Chapter 233 Entering the Black Raven Kingdom
"They say the Network of Angaria will allow the entire continent to know exactly how powerful the descendants of our deity are, allowing the world to see and fear the might of the Black Raven Kingdom."
Gesturing at the messenger who had just spoken out the entire missive sent by the Kingdom of Lanthanor to leave, the Black Raven King sat back on the throne while waiting for the old man who had been standing at the side to speak.
Due to the recent warning, he had been behaving quite subdued unlike his previous self who had started to act unruly because of the long time that had passed since reaching the arrangement which tied his life to the old man's.
After pondering for a bit, the old man looked at the Black Raven King and said, "Allow it. I see more advantages than disadvantages. Your Kingdom isn't one where public opinion matters anyway, unlike the Kingdom of the Elves where a sway in opinion can change the leader itself. It'll also make the bratty King think that we are valuing the 'alliance' reached due to the Echer seeds. Make sure to send that part in the communication. Also, make a committee to keep an eye on the network, and assess whether there is any long-term risk for the Kingdom. And don't disturb me unless there is anything important. I will come out next when the fight is due."
The Black Raven King only nodded hearing these words, opting to look on as the old man exited the throne room.
Yet, at the last moment before walking out the door, the old man turned around to shoot a cold glance at the King as a warning to not play any antics when he wasn't there.
Feeling an instinctive fear, the Black Raven King couldn't help but grasp at his crotch area again, remembering the warning that had been given before.
Seeing the door close and finding himself alone in the room, the Black Raven King got up before walking towards the door himself and turning around to gaze at the enormous statue which had apparently existed for as long as the Kingdom.
Closing his eyes, he did the only thing he could think of right now.
He prayed. He prayed that someone could come along and kill this old man, whose only purpose seemed to be to wring the Kingdom dry for his own motives.
This was definitely not what he had in mind when he had taken the offer to become someone who could stand above all and below one.
....
In the King's chambers in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel, Eloise and Kellor were standing in front of a parchment while waiting for the communication from the Black Raven Kingdom who had intimated that they would be sending over the decision in a moment.
All of them had hopeful expressions on their faces, as an approval would mean that they would be able to tap into almost half the population of Central Angaria.
Seeing the parchment flash, Kellor walked forward and immediately held it in his hand, receiving the transmission.
After a few moments, a wide smile spread across his face which was enough for the others to understand what the message was.
Eloise immediately jumped up in the air, whooping and clapping her hands before calming herself down realising in whose presence she was.
Yet, the King himself had an even wider smile on his face and looked like he was resisting the urge to jump up himself.
Instead, he turned to Eloise who had just landed and grasped her by the shoulders before saying with excitement, "Well done Eloise! Time and time again, you keep exceeding expectations! Thank you for being by my side!"
Saying these words and looking into her eyes for a moment, the King turned around before beginning a conversation with Kellor about the logistics of preparing enough communication trinkets to deliver to the Black Raven Kingdom.
Thus, he didn't see that his small gesture of appreciation had made Eloise freeze where she stood and stare at him, completely entranced by the broad shoulders which gave her a measure of stability and security that she had always been looking for her entire life.
As this feeling swept over her, she realised that the feelings she had for the King had long surpassed those that existed between a ruler and a loyal subject.
Her stomach fluttering as if butterflies were flying inside, she left the room, replaying the moment that had just happened over and over again in her mind.
...
Two days later.
A man wearing the guise of a traveller entered the Black Raven Kingdom before heading towards a town nearby.
Although the Black Raven Kingdom was also surrounded by walls just like the Kingdom of Lanthanor, these walls could not even hold a candle to the impregnable ones that had thrown back enemies for centuries.
They were made out of stone bricks held together by a mixture of clay. On top, a metal layer had been applied for added strength.
Only Mages who were well experienced in handling metal elementary particles could even hope to melt enough iron in order to make such a coating possible.
Hence, this was one of the costliest projects the Kingdom had ever undertaken, but it had proven its value multiple times when it put up a strong resistance against foes who attacked.
Of course, unlike the walls of the Lanthanor Kingdom, these could be breached much more easily resulting in many villages and towns not opting to be situated near the borders.
Most of the land was barren, making it so that even if an invader did manage to breach the wall and enter, they would only be met with no cover and no stronghold to take control of.
Teleportation detection stopped people from entering however they wanted, and the strikeforce of the Black Raven Kingdom which was ranked among the top in terms of speed of response made anyone think twice before deciding to attack these lands.
Daneel had already read about all these facts in the dossier they had back in Lanthanor.
Although he had been reluctant to pause his training, he had taken the decision to investigate the Kingdom himself because he might soon have to figure out a way to take control of it just like how he had done with Eldinor.
This was actually his second stop after leaving from the Lanthanorian Palace, because he had first gone to the location of the Ker Gem mine to pick up the gems formed in the Natural Energised Training Chamber.
Glad that he at least had a way to train without taking the risk to expose the goo, Daneel had taken on this disguise before entering the Kingdom.
After reaching the village, he saw that the style of architecture was different from Lanthanor's.
In Lanthanor, even villages had houses made of stone bricks because the simple technology to construct such houses had been proliferated in the public long ago.
Yet, in the Black Raven Kingdom, he saw that many houses were still made of mud and thatch.
Of course, larger establishments such as inns were still made of stone bricks.
Taking lodging in one such inn in the town which was closest to the location where the Black Raven King would soon fight the challenger, Daneel ordered the local delicacies before asking the bartender, "I've been to Lanthanor and Eldinor, but this is the first time I saw houses like these which looked so primitive. Why is this the case?"
The bartender was an individual who had an eye patch, with an old raven perched on his shoulder who was looking at Daneel suspiciously as if he wasn't who he seemed to be.
Indeed, after entering the Kingdom he had realised that Black Ravens weren't as rare as he had thought in his mind. Out of 10 citizens that he had seen, at least three or four had ravens perched on their shoulders or resting on their hands while the people went about their daily tasks.
Although he had read this metric in the dossier, the sight was truly something to behold.
It was almost as if the entire society was built around this intelligent species and the humans.
According to what he had read, each and every Black Raven citizen would have the option of trying to bond with a Raven after reaching the age of 14.
This offer was not extended to outsiders, or even those that had chosen to marry outside their own society.
This reminded Daneel of some of the communities on earth who also acted the same way, being open to outsiders but still prioritising 'blood'.
Because the population of the citizens itself numbered in the millions, inbreeding wasn't a problem except in rare cases.
"Typical foreigner. Those are the houses of the true citizens, and they are a tier above when compared to the stone houses. They keep the houses cool naturally and are enchanted with special spells for added defense. I wish I could live in one of those."