Capítulo 83: Lor'Anth Moves
After lunch, Zeph spent the afternoon combat classes in meditation since his teacher was informed of his mandatory rest period. Afterward, he went to his magical engineering class. This class gave its students the freedom to work on any project they liked. However, they must show the teacher their progress in order to receive a grade. Zeph already finished three projects for the class already, his beverage chilling thermos, a self-cleaning pair of reading glasses, and a revitalizing brush. The glasses were for Alex, and the revitalizing brush had a slight healing enchantment that fixed damaged hair and left in soft and silky. Bianca stole the brush after she learned what it could do. These items were originally made as prototypes for goods that could be sold later. After asking Bernard, Zeph was sure they could easily mass produce those items once the magic printer was fully up and online.
Zeph needed something to prank Bianca and Semara with and decided to make a new gadget to do it. Since it needed to be small and unnoticeable, Zeph had to use his mini-me to craft it. Luckily, the workstations in class were well separated. It was a safety measure to keep collateral damage to a minimum in case someone's project blew up.
Safe from any wandering eyes, Zeph leaned over his work station with some tools in hand to look like he was hard at work. Then he locked his body in place and switched his consciousness over to his tiny counterpart. No matter how many times he did this, it never got old. After making sure his primary body wasn't going to fall, he got to work.
He was going to work on some enchanted coins that would cause a few funny effects. Nothing serious, it was just a prank after all. The tiny Zeph walked over to one of the gold coins that he had on the table and used magic to split the sides apart. That way, he could inscribe the enchantment to the inside of the coin and no one could see it after he put the coin back together.
In order to get around the corrosion problem that breaks down a magic circuit, Zeph decided he would cheat. He shrank down even more so that he could kneel on top of the coin. Then he started writing on it with his finger, engraving magic script across the surface. When he was done, Zeph held his hand out and started to create aether to fill the engravings. If anyone were to look now, they'd see a miniature boy pouring liquid metal into the letters engraved on a metal circle.
When he was done, Zeph solidified the Aether and made sure that magic would flow through it without damaging the coin. Satisfied with the results, he put the top of the coin back on and sealed it using fire magic. He compared the coin to the others on the table and made sure there was no noticeable difference between them. The only person who'd know this coin was different was Zeph because he could sense the Aether in it.
Switching back to the main body, Zeph picked up the coin. He could feel the effects immediately. The best part was that the magic was so subtle, he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't looking for it in the first place. A mischievous chuckle passed his lips as he got to work on the rest of the coins.
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Bernard was on the phone with Ronan, telling his friend about the countermeasures that were being developed. While Bernard had nothing but good news, the same couldn't be said for Ronan. Some time ago, Bernard asked him to look into the surrounding countries to see if they could get a lead on who might be instigating this plot with demons. At the time, no particular country stood out.
"What did you find out?" Bernard asked after hearing Ronan tell him that a country started to move.
"Lor'Anth decided to make a move on Dornel. It seems like they haven't gotten over their conqueror's mentality." Ronan explained. "I think he's after Dornel first because of its agricultural industry. An army marches on its stomach, and Dornel makes a surplus of food products every year. Thier military is relatively weak as well."
Bernard started thinking about the two countries. Lor'Anth was one of the major instigators in the continental war that happened over 70 years ago. It was ruled by the Thannin royal family. The former king, Wein Thannin, died in battle. It seems as if his son, Darius, decided to finish what his father started. Dornel, on the other hand, was a relatively small and peaceful country. The current king is named Lorrent and the country have been in an alliance with Andronath for generations.
"You're right. Usually, Andronath would be the first to jump to their aid, but with the civil unrest and the threat of demons lurking about in the country-" Bernard replied.
"Then Lor-Anth wouldn't have much of a problem forcing them to submit," Ronan finished. "Evan and I have come across some documents asking for aid. It seems that they've been made low priority by the Congress of nobles and the council has been busy trying to keep things under control. It seems that the ley-lines in some of the other territories are being corrupted to the point of affecting the citizens."
"How is Sahlis? You and Evan aren't there to manage everything."
