Chapter 356: Taking the Initiative (1/2)

XXXX Continent, Seraph Kingdom, inside the Arcana Tower.

A week has passed since the battle of words between Vanadir and Arshe had occurred. Although such an incident would have made big waves within the span of week, the entire kingdom was surprisingly silent and oblivious to this happening. At first, Vanadir was quite certain that this sort of news would be spread out by Arshe since it would basically kickstart the idea of there being two factions fighting over the throne.

But for some reason, Arshe decided to not do that, lying low in the meantime. Though Vanadir was curious as to what was going on in Arshe's mind, Vanadir could not help but let out a sigh of relief and somewhat thank Arshe silently in his mind as a great number of people would definitely come swarming for him and Arshe if such news were spread.

While Vanadir was continuing to train with the others at his pavilion, Dane was inside his own room at the Arcana Tower, waiting for a certain someone to meet him.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

”Ah, he's finally here.” After waiting for an hour or so, Dane's tensed expression had eased up as a light smile suffused on his face. Opening the door, the sight of a man with a cruel expression on his face could be seen. With his green robe and the mark of four golden leaves surrounding a gladius on the left side of his chest, Dane could not help but greet him with glee, ”Cerius, nice to see you again.”

”It's been quite some time since we've last met, Dane.” In response, Cerius lightly chuckled as Dane allowed him to enter his room. Utilizing his mastery over magic, he manipulated a chair to move to where Cerius was as Dane asked him, ”Want something to drink?”

”No need. I'll only be here for a short while.” Cerius shook his head before continuing, ”As an Executive of the Tower, you know very well how hectic my schedule is.”

”Sure. 'Hectic', you say,” Dane said in response to Cerius's words, gesturing a quotation mark with his fingers. Nevertheless, Cerius was still someone with a high status of the tower, so Dane knew very well not to waste much of his time, even if they knew each other for a long time already.

Sitting on a chair as he sipped on a cup of tea he had just brewed, Dane looked at Cerius and asked, ”So, tell me. How did the Elder like the egg I gave him?”

”He's definitely enjoying it, alright,” Cerius said in response, his expression slightly envious of the elder above him. Soon after, he let out a light sigh, ”As for the request you asked me back then, the Elder told me that he had to reject it since that made it seem like the Arcana Tower was wholeheartedly supporting the Ninth Prince.”

Scratching his head at the reason given to him, Dane could not help but ask, ”I'm not even asking for the cooperation of the Assistant Elders. At most, I just want to obtain the help of High Executives or Executives with the power of High Executives. You're telling me that such a request in the eyes of the Elder is equivalent to the Arcana Tower helping out a single prince?”

”Beats me.” Cerius shrugged his shoulders in response. ”In any case, the Elder has rejected your request. I've already tried my best to persuade him.”

”Well, I was kind of expecting this result,” Dane said soon after as he continued, ”Tell the Elder that in exchange for that egg, he owes me a favor.”

”That I can do,” Cerius responded, nodding with an expression of certainty on his face.

”Anyways, with that out of the way…” Dane then shifted the topic after that, changing it to a topic that definitely involved Vanadir.

”Is there any news regarding the alliance involving the Third Prince?”

Surprisingly, Cerius took in a long deep breath before letting it out as he eventually nodded in response, a solemn expression on his face.

At first, he was silent, prompting Dane to predict what Cerius was going to say.

”Is the Tenth Prince officially included in this alliance?” Dane asked, to which Cerius nodded in response as affirmation.

”Is the Seventh and Eleventh Prince also included?” he continued, with Cerius nodding in affirmation to this question as well.

After that, Dane went silent for a bit as the next person he had in mind was someone who had the ability to stand alongside the Third Prince as an equal. Nevertheless, his hunch was telling him that this might be true. Taking in a deep breath, he then asked Cerius, ”Is the Fourth Prince…also included?”

Silence.

Then, a slow nod.

It was the only thing Dane needed to know that the alliance between the five princes had now become official. Not long after, a light frown had appeared on his face, instantly working his mind to the maximum as he pondered as to what the Ninth Prince could do to be able to stand on equal footing as the Third Prince's alliance.

Eventually, the most obvious solution appeared in his mind as he asked Cerius, ”If Vanadir were to ally himself with the three other princes, would he have a fighting chance in winning the war for the throne?”

Cerius responded by shrugging his shoulders as he replied, ”I have no idea if his chances of winning are certain since I'm not privy to that kind of information, but I can assure you that he wouldn't be at a disadvantage against their alliance when the war starts.”

”That's enough assurance for me,” Dane said as he thanked Cerius for informing him about news regarding the Third Prince's movements. After allowing Cerius to leave the room he was in, Dane instantly cast his teleportation spell with the Ninth Prince's pavilion as his destination in mind.

…

Whoosh!

It did not take long for Dane to arrive at the Ninth Prince's pavilion, only taking about ten minutes or so given the proximity of the Arcana Tower to the Seraph Kingdom's royal palace. Nevertheless, the sun was already at its peak, showing just how much time had passed for him while he was waiting for Cerius to come.

Appearing near the entrance of the pavilion, he instantly saw Vanadir brandishing his blade, doing the basic blade movements in a swift yet efficient manner. On the other hand, two girls were inside the pavilion's guest room with their eyes closed, allowing certain energy particles to revolve around them.

Surrounding one girl were energy particles the color of crimson. In an instant, one would realize that this was none other than the Healing Witch of the West, Valentia Arcenon.