48 – The Hearing

"So, we lost again, huh?" King Zashrend walked with his head lowered. "The whereabouts of Zach Woulfe and his special armor are unknown too?"

One official behind him gulped. "That's right, your highness."

The king stopped walking. Instead of getting angry, he laughed. "It doesn't matter, though! After this, we will destroy Celestenia!!!"

A few meters from the supreme leader of the Zashrend kingdom, people were building quite a lot of powered armors. They have gold trim like the ones Zach Woulfe uses.

***

Lance and Nathaniel stood in a large room, surrounded by stands filled with several people. They are members of the council, from those in charge of magic, regular law, to security and war.

The king sat in the center with his aides.

"Long live king Cedric Beaumont II. Afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." Lance opened his speech. "The spirit of Anna Celeste, the founder of this country, brought me here. As we know, in ancient times, there was an empire that seized various countries around it."

Nathaniel glanced to the right and left as Lance made his speech. The captain noticed the council members' surprised expressions as Lance began his speech.

"The emperor of that country taking high taxes, seizing resources, and many other wicked things he did. People are miserable because of his desires." Lance raised his tone. "And then, Anna Celeste came. She worries about the people in captured countries. So, she started her holy mission to free them. With a long struggle, she gathered people to rebel. Civil war breaks out, Anna Celeste's army grows, and…."

"We know how it goes." One of the council members interrupted Lance's words. "After the emperor died, they crowned Anna Celeste as a ruler. Some countries joined her, some did not. The combined countries became Celestenia. Yeah, we get that story from childhood. What's your point, Lance Ashbourne?"

"Please, don't interrupt someone's speech like that, sir." The king gave a warning, then smiled at Lance. "Please, continue, Mr. Lance Ashbourne."

"Thank you, your highness." Lance bowed and smiled back. "I feel king Zashrend is like that emperor. He has successfully acquired the Elven kingdom of Virnerios, and is now trying to take our homeland."

The engineer nodded to Nathaniel, who then added. "Also, many residents of Zashrend are suffering. If the people do anything wrong, the government will punish them. Their families also received punishment."

The captain signaled to an officer, who came out and brought in a person with tied hands.

"He is Desmond Woulfe, former commander of the Zashrend army." Lance informed the audience. "He became our prisoner after we captured the big fortress. Please, listen to his testimony."

The officer put Desmond Woulfe in a separate place. The former commander looked around and spoke. "Thank you for this opportunity, King and officials of Celestenia. I just want to say, help us."

Desmond's words sparked some commotion from the officials. The king raised his hand and shouted. "Silence!"

After everyone became silent, the leader of Celestenia said. "Please, continue, Mr. Woulfe."

Lance noticed that King Cedric focused his gaze forward, not on Desmond.

"Life in Zashrend is terrible. The rich and high-ranking government officials oppress the people, but the kingdom turns a blind eye to it," Desmond continued. "To achieve a good life, one must strive to become wealthy or hold a position of authority."

"Sound familiar, your highness?" Lance spoke to the king. "Celestenia's situation two generations ago was the same. That's what triggered your grandfather to carry out a coup."

The king leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, I've heard that life in Zashrend is bad. Yet, it was not like the old Celestenia. Our king was not cruel back then. But stupid and lazy. No punishment for criminal's families or anything like that."

"It's more than that, your highness." Desmond shed tears. "Even if you are already a person in an influential position, you will not be one hundred percent safe. The slightest mistake can harm you and your family. Just like me, I made the mistake of losing to Celestenia."

The former commander kneeled down. "Please help…. It wasn't only my family who received such punishment. The families of the defeated soldiers will also receive punishment…. Those people have no desire to become soldiers. The government kidnapped them from their families."

Desmond's sobs filled the room.

"Perhaps your majesty and all of you think that this is someone else's country's business. We have no obligation to take care of it." Lance used a colder tone. "Then, let me say one more reason why we should do this. The thing is, Zashrend will never stop. The war will continue, many of our soldiers will die. We will also have to spend a lot of money. Do all of you want that to happen for years?"

The engineer looked around. He felt he had controlled the direction of this hearing session.

"Isn't this your plan so you can continue developing your toys, Lance Ashbourne?" One of the council members asked in a sharp tone.

Lance widened his smile. "What do you mean, sir? If I wanted to continue developing the powered armors, I would prefer conditions like this. Celestenia Kingdom will continue to defend its territory, while Zashrend will continue to attack. Both nations will compete to produce top-notch mechs. But if we overthrow King Zashrend from his throne, then peace will prevail, and my duties may become unnecessary."

But if Celestenia becomes aggressive in taking Zashrend, then Lance's team will receive a lot of resources. That way, Lance could defeat whoever made Zashrend's powered armor.

He didn't think too much about what would happen if things were peaceful. That's for later. His desire to defeat his rival was already burning hot.

"Are there any other questions, ladies and gentlemen?" Lance waited for a while. Receiving no response, he turned back to the king. "I think I have said enough, your highness."

King Cedric closed his eyes. "This is a very complicated issue. We cannot decide on it right away."

"You are a peace-loving king." Lance put on his smile again. "I'm sure you will make the right decision, Your Majesty."