Chapter 2 Godfrey

Augustus faced the three ministers who stood before him, their expressions tense and worried.

"Your Majesty, if you are feeling better, may we brief you on the current situation of the kingdom?" the aged man spoke.

Augustus nodded, needing information to understand his current situation.

"Your Majesty, the Vanhiem Kingdom has declared all-out war against us," the aged man continued, his voice heavy with concern.

"If I may speak," a man with a red beard and bald head raised his arm.

"Go on," Augustus replied.

"The Vanhiem Kingdom colluded with our late king and your fathers Minister of Finance, learning the locations of several treasuries. They covertly attacked and looted these, crippling our finances before declaring war," the man explained.

"Yes, Your Majesty," another man added. "We currently lack the funds to feed our soldiers.

For the past two months, Vanhiem has used guerrilla tactics and hired pirates to attack our squads and innocent civilians disrupting their ability to continue making money, weakening our military might and our financial abilities. We cannot afford an all-out war.

we would surely lose." The man said through gritted teeth with his head looking at the ground.

The aged man sighed deeply looking at that man. "Your Majesty, I understand you have just ascended the throne, and it is unfair to place such pressure on you. But we need a solution, or else..."

His voice trailed off, his eyes staring at Augustus, and the room immediately filled with a solemn atmosphere.

Augustus remained calm. "Tell me, what is the highest level of combat power in the Vanhiem army?"

The red-bearded man quickly responded, "Your Majesty, Vanhiem has four generals with Vice Admiral-level strength."

"And what about our top combat power?" Augustus questioned.

"Your Majesty, only General David and I have Vice Admiral-level strength. The rest have, unfortunately, perished. May their souls rest in peace," the red-bearded man informed glancing at the other man.

Augustus considered this for a moment. "Very well. This will be handled. You may leave now."

The three ministers heard Augustus's reassuring words but they didn't feel reassured at all as they exchanged uncertain glances, but in the end complied, bowing before exiting the hall. As they reached the door, Augustus called out, "Provide me with the coordinates to the Vanhiem Kingdom."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the aged man replied as he took out a piece of paper and began marking down the exact coordinates which he then came close to Augustus to hand over.

After that, the Aged man, the red-bearded man and General David left the hall.

The doors shut with a thump, leaving Augustus alone.

He opened the system and focused on the level 4 Summoning gift, which promised a character with power comparable to the Four Emperors.

But he was also worried.

He didn't know if he would get someone who lacked physical power but made it up through his genius.

Right now Augustus didn't have much time and he needed immediate power.

He clicked on the Level 4 Summoning Gift after calming himself down, he hoped to get a character with physical attributes.

He expected some kind of chest opening but to his surprise, a list of categories appeared in front of him.

- Warfare

- Administration

- Economics

- Agriculture

- Healthcare

- Education

- Technology

- Public Services

A smile couldn't help but appear on Augustus's lips.

Without hesitation, Augustus selected [Warfare].

The list vanished, and a tall golden gate materialized in the centre of the hall.

At the same time, a tense pressure filled the room, radiating from the gate.

Augustus straightened in his seat, bracing himself for the summoning. 'Are they supposed to be loyal from the start?' he wondered, his heart pounding as he tried resisting the pressure crashing onto him in waves.

A dull thud echoed as a massive foot stepped through the golden gate. The figure that emerged wore golden dull-colored armour and carried a huge battle axe.

His braided beard and hair were covered by a crown, flowing upwards.

The blue cape covering his back waved slightly even though there was no wind.

At about 13 feet tall, he towered over Augustus, even though Augustus sat on an elevated platform.

The most striking feature to Alex was the lion's head on his shoulder, ghostly and ethereal, its Maine flowing freely.

"Godfrey," Augustus whispered, recognizing the character.

'What if he is not loyal' Augustus felt a headache come over as he remembered how loyal Godfrey was to the Golden Order, even after they banished him.

Godfrey stepped closer, casting a huge shadow over Augustus.

He scanned the room, his eyes finally settling on Augustus.

At this moment a sudden understanding dawned in his eyes, and he felt an overwhelming sense of loyalty to this new king, Augustus.

Without a word, Godfrey knelt on the ground.

" I am Godfrey, the First Elden Lord and By the grace of the Golden Order, I swear my fealty to you."

Augustus was shocked by Godfrey's sudden action, but when he saw that Godfrey had kneeled Augustus relaxed his nerves a little.

Augustus felt at ease at this moment seeing Godfrey's declaration of loyalty but he wasn't certain.

"What about the Golden Order?" Augustus asked.

Godfrey lifted his head to look at Augustus as he began speaking.

"That is my past and I wish to leave it there, I desire to start a new in this brand new world, under your Allegiance!" Godfrey declared, his eyes at this moment relaxed with a hint of reminiscent in it.

Augustus could only nod at this moment.

Even when Godrick knelt, he was at eye level with Augustus, so Augustus spoke face-to-face with Godrick. "Very well then, I have a task for you"

"There is this Kingdom south of here called The Vanhiem Kingdom and through various schemes, They've crippled our finances and weakened our military," Augustus said slowly internally preparing himself for the order he was about to issue.

"I want you to destroy their army Since they decided to wage an all-out war with us," Augustus said in a deep tone.

A fierce light gleamed in Godfrey's eyes. He rose to his full height, the lion's head on his shoulder seeming to roar silently. "It will be done. Their schemes will not go unpunished."

"No harm must befall the innocent civilian; they will become Civilians of our kingdom soon afterall" Augustus ordered, he Knew about Godfrey's character so he wasn't particularly worried, but in case some deviation in character occurred due to the lack of influence of the Golden Order and it's values over Godfrey currently, Augustus Issued this order.

Augustus stood up at this moment and walked to the door which was once again opened by that Knight Augustus had seen earlier when he got close enough which led him to suspect that this Knight had Observation Haki.

"Call those three people here again," Augustus ordered causing the man wearing Knight armour to quickly bow and rush away.

Seeing that the knight had gone, Augustus went back inside and sat on the throne.

"Godfrey you will follow the people who will come soon, learn about our current Military situation, find out those Three people's Identities aswell as the current surrounding situation of the Kingdom and the situation on the sea.

Augustus said as he sat there in silence waiting for those three people to come here again.