"They say the Network of Angaria will allow the entire continent to know exactly how powerful the descendants of our deity are, allowing the world to see and fear the might of the ck Raven Kingdom."


    Gesturing at the messenger who had just spoken out the entire missive sent by the Kingdom of Lanthanor to leave, the ck Raven King sat back on the throne while waiting for the old man who had been standing at the side to speak.


    Due to the recent warning, he had been behaving quite subdued unlike his previous self who had started to act unruly because of the long time that had passed since reaching the arrangement which tied his life to the old man’s.


    After pondering for a bit, the old man looked at the ck Raven King and said, "Allow it. I see more advantages than disadvantages. Your Kingdom isn’t one where public opinion matters anyway, unlike the Kingdom of the Elves where a sway in opinion can change the leader itself. It’ll also make the bratty King think that we are valuing the ’alliance’ reached due to the Echer seeds. Make sure to send that part in themunication. Also, make amittee to keep an eye on thework, and assess whether there is any long-term risk for the Kingdom. And don’t disturb me unless there is anything important. I wille out next when the fight is due."


    The ck Raven King only nodded hearing these words, opting to look on as the old man exited the throne room.


    Yet, at thest moment before walking out the door, the old man turned around to shoot a cold nce at the King as a warning to not y any antics when he wasn’t there.


    Feeling an instinctive fear, the ck Raven King couldn’t help but grasp at his crotch area again, remembering the warning that had been given before.


    Seeing the door close and finding himself alone in the room, the ck Raven King got up before walking towards the door himself and turning around to gaze at the enormous statue which had apparently existed for as long as the Kingdom.


    Closing his eyes, he did the only thing he could think of right now.


    He prayed. He prayed that someone coulde along and kill this old man, whose only purpose seemed to be to wring the Kingdom dry for his own motives.


    This was definitely not what he had in mind when he had taken the offer to be someone who could stand above all and below one.


    ....


    In the King’s chambers in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel, Eloise and Kellor were standing in front of a parchment while waiting for themunication from the ck Raven Kingdom who had intimated that they would be sending over the decision in a moment.


    All of them had hopeful expressions on their faces, as an approval would mean that they would be able to tap into almost half the poption of Central Angaria.


    Seeing the parchment sh, Kellor walked forward and immediately held it in his hand, receiving the transmission.


    After a few moments, a wide smile spread across his face which was enough for the others to understand what the message was.


    Eloise immediately jumped up in the air, whooping and pping her hands before calming herself down realising in whose presence she was.


    Yet, the King himself had an even wider smile on his face and looked like he was resisting the urge to jump up himself.


    Instead, he turned to Eloise who had justnded and grasped her by the shoulders before saying with excitement, "Well done Eloise! Time and time again, you keep exceeding expectations! Thank you for being by my side!"


    Saying these words and looking into her eyes for a moment, the King turned around before beginning a conversation with Kellor about the logistics of preparing enoughmunication trinkets to deliver to the ck Raven Kingdom.


    Thus, he didn’t see that his small gesture of appreciation had made Eloise freeze where she stood and stare at him,pletely entranced by the broad shoulders which gave her a measure of stability and security that she had always been looking for her entire life.


    As this feeling swept over her, she realised that the feelings she had for the King had long surpassed those that existed between a ruler and a loyal subject.


    Her stomach fluttering as if butterflies were flying inside, she left the room, reying the moment that had just happened over and over again in her mind.


    ...


    Two dayster.


    A man wearing the guise of a traveller entered the ck Raven Kingdom before heading towards a town nearby.


    Although the ck Raven Kingdom was also surrounded by walls just like the Kingdom of Lanthanor, these walls could not even hold a candle to the impregnable ones that had thrown back enemies for centuries.


    They were made out of stone bricks held together by a mixture of y. On top, a metalyer had been applied for added strength.


    Only Mages who were well experienced in handling metal elementary particles could even hope to melt enough iron in order to make such a coating possible.


    Hence, this was one of the costliest projects the Kingdom had ever undertaken, but it had proven its value multiple times when it put up a strong resistance against foes who attacked.


    Of course, unlike the walls of the Lanthanor Kingdom, these could be breached much more easily resulting in many viges and towns not opting to be situated near the borders.


    Most of thend was barren, making it so that even if an invader did manage to breach the wall and enter, they would only be met with no cover and no stronghold to take control of.


    Teleportation detection stopped people from entering however they wanted, and the strikeforce of the ck Raven Kingdom which was ranked among the top in terms of speed of response made anyone think twice before deciding to attack thesends.


    Daneel had already read about all these facts in the dossier they had back in Lanthanor.


    Although he had been reluctant to pause his training, he had taken the decision to investigate the Kingdom himself because he might soon have to figure out a way to take control of it just like how he had done with Eldinor.


    This was actually his second stop after leaving from the Lanthanorian Pce, because he had first gone to the location of the Ker Gem mine to pick up the gems formed in the Natural Energised Training Chamber.


    d that he at least had a way to train without taking the risk to expose the goo, Daneel had taken on this disguise before entering the Kingdom.


    After reaching the vige, he saw that the style of architecture was different from Lanthanor’s.


    In Lanthanor, even viges had houses made of stone bricks because the simple technology to construct such houses had been proliferated in the public long ago.


    Yet, in the ck Raven Kingdom, he saw that many houses were still made of mud and thatch.


    Of course,rger establishments such as inns were still made of stone bricks.


    Taking lodging in one such inn in the town which was closest to the location where the ck Raven King would soon fight the challenger, Daneel ordered the local delicacies before asking the bartender, "I’ve been to Lanthanor and Eldinor, but this is the first time I saw houses like these which looked so primitive. Why is this the case?"


    The bartender was an individual who had an eye patch, with an old raven perched on his shoulder who was looking at Daneel suspiciously as if he wasn’t who he seemed to be.


    Indeed, after entering the Kingdom he had realised that ck Ravens weren’t as rare as he had thought in his mind. Out of 10 citizens that he had seen, at least three or four had ravens perched on their shoulders or resting on their hands while the people went about their daily tasks.


    Although he had read this metric in the dossier, the sight was truly something to behold.


    It was almost as if the entire society was built around this intelligent species and the humans.


    ording to what he had read, each and every ck Raven citizen would have the option of trying to bond with a Raven after reaching the age of 14.


    This offer was not extended to outsiders, or even those that had chosen to marry outside their own society.


    This reminded Daneel of some of themunities on earth who also acted the same way, being open to outsiders but still prioritising ’blood’.


    Because the poption of the citizens itself numbered in the millions, inbreeding wasn’t a problem except in rare cases.


    "Typical foreigner. Those are the houses of the true citizens, and they are a tier above whenpared to the stone houses. They keep the houses cool naturally and are enchanted with special spells for added defense. I wish I could live in one of those."