Chapter 696 A Past Recounted

Chapter 696 A Past Recounted

Astaroth couldn't believe the answer.

"Today?!" he exclaimed.

"How am I supposed to travel to the center of the continent in one day?!"

Rodney looked at the king with a raised eyebrow.

"The... teleporter?" he said, confused how Astaroth had forgotten the immense cubic structure that dominated the south plaza of the outer ring. nove-lb-In

Astaroth took a second to register the response.

"Oh... Right..."

Rodney shook his head slightly.

"But that is beside the issue here. Even if making it there fast is not a problem, that means you can't go with a proper escort. We will never have time to prepare a contingent. Bringing soldiers anywhere requires a massive amount of supplies and preparation.

"I'm sure the matriarchs did this exactly for this reason. They probably expect you to go alone with the queen, and maybe two or three escorts. This way, they have the upper hand. Their slyness hasn't diminished one bit in two decades..."

Astaroth could see the unease on Rodney's face as he said those last words.

"Phoenix told me. Is going there too much for you? I can ask another commander to come if you prefer not to be there. Or I can ask Leon, who I am sure will complain, but he'll obey."

"So, with only a sword and a name to himself, the boy chose to leave the kingdom altogether. This boy was I. I left Themiscus with a cheap training sword, and the name Levine, to remember the shame of being mana-less, in a kingdom that valued magic over everything else."

Astaroth sat there, listening to him, and he could feel every emotion that passed through the man as he told his past to him. Despair, anguish, fear, anger.

"Rodney, I don't want to force you to come. If what you say is true, and I don't doubt you, then you would have to meet with your mother. The woman who cast you out for not reaching her expectations... That would be insensitive of me..."

But Rodney looked at him with resolve.

"You are not forcing me, King Astaroth. I want to go. I want to show my mother and father what I have become. Show them that even without their precious magic, I became someone important. Someone powerful. Please, allow me this chance."

From the look in his eyes, Astaroth understood this meant a lot to him.

It meant a chance. A chance to redeem himself in the eyes of people who thought nothing of him.

He could never take this away from him.

"Okay. Then, if you are to come, you will still lead men. But not your own. I don't want to let them wait too much, in case they take it as a sign of weakness. I will have a group of adventurers from Paragons be ready to depart in a few hours.

"You will lead them to defend Phoenix and me. And you will prove Rodney Levine is not a nobody. He is the proud commander of the Stellar Woodlands Royal Guard."

Rodney's face changed to a proud smile.

Slamming his fist into his chest, he rose to his feet.

"I shall not disappoint you, my king! I shall make Themiscus' Council of Matriarchs understand, that our kingdom is not one they can step on as they please!"

Astaroth only smiled in response.