Jerald told the Head of the Council what had happened with the Governor except for one small detail.
In Jerald's retelling of the story, the Governor just died too quickly. Jerald simply hadn't anticipated for him to die with only one Spell.
Obviously, the Head of the Council knew that this was bullshit, but the only other person that had witnessed what had happened was Shang, and she knew that Shang would have Jerald's back. The other people had been blinded by the light of the Spells, and they could barely tell what had happened since everything had happened so quickly.
Even more, the Governor had used a voice transmission to surrender since it was faster.
So, there was nothing the Head of the Council could do about this incident.
She simply had to accept that the Governor was now dead.
But that was still a good thing.
It was rare for a High Mage to die in the war, but it was even rarer for an actual Governor or Duke to die.
Governors and Dukes were usually at the Mid High Mage Realm, while the weaker ones led the offense and defense in the war.
The Duke of this area had been the newest member of the Dukes since he had been exceptionally talented.
He had been able to fight Early High Mages while still being an Initial High Mage.
Additionally, there weren't enough Mid High Mages for all the Zones, which was why he had gotten the position.
The Head of the Council looked at the corpse of Duke Quake with furrowed brows.
Sadly, this shining light had now vanished.
"What led to this incident?" the Head of the Council asked.
"I wasn't present for the entire thing. You should ask Shang," Jerald said, gesturing to Shang.
The Head of the Council threw a cold glance at Shang.
Then, she looked toward the Peak True Mage, that had just talked to Shang a minute ago. "Commander, report!"
Jerald only bitterly smiled while Shang's expression didn't change.
He wasn't surprised in the least.
The Peak True Mage ran to the Head of the Council and bowed deeply in respect.
After that, he recounted everything that had happened.
When the Head of the Council heard of Shang's deeds, she threw an evaluating glance toward him.
What she had heard sounded unreal.
A Late Commander Stage warrior managed to destroy an entire frontline that was guarded by a High Mage.
After listening to everything, she turned to Jerald with a strict gaze. "Duke Whirlwind, what explanation do you have for the death of Duke Quake?" she demanded.
"My explanation?" Jerald asked with a polite smile. "My explanation is that one of our Initial High Mages died in exchange for the life of an Initial High Mage of the Grandmountain Kingdom, a Mid High Mage, and an entire Zone."
The Council Head's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting that the life of one of our Dukes is worth less than the life of a Governor from a dying Kingdom? With time, the Grandmountain Kingdom will fall. Your actions today have caused the Skythunder Kingdom unnecessary losses."
Shang had to try his best not to snort in disgust right now.
Duke Quake and the Governor couldn't be compared in value?
That's right!
The Governor had killed Duke Quake probably just as quickly as Duke Whirlwind had killed the Governor.
Obviously, the Governor's life was far more valuable than Duke Quake's.
Yet, she was making it seem like Jerald had caused the Skythunder Kingdom immense losses.
Jerald only smiled politely, but his smile definitely didn't reach his eyes.
"Are you trying to force things, Susan?" he asked in a friendly but threatening voice.
As soon as Jerald spoke these words, the entire atmosphere turned cold.
The Head of the Council narrowed her eyes as her surroundings turned darker.
"I have no problem with playing the game," Jerald said, "but we have to act according to the rules."
The surroundings of Jerald also seemed to warp with energy.
"Otherwise, we can't play the game, Susan," Jerald said, his polite smile giving off a very threatening vibe.
For a couple of seconds, the two of them only stared at each other.
"Ugh."
Suddenly, Shang heard someone groan and looked over.
The Peak True Mage had just lost consciousness.
And then, Shang's surroundings vanished into darkness.
Two humongous and cold eyes appeared in front of him, and he felt like he was staring into the Abyss.
In what seemed like an instant later, Shang slowly opened his eyes and shook his head.
His head felt foggy and scattered.
"Finally awake?" Shang heard Jerald say with a chuckle.
That was when Shang realized that he was lying on the ground.
"What happened?" he asked as he slowly sat up and looked around. He could see the Peak Mage rub his head as he slowly walked back to the encampment.
The Head of the Council was gone.
"Susan and I had a talk, and she doesn't like listeners," Jerald said.
At that moment, Shang remembered the eyes.
"That was her?" he asked.
Jerald knew what Shang was referring to and nodded. "That's her signature Spell, Soul Abyss. She's a Peak Darkness High Mage, and she mainly fights with Spells that attack your mind. She's a terrifying opponent."
"Sorry for not intervening, but I believed that it was better to talk to her alone. Her actions today went beyond the usual political game, and I wanted to have a real talk with her. I can flip the table, but we both don't want that."
Shang slowly stood up. He had a droning headache, but he could deal with it.
"What did her Spell do to me?" he asked.
"Her Spell can do many things, but I made sure that she didn't do anything invasive. She knows that she can't just do as she pleases with my friends. She simply put you to sleep."
Shang looked around the area.
"What happens now?"
"Nothing, really," Jerald answered. "We had a talk, and the issue got resolved. We can return home now."
"That's it?" Shang asked.
Jerald nodded.
At that moment, Shang realized that the two corpses were also gone.
"She took them with her," Jerald said when he noticed Shang's gaze.
Shang nodded.
That made sense.
Shang was still a bit confused due to the Spell, and he slowly walked toward the southeast.
"Oh, by the way, you will get a medal and the title of Count."
Shang stopped, blinked twice, and looked at Jerald.
"Huh?"
