Chapter 349 Speech
"My bet is that he makes us take the front lines. When he does, we leave. You all got that? We don't say one word."
In the center of the stadium, at a particular spot in front of the cordon behind which millions of scared, terrified people were shuffling around, trying not to jostle those around them.
The minister and the commander of the Kingdom of Axelor, along with a few soldiers, were standing around and doing their part in maintaining control of the crowd.
Although it could be said that this was what they were doing, in reality, there was almost nothing that could be done with just a few thousands of soldiers when there were so many people to handle.
However, the mages were a big help, as they managed to create large non-protecting barriers that indicated where the people had to stand, and had also cast non-trespassing spells so that the soldiers would be notified if anyone stepped out of the denoted area.
Hearing these words said by the commander behind him, the minister, who had finally made the decision to heed the call, closed his fist tight and shook with the urge to retort.
The people of Axelor were also in the crowd, so it was their duty to at least instill confidence in the Axelorians.
Yet, as their King was currently indisposed, the commanders and the soldiers had started to get doubts that they would be made the scapegoats, as it was clear that the King of Lanthanor would be the one leading everything.
Everyone knew of their long history of adversity, and it was the best time to get rid of the top talent of Axelorian army which had been deployed to give the best performance in the event.
The minister, of course, who knew that this entire situation was their fault, was still torn about what he was supposed to do.
Many thoughts kept running through his mind, chief of which was the knowledge that the truth coming out would turn the entire continent against them.
Hence, when he had heard that the King of Lanthanor had a way to solve the situation, he had actually almost jumped in joy.
From then, all the soldiers present had been assigned to teams who scoured specific areas of the land under the barrier to gather all the citizens at one place.
So far, it had only been routine work, so no tensions had evolved.
Yet, now, with the soldiers of all 5 Kingdoms standing near each other, temperatures were getting high.
For now, there were teams posted at every interval around the round area where all the citizens had been standing, yet all anyone did was either look up to see the globe of terrifying mosquitoes or talk about what solution the King of Lanthanor might have.
Hence, when Daneel's voice was finally heard by everyone, a pin-drop silence spread through the stadium where tens of thousands of bodies were still lying around, as if they were forgotten.
"People of Angaria.
People of Angaria
People of Angaria
People of Anga..."
The first words themselves had such a booming tone of confidence and reassurance that they managed to calm down most of the people who were still very scared that the mosquitoes might attack.
And as they all saw the calm face of the King of Lanthanor which appeared on the large display board, the rest at least quieted enough to listen to what he had to say.
"I know what you are all thinking. One second, we were all enjoying the best magical skill that our continent has to offer. The next, these bastard insects were killing people everywhere. Right now, I could talk about how I SWEAR on my life that I WILL find the one responsible and tear their heart out of their chest."
As the people saw the expression of pure rage appear on the face of the King of Lanthanor, the anger that they had pushed down erupted in them too, leading them to shout briefly to show that they agreed.
"But this is not the time for that. You all must have lost friends, family. You might be thinking that they are lost forever, but I can tell you that this is not the case. I don't want all of you to get your hopes up, but I don't want you to lose hope completely either. Most of those lying on the ground in the stadium or its surrounding areas can be saved, if, IF, we manage to erase the threat that you all see around me."
As cries of relief started to erupt, Daneel continued in a tone that meant business.
"Now, I said that I have a solution, but it requires that I must as something of you. It requires…that we all work together. It requires that I can trust my back to an Axelorian without needing to worry that he will stab it the first chance he gets. Soldiers of Axelor and Eldinor, I know that we haven't had the greatest of histories, and with your leaders absent, I know that I have no right to ask you of this. Still, I have no choice but to ask, no, IMPLORE that you follow my orders. You will save a lot of lives if you do so, and if it requires me, the King of Lanthanor, to get down on my knees, then I will do so, because I want to see everyone live. Please. Please trust me. I need you. Your people, need you. Angaria needs you. What do you say?"
With each word, it was as if the King of Lanthanor was doing something that a King would never do.
He was lowering himself, lowering his status, for the good of the people.
By the way he talked and the words he used, his yearning to be of service and his zeal to protect resonated with all those watching, making them almost cheer loudly if they weren't still afraid that it would startle the mosquitoes above them.
In fact, towards the ending of the speech, there had even been tears in the eyes of the King. Those that noticed this spread the news, and the impassioned speech sounded over and over again in the minds of the people.
Those that were near the soldiers of Axelor and Eldinor even started to say things like "Do it for Angaria! Do it for us! Don't hold grudges! King Daneel can be trusted!"
And of course, there were also detractors who either yelled the opposite or kept quiet, but these were in the minority.
Eldinor was the first to make a decision. A member of their council, who had taken over command in the absence of the Queen, magnified her voice and said, "Eldinor stands with you, King. Like you said, it is not time to reflect on our differences. Let it never be known that the Elves did not answer the call when called for."
"Thank you."
These two were the only words given in response, but they carried such an intense emotion that many citizens even cried after hearing them.
Daneel, on the other hand, who was seeing that his job was being accomplished nicely,
All that was left was Axelor, and this was something that he had been planning since the beginning.
No one in Axelor's leading position would ever allow for something like this. The most they would do would be to say that they would only take care of Axelorians.
Daneel's aim was to make sure that he began to become an idol in the hearts of the people.
He had thought for a bit whether there was anything wrong with keeping that goal in mind, but he had gone with it, as it was all to save Angaria in the end anyway.
His first speech had already been designed to show himself to be someone who let the past go to ensure the safety of everyone.
It had done its job, and now, with Axelor not giving an answer, his next step was to give one with even more passion so that he could show himself as the one to back.
In fact, if it were left to him, he might have let his anger get to his head and let him take the decision to let the bastards rot and die, as they were the one most likely to be the cause behind this situation.
He had no proof, but there was just this gut feeling that it was either the Church or Axelor.
Still, he had to swallow it down and beg them now.
However, just as he was about to give the most impassionate speech yet, a gruff sound could be heard throughout the stadium.
"Axelor is also with you. Just tell us what you need."
He didn't know what kind of weird bad luck he was having that had made his plan go awry, but Daneel had no time to grumble.
Instead, it was time to let in the champ who was going to impregnate thousands of insects all by himself. Or herself.
"Send the message, The mosquito must have reached the barrier by now; its big and red. Let it in."