Still, there was one more kingdom that was rarely mentioned after the war. It was the Atracaeca Kingdom.
In the past, Noel once visited this kingdom and the second prince of this country collaborated with the Supreme Devil Organization to kill him. Even if he failed, he still got the way to teach people about runes from Noel Ardagan.
However, because of this very reason, the Atracaeca Kingdom was facing a dilemma.
The grand protector was sitting in his palace, staring at his great protectors.
"I'm sure that every single one of you knows what we're about to discuss here." The grand protector looked down on the second prince, who was kneeling in the middle of the room. His body had been chained so that he couldn't escape. There were a lot of bruises on his body.
Everyone knew about the conflict between the Atracaeca Kingdom and Noel Ardagan, which resulted in the former being banned from the Rune Academy.
"In the past, Noel Ardagan was weak when coming here. However, he managed to overcome all odds and survive. Still, we didn't necessarily need to meddle in his business.
"But…" The grand protector walked toward the second prince while saying, "There was a foolish son, who tried to cheat him of a precious treasure and even conspired with his enemies to kill him."
Their faces were already pale, knowing what the grand protector wanted to do after this.
"And now… Noel Ardagan has become a noble, an earl on top of that. It's a position belonging to a middle rank noble, which starts to be indispensable for the Muivell Kingdom. And he…" The grand protector stopped for a moment so that he could punch the second prince.
"Gah." The second prince coughed up some acid. The great protector who was with him and supported him had been executed, leaving only the second prince.
"And now… he becomes a noble who manages to defeat an army of demons which consists of numerous lower level demons and more than twenty Superior Demons. He has directly reached a level that even a high ranking noble desires."
The grand protector's eyes became colder as he asked out loud, "What is the progress of that project?"
"We have cultivated a few people to be able to wield some basic runes. The progress is much faster and the other kingdoms seem unable to progress that fast." One of the great protectors reported.
It was obvious that they were using the knowledge that Noel poured into the book.
However, the grand protector also continued, "We are probably the closest country to produce a batch of Rune Magicians. Just like the Rune Magician who was able to defeat a Superior Demon. But… at what cost?"
All the protectors fell silent. The price was something that the Atracaeca Kingdom couldn't bear.
"The bans from the Ardagan family."
"That's right. The ban." The grand protector took a deep breath just to calm his anger a little bit or he might accidentally kill his son. "The Ardagan family is producing a lot of new inventions with runes. And because of that ban, we can't even acquire them.
"The Zaecuria Kingdom is mocking us for flaunting their battleship that will soon be equipped with runes. The Greenwood Kingdom is warning us. They, too, should have gotten a lot of benefits.
"And acquiring them might be the least of our worries. More importantly, we can't even learn how to embed the runes into our technologies."
A great protector added, "Our talented people have tried to draw the runes on a few things, but they can't even be activated. We assume that they are implanted by a special technique."
The second prince gritted his teeth while saying, "Just kill me, old thing. Do you think humiliating me like this will work?"
"Shut up!" The grand protector kicked the second prince's stomach.
"Gah!" The second prince fell to the ground while coughing up blood.
"It's obvious that they are planning to teach that method in the Rune Academy. And because of you, we can't even get that method." The grand protector almost killed him out of anger. "The real problem will be our next stance. What are we going to do next?"
The grand protector looked at his great protectors.
"We have three options." One of the great protectors spoke up carefully. "First, we can try to make amends with Earl Ardagan. To have one more ally is much better than having another enemy.
"Second, we can kill Earl Ardagan. By eliminating him before he grows, he won't become a future threat to our kingdom. A dead genius is no genius. Even the Greenwood Kingdom wouldn't risk a war for a dead genius. But it will be different if we fail in our assassination attempt. Whether sending an assassin or using poison, if we fail, the Greenwood Kingdom will launch an all-out war against us. And the Zaecuria Kingdom might also join the battle.
"Third, it's to negotiate with the Muivell Kingdom. At the end of the day, the Earl is staying in the Muivell Kingdom, so he still has to obey the kingdom."
A lot of them seemed to be thinking about the first option. However, it would also mean that they had to kill the second prince and send his head to Noel. Still, it wasn't enough to settle the grievance.
They had to pay a lot of compensation to appease his anger and probably sent a princess to be his servant or something, considering Noel was known to be a loyal man who didn't plan to marry another woman aside from his current fiancee.
The second option was as stated. It was dangerous and they didn't know whether they would succeed or not. After all, the Ardagan family managed to repel all those demons. Even their lord, Noel Ardagan, was a strong fighter.
With the Muivell Kingdom's best assassin as his butler, they couldn't possibly reach him.
That meant there was only one thing that could kill him. It was poison. However, they didn't know how to poison him since Noel was holing up inside his city, which was said to be forbidden for other people to enter.
This was their dilemma. Each option had a high difficulty to achieve, so they had to be careful in making their decision.
