Magic Council's Choice (Part One)

When the thunderous sound echoed through the Capital of Thunder City, most of the city's residents, like their king, collapsed! But the physical pain did not elicit any reaction from them, because their minds and nerves were dominated by the fear brought by the Heavenly King Guard, leaving them no time to feel anything.

"Erus's army is attacking! Run!"

As a shrill female voice rang out in the air, the residents, gripped by fear, instantly lost their reason and fled to their homes. In an instant, the ancient city was plunged into another kind of chaos.

The commotion from the street reached the Magic Council, waking up a man who was lying on the ground.

"Heh! In the end, I couldn't escape this fate after all? (Zack)"

After getting up with a wry smile, King Milantes walked towards the street with tears streaming down his face and a loud laugh, then wandered aimlessly forward amidst the shoving of the crowd.

Looking at his old friend, who seemed to have gone mad, Leo sighed, then shook his head and walked towards where the other Magic Council members were gathered. After all, a life-or-death battle awaited him soon—a battle he was destined to lose!

Kaipel Sand Outer

"You naughty boy, why don't we just storm in? Why give them a choice?" (Woodman)

"Old Man Woodman, you're right. We can storm in, but the city will definitely be destroyed in the war. How to rebuild this ruin into Capital of Thunder afterward will be a real headache! Besides, although we've captured Milantes, the King Milantes still holds considerable power, which is why I agreed to their surrender and spare their lives. (Old Suo)" (Haha! My silly So, even he knows how to use money to buy a horse's bones!)

"Oh dear, you blockhead, I have to say something to you. Others may not know what kind of person this bad boy is, but you do! If these people were useless, would he go to such lengths to persuade them to surrender?" (Gilkunis)

"Hiss! Old Man Gilkunis, I understand what you mean by that, but something feels off about your tone, doesn't it?" (Old Suo)

"Heh! You naughty boy, it's that old lecher who's speaking up for you. If his tone wasn't off, that would be the problem! (Radel)"

"Haha! That's right! (Hadessta, Wattster, Woodman)"

Upon hearing Radel and the others' complaints, Gilkunis and Sordil exchanged a speechless glance, then turned their heads to the other side.

After the awkward atmosphere lasted for a few minutes, Chief of Staff Yelibell came online in time and pointed out the oversights in His Majesty the King's plan.

"Brother Sordil, even if we really want to persuade the King Milantes to surrender, there should be a time limit. We can't just keep waiting like this!"

Upon hearing the chief of staff's words, Sordil and the others realized that they had indeed been too optimistic. Therefore, His Majesty the King immediately began to take remedial measures.

"Lide, come here!" (Old Suo)

Upon hearing His Majesty the King's summons, Lide, who had just finished speaking, immediately ran over tremblingly.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?" (Lide)

"Lide, immediately tell the people in the city that they have only fifteen minutes to choose. After fifteen minutes, regardless of whether they surrender or not, we will launch an attack on Kaipel Sand. (Old Suo)"

"Yes! I'll take care of it right away!" (Lide)

After Sordil issued his additional conditions, the city became even more chaotic, but the chaos did not last long before it suddenly disappeared, and then everyone in the city headed towards the central city center.

While the residents made their choices, chaos still reigned within the palace, because the lord who could provide the final answer had disappeared!

"Your Her Highness the Queen, time is of the essence. Please summon His Majesty the King and give us an answer so we can make preparations!" (Prime Minister)

"Yes! Your Her Highness the Queen, you must get His Majesty the King to show up and give us an explanation!" (Finance Minister)

"Yes!"

Faced with the urging of the ministers, the Queen could no longer conceal the truth and had no choice but to reveal the facts of the palace.

"Prime Minister, gentlemen, it's not that I'm unwilling to let His Majesty come out and make a decision, but His Majesty isn't even in the palace and can't possibly come out to make this decision!" (Queen)

"His Majesty is not in the palace? (Prime Minister)"

"That's right! (Queen)"

"How is this possible? (Defense Minister)"

"My lords, you are unaware of this, but not long ago, His Majesty the King went to the Magic Council to inquire about the reinforcements, and has not returned since. (Queen)"

It was reasonable for His Majesty the King to go to the Magic Council, but the fact that he never returned made it seem somewhat unbelievable to everyone.

Just as everyone was filled with suspicion, a startled cry came from outside the door, clearing away all their doubts.

"Mother Empress, something terrible has happened! After Father left the Magic Council, he was swept away by the chaotic crowds in the street and we don't know where he went!"

