Meeting

"It seems the Amazon Kingdom has been quiet for long. It's time we show these mortals we aren't to be messed with!" Queen Otrera muttered with a frown.

...

The next morning, the news spread within the palace about the missing princess. The throne room was filled with some of the higher-ranking warriors and the princesses. Kael watched in silence as they discussed how to resolve the issue.

"We should kill them all for such a brazen act!" Master Tidea, the commander of the elite squad, declared boldly.

"No, that's not a great idea. The world has been at peace since after the war of gods. We don't know much about our opponents' strength and all. Taking the battle to them will also be advantageous to them since they will be able to make use of their unique defence mechanisms against us." Venna, the overall commander of their military force, said with fingers placed on her chin.

"Also, another thing… How sure are we that it was truly the act of the Wukong sect? Most of us present, along with the other guests, saw Lucius leave early. We need to have strong enough evidence before we take action."

"That's true," Master Tidea muttered. "What's going to stop them from denying it?" Turning backwards, she stared at Kael, who was leaning on one of the pillars in the room.

"And can we trust him? What if this is all his doing?"

"No, he didn't do it." Queen Otrera said, staring at them. "Also, the Wukong sect has a solid reason behind their actions. And we can't let them accomplish that."

"I have an idea," kael said, finally stepping forward. "This nagging won't get us anywhere. Why don't I go on my own and infiltrate their sect? Maybe I'll be able to find enough evidence you need to take action or whatever. "

"Infiltrate the Wukong sect? Do you think we're here for fun?!" Master Tidea rose from her chair in fury.

"So, what's the plan then?" Kael replied, staring right at her. "Wait for them to carry out their act first?"

"It's enough!" Queen Otrera said. Master Tidea reluctantly took her seat. "Kael, why don't you explain to us how you're going to do that?"

"I've got my ways," Kael said with a serious expression. "It's a secret that I can't share."

"Nonsense! This is-"

"The meeting is over," Queen Otrera said, causing the others to stare at her in shock. "Everyone out, I want to speak with Kael alone!" The rest reluctantly stood and left the room along with the princesses.

After making sure everyone was gone, Queen Otrera rose from her throne walking towards Kael. "So, tell me... how do you want to carry out your plan?"

"I told you, I have my ways, and can't be shared... not even with you." Kael said, staring at her.

"Is that so? You know… I can force you to speak if I want." She whispered in his ears.

"You won't do that, you know that's dangerous. Listen, just trust me on this." Kael said. "I know more than you think about the Wukong sect. Also, the more time we waste, we risk the princess's life."

Sigh~

"Right, but first, you need to be prepared. The Wukong sect doesn't allow strangers into their kingdom, after all."

"Yeah, I know about that. I don't need much. Just a horse and lots of food."

"You can go, I'll think about it." Queen Otrera said, dismissing him.

"Alright," walking out of the room, Kael had a wide grin on his face. 'I can use this as an opportunity and fade away,' he thought. But the words he spoke on that fateful day slammed into his mind.

"Shit! That's true. I promised to protect her no matter the cost. Why... Why did I promise that?" He thought, heading towards his usual training ground. Entering the abyss the second time and devouring the life essence of Lucius, he felt something had awakened in him. Something which he felt could cause an upheaval in the entire realm if not controlled.

"But... I can't wait to get to that Wukong sect," "he muttered, licking his lips. Bringing out the manuals, he began going through them.

Sigh~

"I have a lot to do," Kael thought, putting the manuals down. "I still haven't figured out that void barrier skill." Instructing Eva to activate the void barrier skill, he felt the air ripple softly with a barrier shimmering around him.

"I will have to work on this later and make a few changes to the skill." Kael rose from the ground, swiping the manual from the system interface.

Standing, he activated his void sense, his consciousness spreading over a thousand metre mark. 'I can sense over a kilometre now,' he thought. "That means it will be harder to control both skills when active."

"Let's see, activate the void eyes skill." With both skills activated, he felt a rapid influx of information enter his head.

Gritting his teeth, he began filtering the relevant information while discarding the rest. After a few minutes of struggle, he finally let out a deep breath.

With both skills activated, he would be able to avoid getting ambushed or taken by a surprise attack.

"The problem was with the energy depletion rate." He thought, wiping the beads of sweat off his brow. Leaving both skills active consumes a lot of energy, which he would need for battle.

"If both skills were active at that time, this wouldn't have happened." He thought, doing a few warm-ups. The rest of the hours he spent training his skills and trying his best to increase his energy.

'In most novels I read, one can increase their energy by completely depleting their energy and filling it back.' He thought breathing out in soft rasps.

Raising his hands, a pile of sharp crystals rose from the ground floating around him. Swinging his hand forward, the crystals streaked towards the eastward direction, just stopping inches away from the figure standing with sweat dripping down.

"The Queen requested for you," the lady said with a deep bow.

"Alright, I'll be there." He said, settling on the ground. Waiting to regain his energy. "She is definitely going to be in the throne room."

Easily teleporting from his spot, he appeared just outside the throne room. "This is truly fun," he thought with a grin as he pushed the door.

Walking into the room, he saw the Queen standing before the large window staring at the empty space.

"Hmghh," clearing his throat, she finally turned towards his direction.

"I just finished a meeting with my people, and they have finally agreed for you to go."

"Ohh," Kael muttered with a smile. "Then I guess I don't have much time to waste. I'll be leaving tonight."

"That's good." Stepping forward, she stopped before him. "Please, bring her back safely," Queen Otrera said, staring deeply at him.

"Yeah, it won't be easy, but no harm is going to come her way. If that's all, I should sort out some stuff before I go."

"Yeah. You can go," Queen Otrera muttered. Kael slowly made his way out of the room, his thoughts on the journey ahead.

"And Kael... Be careful."

"Yeah. You have nothing to be worried about. Rather, you should be worried about the Wukong sect."