Calm before the storm
Around one week later, in early February, K.A. 516, a large group of people assembled in a room in the Yunyun Stronghold. Raised eyebrows were abundant because it was the strangest assortment of people anywhere in the world! On one side was Elizabeth, her friends, General Petra, Commander Christina, Sir Winstin, and other Royal Guards representing the Alzar Kingdom. On another side was the Imperial Princesses, Imperian Qiang, Protector Chang, Cardinal Hui, and Lady Mingyu representing the Xingyuu Empire. The third side had Ten Dawn Yvonne, Rosemary, and Iris representing the Zino Kingdom. Although the kings and queens were absent, this meeting was likely the greatest concentration of political might in the human world! They could truly move mountains! Perhaps, the last time anything came close was in King Harth and Emperor Lianghu's era. It was incredibly rare to witness. And to make the occasion more unique, there was a fourth side present: Sword King Sin and his two disciples! The full lineup was ridiculous to behold.
"I believe this is our first time meeting, Sword King Sin. I am Princess Ming Tzu of the Xingyuu Empire. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
The girl warmly extended her hand in greeting. She expected him to be surprised by her presence, but he showed no response. He directly ignored her! After all, his True Perception had revealed her presence long ago. She was old news in his mind. Similarly, his Instinct Realm could keenly sense her true intentions and he was not about to entertain her games. This was why he despised schemers! Meanwhile, Xiuying cringed from the second-hand embarrassment and covered her eyes. It was too awkward to look at! Why did Ming have to be like this?
Undeterred, she went on to greet his two disciples. "Pleased to make your acquaintance too, Sir Hidek and Sir Lanar. I heard that your exploits in the Maelstrom Gulf were well-received by the Alzar Kingdom."
"Piss off," Lanar spat, causing Ming's face to darken despite herself. The Sword King was one thing, but his disciples insulted her too? Admittedly, given the circumstances, she was an Imperial Princess in name only, but they still showed complete disregard for her dignity and pride. It was like a slap to her face! Protector Chang almost challenged Lanar on the spot had Hidek not said anything.
"You'll have to pardon him, Your Highness. He's grouchy from our return trip. Everyone has been calling us Arcanists or Ten Dawns because of our feats in battle," Hidek explained wryly.
"As if I want to be lumped in with them."
Ten Dawn Rosemary looked like she was about to reply with a snide comment, but she was ultimately stopped by Ten Dawn Yvonne. Elizabeth had specifically instructed them to give due respect to the Sword King and his disciples. They earned the right to be arrogant! Not to mention, the Ten Dawns' combat strength had declined greatly following the Battle of Liguang. Ten Dawn Krogan had died, Ten Dawn Iris had dropped to Half-Condensed Drop, while Ten Dawn Rosemary and Yvonne had lost years of foundation towards Medium Condensed Drop. Their feats were mediocre too, in both the Battle of the Maelstrom Gulf and Liguang. Suffice to say, they had fallen out of favor in General Petra's eyes. Their strategic value was now far less than the Sword King and his disciples. It was fortunate enough that they were invited at all. Pushing their luck was asking to be embarrassed.
"Have you three recovered?" Imperian Qiang asked out of the blue. He was not particularly interested in their answer, but he wanted to change topics.
Ten Dawn Iris caught on and replied, "Thank you for asking. My injuries have stabilized, though I don't believe I'll be able to return to Low Condensed drop Core Level. I may have to resign from my position."
"I see. That is quite unfortunate," he replied hollowly. Not too long ago, the Ten Dawns were one of the Li Family's greatest threats, and Ten Dawn Iris herself was instrumental in capturing the Yunyun Stronghold with Diffusion Void. He had mixed feelings about her current losses.
"Ten Dawn Rosemary and I are better off. We're battle-ready again," Ten Dawn Yvonne said.
"That's good to hear."
