Arthur, as well as the other Elders, noticed Ed's existence. A look of confusion appeared on their faces, but they withheld their questions as they saw the two unknown figures among them.
"Father, esteemed Elders, I have returned for a short period of time as I needed you to take a look at our two guests here, as well as a proposal I have. This one here is the highest authority of the Central Government of the Central Continent. The lady over here is the daughter of the Adalrick family. Her brother was one of the commanders that were killed back in the Bloody war. However, she is not here for revenge on us, but on Blood sect apparently. For now, I believe her."
Ed quickly explained the situation of the two guests. Some of the Elder's killing intent spiked once they heard the relation between Jillian and Letif, but withdrew it as Ed said he believed in her. Of course, most of them wouldn't stand a chance against her. But, like her impulsive attack against Ed earlier, they would have attacked her as they had lost some life comrades back in the war.
Ed continued to explain, this time about the proposal. "Seemingly, Blood sect forced the Adalrick family to send their eldest as a way to control the Central Continent. Now, they are in a desperate situation. And, as the strongest backers of this old man, they can no longer influence other families that hold a strong position in the government. So, we come to the proposal. We help the old man, and by extension the Adalrick family, and in return, they become a subordinate of Avalon."
The hall went into silence for a couple of seconds, as everyone digested Ed's words and understood them. Arthur broke the silence and said, "For now, the two of you are guests of ours, so take a seat please." He offered the two of them some seats right in front of him and the Elders. Griffin took his Elder sear, while Ed and Eric stood to the side.
"First of all, I'm glad that you are doing well, Sir William Neil." Arthur addressed the old man by his name. It was only natural that he knew the names of prominent figures of the world. "As for the lady of the Adalrick family, I hope your father's health is getting better now." Jillian, shocked that Arthur knew of her father's ailing health, could do nothing but stare at him. These two sentences allowed the two visitors to know how much they were behind in information about Avalon.
"Now, about your proposal. Allow me to be blunt, but I can't see Avalon benefiting much from this. Although it might sound like bragging, our kingdom has grown to be strong. Strong enough to take the Central Continent by might. So why should we help you instead?"
"You can't be arrogant enough to believe that, right?!" Not taking the insult, Jillian talked back to Arthur. Still, even though it could be considered as an insult to Arthur, no one got mad.
"Sit back down, Jillian," William spoke calmly as well.
"But?!" Before she could say anything, William looked at her in a desperate way, making her take her seat.
"Please forgive her, Sir Arthur."
"It is alright. Her reaction is understandable. You think that this small one city kingdom has no way to conquer a whole continent, isn't that right young lady?" Arthur looked at Jillian and continued to speak.
"Our kingdom, albeit small, has enough military strength to do just that. Our royal family alone has four Immortal Establishment cultivators. Our sect Elders are all Heavenly Establishment level or above, and our general is also Immortal Establishment. On top of that, there are countless allies that will help us with no questions asked. Any many of these allies are Immortal Establishment grade. Do you still think we're not strong enough to do it?"
William and Jillian could do nothing but stare, with wide open eyes, after hearing this information. Ey knew just how much they had underestimated Avalon now. Jillian wanted to argue that the quality of cultivators could be higher on their side but remembered what happened with Mehen earlier. She also noticed that Arthur didn't include Ed's monsters in the count. She realized just how mistaken she was when she had her outburst earlier.
"We could share our resources with you. As your subordinates, we can pay a yearly tribute and share our profits from the tourism that takes place in our continent." William, realizing that he is losing ground, wanted to start and make proposals.
"The tower has been closed, as far as everyone knows. This caused your continent to lose quite a lot of visitors. How many years do you think it'll take before they start visiting again?" Ed intervened as he knew information that Arthur didn't.
"Even if the tower is closed, we still have ways to gain income. It is still a bonus for a starting kingdom such as Avalon." William started to panic. If they couldn't accept this offer, he would have nothing to do for them.
"Sir William, please inspect this," Arthur said as he withdrew his saber from his Spatial ring.
"This is?"
"My personal weapon," Arthur said as William traced the saber with his hand. He couldn't hide his awe as he felt the weapon's power.
"I can only say it is worthy of a sect master such as yourself." William returned the saber to Arthur while praising it.
"That's not all. This is only one of many weapons of the same quality that my son, Edward, had crafted in preparation for our future battles. In fact, his personal weapon is of a higher quality than mine." Arthur looked at Ed, indicating that he should show them.
Ed withdrew Shusui in compliance. Jillian remembered the cold blade that almost beheaded her and shuddered a little.
"You should understand now, Sir William." As Arthur spoke, William could tell that nothing he had could benefit Avalon. So, all he could do now is to stand up and bow in front of Arthur.
In his state, William muttered only one sentence, "Please, help us."
Jillian joined him and said the same sentence, but with more enthusiasm behind her voice.
"Please, raise your heads. A relationship built on material items will only deteriorate because of those items. Instead, one built on trust will last forever. At least that's what I believe. So, will you help me build such a long-lasting relationship?" Arthur said as he extended his hand towards William. The latter quickly shook it with both of his hands, afraid that Arthur might get back on his words.
"Alright now, Elders. Let everyone know that after subjugating the Beastmen and the Oni, our next target will be the Central Continent! Make sure this stays as a secret! Ed, we won't need your help now, but we might in the future, try to finish your errands in two months' time tops. Also, say hello to my father for me." Arthur ended the meeting as he took both William and Jillian to discuss things.
Ed and Eric simply smiled and went back to the castle.
