21 Motive
"The City Lord invites Phoenix Sentinels to join him in the Main Hall," a fully armoured soldier entered the waiting room where the adventurers were temporarily hosted, before announcing politely.
"Thank you for relaying the message. Please lead the way," Baroc answered.
The four adventurers quickly got up from their seats and followed the soldier into the Main Hall, where they were in for a surprise the moment they stepped through the door.
The City Lord, Count Bastion, was actually not in the main seat!
While they had already guessed that the visiting army was likely to belong to one of the royal family members, it was still unusual for the host to leave the main seat.
Of all the scenarios playing in his mind, Baroc could only think of one identity of this stranger for him to have taken the main seat instead of the City Lord.
The newly crowned King Roland!
Only the prestige of a king would not allow him to be seated at a position lower than his subjects!
At that moment, Baroc felt an indescribable excitement starting to burn within the deepest depths of his heart. He had realised that this was a far greater opportunity that he had expected!
The king himself might be worthless, but if it were the army mobilised to escort the king, then taking care of the goblins should be possible!
All he had to do was to guide the king such that he would follow along the adventurer's plans!
With that in mind, Baroc finally saw a ray of hope towards possibly resolving the rampant goblin attacks in the region!
Taking care not to wear his thoughts on his face, Baroc led the way forward as the group of adventurers walked before Roland and bowed in courtesy.
"Baroc represents the Phoenix Sentinels and pay our greetings to Your Majesty," Baroc smiled as he greeted Roland, taking Count Bastion by surprise.
How did this Baroc know of the king's identity? I have specifically mentioned to keep his identity from these adventurers. Don't tell me…did the two parties know each other and planned to meet here from the start? If that is so, then am I the outsider here?
Count Bastion fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably, but chose to remain silent and continue observing the duo's interaction.
"Rise," Roland did not act as uncomfortably as Count Bastion, naturally having imagined that the other party had been told of his identity as a king by one of the guards.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The group stood straight back up upon that reply.
Phoenix Sentinels were fully geared right now, dressed in their combat attire even though their main weapons had been left outside the hall. Standing there as a group, they gave off a feeling of magnificence that would be tough for any warriors to replicate.
Even the strongest warrior would feel a certain degree of pressure coming from them should the group decided to turn on their killing intent!
This was the presence of an S-ranked adventurer group, one that cannot be doubted!
"Splendid! What a coincidence that the renowned Phoenix Sentinels were here as well! I have no words to express the surprise that I felt when I heard Count Bastion mention that you are coming too! Please do take a seat!" Roland laughed in satisfaction as he witnessed the powerful aura emanated by the group, and quickly gestured for the group to take a seat.
"Greetings, City Lord," Bastion smiled as he turned to face Count Bastion.
It was only after Roland mentioned Count Bastion that the group finally took their first look at the City Lord who was sitting by the side.
"Be seated," Count Bastion had to rein in his distraught as he tried his best to answer normally.
If it were any other occasion, Count Bastion would certainly have thrown a fit in anger upon being disregarded in that manner, perhaps even having the other party sent out.
However, he was currently too preoccupied with being concerned about how familiar Roland was acting with the adventurers.
From King Roland's words, it was quite likely that they have contacted each other before.
Judging from how Baroc could recognise him at a glance, there was no doubt about it anymore.
The two parties definitely knew each other!
But how was the possible?
No, how they knew each other was not important. What is important now is why Phoenix Sentinels have chosen to join in on this meeting! I would need to carefully guide this conversation along so that I do not fall into any traps!
Count Bastion contemplated deeply as the group of four took their seats on the row opposite where he was sitting.
"What is the reason for your arrival today?" Count Bastion's question was direct and straight to the point.
"We are here because we found an issue with the safety of the region, and decided that it would be best to flag out the matter instead of letting it fester," Baroc answered.
"There is an issue with the safety of the region? Please speak on," Count Bastion was slightly alarmed by the adventurer's answer, and replied without thinking, drawing a smile that quickly spread across Baroc's face.
This would not be the first time that Baroc raised the issue of the goblins to Count Bastion. However, his previous attempts at getting the City Lord to rally his army had all fell onto deaf ears.
Count Bastion obviously had no intention whatsoever to safeguard the villages around the city, defending them from any potential goblin attacks.
