Receiving the Surrender (Part 2)

Upon hearing everyone's declaration, the Prime Minister, who was already drenched in sweat, immediately took a cold shower.

There was nothing I could do. I had finally managed to quell a potential war, but because I hesitated for a few dozen seconds, the Nation-Destroying Crisis returned, and it became even more terrifying and ferocious, even threatening my own life. It's a miracle that the Prime Minister wasn't scared to death.

What made the Prime Minister even more devastated was that this legendary, powerful and domineering King Erus was completely indecisive and was led by the nose by a few Palace Guardian Heavenly Kings.

Fortunately, King Erus was resolute and was not easily defeated, otherwise he would have been in danger.

The Prime Minister stopped thinking about this as soon as he realized that King Erus had quietly shifted his stance to the side of war. So he quickly dropped all that nonsense and began to defend himself, well, incidentally, His Majesty the King and the others.

"King Erus, Your Majesties, we truly surrender. The reason we did not bring the crown, scepter, and military seal is because... because His Majesty intends to hand them over to King Erus personally after you have entered the city."

Hearing the Prime Minister's explanation, everyone's expressions softened considerably. However, the matter did not end there, because... (Haha! The real reason is that the Great Owl hadn't had enough fun yet, and also, the word count wasn't high enough).

"Your Majesty, Your Majesties, do not believe this man's sweet words. They are likely not only feigning surrender, but also intend to kill me!" (Heradi)

"Oh? Heradi, what do you mean by that? (Old Suo)"

"Your Majesty, this man just said that the crown and other items will be presented to you by King of Cushen after we enter the city. (Heradi)"

"Yeah, so what? (Old Suo)"

"Your Majesty, they're trying to lure us into the city, then ambush us and kill us inside!" (Heradi)

"What? (Old Suo, the Heavenly Kings)"

Seeing everyone glaring at him, the Prime Minister instantly turned into a lifelike plaster statue.

"Damn it, I'm just here to deliver a letter of surrender, to show my willingness to surrender. What scheming and plotting involved?!" (The Prime Minister kneels in the heart-shaped lake, tears streaming down his face.)

However, Old Suo and the others couldn't hear the Prime Minister's off-screen voice, so the Prime Minister was instantly surrounded by the Heavenly King.

"Whoosh"

Just as Diphiya's Ice Blade was about to strike the plaster statue's neck, the Prime Minister finally came back to life.

"King Erus, if you do not believe me, you can send someone to deliver a message to our Emperor, instructing him to bring his ministers, the crown, the scepter, and the military seal to the city gates to surrender!"

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's words, Old Suo waved to the assembled Heavenly Kings, and then everyone returned to their seats.

"That's one way, but our people aren't familiar with the situation in Kushen City, and it would be difficult to gain the trust of your king. However, if we let you go back, we worry you might plot something behind our backs. Therefore, this plan won't work!" (Old Suo)

"King Erus, this is easy to handle. You can send someone with my subordinates back to report this news to His Majesty. In this way, we can easily gain His Majesty's trust without worrying about us playing any tricks."

"Well! That's the only way to do it for now. Then I'll trouble Your Excellency to write a letter explaining the situation here. (Old Suo)"

"Alright! I'll write it right away!"

"Someone, take the Prime Minister away to write a letter."

Upon hearing His Majesty the King's order, the guards standing outside the door entered and led the Prime Minister away.

"Heradi, the Prime Minister's letter will be finished soon. Send someone to deliver it to King of Cushen." (Old Suo)

"Understood!" (All the Heavenly Kings: Whew! The performance is finally over! We're exhausted!)

Kushen Palace

After reading through the letter, Ralori sighed, "Alas! King Erus is really cautious; this feigned surrender is about to become a real one!" (Hail: Damn it, I trusted you so much, and you actually used my life as bait! How utterly wicked!)

"Your Majesty, we cannot surrender!"

"Your Majesty, we cannot surrender!"

Listening to everyone's advice, Ralori shook his head and said, "Our intentions have been discovered. If we don't do as the letter says, Erus's army will launch an attack, and then..."

Although His Majesty the King did not finish his sentence, everyone knew what was to come, and so they all lowered their heads.

"Alright, everyone, at this point, we have no other choice but to do this! (Ralori)"

Upon hearing His Majesty the King's words, everyone left the hall dejectedly and went back to prepare.

April 7, X767, afternoon, Kushen City, North Gate

After a period of reflection, the king and his ministers of the Kingdom of Cushen, having composed themselves, arrived here carrying the items designated by King Erus, quietly awaiting the impending humiliation.

