Chapter 578 Meeting the Empire Spirit of Axelor
"Er…Daneel, are you sure this will work?"
As Faxul said this in a hesitant tone, he saw his friend merrily slap his shoulder and say, "Oh, yes. You don't know Empire Spirits like I do. I've met 4 of them, and I must say that they all share the same trait that we are using today."
As Daneel said this with a smile on his face, he heard Drakos grumble in a low voice in his mind.
Clearly, the ancient dragon was making his displeasure known, but Daneel didn't say anything.
It was true that even the dragon was prone to get haughty, at times.
He wouldn't display that quality clearly, but whenever Drakos felt amazed at something that Daneel did, there would be a slight tone of 'I can't believe you were capable of this.'
He didn't blame the ancient dragon, though, as he knew that even he would be pretty amazed if someone whom he thought belonged in a 'primitive age' was capable of incredible things that weren't supposed to be possible.
Also, of course, Drakos's more or less innocent character made it so that even if there was a hint of that arrogance, it didn't impact his judgment and thinking in any way.
Unlike…the Empire Spirit that they were going to meet.
Above them, a clone of Faxul's was standing in the air right outside the border of Axelor, waiting after sending a message using a secret method Faxul had found in the memories of the Ancient Black Raven.
After his baptism, it had been pretty easy for him to go through the vast memories of the Empire Spirit, which would apparently have not been the case if Faxul hadn't found himself beforehand.
According to Drakos, delving in one's memories in that way would often cause people to lose themselves and forget their own memories, but that wasn't possible for Faxul, whose mental state was already as strong as it could be.
This had made Daneel wonder what he would go through if he ever did have to endure a baptism. What demons of his were there that he would have to face? What would he find at the end of the road?
It was all very interesting, but it had to be stowed away for another time, mainly because Daneel wanted to find out what that crazy King was brewing inside his Kingdom.
Ever since he had rejected that offer for the War Games, Daneel had suspected that King Safiros must definitely be doing something else to achieve his goals, whatever they might be.
He was probably desperate, and when someone that crazy had that emotion, very bad things could happen.
Now, as they waited for the Empire Spirit of Axelor to turn up, Daneel decided to ask Drakos to recount the story about the identity of whom they were about to meet one more time.
He also asked Drakos to speak out loud using a simple spell, so that Daneel wouldn't have to repeat it to Faxul.
And, besides, Faxul already knew a lot about this guy from the memories that he had seen. So, now, this explanation was only so that they could briefly recap everything.
"The Empire Spirit was one of the few humans who chose to enter this…'program' of the Emperor's. His past is actually hidden to all, except for the Emperor who found out everything about him before taking him in. Rumors said that he was bathed in blood that was not his own, or his mother's moments after he was born. The story changes with each retelling, but the gist is that he was born in the midst of a battle that was mostly between a few bandits and an entourage of merchants who were transporting goods. No one knows if he was born on the side of the merchants, or the bandits, but what is true is that he saw bloodshed as soon as he was born.
"He was blessed with superior talent, but where many would call this luck, it turned out to be unlucky for him. He was taken away by the bandits and raised by them, while learning to kill and pillage since he was a child. The bandit world was one of backstabs and betrayals, but it was said that he breathed in the atmosphere and absorbed all the knowledge he could. H
"More than anything, he was a survivor. No matter what he had to do, whether it be that he had to poison an entire village to act dead as he had a spell which would mimic the effects of that poison on his own body, or when he forcibly kidnapped, seduced and married the daughter of someone who had sworn to kill him so that he could escape his wrath, he would do it so that he could live on. Many, many tales float about regarding everything he did to stay alive and grow stronger, with one more preposterous than the next.
"The common denominator of all these is that he is ruthless, cunning, and smart, and that he was a foe whom one wouldn't dream of antagonizing unless they wished to die without even knowing how they had been killed."
As Drakos paused here, Daneel couldn't help but think that this Empire Spirit was certainly…interesting, to say the least.
Yet, if he had done such atrocious things, why had the Emperor pardoned him?
He had gotten this question the last time that Drakos had told him about him, too, and it made him wish that he could find the consciousness of the Emperor and delve into his memories for answers, just like Faxul had done with the Ancient Black Raven.
"He was found and defeated by the Emperor during the conquest of a certain force. Apparently, that entire force had been under the secret control of that man, who acted like a puppeteer to get all the resources while he kept the daughters of the real leader of that place hostage. All while sleeping with them, as they couldn't get enough of him. Oh…"
Faxul couldn't help but stare at Daneel with a very puzzled expression on his face as he heard this from Drakos.
Yet…after a few moments, when he checked the memories, he understood the reason.
"I'm sorry that I said that part. It's just that whenever this story was being told, he would always appear and add that part, making sure that none of us forgot it."
