Chapter 538 A Meeting in Eldinor
A few minutes later, Kellor was gazing at the spot where he would be if he hadn't happened to break through just now.
"Y-You were going to put me through that?!"
Turning around to see the sheepish expressions on Daneel and Faxul, the Grand Court Mage held his chin with his hands and shook his head, unable to believe it.
"It's… The most effective method…", Daneel tried to say, but he stopped in the middle as it sounded like a reason that in no way justified throwing his most trusted friends and advisers into this…thing.
Thankfully, when Kellor replied, Daneel let out a sigh of relief.
"I can see why that is the case. This would definitely be very… Effective in pulling out the need that you mentioned."
Kellor was thinking in terms of what he had experienced before, when that feeling had burst through his mind with clarity that had resulted in him stepping forward and becoming a Warrior.
It was something that was supposed to come out of the very core of one's heart, and it would make sense if this required extreme external stimuli like the ones in front of him.
As he continued to observe each stage, he heard the King speak up next to him.
"Drakos says that it is also about your age. The older one is, the easier it is for the need to come through because of maturity and clarity that is obtained by living longer. Of course, this also means that you have less time before you miss the chance to get to the next level."
This made Kellor nod.
He had spent most of his life as a woodcutter, unaware that he even had the potential to become a Mage until his master had chanced upon him.
So, it did make sense that his case would be different from the others, who had gone through more typical processes such as having their talents discovered after they had enrolled in the army.
"So… What do we do now? Should I bring Cassandra next, as we planned?"
This was from Faxul, who was still wearing those clothes.
This made Kellor turn around and say, "I wouldn't advise that. You're not exactly… Convincing as a sadistic villain who wants to abduct all the top personnel of the Lanthanor Kingdom. You looked more like an unwilling associate who's only doing this for the money."
This made Faxul blush fiercely, while Daneel turned to glare at his friend.
Unlike Daneel, who had taken to it like fish in water, Faxul wasn't very skilled in immediately entering a role and acting when needed.
Yet, Daneel had thought that that wasn't as important as all he needed was for them to enter this maze.
Only, now, as he saw Kellor in front of him, Daneel got a different idea.
"Will you do it?"
Momentarily startled, Kellor looked at the King, who was looking at him with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Thinking back, Kellor tried to think about how Faxul could have done better, and as he imagined it, he could see himself being in that role and taking steps to pull out the need.
In fact, this also reminded him of how he had been trained by his master, when the man had still been in the Kingdom of Lanthanor. His master used to switch between two personalities: cold and emotionless when he was training, so that he could make Kellor put forward the best effort, and jovial and funny when they were casually speaking.
That kind of complete shift was needed, and as he thought about it, Kellor became more and more sure that he was capable of it.
Besides, if he did his job well, he could tell that maybe the others also would not have to go through this… Hell, which was clearly something that was best avoided if possible.
"Give me a week to prepare, My Lord. I'm confident that I can definitely do a better job. And I also feel that it would have been better if there was more of a fighting chance, which would make the other side feel desperate and want to exceed their limits."
"But that was reserved for the first stage!"
"I know, but during that first stage, the shock of something like this happening would already have faded away, to an extent. But, if this first stage is implemented during the abduction, itself, I believe that there might be a higher possibility of someone breaking through just like me. This is just a hunch, Your Majesty. I'm willing to listen to whatever you decide."
Faxul had spoken out indignantly, as, even though he didn't like the job much, he had been entrusted it.
Only, as Daneel heard Kellor's words, he sank into deep thought.
The Grand Court Mage was right. That element of shock which was present when something so implausible like this was happening was something that would be lost subsequently if they waited for an even matching to occur until the first stage.
Also, he had seen Faxul's performance. It was downright appalling.
So, walking to Faxul, he slapped his friend on his shoulder and said, "Faxul, you have to admit that acting as a villain is definitely not your cup of tea. But you have to learn to act crazy. For the other plan for you to enter Axelor, it's needed, and your life will also depend on it."
This made Faxul sigh and say, "That won't be a problem, Daneel. With the spell that Drakos gave me, I've been able to dip into the mannerisms and thoughts of that crazy Black Raven. All of it is crazier than imagined, but I don't think I'll have a problem mimicking them, as going through them is slowly giving me the ability to understand and act just like that, as if I am the Black Raven. Also… Connecting with the memory of when I saw him control my body while I was trapped inside is helping me a lot."
