Lucas and Thurin walked towards the Throne Room where they were supposed to meet Augustinus.
Thurin glanced at Lucas, his brows furrowed. "Will he show up?"
Lucas shook his head. "No, too risky. He'll send a stand-in. Augustinus will dodge his taxes by any means. He's always been openly defiant."
"Even so, if he sends a replacement, then they'll bring it back, no?"
"I'm afraid not. If the records are accurate, he's a crafty one. If he sends a replacement, they're disposable. Who's to say that they won't be attacked by some bandits in the forest? He's the lord of the underworld, he won't play fair."
"Then how do we catch him?", Thurin already had enough problems to solve to last a decade, if the situation with Augustinus escalated, he might be in serious trouble.
"We don't, or to be more honest, we can't. He's most likely prepared an excuse for anything.", Lucas smiled as he recognized someone like himself on the other side. He had read every single report about Augustinus to fully prepare himself.
After summarizing all the information, he figured out that Augustinus had a thinking pattern not too dissimilar from himself. That gave him some peace of mind while also being terrifying. Lucas was his own worst enemy, so gaining some experience on how to handle Augustinus would be a great learning experience.
"So either nothing happens or it escalates?", Thurin grabbed his head. All the numbers he had to remember and worries that the people had brought to him was too much to handle alone.
And even with the help of Lucas and Carian, each day added another mountain of work to his already incomprehensible work load. Lucas had it easy with his Mental Sphere, but Thurin or Carian wasn't so lucky.
"They will escalate it. All the nobles have pulled back from their contributions to the treasury. We can already start multiple campaigns to bring them to justice."
The only reason they didn't move was because Thurin didn't want an internal war with the threat of the barbarians down south. After the war they would be exhausted, tired and most of all, broke. To start another war right after would be the Empire's downfall.
The fear of leaving the thriving Empire he received from his father down a path of destruction or decline bothered him each time he tried to go to sleep. What was a good change were his feelings towards his father.
At first, he felt hatred and frustration towards him, but after his passing, that turned into some kind of sympathy. Dealing with the same troubles and headaches his father did really put his behavior in perspective, whether he liked it or not.
All the worries and things he had to do were simply too much. Trying to control an Empire alone was asking for a burnout.
Entering the throne room, Carian stood next to the throne reading some papers. Once he noticed they arrived, he put them away and welcome Thurin.
"Welcome back Thurin, I hope your walk has refreshed you somewhat.", Carian had been trying to lighten the load on Thurin by handling more work and bringing in more talented Scholars. But many declined due to the low wages. Another way for him to relax his mind was a routine walk around the castle and the gardens.
Sometimes he was with Carian, other times with Lucas who told stories of the world above or taught him some basic magic to entertain him. The only moments that Thurin showed some excitement was when he learned how to create fire by himself. The walks themselves didn't do anything for him sadly, he worried about the problems he just left behind the entire time.
"Of course.", he said with a dry tone, similar to how the previous Emperor talked. Carian's heart ached seeing that, but he wouldn't be able to fix it immediately.
'If only all these disloyal dogs obeyed for once! Then Thurin would be able to live without the constant pressure on his back.', there was a certain feeling in Carian that held him responsible for the current situation. He taught the previous Emperor how to deal with his inheritance, if he didn't do that, would he have helped this child somewhat?
Since Thurin was alone, the throne next to his was empty, dust would've gathered were it not for the cleaning crew.
"Lucas, I heard you started a project in the weapons department? If I'm correct, you asked if they could make simple spears that were easily produced? Might I ask why?", Carian was skeptical, but always appreciated the work Lucas did since it helped both him and Thurin.
Besides, just his presence and power made the Scholars and the Senate behave. It was a great asset to have, but sometimes he spent a lot of time and resources on the strangest things. This bothered Carian a bit, not that he had the right to complain, but he couldn't help it.
"Oh, yes, I'm simply making preparation for later. You don't have to worry, I don't waste resources.", Lucas smiled as he was happy with his plans. There were many things he wanted to test out and if everything went according to his plan, then he would have the opportunities he was searching for.
To Lucas, he knew that war was inevitable, even if he couldn't start one on his own, it was destined. He knew that the people aiming for the throne were waiting for a turn. This was also one of the reasons that Lucas held off from trying the second trial.
The moment he would disappear, the nobles would take their chances to overturn the throne. So he wanted to first set an example before retreating.
The second trial apparently took a lot longer and if his previous experience told him something then it was clear that he might be stuck in there for a long time. Since it was undetermined, it would only make sense to wait until the situation stabilized.
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It didn't take long before Alex was escorted into the throne room. This time he seemed to be more at ease.
'Is this the new Emperor? He looks like a kid that's about to fall asleep. How disappointing, working for Augustinus will bring me a lot more benefits than kneeling for this loser.'
Alex wasn't impressed by the security and display of power by the Emperor. At least the previous Emperor had a constant dominating aura, but this one didn't. Even the very popular Starborn didn't look all that special besides his strange skin color.
