The monarch kept sitting like he was, his chiseled chin resting on his fist, as his world was tilted and he looked at the two approaching figures with a cold indifference.
General Swordbreak knelt like a knight before the monarch. He said with a cold tone as he was on one knee,
"High Sovereign Markov, I've escorted Mr. Agrievious as you had told me."
The king stared at the kneeling knight for a moment and then looked at the bald man for a while. And then finally, the monarch spoke for the first time, his voice was soft yet reverberating,
"Diviner of Willbreak. Agrievious. I've been longing to meet you." And then his gaze pierced through every eye in the room, his eyes narrowing as he sighed.
"Let there be silence," The monarch spoke as he raised a hand.
Then suddenly, all the officers felt a surge in mana around them. An invisible veil was placed. The veil cut all the connections to the outside world, sending a shiver down Max's spine.
The bald man diviner spoke,
"Wise decision, High Sovereign."
And then he spoke with a lower tone, "He won't hear us, then."
The monarch looked at his brother, "Stand up, brother! Address them!"
Swordbreak stood up immediately and then faced the standing officers, his thorny crown being lit with emerald runes,
"Respected officers. There is no time to waste. Or must I say, we must prepare for an upcoming invasion."
Those simple words changed the already tense atmosphere of the hall. The hall was filled with worried groans and unpleasant noises. The king didn't like it.
"Silence!" Sovereign Markov shouted, and everyone stood still.
Looking at his brother, Markov urged him to continue. Swordbreak continued,
"The invasion will take place approximately a week later, or at least that's what our most competent diviner had to say. " His gaze switched to Agrievious abruptly, and then he addressed the tense officers with an iron fist,
"Reinforcements are on their way. Diviners from all city-states are enroute. The Great Walls of Tritine had been sealed shut."
"So, now. All we can do is wait for the enemies to show up."
One of the officers raised a hand and asked,
"General Swordbreak. Don't mind me. But I must ask, since all of this is happening under the guidance of Mr. Willbreak, are the banishments of the great clans also an indication that they are working for the other continent, perchance?"
The words had been spoken. Officers all around him were curious as well.
The officer continued, "If so, must we just blindly trust the diviner?"
The audacity of the man was immaculate. To even ask such a question was tantamount to heresy. And to add more timber to the fire, the bald diviner was looking at him with a look of amusement on his face.
"It doesn't make sense to me! General Swordbreak, we all know how loyal you are to the state. But the banishment of all these valuable clans like Nort, Servum, Vale? Was it necessary? Couldn't we have just continued to play along even if they were to betray us? All of it sounds too assumptive to me!"
Finally, the monarch stood up from his throne and looked at the officer with an emotionless face. But then, the king spared him a devious grin,
"Who are you?"
The officer walked slowly to the front with measured steps, each of his steps echoing back in the silent hall.
The man had his hand on his military cap as he walked nonchalantly and faced the king. Now he stood between the general and the diviner,
"Great Sovereign Markov. I can't help but applaud your efforts to cast such a deadly veil. Even such that I can't even bypass it."
The revelation struck the silent hall like a thunderstorm. Widening his eyes, Swordbreak swung his long sword to his left to slice the impostor. The strike was so deadly that even the higher-ranking officers weren't able to react to the action.
The officer caught the sword with two fingers. He kept staring at the grinning sovereign,
"However. It is pretty useless when I am directly inside, no?" The man laughed like a maniac. And then he threw away Swordbreak's long sword across the floor. The sovereign kept staring at the impostor, studying him before addressing him,
"So, I presume the invasion has started." The sovereign said it, crossing his arms in front of the abomination.
And then, he reopened his eyes with a cold calamity, his crown shining brighter than the sun itself, "Slavoj Moldova. That's who you are and always will be, old friend."
And then the figure dissolved into particles of floating lights before mixing into thin air. But before he disappeared, he had been smiling.
The sovereign addressed the officers again, this time with a harsh tone,
"Prepare for war!"
…
Colonel Klara had been chasing Colonel Horcus for a while now. Moving through crowds had never been her best strength, but today it felt especially like the city itself was conspiring against her.
She shouted, her voice uneven, "Horcus! To your left!"
Just having heard his comrade's voice, Horcus performed a thief's vault over a rough steel railing. Without wasting a second on the landing, the colonel rolled onto the rooftop in a swift motion.
He spared a glance to his left as he had been on the ground.
4. 5. 7. 12 of them???
Horcus got up, dusted his expensive armor suit, and sighed.
'So, it was all a diversion…'
He had been chasing a single man the whole time. But against all odds, now he is surrounded by 12 of them. The man he had been chasing stood still where he was, on the same rooftop Horcus had been.
The man turned around and threw away his cloak.
Horcus, dismayed, showed no expression on his face. Klara, however, saw everything from down there. She muttered,
"What is Clan Servum doing???"