Inside the dragon claw, the Vice Sect Master of the Withering Leaf sect lay slumped on the ground, panting while he tried to regain his energy. All this time, he had been casting spell after spell to break through.
Everything was to no avail because of the imperviousness property of the dragon claw which allowed it to shrug off any attack below a certain level. Space was locked, but thankfully communications weren't. Thus, all he could do was to repeatedly ask the Sect Master to send someone to negotiate on his behalf.
The situation was the same with both the Church of Rectitude and the TriCobra Sect. Only, the difference was that these two men simply waited calmly.
Suddenly, the claw around the Vice Sect Master started closing around him. So far, it had been in the form of a pitch black room in which he could at least stand.
Now, he found himself enveloped by the shiny claws which bound his arms and legs. Just as he thought he would suffocate and die, an opening appeared near his head allowing him to take a deep breath.
A smiling Daneel greeted him, which made the Vice Sect Master feel frustrated again remembering what had happened before. Looking around, he saw the dead King on the floor. His small satisfaction of seeing the man who had been the cause for his last attack to miss was trampled when Daneel started speaking.
"Vice Sect Master. You must be well aware of your situation. How much is your life worth? Ask your Sect Master this when he sends someone to negotiate. If the terms aren't satisfactory, all I need to do is..."
The Vice Sect Master screamed, feeling the claws tighten further, making him feel as if he were being squashed from all sides by an unstoppable force.
"....squeeze. Understand?"
As Daneel saw the man nod fervently and start sending messages again, he sent the same message to the two other men in the dragon claws.
Being the master of the formation, Daneel could transmit his voice to all the areas he controlled.
Although he could neither hear nor see the other two people's replies, he knew that they were definitely talking to their higher ups and waiting for someone to arrive.
As a newly proclaimed King, he still needed time to assess everything about the Kingdom and settle into his role. If this process didn't happen smoothly, it was possible that these forces might take advantage again. Thus, he could not afford to antagonize and attract the hatred of three powerful forces so soon and risk being attacked by any one of them. The situation needed to be defused, and these forces needed to be abolished from the Kingdom. For this same reason, he also chose not to interrogate the Vice Sect Master. Right now, this man was his bargaining piece, not his prisoner.
"Commanders, I need you to come to my side as soon as possible. How does it work? Is one of you stationed at the border permanently to take care of critical matters?", Daneel asked in the private channel. He wanted to have them close by when the negotiations started so that they might offer more insights just like they had done with the enemy army.
Meanwhile, the soldiers on the walls were cheering seeing their sworn enemies leaving with their tail tucked in between their legs. This was easily one of the sweetest victories they had ever gained on the border.
As for the commanders, the slight admiration from before had turned into full-blown respect. Although they still did not believe that he was a King worth putting their lives on the line for, his quick and effective actions made them feel relieved that for once, a King had listened to their advice and acted on it.
Seeing the soldiers cheering, Cassandra wiped the sweat that had unknowingly formed on her forehead when telling the New King that he had been wrong. Glancing at Aran, she said, "Well, that went..... pretty great. Who could've known ."
"Ya.... you should try gambling again, Cass. Maybe your instincts will be right again."
Punching Aran's soldier, Cassandra looked at the scarred man and asked, "What do you think, Luther? Has the Kingdom's luck finally turned?"
Yet before the man could answer, they heard Daneel speak in the channel.
Hearing his words, the scarred man who had just been called Luther said, "You two go. I'll stay and take care of matters. Serve him well, but keep an eye on him. Enough sons and daughters have died because a King couldn't control his desires."
While Luther walked away towards the soldiers, Cassandra and Aran sighed seeing his strong shoulders which looked like they carried a burden that weighed down on him like a mountain. As always, his words carried a sorrow that lent an additional solemnity to the atmosphere whenever he spoke.
"Yes, your Majesty. Luther, the commander of the Regular Fighter Army will stay at the border, while I and Aran shall reach your side in a few minutes."
Taking out a trinket from her pocket, Cassandra proceeded to squeeze it and wait for the transportation mage to arrive to get them to the palace after replying to Daneel over the private channel.
For any Kingdom, border security was a very important aspect that needed to be tackled if they did not want enemies teleporting in freely and wreaking havoc on the citizens. Thus, almost every Kingdom had some sort of teleporation-detection formation on the border.
Space locks were very high-level spells which were used only in dire circumstances. Thus, at least for the Kingdoms in this part of the world, it was impossible to even think about using large-scale space lock formations to keep enemies out. After all, the higher the level of the spell, the more the price of the formation.
The alternative was the teleportation-detection formation installed on the borders of the Kingdom. Any space fluctuations originating in the Kingdom which were induced from outside the borders would be detected immediately. On detection, the Grand Court Mage or the person in charge of keeping an eye on the Kingdom would immediately be alerted to keep track of the intruders in case they teleported again quickly to change location.
After detection, subsequent actions required could be decided by the King.
Of course, all this was moot if someone above the level of a Warrior Mage decided to intrude on the premises of the Kingdom.
Let alone the formations detecting them, it was highly unlikely that the Kingdom itself would continue to exist if someone at this level decided to interfere.
After all, personages like these were rare and almost never seen in this part of the World. Their longevity already greatly increased by the breakthrough from a Warrior to a Champion, they would set their eyes on the next level and continue on the path of power.
As the detection formations started ringing signifying that someone had teleported into the Kingdom, 3 people appeared in the air above the palace.
One wore priest robes similar to the ones worn by the pot-bellied man. The difference was that his were a bright purple, while a large purple hat that looked like a fish's mouth was also on his head. In his hand, he carried a golden staff with another purple gem on the pommel.
The second had on a flowing, green cloak with shining leaves embroidered on top. A velvet mask covered his face, while the fluttering cloak covered his body fully.
The last was the most peculiar of all. Although his body was humanoid, his skin was scaled like a snake's. His head looked like an amalgamation of both a serpent and a human, with no nose visible and dark eyes that seemed hazy.
Arriving a few seconds apart from each other, the three glanced to the sides and proceeded to ignore each other.
Meanwhile, Aran and Cassandra had just reached the outside of the palace and were now entering through a secret passageway Daneel opened using the system which was controlling the Dragon Heart Formation.
While he waited for the two commanders to arrive, Daneel gazed at the panels showing the three people and waited for them to speak.
Although he did not want too much trouble, there was no way he would let these three go so easily especially after they had plotted to bring ruin to the Kingdom which they thought would be helpless to defend itself.