"It's doing better. Thanks to your help of course. Still not as peaceful as Asperitus , but Narius is doing a good job of keeping everything running smoothly. The Alcott family has been our second in command for generations, so there's no issue with him bossing the other lower nobles around." Ronan said with a hint of mirth.
"Peaceful? You do know we've had one mass convergence and one of my mage clans turned traitor and then was destroyed right?" Bernard sighed. "It may have been a mistake to send your family here."
"I assure you it wasn't. I didn't want to worry Gen and Lili, but there were a few assassination attempts before I sent them. Evan needs me in the capital and we can't keep watch over them and work at the same time. You, however, have Alex, and Eli. Hell, even your maid is a fifth tier mage. With Relina added on top of that, I don't have to worry."
"I appreciate your confidence in our abilities. Hopefully, we won't need to use them. Soon, I'll have a way to track the demons, even when they're not using their powers and we'll be able to go on the offensive."
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Kael Thannin, prince of Lor'Anth, decided to pay the demon a visit. His father made an arrangement with a demon lord named Resdin, and Kael was supposed to act as the liaison between the two while Resdin worked in Andronath. He never trusted the creature. But then again, who'd be foolish enough to trust a demon? Walking into the lavish dining room of the demon's current residence, Kael saw Resdin sitting leisurely in an ornate chair sipping wine.
"Good evening. You're looking comfortable," Kael said looking at the Ashen haired man.
"Ah, Prince Thannin. Have a seat," Resdin said as the chair to his left slid from the table.
"Thank you," Kael sat, "My father has started his incursion into Dornel."
"He's moving earlier than expected." Resdin poured a glass of wine for the prince.
"Yes, he decided to because your plans were not going as expected," the prince said, expecting to see the demon angry at his father's actions. Instead of the demon being angry, Resdin esdin laughed. "You seem amused. I didn't expect that."
"Your father's actions show that he thinks I'll fail in my task. And while insulting, I find it funny at how impatient he is. It shows how afraid he is. He's so worried about Andronath stopping him that I find it very amusing."
Kael smirked, "That is true. I must admit that this country is much more developed than our own. Their technology is something to worry about, and their magics are impressive. You may not see the threat because you've manipulated the nobles. But in a direct confrontation, they are a mighty opponent."
"I have no doubt. That's why I'm using hit and run tactics, manipulation, and conspiracies to keep them busy. Aside from Asperitus, I've had the other territories running around chasing after demons, traitors, and false leads."
"I'm curious about that. Why is Asperitus getting off so lightly? The other duchies are suffering under civil unrest and your demons."
Resdin let out a sigh. "It's because Kelbraga turned out to be such a disappointment. The citizens of Asperitus are actually happy with their lord and the way they are treated, so manipulating their hatred of the aristocracy showed little results. There also aren't any lesser nobles to go against Malston because he rid his territory of them decades ago. If Kelbraga had let me know of the situation earlier, I could have looked for an alternative. But instead, he tried to remedy the situation by himself. That's what led to Lord Malston becoming aware of us. Andronath learned about demons a month early because of that fool." He took a long drink from his wine glass. "Nevermind him, I have other plots to entertain me aside from corrupting the ley-line."
That caused Kael to raise an eyebrow. "I thought your plot was to use the negative energy in the ley lines to create a demon spawning ground of some kind?"
Chuckling in amusement, Resdin poured himself more wine and refilled Prince Thannin's glass as well. "Remember prince, I'm only here to distract Andronath. All my conspiracies are just for fun. Corrupting the ley-lines and spawning demons is all well and good, but it's not what I'm here for. It does keep the nobles busy. Though it won't work out as I'd hoped. However, I also have a group of lesser nobility poised to stage a coup in Golbra. The Krevitch family is also about to fracture due to an internal dispute. There are magical beast stampedes planned for Sahlis, and Kelbraga is sure to do something entertaining in Asperitus."
After learning everything Lord Resdin did was solely for his own amusement, Kael couldn't help but sigh. It didn't matter if any of the plans came to fruition or if Resdin was able to spawn more demons from the ley-lines. The conspiracies, the attacks, the civil unrest, they were all just things to keep him busy while he fulfilled his contract with King Thannin. 'This is why I hate demons,' he thought.
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