"We will consider this generosity. In the meantime, you can stay in the palace and wait for our decision," King Heshad said in a polite way yet commanding tone.
Ruhnan bowed. "I thank you for your generosity, your majesty."
The guards escorted Ruhnan out of the throne room.
"Your majesty, are we really going to ally ourself with this invader?"
"Test him first. Send a small army. I want to see what he can offer to us."
"Your majesty, the emissary bring some golems with him and one of the large flying ship."
"Where are they now?" Heshad asked.
"They are stopped outside the city. The guards are currently watching them."
Heshad waved his hand and a projection appeared, revealing the scene outside the city.
A gigantic ship made out of steel was hovering in the sky. Below it, an army of golems stood still. Their expressionless face made them look like fierce warriors, ready to strike, ready to kill.
"Let them stay here," King Heshad said. "But I still want to test them. Duke Hushum, send your army to the west."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I shall do my very best to test him."
"If he proved to weak and useless, destroy him." King Heshad's eyes flashed with cruelty.
A strange man came from a strange land and dared to kill his noble. If it wasn't for the emissary proposing an interesting idea, he would have sent his Royal Army and swept everything.
Corduul had calculated that Aldred could not fight against an Adamantite Rank yet. Aldred was at the level of low Diamond Rank, but his strength and abilities made him possible to fight against mid Diamond Ranks. But against high Diamond Ranks, he would have to struggle to defeat them.
Adamantite Rank was an impossible level to defeat for now.
The next day, Duke Hushum sent a small army towards the west.
Ruhnan stayed all day in his room. He purposely stayed in his room to avoid suspicion. But even though he stayed inside, he still received information.
A mosquito-sized drone entered through a small hole on the door and landed in his ear. It injected the stinger right into his veins.
A mechanical voice came: "Ruhnan, why is the kingdom sending an army towards us?"
Ruhnan already expected this. "Kingdom of Withokere is a kingdom of warrior. They value honor, strength, and loyalty. They do not know your value and loyalty right now, but they can test your strength."
"They wanted to test our power? In that case, why don't we activate the golems and CS-Armageddon-57? And destroy a nearby mountain."
CS-Armageddon-57 was the name of the 2KM long aircraft.
"That is not wise. They will know that you spy on them."
"Don't they want to test our strength? Information gathering capabilities are part of our strength as well."
Ruhnan was silent for a few seconds. "Don't destroy the mountains. Instead, ambush the army. Show them that you already know. That is my advice."
"So be it."
...
High above the clouds, an army of dragon riders flew slow and steady towards the west. Following the dragon riders were a bunch of other flying beast. Soldiers with swords and bows sat on top of them.
Some of the flying beast were thin and small. They were the speed type.
The other were the big and strong. They were the ones who brought the supplies. Stack of bags were tied to their backs.
The soldiers wore a thin, light-weight armor with folded wings on their back.
Withokere was a powerful kingdom with great military power. The reason how Aldred could easily take a territory in the west was because that territory had the weakest military. In fact, everyone considered the territory to have no military might at all. Though it had good economy, it barely could be compared to the others.
Ekham Sinu, the leader of this army stood at the head of a black dragon as it flew above the clouds.
He was a very respected mid Diamond Rankers and a wise general on the battlefield.
A silver dragon approached from the side, then it spoke: "Ekham, the lord wants you to completely eradicate every trace of Aldred. The lord did not like the invader at all. Give no mercy!"
Ekham's eyes flashed with blood thirst, and his lips curled into a grin. "It's been a while since I have a proper battle. The other nations are too scared to fight us. My arms are getting rusty."
Inside the castle, a bunch of floating screen showed the scene of the dragon army. Aldred looked at them as he sat on his throne.
"Quite a large army for a test." Aldred smiled. He could smell their intentions far away. It was clear that the enemy did not want to test him.
They wanted to eradicate him.
Corduul stepped in beside Aldred's throne. "The leader of this army is called Ekham Sinu. He is a mid Diamond Rank magicians who seem to be specialized in close-range battle."
"Why is that?"
"Apparently, it's fairly common for highly-talented Diamond Ranks to choose close-range combat skill even though they were magicians. Their variety of spells let them close the distance with teleportation skills or other skills that could increase speed or slow the enemy down. They are more formidable than ordinary magicians and warriors would never be able to defeat them."
"Interesting. So they are basically like me."
"That is true, master, though they do not really have a warrior's physique, rather, they used spells, potions, or treasures to have the durability, speed, and strength of a warrior."
Aldred was different. He was a warrior and a magician at the same time.
"So, what is your plan for them?" Aldred asked.
"Our legion is 20 KM away from them. Using active-camouflage, our army are hidden from detection."
"Can your legion kill a mid Diamond Rank?"
"The possibility is not zero percent," Corduul replied.
"Hahaha. I like that answer. Well, then what are you waiting for? Destroy them."
Corduul's eyes lit up as he transmitted the order.
