Chapter 8 — Canary Kingdom

Meanwhile, Christina was sitting in a different carriage with the knights. She didn't think about why the princess asked to be alone… Or why the princess was blushing so heavily… Christina was more concerned about the political impacts that this new force would have. As a qualified maid to a princess, she had been well-trained in the art of politics. Questions ran around her mind. What were their true intentions? How were they so powerful? Are they as powerful as the Elsass Empire? Can we ally with them? Regardless of what happened, Christina had a feeling that this new force would change her life forever.

As the hours passed by, the convoy gradually emerged from the woodlands and entered the lush rolling fields of the Canary Kingdom. It was heading straight for the capital city, Canariel.

After a day's journey, the convoy arrived at the tall and bulky walls of Canariel. Giant ballistae on the towers showed the ultimate killing weapon of the medieval times. The gates had been shut close and a small army of soldiers was being massed at the gates. A nervous soldier peeked their head over the wall and yelled out.

[Who are you and why have you come to the Canary Kingdom!]

The princess's carriage opened, and the Princess stepped out.

[I am Princess Iris, and they are from the Third Reich, a foreign kingdom! Let me in! I need to speak with the King!]

A quick decision was made before a small door opened on the side of the wall and let her in.

Konrad knew that the Canary Kingdom would never allow an unknown army into its capital. His blue eyes pierced through the tinted windows of the armoured car to glance at the gate. He trusted that the princess would recount her experiences truthfully.

And if they didn't let him in… He would show them why they should fear him and make them beg for his mercy. But by then, it would be too late.

After waiting a while, the gates slowly opened.

[The King has agreed to meet you! We have allocated a mansion in the outer ring for you to stay. Please keep most of your metal chariots outside the city and don't bring more than 50 men in! We ask your army to move away from the wall!]

It was obvious that the Princess had convinced the King. Konrad had expected for most of his army to not be allowed in. After all, the country was at war and would never let a large army that wasn't its own into its capital. He wasn't afraid that he would be ambushed. After all, he had saved up his stock of source points and his entire air force and army was on standby.

[Move out!]

A portion of Konrad's army split off and drove through the gate, into the city and towards the mansion. Deeper in the city, a bigger and stronger wall could be seen, symbolising the inner city. From his intelligence agents, Konrad knew that the city was split into two sections, the inner and outer ring. The nobles and wealthy lived in the inner ring while the civilians and poor lived in the outer ring. Due to the war with the Elsass Empire, this division between the rich and poor had only been exacerbated. The economy of the outer district had been in a steady decline and most young men had been conscripted into the army.

Even then, they were still fighting a losing war. The Elsass Empire was so powerful that it was at war with a coalition of hundreds of Kingdoms. The Canary Kingdom was only surviving because the Elsass Empire didn't bother to pay attention to it; it would rather focus its forces against more dangerous targets. However, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the Elsass Empire got annoyed at its stubborn resistance and sent a powerful army over.

The mansion had been left by a wealthy businessman when he fled the country. It was still furnished and could immediately be used. Many of these cases could be seen as the rich tried their best to escape from this sinking ship. However, the peasants weren't so lucky.

As the selected portion of Konrad's army moved through the city and towards the mansion provided by the Canary Kingdom, the disrepair of the streets and the poverty of onlookers showed the dire straits of the Kingdom.

Upon arrival, Konrad summoned equipment and the soldiers went to work reinforcing the mansion, building machine gun nests, setting up cameras and building multiple perimeter walls.

Meanwhile, the King had summoned his nobles and ministers to his castle for an emergency meeting to discuss this new force. The castle was located at the centre of the inner district and sat upon a big, elevated piece of land. It was surrounded by the final and strongest wall, the castle wall and was the pride of the Kingdom. Through its 200 years of history, it has always held strong!

The meeting room seemed to be untouched by the raging war and was lined with expensive and extravagant decorations that showed the Kingdom's history and accumulation. However, none of those present at the moment paid any attention to it.

[Maid Christina, can you confirm what you just said is true?]

The long table was filled with the most powerful people in the country. Right now, they had just listened to the Princess recounting her experiences.

[Yes, everything that the Princess recounted is accurate]

Christina replied and bowed. If it wasn't for her identity as a witness, she would never be qualified to step foot into this room. With her confirmation, the silence of the room instantly broke.

[How can their weapons be so powerful?]

[Are they secretly the Elsass Empire?]

[What do they want?]

[Can we co-operate?]

[Why have they contacted us?]

The King stood up and the room hushed.

[Well, we have seen their powers. Regardless of their intentions, we should ally with them against the Elsass Empire! Above all, we should avoid provoking this force before we know more about them!]

[I agree!]

[I agree too]

The King nodded his head, satisfied with the attitude of his subjects and continued talking.

[There's no time to waste, so I invited the Supreme General here to negotiate cooperation! He should arrive in about 2 minutes!]

The room was instantly in an uproar.

[What?! Now?]

[We need time to prepare!]

[This is too sudden!]

The King silenced everyone with a sharp gaze and said in a hushed tone.

[I trust that everyone here had read the document our spies sent at the cost of their lives? The Elsass Empire had been annoyed at our stubborn resistance and has diverted one of their main armies to attack us soon. Their arrival is imminent. Do you think we still have time to wait? Look how much damage they have done to us with only a small auxiliary army. This "Third Reich' might be our last hope]

The atmosphere turned depressing as the nobles and ministers sat in silence. They had been trying to avoid talking about the incoming army and live in blissful ignorance, but the King had just woken them up to reality.

However, before they could open their mouths, a guard at the door suddenly announced loudly.

[Supreme General Konrad of the Third Reich and his accompanying officers, we welcome your entry!]

As the guard's announcement filled the room, all eyes turned to the entrance, where the heavy doors were slowly being opened…