Her voice, which should have been as melodious as a silver bell, was now hoarse and shrill due to anxiety and fear. It was precisely this obvious and unmistakable change that convinced the group of old foxes standing in the hall of the message conveyed in her words.

A moment later, when the girl in the pink dress rushed into the hall with hurried steps, she froze on the spot.

"Mother... Prime Minister, Defense Minister, why are you all here?"

Upon hearing the girl's question, the Prime Minister smiled wryly and said, "Princess Shirley, in this situation, where else do you think we could be if not here?"

After the Prime Minister finished speaking, everyone, including the Queen, nodded with a wry smile.

"What a pity! The person who should be here at this time is nowhere to be found; instead, they've vanished without a trace!" (Shirley)

After the Her Highness the Princess finished her reflections, everyone in the hall nodded with wry smiles once again.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the palace, and the next second, a servant rushed in in a panic.

"Your Her Highness the Queen, Your Her Highness the Princess, Your Highness, Your Excellencies, something terrible has happened! A large number of people have gathered in front of the palace, demanding to see His Majesty the King!"

"Hmph! They want Father to grovel and beg for surrender from those guys outside the city, don't they? (Shirley)"

"This..."

Upon hearing Princess Shirley's words, the waiter stammered for a while, then suddenly knelt on the ground.

"You servant deserves to die!"

"You servant deserves to die!"

"Alright! There's nothing more for you here, you may leave!" (Queen)

After the Queen gave her order, the servant who had kowtowed and scratched his forehead hurriedly stood up, bowed, and then scrambled out of the hall.

After the servants left, the Queen spoke up, "Gentlemen, nearly half of the quarter of an hour that the Erus army gave us has passed. What should we do next? I ask you all to make a decision!"

"Your Her Highness the Queen, how dare we make decisions in His Majesty's absence!" (The Finance Minister)

"The situation is urgent, and there is no time to search for His Majesty, so let us make this decision for him!" (Queen)

After hearing the Queen's words, everyone looked at each other for a moment before expressing their opinions.

Kaipel Sand, West Gate

When the Queen and her entourage, carrying the scepter, crown, and decree, arrived here, they were surprised to find His Majesty the King, who had been lost in the crowd.

"Your Majesty/Father, what are you doing here?"

Hearing the shouts of the crowd, His Majesty the King, who was gazing up at the sky, turned around and said softly, "I was brought here by the flow of people. Later, I heard from outside the city that we only had a quarter of an hour left, so I came here because I believed that you would definitely come here."

Upon hearing His Majesty the King's reply, everyone lowered their heads in shame.

"Everyone, there's no need for this. It's my fault for being useless and failing to protect Milantes. I'm so sorry! So even if none of you came, I would still surrender when the time came. But... I don't know if King Erus will keep his promise!"

"Your Majesty! We..."

Zaka waved his hand to interrupt the prime minister, then said, "Prime minister, this is the last time. Please help me put on the crown!"

Looking into His Majesty the King's calm and resolute eyes, the Prime Minister sighed and then began to help His Majesty the King tidy his appearance and put on his crown and robes.

Just as the 15-minute time limit was about to expire, the west gate of Kaipel Sand slowly opened.

The next second, a man wearing a crown and a brocade robe led a group of richly dressed people out of the city gate and came to the front of the well-disciplined Heavenly King Guard.

"King Milantes Milantes, accompanied by his Queen, Princess, and officials Zaka, has come to surrender. We beseech your kingdom to accept our surrender!"

After Zaka shouted, none of the members of the Heavenly King Guard made any move, as if there was nothing in front of them and no sound had ever been heard.

Sensing the murderous aura emanating from the Heavenly King Guard, these pampered nobles felt a chill run through them, as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar. This feeling intensified when they saw the severed heads resting on the waists of the Heavenly King Guard. In an instant, they wanted to turn and flee back into the city, far away from these messengers of death.

Just when the feeling of being lambs to the slaughter reached its peak, the black square formation in front of them suddenly moved to both sides in an orderly manner, revealing a passage that could only be passed by one person at a time.

"Da da"

"Da da"

A series of crisp footsteps sounded, and then a silver-haired youth dressed in a white brocade robe and wearing a crown led six people dressed in black and gold robes to the front of the formation.

Immediately afterwards, the six black and gold figures behind stopped, while only the silver-haired youth continued to move forward.

When they reached a distance from Zaka and the others, the silver-haired boy stopped and said loudly:

"King Sordil Ornn of the Erus Kingdom accepts surrender!"