Feeling that he was on the right side, Alex lightly kneeled before the Emperor and explained his presence as a substitute for Augustinus. After the talks between Carian and Alex, did Carian provide a small little chest with some papers inside.
"Please bring these back to sir Augustinus, we eagerly await his payment to the Royal Treasury."
"But of course!", Alex smiled widely before leaving without following the etiquette. To Carian, it felt like an insult, Thurin couldn't care less, his mind already focussing on the next issue while Lucas was happy to have more people he could pressure into obeying him.
If people disobeyed the law then he had every right to use the Royal Army to detain or punish the criminals. He had threatened a lot of people into following his orders under the guise of helping out the Empire.
Then, Lucas thought of something. He would probably be able to escort Alex to the estate of Augustinus. If that went successful, then Augustinus wouldn't have an excuse, he could only stretch the deadline.
Of course, that meant that Lucas might put his own life in danger, but he was certain that he would be able to run away. His Tier 1 body already boosted his strength tremendously. Combine that with the fact that he could use magic to slow down his pursuers and boost his own speed, he was confident in retreating.
Lucas dusted his clothes a bit before walking towards the exit. "Excuse me Thurin, Carian, I believe that I should join Alex for some distance for security reasons.", he said with a light smile.
Thurin nodded, every action that Lucas had taken was in the end beneficial for the Empire and lessened the workload for him. Carian on the other hand felt a bit worried. While his actions were good for them, they also involved a lot of manipulation, blackmailing, threats and force. So their reputation was slowly declining, making Carian worried for the future.
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Selicia had been waiting for a long time for Alex to arrive, to the point she heard all the conversations between the Emperor and Lucas. She knew her target, and how well protected he was. Fighting him directly would be a terrible idea for her.
The shields around him were always present, no matter what. And he didn't go to sleep, making it even harder to find an opening. Even now, she wasn't certain that she would win even if she used a bunch of traps.
'Apparently there was a point where he only had a single arm, so he has the magic to regrow his limbs as well. That's already such a pain, but now he's constantly transporting a castle wall around him.'
At least she felt glad that she would get an opportunity soon as she saw Alex finally enter the room.
'He smells like sweat, didn't he ride a carriage?'
She looked at him with a critical eye, knowing what he did and how he so easily submitted to Augustinus made him a lot less pleasing to look at. Not that he was good-looking to begin with.
She didn't pay any attention to the conversation as she looked at her target trying to find a weak spot. Using Mana Vision she tried to look through the shields. Some small portions of mana were constantly moving around in his body.
'He's got spells ready to fire off as well? Why does he act like his life is in constant danger?! I mean, it should be, but still! Oh, the pig's done.'
With her focussing so much on Lucas, she forgot that Alex was already leaving. She quickly moved along the rafters of the building. With her spells, she was practically invisible. Unlike Eleven's spell where his presence was hidden, here Selicia was literarily see-through.
Jumping from the rafters she slipped through the open door right behind Alex. Then she jumped once more hiding near the ceiling. She made her way further down the hall that Alex was walking through. Her speed would've been incredible to look at were it not for the fact that she was invisible.
Rushing through a certain section, extremely tiny threads were set up. Touching them with your finger, you wouldn't feel a thing, it was more flexible and sturdy than spider web. Arachnids were actually her inspiration besides the fact that they creeped her out. It was just their hunting tactic that resonated with her.
'All he has to do now is walk through it, I'm almost finished here.', Selicia was relieved to know she would be able to leave the castle soon. But perhaps by thinking in such a way jinxed her. She was used to her prey walking into her traps, never taking a direct approach.
'What is he doing here?!', Selicia saw Lucas exit the throne room, clearly heading towards Alex. Looking at all the traps she set up, her target would easily be able to find them since he was constantly using his willpower to search for anything out of the ordinary.
'Shit, shit, shit, just walk a few more steps!'
"Sir Alex, might I ask for a bit of your time?", the Starborn said from afar.
Stopping in his tracks, Alex turned around to see who was talking to him. Seeing that it was the advisor Alex had no reason to refuse, even if he wanted to go to Augustinus first. He was a Starborn and a Royal Advisor, declining his invitation would've been quite rude.
"I don't mind taking some time out of my schedule, but I need to hurry back.", Alex said as Lucas stepped closer. Suddenly the advisor's demeanor changed drastically. All the feigned happiness contained in his typical friendly facade drained from his face. His look now reminded Alex of the previous Emperor.
'Screw it!', it was clear to Selicia that he must've noticed it by now, but she couldn't just run away now, both people here should die, and she was certain that one of them wasn't an issue.
She jumped down from the rafters, still invisible, and plunged a small dagger in Alex's back. The man tensed up by the poison slathered on the blade, capable of killing a normal human in a matter of seconds.
It only took a two second for her to jump down and stab the man, enough time to spare to run away.
'There! Now to..!', finished with her task, she was about to turn around were it not for the fist that was aimed right at her face. Thanks to her speed and reflexes she dodged perfectly at the right time, but even so, the punch carried some serious force, blowing her back down the hall. All the tiny threads were blown apart since she didn't strengthen them with her magic.
'Cold?!'
