As the seconds ticked by, Daneel noticed that the 5 men and women in front of the giants seemed to be looking at Cassandra, and through that panel, at the King of Lanthanor.
So far, the Arafellians had been the most steadfast allies during his reign. Although Daneel wasn't gullible enough to completely trust them due to just this, he had enough reasons not to trust the other parties.
Nothing needed to be said about both the Axellorians and the Black Raven Kingdom. As for the Elves, from the information gathered so far, they definitely did not have an amicable relationship with his nation.
All in all, it came down to the worst case: if he chose to side with the Arafellians, he might at most be chased away. If so, all he would lose was wealth-which could be obtained through many more ways. Besides, he would also preserve his image of being a just King who did not turn his back on allies just because there were treasures to be won.
As he made the decision, an easy smile came on Daneel's lips.
THUMP
Inside the clearing, a magic tank exactly like the one which had been used by Lanthanor to force their way into the area appeared beside the giants.
"No. Lanthanor stands with the Kingdom of Arafell."
Seeing Cassandra walk over to stand in front of the magic tank, a frown passed over the elf's face.
As for the two from Axelor and the Black Raven Kingdom, their hands were held near their mouths as they reported the situation and waited for orders.
Indeed, Daneel had chosen to stand with his allies no matter what the consequences would be.
With the decision made, the King of Lanthanor could now relax and observe the situation.
As he did so, he realized something quite crucial: except for the elves, the other two forces seemed to need to speak into trinkets in order to report what was happening.
Didn't they have visual communication trinkets like he did?
Coming from Earth, Daneel was quite used to seeing technology like this used in warfare. Information relay was after all crucial.
Thus, he had taken these trinkets for granted even though Ripley had once told him that they were only available from a certain force which specialized in producing them.
Of course, the ones Daneel had developed with the help of the system had so far been used only for military purposes. Also, they were quite similar to design to the ones manufactured by that force, as in a way, his design was based on theirs.
Seeing a business opportunity arise, Daneel immediately launched into planning while keeping an eye on what was happening in the clearing.
Meanwhile, it seemed that the other three forces had gotten their orders.
"Lanthanor, are you sure? If you stick with this decision, our three forces will have no choice but to boot you out. There is only place for 4, and 5 would make it too big of a crowd."
"Our King has made his decision. Either leave a path, or prepare to fight."
BOOM
All this while, the 5 from the Kingdom of Arafell had been calmy looking at everything that was going on as if it doesn't concern them.
Yet, it seemed that this statement from the elf had somehow crossed some threshold they had.
The gigantic maces held by the 20 giants had been dropped to the ground point first at exactly the same moment, making a thunderous noise that made everyone present flinch with shock.
As the cloud of dust that had risen into the air settled, those who were watching noticed that the impact had caused 1 foot deep craters to appear on the ground.
At this moment, it was quite clear that these weapons weren't for show.
Of the 5, one man who wore a green robe with gold lapels stepped forward to stand in front of the three who had taken on defensive positions.
Turning to the side, he first bowed slightly at Cassandra before saying, "The Kingdom of Arafell appreciates Lanthanor's support. Still, allow us to demonstrate how we fight our own battles."
Bemused, Daneel only told Cassandra to nod in response.
Hearing this statement, all three Kingdoms seemed to have decided that it was time to act on their threats.
With three THUDs, three groups exactly like the ones standing in front of the site where the other two commanders were located appeared with trinkets drawn and spells cast.
Yet, seeing the scene that appeared in the panel, all the individuals in the situation room couldn't help but stand up in shock.
At the exact instant that the three groups of soldiers teleported to the location, spears made of a material that looked like rock grew out of the ground at an angle in front of them.
The spears seemed to have a mind of their own, as each of them even twisted in the air like snakes before coming to a rest in front of the necks of the Elves and the Humans who were now standing without moving a single inch.
In fact, apparently relying on the force of numbers, none of them had taken on defensive formations like the magic tank of Lanthanor before teleporting over according to their commander's wishes.
The elves who had been seen milling around each had various spells such as huge thunderbolts or meteors above their heads, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
With increasing alarm, Daneel noticed that these were all spells that required at least an Exalted Human Mage to cast.
Now, he finally understood why they hadn't had any discipline.
Each and every one of the 20 Elves who had appeared were in fact all Exalted Human Mages!
Or in this case, Exalted Elvish Mages.
Considering the fact that all of Lanthanor had less than 10 individuals at this level, it was quite shocking to see that Eldinor was in possession of a complete troop filled with them.
Indeed, at least in the matter of general magic talent, the elves beat all the other Kingdoms easily.
The Axelorians, on the other hand, were the other extreme. Out of 100 soldiers who had appeared, there were only 10 mages. Yet, again, there were shockingly more than 50 Exalted Human Fighters.
Although it was common knowledge that Axelor was known as the Kingdom of Fighters, Daneel had never expected just the shock troops to contain these many powerful existences.
Again, when counting the soldiers at this level in both this reserve troop and the ones still standing in the site of the discovery, Daneel realized that Lanthanor again paled in comparison.
The only consolation was that there were no Exalted Human Mages or fighters in the troops from the Black Raven kingdom. Similar to Lanthanor, they seemed to be comprised of pairs of fighters and mages.
Yet, taking into account the still unknown factor of the companion Black Raven beasts, they still outclassed Lanthanor if comparing just the soldiers alone.
"My Lord, the specialty of our shock troops are our formations. Each and every Kingdom has a specialty which was handed down from ancient times. For us, it is formations like the Magic Tanks which enable us to output power which cannot be compared to bare troops. These formations are in fact the lifeblood of the Kingdom, which is why even King Richard did not consider selling them to obtain more resources."
Of course, it made sense now.
This was quite similar to the countries on Earth where each nation had a certain specialty which made their military stand out. For instance, although the military of 'India' wasn't equipped with the best of technology and advanced weapons when compared to other superpowers like the US, it could still be said to be on the same playing field due to its comparatively much larger army.
All in all, in any war situation, it was the ability of a nation to use their advantages to trump over their disadvantages using strategy and tactics to obtain victory.
Daneel felt a peculiar feeling of satisfaction inside him as he absorbed all this experience and knowledge like a sponge.
Yet, he still wondered just how the Arafellians had managed to bring the matter to such a stalemate.
If the soldiers of the other forces moved even an inch, they would be impaled by the zigzagging stone spears that were at their throats. Even teleportation was not an option, as Cassandra had just intimated Daneel that there were stone spears also sticking out from the ground, touching the shoes of the soldiers.
Gritting her teeth with frustration, the elf lost his composure for the first time, yelling, "Arafellians, you go too far! Even if you managed to trap these reserve troops, we have many more waiting at the site of discovery!"
Hearing this, the man in the green robe only idly scratched his nose before replying, "Oh? Then these ants are disposable? Either give way, or forget about these soldiers of yours."
...
Meanwhile, in the sky above the area where the situation had devolved to one that might erupt into hostility at any moment.
Two individuals, a man and a woman, were sitting on chairs that looked like they were made out of clouds.
While the man had his eyes fixed on the situation below, the woman conjured ice cubes out of the air before dropping them into the glass of wine she was holding.
Taking a sip, a bored expression appeared on her youthful face which would make those watching think that she definitely wasn't a day over 25 years old.
"Jerax, wake me up after it's done. The Elder only said we have to run the test and make the report about whether anyone is worth noticing in the villages that are inland. Boring! You won't tell on me, right?"
Seeing the cute puppy expression on the woman's face, the man sighed before nodding.
As her snores soon resounded in the pocket of air they stood in, he continued to observe, record and report everything that was going on below him.