Chapter 32.5

The King’s Court was silent.

Mere moments ago the room had been full of hustle and bustle, as the members of the King’s court ruminated over the requests and disputes that nobles and influential citizens brought before them. The King and his aid presided over the proceedings while I stood beside them as both the King’s guard and his left hand.

Though In truth, I found the proceedings rather dull.

I much preferred studying, or training, or going out on monster subjugation quests…or researching the movements of the White. I knew it was a vein search. That dragon had not been seen in years, not since it disappeared into the Great forest. The last news we had of its location was what the fire dragon Bronn told us about the Dragon Stronghold.

“If only we knew where that was!” I thought angrily. Though I headed many an expedition into those woods in search of the place, we were still unable to find so much as a trace of the Stronghold. Of course, I had expected as much. The forest was larger than the lands of Estora, and our neighboring country Langrace, combined. But even so, it frustrated me.

“If we could only find it, we would be able to take the fight to them. With my power and the Kings combined, we could annihilate all of the most dangerous dragons on this continent in one fell swoop! This land could be free, and I…I would finally have my revenge.” I thought, grimacing.

Because, after tracking its movements and asking the people of my hometown about it, I had finally come to a conclusion about the identity of the dragon who killed my brother and father.

It was the White. It had to be. In the last twenty years there has not been another dragon in Estora capable of killing dozens of people so easily and then vanishing without a trace. The time scales match up too, as it reportedly was quite a young dragon. And, most importantly of all, it was a white dragon that showed up on our farm that day.

“That dragon…when I find it i’ll…!” I unconsciously let out some of my killing intent again, causing the King and his aid to pause and glance at me.

“Ahem. It is nothing my King. My apologies.” I said, bowing.

“Not at all Robert, I was just thinking that the proceedings were taking too long anyway. Everyone” The King stood up and clapped his hands “Court is adjourned. We’ll restart again tomorrow!” The Lord and farmers whose dispute was being debated both looked a little disgruntled, but no one said anything.

The King smiled warmly at me, and said “Come lad, tell me what is troubling you.”

“My King, I’m not a child…”

“To one as old as me everyone is a child.” The King said, giving me a knowing look.

I couldn’t help but smile back at him now. The King had taken me under his wing, made me his Lieutenant and was even kind enough to listen to my problems and offer sound advice on how to deal with them. He was a truly wonderful man and I was glad to have the privilege to serve him.

“Well…” I said, feeling silly now “It’s about that dra-” but before I could finish my sentence, the doors of the Kings Court burst open and a courier came running in screaming “My KIng! King Uriel, please hear my message! It is beyond urgent and I-” but he was interrupted by the guards who had apparently been chasing behind him

“Stop right there! I don’t care how urgent your message is, you can’t just go barging into the King’s Court without permission!”

“Please!” the man screamed desperately as he did his best to fight off the guards apprehending him.“The entire Kingdom is in danger, I must deliver my message!”

By now the Nobles in the courtroom had already lost interest in the man. His outfit was made of rough spun, and his accent was distinctly that of someone from the country, marking him as a village peasant. Why should they have to listen to the words of the likes of him? Someone who was so uncouth that they would barge into a courtroom with the King presiding over it? Indeed, it was not wrong to think that the peasant should pay for such a gross offense with his life! And yet…

“Stop. Release that man and let us hear what he has to say.” The King said, motioning for his guards to step away.

The guards did as they were told, save for one of them who stayed directly behind the peasant to make sure he didn’t try anything funny. But just as he was about to speak, a young Noblewoman who was a recent addition to the court, spat out:

“My King, I really must protest. This individual has violated the rules of this place and yet you deign to allow him to speak? What could a farmer peasant like him have to say that is so much more important than our time?” The rest of the nobles, while they stayed silent, looked at her approvingly. They did not like that their King had a habit of valuing the peasantry as much as- or more than, the nobility,

An ordinary man might become indignant when his retainers show him such an ignorant and selfish attitude. But the King was no ordinary man. To him, the voices of all men were equal, even if one's purse was thinner than the others. It was what made him so popular with his people, and it was the reason he no longer kept correspondence with the royalty of Langrace.

“What indeed, young lady, what indeed? Perhaps it is nothing. Perhaps this man just wants to complain about a weaker crop yield this year and plead for a lowering of his village's taxes. Or perhaps he has just witnessed a group of adventurers get annihilated by a stray Formorian. Or perhaps his daughter has been kidnapped by goblins. Either way, to him the problem seemed severe enough that he would run in here- risking breaking several laws in doing so- just to tell me about it. In that case, do you not think we should hear him out? If only to ease his troubled mind of it’s burden.”

