"We want an immediate meeting with King Kaipan!" Dillian raised his voice, standing in the palace's entryway, shouting at one of the guards, "I don't care about protocol or whatever; Kaipan is still someone with an elder status in Heaven's Gate, same as us! Go wake him up if you must!"
"With this kind of shouting, I would be awake no matter where I was." Kaipan's voice arrived as he walked outside, watching the three men in white clothes. "I guess it is something important then, huh? Come inside and stop making a scene in front of my palace." he turned around with an annoyed voice, walking back in, followed by the trio.
When they were finally inside one of the palace's side rooms, Kaipan opened up a wine bottle for himself and pouring into a cup, not even looking at them while they walked inside, closing the door behind them.
"Did you know there were Immortal Wonders Sect members in your city, including THAT girl?"
"Of course, it is my city we are talking about!" He laughed, turning towards them. "Is that why you are in such a rush to meet me? Because it is nothing serious or alarming. Not to the same degree as you were shouting at my guards, at least."
"Not serious?! You let someone of her position just waltz into your capital city? Or are you working with them behind our backs? Another contract for some 'miracle pills'?"
"No, I do not." he shook his head.
"We hope so!"
"I mean, I do not do this behind your backs. I do it out in the open." Kaipain said as he sat down, watching their faces twitch. "If I would do it in some kind of hush-hush way, you would not even know they are here! Not even if you would search for their presence! By the way, I invited them here if you wish to know, oh so badly! Anyway, it's a good thing you are here. Your presence spared me the hassle of sending one of my men to Heaven's Gate and risking his life."
“What… are you… saying?" Dillian gulped, feeling something was going in a way he did not want to see going.
"Deliver this official letter of resignation to your Sect Leader, Master, whatever he calls himself nowadays." he threw a sealed, thick letter before their feet. "My Kingdom and I are out."
"O-out?" He asked with a blank face, already forgetting what he came to do and the plans to interrogate Kaipan about Ren's presence. They were sent here on Frode's order. The King of the Nervadask Kingdom and, by extension, Zelig himself. Their role was simple; To pressure Kaipan into finally cutting and dropping every tie with the Immortal Wonders Sect, once and for all. In the end, everything they came prepared to do was useless; in every scenario, they were briefed on how to act, and none included this outcome.
"Out." Kaipan nodded. "And not just from Heaven's Gate. From the Alliance, too. My Kingdom is officially leaving it, thank you very much, but from now on, we are not part of the Kingdom of Ten… sorry…." He chuckled. "Kingdom of Nine."
"Do you realize what you are doing?" Dillian asked with a deeply horrified voice. He was part of the Nervadask Kingdom and a staunch supporter of the alliance and the Naulin line. He could not wrap his head around the prospect of leaving a two thousand years old alliance, no matter how hard he tried. "You can't just decide one day after you wake up from a binge drinking, thinking you had enough, and say you are… OUT?!" He shouted with trembling hands, gasping for air.
"Why not?" Kaipan asked calmly, drinking from the wine bottle itself by now. "It is an alliance, no? Not a marriage contract."
"It is made to unify us against-" He said hurriedly, but Kaipan cut in immediately, finishing his words, hearing it since the day he was born. He felt his stomach turn, finishing the words stuck inside Dillian's throat.
"Against our western neighbor who would blablabla… yeah, sure, the evil empire is coming, raping, killing, and exploiting us if we show the faintest sign of weakness! They will circle the lone, injured prey like a pack of wolves and devour it when it stays alone, far from the herd! Boohoo~" he said with sarcasm dripping from his words, soaking the very air with it.
"You… you already made a deal with them! That is why they are here!"
"Correct." Kaipan nodded without hesitation.
"You are betraying everyone!" Dillian said, looking at him, even forgetting to blink his eyes.
"Betraying? No, no, I am not doing that." he shook his head. "I don't see them as enemies but partners. Unlike my previously so-called allies, they are helping me with my problems. For starters, we are finally getting rid of the Ironclaw bases constantly harassing my Kingdom. I lost a lot of good people under me. Generals, servants, nobles, and merchants. My Kingdom was brought to its knees, yet somehow, my allies failed to help me and just watched like hungry hyenas!"
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"This won't end well for you…." Dillian replied, picking up the letter, but Kaipan only chuckled.
"No real ally would say it like that. You are welcome to visit my Kingdom anytime. The borders won't be closed. Of course, if you come with ill intentions, that is a completely different case. So think before you do anything stupid." he chuckled, showing them the way out.
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In the coming days, when it was officially announced that the Elroth Kingdom was leaving the alliance, announcing its independence, it shook not just the local populace but every other kingdom, especially those who bordered their territory.
