership was scrapped, both because the noncitizens were too low in number and the fact that the King wasn't someone who could be deposed by any common citizen.

In a way, this entire Kingdom looked to him like a cult. A cult whose leader and founder was the legendary Black Raven who was responsible for this Kingdom existing in the first place.

All the typical signs of a cult were there: all the citizens worshipped their deity with a single-minded fanaticism, with the objects of that deity being the ones which decided the role of someone in the society-if someone could connect with a descendant of the deity, it meant that they were blessed, leading them to possess as much wealth and power as they wanted up to a certain limit.

Also, they had several exclusive things such as the houses, some other perks and the advantage of trying to bond with a Black Raven which no one else could do.

The cult leader was the one who had the strongest connection with the strongest Black Raven in the Kingdom, which was rumored to be at a level comparable to an Exalted Human, as opposed to the other ravens which could only be trained up to the Eminent Human level.

It was still told in stories how the present King had challenged the previous one to a fight and defeated him before going on to form an extremely strong bond with the strongest Black Raven.

Hence, he had won the adoration of the people and smoothly become King, still worshipped to this day because of the strength of the ancestor's blood which flowed through him that had allowed him to make that bond.

While assessing everything he knew about the Kingdom in his mind, Daneel tried to come up with a different plan while waiting for the appointed time of the duel to arrive.

An hour later, the inn started to empty as everyone rushed to the large stadium that was on the outskirts of this town.

Seeing this, Daneel also got up from the chair and had the last of the bitter wine before heading towards the stadium himself.

After reaching, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks seeing the striking resemblance between this stadium and the famous colosseums back on Earth.

After all, the purpose was the same, making it so that this simple structure had been adopted by both worlds.

Outside the doors of the stadium, stalls had been set up which were distributing communication trinkets after carefully noting down the details and making sure that the binding of the trinket happened in the presence of those who were put in charge.

Daneel was the one who had insisted on this, as the trinkets weren't so cheap as to just spread them and hope that they wouldn't be discarded due to disinterest.

A catchy slogan which had actually been proposed by Eloise was in front of each stall: "Join the Network of Angaria and watch as the glory of the Black Raven Kingdom becomes known to the entire continent!"

As was crucial with every advertisement, this one's goal was to strike a chord in the people who were attending the tournament who were very prideful of their Kingdom.

Thus, many didn't hesitate to head over to at least find out what it was as they had been enthralled by the word 'glory'.

Smiling at the long line in front of the stalls, Daneel headed over to a bookkeeper and bought a ticket before heading to a common seat in the stands.

The fight had yet to begin, with people filling in rapidly as the time slowly crept towards noon, which was when the King would supposedly beat down the challenger into dust.

Seeing that he had some free time, Daneel took out a communication trinket before saying, "Eloise, are the three broadcasters ready? Have you check their credentials thoroughly?"

After a brief pause which made Daneel wonder if there was some problem with the communication trinket, Eloise replied in an uncharacteristically breathy voice as if she had just run up and down the stairs.

"Yes, My Lord. Two of them are veterans of the Lanthanorian Army who fought with the Black Raven Kingdom in a few skirmishes, while the third is a traveler who has gone around the whole continent challenging every type of fighter there is, just like the challenger who is going to fight the King. All three of them are quite fluent, and we have already had multiple trial broadcasts where they assessed a spar between two Lanthanorian Fighters. The broadcast will surely be a success."

"Good. I would expect nothing less from the most hard-working and sincere person in the entire palace. Keep it up, Eloise."

Having no idea that his simple compliment had again made Eloise lose her breath and smile happily to herself, Daneel put his eyes back on the stadium and noticed that someone had entered the field in the middle even though there were still 20 minutes till the start of the fight.

This man was wearing a mask which covered everything but his eyes, and he stood with his arms folded while lazily looking around at all the people booing him in the stands.

Indeed, this familiar figure had invoked in the people who had been present in the previous tournament a desire to tear him apart due to the overconfident and gloating nature he had shown before.

Their pride had been very heavily stung, and if even the King lost to this nameless challenger, Daneel couldn't even assess what would happen.

