Chapter 138: Valley of War(1)

Luke walked slowly upstairs after stopping in the kitchen to drink some water. He then went straight to his bedroom and saw Snow and Nash laughing at each other. Luke just stood in the corridor for a while, staring at the two kids who were bonding. It didn't take long for them to notice Luke's arrival and rush over to him.

While Luke picked up Snow and carried her in her arms, Nash went to sit on Luke's shoulder. Luke just stood there staring at them for a moment before speaking.

"It appears that the two of you are discussing something amusing?"

Snow smiled and nodded.

"Nash and I were discussing the story Selena told us. She told us about how they almost burned down Grandpa Erdene's forest and how they all fled when he arrived."

Nash then giggled.

"They also told us about the time they all went into the forest to hide from Gramps. Lina was the first to be caught and got smacked in the buttocks with a stick by Gramps! "

Luke simply smiled and nodded as he carried them to bed. He then sat Snow and Nash down in bed and patted their heads.

"Did you two brush your teeth?

Snow and Nash both nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, we did."

"Of course!

Luke gave a satisfied nod.

"Good, that is good."

Luke then turned off the lamp on the bedside table and sat down between the two children.

"Let's go to bed, goodnight."

Nash and Snow then both spoke at the same time.

"Dad, good night."

Nash and Snow then cuddled Luke, who simply sighed. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep. He needed to sleep because he expects to work all day tomorrow and needs as much rest as possible.

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As he sat in the meeting room, Luke frowned, realizing that the nobles' gazes were fixed on him. He then looked at Lance and frowned. Lance just smirked and shrugged his shoulders at him.

"Good morning, Luke."

Luke's scowl deepened even more. Inside his head, he heard Nash's voice.

• I'm sorry I didn't wake you up, Dad. You appear to be sleeping peacefully, so I followed Uncle Lance's orders and teleported you to the palace.

Luke frowned as he twisted his lips. He is enraged, not because he was teleported to the palace without his consent, but because as soon as he woke up, he was dressed and escorted to the meeting room. He has to go to work as soon as he wakes up in the morning.

"What's the matter with you? I thought I told the maids to make you a delicious breakfast as soon as you woke up."

Luke glared at Lance, who was amusingly grinning at him.

"How come you didn't just wake me up instead of bringing me here while I was sleeping?"

"Well, I feel bad because you worked so hard yesterday. So I told Nash to let you sleep and just bring you here. Now don't give me that look; at the very least, I didn't go out and get a metallic pan and spoon to wake you up from your peaceful slumber. Seriously, you're in such a deep sleep that I called you several times, but you just groaned and fell back asleep."

Luke brushed his hands across his face and looked at the nobles who were staring at him nervously. He then sighed and grumbled angrily.

"So, what's the issue this time?"

Lance simply chuckled and read the papers handed to him by Paulina.

"We've noticed suspicious activity in the Prilan Kingdom. They appear to be preparing to launch another attack."

Luke frowned and sighed.

"Do they just not learn? Jeez, just how desperate are they to go this far? "

"Well, at first, they did this to acquire land and expand their territory. However, it is now a matter of pride. They must've wanted to win at least once so that they can save face after the war."

"I see, so they want to embarrass themselves even more then."

"Exactly."

Lance and Luke just sighed while the nobles just stared at them as they cannot get a word into their conversation. They now felt like props in the background as the two men talked on their own. Is it even necessary for them to be here? What exactly are they here for?

Luke then sighed and spoke solemnly.

"We have to do something about their alliance with the Dark Eye."

Lance smiled and nodded.

"Don't be concerned; I'll take care of it."

"Hmmm?"

"What? "

"Eh?"

"What did he say?

Luke and the nobles all turned to face Lance, who was simply smiling at them. Lance only gave them a mischievous smile before speaking.

"Don't ask. I have my ways; all I ask is that you defend your territories and prepare your knights in case my little brother requires assistance."

The nobles then cast questioning glances at Luke. They then thought:

'Does he even needs backup?

'I don't think he really needs one.'

'They wanted us to be a back-up for a guy who can make armies vanish just by his presence?'

'We'll be bystanders rather than backups.'

Luke frowned at the stares he is receiving and raised his hand. Lance then nodded, as if giving him permission to speak.

"Your highness, why am I the one who will fight in the north?"

