16: A Meeting At The Zeccammons

At the heart of Rylinth, far from the academy, stood a stunning villa with a towering manor that resembled a castle, catching the eye of any passerby.

This is the residence of the Zeccammons. Just before the gate of the villa, there was an arc-shaped structure with the inscription 'The Zeccammon Family'.

There were several murals adorning the walls of this villa, most of which depicted the heroic tales of the Zeccammons. As one approaches the main building area, it may appear like a labyrinth that could potentially confuse those who enter.

At the hub of this picturesque villa was a grand manor, resembling a palace with fountains adorning its front. It was evident that this was the abode of the Patriarch and his family.

Within the manor's premises, people bustled about with their daily activities, as if they were in a market.

Upon entering this paradise, a specific area is sure to catch any visitor's attention. This area was built as a training arena, with numerous young people practicing there.

In one section of the arena, a group of young children between the ages of 6 and 12 were practicing combat techniques, meditative mana circulation, and learning to read and write the official language of Zitherland. From the looks of it, this section comprises the youngest paladins of the Zeccammons who have not yet reached the age to attend the academy. However, they have a special pedagogue who is helping them.

A few distances away from this particular section was another one that was more sophisticated, advanced, and equipped with better facilities. There were young people between the ages of 13 and 16 training here, with a focus on unleashing and enhancing their elemental or variant magical affinity. They will be joining the academy very soon.

There was another group of young individuals in an area that resembled a sparring ground, all between the ages of 18 and 20. These individuals have already graduated from the academy and were engaged in serious sparring, displaying impressive magical abilities that were truly awe-inspiring.

In another area of this manor, which was more dignified and beautifully decorated than other places, there was a chamber.

This chamber was designed to resemble a meeting center. An enormous round silver table stood at the center of the chamber, surrounded by five humongous golden seats. Seated on the golden seats were the five powerful mages of Humaldor: three Patriarchs and two Matriarchs representing the five cities of Humaldor.

It appears that these five individuals are currently in a meeting.

"Thank you all for coming today." The patriarch of the Zeccammon family, Edwill Zeccammon, slightly bowed to the other four, who reciprocated the gesture.

"I called you all here to Rylinth for a crucial meeting to discuss an issue that concerns the Zeccammons the most," said Edwill, expectantly scanning the faces of the other four. However, there was no reaction on their faces. Whether they were all experts at maintaining a poker face or not, remains a mystery.

"Now that we have arrived, could you please get straight to the point?" This statement was made by Zamon Hamilton, the patriarch of the Hamilton family in Yaldor City.

"Okay. I would like to discuss how we can address the recent infiltration of demons into human territory. There have been reports of many lives lost to those demons, as well as several skirmishes between them and our mages in Rylinth. And I am sure it is the same with the other cities that you all oversee," he paused and retrieved a sheet from the table.

"This time," Edwill continued, "it seems that they are specifically targeting both the big shots of our families and the most vulnerable individuals as well. I guess they're really up to something this time," Edwill concluded as he passed the sheet of paper around to the others.

"This issue concerns all of us here, so I wonder why you said that it had more to do with the Zeccammons?" This time, it was a woman who spoke. Linora Dwight was the matriarch of the Dwight family in Fremoda City. The others nodded in agreement with what she had said.

"That is because we have suffered the greatest loss from the demon attacks each time they strike. We almost lost the greatest genius of the Zeccammon family, Marcus, during their attack 18 years ago. He nearly died if it weren't for the Queen of Wiccaland who saved him," Edwill was cut off by Zamon before he could say more.

"But he was still lost at last. He fell in love with that witch and fled with her. Until today, we haven't heard from him. We are not sure if he died with that witch sixteen years ago or not. Despite being the youngest Overlord in Zitherland, it remains the same thing. Such a waste of talent. Tsk!" Zamon blabbered and ended it by clicking his tongue.

Edwill slammed his fist on the table, releasing his aura into the chamber and bringing silence to the room. Even though all five of them were Overlords, Edwill was the only one at the peak of his rank. The others were either at the beginning or in the middle of the rank.

"Could you let me finish what I was saying?" Edwill's voice roared as his aura soared even more. Zamon simply shrugged his shoulders and remained silent.

"My point is that we lost him due to the demon attack," said Edwill, his voice now calm and the pressure from his aura dissipating. "Would he have encountered Leviathan if not for the attack?" Seeing that none of them were interrupting him again, he continued.

"We lost another powerful Lord who worked under our faction, Nate Calder, sixteen years ago. He was ambushed by demons and killed. Another lord was killed yesterday. We all know how rare it is to recruit mages at the grandmaster level and above. These were the most powerful members of our faction, but many of them have been taken by these demons," Edwill said with a furrowed brow, his heart heavy with the loss of his able mages. "Among them were my son and son-in-law. That's why we must devise a plan to strike back as soon as possible." The chamber was swallowed by silence.

"I must say, they are seriously targeting the Zeccammons because none of the other families here have had their strongest mages taken out in such a manner. There might be some losses, but not of that magnitude. So I think they are after the Zeccammons because with you gone, the unity of the other families will be forgotten" said the other Matriarch, of the Chesterfield family in Liventhon City, Athena Chesterfield. She said the last sentence while flashing a glare at Zamon, who always seems to cause discord during their meetings.

"Well said, Athena. I totally agree with her. I believe we should enhance the security measures in our cities. We can also recruit talented students from the academy and train them with our family resources. This way, we can stand a chance if demons ever opt for a full-out war," suggested Malfoy Brown, the Patriarch of the Brown family in Zyra City.

All four of them turned to Edwill, who happens to be their superior for the final decision. He cleared his throat and spoke, "I have heard all of you. I would like us to consider implementing Malfoy's suggestion in our cities. However, this is just the beginning of the discussion on this topic. We will conclude here for today. If any of you have a better solution in mind, please call for another meeting in your chamber," Edwill said before standing up from his seat and leaving the chamber. It looked like Zamon had soured his mood by insulting his son in front of others.

With him gone, they all disappeared from the chamber. Overlords possess the ability to teleport over great distances, although their range is not sufficient to traverse entire cities. To reach their respective cities from Rylinth, they may need to teleport up to three times. They could also levitate in the air, walk on clouds, or even fly back to their city.

—— — ——

In A Throne Room, At Zithran.

A monstrous creature resembling a man was seated on a black throne made of obsidian rocks. This creature had two black horns sticking out on his forehead and a black long hair that swept the floor.

There were several voluptuous and sensual female creatures surrounding him. There were about six of them, each with a pair of wings and a tail. These were succubi.

"Those inferior humans are having a meeting to discuss how to stop us. They haven't seen anything yet... Gah gah gah gah!" The monstrous-looking creature seated on the throne spoke and laughed.

"I just hope that bratty vampire will complete his mission there so that our lord will finally be released."