As he looked again and again at the man in the field, Daneel couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was someone familiar.

Yet, no matter how much he thought about it, he just couldn't place a finger on who it was.

Giving up and hoping that the mask would be revealed during the fight, Daneel thought back to the secondary transmission he had received from the Black Raven King.

In it, the Black Raven King had expounded on the bond that had formed between them due to the deal with the Echer seeds, which had apparently been part of the reason for him accepting the Network of Angaria to spread in his kingdom.

At this, Daneel had had to resist the urge to curse.

After all, he knew that the bond was nothing but a hope that by destroying some of the most fertile land in his Kingdom, he would be led to find a way to fix that land which could be copied by the Black Raven Kingdom to rejuvenate their own which was definitely already barren due to the energy-sucking effects of the Echer seeds

Knowing that the Black Raven King would soon get his comeuppance for scheming against his Kingdom and people, Daneel only smiled to himself coldly before putting his focus on the fight which was going to start in a few minutes.

Chapter 235 The Fight 2

The booing of the crowds which had been getting louder and louder stopped the moment a tall man appeared at the end of the stadium, confidently walking towards the center of the field where his challenger was waiting.

He wore black leather armor which covered his entire body including his palms. While his black hair flew in the wind, a confident smile appeared on his face as he raised his hand to wave at the crowds who had just started an ear-shattering cheer.

Meanwhile, Elanev, who was putting on the façade of a warrior who knew no fear couldn't help but feel a slight amount of trepidation feeling the entire stadium itself shake due to the people on the stands who had all gotten up the moment the King had arrived.

Yet, at the same moment, the thrill of a challenge coursed through him, making him enter the familiar zone of concentration which he had relied on often in his journey to save his life.

Whether it be the fiercest animal or the strongest bandit, no matter who his enemy was, this zone allowed him to ignore all distractions and focus completely on the movements of the one in front of him.

Hence, with his eyes fixed firmly on the King who was walking towards him, Elanev started to plan the first move he would make.

He knew very well of the history of this man who had gone through countless battles before challenging the previous King and defeating him in the process.

Even though he would be wearing a special trinket designed to limit his power to that of an Eminent Human Fighter, his experience would definitely give him an edge in this fight.

Yet, Elanev was confident in his own trump cards which might even result in a surprise victory.

Unlike before when he had completely disregarded the threat that his opponent represented in the last Battle Royale match, Elanev entered into a stance with both of his fists pointing forward while his legs loosened up, enabling him to be light on his feet when needed.

After the King reached a distance of 50 feet from Elanev, he stopped and waited for an official who had entered from the other entrance of the field.

In the official's hand was a cage in which a Raven was looking around astutely, trying to figure out where it was.

In the Black Raven Kingdom, there were actually two types of Ravens which were known as awakened and unawakened.

According to their doctrine, any Raven which managed to form a connection with a human, thereby awakening its ancestral blood, was considered an awakened Raven which would always be treated with the highest of respect and would never be forced to do anything by anyone.

Unawakened ravens were those which had not formed a bond with anyone. Hence, no one would say anything even if they were caged in this way.

According to the statistics, of all the Ravens bred to power using the Kingdom's secret technique, a small percentage were always unawakened.

Still, these ravens weren't treated unfairly. Put in cages and fed well, they waited for someone to come along who could bond with them.

Apparently, this was one of those ravens. Its size was similar to the one which had fought alongside Elanev's opponent in the Battle Royale before, at around double the size of a man's head.

Yet, unlike that Raven and the one which had been the partner of the woman, this one did not have any special features such as a bulkier or more agile build.

After the official reached them, the King opened his mouth and shouted in a voice which did not need any amplification trinkets to resound across the stadium.

This was because the people had already fallen silent the moment the King had done so.

Even before Elanev could marvel at the absolute respect and obedience the people had for this man, the Black Raven King's words had already started to echo in the stadium.

"People of the Black Raven! Today, a challenger is in front of me who doubts that the descendants of our glorious ancestor give any boost in power to those who are lucky enough to bond with them. You know very well that many soldiers would have already torn this man to bits if I had allowed them to."

