King's Rule: Creating the Strongest Kingdom With My Broken Talent-Chapter 35: The Intensity On The Platform

King Aurora looked at the individuals covered in armor. He didn’t say anything and sat down first, his feet on his other leg’s knee and his chin on his hand as he leisurely leaned back.

"Meeting with faces covered? That doesn’t seem sincere for a meeting."

He was already trying to take the upper hand.

The other five who sat were the white-bearded Commander, Scarlet the Witch, Crown Prince Hugo, Duke Artilon, and Librarian Mirina.

Including the king, these six were the strongest Stem-rank powerhouses. Each one had 10 million+ Combat Power.

Behind them stood around forty people on the platform, among whom were a few Stem-rank, while the rest were Root-rank.

[Scarlet: They have one seat empty. One more person might be coming, but from these five, I don’t sense any particular threat.]

[Commander: But why are they covered in armor?]

[King Aurora: Their appearance looks pretty good, I must say. The one with the dress, the one that screams assassin, and that bulky golden-brown one with molten patterns. All of them are custom-made and seem powerful.]

[Duke Artilon: Yes, the armors are quite intricate and advanced. Better than the ones I make.]

[Prince Hugo: Better than yours? That’s a surprise.]

[Duke Artilon: Indeed. This kingdom that appeared out of nowhere might not merely be an empty boast.]

Naturally, in response to King Aurora’s words, Vesh waved his hand with a carefree body language and chuckled. "Don’t mind this. We have a reason to keep the armors on, though depending on how this meeting goes, we may grace you with our humble appearance."

"I like that arrogance." King Aurora laughed a bit and continued speaking as his eyes glinted. "So, I heard you got an A-rank Magic Vein here? Is that true, or are you trying to lure people here?"

Vesh’s white, glassy eyes of the armor brightened briefly before he continued speaking. "There is an A-rank Magic Vein here. We have already started mining it and processing the resources into this."

As he finished speaking, Vesh threw a cube at King Aurora.

Grabbing the cube, King Aurora inspected it as his eyes glinted before he raised his eyebrows. "This is refined magic power of A-rank." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He handed it to the commander, who also took a look at it and passed it to Scarlet.

[Duke: Your Highness, this cube is nothing ordinary. It houses far more energy than its size suggests, and I am surprised that it is still so stable. To create a container better than naturally forming crystals... let’s just say that my general magic mastery is not enough to make something like this.]

[Scarlet: If you can’t, then nobody in our kingdom can, I guess.]

"Do you want that?" Vesh asked with a smile behind his mask.

King Aurora narrowed his eyes as he faintly smiled. "If you are talking about the A-rank Magic Vein and how to make this container, then sure. I want that."

Vesh laughed. "I like your humor."

"But I don’t mind giving them to you as long as you agree to a few things."

"A few things?" King Aurora blinked. "What things?"

"Actually, just one thing. Give me your kingdom."

The moment Vesh finished speaking, the air shifted.

An overbearing pressure surged on the platform, with some people unable to hide their killing intent because of his words.

"That’s a bold thing to say," the white-bearded commander calmly spoke.

"Bold?" Vesh shook his head. "Merely a statement. Nothing bold about it. Ananta Kingdom intends to unify this sideland under its banner."

"Hahaha..." King Aurora laughed.

The others chuckled.

"You make it sound easy." The shoulder-length blond-haired duke blinked.

"Of course, it is by no means easy," Vesh said with a nod. "But not impossible. In fact, nothing is impossible for the Ananta Kingdom. With this belief, conquering this sideland is just our first step."

"But putting all that aside, how about we take a look at the city below? Isn’t it good?" Vesh continued without pausing.

"I passed by here half a year ago," the duke said with a wry smile. "It looks completely different. The magitech you have is quite advanced."

"We can share it with you," Vesh responded instantly. "We can give you everything we have as long as your kingdom adopts the vision of the Ananta Kingdom and transforms accordingly."

