Dark Moon : Rise of The Dark King

Second Arc (His Art of War) - 28. A Traitor Who Has Never Betrayed

Second Arc (His Art of War) – 28. A Traitor Who Has Never Betrayed

Hours had passed since King Gervis signed the statement. It was already noon but Eternal Harmony City's state was still quiet with the previous battle's traces spread out in the city. The entire Asteria army had surrendered their weapons and the castle's Magic Shield had been reactivated.

The Euphorion troops were seen guarding every corner of the city while the civilians hid in their homes. Some of the carriages arrived in the Golden Light Castle's courtyard, one by one the nobles and ministers descended from their carriage. In the castle entrance, they were examined by the guards to make sure no one carried a weapon before entering the castle. They had been told verbally that the king had signed a letter of surrender and made the Kingdom of Asteria as part of the Kingdom of Euphorion. But the king of Euphorion wanted to meet them in person and discuss some things with them.

They walked into the castle escorted by Euphorion's troops into the meeting room, their expression turned tense. They did not expect the capital could be taken down so quickly, they even did not hear anything about the war between Asteria and Euphorion.

The door opened, a large, luxurious room with a long table and chairs lined up in sight. They held their steps as their attention was immediately drawn to the King of Euphorion who sat waiting for them at the end of the long table. The seat that could only be occupied by the highest authority in the castle. His legs folded leisurely and his hands placed on his lap. While King Gervis, their king, sat to his right, even though his face looked tired but he still maintained his composure.

'It's him…' thought Duke Owen.

"Y-Your Highness? You are still alive?" said one of the nobles in a stammering voice.

"It's 'Your Majesty', Chancellor Vello. I'm not a prince anymore," he said in a cold voice.

Chancellor Vello could not say anything more, nor could the others. They knew he was the king of Euphorion from his uniform and badge, but what surprised them was that they did not think he was still alive after being suicided. More than that they did not expect a prince of Asteria attacked his own homeland and took it under another kingdom's authority. That was even worse than overthrowing the king.

"What are you waiting for? Sit down," he added. Although his words were polite his tone sounded like an order.

They showed displeased expressions after hearing his orders.
"Forgive us, Your Majesty. But we don't take orders from a traitor like you," said Duke Owen in objection.

Faster than a blink, he swiftly took out his sword and threw it in their direction. His movement was so fast that they only realized after the black sword passed through and stuck in the wall behind them. They stiffened in shock at what just happened.
"Sit down," he repeated in a cold voice.

The atmosphere turned tense and frightening. His eyes turned piercing cold, shrinking their guts. He knew that if he wanted to stabilize his power in Asteria quickly, he had to make them support King Gervis' decision. Disunity within the aristocracy would only worsen Asteria's condition after being weakened by war and highly possibly triggering a rebellion. To reach the agreement faster, he had to show what he could do as the enemy king who had just conquered their kingdom. The choice was to obey him or he would destroy Asteria without mercy.

They exchanged glances briefly before returning to the room and taking their seats according to their position in the aristocracy reluctantly.

He held out his hand, his sword turned into a dark aura and reshaped in his hand. Everyone looked at him in shock, since the castle was protected by the Magic Shield, there shouldn't be anyone who could use magic here.