Chapter 282: The Pincer Trap
Kellar leaned back against his carved timber seat, taking a sip from his glass goblet before breaking the hall’s silence.
"Young Prince... I acquired a piece of information. Would you care to hear it?"
Caelen swallowed, yet maintained his posture.
"Of course, Great Shaman. Speak."
"There are two kingdoms settled along your borders," continued Kellar, locking a gaze onto his guest. "One is named Aethelgard, and the other Valoria."
Upon hearing both names, Prince Caelen froze in shock. His pupils contracted and color drained from his face. It was as his father feared: the tribe not only knew of the neighboring realms’ existence, but held awareness of the political landscape, granting them an upper hand.
Sensing immediate danger and the exposure of their state secrets, Deputy General Valerius reacted on instinct. He stepped forward and placed a hand upon the prince’s shoulder, tensing his muscles as he prepared to fight to the death to carve an escape path for his lord.
"Come now, remain calm," said Kellar, raising his hands in a gesture. "You have not heard the rest of the story. Do not rush to conclusions."
Valerius did not withdraw his hand, but held his breath as Kellar continued in his tone.
"Do you know how I learned of their existence?"
"No... we do not know, Great Shaman," replied the prince.
Caelen’s voice had shifted; diplomatic polish yielded to a respect laced with fear. The leader before him seemed to move a step ahead at every turn. Kellar had disassembled his tactics and anticipated their maneuvers, holding absolute initiative across the negotiation table.
"Those two kingdoms dispatched their own envoys much like you did," revealed Kellar, forming a smirk. "They offered what you offered... along with an addition: half of the Golden Rose Kingdom’s territory following your annihilation. Should we march from the south against your realm, they will strike from the north and northeast to ensure a tripartite assault. Thus, we would obliterate you in a single pincer movement. What are your thoughts on this plan, Your Highness?"
Prince Caelen’s anxiety reached a threshold. Cold sweat soaked his back as the gravity of the situation settled upon him: Kellar was admitting that the tribe held the option to march to war and erase his kingdom from the map.
His mind raced to dismantle that alliance before it could be sealed.
"Those kingdoms will honor nothing!" exclaimed Caelen, his voice rising in desperation as diplomatic composure evaporated. "They are treacherous, deceitful snakes! Once my realm falls, they will hand over not a single span of land to you, Great Shaman. They are racist and chauvinistic! In their eyes, any realm or people different from their own is trash. They will betray you at the first opportunity!"
His words dissolved into pleading shouts as he lost his composure. Panic consumed him; he knew all too well that Deputy General Valerius lacked the strength to carve a path out of the village while surrounded by the Overlord tribe’s finest warriors and captains. Remaining there meant certain death or being captured and tortured until every military secret of the Golden Rose Kingdom was extracted from him.
Kellar observed him in silence for a few seconds, resting his chin atop his laced fingers before responding:
"Your words sound sincere, Prince... I do not doubt they harbor such intentions. Yet tell me, what guarantees me that you do not hold those exact same intentions against us? Once you stabilize your borders and rebuild your military might, what will prevent you from marching upon my lands once more to attack us, just as you did last time?"
"This... this is a misunderstanding!" stammered Caelen, tripping over his words. "That was a direct order from my former subordinate, Varis! He was the sole culprit, our realm would never commit such an offense again..."
"Enough," cut him off Kellar, raising a single finger to command silence. "It may be that the idea originated with him, but Varis did not command the armies—you did. Your troops would not have advanced a single meter without your direct order. He may have been the primary culprit, but I am certain he was not the only one. You coveted the resources within my territory, Prince... So give me one single reason why I should not send the heir of our enemy realm as a hostage to the Kingdom of Aethelgard as my own gesture of goodwill."
Panic erupted within the hall. Upon hearing Kellar’s threat, Deputy General Valerius coiled his legs and prepared to lunge forward with bare fists, ready to sacrifice his life if it granted his lord a fraction of a second to escape. Instantly the thunder of heavy boots echoed throughout the chamber: all Overlord tribe commanders stood as one, encircling the table with tense expressions and hands poised near the weapon racks, ready to slaughter them on the spot.
Caelen cowered in his seat, pale and breathing heavily.
"Calm down, remain calm..." suddenly cut through the tension Kellar, letting out a chuckle as he made a gesture with his hand for his commanders to stand down. "I have not said we shall do that."
At the shaman’s signal, the tribal captains relaxed their stances and returned to their seats, keeping their eyes locked onto the exhausted heir. Kellar rested his elbows on the table and met Caelen’s gaze with a smirk:
"Young Prince, I assume that as a member of royalty, you value your own life above all else... and I am a pragmatic man. I believe there are no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits. Should your display of sincerity satisfy me sufficiently, instead of handing you over to your enemies, I might offer you an even greater gift when you depart these lands... something of incalculable value that you may deliver with pride to His Majesty, the King of Golden Rose."
"I am willing to cooperate in everything you ask, Great Shaman... I can surrender my most valuable possession," declared Prince Caelen on the brink of collapse, sliding the spatial storage ring off his trembling finger onto the wooden table.