This was a problem that had troubled Baroc and his friends for quite a while, but found no solution for.
Now, they could only pray that the visiting army would think differently!
This time, the leader of the adventurer group had deliberately left out the word 'goblin' in case the City Lord shut him off immediately, just like how he had done so the past few times.
Once he was allowed to keep speaking, the City Lord would have no choice but to listen to the end since it was not his place to interrupt the report to the king!
"A few days ago, our group had rushed to Torne Village near to the Dragontail Valley after receiving news that there was an attack. However, we were too late and nobody was left there when we reached," Baroc started.
Count Bastion frowned immediately upon hearing that, realising that he had fallen for a small wordplay.
He naturally knew about the latest attack by the goblins on Torne Village, and it was also one of the most serious ones in recent days, resulting in zero survivors!
"Nobody was left?" Roland had to confirm what he just heard.
"That's right, Your Majesty. Not a single person was left in the village, not even the corpses. Such is the modus operandi of the goblins in recent months!" Baroc nodded.
"Those darned goblins! Treating human as their food! I will be sure to feast on barbeque goblin meat in the future!" Klint could not hold himself back from cursing.
Roland pressed his eyebrows together upon hearing that. He had heard that some demihumans eat human for food, but emptying out an entire village for that reason was unheard of!
"If we do not do anything about these goblins, then things would only get worse!" Baroc slightly raised his voice to emphasise his point.
"Easier said than done!" Count Bastion did not cower just because the adventurer raised his volume. "The goblins are entrenched within the Dragontail valley, how are we supposed to wipe them out?"
"As for that, as long as an army can be dispatched, we are willing to spearhead the offense into Dragontail Valley! With us breaking their main defences, we would not suffer as much casualties," Baroc practically volunteered his group for the toughest job.
"And how many soldiers do you require? How many of them would return alive? Have you even checked out the number of goblins and their base layout?" Count Bastion threw question after question in annoyance.
"As long as there is an agreement, we will also be willing to enter the valley first in order to scout out the terrain before launching an official attack!" Baroc announced stubbornly.
"And we are supposed to trust the lives of thousands of soldiers to your one-sided report?" Count Bastion's tone was extremely cold at the moment.
He was completely against any offensive moves against the goblins, but it seemed that this Baroc was adamant on convincing them to deploy their troops!
If it were just him, then he would have just played nice and calmly rejected the adventurer after exchanging a few words.
However, the king was here at the moment!
If King Roland were to give the order for Count Bastion to deploy his troops against the goblins, then he would have no choice but to obey!
It was either that, or he would have to rebel here and now without waiting for Marquis Berghis' reply!
"You…!" Baroc lost his cool for a moment after being doubted, but managed to exercise restrain at the last moment, turning his gaze towards Roland instead. "Please consider my suggestion, Your Majesty."
"Your words are indeed convincing, but as Lord Bastion mentioned, there is a need for our side to personally investigate so as to understand the exact situation before coming to a decision. I will naturally give you an answer when my investigations are complete."
Roland might not be very experienced with the battlefield, but he was not nearly foolish enough to blindly trust the words of someone he had just met, especially since it concerned life and death!
At the same time, he intended to investigate both Count Bastion as well as Phoenix Sentinels.
The result of that investigation would probably end up influencing his decisions in the end as well!
Hearing the king's decision, Baroc could only politely accept it, hoping that the king would choose to heed his advice in the end.
Count Bastion, on the other hand, was burning with rage!
These two parties obviously knew each other from the start, so it was likely for this to be a farce planned to be played out in front of him, all so that the king could have a legitimate reason to command him to deploy his troops anytime after the 'investigation period' ended!
What a move by the king!
So this was the true face of the wastrel king!
Instead of staying in the capital to tend to governance affairs and improve the kingdom as a whole, he had to come over to Waterfall City and act out this poor show!
What was his motive?
Was it because the Aron Army was strong and appeared to be a threat?
Was it because he offended the royal family in any way?
Or was it something completely different?
Count Bastion desperately searched his memories for anything that could have even remotely triggered the king.
Only by knowing the motive of the king, would he be able to think of a countermeasure for it!
Even as Count Bastion went to bed that night, he was still deeply pondering over this matter!
