Chapter 421 - Changes

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It has been several years since something like that had happened. Still, all the commanders of all armies across the Sairus kingdom had been summoned by the king for some reason. Even the leaders of special units had been summoned like Cohnal, Melisse, and Nyana. They also met Ruvyn, Elius, and Erean when they were heading to the castle's gates. After greeting each other with a smile, a heavy atmosphere surrounded them. They could guess why they had been summoned… it was due to their lack of progress regarding the jobs the king gave them.

Right at the moment, the bloody knights had five thousand members since they had been moving around the kingdom dealing with rebels and criminals. Their fame was only second to Drannor, the legendary unrivaled spearman that never got even scratched in a fight. People saw him carrying a sword on his back, the king's sword, but they had yet to see him using that Legendary weapon.

When the group entered the throne room, they saw several other commanders, but they didn't care about them. What surprised them was the fact that the king and the queen weren't on the thrones. Some rumors could be found around the capital that said that both the king and the queen were ill. It was no wonder since they have been fighting nonstop in the last eight years, trying to find the whereabouts of their granddaughter. Not to mention, years ago, they lost contact with the assassin's organization, so they were having a hard time finding any information about Zaos since the incident in the royal castle of the Ashiris kingdom. Instead of the queen and king, they found Drannor in front of the throne.

"Five years… five years have passed since the last time we heard about that Cursed kidnapper," Drannor said. "I heard every day from the king about how he is disappointed in his soldiers… who can't find a single criminal. Now he has fallen ill due to his endless concerns… you people, what should I tell our king the next time I see him?"

No one dared to answer that. It was an impossible question to begin with, and Drannor looked much more displeased than usual. As much as he could, he would leave the capital in search of his daughter, but now that Dalyor and his wife were sick, he had to stay and solve pretty much all the pressing matters in the place of the king. He had the weight of two kingdoms in his shoulders, and he couldn't find his daughter and avenge his wife… It was almost a miracle that he had managed to stay sane until now.

"Answer me!" Drannor shouted.

Once again, no one said a thing. Instead of an answer, Drannor heard a sigh coming from Melisse, and when he glared at her with murderous intent, she only rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time that Drannor had lashed out at his subordinates. Right at the moment, he was the supreme commander of all forces of both kingdoms, so it had become a somewhat normal occurrence.

"... His Majesty says that all of you are important members of this kingdom, while he is disappointed with your lack of progress, he thinks that neither of you can be punished for it," Drannor said. "However, if he dies, then I will be the next king and I will behead everyone who made the king fall ill… it goes without saying who am I talking about, am I right?"

Once again, no one replied. Royal orders couldn't be disobeyed or not fulfilled, so everyone there knew that the king was being truly merciful in not punishing them in any way. It was a pity that the next king wouldn't follow in his footsteps and become merciful like him. Truth to be told, more than worried about imminent death, they were more ashamed of themselves because most of them knew Ameria very well and wanted to avenge her. Cohnal, Melisse, and Nyana were the only ones who only met the princess a few times. Still, they could imagine what kind of person she was by seeing their allies trying so hard.

"You are dismissed… the next time any of you will be called to the capital, it will be the last time," Drannor said. "I would advise deserting since I won't feel satisfied unless I am the one who deals the killing blow."

The group left the castle, already thinking that it would be the last time they would enter such a place. Not like they would miss the chance to do it in the future. After all, the castle looked more ominous and depressing by the minute.

"What a life, huh," Melisse said. "Who could have thought that becoming a commander would also force me to follow the orders of a vengeful brat," Melisse said.

"Sometimes I wonder why you are so desperate to get ourselves killed by saying this kind of thing in the garden of the castle," Cohnal sighed and then facepalmed. "Put yourself in his shoes for a moment…"

"So, after all this time… did you guys managed to think as to why Zaos did all this?" Elius asked.

"I decided to forget about him… such a self-centered brat," Cohnal said. "Look at what the following has done to us."

"Yeah, it put you on the road to become a commander of two thousand men… I am so sorry for you," Elius said while frowning. "The kid was too rational to do something like this… I am starting to think that he was really brainwashed by the followers of the demon god."

"No… he had been acting weird since before we tried to find their base," Cohnal said. "He did all this on his own volition."

"What I don't get it is… why the assassin who was Ameria's bodyguard helped him?" Elius asked.

"To be honest, if I knew where the Captain is, I would join his side," Melisse said.

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