Chapter 556 A Special Event End
In the Palace of Arafell, the Queen was pacing around in her empty Throne Room while a Network Trinket floated in front of her, showing a countdown to the event that almost all of Angaria was waiting for, right now.
"Priscilla, what do you know about the importance of being on the cusp of becoming a Champion? I remember that I was stressed and kept starting fights everywhere for months during that time! It is, possibly, the most important decision of one's life! Their future power, their potential, their combat role, all of it is decided with that decision! Yet, this guy is idly launching schemes for the people instead of focusing on more crucial matters? Does he think the Church is just sitting around? He should drop everything and focus on getting stronger, or on finding ways to defend Angaria!"
After the Queen said this, her facial expression suddenly changed to that of a girl who was smiling because she had caught something.
"Aha! I knew it, My Queen! Before, you were ready to force him to bend the knee, but now, you're almost talking like you care about him! Why the sudden change?"
As the expression changed again, this time, a woman blushing oh so faintly appeared, before that blush was replaced by anger.
"No! I just want him to be even stronger so that I'll have a better subordinate! I don't care about anything else! All right, look, it's starting!"
Glancing at the trinket and noticing that only a minute was left for the countdown to end, the Queen used the opportunity to change the subject and teleport back to her Throne before sitting comfortably to view what the King had been up to.
Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but think back to that moment when an Amateur Champion had been killed at the hands of a mere Peak Warrior.
At that moment, the King had seemed vaguely….similar to the Emperor. She didn't even know why that was the case, as the Emperor had been even more of a peerless genius who skipped multiple levels to kill people, often.
Still, maybe it was that someone had like that, who could do so with style, had come along after a long, long while.
Shaking her head to get rid of these thoughts, the Queen, and Priscilla who had noticed the turmoil, but held her tongue, viewed the trinket to see what announcement the King would make.
…
At the same time, the King of Axelor was doing the same, accompanied by his favorite minister who always stayed by his side, and a few other people.
They were all those who handled the economic matters of the Kingdom, and they had been called specially to analyze the scheme of the King of Lanthanor's which would soon be revealed.
Everyone knew of the King's…love for purges for the oddest of reasons. Hence, they stayed completely silent and kept their eyes on the Network Trinket, waiting for the program to start.
Meanwhile, there was a barrier around the King and his minister, and the former was grumbling something under his breath while the latter fiddled with his fingers nervously.
"My King…analysis shows that another purge, so soon, will definitely result in unrest that will take quite a long time to die down. It will cause a massive loss to the Kingdom, and the army. I urge you to reconsider."
This was what the Minister said out loud, but, inside, he was cursing the King of Lanthanor because he had no other option.
Why had the man rejected the War Games?
This rejection after the King had already planned a lot of things to happen during the event had thoroughly unseated the man in front of him, causing him to go on another murderous rage which had claimed the lives of 18 poor, innocent maids while also insisting that another purge should be carried out.
Clearly, these purges somehow the sick urges of this man who was unfortunately in control of the Kingdom the Minister meant. Hence, he could only do his best to veer him away from such choices.
Thankfully, the analysis had given him a reason to say this and try to dissuade the King.
Surprisingly, King Safiros answered in a calm tone.
"Oh, cancel that, but draw up plans for another, discreet one. This one needs to be more elaborate. Maybe we can plant some traitor from a different Kingdom who starts killing those of ours, resulting in a purge being compulsory because the surrounding villages would be scared? When we carry one out, they will even thank us. And Lanthanor should be the one responsible, of course. Hate is at an all-time high, but there's no harm in letting it rise further."
These words made a chill appear in the minister's spine, even though he had initially been glad that the King had calmed down.
He had been hoping that those words said in throes of anger might be reversed, now that he was calmer.
Only, it seemed that King Safiros was even more dangerous when calm.
What was the reason behind this man's fascination with purges?
This question appeared in the minister's mind, but except for concluding that it mostly must be for sick satisfaction, there was nothing else that the minister could do about it.
"Or maybe there's a disease spreading. I don't know, I'll come up with something."
As soon as he said this, the countdown ended, and the screen was replaced by a…a dragon?
Not just any dragon- it was one made of fire, which animatedly frolicked this way and that before finally stopping in the center in the form of an L, which was the logo of Lanthanor.
"So much for a grand opening,", said Safiros teasingly, yet, the next moment, he had no other option but to shut up and watch as the screen had once again been replaced.
In it was a simple house, in which a little girl was sitting and playing with a few crude, wooden toys while her mother fussed with her cooking in the kitchen.
The door opened to reveal a tired man stepping through, wearing clothes plastered with ash while his face was that of someone who hadn't taken a rest in a long, long time.
As soon as he came in, he collapsed, which made the little girl run to him and say, "What's wrong, father?"
It was a touching moment, for sure, but most people were puzzled. What was going on?
If they were inhabitants of Earth who were used to theatrics for advertisements, they would have understood by now.
