The Elemental Sword Demon King
Episode 166: Alliance Invitation Letter
Kaizo's gaze fell on the leather glove that covered his left hand.
(Alicia, what exactly are you planning?)
After arriving at this Wind Palace, he had contacted Kaizo twice. The first one is in the castle garden. The second was last night, before Viona's attack.
(But what exactly is his intention?) Kaizo's expression became very serious.
"Well, by the way..." Slowly, Victoria began to speak, “although we are very worried about the movement of the black knight and the dark spirit, we have no way to take precautions given our lack of information. After all, we can't just sit here and tighten up the defenses on the fort."
"really. If we focus too much on defense and fail to take action, it will make our priorities wrong." Eve nodded in agreement.
He's correct. The magic stones needed to advance to the finals were limited in number. If they did not take the initiative to attack, they would definitely lose out on the competition.
Right now, the only magic stones that Team Salamander had obtained were the two that they had taken from the Jarin Kingdom team. Even if all the members of Team Salamander persisted for these seven days, lacking sufficient magic stones would prevent them from advancing to the finals.
Gathering a number of magic stones in the opening stage, then relying on the fort defense and waiting for the other team to weaken each other before venturing out to rob their magic stones, this strategy only sounded good in theory.
To attack a defensive elementalist behind a sturdy fortress, it would be as bad a strategy as trying to encircle a castle with insufficient troops.
"Without exception, no team would have to attack on their own before their fortress was established..."
As Victoria explained calmly, Tiana shouted, "Something has entered the barrier!"
Instantly, tension appeared on everyone's faces.
"Look over there!" Victoria pointed to the sky. A winged rabbit was seen flying over the forest. It was no ordinary creature, it was clearly a spirit.
"Spirit scouts the enemy team?"
"Hmph, watch as I shoot him!" Aura shouted out in tongues and released her elemental aero, a magic ice bow.
"Wait a minute, don't attack!" Victoria hit hard on Aura's head with a soup spoon.
"Ouch! I-it really hurts, what are you doing!?" Holding her head, Aura shouted while crying.
"You didn't even think for a moment before deciding to shoot down," Victoria shrugged in annoyance. "Watch carefully. It's the messenger."
"Thousand?" The aura frowned as Kaizo and the others focused their gaze on the spirit.
Turning far above them, the spirit dropped something it held in its mouth.
Fluttering, a letter landed on the table. Carefully checking the letter to make sure it wasn't a trap, Victoria then opened the envelope to read the contents.
"What is this about?"
"A proposal for an alliance."
"Federal?"
Everyone looked at each other.
****
The letter was sent from Rupture Division, Rossvale Kingdom. The bottom of the message has the signature of the division leader with the Royal seal.
"The seal looks real. I don't think this is faked."
Familiar with the official correspondence, Tiana checked the letter and lightly placed it back on the table.
"Rossvale Kingdom..." Kaizo muttered with an amazed expression.
The Rossvale Kingdom was a small, newly-awakened country where the radicals had managed to gain independence from the Holy Kingdom of Lugia.
As an independent country, their history was rather short and this was only their second appearance at the Sword Style Festival. Nevertheless, served by high-level saint spirits, they were considered as the challengers of the dark horse in the current competition.
"Stirring up the most important sensation of all is their ace, Karmila Freya."
"If I remember correctly, participating at the young age of thirteen, she must be the youngest elementalist at this Festival?" Kaizo's question met Victoria's pouting face.
"Why do you remember the facts so surely? You pervert."
"Stop making misleading accusations, Victoria. You're the one who made me remember."
"Seriously, we can't be rash with you for even a second!"
"Like your title as the Night Demon King, your target age range is truly vast."
"What's with you girls?"
"Kaizo likes very young girls?"
As the young women glared at him, Kaizo's face twitched in discomfort. He replied to Nyx's words, "N-Nyx, why did you join this nonsense!?"
"By the way, who knew there would be a team sending an allied alliance so soon?" Kaizo coughed and changed the subject.
"Yes, it's really weird." Victoria nodded.
The «Tempest» rule does not prohibit teams from forming alliances. However, this is usually the last resort taken only by teams that are on the verge of elimination.
An alliance is not something that is easy to take lightly. Considering that even if the team fought in cooperation, in the end, only the top four teams advanced, this was completely natural.
In fact, there was hardly a case of a team allied together in the opening stages of Tempest at the previous Sword Style Festival.
"The chances of a trap seem quite high."
"That's right. An ambush must be waiting for us at the negotiating site." Aura agreed with Tiana's suggestion.
"However, if they really plan to deceive us, this trap is a bit too obvious. Maybe something happened that we didn't realize."
Kaizo knew that Victorian intuition was often quite accurate at times like these. In addition to inheriting the blood of the Lionstein family that gave birth to many queens for generations, perhaps Victoria was also endowed with a keen instinct from birth.
"If it's not a trap, maybe we can try it. Moreover, fighting within the unity, sharing information alone was already quite profitable."
(As expected of knights who came from a family of military traditions, Eve's mindset was very practical.)
"Furthermore, the elementalists of the Rupture Division were all renowned as rulers of powerful holy spirits. If we manage to form an alliance, they should prove to be reliable allies against the dark spirits mentioned earlier."
Kaizo could only glance at his left hand. Three years ago, Kaizo was caught up in a tough fight against a holy spirit. Indeed, forming an alliance with a team consisting only of saint elementalists would definitely be the most effective way to counter Alicia's intrigue.
"What do you think, Kaizo?"
Following Victoria's question, all eyes were on Kaizo.
"Indeed, the probability of a trap is quite high. However, there is value to be gained in response to the offer. However, our plan was not set. Whether it's a trap or not, let's just accept it and act accordingly."
"If Kaizo thinks so, I won't mind." Aura spoke up. Eve and Tiana also nodded in agreement.
"So it's decided, we'll negotiate an alliance with Rupture Division." Victoria nodded and pressed her hand against the Royal seal at the end of the letter.
Pronouncing a spirit language spell, immediately the seal began to burn, turning into a small fire spirit. This is the guiding spirit released from the seal.
The lowest spirit grade elemental, it was only capable of performing simple tasks like leading the way. But because of their convenience as ease of use, these spirits are widely used for inter-elementalist communication.
"The negotiating site is a two-hour walk."
"How many people do we have to send?"
"Not explicitly mentioned. But we can't let the five of us go."
"That's right."
If the other team broke through their stronghold while their defense was weakening, the sacrifice would not be worth it. Furthermore, making their way as the entire team through the forest would be too conspicuous and there was no need to provoke the other party's vigilance.
"Usually, two people should be the most appropriate."
"Then Nyx and I will be enough." Kaizo put his hand on Nyx's head and patted her.
...
*Connected.....
*Note: This story is fictitious. If there is a similarity in the name of the character, the scene, or the story, it is a mere coincidence and there is no element of intentionality.