The nobles flinched and turned to look at Lance, who was simply smiling. Now that they've thought about it since they have Duke Viscellete here, why doesn't Lance make him fight in the north? They understand that Luke's forces are strong but it is not like Noah is weak either so why not make him fight?

Lance smiled as he noticed their questioning stares.

"Duke Viscellete stated that if the enemies manage to breach through Luke's defense, he will defend the inner part of Reece. He is afraid that if he leads, many soldiers' lives will be lost. In previous battles with the Regle Alliance, it has been shown that when Luke led the army, there are fewer soldier deaths than when Duke Viscellete led the army. He doesn't want any more families to be shattered as a result of his imperfect commanding abilities, so he decided to trust Luke, and I trust him as well, so we came to an agreement."

Luke and the nobles were deafeningly quiet. Luke then turned to look at Lance, who is smiling at him. Luke remained silent, staring at Lance in disbelief and shock. He can't believe what he's hearing.

'Who can Noah trust now? Me? Is he sure about that? Is Noah still in his right mind? Of all people he could trust, he goes to me. What in the world—does it even look like I'm trustworthy?! '

Luke's mouth opened and closed several times as he struggled to find the right words to say. His mind was so preoccupied with what had just happened to him that he didn't notice when the nobles all calmed down and nodded in agreement. Lance simply smiled and patted Luke's shoulder, which made Luke flinch.

"Don't worry, little brother; this is the last battle. You have nothing to be concerned about after this."

• Some people still have doubts about Noah because of what he did in the past. It will be disastrous if the soldiers become disorganized as a result of this.

Luke just stared at him blankly, and Lance smiled as he patted his shoulders. Luke sighed and stood up after some thought.

"Then I'll go prepare my group."

Lance flashed a bright smile at Luke, who was just sighing.

"That's a lot more like it. Good luck little brother."

Luke frowned and turned his head towards Lance, who was simply giving him a thumbs up. He then decided to say something.

Then I leave the kingdoms' alliance to Dark Eye to you."

"Leave it to me."

Luke simply made an unhappy face and exited the meeting room. The knights bowed respectfully to him, and he simply nodded and walked out of the room. Luke then proceeded to walk down the long and empty spacious hallway. As he walks, only his footsteps can be heard.

• Are we going to fight in the north now, Dad?

Luke gave a nod.

"Yeah."

• Are we going to fight together with the giants again?

Luke pauses for a moment and begins to think. He then twisted his lips slightly, as if pondering something, before shrugging his shoulders and continuing to walk.

"I don't think we have to."

• Oh, I see. Who are you going to bring into the battle with you?

Luke smirked and spoke to Nash, who was staring at him with interest.

"You'll see, first teleport me back to the palace."

• All right!

Nash then used teleportation magic to transport himself back to the palace. Luke then continues walking forward and enters the room of the man he intends to meet.

Luke sighed as he stood in front of the room's door for a second. He then knocked on the door but received no response. Luke frowned and knocked once more, but no one answered. He became irritated and knocked as loudly as he could.

"Open the damn door, Jay."

He could hear multiple noises inside the room as soon as he said that, which made Luke frown and Nash curious.

Thud! Bam! Thud!

After that, the door opened, and Luke could see Jay's messy hair and face greeting him. Luke only gave him a brief glance before trying to enter Jay's room. Jay panicked and immediately shut the door and laughed nervously, hoping that Luke didn't see what was inside his room, but he was too late because Nash and Luke had already seen what was inside.

"Ha, ha, young Master Luke... What has brought you here so early in the morning? You should have told me sooner so I could at least prepare my room..."

Luke didn't say anything and just stared in disbelief at the closed door.

• Hey, Dad! Inside, I noticed some posters of you! I'd like some as well!

Luke frowned and looked at Jay, who was sweating and becoming agitated in front of him. That's right, they just saw posters of him in various sizes plastered throughout the room, as well as a purple sword and wings displayed in the walls. Luke felt shivers down his spine when he saw those. For Luke, Jay's room is the definition of a nightmare- no, more like hell.

Luke simply closed his eyes and massaged his head because he is suffering from a migraine. Luke sighed, opened his eyes, and looked at the agitated Jay. He'll just pretend he went blind for a fraction of a second and forgot about the image of that room.

"Jay, follow me."