Chapter 108: The Drums of War
The city of Treevalley hurtled toward Dion’s territory without stopping. Everyone in Springrock stood stunned, lost for words as the city’s massive shadow blotted out their own town while soaring overhead. Two Shadow Hand members stationed in Springrock, who had arrived with Dion’s party, were enjoying the local delicacies when they froze, staring slack-jawed at the floating city’s shadow passing over them. Suddenly, smack! Someone whacked one of the Shadow Hand members on the head, forcing both to turn around. Chiyo stood right behind them.
"Hey... I have a job for you two. Take this letter to my son-in-law right now," Chiyo commanded.
"Y-Yes, ma’am!" one of the Shadow Hand members stammered, setting his bowl down on the ground.
The two Shadow Hand operatives took the letter from Chiyo’s hand and vanished into thin air. Chiyo looked up, watching the island-city of Treevalley glide past the town of Springrock. After a moment, she smiled, turned around, and walked back up toward her inn on the hillside, passing through the chaotic, buzzing crowds around her.
Meanwhile, inside the mansion within the city of Treevalley, Sheila remained restless. She paced back and forth behind a table, muttering under her breath and occasionally slamming her fist into her open palm.
"Sheila, sit down. Pacing like that won’t change anything, and you’re just making me nervous," Cleo said.
"She’s right, musclehead. Sit down and relax. Flying like this, we’ll be there in no time," Aria added.
"Calm down, Sheila. I know you’re furious, but you’re making everyone uncomfortable acting like that," Mei chimed in.
"Don’t worry, Olga is over there. They won’t find it easy to attack us," Luna reassured her.
"Still, I’m completely sick of my stepmother and my adoptive brother’s schemes. It’s infuriating! I shouldn’t have run away; I should have stayed and crushed them," Sheila growled back.
"Hey... sit down for now. Once this is all over, how about we pay a visit to Northgard?" Dion suggested.
"Huh... what are you going to do there?" Cleo asked.
"Nothing special, but they made me mad. Nobody mess with my territory," Dion answered.
"Now that’s what I’m talking about! Let me help you crush the Kingdom of Northgard!" Sheila said, her energy instantly rekindling.
"Give me a break... why are you provoking Sheila like that?" Luna shook her head.
"Well... he’s not wrong. I was pretty pissed off myself hearing they plan to invade our land," Aria admitted.
"Same here... it’s natural for us to be angry, but we need to stay composed and not lose our heads. Got it, Sheila?" Mei warned.
"Yeah, yeah... whatever," Sheila huffed, finally dropping back into her chair, though still visibly fuming.
A heavy silence fell over the room. Dion noticed a relief carved onto the wall: a depiction of the Calamity Supreme Monarch with the Calamity Dragon behind him. But to the left and right of the king stood five young women wearing tiaras and battle armor rather than dresses. Dion stood up, walked toward the carved wall, and examined it closely.
Looking closer at the five women, he noticed one possessed horns just like Cleo. Dion glanced back at the five girls sitting at the table behind him, then looked back at the wall relief.
"No way..." he thought to himself.
He narrowed his eyes, staring closely at the five women in the relief. The resemblance to the five girls currently with him was unmistakable.
"Ah... I see you’re looking at this relief," Faramir said, stepping up beside Dion and gazing at the carving as well.
"Earlier, the Elder mentioned there used to be five kingdoms, and that Minatheras was the undead kingdom. So the five women in this relief came from those five kingdoms?" Dion asked.
"Correct. Just like your situation now, history always has a way of repeating itself," Faramir answered.
"Wait a second... if Xandor was one of the five kingdoms, does that mean one of these women actually came from Xandor?" Dion inquired.
"That is true. A noble princess from the Kingdom of Xandor, who held the SS-rank Holy Saint class before being corrupted by darkness into an SSS-rank Unholy Paladin," Faramir explained.
"Wait, but wasn’t she one of the ones alongside the King of Xandor?" Dion asked.
"Indeed, before her corruption... Afterwards, she betrayed the King of Xandor and became a demon general," Faramir replied.
Hearing Faramir’s words, Dion reflexively turned toward the table, watching Luna sitting there, chatting cheerfully with the others. He turned back to Faramir.
"What happened after that?" Dion asked.
"The King of Xandor was forced to kill her, even though he loved her deeply. A truly bitter tragedy," Faramir answered, shaking his head.
