Tristan's brow furrowed, and his eyes looked at the transparent blue window to ensure his eyes and ears were not mistaken.
Why did the system give him such a task?
What did King Dazen ask of him?
Tristan hadn't even met and spoken to King Dazen, but the system had already given him a task. It was bizarre.
Tristan's heart was pounding with curiosity and nervousness at the same time.
However, if King Dazen's request shocked him too much, it was likely that Tristan would forget the fifth task, and then he would get a penalty.
"The three-day nightmare penalty hasn't even ended yet, and now I'm in danger of getting another one," Tristan muttered.
"Why didn't the system tell me about the fifth task after I talked to King Dazen?"
Tristan stared intently at the transparent blue window slowly disappearing, as if it was a tool used by God, who gave him the task of video-calling him.
"Your Majesty King Tristan," King Dazen entered the living room. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for receiving me, and I apologize for arriving unexpectedly without first setting an appointment." He bowed before Tristan.
"No problem. It just so happens that I haven't slept yet, but I have time to talk to you," Tristan said. He wasn't used to seeing someone older than him bowing respectfully to him.
"Have a seat, Your Majesty King Dazen. I apologize for not meeting you in my palace." Tristan observed King Dazen sitting on the sofa across from him. He was getting nervous.
Tristan was still at Physician Jonathan's house. He would return to the palace tomorrow after the sacred ritual was completed.
"I have no problem with that, Your Majesty King Tristan. I know that many of your people are attacked by the plague," said King Dazen.
"What brings you to see me this evening, Your Majesty King Dazen?" Tristan was ready to hear what the 20-year-old king of the Halu Kingdom had to say.
"You must know that my kingdom has been at odds with the Pireakan Kingdom for fourteen years." King Dazen showed a severe face. "We have decided to go to war next week. We are fighting over Mount Silonga again."
Tristan nodded.
Mount Silonga was the only mountain with gold and had not been claimed by anyone. The mountain was located between Madigan, Pireakan, and Halu.
Madigan had given up his ambition to own the mountain nine years ago because Carlos did not want to lose any more soldiers and to prevent Madigan from going bankrupt.
"Then why did you come to see me?" Tristan asked.
"The Halu Kingdom wants to borrow one of the hills belonging to the Madigan Kingdom, which is 300 meters from Mount Silonga. We will hide thousands of our soldiers there. Our goal is to win this war. We are tired of fighting the Pireakan Kingdom for 14 years," said King Dazen passionately.
His words really shocked Tristan. Madigan had five hills near Mount Silonga. All of those hills had secret tunnels.
Nine years ago, when Madigan participated in the war for Mount Silonga, they used one of the hills as a resting place for soldiers and stored weapons. No one knew about it except the soldiers and the kingdom's high-ranking officials.
"How did you know about our hills?" Tristan asked.
"We got the information from a bard, and I came to you at the risk of the bard's life," King Dazen said. "I swear I will not reveal the secret."
Tristan shut his lips. Damn it. He had fallen into the King Dazen's trap. He could not go back on his words.
"If you could lend us one of your hills. Your kingdom will receive 10% of the proceeds from the gold dealers from Mount Silonga." King Dazen delivered the contract to Tristan. He and his kingdom had sworn to protect the secret, and he was willing to die at the hands of King Tristan.
King Dazen looked deeply at Tristan, hoping the Madigan Kingdom's king would agree.
Tristan held the letter of agreement, which already had the Halu Kingdom's stamp.
If Tristan were a king who was really into wealth, he would have signed the letter of agreement without thinking about what would happen to his kingdom in the future.
"Damn it," Tristan muttered as the transparent blue window floated in front of him. The system warned him to complete the fifth task correctly if he did not want to get a penalty.
The Halu Kingdom had been part of the Madigan Kingdom for hundreds of years.
The Madigan Kingdom promised the Halu Kingdom that if they were attacked by another kingdom, the king or crown prince would send soldiers and provide food supplies to the Halu Kingdom.
Tristan could not lend one of his kingdom's hills to King Dazen and his troops. The Halu Kingdom was at war with the Pireakan Kingdom over a gold mine. They were not in a desperate situation. The war was purely to enrich the Halu Kingdom.
However, Tristan did not want to get a penalty. He had not even finished his nightmare penalty.
Tristan clenched his fists as he stared at the agreement document. His heart was beating very fast because of anxiety.
If he agreed to King Dazen's request, the generals would certainly be angry with him. Then, if the Pireakan Kingdom found out that his kingdom was helping the Halu Kingdom, they would attack his kingdom.
The thousands of soldiers in his kingdom had not fought in a long time. For years, peace had enveloped them.
Tristan had to consider whether the finance minister could prepare a budget for the war, and the trade minister had to prepare food stocks for the people.
"I can assure you that the Pireakan Kingdom will not find out about this, Your Majesty. We will do it neatly and cleanly." King Dazen was confident in his words. He was also very optimistic that his kingdom would win this war.
"I will behead you if the Pireakan Kingdom finds out that I helped you and if the secret about the hills is leaked to the public." Tristan stared at King Dazen seriously with a threatening tone.
"You will never find me betraying you, Your Majesty." King Dazen said seriously. He would kill himself if he betrayed King Tristan's trust.
Tristan lowered his head with his eyes closed. He was having difficulty breathing. He had to prepare to face the kingdom's high-ranking officials and generals tomorrow.
[You have completed the fifth task perfectly.]
The notification from the system could not make Tristan relieved or happy. He really would not be able to sleep tonight.