"Your Majesty!" Jason yelled as he saluted me after I jumped off the airship that flew me here, followed closely by the rest of the Argonauts.
I see that most of the "foot-soldiers" in the Argonauts are keeping a perimeter around the temple.
Although, It looks less like a temple and more like a large Cave dug into the side of a cliff, covered in mossy statues of the Giraffe King.
"Captain Jason," I nodded to the guy I placed in charge of running the Argonauts, "You said that a Pony was seen trying to get this treasure as well. Where are they?"
"Sir! Once we learned of the Pony searching for the Artifact, we made sure to secure the temple and the surrounding jungle!" He said loudly, not letting go of his salute.
"I see, You know that Equestria must not learn of what we are doing here in Afcari, should that Pony deliver news to that Princess Celestia of hers, our whole livelihoods could be put at stake," I told him in a loud whisper, making sure only he could hear what was said.
He nodded his head, "Yes your Majesty, If the ponies learn of your plan for World Domination, they will stop at nothing in order to stop you," He whispered back at me.
"I Know," I continued, before speaking louder in order for the rest of the Argonauts to hear me, "Which is why that pony must be captured, we cannot let them sneak around like a rat.
Jason! I want you to come with me, we will be entering the temple and collecting the artifact now. The rest of you are to wait here," I told the Argonauts, before turning my head at some of the newer recruits from Abyssinia.
"Dioscuri, you two will be tasked with hunting down the pony that has been searching here," I told the Cat sibling.
"Did you hear that Castor? The Storm King is giving us a mission!" The Sphynx whispered excitedly to the red-furred sibling of hers.
The other cat merely hummed in acknowledgment.
"Bring her to me," I told the cats, "Alive."
And so I turned away from them and marched in the direction of the temple, quickly followed by Jason and a small squad of regular soldiers.
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The Crystal Sword of King Twiga is the final artifact of his that Isn't already in my grasp.
His Ruby Crown allows me to see anything that is known by a living creature.
His Orisa Eye, an Amber pendant allows me control over sand, a powerful artifact that I have spent the last three months training to control relentlessly, overseen by its previous guardian, Kasa the Turtle.
Each one of his three Artifacts was given to a general of his after his death.
The Pendant given to the Turtle General.
The Crown given to the Breezie General.
And the Sword given to the Abada General.
I do not know what the sword does, but whatever it may be, it required the construction of a temple for its protection.
So it must be powerful.
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Sneaking through the brush of the jungle, The pony crept ever closer to the entrance of the temple.
The only thing standing in her way was an empty clearing, where she will be exposed as soon as she runs through.
She needs to create a distraction, make the guards look away from the temple.
She powered up her horn, ignored the painful itch it caused her, and shot a bolt of lightning at a faraway tree, causing a loud explosion to sound out, and give her an ample opportunity to dash into the temple.
"There she is!" Only that one person saw her dash, and so she had to roll to the side to avoid the crossbow bolt headed in her direction.
The Unicorn quickly scowled and turned to look at whoever fired the bolt at her, seeing the large Arbelast mounted onto a complicated mechanical contraption on the back of an old Crocodile.
There were still a few meters she had to run in order to reach the temple, and the Crocodile wouldn't be able to catch up to her once she's in, but she can't simply run towards it without risking a bolt to the head, and she can't wait all day or the guards will realize that the explosion was a distraction.
And so, seeing the Crocodile twist a lever in his front legs, the Crossbow on his back loading another bolt as the switches and levers keep getting pressed, she readied herself.
All she had to do was dodge one bolt, and use the time it would take him to reload in order to run.
Just one bolt...
And as the Crocodile loaded his second bolt onto the mechanical crossbow and aimed it at her, she prepared to dodge his bolt.
A bolt that never came, as the Croc simply stood there, aiming at her.
"Shit... He knows what I'm planning," The Unicorn thought to herself.
Her entire plan relied on him firing his bolt.
If he doesn't fire, Reinforcement will arrive and she'll surely be captured.
Thinking fast, The Unicorn decided to risk it.
She ran towards the Temple.
And the Crocodile fired.
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"There it is," I said as the underground tunnel of the temple opened up onto a balcony overlooking a large room filled almost entirely by treasure.
From gold coins to priceless gems, the room held what must have been the entirety of King Twiga's treasury, from his campaign across the entire Afcari Continent.
And in the middle of the treasury, Stabbed into a large green rock, was his crystal sword.
"Secure the room," I told the guards, "Locate any traps, I want this room mapped out from end to end before even a single fur from your bodies touches that gold, Am I clear?!"
"Sir Yes Sir!" They saluted and ran back up the tunnel, intent on getting the equipment ready.
And as I stood on the balcony, looking down at the treasure of the Giraffe King, I knew that something bad will happen soon.
It was simple Cartoon logic, The Villain gets an almost perfect victory, only for something ruinous to happen to it, resulting in his victory being lessened.
I know, deep down, by the nature of this world, that I will not be leaving with all of that treasure.
It is simply too good to be true.
The Question now is, What is going to be the cause?
"Hmmm.... How Vexing..." I said as I stared at the piles of jewels and gold.
"Did you say something, your Majesty?" Jason asked, And I remembered that he's here with me.
Coughing into my fist, I nod my head and say "It is nothing to concern yourself, Jason, I am merely thinking out loud."
Jason looked at me a moment longer before bowing to me, "As you will, Your Majesty," before he returned to searching the room for any signs of traps.
Only for the two of us to quickly look back at the tunnel we came from as the sound of hooves hitting the carved stone floor echoed out.
And once the source of the sound became visible, I quickly embraced my body for impact as a purple Unicorn with dark red hair slammed into me, the friction of her hooves causing her sudden stop to turn into an accidental tackle.
"Your Majesty!" Jason yelled after me as The Unicorn and I fell off the balcony, and into the pile of treasure.
A pile of treasure that started to rumble the moment we touched it.
I quickly looked at the Crystal Sword in the middle of the room, or more specifically, at the dark green rock it was stabbed into, or even more specifically, at the two green eyes on the rock.
What I'm saying is that it's not a rock.
And with a powerful shake, the green monster that the sword was stabbed into emerged from the pile of gold, lifted up by two large and muscular clawed arms, its long snake-like body stretching on and on as it climbed out of the pile of treasure, and I looked at its head.
I was greeted by the head of an enormous Elephant, its eyes green and reptilian, and its body covered in dark green, almost moss-colored scales.
Two large clawed arms grabbed onto the pillars that dotted the room as with a final pull, the beast pulled itself from the pile of treasure, The Crystal sword still embedded into its forehead, now glowing with a blue light.
And as the beast towered over me and the Unicorn, I understood what I was worried about earlier.
And so I stood tall, as a King should, and got ready to showcase to the world that The Storm King is more than just a ruler who sits in his airship all day.
He is a Conqueror.
And Conquerors need to showcase their strength.
I looked at the sword on the beast's head and smiled.
"Come at me,"