Just as the sunlight in the sky was so bright that people couldn't open their eyes, a dark cloud drifted in from not far away and stopped in front of everyone.

Having undergone a new round of rigorous training, the Thirteenth Heavenly King Guard felt a more profound and chilling aura of steel when facing King of Cushen and his men than Zaka and his companions had experienced before. However, one thing remained unchanged: the king's ostentatious entrance... well, sorry, I misspoke. His entrance did change slightly, as Old Suo was accompanied by two more henchmen this time.

"King of Cushen, Ralori Kushen, and his retinue surrender to King Erus!"

"I grant your surrender!"

(The procedures for surrendering are all pretty much the same, so I won't go into Great Owl. Those who don't understand can review the steps for Zaka's surrender.)

A quarter of an hour later, the basic procedures were finally completed. At this point, Old Suo said, "Since the war is not yet over, the matter of bestowing rewards will be postponed. King of Cushen and his ministers will go to Philiers first, and we will deal with it after I return to the capital!"

Upon hearing that they were to be taken to Philiers, Ralori and the others showed a hint of resistance. However, before they could protest, the Heavenly King Guard, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed over and escorted them northward.

After Ralori and the others were taken away, Old Suo gave Heradi a wink, and the next second, Horadric led the Royal Knights into the Kushen City.

Half an hour later, Old He, his robes stained with blood, rode his steed back to the North Gate.

"Boss, it's all taken care of!"

"Yes! Let's go into town!" (Old Suo)

After receiving His Majesty the King's order, the group slowly entered the city.

April 20th, Stellara Palace

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Looking at the panicked Defense Minister, Yanimus said impatiently, "What are you yelling about? The sky hasn't fallen yet. Speak slowly!"

After calming himself down, the Defense Minister picked up where he left off and continued, "Your Majesty, we have just received an urgent report that a large number of warships bearing the mark of Erus have appeared in our territorial waters."

"What? Why didn't you tell me this sooner? It's such important information!"

Watching Yanimus leap up from the throne, the Defense Minister thought to himself, "You were the one who told me to speak slowly, and now you're complaining that I'm speaking too slowly. Sigh! Being your subordinate is really too difficult!"

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

Upon hearing the Defense Minister's words, Yanimus, who had been strolling around, stopped and retrieved a Communication Magic Crystal from an unknown location, calling out to it several times. Unfortunately, nothing appeared in the Crystal ball except for a black and white image of falling snowflakes.

"Damn it! What was wrong with that piece of trash Gerard? He brought so many Terror Knights, and they were all wiped out without a sound!"

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to complain about Gerard; let's quickly come up with a solution!" (Prime Minister)

"What's the solution? Besides concentrating all our forces for a desperate battle, do we have any other options?" (Yanimus)

Seeing the His Majesty the King, the Defense Minister, who was about to say something, shrank back and swallowed his words.

Although His Majesty the King did not notice his subtle actions, the Prime Minister did. As longtime colleagues, and considering the current political climate, the Prime Minister instantly guessed what the Defense Minister was about to say. However, the Prime Minister did not reveal this, because he knew in his heart that His Majesty would never take that path for some mysterious reason.

"Prime Minister, how many Terror Knights do we still have?"

Upon hearing His Majesty the King's question, the Prime Minister immediately replied, "Your Majesty, after several days of intensive manufacturing, we now have five hundred finished products, and two hundred are nearing completion."

"Only seven hundred? Forget it, we can't worry about that now. Let's finish those two hundred immediately and then transport these Terror Knights to the coastline."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately!"

After the Prime Minister left, His Majesty the King continued, "Defense Minister, you must immediately mobilize all the kingdom's military forces to the coastline, set up defenses, and prepare to repel the Erus Kingdom."

"Your subject obeys!"

Once only Yanimus remained in the hall, His Majesty the King raised his head and gazed northward, murmuring softly, "Four hundred years, a full four hundred years. You've come back again, but this time, the outcome remains to be seen!"

After speaking, King Stellara turned and walked towards the depths of the palace. Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, King Stellara suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it! At this time..."

King Stellara's voice faded into the wind, and the next second, a beautiful young woman appeared in the palace.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, the girl exclaimed, "I... how did I end up sleeping here?"

"Huh? Why am I wearing His Majesty the King's clothes?"

"Oh no! Oh no! If the king finds out, I'll be in big trouble!"

Realizing her mistake, the girl quickly stood up and ran towards a certain direction of the palace.