"Do you trust her?" Duke Essandor asked Sir Blunt. The two most influential men – aside the Emperor – in the Northern Empire stood on the highly fortified walls of the Kingdom of Aira. This was the kingdom closest to the borders of the Northern Empire. If one wanted to invade the Northern Empire, aside from the minor towns and villages, this was the kingdom to come to. This kingdom was one of the most targeted places for conquest for any invading force. Because of this, it was one of the most well defended parts of the Northern Empire. Energy ballistae and large automated bows littered the top of the walls. The gate was made of heavy bronze and the walls were very high. As if that was not enough, the Absolute Queen had fortified the gates and walls with her power, making them more difficult to penetrate.
The two men – Sir Blunt and Duke Essandor – had been tasked by the Goddess Alexis to protect the Kingdom of Aira. They had been given this task simply because they were the mightiest wielders the Northern Empire had ever produced. The other nobles were too weak to offer any real combat contributions. They had only arrived here yesterday, and had been received warmly by its king. Although the king hardly believed their words, their ranks were far above his and he had no way of defying the Emperor. All the king could do was allow these two powerful men to have their way – at least until the predicted time of invasion had passed.
"What? You don't like her because she had you licking the floor?" Sir Blunt mocked mercilessly. They may be on the same side, but his dislike for the Duke hadn't waned in the slightest.
"Just answer the question!" Duke Essandor gritted his teeth in annoyance as he turned red from anger. He was trying hard to forget what had happened two days ago, yet Sir Blunt had been doing his utmost best to remind him of the embarrassment he had been subjected to when Goddess Alexis had revealed herself to the Northern Empire's hierarchy.
"I don't" Sir Blunt shook his head and finally replied. He didn't trust Alexis. He had only just met her. To say he trusted someone he had just met was immature.
"Then why do you obey her orders so readily?" Duke Essandor followed up with another question. The things they had been told two days ago were too difficult to swallow. First, they were told that there were many planets in the vast cosmos and they were one of the weakest ones. Then they were informed that some 'evil overlord' wanted the planet to kneel in obeisance before him. It all sounded like some fantastically written fairy tale for children ten and under.
"Because nothing else can explain the nonsense that is going on" Sir Blunt sighed as he took out his pipe and began smoking. It was true that he didn't really believe Alexis at first. But having his children easily punch holes through his very expensive mansion walls and easily control two of the major elements had shocked him to his very core. He almost lost his consciousness when John added that the prince of the Western Empire was stronger than them; and that their captain, whom he had seen only once, was vastly more powerful than all the team members combined. It became easier to accept when he learned that the boy was Alexis' son, and that his father was also a 'god'. Plus all his scouts and spies in the Eastern Empire had suddenly disappeared. They were likely dead. It was suspicious that all his men in the Eastern Empire had suddenly disappeared. So when Alexis claimed that something was wrong there, he took her word for it.
"You do have a point. My spies suddenly disappeared. And those I sent to find out what was going on didn't come back either." Duke Essandor had experienced the same thing Sir Blunt had. Every major noble had spies in every empire. Yet all the nobles had lost their spies posted in the Eastern Empire overnight. Duke Essandor didn't want to accept Alexis' words because he was trying his hardest to deny the truth. But the little show of power from two days ago and the little clues he had discovered himself told his logical self that it was very possible that Zandor had become a playground for some very powerful gods.
"But if what she says is right, and if she is able to redirect their army here, how would we be able to take care of them?" Duke Essandor was worried. Zandor had always believed that wielders could be classified from the F level to the SSS level. Yet that level of classification had been rubbished by Alexis. There were actually 7 true levels of power: the mortal realm; the above-mortal realm; the profound realm; the earth realm; the heaven realm; the nobility realm; and the ascension realm. Zandorians were mostly at the mortal realm and their so called peak, was merely the 9th stage of the mortal realm. But Alexis told them that the enemy had several 9th level mortal wielders, above-level wielders, profound level wielders, and even some earth level wielders. Alexis even believed that they may have a few heaven realmers. So how were they – two mortal realmers – going to stop such a barbaric force?
