Chapter 138 Priorities
If one traveled east of Lanthanor, they would first come upon a region which was covered with barren mountains and plains.
With many ferocious beasts living in the area, it was known as a deathtrap for any unsuspecting traveler who dared to venture here without ample preparation or confidence in his own strength.
In fact, in Central Angaria(the region in which the 6 Kingdoms were located), there were quite a few species of animals which could grow in power. Unlike fighters, some even had the capability of directly ingesting energy materials in order to train their bodies.
Even though they were a threat to weak travelers, they could do nothing to harm individuals living in established areas.
It was said that Angaria was once home to fantastical beasts which trained all the way to the Champion Level and even beyond. Yet, to the common folk, these were only myths mainly because of the fact that the strongest beast found in any area around Lanthanor was only at the Eminent Human Level.
People did lose their lives, but they could only blame themselves for their carelessness as the information about the habitats of such beasts was clearly recorded and available within every Kingdom. Although one could make a profit by selling beast pelts and claws, it wasn't a very booming occupation at least in Lanthanor due to the non-abundance of strong beasts in the areas near it.
Also, there were certain "no-trespassing" zones which were marked with a red color on maps. No one knew the reason behind this marking, but the fact that all those who entered these areas never came out alive was enough to make everyone keep a wide berth from all such zones.
Gazing at the huge map in front of him, Daneel saw that there were 3 such red zones in the area where his Master had said that the Withering Leaf Sect Headquarters was located.
After completely calming himself, Daneel had gone back to the Palace after deciding on his next steps in his mind.
When asked about the reason behind Jonah's visit, he simply recited the one that his Master had supposedly come for: to extend an offer to join the Church of Rectitude.
Seeing the sad look on Kellor's face, Daneel realized that he had probably been hoping for something that could ease the pain in his heart.
After all, he had been the one who groomed Jonah, only to later take part in apprehending him when he defied the King.
Although many such incidents had scarred the Grand Court Mage's heart, this was one that stood out the most.
Alas, Daneel had no choice. The information about his Master's double role was too important, and he had to take every precaution in order to safeguard it.
He himself had seen the strict oaths one would have to swear if one chose to enter the Church of Rectitude, thus he had been quite shocked to see that his Master had somehow found a way to circumvent them to relay information to him.
This taught him that even oaths weren't completely foolproof.
Resolving to privately tell Kellor the truth later, Daneel asked for a map of Angaria to be brought to him.
His story had been that Jonah had bargained the information about the location of the Eldest Prince in order to have Daneel listen to the offer in the first place.
A fire had lit up in the eyes of the inhabitants of the throne room when they heard this news. The Eldest Prince was the demon who could be designated as the main root for many of the incidents which led to tens of thousands of people having their lives destroyed.
There was no way Daneel could say that he had fulfilled his promise if he didn't bring this fiend to justice. Thus, he decided to prioritize this operation.
After all, the first step for any such mission was 'scouting'.
According to the records present in the archives of the Lanthanor Kingdom, almost all the no-trespassing zones had already been investigated at least once.
This had been an ambitious project by a King of Lanthanor who was paranoid that these locations were hiding secret bases of other Kingdoms.
After massive loss of life, he had had no choice but to give up all intentions about a deeper investigation. It was these records that now helped Daneel.
Of the three zones, one was a canyon and the other two were valleys. Rumors stated that they were the locations of ancient Kingdoms who were far advanced in the art of formations and enchanting when compared to the Kingdoms present in Angaria today.
Although they had faded away into the eddies of time for reasons unknown, it was said their formations still remained, guarding their home ground and killing all who dared to venture in.
All three needed to be scouted again, but Daneel also had to make sure that there would be no ties in case someone did get caught.
With this thought, he was reminded of the one known as the "Grandmaster of Espionage", Luther.
Ordering Aran to take Luther's place at the border, Daneel waited while sitting on the throne and pondering about the future of Lanthanor and Angaria.
After a few minutes, the scarred man walked into the room with a peculiar expression on his face.
Along with Daneel, Cassandra, Faxul, and Kellor were also in attendance.
Luther's face was filled with an extreme expression of discomfort. He winced with each step, almost as if he were stepping on needles instead of the floor.
Before Daneel could ask, Cassandra opened her mouth and spoke to answer the query which was clear in the King's face.
"Your Majesty, for some reason, Luther always acts like this when he is summoned to the Kingdom. Even though we asked him many times, he has never told us the reason. The only thing he did say was that being in the Palace always made him feel like he was going to be devoured by something."
Hearing the reason, a bemused expression came on Daneel's face.
"Let's walk out then. I was meaning to leave to check on our Research Division anyway."
If Daneel hadn't gone through the experiences in the memory fragment, he would not have chosen to give this order right now.
After all, he was the King. Thus, he would have simply kept this to the side, given his orders and dismissed Luther.
Yet, his words now made the two commanders present in the room look at him with a different light in their eyes.
Never before had the King taken a decision in order to accommodate a particular subject's preferences.
This was a very small thing, and it cost Daneel nothing. Yet, it showed that he was someone who cared; instead of simply being someone who ruled.
Again, he thanked the providence that enabled him to realize that he had started on the path to turning into a copy of the previous King albeit without the tendency to murder everyone in order to gain power.
Reaching outside the Palace with quick strides, he noticed Luther's whole body relax. In an instant, he was again the stoic man who had impressed Daneel before with his decisive and efficient actions.
"Luther, I know the reason why you stopped training spies. I promise that what happened before will never happen again. A certain sum shall be set aside which will be used solely for sending resources to all assets located outside the Kingdom. Right now, I require you to train a new batch whose main focus will be scouting. I need to scout the no-trespassing zones to the east of the Kingdom, as I have reliable information that the Eldest Prince is present there."
Although an expression of reluctance came on Luther's face, the last sentence made an expression come onto his face which made Daneel step back.
In his life in Lanthanor, there had only been a few instances where he felt hopeless in front of such an overwhelming power that threatened to devour him whole.
This was one of those instances. Yet, the feeling left as abruptly as it came.
It seemed that he was the only one who had noticed this, as the rest were only looking on with puzzled expressions on their faces.
Thankfully, the moment had been so sudden that Daneel hadn't even had the time to get a fearful expression on his face.
Pretending as if nothing had happened, he looked to Luther to see him staring into the sky with his eyes unfocused.
Feeling Daneel's gaze on him, he turned around and said, "The Eldest Prince must be brought to justice. Your Majesty, let me embark on this mission myself along with some individuals that I will train. I promise that I will come back alive with the head of that beast. Of course, the operation will only take place after a period of time."
Although Daneel felt a bit apprehensive at first, he nodded after seeing the determination in the man's face.
It was decided that a scouting expedition would first be trained and sent out.
As he discussed the details, Daneel found himself hoping that the main mission could take place at a time when he could also participate, at least if only to find out for himself just what was in this man which had made him become secretly drenched in sweat due to the overwhelming fear he had felt.