The hall was now covered in tiny ice spikes. 'Can he channel his magic through his punches?', without getting any more time to think about it, she tried to rush towards the exit, but even being invisible didn't give her any chances.
Being caught, Lucas could follow her movements with his willpower, he didn't directly use magic, not wanting to give anything away. He simply used the strength of his own body, punching straight ahead, but close enough to catch her in his line of fire.
Each time, he barely missed, or that was what he could interpret with his willpower, rushing after her, she changed directions many times. Lucas tried to cut the corners or attack the spots she was heading towards, but never succeeded.
Unlucky passersby had to hold on for dear life and be fortunate enough to not enter Lucas's attacks.
They moved too fast for any normal Scholar to follow them. The chase didn't take too long when the intruder found an open balcony and ran into the streets of the capital. Standing on the balcony, Lucas looked down on the houses below, scanning for some kind of movement.
'Shit, I lost her, sorry.'
'I tried to freeze her in place and failed as well. They wouldn't have tried this is they weren't confident in escaping. No need to apologize.', Lucas was a bit annoyed with the results, blaming his own incompetence.
'Hey...I detected willpower.'
'I know, she used mana a lot more fluidly than the barbarians or the Empire's soldiers. How bad do you think it is?'
'Not a Rank 3, or we wouldn't be breathing, looks like a Rank 2. Perhaps a high Rank 2 though.'
Lucas held back a sigh of relief. Deep down he had been waiting for people from the world above to hunt him down. It was inevitable for him, but it was strange that only a Rank 2 came after him.
'Are they related to Simon or someone else? Did they get past Elam?'
'Couldn't tell ya to be honest, it was already very weak to begin with, I noticed it by accident.'
'So even after running so much and using spells we only noticed a sliver of their willpower? That can only mean we're dealing with an expert.'
Lucas had been looking for ways to grow in his Rank while studying the spells, and he had made zero progress. The first two Ranks were accessible by just gathering a bunch of mana into the core until symbols started to show up. But doing that now didn't do anything. Hence, he was uncomfortable facing someone who made a lot more progress than he did.
'What now? Can't chase the bastard.'
'Indeed, we'll deal with the aftermath of the assassination. It's surprisingly a good thing to catch him. If they killed Alex without any interference then the castle would've been seen as an easy target. Now at least we minimized the damage by retaliating.'
'Could they have anticipated us acting, perhaps they wanted us to find them since now we know that whoever is after us is here. All our next steps will be influenced by this.'
'Dammit, you're right. I didn't think of that.', Lucas let out a big sigh, 'Well, better to clean this up. It might be a waste of time, but it should be an improvement.'
"People of The Empire! I have a grave announcement! One of our fellow nobles has died in the castle due to an unforeseen event! Alex the Great has chocked on his food during our dinner.", leaving some time for everyone to process what Lucas just said, he continued.
"We have tried everything in our power to prevent his passing, but our Scholars were too late. I will take full responsibility for this unfortunate event. I will make sure to support the Scholars in the medical field and make certain that more people will be on standby. I will provide more medical services for everyone in order to make sure that such a tragedy can't occur again. That will be all!"
Lucas shouted loud enough, thanks to pouring in some mana into his voice, to reach everyone in the capital. His words were somewhat well received. The commoners were happy since they found it a fitting way for a noble to die while also being happy to know that medical attention will be more widespread.
The nobles on the other hand weren't exactly sad at the death of Alex , but they found his way of passing an insult to the noble bloodlines while not caring all that much about the rest of the speech.
Lucas had effectively turned their attention away from someone dying in the castle, although that didn't stop rumors from spreading.
'You do realize it'll come out when they find the body.'
'What body? I put it in our ring at the moment of my first attack. We can still alter the story a bit. What food typically has poison in it?', Lucas said to himself as he walked back to the throne room. He wasn't in a hurry since he needed to create enough evidence for his story.
Selicia on the other hand was flying in the air not far from the castle. While Lucas inspected the streets, he was oblivious to the fact that a typical Rank 2 mage could fly.
After hearing the tiny speech Lucas made up on the spot, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Cold sweat was rolling down her back. As an assassin, she was confident in her stealth and speed, yet what she just experienced was a clear sign she wasn't good enough.
Her speed was incredible, yet he kept up without using any mana. Her stealth was one of the best, yet he was able to hit her multiple times. She put multiple threads down the hall, yet he punched through all of them.
Besides that, the entire point of her killing Alex was so that the nobles had a casus belli. Yet now he twisted the truth so much that it would be difficult to prove otherwise. She was invisible the entire time Lucas was chasing after her so it's not that they could serve as witnesses of the assassination.
The plan was to cause chaos in the castle while the nobles blamed them for the assassination. Using that event, Augustinus would declare the Emperor incompetent and start a war to evict him from the throne.
Without a cause, many nobles would think twice before putting their lives on the line. Still, she knew that if she wanted to succeed in her goal, she would need a lot of help doing so. Grok was a lot better in direct confrontations, perhaps with him, she stood a chance.
Flying away, she regrouped with Grok to report to Augustinus. They needed to act fast.