Faxul just nodded, while Daneel felt like chuckling when he heard the embarrassed tone of the Dragon.
After a moment, Drakos continued, acting as if nothing had happened.
"For reasons that are known only to him and the Emperor, he was pardoned, and taken under his wing, becoming one of the most dependable commanders who used all kind of underhanded means to capture those the Emperor needed when direct means failed to work. As a Mage, his power was also unrivaled when he could choose the terrain, as he was known for his exceptional talent in setting up trap after trap that would ensnare anyone who dared to enter. Young King, I urge you to be as cautious as possible when dealing with this man. He might not be the strongest, but he was the one regarded to be the most dangerous."
Hearing the warning for the second time, Daneel nodded, and at the same moment, a figure appeared above them in front of Faxul's clone.
It was King Safiros, but he had a cold smirk on his face that did not look like it belonged to him.
With just a glance, Daneel could tell that it wasn't him.
He was wearing Royal Robes with strange patterns of people toiling in different ways to build a throne that was present all over his body, making for an unforgettable sight, and also the most unique fashion that Daneel had seen yet.
Folding his hands behind his back, he said, "Old Bird. Before we continue, how can I believe that it's really you that I'm talking to? What if you're just one of those in the Race who wants to gain access to this Kingdom using the identity of an old friend of mine?"
With just a sentence, he had spelled out Daneel's plan.
This made Daneel's heart begin to beat faster in his chest, but he calmed down and nodded at Faxul, telling him to continue with their plan.
Anyone would be suspicious, so they had already planned for this.
Faxul's clone got a deep frown on its face, before it took out a parchment from its pocket and handed it to the man.
"I could tell that you would be suspicious. I just gained partial control of this body after years of hard work and after using some…unorthodox means, so imagine my surprise when I saw a Hero-level formation around this Kingdom."
Indeed, the clone above didn't look like Faxul. Instead, it was the original version of this body, which had once belonged to an ancient King of the Black Raven Kingdom.
The Empire Spirit took the parchment and read it, before smiling and burning it to ashes.
"I did hear about that fight centuries ago. So this body wasn't as injured as I thought? I bet it must have been a struggle, though. Anyway, what do you want? I already have my own plan, so don't think that I'll abandon it just because you came along."
Yes! It had worked!
Well, more or less.
Daneel's gamble had been that no matter how smart an Empire Spirit was, it wouldn't be able to think, even in its wildest dreams, that a mere human from this age had been able to best one of its kind and put it to sleep, making it vulnerable to having its memories scoured.
According to Drakos, that had been a confluence of events that no one could imagine: for one thing, it had been a miracle that Daneel had been able to trick the Ancient Black Raven and steal away the energy of its pedestal in the first place, and as for Faxul's consciousness entering the pedestal, no one could have imagined that it was made possible because the Ancient Black Raven temporarily possessed him, putting in place the link that was used to facilitate the transfer.
So, one would definitely not be able to expect that something like this would be possible, leading them to take the simplest explanation, which was that the Black Raven was telling the truth.
With a deep breath, Faxul stated the plan they had agreed upon beforehand.
"It's simple. Seeing as how you're unsuccessful in fully possessing a body, I can tell that your goal is to break the last seal and win the Race. For that, both of us know that the more citizens, the better. As for me, I need your help in causing a situation where this kid is caught unaware. After that, he will have a falling out with his friend, following which the two Kingdoms can unite. Your seal is broken, I get a body. Together, we can take over the continent. What do you say?"
It was the moment of truth.
The plan was simple: propose something which benefits both sides, so that there would be no suspicion.
The only aim here was that Faxul should be trusted by this Empire Spirit, so Daneel had decided on using this method to make sure that that would happen.
For a moment, he wondered whether they should try to persuade him more, but realizing that there was also such a thing as overselling a deal, he stopped himself.
Finally, after thinking for a bit, the King of Axelor threw a trinket shaped like a leaf in Faxul's clone's direction before saying, "I'll think on it. Stay in touch," and vanishing from the scene.
This immediately made smiles appear on the faces of Faxul and Daneel.
From the Black Raven's memories, they had already understood that if this Empire Spirit didn't say 'no', then there was a high chance of it saying 'yes'.
Preparing to go back to Lanthanor to implement the next step, Daneel decided to ask Faxul a question that he had gotten.
To verify his identity, he had asked Faxul to write down something that only the two of them would know, so that the Empire Spirit of Axelor would be inclined toward believing that it really was the 'old bird'.
He had seen Faxul think for a bit, blush, and then write down a number.
Now, as he asked what it was and got the answer, he understood why his friend had gotten that reaction.
"It was the number of women he had slept with. 1087."