324 THE BAI

Eric was dissatisfied and leave the court almost immediately after rebuking Zeus harshly, reminding him of Zeus past mistake of not listening to wise counsel that leads to United Kingdom of Veva to fail miserably in the bid to gain the world. 

If this is any other minister in the court, they probably would be demoted and sentence into the jail and if Zeus mood is in bad condition, they might be executed for insulting the royal prestige

But because it was Eric, he simply got out of the Palace and went back to his residence. 

At night he however was summoned by the King to walk along the trails of the city wall.

He knows then that Zeus wanted to explain to him and Eric had the time to calm himself down after the debacle.

After all, Zeus is his friend. 

Even though both Zeus and Eric could not remember their time in Western Heaven they both felt it and remember that they were close friend and as such, he come to the wall. 

And with that opening words, Eric knows that Zeus is about to explain why.

Zeus smiles bitterly and then said

'Apollo had given the name. I could hardly refuse. Since I could not refuse, I better accept the name and by saying it is a nice name, at least I won't feel like I am forced of changing the name'

Zeus said. Eric sighed and did not ask anything else. 

Zeus smiles and said to Eric

'Now you understand why. Will you still bear a grudge against me, Eric?' Eric shake his head.

'How could I not understand your difficulties? I just never expected that the Gods is blatantly interfering now. if this is the case, even I would not stop you. And I understand why you would not let it be revealed that it was Apollo that give you such order. Being the errand boy of the gods would not give you a good reputation among the people' Zeus nodded.

This time they both sighed. 

Eric chuckles a bit and Zeus laughed. That is the only thing they could do because they felt very helpless.

Eric knows the mixed feeling of his friend. 

While he was Blessed by the Gods, he himself did not like some of the interference that the Gods had done.

Zeus is a man that relied on himself. Even the power and the acknowledgement by the Gods is because of his effort.

But the Gods since the return of the adventurers slowly interfere in many things in the mortal world. 

But Zeus couldn't blame anyone in this 

At that time during the Feast of Western Gate, he had burn an offering to Olympus asking for divine intervention to kill Aero. 

Apollo and Artemis answer his call and loaned him their weapons and arms to him. 

He got the Sword of the Sun belonging to Apollo and the Shield of Artemis to defend him against any attack

It is a Divine Armaments. 

Since then Aero had always been a constant headache and the obstacle for them to break through to the Eastern region of the continent.

The wind blows coldly tonight and it waves the royal robe that Zeus is wearing. 

Today he is wearing his royal clothing.

There is more than just trying to clear the misunderstanding between them that made him summon Eric today. 

After clearing his throat, Zeus ask the question that he had been having for the past couple of months

'Is it him?' He asked. 

Eric hear the question and he instantly know who Zeus is referring to.

'It is very probable that it is him. Even though I have no proof, this kind of world encompassing scheme that take consideration of everything that would happen is probably that person scheme'

Chuckling bitterly, Eric said

'You doomed if you move, you lost if you do not move. This kind of scheme where each move you make only progress toward loss could only be crafted that person. That person is also the only one that have the resources and influence required to make this scheme a reality. It is a gut feeling'

'And the more I see events unfolding the more I am confident that he is the one scheming in the dark. That traitor Kyle military moves suddenly change in the past couple of weeks. It is nothing like Kyle previous tactics. His tactic now become mysterious and hard to fathom and full of tricks. I never saw such tactic other than when studying the tactics of that person'

Hearing this Zeus frowned.

'He is finally appearing again'

Zeus is of course talking about Aero. 

Half a year ago, he wanted to move his army and conquer Duvar the moment that Veranis broke the alliance between them and Vanheim. 

Duvar was isolated and it is the biggest chance for him to conquer Duvar and claim the right to rule

He was confident he could take the holy city in a week.

But Eric vehemently argued against taking Duvar when at first he was very eager.

In the beginning, Eric also fears that it is a scheme for someone. 

But after sending his spies and found nothing suspicious, Eric also wanted to take Duvar.

But the when the matter of the war was discussed in the court, suddenly Eric change his tune and vehemently argued against it

He did not spoke of the reason in the court and instead asking for recess and during that time Eric spoke to him the disadvantage of taking Duvar.

The temptation is very great. 

If Veva manage to take Duvar, they could probably gain a step forward to regain back the trend of the era

But Eric had persuaded him and mention to him the unusual calmness of the three kingdoms which made Eric felt that there is a hand in the dark guiding them to take Duvar.

It is like a bait thrown into the water and waiting for someone to bite it. 

When they calm down and see the map thoroughly and think about all the factors that they missed, it is only after that they see the hidden danger of taking Duvar. 

They both agreed on one thing after thinking of all the possibility.

They could take Duvar…. but they couldn't keep it. And if they could not keep it, why should they take it?

The conclusion is that they have to wait. 

And since they did not move, the other kingdoms in the western regions also did not move. 

And for the past half a year, this is the cause of the perpetual tension butane the kingdoms of the western region. 

They all waited for someone to take the bait. 

The more Eric study this tactic, of making the holy city as a bait, the more he is sure that this is Aero work.

Damned if I do damned if I don't. 

If they move, they would then begin an open conflict with all the kingdoms around them. 

There is the Holy Empire of Zun, there is Savillia, there is Aerosia and many other kingdoms.

How could they move? 

Eric of course is trying to think of countermeasures like attacking Aerosia and pacifying the kingdoms around them first. 

But Aerosia is supported in secret by many forces that did not want Veva to extend their reach even further from their current size. 

The more time passes, the more each kingdom realizes that they all could not move without exposing their weakness.

If none of these kingdom is aware of these, then they would not be constrained by this deadlock.

But because each one was aware, it created this deadlock. 

Of course if Kyle heard of this he could guess that the letters that Aero had sent to the three leaders is actually a trap. 

If he did not send the letters and warn the three leaders, then Veva probably would get away with it. 

Veva would easily able to take Duvar and before the other kingdoms surrounding Duvar could act, it would be too late by then

But because everyone know what is at stake this knowledge restrains them. 

This also created the current situation where each kingdom would not move, fearing to bring the entire western region into a great conflict 

The letter is not simply a warning. 

It is a trap. 

This is the hallmark of Aero strategy. 

It is always full of layers of deception and tricks.

Each of his move could con attain many objectives. 

A letter that should have been harmless, had not only warn but restrain the kingdoms of the west while freeing up Aero to do what he wanted in the Plain

And even if they could take Duvar, the aftermath is something terrifying. 

Each kingdom had think of one possibility and it is that if any kingdoms take Duvar and started moving and the other kingdoms also started moving, then by the end of this royal rumble, one of the kingdoms would fall.

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