Walking along the deck, the group soon discovered that there was a raised dais. There was even a roof and seats. Getting close to it, Barda noticed there was a group gathered there. There was a grand seat among all the rest. Raised 3 stairs high, it was comfortable and elegant, eye-catching and made completely out of gold, the metal parts.
The throne was majestic, and the man seated there was even more so. The dazzling golden crown on his head made it so that anyone who met him just wanted to bow in reverence. Seeing such a king, others would feel small just by being around such magnificence.
The princess then walked to the dais with a smile.
"Father," the lady said as she walked to the king.
"Little Maara, you're back," The king exclaimed with his arms wide open, ready for the embrace, "and I see you didn't come back empty-handed." He was eyeing the group of 50,000 adventurers fully armed and ready to fight with glee. With this group, his home came close to being secured.
"Lady Maara, your arrival is a ray of hope in these desperate times," an elder chimed in, with a pleasing look.
"It is indeed quite a wonderful delivery on her part, she will make a good queen." The elder who spoke next had a hidden meaning, turning his eye towards his son. "With how wonderful my son performed, I didn't think anyone would even come close."
Some grimaced, others frowned while others didn't even notice the level of shamelessness oozing from the elder's words. As one of the key advisers to the king, these elders held unprecedented access and authority in the city. Their words were law, second only to the King himself.
Even then, the golden rule of humanity was one was never satisfied with what they had. They were trying to outdo each other and gain more power and leverage in the city-state. To achieve that, the elder that spoke wanted to promote his son as a potential fiancee for the princess. They were the right age, and the match was quite good.
"Sir Branton's achievements are always amazing, I look forward to what he will do next," Lady Maara was quite tired and she had way more important emotions consuming him to start d*ck-measuring, so she just kept in stride, telling the elder what he needed to hear.
"I am glad my lady said that. I was just introducing the helpers I brought along with me to the king. If it is not to much trouble, I invite you to listen in."
"Of course," Lady Maara said as she took her place in this setting. There was always a place set for the future king or queen so that succession was never in doubt. This was the place reserved for her for as long as she and her father were alive. She held the future of the kingdom in her hands.
"Your Majesties, I present you the High Duke of Magithal, The crown Prince of Reuze," Sir Branton intoned with pride in his voice. "The great city of Reuze had promised to give us 80,000 soldiers and supplies. And as a show of support, the prince has made the journey himself."
The City of Reuze was another seaport city, built for seafaring folk. It was not as prosperous as Tristan, and its history was nowhere near as grand as Tristan's. What they did have was a well-equipped military and the largest stock of weapons and equipment on this side of the continent.
The city of Reuze had been a military layover that developed to be so much more. It has started as a home for soldiers, but then it got an influx with mercenaries, adventurers and other like-minded people coming in and out. A couple of wars and seas of blood later, the seaport had a functioning government and a king.
The city of Reuze had a long-standing association with the Tristan city, acting more as a beneficiary. Because of this, they were always ready to lend a hand whenever they were called, always looking for a way to curry favor with the Tristans.
That being said, this was too much help. Firstly, all the cities along the coast had their hearts shaking like trees in a gale when they heard that the Gumina Kingdom had turned their attention to them. The kingdom had over 4 companies each with 30 fully armed battalions of 50,000 men, and these were both land and naval forces. They were also rumored to use magical beasts in war.
As a kingdom, they were impressive in their statue, which made Barda wonder just how marvelous the eastern continent was as compared to where he started.
The second reason for concern was that everyone understood why the Gumina Kingdom had chosen Tristan city. Of all the cities in the western continent, Tristan city stood out as the most supreme and magnificent city. Its defenses were top-notch. As such, if they took down Tristan, they would be taking down all the morale of the western continent.
The message was clear, once they took down Tristan, they would create a foothold in the continent, and with it, burrow deep and conquer everything that was in their way.
The sensible thing for the other cities to do was to band together and form a united defense against foreign invaders. However, since time immemorial this had been a pipe dream since the city-states did not trust each other. They were always in competition with each other that no suitable cooperation could be discussed.
What the cities were doing was hunkering down and gathering as many resources as possible in preparation for the invasion of the Guminatite hordes. No one expected a single city-state to stand by Tristan, at least, not until a crash had happened.
The prince of Reuze had attended the finest school in the region, the Raca Academy. This was in Tristan, and that was where he met Sir Branton of the Hurring Isles, and together they had formed a bond. It was with this rapport and a desire for power that had led Sir Branton to make his request to the Prince. Why the prince and the kingdom had agreed was a mystery, as there was no way Sir Branton had this much influence. However, that didn't prevent him from milking it for all it's worth.
"The Great city of Reuze pledges these swords and shields to Tristan city for as long as you need it. We recognize your assistance thus far and we will continue to work together to protect the western continent and her people." The prince said his well-received piece. Like a parched man in a desert, the Tristan city officials were dying for any hope.
Following which, Lady Maara did her presentation of her people, which all seemed to pale in comparison to Sir Branton's presentation. His father was extremely joyous, already seeing the wedding between his son and the princess. As husband to the princess and then subsequently the queen, his son would become the prince and king in that order. In that case, what would that make him?
Sadly, all good things must end, and Makii, the elder, retired to his home with a smile on his face. It had been a proud day for his family. He still had some scheming to do until his vision was done, but so far so good. He couldn't stop smirking and smacking his big hands on the boy's shoulders.
As the adventurer teams and soldiers were shown to their quarters, the Dark Flames adventurer team finally appreciated the value of having a smaller number. All the teams had been given equal spaces, but theirs was a small adventurer team, after all.
Of course, they weren't deluded into thinking that all this was a given. They knew that all this was respect given to Barda for the daring rescue he had performed back at the village.
They would have gotten much smaller space on account to their smaller number, but the princess had interfered. She was willing to even grant the team space in the palace, sadly there is such a thing as decorum and what would the others think? Anyway, she conceded the space by agreeing to allow them to retain just as much space as others.
After drinking and chatting with Batoo and the rest until late that night, Barda retired to his bed once everyone was asleep. He had noticed something during the battle that intrigued him, but until then, he had no opportunity to check.
Scrolling down the notification logs, Barda spotted what he was looking for. Confirming that what he had seen was indeed correct, Barda swooned with joy at the thought of the prospects.
In a different part of the city, 2 men toasting in a room, after making sure there was no one else around. The elder had a look of respect towards the younger as he said: "well done my prince, the plan is progressing well indeed. Your infiltration was easily accomplished."
"Thank you, Grand Mage, the Tristanites didn't suspect a thing."
"The arrogant never do."