Dion stood frozen, rendered speechless. He glanced back at Luna once more, who happened to catch his eye right then and waved cheerfully at him. Dion smiled back at Luna, then turned to Faramir.
"I won’t let that happen," Dion stated firmly.
"Oh," Faramir glanced back at the girls behind them and smiled. "You won’t suffer the same fate. Trust me, Your Highness," Faramir reassured him, placing a hand on Dion’s shoulder. "We will be entering the middle lands shortly. If you’ll excuse me," Faramir bowed.
As Faramir exited the room, Dion sat back down in his chair, his eyes drifting back to the wall relief. He glanced at Luna sitting right beside him and tightened his fists.
"Yeah... she’s Luna. She would never betray me. Relax, I trust her. Even if she has the same class, she’s not that woman from the past," Dion thought to himself.
Noticing Dion seemed dazed and quiet, Luna slid closer, pressing up against him.
"What’s wrong? What are you thinking about now?" Luna asked.
"Nothing at all. Don’t worry about it," Dion said, smiling down at her.
After that, they chatted casually while Gina remained fast asleep on the table, receiving gentle pets from everyone. They waited for the city they were riding on to arrive at their territory and land there.
***
Meanwhile, inside Eredor Palace, Haruto rushed into the meeting hall and dropped to one knee before Kenzo.
"Your Majesty, please look outside the window," Haruto urged.
Kenzo struggled to stand and walked toward the window with unsteady, faltering steps. His eyes widened at the sight of the island, resembling a massive aircraft with the city of Treevalley resting upon it, floating past the capital city. Yet Kenzo didn’t panic; instead, a smile crossed his face, as if he had already anticipated this moment. He turned to face Haruto.
"Deploy all Shadow Hand agents. Monitor the enemy’s movements from Northgard. We need as much intelligence as possible, and if necessary, hold the enemy back before they reach Dion’s lands," Kenzo commanded.
"Understood, Your Majesty. I have already set things in motion. Did you... already know about this, Your Majesty?" Haruto asked.
Kenzo remained silent. Instead, he turned and walked over to his desk, where he activated the magic mirror resting upon it. The faces of Alexius and Lamberd appeared in the mirror’s reflection.
"King Alexius, King Lamberd... it has begun. Xandor shall rise once more," Kenzo declared.
"At last... my spies in Lutherias have spotted a tower erected in the capital of Minatheras," Alexius reported.
"The legendary war is about to repeat itself. It is time for us to prepare," Lamberd stated.
"Yes... and we shall side with Xandor," Kenzo replied.
"How shall we handle Northgard?" Alexius asked.
"I have already dispatched my child to lead a squad of knights to intercept them and attempt dialogue," Lamberd answered.
"Dialogue alone won’t be enough. I’ve also ordered the Shadow Hand to tail their forces and investigate what is truly happening inside Northgard," Kenzo chimed in.
"Hmm... you make a valid point, King Kenzo. Very well, I’ll leave the internal investigation of that kingdom to you," Lamberd conceded.
"Understood. Thank you, King Lamberd," Kenzo acknowledged.
With that, the kings began making preparations to welcome the resurrection of Xandor and face the legendary war looming right before their eyes.
Meanwhile, the invading forces from Northgard continued their march, already positioned behind Dion’s territory. They stood ready to strike Mageford and Dion’s newly constructed city. A heavily built, middle-aged man with a thick beard, a tied-back ponytail, and a massive battleaxe stepped forward. His ferocious face glared down at Dion’s land ahead.
"So this is what had my wife and child so worried... Men, burn everything to the ground! Destroy it all!" Dhorga roared.
"Uooooh!"
The entire army bellowed in response. The thunderous rhythm of galloping hooves and marching boots surged forward toward Dion’s territory lying directly ahead.
***
Inside Mageford, Olga, Johan, and Astrid watched the monitor as Dhorga’s forces swarmed forward to attack them.
"Raise the defense walls!" Olga shouted.
"Yes, Lady Olga!"
The city walls of Mageford and the neighboring city’s newly finished walls rose into the air, shrouded in glowing magic circles. All the watchtowers turned to face the advancing enemy army.
"Lady Olga, can we hold out against an attack from an army that size?" Johan asked.
"We have to hold out. I’m certain they will arrive along with the final city," Olga replied with a smile.
Johan and Astrid simply glanced at each other before turning back to the screen, watching the Northgard forces charge into battle.