Chapter 44 - Throne of Rock
Lilly was disappointed that her attack had been stopped, but she didn’t get the feeling of being outclassed. The defensive maneuvers to save the king had only narrowly managed to save his life.
She considered the words of the old demigod carefully, deciding to stop her attack momentarily. “I’m happy to finally be talking to the real authority here. Give me what I want, and we can stop this fight.”
The king was writhing in pain on the floor, surrounded by guards trying to help him. He managed to get a few words out, but they were in Dorthian, so Lilly had no idea what he said. She assumed he was addressing Goddon, either telling him to attack her or refusing to end the war.
A thunderous voice boomed out, sounding much angrier than before. The king fell silent, and for the first time, he looked afraid. The guards surrounding him seemed shocked by the presence of Goddon, looking around the room with deep reverence and respect.
‘Goddon told him to shut up if he didn’t want to be squished under a mountain,’ Myndia told Lilly, translating the important parts. ‘It seems like we can avoid a fight here.’
The voice sounded out again, back to the deep and warm intonation it had previously. “I am in no mood to fight, flame-bearer. But I am also not happy you are here, intruding on my territory. Did your ancestor not warn you?”
“I’m here because I have no other choice, Master Goddon. Dortfell has shown that they are willing to kill everyone to win this war with the massive bomb they have created, so I have no choice but to use drastic measures.”
“Even going so far as to risk a fight with me, huh? I advised my stupid descendant not to attack Eldoria, because I know, like you, that the Vermilion Flame never dies. And by the looks of things, it flared up stronger than ever! You even have a personal blessing from the Divine Phoenix!”
Lilly felt like she might have misunderstood his words. She had never had any relation to the Divine Phoenix other than the flame itself, but it didn’t seem like that was what he was referring to.
‘Myndia?’ Lilly asked, hoping she could clarify.
‘... Uhm… Well, it’s… not wrong. Can I explain later?’ Myndia sounded very hesitant, making it clear she was hiding something.
‘Ohh, I love secrets!’ Lilly replied, trying to lather the sentence in as much sarcasm as possible. She raised her head, choosing to look at the throne while speaking to Goddon. “So you understand that fighting me will be a challenge, then. How about we end this war here, and leave it at that?”
“Hmm… You’re fine with just leaving? You don’t fear that a new war will start once you’re unable to help? Once the flame has passed?”
Lilly had considered what might happen after the war, but the circumstances didn’t make it easy to make demands for peace treaties. Only Goddon would be a reliable guarantor, but he had no reason to help.
“I would prefer a guarantee that you won’t start another war with Eldoria, but I don’t see why you would agree to it. Besides future retaliation from the holder of the flame, or even Myndia herself.”
A deep laugh sounded out as Goddon heard her words, shaking the very ground beneath them. “Haha, indeed! That girl would be able to make our lives here difficult. As the only child of her divine father, she has more support than I. So why don’t we make an agreement?”
“What kind of agreement?” Lilly asked back. She was prepared to give something up for long term peace, but not anything.
“I am about to enter a long slumber so that my strength will return once again. And during every long slumber, I am afraid of waking up to this country being gone. So, in exchange for ending the war and giving you our useless king, I hope you agree to defend Dortfell from any great dangers while I am gone. And it would have to include the coming holders as well, of course.”
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The king started protesting wildly, still lying on the floor. He was clearly in a lot of pain, but he understood that his life was hanging by a thin thread, and so he had to ignore it.
A rock appeared beside him and struck his jaw with an unpleasant whack, knocking him unconscious. The guards were shocked by what happened, having been unable to follow the conversation between Lilly and Goddon, but they didn’t dare to move.
Lilly was considering Goddon’s suggestion, finding it to be quite reasonable. Peace in exchange for protecting a nation while he slept sounded like a decent exchange. But she was vary of making rash decisions and had asked Myndia what she thought.
‘Well, on paper, it sounds fine. But the wording is quite vague. He’s asking all holders of the flame to protect Dortfell while he is gone, but we don’t know how long it will be. Also, there’s no clause that says Dortfell can’t attack Eldoria again. In a situation like that, we would be forced to protect Dortfell as the wording is now,’ Myndia answered, finding problems right away.
“Okay, Master Goddon, the agreement sounds fine. But there are some things we have to make clear.”
“I’m all ears, fire girl.”
“First, we will only defend Dortfell in defensive wars or against mythical monsters coming to attack. Second, Dortfell cannot attack Eldoria as long as the agreement stands. And third, the duration will only be as long as your next slumber. We cannot make agreements that will last forever.”
“Hmm… Yes, that will do. Hold on, I’ll come meet you there.”
Lilly looked around, seeing a lot of confused and nervous faces. The advisor from before had turned quite pale, now being the only one there who understood the conversation. He spoke urgently to the guards, causing them to start moving again. The king was lifted and carried away, while everyone but the advisor remained in the throne room.
He bowed to Lilly with a grateful expression. “Thank you, Lady Lilly! I know it wasn’t your intention, but your actions have helped this county greatly.”
Lilly didn’t feel like trusting his words but recognized he was an important figure. “I don’t know how you choose your rulers here, but I suggest you get one with a bit more brains next time. Maybe a woman would do better.”
The man looked uncertain. “The King has many children, so we might be able to find someone suitable. But now that we know Revered Ancestor’s position, it will be easier to punish bad choices by our future rulers. The people feared his wrath until now. I hope you won’t hold it against them.”
Lilly walked toward the throne, looking at its intricate golden decorations in wonder. “A King should work for his people, not the other way around. That’s a lesson our former king will remember as he sits in his own dungeon. Perhaps he can sit beside your king, and they can reminisce of past glory together?”
The man sighed, also looking at the throne. “Power has a tendency to corrupt people. Our king was a decent child, but once his father died, and he got a taste of absolute power… he changed. I hope your queen is more suited to the job.”
Lilly looked back at him with a confident smile. “She’s perfect. A bit of an oddball at times, but she’s very intelligent. And she cares enough about her people to fight against her father after he wronged them.”
A sudden crash was heard from above, caused by a large boulder penetrating the roof. It landed right on top of the throne, shattering it to pieces. Lilly had started circulating the flame, but due to the aegis brushing away any debris with its wind, she was completely unharmed either way.
An old man sat on the boulder, looking down at Lilly. He had white hair and looked close to death, but his eyes gave her an impression of unimaginable weight. The boulder morphed into a throne as he sat on top of it, taking the place of the previous throne.
“Nice to meet you, fire girl. You sure know how to enter buildings; this was fun!” Goddon slapped the throne as he spoke, looking like he was having just as much fun as he said. He still had the same deep voice, seeming out of place on such an old man.
Lilly greeted him with a nod. “I get the feeling I would have won in a direct confrontation, Master Goddon. You did well to make the agreement before coming here.”
“Hah, I’m sure you would have given me a good fight! Even if I look like this, I am still an ancient demigod. Also, this is the worst possible place to fight me. We can do some arm-wrestling if you want to test yourself!” He slid his sleeve up to show a surprisingly large arm and flexed it.
Lilly felt tempted. She had never gotten to test her full strength against anything before, and she had quite a bit of confidence. Especially considering she was wearing the aegis, giving her an additional quarter of her full strength.
She smiled, thinking her chances had to be good. “Yeah, that would be fun!”