This line drew a roar from the crowd, inundating the stadium for a few seconds before fading away because the King had resumed speaking.

"I only stopped them, because this is a great opportunity for the continent to be reminded about the sheer power of a Black Raven Fighter. And for this purpose, I myself am ready to defend our honor.

"For the purpose of fairness, I will only be using a Raven which has been unawakened and thus not trained in a specific way to build a specific power. This man is a 6th Grade Eminent Human fighter, but I will be restricting myself to the level of a fifth-grade one so that he won't whine later that he lost because I have more experience than him."

The Black Raven King chuckled as he said these words, making the crowd laugh alongside him while the desire for revenge in their eyes only got stronger.

Walking to the official, he first looked at the Raven for a few moments before using a finger to scratch at its head, right above its sharp beak.

Initially, it tried to resist, but it was soon enjoying itself and tilting its head in happiness as the King continued scratching.

While still doing so, the King carefully opened the cage door and coaxed the Raven onto his hand.

Yet, as soon as the Raven did so, it screeched as if in pain.

With his sharp eyesight, Elenav could see that there was some sort of ring with a pointy needle on the fingers of the Black Raven King.

The ring had penetrated the leg of the Raven, and although it was about to fly away seeing that it was actually free, it stopped itself after unfolding its wings and turned around to look into the eyes of the King.

With its head cocked to one side, the raven's eyes connected with the Kings for a few seconds before it completely turned docile and got onto his shoulder.

"So fast!"

"That's our King! The one with the strongest Black Raven blood!"

"Praise be to our Saviour, the legendary Black Raven!"

Statements like these resounded across the stadium, making Elanev raise his brow as even he couldn't help but feel impressed at the feat of the king.

According to what he had heard, connecting with a Raven was usually a process that took weeks or even months depending on the blood of the person.

Seeing it happening in a few minutes was truly fascinating, and it had also revealed to Elanev exactly what kind of trinket was used in the process.

After this, the official handed over another trinket which was shaped like a belt with thorns all around.

As the King wore the belt, he winced as the thorns dug into his skin, but his expression returned to normal as the feeling went away after a few moments.

Yet, a grimace passed across his face after this had happened, as he felt his strength receding to the level previously set on the trinket.

Such trinkets were actually quite rare and limited, but they weren't very sought after due to their limited uses. Apparently, even the design for creating such trinkets had long been lost, making it so that this one was one of the last that was still in use in the continent.

With his job done, the official left the stadium while the King said one last sentence before the fight began.

"To all those listening, I only say one thing. If you ever even think of opposing my Kingdom, then remember this fight and cower in your boots."

With the bold proclamation, a bell sounded across the stadium, signalling the beginning of the fight.

It was as if his statement had served to fire himself up, as the Black Raven King's eyes had become bloodshot just like the people in the stands who were cheering for him as if there was no tomorrow.

The first attack itself made a cold sweat appear on Elanev's back.

Taking a single step forward and swinging his body while holding both legs of the Raven in his hand, the King flung the Raven at him with a blinding speed that made him lose hope of even trying to intercept it.

Rolling to the side, Elanev prepared himself for a tough fight.

Chapter 236 The Fight 3

After he rolled to the side, a feeling of danger coming from his back made him jump and roll again as he realized that the King had already rushed towards him and launched an attack which would have almost hit if it weren't for his instincts which had been honed during the months of traveling.

Seeing the consecutive rolls in the middle of the field, the people of the Black Raven Kingdom couldn't help but laugh with satisfaction as they became filled with the sweet feeling of seeing their enemy beaten down in front of them.

After the Raven had missed its mark, Elanev hadn't been able to figure out where it was, making him feel an additional sense of danger which was all the more frightening as he did not know from which direction it would come from.

Meanwhile, the Black Raven King was raining down punches and kicks at him in a barbaric style that emphasized offense over defense.

Since childhood, Elanev had been trained in punching and kicking techniques which would try and take advantage of an enemy's weakness while also protecting the user.

The technique the King was using was the antithesis of what he had learned.

By forsaking defense, although there are many holes in the King's technique which he could take advantage of, the speed of the offense was so high that if he wanted to land a punch or kick, he would have to allow himself to be hit multiple times.