The father proceeded to explain that he had lost his job, and that although there was an opening obtained via a friend, it was many towns away.
It would be impossible for the family to shift, and it would also be impossible for him to commute daily and still have enough money for his family to eat.
Just as he said this and was about to lament, with a flash, the King of Lanthanor was standing in that house.
"What the f*ck?"
That was the exclamation from the King, who was already quite irritated that he had had to watch that clearly fake sob story which he didn't even understand much, as there hadn't been a day when he hadn't been shrouded in luxury.
The sudden appearance of the King startled him, but all over Angaria, those who had witnessed his heroic acts during 'Mercy for the Wicked' cheered.
At the same moment, that family was also shocked, but before they could react, the King stretched out his arm to the father who was on the floor and said, "Let me help you, dear citizen of mine."
The screen went blank after this, and was replaced by a completely different scene of a warehouse filled with bags of some kind of crop.
"What is this? Is he going to torture us by making us sit through hours and hours of this bullsh*t?", said the King, but all those in the room were busy watching the scene and wondering what would happen here.
A similar scenario occurred: the owner of the warehouse had just lost a deal with someone he was supposed to deliver all this wheat to, and it was all going to go to waste as there was no way that he could transport it quickly enough to sell it to another buyer.
This was followed by the fear that the man would have to default on the loans he had taken from moneylenders, which would lead to his family having no other option but to sell everything and move to the slums, but the King appeared again and did the same motion.
Stretching out his hand with a genial smile on his face, he said, "Let me help you, dear citizen of mine."
As the screen cut off for the second time and was replaced by another scene once again, King Safiros was at the end of his patience.
He was just about to erupt with anger and storm out, but he stopped as this scene showed the grand mansion of someone who was very well off.
What did the transportation system that was apparently going to be launched now have anything to do with the rich?
All the analysis by his advisors had pointed to the fact that this whole thing was an attempt by the King to solve the problems of the working and middle classes.
The others in the room were similarly shocked, so they watched on as the scene panned to an old man with a goatee idly reading the newspaper while sipping a cup of clear wine.
His butler appeared at that moment, and said that the man was supposed to travel to some area where some business of his was running, which made the man sigh and lament that it would be another long journey by carriage, as he just couldn't adjust to teleportation, just like many others.
The King did his act for the third time, and the screen cut off and was finally replaced by the main announcement.
"The Angarian Express: One Solution to All of Your Problems."
The first family was shown traveling to an opulent station, where the daughter and wife bid goodbye to the man who climbed a carriage with many others in it that started slowly and took off at a moderate speed.
The warehouse owner was shown smiling happily as a different, open carriage was being loaded with bag after bag of wheat, which, when done, started moving at a speed much faster.
Finally, the rich man was shown being ushered into a regal room by professionally dressed servers who sat him down and started tending to his every need.
Extreme opulence was shown: although it was clear that this was the interior of a carriage, there were incredibly useful amenities such as some sort of seat massager, a Network Trinket, a personal chef and even a full-sized bed, in case someone wanted to sleep.
Yet, the most miraculous thing about this was when the image zoomed out to show a carriage, which actually moved back while pushing some kind of…rope that was as thick as a man's waist.
After a few moments, the image zoomed out again for the actual reveal.
It was a massive bow-shaped apparatus, with a large hole in the front for the train to pass through. The carriage was the arrow, and as it was launched with a loud sound that made it shoot forward and become a blur, barriers activated all around, stabilizing the carriage and keeping it on the tracks which were also glowing.
Only, when the image zoomed in again to show the old man who was traveling, he was feasting on steak as though he hadn't moved at all.
How was this even possible?
That question ran through everyone's minds, but the screen cut off again, and this time, although it remained blank, the King addressed the viewers.
"Experience comfort and connectivity the likes of which have never been seen on this continent, with the Angarian Express. If you aren't convinced, stay tuned to listen to interviews with some of the most prominent Angarians and Eldinorians and also common citizens, who have all had the pleasure of experiencing this revolution."
With this Daneel's part in the announcement was done. Helena and Dalia were up next, and as he smiled to them while he felt happy, the system sounded in his mind.
[Incoming communication from Hero-level figure.]
"Let it in."
"King Daneel, I am waiting to speak to you right above where you are."
It was the Head.
Daneel's heart lurched, but he calmed down as the man had said that he would come talk to him about something at some point.
So, Daneel first teleported straight up before flying.
As he finally reached the spot where the man with the stylish short beard was sitting on a large sofa made of clouds, Daneel was about to greet him, but he was quite startled when the Head spoke out in a stern voice.
"King, if you were in my sect, I would shackle you without a thought and throw you in a training room. You received such an incredible inheritance, but you're wasting it by playing these antics with these people, who might all die soon unless those like you shut up and train to become strong enough to defend Angaria. You disappoint me, King. For how long do you intend to waste time on trivial things while not focusing on the big picture?"