Chapter 43 - Chain of Command
The castle approached at a terrifying speed, but Lilly felt prepared. Her momentum and force should be able to penetrate any barrier trying to stop her, so she simply kept the target in her sight and kept accelerating.
A crash could be heard as some invisible force attempted to stop her, but it was useless. Dortfell’s barriers seemed to be on the same level as Eldoria’s, completely unable to stop her.
One second later she was about to hit the roof and closed her eyes reflexively. A loud crash, closely followed by another crash, and then another crash.
Lilly had used quite a lot of force to make sure she got through, but it seemed to have been unnecessary. Not only did she go through the roof, she also went through the floor, and then the next floor under that again.
She brushed off the debris and dust that gathered around her, taking a look around. Her clothes were, as usual, torn to shreds at this point, except for anything below the aegis. Luckily it went a bit below her belt, covering the important parts.
The dark room she had fallen into had nothing of note, so she ascended back up to the main hall where she expected the throne to sit.
Once she ascended above the floor, she saw several guards approaching the hole. They pointed spears at her as soon as she appeared, surrounding her from all sides.
“Where is your king?” Lilly asked, noting the empty throne. She had assumed he would be somewhere else, so it didn’t come as a surprise she would have to find him.
The guards stared at her without changing their expressions, still looking at her with murderous intent. They probably sensed she was strong, though, considering no one had made a move yet.
‘As expected, they don’t understand me… What is “bring your king here” in Dorthian, Myndia?’
Myndia did her best to pronounce some strange sounds, which Lilly, in turn, tried to replicate to the guards. But still, there was no reaction.
“Excuse them, dear guest. We are few who understand Eldian here.”
The guards made an opening for the man who just spoke, giving Lilly a chance to look at him. He didn’t quite seem like a king, but possibly an advisor of sorts, Lilly thought. He was rather old, with greying hair and thick glasses.
“That last line was supposed to be Dorthian, but I guess it’s hard to get the pronunciation right,” Lilly responded, glad to have a translator. “I’m here to talk with your king about the war.”
The man nodded and smiled. “I assumed as much. We were prepared for you to arrive, ever since you dealt that blow to our fleet. It took longer than we expected, but now you had no choice, am I right?”
Lilly had little patience for talking with other people than the king, but his words intrigued her. “Are you saying you’re prepared for whatever I might do?”
“Oh, gods no! We simply hoped we could talk to you and get our priorities aligned. Nothing I’ve seen from you so far suggests you have Eldoria’s best interests closest to your heart. So, perhaps we can come to an agreement?”
His smile reminded Lilly of a salesman at a marketplace. Someone who would say anything to sell you their wares, or convince you to try a piece of their famous dish.
“I’m close with the new queen of Eldoria, so I think our interests are clashing more than you think. And what is stopping me from making demands right now?” Lilly asked, expecting to convince the man that an agreement would be impossible.
He looked surprised when Lilly said new queen, but still didn’t seem discouraged. “Ahh, so the lovely Adelia is queen now? Then all the better; we can join our nations through marriage! No need for further bloodshed.”
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Lilly scoffed, recalling what Holtar had said about Dortfell’s king and his lust for Adelia. “Surely you don’t think that would work? Adelia isn’t some trophy to be married off, and certainly not to a king willing to kill innocents. I suggest you get your king out here before you insult me any further.”
For the first time, the man looked nervous. He seemed deep in thought for a moment before looking back at Lilly. “Well, his majesty is currently… with his concubines,” he said hesitantly.
“Concubines? What are those?” Lilly asked, never having heard the word before.
“... Is that not the right word? Please excuse my Eldorian; it’s not a language I practice often. I mean women who are gathered to carry His Majesty’s children. I know it’s not something you often do in Eldoria, but I believe some nobles still do.”
Lilly felt repulsed by the images that appeared in her mind at his words, finding the concept barbaric. But since Dortfell had laws preventing women from becoming rulers, it wasn’t entirely surprising. She started understanding why Holtar had been so against it.
“I’m willing to accept that as a cultural difference, as long as you keep that culture far away from us. I don’t care what he’s doing; go fetch him here. I’ll wait three minutes before I start getting violent. And I’m pretty sure you don’t want that.”
The man sighed and turned to one of the guards. “Run and tell his majesty to come here quickly. And tell him to get dressed first!”
Two guards nodded and started running out the main door of the room, while the advisor turned back to Lilly. “He should be here shortly. Guards, stop pointing those things at her. You might as well be holding straws.”
The guards surrounding Lilly stepped down, allowing her to move over to the ground and put her feet on the floor. “You don’t have a simple job, do you, mister advisor. A king so blinded by his base desires that he starts a war, I’m sure he has plenty of flaws.”
The man sighed again but responded with practiced words. “I am loyal to the crown, Lady Lilly. All I can do is give my best advice.”
The main doors opened back up again, revealing a rotund man dressed in a loose robe, holding his pants up with his hands. Lilly felt uncomfortable looking at his sweaty face and imagining the cause. She was now completely gay.
The king opened his mouth and spoke with a heavy accent. “Ah, so you’re the pain I’ve been hearing so much about! Surprisingly pretty, you are. Would you be open to a more romantic solution to our war?”
Lilly wasn’t sure if he was being serious, but his eyes seemed to be showing his desires quite clearly. They were enjoying the lack of clothes covering her legs. She couldn’t stop a grimace of disgust from showing on her face as chills ran down her back.
“I’m considering killing you right here and crippling your country’s leadership. Tell me why I should refrain.”
“We don’t have to fight, Lady Lilly. Surely you understand that we’re being generous here. We have the military power to beat Eldoria, and all we asked for was a marriage. Or two, perhaps.”
Lilly shook her head. “You had the military power. You started this war thinking it would be easy, especially since the vermilion flame had been dormant for centuries. But now the only advantage you have is that bomb of yours. And my friend was almost killed because of it.”
Lilly started heating the air around her in a show of force, making sure the point got through to him. “You surely know better than to antagonize a demigod, right?”
The king smiled confidently, gesturing widely to one of the many glass murals in the room. It depicted a giant grey man standing above a city. “You’re not the only ones with a demigod on your side, you know.”
Lilly nodded, hoping the king was bluffing, and that Goddon was still resting in the ground. “I know. Goddon is a force to be reckoned with. But trust me, if we fight, it will destroy this city. Remove your forces and end this war, or suffer the consequences.”
The king smiled smugly at her, showing off two golden teeth. “I refuse.”
“Good!” Lilly said, more than happy to attack this animal. She knew peace was off the table as long as this man was sitting on the throne.
Her staff immediately aimed straight at his heart and gave off a high-pitched scream of energy as it fired the powerful beam. Nothing could stop it, Lilly thought. Especially not when she used it at full power, like now.
A rock suddenly appeared in front of the king and twisted to extend straight toward the beam, making a long staff of stone. Who created it, Lilly didn’t know for sure, but she assumed a certain demigod had made his presence clear.
The rock staff collided with the beam and vaporized immediately, unable to stop its path for more than a split second. But the king was no longer standing in the same spot. He was pushed violently to the side by another stone, breaking several of the bones in his body.
An unnaturally deep and warm voice sounded out from all around the room, giving the impression of a mighty titan past his prime. “I suggest we end this here, little girl.”