Darius smiled softly as he gazed at Jeanne, deciding to be straightforward. If it was going to be so hard manipulating her, then why bother? There was an even simpler path.
"Jeanne, do you want to marry me? Spend the rest of your life with me?" Darius asked calmly.
Jeanne's eyes glittered with hope. "Yes, I do! My dream is to live with you, so that the two of us together can bring Andrato up from the dumps!"
Darius shook his head. "I'll be honest with you. A marriage between us is impossible. I'm not originally from this world, but a Chosen One sent from the heavens to become the Supreme of Faust."
"In my past life, I have already gone through endless trials and tribulations with my partner. She is my Soulmate, and we pledged ourselves for eternity."
"I recently discovered that she had also followed me into this world, and I plan to retrieve her to continue our eternal bond. As such, I can't marry you." Darius finished with a sigh.
Jeanne looked devastated, her face locked in an expression of horror and sorrow. Her eyes blurred with tears and her throat constricted as if someone had suddenly applied extreme pressure to it.
"I-I…" She barely managed to squeeze out amidst her despair.
Gunner sighed and looked away, while tears also appeared in Xela's eyes, her heart touched by Jeanne's plight.
Darius himself remained smiling as he tapped the table and continued as he feared the girl might try to do something desperate and stupid soon.
"But, when it comes to the matter of spending the rest of your life with me… something can be arranged."
The moment he said this, Jeanne's despair was beaten back by sheer hope, as she would take anything she could get at this point.
Right now, she was left with nothing, her mother had perished, Andrato was about to finished off and Darius had just broken her heart, before his last sentence started to mend it again.
Even a crumb of one of these three would feel like a full course meal to her weary soul. Darius didn't stretch the suspense and revealed his thoughts.
"It is possible to accept you as a core member of my faction. That way, you'll be able to live in the core area of my territory and maybe as a tutor in my mage tower."
Jeanne wiped her eyes and resolutely nodded. "I will gladly join your faction and be a tutor… I'll be anything you want me to be, as long as I can be close to you."
Darius rose to his feet and walked over to Jeanne, patting her on the shoulder with an amiable smile.
"Welcome to the family, Jeanne."
............….
Outside the city, Darius appeared with Jeanne, Xela, and Gunner in tow. Once these four appeared amidst the battle, it was as if someone had pressed pause, the various parties froze in incomprehension.
Wasn't that Andrato's Queen?
What was she doing here?
And where did those three come from? How come they were all Masters at such a young age?
How did they have so many abilities?!
Various questions surged through the minds of the warriors on the battlefront, only the non-sparked/non-awakened oblivious as to what kind of threat Jeanne's group posed.
On the side of Andrato's forces, the soldiers felt their morale climb and their minds invigorated as they saw their spiritual pillar, the Queen. They knew that as long as she stood, they would never die on this battlefield!
With her, they would live forever!
As for the opposing troops, they became extremely wary as heaviness filled their hearts. Not only was the Queen a great barrier and source of headache for them, but she had brought over three Master-stage experts.
Against their mere 20000, they wouldn't even be able to fill the gaps of their teeth. Adepts were killers of a thousand, Masters were killers of tens of thousands, and Grandmasters being killers of hundreds of thousands.
The commanders of the four respective empires showed deep frowns, but were not too worried. After all, they too fielded Master stage experts as trump cards in case things went awry and to guard against each other.
To be honest? They weren't bothered by the Queen's act of reviving the troops. It gave them the perfect chance to train their soldiers in battle over and over again, and they mixed up the formations to test out new strategies.
That was right, they were treating Andrato's desperate defense and Jeanne's likely self-damaging actions as a grindstone to sharpen their troops.
This was exactly why they had jointly stifled the kingdom in the first place, so that they could not muster a useful defense.
With the existence of their Masters, no matter what Andrato did, they would inevitably fall.
The commander of the Hakrian Empire's troops was an old man reaching his seventies with short white hair and spectacles on his sharp nose. He waved to his aide and commanded:
"Send out Lian, Ferg, and Boris. Tell Javelina to stay put in order to guard against the other three."
The commander of the Dongato Empire was a young woman with average looks but a huge bust. She had short-cropped auburn hair and piercing black eyes that made those who she glared at uncomfortable.
"Forward my command: Genie, Kilo, and Davis are to be deployed posthaste. Let Tank remain behind in case the others try something."
The commander of the Kirlian Empire was also a woman, but one who was much older. She too had graying hair that was tied into a bun as well as pale blue eyes that were filled with coldness. Her form was thin and she wore a perpetual frown.
"Let Hugo, Jones, and Blankson know that they are to head forth to intimidate the enemy. Tell Justin to stay put though."
The commander of the Bafira empire was a burly man with a bald head, caramel skin, and a thick beard. His eyes were a dark brown color and he radiated an air of playful ferociousness.
"Oi, aide. Tell Jax, Delight, and Lovelace to get out there! Oh, and let Dwamena stay behind, you hear?"
