Arcane Era-Chapter 73: Royal Burden (Part 1)

[The Mainland, Sarvos Nation]

In the throne-room of the King, there was absolute silence.

The only sound that filled the hall was the echoes of footsteps from the High Chancellor as he approached his king, only stopping once he reached the foot of stairs that led to the elevated platform where Nimrod Vi Sarvosia sat on his regal throne.

The ground was covered in bright red carpet, matching the bright curtains that flowed above and parted in various directions to expose the stained glass windows. The bright golden throne was majestic, and beside it was a silver one which belonged to the queen. Since she was absent, its brilliant luster shone considerably bright in the darkness.

As for the King, he was the center of glory in the incredibly decorated hall.

His body was covered in a royal garb, with a red cloak made of fine wool, decorated all around with golden and diamond lusters. It held the insignia of the Sarvos Nation—a hoe and a blade intersecting to form the ’X’ sign.

The King’s golden crown was massive, decorated with all kinds of precious gems. It sat heavily on his head as he rested his cheeks on his arm, his back relaxed on his magnificent seat and his eyes fixed on his High Chancellor.

"Any news so far?"

"Regarding our request to the Ak’ashi Guild... it has been accepted. They should be arriving in Sarvos next week, your Majesty." The High Chancellor replied, bowing slightly.

"Hmm... good." Nimrod Vi Sarvosia, King of the Sarvos Nation sighed. "We’ll finally be able to confirm their involvement in the destruction of our Capital Fortress."

He said this with gritted teeth.

Why wouldn’t he?

The Civil War had been ongoing for so long, but it was never this bad. The main cause of the Revolutionary Army becoming such a problem to Sarvos could be traced to the destruction of their fortress months back.

The initial suspects for this destruction were the Revolutionary Army, but since so many things didn’t compute, that reasoning had to be abandoned. Logically, if the Revolutionary Army possessed such power, they would have already wiped out the Sarvos army stationed at the Northern Border, but they were yet to.

So why would they target a fortress all the way in the Capital?

It made no sense.

"Other than the Revolutionary Army, we have a few enemies here and there, but the destruction of our fortress wouldn’t be what they would go for first. Plus, no attacks following that have occurred, which also doesn’t add up."

Why would the enemy assault their fortress and not launch any follow-up attacks?

They were strong enough to defeat the Delta Arcane Squad, and they were able to hide all traces of their escape. Based on the direction they were headed, it seemed they were going to Nina’el, but even that made very little sense.

’Very few forces have the ability to destroy an entire fortress like that... but even less have a motive or reason to do so.’ King Nimrod sighed. ’The only one that isn’t tied to the common logic of the Mainland and also has the power to do this... is the Ak’ashi Guild.’

Or, more specifically... The Supreme Lord of Tyranny.

"The problem is that we do not have any evidence to back up our suspicions. We didn’t find a single Armament at the devastated site, which means they were all either destroyed by the blast or plundered by the ones responsible. However, we have found no traces of the stolen Arcane Instruments, and everyone who was present when it happened were most likely caught up in the blast and killed. We have no eyewitnesses, and no clue that directly leads us to the Ak’ashi Guild." The High Chancellor sighed as he shook his head.

All they had were speculations, which proved how grim their situation was.

"Based on calculations, the culprits we’re dealing with should have multiple Imperial Grade or perhaps even a Grand Imperial Grade Armament. The Revolutionary Army hasn’t shown many Imperial Grade Armaments, and even among our forces... only one Grand Imperial Grade Armament exists." He continued. "It’s very unlikely that they’re responsible. If they were, they would have won the war by now."

"Exactly!" King Nimrod growled.

The Revolutionary Army was only a problem because of their strategic position and incredible number, coupled with the few formidable Armaments in their possession. However, it wasn’t like they were invincible.

In fact, if the fortress was still intact, Sarvos could have already eradicated them if they used all the power at their disposal.

’We lost nearly 250 Armaments because of that attack! Two hundred and fifty!’ Nimrod felt like pulling his hair out just thinking about it.

And among those, four were Imperial Grade Armaments.

’Our entire Arcane Army is crippled as a result of this. And with the increasing display of aggression by those pesky Revolutionary Kings, we have very little options left...’

In the end, even though the Ak’ashi Guild was their biggest suspect, they had no choice but to rely on the group.

"Damn all of this! Shen Ak’ashi, those annoying 3 Revolutionary Bastards, and that traitor daughter of mine who joined their side!" He clenched his fist, nearly whining like he was a toddler.

The whole situation was too burdensome.

Sarvos was a relatively small and unremarkable Nation, and in its history, nothing of this scale had ever happened before. His predecessors had managed the land well, but why were things falling apart when it was his—Nimrod Vi Sarvosia’s—turn to rule?

It wasn’t fair!

’I can’t even sleep well anymore because of these problems. My family, which I once adored, has been shattered by my first daughter’s betrayal.’ A heavy groan left his lips. ’I can only hope my other children remain filial, but these days I find it hard to trust anyone.’

He grew wary of everyone and everything daily, almost to the point of paranoia.

’At this point, a coup isn’t out of the question...’

All of these fears made him impatient so he called for the help of the Ak’ashi Guild despite his wariness of them. He needed the Civil War to be over as soon as possible. After that was settled, he could then have the time and energy to worry about other things.

"Your Majesty’s concerns are valid. The economy continues to decline, and we have received very little to no support from our allies."

Contrary to what outsiders thought, Sarvos had always been in a fragile political position.

The two Great Nations they were affiliated with—Roehel and Yabamiah—had very little regard for Sarvos. To them, this was a very loose agreement and was purely motivated by economic benefits.

They consistently traded with Sarvos and reduced tariffs when it came to their products, with the latter also doing the same. However, there was nothing like exclusive trade going on between them, especially since Sarvos didn’t have any special product that Roehel and Yabamiah couldn’t find anywhere else. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

They mostly dealt in agriculture and precious minerals, but these could be exported from other Nations if Sarvos didn’t exist, so they weren’t cornerstones that the Great Nations had much incentive to protect.

In fact, the only reason the Great Nations agreed to the affiliation and still maintained dealings with Sarvos was because of the proximity they had, and the low cost of trade. These Great Nations had large territories and also produced these things that Sarvos sold to them. In fact, they did so in much larger quantities due to their incredible size.

However, they were superpowers of the world, so they still required more than what they produced. Hence, Sarvos was a convenient option and not a necessity.

’Damnit! We’ve been exporting at incredibly low prices, barely making any profit, in hopes that our relationship with them would improve, but nothing happened until it got too late.’

If Sarvos suddenly chose to increase the price, the Great Nations could simply choose not to do business anymore. They had that kind of power and influence, so in their eyes they really were doing Sarvos a favor by trading with them.

Sarvos needed them more than they needed Sarvos.