"We can talk like this, but you should know that the ultimate decision will not be made here." King Aurora narrowed his eyes. "It will be made on the battlefield."

"Wrong." Vesh rebuked without hesitation. "The decision can be made here if you are a man of a high enough caliber."

The Crown Prince snorted. "And what do you mean by that? That King Aurora is weak?"

Vesh shook his head. "Let’s be reasonable. You are here because of the A-rank Magic Vein. The other big kingdoms will be here for the same thing. According to what I know, this A-rank Magic Vein is a game changer here. The kingdom that occupies it will become the strongest. Knowing this, the strongest kingdoms will be here, and there will be a big war."

"Many will die, and then the final victor will become the overlord of this sideland, amassing more power, conquering everything under their banner, and finally leaving to spread their wings in the mainland. Am I right?"

King Aurora nodded. "That sounds about right. It’s been fifteen years since I arrived here. I have gathered enough power to make the next move, and that time is here."

Vesh sighed. "That’s the misery of life. Now let’s change perspective a bit. Suppose you are not a king, but a commoner with a normal family. Only you awakened a rather above-average talent in your family, so you want to work and make life better. The opportunity comes as the war begins. You join and then die on the battlefield. Your family is forgotten. Some corrupt official takes their rations and support that came thanks to their martyred son, and the family is left in shambles. Peace is lost. Misery enters."

"Another perspective. You are living peacefully with your family, when suddenly your entire family is kidnapped by none other than the king to become sacrifices for some cult so that the king may obtain more power."

Vesh’s fist clenched. "The King of Crosshawk did that, so he lost his kingdom."

"Another perspective. Let’s make this a theoretical question." Vesh’s eyes glinted. "You are a king, and there’s a heavenly treasure to be acquired. You march with your army, but face an opponent so strong that you are doomed to lose without even having a chance to inflict any damage on them. In this case, you have two options."

Vesh continued. "Option one is that your opponent is willing to let everyone live and make them prosper even more, as long as they come under their banner. Your territory will remain yours. Your authority will remain yours. But the way of life in it will entirely change, for the better."

"The other option is to get annihilated with utter impunity."

Leaning back, the white eyes glinted menacingly as Vesh added the final line. "What would you choose? Option one or option two?"

King Aurora’s eyes flickered with a sharp light. "If the opponent is really so strong, I will just retreat."

"No." Vesh shook his head. "You only have the two options that I mentioned. There is no retreating from the Ananta Kingdom. This sideland is already considered a region of the Ananta Kingdom, and we intend to make it official within ten—no, nine days."

"You are here because we intended you to be here, not because it was time for the bullshit unifying war of this sideland."

The air became insanely tense, so tense that Arga, Rovina, Kayan, and Viana could feel it in their bones as they sweated inside their suits, feeling like they could be attacked at any moment.

[Arga: Even if they agree, can we really trust them fully?]

[Rovina: It is indeed hard. Majority of people may want peace and prosperity, but it is those minority individuals that creates chaos for the majority.]

[Kayan: Meh, Lord Vesh will know how to handle it.]

[Viana: It’s only been four minutes to this meeting...]

Meanwhile, King Aurora grinned, almost grinding his teeth as he held back his surging emotions. It had been a long time since anyone dared to be this upfront and arrogant in front of him.

It was as refreshing as it was annoying.

"Let’s stop with this charade then." King Aurora stood up and cracked his neck. "Prove to me that the Ananta Kingdom is infinitely stronger than us, that you would win without letting us do any harm to your people or property. Then this King Aurora will bow to your kingdom and hoist its flag."

"No need to bow when the time comes." Vesh also stood up and shook his head. "In the Ananta Kingdom, you only bow to someone for whom you have genuine respect, admiration, or awe. You will never meet the King because the King is busy performing miracles. You will only see his subjects who wish to spread his vision, like me."

"So how do you want me to prove it to you?" Vesh cracked his knuckles, covered by the armor. "You may choose the way you want us to prove our power."