Free Web NovelChapter 234: Undercurrents
"My Lord, Sir Gunthar is here again today, seeking an audience with you."
"Hoh? His persistence is commendable. Very well, I am in a good mood today. Let him in."
"Yes, My Lord."
.....
Having finally been granted permission after nearly 10 days of making requests, the old General of the Golden Wings Legion, Kyle Gunthar, stepped into the guest palace and made his way to the grand hall where Lord Jerimiah was waiting.
Arriving before the imposing man dressed in loose red and gold robes, General Gunthar immediately knelt and shouted, "Greetings, Lord Overseer. May the Heavens continue to bless you with strength and good fortune."
*Silence...*
Despite not receiving any response, Kyle Gunthar didn’t dare to show any displeasure, nor did he dare to lift his head; after all, the man before him, despite his handsome looks that made him appear just barely middle-aged, was actually a monster over 600 years old.
More importantly, though, this monster was strong enough to kill him with a single punch.
A full 5 minutes passed just like that, with the strongest and most senior General of the Rockwell Kingdom kneeling in place.
Finally, with a light chuckle, the man seated on the throne above him stirred, "Hahah, you are an interesting one, Sir Gunthar. Even now you maintain an air of calm. Is it fear, indifference, or something more?"
Kyle Gunthar knew he wasn’t really being asked for his opinion, so he didn’t respond to the Lord Overseer’s question; instead, he simply stated the obvious, "No one dares disrespect the Empire."
"Quite right, quite right," the long, dark-blonde haired Rafael Jeremiah drawled lazily, plucking a piece of fruit from a nearby tray and popping it into his mouth, then another, then another...
Only after eating several of the fruits did the Imperial Overseer resume the conversation, "So, what important matter brings you here today, Sir Gunthar?"
Knowing this would be his only opportunity to speak with the Overseer, and that he would only get one question, General Gunthar had already prepared his words carefully in advance, "The situation in the Great Western Forest grows more dire by the day. My King wishes to send relief forces and aid immediately, but we dare not act without Lord Overseer’s permission."
Having gotten this far, Kyle Gunthar steeled himself and asked, "When, if I may be so bold, will Your Excellency be ready to depart from the capital to... investigate the anomaly?"
"Soon."
...
...
...
That’s it? Kyle Gunthar couldn’t help thinking to himself, forcing his expression to remain unchanged.
He had done his best to behave humbly, made the difficulty facing the Rockwell Kingdom apparent, and simply asked when they could start taking action, but all he got in response was a vague, one word answer.
If he was asked right now if he was angry, Kyle Gunthar would be lying if he said no, but again, he dared not betray even a hint of his frustration, for doing so would only make things worse.
Understanding that his audience with Lord Jeremiah was over, Kyle Gunthar reluctantly spoke, "Thank you, Lord Overseer."
"En," Lord Jeremiah nodded casually, getting up from his throne and walking back towards his chambers where several more interesting ’companions’ were waiting for him.
Only after Lord Jeremiah had left the hall did General Gunthar stand back up, turn around, and walk towards the exit, all while enduring the sneers and snickers from the few surrounding members of the Imperial delegation.
.....
"Soon? That’s all he said?" Vanessa Clark’s brow twitched when she heard the response from her commanding officer. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
"That’s all he said," General Gunthar nodded, his face a mask of composure.
Vanessa had flown back to the capital yesterday to make another report to her commanding officer, hoping General Gunthar could use this new information to persuade the Royal Council to start taking action.
Her report was far from comprehensive, lacking many critical details at the explicit request of Celestina Balfour for strategic purposes, but Vanessa had still made it clear to her direct superior that multiple aggressive Sixth Order Beasts were now present inside the kingdom’s borders.
However, Commander Clark’s request for aid was flatly denied.
The reason?
The Imperial Overseer said no.
It was infuriating, but there was nothing that could be done.
On the Blue Sky Continent, if the Empire said wait, you waited, no questions asked.
After taking a few minutes to compose herself again, Vanessa saluted and thanked General Gunthar before requesting more forces from the Golden Wings Legion for ’scouting’ purposes.
Equally annoyed at the delay Lord Jeremiah and the Imperials were imposing, General Gunthar readily approved of Vanessa’s request. He couldn’t authorize the full deployment of his Army, but transferring another 20 Aerial Cavalry to his Vice General was still completely possible.
Bowing once more, Vanessa turned and left the Ministry of War’s headquarters, intending to spend the night in the Golden Wings’ barracks before departing first thing in the morning.
.....
After some strenuous ’exercise’ with a few ladies the nobles of the Rockwell Kingdom had generously gifted him, Lord Jeremiah sat in his chambers, sipping on fine wine, enjoying the gentle evening breeze.