Hello everyone! A second sneaky chapter!
The most popular character, from your comments is(Drum Roll!)
It's a tie between Ed and Sieg. Who knew the mc wouldn't win?!!
PS: for those that chose more than 1 char, I counted only the first one mentioned.
Okay for my favorite character, it would be either Raikou or Mehen. I can't choose between them, since my personality is a mix of both, so I relate to both of them.
Enjoy the chapter!
Ed visited his mother and had a little chat with her. She was rather surprised by their sudden visit, but she was happy nonetheless. He informed her that he would be leaving before nightfall, as he didn't want to waste too much time, seeing how a war will happen once again. After leaving Bella with Elizabeth, he made his way towards Emilia's location, Ellie's room. There, he stopped right before he opened the door.
'I've seen enough shows to know where this is going. But, should I go with it?!! This might be a chance that will never happen again! Should I act like the dense main characters, and go through with it?!' A dilemma presented itself in front of Ed. To knock or not to knock? That was his question.
Stuck in his thoughts, he failed to notice Mehen reaching out for the doorknob, and moving it. The door started to slide slowly, and Ed, upon noticing it, imagined a bright light coming from the inside of the room. Not knowing what to do, he simply stood there motionless. Once the light(by Ed's imagination) disappeared, he saw the two girls sitting on a bed and chatting.
'Of course, everything is normal…' Ed gave up on his fantasies and entered the room while waving. He started to talk before the two of them said anything.
"We'll be leaving before the night. You can do whatever you want until then," Ed said while looking at Emilia. He then turned towards Ellie and said, "How are you feeling?"
Ellie, without saying anything, showed a thumb up and a bright smile, showcasing her two long canine teeth. Ed felt relieved to see that she was okay, but couldn't help and feel that she wanted to say something. Of course, he wasn't dumb enough to pressure her, so he started some small talk until she decided to say it herself.
"Ed. I would like for you to fight me. I don't want it to be a spar, but an actual fight," Ellie said as her pupils turned into slits, showing that she was serious. Ed stood by, and nodded his head while saying, "I don't mind."
Emilia didn't say anything and only stood up as Ed created a dimension for them. She knew that Ellie asked for the fight in order to boost her self-confidence. Ed agreed because he noticed the same thing.
Ed created a wasteland for them with even ground. He wanted the fight to be as straightforward as possible without anyone getting injured because of uneven terrain. The wind picked up speed as the two of them stood in front of each other, each one of them preparing his weapons. Mehen slithered away from Ed and increased in size while heading towards Emilia. Next, to her, he nudged her while nodding with his head, indicating that she should get on.
"Thank you," said Emilia as she knew what he had planned. Mehen returned to his full size and stretched towards the sky. He asked Emilia to get on so that the two can fight to their hearts' content without being worried about injuring anyone. Of course, Emilia had no trouble looking at them from so far away, as her eyesight could reach over hundreds of meters.
"We didn't have a serious fight since the academy, huh?" Ed said as he got into a kendo like-stance, with his katana raised in front of his eyes, pointing towards Ellie.
"It won't end like last time!" Ellie shouted as she got into a stance as well. Her left hand was in front of her, while the right one was on standby by her waist.
"Then, unlike last time, I'll make the first move." Ed rushed towards Ellie, covering the distance between the two of them instantly, and raised his katana above his head. As he swung down, Ellie used her left hand, covered by the gauntlet, to block his attack. Before the katana could pressure her, she changed its direction to the left, while preparing a punch with her right hand. However, before she could connect it, Ed disappeared.
Ellie's ears started to twitch and turn around, trying to look for Ed's position. Soon, Ed's figure appeared in front of her and her ears managed to catch the sound of his clothes being ruffled by the wind. Ellie rolled to the front as Ed swung his sword. Yet, when she turned around, he was no longer behind her. Again, she looked for Ed using her ears. The two of them continued to fight this way for a little while before they finally clashed.
Ellie used her 'Meteor Impact' while Ed imbued his katana with KI. The gauntlet and katana connected, resulting in an explosion, blowing away all the ground underneath, and around them. The rocks flew in all directions, some of them hitting Mehen, who felt nothing from them thanks to his scales. Before the explosion could recede, Ed and Ellie, who were blown away, connected once again.
"Woah!" Ed was surprised to feel himself being dragged towards Ellie. He had been focusing on her hands and forgot that she had an extra part that no other human had. It was her tail. Ellie managed to catch Ed by the ankle using her tail and drag him towards her. She used her right leg to kick his arms up, leaving his torso and face unprotected. And, before Ed could react, she used her right hand, gauntlet flaring by all the QI it was receiving and drove it right into his face.
An explosion, even bigger than the one from before, penetrated deep into the ground. The two figures appeared back outside of the crater that was resulted. Ed had a small line of blood flowing out of his mouth. He managed to protect himself from fatal damage by using Ryuu on his face. But, he was still injured. Ellie's attack was simply that strong.
"Okay, stop!" Ellie declared while putting her hands in front of her. "I shall take this as my win, I'm ending the fight here! I don't care if you took it easy on me this time, or if you were actually serious, I managed to injure the Bloody Hero! I am Supreme, Muhahahahha!" Ellie laughed out loud, leaving Ed with a wry smile on his face. Emilia descended and enjoyed a laugh with Ellie, while pointing at Ed and saying, "The monster is injured!"
Ed was glad. This way he knew that Ellie would not lose in the upcoming war. He knew that she could, nay, he knew that she would definitely save her kingdom!
Hello everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter. What do you think of Ellie's development?
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