Silence.
The Council and even the Archduke were absolutely shocked by what Jerald had just said.
He had declared war on the Skythunder Kingdom while literally standing in front of King Skythunder!
That was crazy!
That was suicidal!
"You dare-"
"AHAHAHAHA!"
One of the Council members wanted to shout, but King Skythunder's loud laughter interrupted him.
Everyone looked over, and they saw King Skythunder laughing loudly.
"So that's what you meant when you said something very interesting was going to happen today!" King Skythunder said after he stopped laughing.
His smirk vanished, and a malicious grin replaced it. "I expected many things, but I didn't expect this."
"You do realize that you are literally declaring war on my Kingdom while standing in front of me?"
"I am," Jerald said calmly.
"And what gave you the balls to do something like that directly in front of me?" King Skythunder asked as his aura intensified, and Jerald's aura was pushed back like it was a little kid.
Yet, Jerald only looked with an even expression at King Skythunder.
"Because you don't care," Jerald said.
The Council became even more shocked.
Did Jerald actually come here with a death wish?
King Skythunder narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jerald. "And what makes you believe that?"
"Because your shift will be over soon," Jerald said.
Silence.
The Council was unsure what Jerald meant, but at the same time, a small glimmer appeared in King Skythunder's eyes. "Elaborate," he ordered.
"I know about the Lightning Emperor and the Lightning Manor," Jerald said.
The Council furrowed their brows while the Archduke was surprised.
King Skythunder continued looking at Jerald for a couple of seconds. "Interesting. How truly interesting. How did you come by this knowledge?"
"Shang," Jerald answered. "Shang met the Starlight Queen, and she said that the black building belonged to the Lightning Emperor."
"I read about the Lightning Manor in one of the records my late son has recovered from the Old King's Trial."
At that point, Jerald's aura grew even colder as he focused on the Council. "Before you murdered him, just like my best friend."
"Baseless accusations!" one of the Council members shouted.
"Who are you trying to fool?" Jerald asked with a cold voice. "I know you did it. You know you did it. The Archduke knows you did it."
"Everyone in here knows you did it. You are putting up an empty front while everyone knows the truth."
"We did no such thing!" another member of the Council shouted.
Jerald only looked with disgust at the Council.
"Look at you," he said slowly. "You are so lost in this little game of yours that you believe everything in the world belongs to you."
"Have you not realized that there is a far bigger and wider world out there? We have heard of powerful Mages appearing more than once, and we have confirmation of their existence."
"Yet, here you stand, complacent in your little bubble that you can rule over."
"You have been looking down on everyone in this bubble for so long that you have been blinded to the powers that exist above you."
"You have forgotten the most important thing in the world."
"And that is?" asked the Council Head. For the first time today, she had actually spoken up.
"It's not status that rules the world, but power!" Jerald shouted as he created the powerful storm cloud again.
The Council prepared themselves for a fight, but they were nervous.
Jerald was very powerful!
"I am willing to fight right now!" Jerald shouted aggressively. "I am willing to risk my life just to kill all of you! What use is your political power and your status when I just kill you right this instant?!"
Jerald's fury was so great that the entire hall shook. His voice even broke a bit near the end.
This was the fury of someone that had his best friend and his son killed.
This was the fury of someone that had been suppressed for decades.
And, finally, he no longer needed to hold it back!
He hated the Council!
The breathing of the Council members quickened, and even the Head of the Council grew nervous.
The Council looked at King Skythunder with hopeful eyes, but King Skythunder only looked at Jerald with a pondering expression.
"What are you proposing?" King Skythunder asked. "I don't believe you are here to kill my Council right in front of me. You know that would be too much."
When the Council heard that, their world fell apart.
If King Skythunder wanted to kill Jerald, he would have simply killed him by now.
But instead, he was asking about what Jerald was proposing!
Jerald dispersed the storm cloud again and looked at King Skythunder. "The Skythunder Kingdom is no longer what it used to be. In the past, you always interfered when things got too out of hand."
King Skythunder didn't react.
"But that stopped happening as soon as the Star Map appeared. I believe I know what your duty is and why you are here now, but I think you would prefer if I didn't speak about it publicly."
King Skythunder only nodded lightly with an interested expression.
"Everything here doesn't matter anymore to you. You have spent nearly 150 years here, and your merits must have grown to an astounding degree. I know you, and I know that you are not someone that decides to retire in this little place amongst people that are all weaker than you."
"You are not here to live out your life in peace and luxury. No, you are here to earn something that you need to become more powerful."
"And I believe you have already earned it, which is why you no longer care about the Skythunder Kingdom."
"After all, you will be gone soon."
King Skythunder only chuckled a bit. "That's all well and nice, but what is your actual proposal?"
The Council grew even more confused and concerned.
Instead of talking to King Skythunder with respect, Jerald was talking to him like they were equals.
Even more, Jerald wasn't calling him "my King" anymore and simply said "you".
At that moment, Jerald's gaze went to the Council again.
"My proposal consists of only two sentences."
"I will not join the war."
"If a member of the Council joins the war, I will join the war."
"That's it."
The Council grew enraged again, but right now, King Skythunder was speaking for them, and they had no right to speak up.
"What about me?" the Archduke asked with a grin.
Jerald looked over. "I believe you and our King have known each other even before he has become King."
The Council wasn't sure what Jerald meant, but the Archduke only chuckled a little.
"Impressive," was the only comment she gave.
While the Council didn't know what Jerald meant, the Archduke knew it.
Jerald had essentially told her that he knew that she was also working for the Lightning Manor, which meant that she wouldn't interfere as long as King Skythunder didn't.
The Archduke had been impressively impartial for the past decades.
She never involved herself in anything, and she never joined any sides.
She was only doing her job and the bare minimum without helping anyone.
During the meetings, she was also very often overlooked since she never said anything.
She was essentially just there.
While this could be considered normal during peaceful times, these times were anything but peaceful.
The entire Skythunder Kingdom was collapsing, but the Archduke acted like it had nothing to do with her, just like King Skythunder.
"These are the terms of the war," Jerald said as he looked at the Council again. "I don't care if you accept them or not. If you are not happy with them, try and stop me. I would be happy to kill you right here and now."
"You dare-"
One of the Council members shouted, but Jerald simply turned to King Skythunder again. "That was everything. I will be leaving now."
Then, Jerald turned around and walked towards the exit of the throne room.
King Skythunder leaned on his left fist as he watched Jerald leave with an interested grin.
He was not going to stop him.
When the Council saw that, the pressure on their shoulders multiplied.
They were now at war with a Zone that had over a hundred True Path Stage warriors.
But, in the end, they realized that it actually wasn't so bad.
They just needed to send a strong striking squad.
The warriors might be strong, but they couldn't possibly resist an assault of five Mid High Mages, right?
After Jerald left the castle, he turned around and looked at it with narrowed eyes.
'George, Mattheo, I will make all of them pay!'