As he was relaxing, one of his subordinates, a recently arrived Imperial Envoy by the name of Alexandros Ateo, couldn’t help asking, "My Lord, why are we just waiting around instead of heading to the site in question?"
Alexandros, a relatively young Mid-Rank Spirit Elite who had only recently been promoted to his current position, was present for the audience earlier today, and while he too had scoffed at the old General from the Rockwell Kingdom daring to question the Lord Overseer’s decisions, after thinking about it, he too couldn’t understand what all the delay was about.
In his opinion, the Rockwell Kingdom was a terrible backwater.
The ambient World Qi was thin, the people were weak, the food was bland, and the women were only barely passible.
Of course, the situation in the Tarnath Dynasty where they usually resided wasn’t much better, but at least there they had some amenities brought over from the Empire, making it somewhat tolerable.
Frankly, he just wanted this mission in the Rockwell Kingdom to be over as quickly as possible, and he knew that his master, Lord Jeremiah, was no more pleased loitering in this poverty-stricken wasteland than he was, hence his confusion.
Withdrawing another glass from his Space Ring, a Spirit Tool similar to a Space Bag, only much more advanced, Lord Jeremiah poured the young Envoy a drink and handed it to him with a light smile, casually shrugging his shoulders as he replied, "It’s not my call."
"Hm?" Accepting the glass he was offered, Alexandros raised his brow slightly at this completely unexpected answer from his superior, but it didn’t take him long to realize that this situation was probably far, far more complicated than he originally imagined.
In a Mid-Sized Nation like the Rockwell Kingdom, Imperial Envoys were like gods, able to command the life or death of anyone they wanted, even a ruling monarch. Given that, the authority of an Imperial Overseer, who was in charge of these Imperial Envoys, could easily be imagined.
Yet now, Lord Rafael Jeremiah, the Imperial Overseer of the South-Central Region and a Direct Descendant of the powerful Jeremiah Count Family, was actually saying he wasn’t able to make the final decision in this matter.
Rafael didn’t say anything more, nor did the expression on his face change in the slightest, but the young Imperial Envoy standing beside him knew better than to keep asking questions. Clearly, he had touched upon something he wasn’t supposed to and was being politely warned to drink his wine and keep his mouth shut.
Whatever it was that was going on in this tiny, remote kingdom, it was beyond Alexandros’ ability to interfere in.
Suddenly, a slight ringing tone sounded, immediately drawing both Lord Jeremiah and the nearby Envoy’s attention.
Setting down his wine glass, the Imperial Overseer motioned for his subordinate to leave him.
Saluting politely, Lord Ateo withdrew, closing the doors behind him.
Once he was sure that he was alone, Lord Jeremiah activated a Privacy Array which blocked both sight and sound and pulled a platter-sized dish from his Space Ring, one that was embedded with over 20 brilliantly shining Spirit Crystals.
These weren’t ordinary Spirit Crystals, though. They weren’t the roughly carved cube-shaped Low-Grade stones seen commonly in the Rockwell Kingdom, nor were they the carefully polished Mid-Grade ones which could occasionally be seen in the treasuries of powerful noble houses.
No, these were genuine High-Grade Spirit Crystals, each one of them containing the same amount of World Qi as 100 Low-Rank Crystals, only much, much purer.
Quickly straightening his appearance, Lord Jeremiah tapped a button at the centre of the dish, clearly some kind of extremely expensive Spirit Tool, before placing it on the table before him and standing at attention.
Seconds later, lights from the Spirit Tool flashed and the projection of an old man’s face appeared, floating above the dish.
Immediately upon seeing this weathered face, Lord Jeremiah bowed deeply and shouted, "Junior Rafael greets the Ancestor!"
"At ease, my child," the old man nodded lightly, motioning for his great grandson to stand up straight.
Knowing just how much World Qi this long-distance communication tool drained, Lord Jeremiah did not stand on ceremony and quickly raised his head, asking promptly, "What are your instructions?"
Also not wanting to waste time, the Jeremiah Family Ancestor, one of the oldest and most powerful men in the Rising Sun Empire, stated bluntly, "It took longer than anticipated to sneak one of our Spirit Smiths out of the Empire, but he is now on his way. Once he arrives, he will proceed to the site you indicated to retrieve any Relics he can find."
"I understand," Rafael replied firmly, "What must I do?"
"Nothing," the old man declared, a sharp light flashing across his eyes, "Just ensure no one interferes, and that there are no witnesses."
Narrowing his eyes slightly, the Imperial Overseer nodded once more, "Yes, Ancestor. I swear not one word of this shall leak."
