Gunner simply patted the fellow's shoulder with a look of sympathy.
"You haven't been drinking enough milk, so your bones are soft. From now on, you should do 100 push-ups, 100 sits up, 100 squats and 10km run every day to reach my level."
Keith looked dumbfounded by Gunner's words, but Xela made an expression of 'I understood that reference'.
Truly, the two Branded Servants had become addicted to anime and TV shows in a short period of time.
Keith sighed as he sheathed his axe and walked back dejectedly towards his horse. Silently, he nodded to Darkus, who also seemed beaten down and rode back.
Eventually, he made the obvious call for the army to pack and return to the kingdom in failure. Listo's citizens only watched in shocked silence, not understanding how things could have gotten resolved so smoothly.
They remained silent, fearing that the situation could change at any moment.
It wasn't until almost 5 hours later that the army broke camp and started marching away in dejection that they let out the victorious screams, cheering even louder than when Darius had first appeared.
Some couples became so elated, that they started very lewd displays of affection in public.
A lot of young boys who had proposed to their crushes at a time when all seemed lost and still been rejected suddenly found themselves being embraced and kissed, their dreams having come true.
The air of festivity was so infectious that Xela couldn't help but smile from the depths of her heart, whereas Gunner only waved his hand boredly once the entourage Lord Spencely brought along escort the duo into town.
Both Darius and Nicholas walked towards the Branded Servants, smiles on their faces. They had long come out to bear witness to Gunner's scuffle with Keith as well as the ensuing aftermath.
When his entourage saw him, they sighed with relief and rode up to him. "City Lord, now that the army has been driven away, should we mobilize troops to help the other towns?"
Gunner and Xela blinked with confusion, but Darius had already been briefed about the current state of the Andrato Kingdom. It would be quite accurate to describe it as them being besieged on all sides by wolves.
Apparently, it all started some weeks ago.
With Queen Jeanne Ando continually refusing to marry various suitors the weakened kingdom lacked a powerful backing.
This continued rejection soured the relationships to the nearby kingdoms and empires, and the protective umbrella created by the uncertainty of Jeanne's choice had faded away.
Those who had once promised to protect Andrato and treat Jeanne as the love of their lives had mobilized their armies and decided to split up the kingdom amongst themselves.
Riaslin Kingdom happened to win the rights to Listo, while other towns and cities had been – or in some cases still were – besieged by others based on the agreement they had reached beforehand.
In fact, Listo was relatively lucky to have made it out relatively intact. Their siege had only been going on for a month and with a Wood element dungeon here, they did not want for food, unlike other towns that had long crumbled and been taken over.
The last report Duke Spencely had received was from 5 days ago, informing him that out of Andrato Kingdom's 20 towns and 5 cities, only 3 towns and 2 cities had not been conquered yet.
Without some sort of miracle, Andrato Kingdom would soon join countless others as just a random note in the annals of history.
Darius had frowned at such news. Not because of sympathy or something sentimental like that, but because his plans included Andrato as a staging area of his new territory.
With his still-unnamed territory 10,000 km from Andrato and the fledgling kingdom similarly thousands of kilometers away from the better kingdoms and empires, it was just common sense to help each other.
With such huge distances, caravans and trade routes would require resting places to refuel and restock before reaching their destinations.
This created two outcomes. Firstly, Andrato would be made financially and martially stronger since they would have the first pick of his resources when exported. The second was that by strengthening Andrato, Darius was basically setting up a huge shield for his territory that others would have to pass through to get to him.
If Andrato was ruined, who was supposed to block the way for him?
However, this development also presented him with a great opportunity to kill three birds with one stone. He could recruit talented men that he trusted from Andrato to helm various departments of his new territory, establish his reputation on Fallon by beating back these armies, and fleece Andrato for all it was worth as payment for his efforts.
Darius chuckled lightly. First things first, he would have to head to Ando City and meet with Jeanne and establish a proper agreement.
It was already clear, that Andrato could only agree to become his vassal state in every way, paying tributes and adhering to all his commands, in exchange for him restoring and improving the kingdom.
It was a good deal for both sides, Andrato would get saved and powered up but lose autonomy, although Darius didn't plan to interfere too much in their internal policies, while he would have to do very little to end up with everything he needed from them.
Darius turned to Spencely who already had already through his plan. Nicholas was wise and spoke staunchly. "Well, since Andrato will soon become the vassal state of Lord Darius, my moving to your territory as a mayor is naught but a change of employment, a transfer if you will. It is completely fair and legal!"
Darius's lips twitched as he gazed at Nicholas in a new light. The way he described it, even Darius began to doubt whether he was truly doing evil to poor Listo and Andrato by poaching their competent City Lord.
Darius nodded and spoke with Nicholas a bit more, handing him a standard HoloBrace. Darius would have Miranda make another Child AI that would manage user interactions at a later date.
For now, Darius settled Nicholas as the duo discussed what should happen next before using Group Teleportation with his two Branded Servants to travel to Ando City.
As for Lord Spencely, he smiled and turned to his entourage, speaking with a glint in his eye.
"If you truly believe in my wisdom and leadership, don't ask questions and follow me to the other side. There is a promised land waiting for all those who walk with me to serve Lord Darius."