The grand protectors gathered all protectors so that they could make this decision.
…
Muivell Kingdom.
Inside a mansion, a blond man was signing off a few documents before a butler came in while saying, "Your highness, we have received a letter from the royal palace. It's asking you to go to Lounstein."
"Mhmm?" The crown prince's expression turned cold the moment the butler mentioned Lounstein. "Bring me the letter."
The butler handed over the letter while adding, "The palace also said that you couldn't be rash when you're there. The opponent this time is the new lord of Lounstein. He is a very formidable person. Even though he is not there right now, there are still a lot of pillars in the Ardagan family."
"Ardagan family…" The crown prince gritted his teeth as he crushed the paper in his hand. "How dare he steal what is mine?"
The butler continued, "All the details are in the letter, including what the palace wants Your Highness to achieve."
"I know." The crown prince stood up while saying, "Make some preparation immediately. We'll go to Lounstein."
"Y-yes." The butler nodded but felt a bit worried because of the crown prince's expression.
Obviously, he had fallen over heels for Anna. While there were a few noble ladies whose looks could be compared to Anna's, her strength was simply second to none.
With such beauty and strength, there was no way the royal family would sit by. Anna had always acted as if she was busy to avoid everyone, but it turned out the treacherous Earl Ardagan had taken her away.
"Since he is going to be destroyed in the royal palace, it's about time for me to take what's mine in Lounstein." The crown prince snorted.
…
A hidden base in the mountain.
Laufey was walking into the giant hall that was made of a renovated limestone cave. There were two people inside, the known Spirit Transcendence Expert Alexander and a new face, Josephine.
"Where is Qiel?" Alexander asked.
Laufey remained silent as he continued walking. Once he was before the curtain that separated him from the Supreme Devil, he kneeled down while saying out loud, "I've disappointed you, Supreme Devil. We lost 60% of our fighting force, with the majority of the survivors coming from the detachment that stopped the Greenwood Kingdom's reinforcement.
"The two Devil Saints have died under Noel Ardagan's blades. And…" Laufey paused for a moment before helplessly saying, "Qiel has passed away."
Suddenly, a burst of powerful spiritual energy shook the entire cave.
"!!!" Josephine widened her eyes, feeling that this energy wasn't losing against Alexander.
"What happened to her? Tell me everything!" A deep voice echoed.
"Yes, sir." Laufey began explaining all the details. The reason for Qiel's death was because she was severely injured by Dimitri.
And he mentioned Raven and Silvester, the remnants of the Ardagan family. However, he only told them that Qiel sacrificed herself to stop Raven and Silvester so that he could stay alive. After all, his injury was the lightest.
"The remnant of the Ardagan family? Are they still alive?" Alexander frowned.
"All we saw was Silvester and Raven. After all, Luke Ardagan and Leysha Ezenholm had been executed. It was probably their previous master's order, telling them to weaken the organization when the time was right. There was a chance that they would join the current Ardagan family."
"This…" Alexander didn't know what to say. Normally, Qiel would be able to explain and even come up with a plan. Now that she was gone, no one could give out a plan anymore.
"What is the situation of our branches?" The Supreme Devil asked.
Alexander bit his lips while saying, "The Demon Banner Army is launching an all-out attack. I have met Oscar on the battlefield a few times."
"Josephine. You are to help with the evacuation of our branches. For now, we will have to retreat and preserve our strength."
"Understood." Josephine lowered her head, but before leaving, she couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't we kill them right now? With our strength, we should have the ability to exterminate them."
Suddenly, the burst of energy shook the cave again and everything was locked onto her, making her have a hard time breathing.
"O' Supreme Devil. Please calm down. She is still new." Alexander panicked.
"Do I need you to tell me what to do?"
"Ha…" Josephine was gasping for air, but she still said with a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry. I've overstepped my bounds."
She was still confused. With two Spirit Transcendences, they should have no problem eliminating Noel. So, there was no reason why they should hold back and use a roundabout way to kill him.
She could even open the portal for Alexander and the Supreme Devil to ambush Noel.
"It's impossible to ambush him. You don't know a single thing about the heirlooms of the Ardagan family. That sword was the reason why the four kingdoms could take place here. Instead of the Ardagan family, there is one place that we should eliminate first."
Alexander was a bit confused, not expecting the Supreme Devil to talk about the heirlooms of the Ardagan family.
At the same time, she was curious about this place where even the Supreme Devil wanted to focus.
"May we know the place that you wish to destroy, o' Supreme Devil?" Alexander asked.
"The four kingdoms will be irrelevant once we have gathered our army. However, if that kingdom starts hindering us, it's going to be annoying. After all, they are very indebted to the Ardagan family."
"Don't tell me…" Alexander gasped.
"Yes. The beast kingdom that is located north from the four kingdoms, Arcandel."
