King Zander's memories went back to a time in the past…
Ten years ago, a new King had been enthroned to rule over the great and prosperous land of Valanthur.
Under the rule of the previous King, the Kingdom had achieved stability and even progressed at a rapid pace.
However, there was a drawback during the reign of the last king.
Only internal peace had been prevalent while there was unrest and turmoil between Valanthur and its neighbors.
Constant wars, attempts to besiege the kingdom, and even ploys to seize the areas on the borders of Valanthur were a common occurrence during his reign.
Thus, during the first two years after the new King had established his reign on the throne, he worked towards forming alliances with neighboring kingdoms.
Many of these Kingdoms were fearful of Valanthur's strength and under King Zander's proposal to establish a friendly relationship with each other, they agreed to form a peace treaty.
According to this treaty, the two kingdoms who signed would not attempt to encroach on the other's lands and also make no attempt to wage wars.
The respective Kings even set up trade relations with each other, further strengthening their alliance.
Their citizens could, with appropriate cause and after obtaining permission, travel between the two kingdoms.
Thus, under King Zander's initiative, many neighboring Kingdoms had become allies of the Valanthur kingdom.
However, achieving this progress in just the span of two years was not an easy task.
As soon as he had sat on the Throne, he set off on a journey to various Kingdoms in order to build these relationships with them.
Yet at that time, he wasn't worried about his throne being snatched away as there was no one who could think of doing something so foolish and losing their lives in the process.
The Elders of the Kingdom were watching over the Kingdom in his absence so he could move ahead with his plans, sure that his land was well taken care of while he was away.
Thus, King Zander, for the first two years, was on the move as he created friendly relations with the rest of the kingdoms around them.
Some were willing to adopt and respect the treaty while others were hostile from the start.
To such kingdoms, King Zander had other plans.
As long as they did not disturb Valanthur, they could coexist, each in their own space.
However, once they caused trouble or distress in his Kingdom, they would have a price to pay.
He was willing to extend his hand in peace but if that gesture wasn't appreciated then the same hand could wrap around the enemy's neck to choke them out.
The threat in those simple words was clear to everyone who received it.
A few smaller Kingdoms had not taken his words to heart which led them to be defeated by the mighty King of Valanthur and they now served as vassals to his Kingdom.
They now were subservient to the King and bowed down to him even if they had despised and rejected his treaty in the past.
King Zander had made them an example for the others that whosoever tried to harm his Kingdom would end up the same way as well.
Thus, the more nations he went to, he began to gain better responses.
For two years, King Zander and his men traveled through various lands, crossed seas, and even climbed mountains to complete his mission.
At the end of those first two years, he and his group had just finished meeting the King of an island kingdom far away from Valanthur.
The sea that divided the continent on which Valanthur was situated and this island was great and needed a voyage of thirteen days to cross the sea.
While vampires could fly, it would utilize a vast amount of life essence for them to maintain their steady balance up in the air.
Thus, they used this energy-consuming ability only if they had no other choice left.
So they either journeyed on foot, carriages, or, in this case, a ship.
To take the ship over to the island and back had been tedious and nauseating to most of the men in the King's party.
After a successful meeting with the other King, they had returned to their continent and landed on the shores of a new kingdom.
This kingdom was not too large in population but had a vast area of land.
The King and his men had to journey for numerous days from the shores just to reach civilization.
They spent days and nights in the thick forest with a heavy population of wild and dangerous animals who attacked them whenever they caught sight of them.
The King and his men fended off the animals during the day and lit fires to keep the nocturnal animals away at night.
A week into their journey, they had run out of their rations and blood pills thus could only turn to the animals that attacked them, turning them into their source of blood.
However, they could not just drink blood, and unpurified blood straight out of an animal at that, therefore, the men had decided to forage for food supplies around them.
To their fortune, they did not have to look too hard.
"Master, these berries look good." Treegan Molt, the aide who had stuck by his Master's side from a young age exclaimed at the treasure he found.
Everyone headed his way and found him staring at thick shrubs filled with tiny purple berries.
Their eyes widened in surprise as they gulped at the appetizing berries Treegan had found.
Treegan's proud smile widened after catching their salivating faces and he took the initiative to fetch some berries for his Master.
"You shouldn't." A soft mutter came from a distant corner, alerting everyone present.
Their heads whiplashed in the direction of the voice and saw a young boy stepping out from behind a tree.
There was surprise and vigilance in their eyes as they watched the young boy.
King Zander himself had a frown as he sized this young man who had appeared out of nowhere.
There were ten men in his group including him so he was sure that this boy was not a part of his group.
The King, his loyal aide, a general with five knights, a chef, and finally a servant.
The group of ten men stared at the boy who had sneaked up on them with none of them even noticing his presence.
'If he had not shown himself then we never would have known…' King Zander frowned when he realized this.
The young boy had long silver hair that was tied up and he wore an ill-fitted black robe that covered him from his neck to his toes.
The hood of his robe was down which allowed them to make out his facial features.
An assassin would never make their presence known so easily nor would they show their face.
Thus, the King deduced that this young lad wasn't an assassin sent to kill him and his group.
'I doubt he would be able to do it.' He thought but at the reminder that they had not sensed his presence, Zander narrowed his eyes.
However, the other person had failed to notice the animosity he was facing and looked at the shrubs with an abundance of those purple berries.
"Elkerberries have paralyzing effects and can cause…" The boy coughed and did not continue his words.
King Zander found it amusing that his face had turned red once he stopped speaking.
The other men were on high alert against this boy and did not believe a word he said but there was someone whose eyes widened at those words.
"El-elkerberries!?" One of them gasped before taking a few steps away from the shrubs.
While the knights and the general kept their stern eye on the stranger, the others turned towards the one who had spoken.
King Zander watched the chef wipe his hands which had not even touched the berries.
Treegan was closest to the berries as he was the one who had found them but looking at the chef's behavior, he too had taken a step away.
However, in the next second, noticing what he had done subconsciously, he leered at the chef for an explanation.
"I had only ever seen elkerberries in their dried-up form so I could not recognize them right away." The chef bowed before the King for the mistake that he had made.
Ignoring him for a second, the King first glanced at his general who in the next second was behind the stranger, capturing him lest he tried to escape while their attention was diverted.
The King and the general were silent for a second before King Zander looked away.
"Explain yourself." The King demanded once his eyes landed on his chef.
He could not comprehend what had brought up this apology so he commanded the chef to make things clear for them.