Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

This public declaration was met with another round of shocked gasps, with the vast majority of people from both sides never having imagined that Celestina Balfour, a woman who had fought wars with and lost children to the Darr Kingdom would now take the initiative to shield that nation’s Crown Princess after she showed up uninvited at her doorstep.

Those who were more familiar with Celestina, however, weren’t at all surprised; in fact, many of them were now sporting wry smiles, thinking this was very much like her.

That said, the one who was most surprised by all of this was definitely Talia Darr herself. She had made numerous plans before today for how to ensure the safety of her group, preparing everything from diplomatic pressure to military threats, but now it seemed none of that would be necessary.

Come to think of it, when I told Royal Father about my plan, he gave me his permission without any hesitation, even telling me to not worry about anything and just act as I pleased, Talia suddenly recalled.

At the time, she thought her father simply had faith in her abilities to handle this situation, but now it seemed the one King Darian had faith in was Celestina.

Silently cursing her old man for not making himself clear, for the first time since she stepped off the Misty Bridge and into Misty City, Talia fully relaxed.

Celestina Balfour may be one of her nation’s greatest enemies, but that was precisely why Talia felt she could be trusted here. A woman of such status, pride, and confidence would not go back on her word and destroy her reputation just to kill her.

Talia was the Darr Kingdom’s Crown Princess and had many impressive talents, but she understood her own worth. Perhaps if she was actually Queen Monarch of the Darr Kingdom, her head would be worth Celestina sullying her own honour, but that wasn’t the case just yet.

As for the other members of her party, there wasn’t even a need to think about them. If Talia’s life wasn’t worth taking, then the young Spirit Initiates and Mortal Realm Juniors accompanying her didn’t count for anything at all.

Bluntly speaking, although these youngsters were rising stars and talents, whether they lived or died here would make no different to the overall strength of the Darr Kingdom. Killing them all today would only serve to inflame tensions between the two nations and tarnish Celestina’s and the Rockwell Kingdom’s names.

A masters with two centuries worth of experience as a General and a Marquess would never make such a stupid mistake.

Flashing a carefree smile, Talia saluted Celestina formally, "Thank you for your hospitality, then, Marquess Balfour."

"Hahaha, good good, I see you’ve inherited your father’s boldness," Celestina complimented before beckoning to a young boy nearby, "Lucas! Come escort our friends from the neighbouring kingdom to my table."

Having already anticipated his Master would be dumping some kind of difficult task onto him the moment the Darr Kingdom group appeared, Lucas wasn’t surprised when he was called over by Celestina.

Rushing over as quickly as he could without actually running, Lucas stood before Talia Darr and gave a proper noble bow, "Greetings, Your Highness. If you’ll follow me, please."

In response, Talia simply nodded and beckoned to her own group of followers, all of them falling in behind the young boy who proceeded to lead them through the crowd and into the square.

As for Celestina, after seeing off her new ’guests’ for the evening, she actually kicked off the ground and disappeared, heading off to check on a certain hunch she had shortly after she laid eyes on Talia.

.....

"Are you sure this is safe, Your Highness?" A young, newly promoted Low-Rank Initiate Realm Cultivator from the Darr Kingdom asked in a slightly nervous tone.

He and all the rest of their group had been informed about what their mission today would be, but it was now apparent that none of them truly understood what they had signed up for.

Each one of them was young and reckless, some of the best the Darr Kingdom’s younger generations had to offer from some of its most powerful noble houses. All their lives, they had been taught that the Rockwell Kingdom was soft, decadent, and weak. That belief, built up over years or even decades, gave them the confidence they needed to accept such a dangerous task.

After all, how could such a pitiful enemy ever truly threaten them, the proud warriors of the Darr Kingdom?

When they arrived at the Balfour Manor and sensed all the powerful Cultivation Auras coming from the grounds, they had certainly put their guards up, but none of them had truly been worried, still confident in their own superiority.

That was also why they continued acting so aggressive after their presence became known, thinking that by showcasing their fearlessness, it would cow their enemy into making way.

However, when Celestina Balfour so easily bypassed their perimeter and appeared right next to their leader, it had shocked all of them out of their complacency.

They may have been arrogant, and maybe even a bit ignorant, but none of them was truly an idiot. They knew that in that instant, if Celestina had wanted to kill them, none of them would have been able to resist.

The only one who had been able to remain calm and rational at the time was their leader, Princess Talia, who had repeatedly warned them not to underestimate the enemy on their journey here. Experiencing the gap between themselves and their Crown Princess truly made them admire Talia even more than they had before.

For her part, Talia was just glad that her subordinates had reigned in their behaviour a bit. How long that would last, she didn’t know, but she would take what could get.

Without turning back, Talia replied to the young man, "As long as you all don’t do something stupid, then yes, I’m sure we’ll be safe here... for tonight at least."

The young man wasn’t quite convinced, considering all the hostile glares they were still receiving from the surrounding crowd, but since the Crown Princess had made her decision, the only thing he could do was follow her.

"You really need not worry," Lucas, who had overheard the conversation as they weren’t exactly trying to hide it, said as he guided them forward.

"Oh? And why would you say that, Young Master Lucas," Talia asked, curious to see how Celestina Balfour’s First Disciple would respond.

Would he praise his Master? Would he laud his country’s sense of honour? Would he sneer at their fears and call them cowardly?

No matter what his answer, it would help Talia understand more about Lucas’ character, and about Celestina’s character, which while not her primary objective was definitely something she was curious about.

Lucas’ actual response, however, caught Talia off-guard.

Pausing in place, the young boy turned his head to meet eyes with the tall woman behind him and declared, "My Master once told me that only cowards try to take revenge on their enemies by targeting their children. That the only reason anyone does so is because they are too weak to kill their real enemy."

Staring into Talia’s dark red eyes, Lucas said calmly, but confidently, "None of you are old enough to have fought in the last war, so in my Master’s eyes, none of you are her enemy, and since you’re not my Master’s enemies, at least while you’re in her territory, you will not be treated as such."

From the side, Landon Darr, who had been paying close attention to the conversation so far, couldn’t help asking, "Doesn’t such a philosophy only lead to your enemy’s descendants growing up, becoming stronger, and then becoming your enemy?"

Smiling faintly, Lucas shook his head and addressed the young prince from the opposing nation, "Only if you believe that your current enemies can, and always will be your enemies."