The next morning, Daneel woke up from his slumber to find that there were no new updates on the situation with the Withering Leaf Sect.
Although he had ambitiously sent out spies to all nearby places where a hideout could be, no clue had been found about the whereabouts of the remaining members who were definitely hell-bent on revenge.
Of course, the possibility did exist that they might retreat to lick their wounds and recover before planning to strike back.
Yet, Daneel could not relax just because this possibility existed. It was also equally possible that they would mount an attack which could devastate Lanthanor.
Again, he hated this feeling of not knowing.
Although there was one way through which he could possibly find their location, Daneel put it to the side for now due to the high risk that came with it.
After checking on the mosquitoes to make sure that they weren't breeding beyond known parameters, Daneel made his way towards the doors that led out of the Palace.
Today, he had told Kellor to gather the owners of all the wine import and export businesses in Lanthanor. The meeting had already been pushed back again and again due to the events surrounding the war, and Daneel knew that it was not wise to leave such a matter in the air.
Besides, he had even called them all for just 5 minutes the last time before asking them to disperse due to him changing his mind on the stance he would take with business.
Thus, Daneel had made the decision that it would be good to distract himself from worrying about the Sect's counterattack by taking care of matters such as these.
After joining the retinue, the King of Lanthanor made his way towards the clearing still pondering over whether he had missed something.
Since the morning, he had been feeling a slight tingling in his back, as if someone were targeting him without his knowledge.
Although this feeling was very faint, Daneel had learned to trust his instincts no matter what.
Yet, although he did trust it, he had no way to know just who it was. He had too many enemies right now, and he simply couldn't figure out who was capable enough to threaten him even though he was within the formation that could only be broken by the full power strike of a Champion level powerhouse.
After reaching the clearing, Daneel shook his head to get rid of stray thoughts before looking up to address the crowd gathered in front of him.
"My dear business-men and women of Lanthanor. First of all, it is regretful that we had to delay this meeting for so long. As-"
It was as if time had frozen.
Mid-speech, Daneel felt something that made his entire body jolt as if it had been struck by lightning.
Bloodlust. Pure, unadulterated bloodlust that wished to destroy him where he stood.
In an instant, his mind accelerated as the information about everything around him rushed through it.
All the commanders were currently stationed at the borders, while his father was with his mother.
Beside him was Kellor, and behind him stood 20 Elite mages and 20 Elite Fighters.
All of them stood at attention, cautiously looking around while trying to find any threat that might mean harm to the King.
Yet, they had missed the man in the clearing who was currently looking at Daneel with a small smile on his face.
Although his appearance was of someone who had attended the last meeting, Daneel already knew that it was an imposter who had come to kill him.
Just as this realization appeared in his mind, time went back to normal.
"ENEMY ATTACK!"
With a scream, Daneel activated the Dragon-heart formation using the system and commanded a dragon claw to envelop the man he had just seen.
Along with this command, he also ordered the system to evacuate all the other people by spawning as many dragon claws as necessary.
Immediately, the entire clearing was filled with numerous majestic claws that clutched people before immediately soaring away.
Yet, there was one in the center which had been blocked by a barrier that had arisen around the man the moment he had given the order to the system.
SCREEECHHH
As if the dragon claw was trying to pierce a glass ball, an unpleasant screeching echoed in the clearing.
"PROTECT THE KING! CALL REINFORCEMENTS!"
This moment was enough for the soldiers to react.
At the spot where Daneel had previously been standing, a metal tank appeared which enveloped him in the center.
As the sun's rays were suddenly blocked, Daneel squinted his eyes while trying to get a look at the man who had gotten a slightly startled expression on seeing that the King of Lanthanor had somehow been alerted of his intentions before he could attack.
Since the moment that Daneel had noticed the imposter, only 2 seconds had passed.
The tank was already in place, and it seemed as if the dragon claw would soon penetrate the barrier to capture the man.
Yet, at this moment, the tingling in Daneel's back intensified to such a degree that he felt like he was going to be devoured whole by something unseen that was stalking him in the dark.
As Daneel watched on with horrified eyes, the man inside the barrier took out a small object whose shape he couldn't discern due to the 30 meters of distance between them.
Just as the man was about to completely break the object by squeezing his hand, an urgent notification from the system sounded in Daneel's mind.
[Formation-distortion detected! Host must move 500 meters south to re-enter the formation!]
Before he could begin to figure out what the notification even meant, an incredible sight greeted his eyes which made his jaw drop with shock.
The dragon claw which was trying to break through the barrier around the man had started to disintegrate, with the tip of the claw already fading into the air.
In barely a second, the entire claw vanished, leaving the man free to walk towards the King.
"FALL BACK!"
Even as Daneel shouted this order, the man punched forward in the air with his fist.
At the instant his fist reached the end of its forward momentum, an enormous ball of green fire came into existence speeding towards the metal box in which the King was being protected.
BOOM
As if the ball of green fire was actually a physical punch thrown by a giant, the impact made the metal box fall back due to the sheer force it carried.
If it was just so, Daneel wouldn't have begun to sweat with the fear that had begun to creep into him.
At the last moment before the man-sized ball impacted the tank, he had noticed a small skull inside which seemed to have its jaw open, as if it were delighted about the coming destruction.
Now, through the peephole, he could see that that skull was avidly devouring the metal conjured by the Elite Mages who stood around him.
Already, a large gaping hole had appeared through which the fire started to move in as if it were alive.
"Apologies, My King."
Along with these words, Daneel felt something grasp him from behind before flinging him backward.
It was Kellor.
After taking a glance at the King of Lanthanor who was currently flying haphazardly through the air, the Grand Court Mage of Lanthanor conjured the strongest barrier he could using his strength of an 8th Grade Exalted Human Mage.
"Soldiers, retreat. He is not someone you can handle."
Indeed, Kellor had already realized that this was a fight between those at the Exalted Human Level. Although these soldiers were elites, they were still at the Eminent Human Level.
Yet, even though this was the order Kellor gave on the outside, he had already commanded them to re-conjure the tank and prep the cannon discreetly, without falling into the eyes of the man in front of him.
With determined nods, the soldiers quickly retreated, leaving the Grand Court Mage behind with the green fire constantly eating away at the barrier that already seemed like it would break soon.
Seeing everything happening in front of him, the man who was the Knight from the Church of Rectitude felt a slight panic overtake him.
If it hadn't been for that moment when this damn brat had managed to catch onto his identity, he knew that his attack would have already resulted in a successful assassination.
Now, it seemed that the King might get away, as he was already on the way to the area still covered by the formation.
Recalling everything he knew about the King, the Knight hatched a last-ditch plan in order to successfully finish his mission.
"King of Lanthanor! Come out and face me if you dare, or let your Grand Court Mage die in your place! Make it known once and for all that all you can do is hide inside your little formation while your subjects die for you! Make your choice, 'noble' King!"