The King's empathy for his fellow man was, as always, a fierce source of pride for me. I reveled in the fact that I get to serve a master as good and Kind as King Uriel. Unfortunately, the nobles were not as moved by his compassion.

“Hmph!” the Noblewoman huffed “You will have to forgive me your Highness, but such sentimentality is wasted on us nobles. I could not imagine a situation where listening to the foolish masses could be beneficial for us or them. It is best that we of the higher class keep our distance, lest they think that they can come to us to solve every little problem they encounter. Our time is valuable, after all, and we can get more work done without adding their burdens to our own.”

“Perhaps.” The King said, a slight smile playing on his face “The reason you believe that is because you are the foolish one. The problems of the peasantry are the problems of the kingdom at large. But enough of this-” he turned his attention back to the man who barged in, leaving the Noblewoman indignant and unable to respond, and said “What is this message you have to give me?”

“My King” he said, bowing low “Thank you. As I said, the Kingdom is in grave danger. For four days and nights I rode from my village of Hathsead, to the south.”

“Hathsead…I’ve heard of it. Was it not the village that fire dragon attacked a few years ago?”

“Indeed, the very same. My King, it has happened again except…except…” the man started shaking, and he didn’t seem to be able to finish his sentence. I thought he was frozen in fear of the new dragon that must have attacked, but then I heard him sniffling.

He was sobbing.

“Dozens of them…” he said “There were dozens of them that came this time. They killed my dogs…my wife…my King, they’ve killed my daughters. The only reason I survived…was because they wanted me to give you this message…”

He looked up at the King. His face had changed so much in just the last few moments, as his fervor to see the King gave him the life he needed to forget the pain. But now he was gaunt, all of that life leaving him before our very eyes. The nobles, who had been looking dismissively at the man, were now paying him rapt attention. One dragon was manageable, two were worrisome, three were a disaster and any more than that were a severe enough threat to consider sending the King himself or a contingent of several hundred elite warriors. But dozens of Dragons? That was an unprecedented catastrophe.

There had not been an army of dragons like that since…

“What did they want you to tell me.” The King said, his smile gone. It was the first time I had seen him like this. His eyes were wide open, and there was a kind of obsessive look in them. I knew what he was thinking, for I thought the same.

“Exterminate”

The man did not hesitate, and in a monotone voice he mumbled “…Reyza Illsinger, the Dragon Emperor, sends his regards. He also wants you to know that, after he takes your Kings head, he will make sure to leave just enough humans alive to serve his kind as slaves. However, if King Uriel bends the knee and surrenders peacefully, Reyza promises to only feed half of the humans in this country to his underlings.”

I saw red. All at once my blood lust, which I had been trying so hard to keep contained, burst forth in a torrent, sending wave upon wave of my anger to the nobles. I panicked for a second, expecting the King to reprimand me, but then-

BOOM

Like an explosive, the King's own anger surged outward, blasting a crater beneath his feet. Even I, with all the power of a Hero, could not resist the fear that his power exerted on my mind. Most of the Nobles had either already fainted or run away, and those few who were on their feet were rooted in place by the terror, unable to so much as move.

Everyone, that is, except for the messenger. He was just gazing at the King, mesmerized. He had fallen to despair, believing that the country was doomed to be conquered to the strength of the dragons. But now, seeing just a glimpse of the monumental power the King wielded, the faintest glimmer of hope had appeared in his eyes.

After a few moments of letting his emotions run wild, the King calmed down again. Likewise, I was able to reign in my anger enough to not affect the nobles. Those who were able to resist the urge to faint or run were now doubled over and panting, sweat pouring down their faces.

Among them was that same Noblewoman from earlier, who surprisingly still had the strength to speak.

“M-My King!” she said, now very much respectful of what a mere peasant had to say “What should we do? The dragons- we need to ready our armies!”

The King was standing there, his golden hair dancing in the wind as the tendrils of his power flourished around him. “Let them come.” he whispered “They will all burn.” The expression on his face was all anybody needed to see to know what he meant by that. There would be no quarter given, no blood spared, and no reprieve for those who had threatened his kingdom.

“There will be no war, this shall be a slaughter! Robert!” he shouted, holding out his hand to me “Will you fight by my side?” The look in his eyes…I could never refuse that look. Not from this man, not from my King!

“It will be my honor, your Majesty.” I said, taking his hand “I will give them nothing but death, to your order sir!”

He smiled at me again, though this time it was a different kind of smile. The look in his eyes was hard, manic even. But I did not judge him for it. Because I knew the look in my eyes was the same.

“To war, my child.” he said.

“To war, my King!”