The lack in experience was already showing its mark. The first attack itself has served to throw Elanev off his game, putting him in disadvantages position which the King had capitalized on to push him more and more towards defeat.

Knowing that that was the only outcome if this continued, Elanev used one of the trump cards he had picked up since leaving the Kingdom.

Pushing energy towards his feet, Elanev took two steps which looked normal.

Yet, two muffled explosions could be heard in the stadium while Elanev flew back in a controlled manner before vaulting in the air and smoothly landing on the ground.

This almost made people suspect that the challenger was actually a mage, but their doubts were answered when they saw that two clear footprints had appeared on the exact spot where the man had stepped off of on the ground to fly into the air.

This was definitely some sort of technique that used force to push oneself and result in this effect.

Only one man among the crowds almost stood up with shock, seeing a familiar technique being used in a place far away from home.

Meanwhile, Elanev had taken out two strange looking trinkets that seemed like they had been designed to be worn.

Although they looked like they were made up of a metallic material, as Elanev put them on, they bent to perfectly surround his fists, making them shine in the sun.

Seeing the strange trinkets, the king only smiled before advancing towards his opponent again.

He was not even wearing any weapons, showing his confidence in being able to win the fight even if he was barehanded.

Yet, the moment he threw another punch at his opponent, he realized that he had probably made a mistake by underestimating him like so.

The reality was that although his power had been restricted to that of a fifth-grade Eminent Human Fighter, his experience allowed him to output a fist power at least two levels above his due to the perfect usage of stance and movement.

Each punch travelled from his foot to his hand, resulting in a power that would make one feel as if they were facing off against an Exalted Human Fighter.

This was something that could only be learned by years and years on the battlefield, as it required a near subconscious focus that could not be trained.

Although he had known that it was very unlikely that his challenger was also aware of such a technique, he had decided to take the cautious route by using the Raven to distract him before launching his attack.

This had allowed him to see that the opponent indeed did not have any such technique to amplify power.

Hence, he had simply walked up now and punched thinking that the opponent would just be blown away.

Yet, his fist had been met by a metallic object which made him wince.

More than the strength of the metal, it was the strange phenomena which accompanied each punch that shocked him.

It was as if a snake had slithered into his arm at the moment of contact, which would definitely burst with a simple command from his opponent, thereby rupturing his blood vessels and causing a grave injury.

Thinking quickly and understanding exactly what it was, the Black Raven King used a technique to expel foreign force.

By shaking his hand vigorously in a certain direction, he managed to lessen the force that was traveling through his arm so that even if the explosion really did occur, there would be very minimal damage.

The problem was that when he had been absorbed in this process, the opponent had already thrown three more punches at three different locations on his body.

Understanding that it was now his turn to retreat, the Black Raven King hurriedly commanded the Raven which had been lying in wait to initiate an attack.

This gave him a moment of respite, which he used to jump back and use the same technique as before to get rid of all the 'snakes' that had entered his body.

Meanwhile, Elanev had had no option but to give up the advantageous position he had grasped using the element of surprise.

The damned Raven had managed to swoop down from the sky in his blind spot, making him pause his attack and move in order to escape its sharp beak which would definitely impale him if he gave it the chance.

On the other side, the Black Raven King had already managed to expel all the 'snakes'.

"Interesting. Enough warmup. It's time to end this farce."

With these words began the most disastrous fight in Elanev's entire life.

It started with the Raven flying back into the sky, while the King charged again and began attacking in the same way he had before.

Yet, the difference was that each punch from him was accompanied by an attack from the Raven from a different direction.

Unlike the Raven of the Fighter he had fought before, this one could agilely turn in the sky whenever it wanted, allowing it to return back and attack him again and again even though it kept missing due to his careful dodging.

Even though he did land some punches on the King in the process because he wasn't flustered like before, it was as if the explosions had no impact whatsoever on this man who did not even flinch at the pain of having his blood vessels and skin torn open.

SHWIP.

BAM.

HWEP.

BOOM.

The sound of their punches synced with the sound made by the Raven as it kept turning and attacking him repeatedly, not even giving him a moment of respite.