"Young King, this is to be expected from people who have been possessed. A bond is formed between the possessor and the possessed, and this is supposed to result in effects like these. I believe that he really will have no problem, and you also don't need to worry as it won't adversely affect him. He will be able to snap out of it, especially because the Ancient Black Raven is asleep. In the worst case, it might require a slap on his face."
This made Daneel sigh with relief as he heard it, as he would truly have been worried about these atrocious acting skills if he had to send Faxul into such a dangerous place as Axelor.
"It's decided, then. Kellor will be in charge of both abduction and Stage I, while you will be on standby to step in and save anyone if required. Kellor, you have a week. After that, start with Cassandra."
As the Grand Court Mage heard this, he nodded resolutely, thinking inwardly that he would definitely put on the best performance and try to make sure that all this hard work of the King's and Faxul's would definitely be wasted. He had no intention whatsoever of anyone entering this Road, at least, not if he could do something about it.
With this matter settled in this unexpected way, Daneel headed back to Eloise so that they could get back to the planning of the train system.
The next two days were spent in building prototypes of each type of implementation, to check and see which one would function best in the present age. Daneel took an active role in this, as he knew that this train system would definitely revolutionize Angaria and turn out to be more important than anyone could ever think.
On the third day, they were supposed to be taking the decision, but Daneel received a message from Eldinor stating that he was being requested to attend a meeting with all the major figures of the government and the Queen.
Wondering what was up, Daneel traveled to the Kingdom of the Elves where he was escorted to the Throne Room which had changed a lot since his last visit.
The pedestal on which the throne used to be there had been removed, and the entire room was filled by a large, wooden table. There was still place for those who could be in the throne room but didn't have the authority to sit, but this had been moved to the furthest edges of the room, which was currently empty.
There were three prominent chairs, with one at the head and two beside it, and, on one of those, the Queen was sitting while the other was occupied by Eldra who was smiling at Daneel as she saw him enter.
Daneel was led to the head of the table, where he sat down in his rightful place as the leader of the alliance.
He had to say that he quite liked this, as it wouldn't make sense for a Throne to be placed on which he would sit, as this was an alliance as opposed to an Empire.
The meeting was begun by the Queen.
"King Daneel, I'm happy to say that I've called you here to give you good news. The incident during which we were all saved by you and your army has resulted in many more changes than any of us thought. If you remember, there was a certain force that fought alongside your Mages which was comprised of elves who had let go of their egos and trained together to achieve the coordination required to mount an assault against that blood formation."
Daneel nodded with a puzzled expression on his face, wondering why she was bringing it up.
"After seeing the effect of that kind of unity, there are many, many more Mages in the Army who are willing to enter units like these, and train according to the strict norms that are required for coordination to be achieved. I can say with surety that if you wish, the Mage formations that Lanthanor is famous for will definitely be put to great use by them. Also, this brings me to the agenda of this discussion. We need to finalize the plan of integrating the armies of Lanthanor and Eldinor. Historically, we, the elves, have suffered from a severe lack of Fighters, which stopped us from growing to become the most powerful force in the Central Continent. Now, with the robust forces of Lanthanor, I'm confident that we can make an army which would be able to crush anything that is thrown at it. Lastly, we need to address the final plans regarding the unification of the two kingdoms which will see increased trade, camaraderie and cooperation between our two peoples."
As he heard this, Daneel really felt like bashing himself on the head with a hammer.
How the hell could he have not prioritized this more?!
Back when Faxul had taken over the Black Raven Kingdom, this had been the only thing on his mind! Yet, now, because he had the new Network and other matters to attend to, he had almost forgotten about this.
Lanthanor and Eldinor were now one!
Which meant that…it was time for these two Kingdoms to fully integrate and become a gigantic force that would leverage the strengths of each to cover the others' weaknesses!
And, for this, Daneel didn't even need to think much. Plans after plans flowed through his mind at a light-speed.
After taking a second and letting out a deep breath, some of the elves who were looking at him had to wince and move back as they couldn't handle the brightness in his eyes, which shone like two lasers, when he spoke.
"Listen, this is what we are going to do…"
One plan after another was laid out, which made the eyebrows of each and every elf present rise higher and higher.
Finally, after he has done, it was the new Queen who spoke up.
"Wow…you've really put a lot of thought into this," she said, which made Daneel grit his teeth as he shouted something in response in his mind.
'Of course, I did! I've been looking forward to this for so f*cking long! It's time to show the world what an Alliance with Lanthanor really means! After I'm done, they'll be drooling and wishing that they could enter in one, too!'