"Is she alright?" Commander Christina pointed to Lady Mingyu Loon. The woman stood in a corner of the room with her muscles tensed like she was in pain. Her aura and killing intent also fluctuated wildly out of control. It was scary enough to make Commander Christina's skin crawl! As for who her killing intent was aimed at, it was the Sword King! It felt like a fight was imminent!
"You're Mingyu Loon, the leader of the Li Family's Four Dragons? Or… should I say the former Four Dragons?" the Sword King mocked, his lips curling up in disdain. "I wouldn't have minded fighting the four of you at once, but you alone? Come back when you're an Instinct Realm."
Hearing this, Lady Mingyu grew frenzied and almost drew her sword. Her aura was on the verge of erupting! Thankfully, Sir Winstin and Cardinal Hui were one step faster, having immobilized her arm and seized her sword. She growled and resisted. Obviously, her other bloodthirsty and battle-obsessed personality had taken over. When she saw the Sword King, this was bound to happen.
Imperian Qiang groaned. "Please escort her outside until she calms down. Make sure that she has no access to any nearby weaponry."
After she was led out, Ten Dawn Yvonne asked, "Why have we been summoned today, Your Highness?"
Elizabeth was startled by the sudden question. She had been too distracted by the others that she forgot why she was here. She coughed awkwardly. "General Petra, please convene the meeting."
"Understood, Your Highness." The woman stood up and drew everyone's attention. "I am General Petra Tourelle, the current commanding officer over the Yunyun Stronghold and the northern theatre. I will be residing over this meeting on Her Highness's behalf. As always, these meetings will contain confidential military information, so I hope that everyone exercises due diligence. We summoned you all because the Imperial Council and the Li Family have begun to move again.
"Originally, they were prepared to engage us in a battle of attrition, but the Sword King's disciples have proven themselves more than capable. Their assistance allowed our fleets to transport crucial supplies to the Yunyun Stronghold and combined with Her Highness and the Ten Dawn's efforts, our supplies are sufficient to last through the winter. Our enemies seem to have realized this too. Furthermore, the added pressure from the Sword King's presence has encouraged them to attack before we can stabilize our position. This meeting will help decide our plans moving forward."
The Sword King laughed because ever since he became an Instinct Realm, he had never shown his full power. Aside from the Lannisail explosion, he never had the need to. Hence, their strange, preconceived notions was probably the Featherwind Sect's fault. To scare two behemoths of the human world into acting because of him was extremely flattering! He grinned, despite the grave faces around. They could tell that this was another calm before the storm. The Battle of Liguang was already so fierce, what would the future hold? Everyone was rightfully concerned.
"Is there anything from the Featherwind Sect?" Ming asked.
"No, but that isn't our main concern anymore because the Imperial Council's main forces have entered the province. Led by Unit Commander Haea Li, the three Units amount to over three hundred thousand!"
"Three hundred thousand!" everyone recoiled. It was an astonishing number!
"Isn't that more than what we have?" Ten Dawn Yvonne's face twisted.
"Currently, we have around two hundred thousand, so they outnumber us three to two."
"What about the Li Family then?" Commander Christina asked fearfully.
"Their forces are holding at the Tailong River currently, numbering over a hundred and twenty-five thousand in total. What do you think, Imperian Qiang?" General Petra directed the conversation over.
"They should be amassing their forces still, so assume it could be upwards of two hundred thousand in the end," he said, causing the room to fall silent.
If the Imperial Council had really allied with the Li Family, then that was a total force exceeding five hundred thousand! Half a million! It was enough to drown the kingdom in soldiers. Once again, they were reminded why the First and Second Great Kingdom Wars could last for centuries. The ocean separating them made it nearly impossible to stage a large-scale assault, preventing the kingdom from showing its full potential. In this game of war, they had taken last place! Despite the depressing outlook though, a few of the people present were as calm as water. They had not the smallest hint of panic on their faces. One of them was unsurprisingly Princess Ming.