Only a minute had passed since the moment when he had made the King retreat, but he had already taken eight punches and three kicks to his body while blood had already risen to his mouth indicating that he was internally injured.

Still, he looked fine on the outside, as opposed to the King who had taken five of the Hidden Kill punches which made blood flow down his body due to the patches of skin torn off on his hands where the leather armor had holes due to the explosions which came from inside.

The crowd couldn't even follow the movements of these two individuals, whom anyone could have mistaken as Exalted Human Fighters instead of the Eminent ones that they were.

The only thing they could catch clear glimpses of was the Raven which kept reorienting itself to keep launching attacks.

After a minute and a half, the two figures finally separated.

Both were panting, but where one was so bloodied that he looked like he had swam through hell, the other looked the same as he had at the beginning of the fight.

Noticing that it was actually the King who was the bloody one, shock appeared on the faces of the people of the Black Raven Kingdom who started to fear the worst.

If they were given a moment longer, no one could tell exactly what the emotion could have devolved into.

Yet, the chance to find the answer was lost.

The challenger moved forward one last time as if he had a last punch left in him, but the step he took made him shake suddenly, almost as if someone had electrocuted him.

This made him fall to the ground, leaving the King standing. Clearly, he could take no more.

This time, the entire stadium shook as everyone got on their feet and jumped with joy, seeing the pride of the Kingdom defended in such spectacular way.

As the broadcasters on the NOA kept raining praises on the King who had clinched the victory, Daneel narrowed his eyes and glanced at a specific corner of the stadium, before casting a spell to contact his dear brother whom he had missed for so long.

Chapter 237 A Brief Reunion

As the crowds got louder and louder, the Black Raven King felt all of his senses disappearing as he imagined himself standing in a battlefield, having just snatched victory from the jaws of death.

With the pride and glory of a warrior surrounding him, the King couldn't help but smile wide wishing that this moment wouldn't pass.

Yet, sadly, he came back to his senses and realized that those days had already gone by.

These past few minutes were definitely the best he had experienced in the past few decades.

Although the adoration from the crowds in the stands did make him happy, it was nothing compared to what he had felt in the moment that had just passed.

Of course, the last movement of the opponent had been a bit suspect, but the King just attributed it to the sudden pain that must have shot through his body due to that step.

Waving at the crowd, he almost turned around and walked away before glancing at his opponent's crumpled body which was still breathing.

Getting an idea, he started walking towards the challenger who had been so arrogant just a few minutes ago.

There were no shouts such as "Kill him!", as killing a downed enemy was not something that Black Raven Fighters or Mages did.

After reaching his body, the Black Raven King first hesitated for a bit remembering the old man who was definitely watching.

Yet, thinking back again to what he had felt, he decided to handle whatever consequences may come and bent to help up the man.

As he did so, the man winced but his face only had an easy smile.

"Good fight. Black ravens are indeed… Incredible. "

The smile on the Black Raven King's face only becoming wider, he bellowed out, "Did you catch that, my people? In the words of the challenger himself, black ravens are indeed incredible! All praise our Saviour! We have someone new who has understood the specialty of our ancestor. To such a man, I believe only friendship must be offered. What do you all say?"

Hearing the words of the King, the people of the Black Raven Kingdom only shouted louder, feeling impressed at the grace that their ruler was showing.

As the positive reply echoed all around, the King extended his hand and said in a low voice, "Good fight, indeed. I offer the friendship of my Kingdom to you. Although we cannot let you connect with the Black Raven due to the rules set by our ancestor, you can study techniques and even spar with me. What do you say? "

To this, the challenger only shrugged before replying, "Only if you allow me to stay in the palace. Treating these wounds is going to cost all of my money."

Chuckling at the answer, the King said, "I give my word that you will be welcome in the palace for as long as you want. And my healers will personally attend to you. What is your name, by the way?"

"E-eganev", he answered, before collapsing onto the King's shoulder.

...

Two days later. In an inn in the capital of the Black Raven Kingdom.

A man sat on a table sipping on a glass of wine while wincing at each mouthful as if it very bitter.

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 glass 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… assessment. 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. Damn 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.