With matters resolved, Darius watched as Xela left with her new temporary companions.
However, before the Elven Princess took her leave, Darius had handed her many Guard Androids, Long Warp Scrolls, and a few bottles of Lunar Dew.
Unless Xela wanted to commit suicide, it would be very hard for anything to kill her.
Seeing how protective Darius was of Xela, Gunner smiled and folded his arms behind his back. "Well then, what now?"
Darius rubbed his chin. "By now, Foldo and co should have arrived and begun settling in. The second stage of construction should also be underway, so this just leaves us with clearing out Andrato's problems and recruit some talented fellows."
Gunner nodded and remained silent. After that, Darius took the group back to the royal castle's throne room.
He then turned to Jeanne. "Speaking of talented fellows, I recall a certain Seneschal in your service. Is he still working for you?"
"I'll summon Lord Elijah right away." Jeanne responded with a smile.
It only took a few minutes for Elijah McNickles, the skilled administrator turned Seneschal, to enter the throne room with a look of confusion on his face.
He had been in his manor drinking while feasting on his favorite meal, planning to at least enjoy his last moments on Faust as Andrato fell.
The old man was an Adept powerhouse on the verge of entering the Master stage, yet he felt indebted to the small kingdom.
He had received offers of the surrounding kingdoms and empires to switch, yet he felt it would be a huge disservice to all the resources the royal family had invested into grooming him.
As someone who had focused on enjoying what little time he felt he had left, the Seneschal had not yet been informed of the opposing troops' retreat.
He wondered what Jeanne could have possibly called him here for, but didn't want to be rude, so he simply bowed in greeting.
"Greetings Seneschal, I have here a powerful Lord who wishes to speak to you." Jeanne revealed with a cryptic smile.
Elijah turned and noticed the duo of Gunner and Darius. Even though the former 13-year-olds were now young adults, how could Elijah forget this memorable duo?
It felt like he was thrust 5 years into the past, once more gazing upon the confident lad who had taken control over a camp of Adepts with his stoic half-giant servant behind him.
Darius and Gunner also felt the nostalgia. He had somewhat kept in touch with Spencley over the years, so their meetings hadn't been as spread out as the one with the Seneschal.
"Darius Stone! And the powerful Gunner! What brings you two to the heart of Andrato?" Elijah asked with a mixture of surprise and joy, for a moment completely forgetting the dire situation the kingdom was supposed to be in.
Darius smiled and shook Elijah's hand. "I have established a new territory in the far north and plan to open a huge mage academy to the public. I just so happen to be in need of a capable magician and administrator who might serve as its headmaster."
Elijah was stunned by Darius' open poaching and couldn't help but cast an eye at Jeanne. The Queen just smiled nodded her head, her gaze glued to Darius, as she started playing with her fingernails, treating the Seneschal no different from air.
"Err… why don't you tell me a little more about your new territory and your plans?" Elijah asked, tempted but still tied to this land.
Darius didn't mind, and spent the next few minutes elaborating the state of the territory and his plans for it. By the time he was done, Elijah had to grip his chest as his breathing was labored while even Jeanne was sweating.
He hadn't told her much about the territory as she had jumped ship because of love before he ever got the chance to.
Now hearing about the means at his disposal, she realized that sometimes, emotions could trump logic!
If she had resisted or held back, forget herself, Andrato would never have had such a firm chance to rise up!
Her dream would no longer have to be limited to just raise Andrato's reputation from a shit-tier country to a respectable one, but with Darius as a backer even entering Fallon's top 100 kingdoms and empires would become possible!
Elijah barely got his breathing together and wheezed out. "J-Join… I'll join! Please don't refuse me!!! With the magical knowledge you have access to, I would even gladly become a janitor, as long as I'm allowed to browse your library!!!"
There was desperation in his eyes. After all, this was a chance that he never would have imagined in all his years, a chance for him to climb beyond the Adept stage and even possibly the Master stage!
Nicolas Spencely had also seen this opportunity which was why he had jumped ship without any remorse.
The Duke was sure that if Darius were to visit the higher empires, he would have little trouble poaching their ministers as long as they came to know about his capabilities.
Darius smiled. "If you have nothing further to do, you and Jeanne should make preparations and get Ando City ready for what comes next. I will spend the next week clearing out the other sieged cities and towns before coming back to get you."
The two nodded their heads and got up, heading to fulfill their duties. There was a lot they had to prepare and push forward, so there was no time to dally here.
As for Gunner and Darius, they left and headed to Yunian City next. As the only other city still under siege, it would be easier to clear out than get back the already fallen cities where they would have to clear out the forces first.
Yunian was styled similarly to Ando City, but was about three-fourths the size. Upon arrival, Darius could see a 4,000 strong army arranged in formation around the walls, continually rushing in and being sent out.
This was for nothing else than to exhaust the energy being provided by the city to the spatial barrier. There was no true perfect defense and everything had its weakness, even a powerful method like this.
When Darius and Gunner appeared, they caught the attention of both the besiegers and the besieged. Seeing two random Masters, the opposing empire in charge of this siege - the Girdle Empire - sent out their three Masters to intercept.
As they rode over, they also unleashed their auras to pressure Darius and Gunner, showing open hostility. They had already been long annoyed by this drawn-out siege that made them waste resources and created a logistical disaster for them.
Now, two random fellows appeared here.
To the Girdle Empire, it was clear that they were two unaffiliated fellows looking to fish in murky waters and benefit as the third party.
Like the four empires, they would never believe that a measly Andrato they had suppressed could raise its own Masters!
