"What brings you before us today, Jerald?"
Duke Whirlwind performed a short and polite bow in front of King Skythunder, who currently sat on his throne with an interested gleam in his eyes.
On the left side of the room was the Council, while the Archduke was on the right side.
Duke Whirlwind stood in front of the throne together with Shang and George.
"King Skythunder, Council, Archduke," Duke Whirlwind said as he summoned several books. "Please look at these books."
After that, the three books floated over to the present people, who looked at the books with furrowed brows.
For a while, silence fell over the palace as everyone was entranced in reading.
"Hahahaha!"
King Skythunder was the first to finish reading due to his powerful mind, and he burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, the Councils' eyes widened more and more as rage, fear, and frustration became visible in them.
"Outrageous!"
"Blasphemy!"
"This must be a trick by the Magic Purity Kingdom!"
"This would destroy millennia of hard-fought peace!"
Obviously, the Council very quickly protested.
"Jerald," the Archduke suddenly said with a relatively calm voice. "You did well bringing us this dangerous weapon. I assume you already took care of all the people that have come into contact with this?"
Duke Whirlwind didn't answer.
The Archduke looked at Duke Whirlwind with furrowed brows. She had just given him the possibility to correct the course of his action. As long as he said that he was handing it over, he didn't need to die.
The Council kept shouting, and some of them even destroyed the books in anger.
This was blasphemy!
This would overturn the natural order of things!
Mages were chosen by the world to be the most powerful existences!
It had always been like this, and it will always be like this!
"Jerald."
The hall fell into silence as King Skythunder spoke.
"What do you plan on doing with this Star Map?" he asked with a smirk.
Duke Whirlwind only smiled politely. "That, of course, depends on your judgment, my King."
"I bring this technique before you today so that you may decide what we all should do with it."
King Skythunder leaned back on his throne.
Then, he looked to his right at the Council. "Any opinions, Council?"
"Destroy it," the Head of the Council answered coldly.
The four others beside her nodded in agreement.
"Destroy it and get rid of everyone who knows about it," she said.
King Skythunder only smirked. "You want me to kill you?" he asked.
A shiver ran down the Council Head's back.
"Excuse me, my King," she quickly said. "I have phrased my statement incorrectly."
"What I meant to say is that every trace of this blasphemous technique ought to be eradicated. Naturally, this does not include the people present in this hall. Everyone in here is loyal to our King."
"What are the reasons for this decision?" King Skythunder asked.
"Instability," the Head of the Council said. "Our internal conflict makes the Skythunder Kingdom more resilient, but having too much conflict will make it unstable."
"Introducing this technique to the public would allow the warriors to close the gap between them and us, and after years of being on the weaker side, they will get lost in what it means to be responsible for your power."
"A war between the warriors and Mages will occur, and this war will only occur inside the Skythunder Kingdom, allowing our true enemies to attack us."
"For the safety of the Skythunder Kingdom, we can't allow this technique to be released to the public."
King Skythunder's expression didn't change, and he looked to his left at the Archduke. "What do you think, Miriam?"
The Archduke seemed calm. "I think this is a trick of the Magic Purity Kingdom's King," she said.
"The existence of this technique makes no sense. Mages have ruled supreme over these lands for thousands upon thousands of years, and we Mages have not managed to create something this advanced while being the strongest and most intelligent."
"I believe the Magic Purity Kingdom has created this Star Map to corrupt our warriors. Practicing in it might change the warriors' perception and see the Mages as their enemies, creating a civil war within the Kingdom."
"I also believe that this technique can't accomplish what it promises to accomplish. There are only two True Path Stage warriors in the world, and it's impossible to create something like this without looking at thousands of them. There is simply no way to create something this advanced."
King Skythunder only rubbed his chin with a smirk. Obviously, he found the current situation very interesting and amusing.
"Jerald," King Skythunder said as he looked at Duke Whirlwind. "What are the origins of this Star Map?"
Duke Whirlwind smiled politely and looked over at Shang. "He was the one that brought it to me. It might be better if he tells you where he got it from."
Everyone's gaze focused on Shang, and he felt quite a bit of pressure. It wasn't as bad as the last time he was here, but it was still a lot of pressure.
King Skythunder looked at Shang with interest.
He remembered this warrior.
"Tell us, Shang," King Skythunder commanded.
Shang stepped forward and performed a short and polite bow.
"In order to tell you of the origins of the technique, I have to tell you about my ten-year stay in the Grandmountain Kingdom."
When they heard that, the Council furrowed their brows. Obviously, they didn't know the whereabouts of some random warrior, but the fact that Shang had been in an enemy Kingdom for over ten years was concerning.
The possibility of the Star Map being a trap by the enemy increased.
"Tell us," King Skythunder said as he leaned back on his throne again.
Shang nodded and began narrating his tale.
When the Storm Eagle attacked the black building, Shang fell into it and entered a portal. After that, he met a truly powerful Mage that forcefully teleported him away.
"He's lying," the Head of the Council said. "Mages can't teleport others."
The other members agreed.
However, there was an interested gleam in King Skythunder's eyes. "Describe the Mage's appearance."
Shang did just that, and after he was finished, King Skythunder grinned. "Did she wear some special ornaments or armor?"
Shang shook his head. "No, she was dressed in plain purple robes."
King Skythunder nodded.
SHING!
Suddenly, an image appeared in front of King Skythunder.
Even though King Skythunder didn't have a Light Affinity, controlling the Light Mana enough to create an image wasn't difficult for him. Even Adepts could do that as long as they had a Light Affinity.
One had to remember that one could technically control all kinds of Mana. An Affinity was just that, an Affinity.
Of course, controlling the kind of Mana one had no Affinity for took maybe hundreds if not thousands of times more practice.
The image depicted a woman with silver hair in silver armor. There were wings made of lightning on her back, and she carried a spear.
"Is that her?" King Skythunder asked.
As soon as Shang saw the image, his right eye widened in shock.
"Yes, that's her," Shang said in surprise.
How did King Skythunder know her?!