"The old man does have some balls left between his legs, it seems…." Zelig chuckled, sitting in the meeting hall of Heaven's Gate, accompanied by the King of the Nervadask Kingdom, Frode, and the King of the Enjin Kingdom, Takaya. The rest of the kings were also notified but were yet to arrive. Some even delayed it, replying that they could not leave their territory. If something happens, they need to be ready for everything, being the main reason.
"Should we ready the army?" Frode asked, wanting to go and conquer them immediately after reading Kaipan's letter.
"Not yet." Zelig shook his head. "We will announce that we are sad to see them wanting to leave, but we are ready to accommodate them. Drag it out with some bureaucracy shenanigans for now."
"You are… letting them… leave?" Frode asked, blinking his eyes with a startled expression, while even Takaya looked surprised.
"Of course not!" Zelig laughed, tapping on the table rhythmically. "I just want to see their play here and draw out those leaders who think the same as Kaipan." He explained, looking at Takya with a half-smile. "More importantly, my little descendant's Ironclaw thing has failed, so I don't want to keep it around anymore. It is best if they are the ones cleaning up the bigger chunks and spare me the hassle. They drummed up support here and there but completely got themselves annihilated inside the Empire. Honestly, I was excited to see how he would try to take my place! All that bravado, but it amounted to nothing more than a joke…." He sighed, and his voice was laced with real disappointment. "I expected him to instigate the people to overthrow the kings who do not side with him and use them to encircle me and try to kill me… but alas, nothing came out of it. It is nothing more than a collection of bandits dreaming about becoming something more than what they really are! No wonder he got himself injured by a little doll and still hasn't recovered, hahaha… pathetic!" His laugh echoed in the room, and when he stopped talking, Takaya was sweating and felt his clothes drenched completely.
"If we identified those who sided with Kaipan, what should we do?" Forde asked, already feeling excited as if his thinking was right; he may even raise his own powers and territory by the end of it all.
"Of course, we are going to eliminate them. We are going to create a single Kingdom, and that is all. Those who were loyal are going to see rewards, of course. Like you, King Forde." he smiled, looking at him. "How do you feel about annexing the Enjin Kingdom into your own?"
"What?!" Both of the other parties asked simultaneously, but one was excited, the other horrified.
"Is it surprising?" Zelig asked back as he tilted his head, looking into Takaya's eyes. "Do you really think I came here by accident, Takaya? Please! I played games like this before your ancestral tree was even drawn up by one of your peers! I left the public because I was completely bored. My only worthy opponent left the world, leaving me with nothing to do. Finally, the gears started moving once again. Since he came back, I have felt alive and fresh! Oh, how I missed the days like these! You wouldn't even comprehend it!" He giggled like a kid while waving his hand, immobilizing Takaya completely. "We are going to hold a trial in a few days." Zelig turned towards Frode. "We will announce Takaya's involvement with Ironclaw and start capturing their bases. Nobody could say we don't help our allies!" he stood up, fixing his clothes. "Let me see how Rudrick deals with this! I hope he is willing to go out with a bang because I hate when someone ends it with a whimper after playing big. Also… I am more interested in that little doll and what she was up to until now." he smiled, dragging out the immobile Takaya while Frode excitedly followed him, like a hound dog, wagging his tail at his owner.
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"Useless… Useless people surround me…." Rudrick groaned, holding his chest as he read the constantly incoming reports in his hideout.
It was not just their bases that were under constant attack, being wiped out in the Elroths' territory, but the announcement of the capture of Takaya and the execution of his complete royal family line. One kingdom just announced its will, wanting to leave the alliance, while another got wiped out completely. Two news stories were shocking to everyone and the worst possible outcome for Rudrick himself, who was left alone by now. Everything had been crumbling around him since the day that a descendant of his had shown her talents. His rage was completely focused on Ren, like a bull's eyes, seeing the red flag waving before him, ignoring everything else.
"She was spotted in Irgimith…." He murmured to himself, taking deep breaths to calm himself down, "I need to get close to her and transfer these accursed lightning bolts back to her, and then I'll be able to reach the 3rd stage! After that, I can stand up to anyone, and there won't be any obstacles anymore!" he murmured with messy hair and grinding his teeth. "Yeah… I just need to swat her down like before, little bitch… Now there won't be another tribulation to save you, ehehe… good. Good! After I'm done with her, I can hide once again, reach the 3rd stage, and deal with Zelig! Ahaha… perfect!" He laughed in the end, flying out from his hideout, abandoning everybody, not even thinking about anything else just to get into Irgimith and kill Ren.