"I'm not sure. She said that we only need to buy some time" Sir Blunt shook his head and sighed. Alexis had asked them to only stall for time. They were not supposed to actively engage with the enemy.
"If she is so powerful then why doesn't she take care of them herself?" Sir Blunt wondered.
"She cannot" Duke Essandor defended the Absolute Queen. Seeing that Sir Blunt was confused, the Duke went on to explain, "It seems these so-called gods cannot interfere in the affairs of mortals directly. I could tell from the way she spoke, and from what she told us. She sounded troubled that all she could do was stay in the background and provide a bit of trickery. And this Dark God she spoke of, why didn't he just kill us off? With their power that would be easy. Yet he chose to find pawns for his game. Just as we are her pawns" Duke Essandor had never imagined that one day he, who usually used people in his schemes, was going to be used in the schemes of another.
Duke Essandor reminded Sir Blunt of his extraordinary intelligence. The Duke could discover all this from his excellent observation skills and his bright mind.
"I don't want to make this a habit, but you have a really sharp mind" Sir Blunt praised. He didn't like the Duke. But even he had to admit that the man was brilliant. The strategies the man had come up with to buy them the much sought after time were ingenious; and although Sir Blunt hated to admit it, there was no way he would have come up with them on his own.
"There they are" Duke Essandor suddenly tensed up when he saw the large army approaching from several kilometers away. Due to the height of the walls, he could make them out. Even from this distance he could feel the powerful aura of his opponents. Their aura weighed on him heavily, causing him to sweat profusely. He quickly dug out a ring from his pocket and placed it on his finger. Once he did, he could feel that heavy burden being lifted off his shoulders.
"What a magical artefact" he praised. Sir Blunt did the same and instantly felt the pressure of the mighty army disappear.
"Indeed" Sir Blunt wondered how Alexis could easily give so many of these rings away. What he didn't know was that these so called precious artefacts were nothing in the eyes of the Absolute Queen.
"Soldiers!" Sir Blunt bellowed, his inner energy sending his voice to every corner of the Kingdom.
"Sir!!!" came the organized reply. "Put on your rings and prepare for battle!" Sir Blunt screamed.
"Aye Sir!!!" the soldiers scrambled to their positions whilst putting on the rings they had been given. Those who were on the walls quickly made out the huge army from afar and gulped down their saliva nervously.
"Don't fear! We are men of the Northern Empire! And we are mighty strong! Think of what would happen to our people if we let those vermin in! Rape, pillaging, murder! We cannot afford to fall!!!" Sir Blunt bellowed seeing the look of fear occupying the faces of his men. His words were very effective. Thinking of the repercussions of war, the warriors lost their fear. All that remained was a resolute will to protect their families. They might fall today, but they cannot let their enemies in.
"Not bad" Duke Essandor mumbled when he felt the boost in morale. He couldn't have given a better speech. They didn't tell the men that they were only meant to buy time because that would only be detrimental to their mental state. Duke Essandor suddenly realised why Alexis had put them together. It wasn't simply because of their wielding levels, but because they complemented each other very well. He had never seen it because they were always at each other's throats, but they worked well together.
"How did she know this?" Duke Essandor wondered. He shook his head to rid himself of all distracting thoughts and focused on the battle at hand.
*********************
Deep within the capital of the Northern Empire, within the mansion of the Grand Marshall, Alexis sat in the hall all alone. The twins weren't with her, and neither were the servants. But unlike the servants who were within the premises, the twins weren't in the mansion. In fact, they weren't in the empire at all.
Suddenly she lifted her head and looked to the south, to where the Kingdom of Aira was. "They have arrived" she breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing her prediction was true. Her barrier was meant to cloud the minds of all invaders and direct them towards Aira. But it would be useless if the invaders didn't invade in the first place. She quickly grew tense when she recalled the next phase of the plan. It wasn't because she had grown to love the Northerners. It certainly wasn't the case. It was because of the person the plan hinged upon. The very same person the Dark God had overlooked.
"Everything depends on you now my son. Stay safe, Mane."