"Who do you think is going to win the war? I would place my bet on the Northern Frost Dragon Empire,"
"Brother, if any soldier or citizen of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire heard what you have just said, then you would be publicly beaten and then executed."
"Hmph! What kind of life we are living? It's always about the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Why do we have to choose sides? Even if we picked up a side, our Kingdom can offer nothing to the Southern Fire Dragon Empire."
Right now two men were sitting in a private room and drinking alcohol. Both men were soldiers. One of the men was 15 years older than the other one. As both soldiers were given a rare holiday both decided to go out and drink.
"Everything is a game of politics. Small Kingdoms like ours are nothing but chess pieces. For us, it was either do or die situation. The Southern Fire Dragon Empire's Emperor the Black Dragon King has personally threatened our King. If our Kingdom did not support the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, then the Emperor was personally going to destroy this whole Kingdom."
Bang!
The young soldier smashed the glass bottle with his right fist in anger. The young soldier looked very angry and enraged.
"But why? What difference would it make even if our small Kingdom joins the Southern Fire Dragon Empire in this war? Our military is very weak. We only have around 9,000 soldiers. The top powerhouse in this kingdom is a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. Our military is practically no use to the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Even a Baron of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has more military power than our Kingdom does."
Sigh!
"Our Kingdom would have grown 10 times stronger if the Southern Fire Dragon Empire had not suppressed us in the past. Because of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, it became very difficult to strengthen our military. The most unreasonable thing that the Southern Fire Dragon Empire does is to force our Kingdom to sell Mana stones to their Empire at a very cheap price."
"Our Kingdom could have made tons of royal gold coins selling mana stones. Even if our Kingdom is small, we were blessed with a few mana stones. With all those money, we could have become a 4th-tier Kingdom by now. But all these resources were being used by the Southern Fire Dragon Empire to fill their pockets with money while the people of this Kingdom suffered from hunger, and poverty and died on cold streets."
"This is not the first time that the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has done something like this. For countless years, the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire have been suppressing the kingdoms and dynasties that were located near their borders. Both dragon brothers have been exploiting the resources of other Kingdoms and dynasties. This war has nothing to do with any other Kingdom besides the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, yet both selfish brothers divided the entire southern region just to gain an advantage in the war."
"Big brother, why the King is remaining so quiet and enduring the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's bullying which is making the people of this Kingdom suffer a lot?"
"We simply don't have any other choice beside enduring. For multiple centuries, this Kingdom was bullied by the Southern Fire Dragon empire. This will continue like this till the Southern Fire Dragon empire falls one day which is impossible given how strong the Empire is."
"What if the Northern Frost Dragon empire's Emperor defeats the southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Emperor?"
"If this happens, then the entire Southern Fire dragon empire would be annexed by the White Dragon Empire. From what I have heard that White Dragon Emperor isn't exactly kind either. While the people of his Empire believe and even worship him as if the White Dragon Emperor is some God, only the people who lived outside the Northern frost Dragon Empire knew the personality of the White Dragon king. The White Dragon King would treat us the same way the Black Dragon King does."
At the same time, In the palace of the Sky Line Kingdom, there were two people sitting in a meeting room. One of the people sitting in the meeting room was a young man with long blue hair and attractive Crimson red eyes. Bangs had covered the young man's forehead. The young man wore a traditional black Yukata making him look even more handsome. Looking at the young man's face, it was very difficult to read what the young man was thinking.
While the man sitting opposite him, was a handsome-looking middle-aged man. The handsome middle-aged man was wearing a golden crown that had red gems embedded on it on his head. The man was wearing a golden dress that perfectly covered his 6 feet tall body and highlighted his muscles.
The man in the golden dress was a Beginner 3rd-order cultivator. If one looked closely enough then he should realize that the middle-aged man's face looked pale. His skin had dried up as if someone had squeezed blood out of his body. From every 10 seconds to 40 seconds interval, the man's body would slightly tremble as if he was having a problem.
The man with the golden crown had Short blond hair. The man had brown pupils and a mole under his lips.
The middleman struggled a little when he tried to stand up. Although he tried to hide it and pretend as if it never happens, Aditya noticed this. Seeing that the King was pretending to not see it, Aditya also decided to remain quiet for now.
After standing up, the man removed the crown from his head and held it in his right palm. The man bowed his head to Aditya. "Welcome to the Sky Line Kingdom. I am sure Sir Aditya already knows my name. My name is Kane and I am the King of Sky Line Kingdom."
Aditya stood up to return the bow. Even though there was no need for Aditya to bow as his position was higher compared to the Sky Line Kingdoms' King, Aditya still bowed to Kane. If someone showed Aditya respect, then he would give them respect. "I am Aditya. It's nice to meet you."
"First of all, let me thank Sir Aditya for answering my call this quickly."
Aditya waved his hand and said. "There is no need to add Sir before my name. You can call me Aditya and I will you Kane if that's okay with you."
Kane nodded his head in agreement. "Aditya, you already should know the state of my own Kingdom. I have miserably failed my family. Under my reign, this Kingdom was dragged all the way to the bottom. I am an utter failure." Kane lowered his head feeling sad and also shameful.
"Kane, I am sure your Kingdom wouldn't have been this miserable if the Southern Fire Dragon Empire had not exploited resources from your Kingdom." Exporting mana stones to other regions or Empires could have bought the Sky Line Kingdom a huge chunk of gold which would have completely revolutionized their Sky Line military.
Sigh!
"Aditya, things were never easy for me. I was constantly bullied, suppressed, and exploited. As I was weak, I couldn't raise my voice. It's not just the people of the Sky Line Kingdom that have suffered." The look on Kane's face spoke a lot of things. Kane looked depressed, sad, heartbroken, and most noticeable of all, very tired.
Ever since Kane took over the throne, he has been trying his very best to change his Kingdom. Before he became the King, he was a naïve young man who wanted to make this kingdom a better place for the people. But as time passed, Kane realized just how naïve his ideals were. His whole life, Kane has tried to change this Kingdom. Without even realizing it, Kane had neglected his health to the point where he is currently only a few steps away from death.
Right now, Kane was extremely tired. He needed some rest. Kane was tired of all the politics. He was tired of trying his best. He was tired of being suppressed and exploited. Overall, Kane was tired of everything. He had burned himself out. He wanted this to end which is why he had contacted the Istarin Empire in secret.
"I will keep things straight. Aditya, as much as it pains me to say it, I want to sell this Kingdom for a price." If Kane's father or his grandfather had heard what he was saying then they would beat him to death. The idea of selling this Kingdom to a big powerhouse has been on his mind for a while now. At first, it was nothing but an idea to Kane. Kane had a lot of time to think. The final trace of hesitation disappeared when both Empires started their war and involved this Kingdom in it.
This place was Kane's home. His Kingdom was Kane's territory. The thought of selling this place shattered his heart in pieces. But there was nothing that Kane could do about it. Kane realized that by giving his Kingdom to a strong Empire that is equally or stronger than the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, the condition of his Kingdom might change. The dream that he cannot fulfill might be fulfilled by someone else.
Kane was taking a big risk by doing it. If his Kingdom fell into the hands of some evil or corrupted King, then the economy of his Kingdom would only get worse. This is not what Kane wanted in any situation.
One of the reasons why Kane approached the Istarin Empire is because these days the name of the Istarin Empire was almost everywhere. Everyone knew how in less than 5 months, the Istarin Empire went from being the smallest Kingdom to the biggest empire in the Eastern region. Also, after an extensive detailed research on the Istarin Empire, Kane started to feel that he can trust the Istarin King.
Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
