Fate Online: Shadow

Chapter 493: His Majesty

After thanking Minerva and her guild for their meritorious deeds and sending them away with his butler to get their rewards, Captain Joshua and Count Farbius were the only ones left inside the hall.

"So did you see them with your own eyes Captain? Are you sure those monsters were really from the Sea Race?" Count Farbius asked as he walked down the elevated platform and towards the Victorian window with Captain Joshua walking alongside him and cast their gazed at the view of the bustling city in the distance.

"Based on the descriptions and sketches that I've seen before, it is indeed them. Most of those monsters that attacked the Flame Rose Guild were the ones called Deep Sea Murlocs, and the appearance of a One-Horned Arctic Whale made me even more certain.

After all those monsters are the equivalent of our land's Battering Rams, Lord Count" Captain Joshua answered seriously as the scene of that monster ramming the guild's ship is still fresh in his mind.

Count Farbius released a sigh and was silent for a few seconds before saying, "It seems our land will once again descend into chaos, and that Undead Horde that appeared on the other side of the continent is only the beginning."

"The continent would have to unite again if it happens, but with the constant tensions and skirmishes between the countries, I doubt they would easily work together" Captain Joshua added, since even their kingdom is currently at war with the neighboring Strovan Kingdom.

"That doesn't matter, as long the Sages appear, they won't have any choice but to listen to them" Count Farbius replied, and his hands couldn't help but slightly tremble when a distant memory appeared in his mind.

It was a memory of twenty years ago when he witnessed the Dragon Master, Hiccup, leading his dragons to destroy a Kingdom, where the man had mercilessly purged the Kingdom's entire capital alongside its inhabitants and the royal family.

It was a cold-blooded massacre.

Of course, they weren't humans, but the Undead who created their kingdom over the dead bodies of the land they ravaged. Where its residents didn't even receive their peace on their death and were instead resurrected as zombies to join the ranks of the very monsters who killed them.

They weren't humans, but that memory still gives him goosebumps every time he remembers that scene that day.

While the two were chatting, a large bird could be seen flapping gracefully in the sky and was approaching the castle. It circled the skies a few times before it it landed on a building where messenger birds were kept.

With the hawk's arrival, its handler who noticed it earlier immediately approached it and took out the small parchment of paper from the leather holder attached to its leg.

The caretaker hurriedly handed it over to a nearby attendant, and the latter also quickly made his way inside the castle.

Entering through a small door at the side of the audience hall, the castle butler who took the letter from the attendant from earlier immediately called out, "My Lord! A letter from the Royal Capital has arrived!"

Count Farbius and Captain Joshua looked at each other, and the former quickly took the small parchment that the attendant handed to him.

Count Farbius unfurled the small parchment and read its contents, and his face slowly became grave the longer he read it.

"What is it?" asked Captain Joshua with eyes full of curiosity as he wondered what the contents were when he saw the expression on his friend's face.

Count Farbius didn't immediately reply to his inquiry and instead, there were some magic fluctuations in the air before the parchment caught on fire a second later.

He turned to his friend and said, "His Majesty is coming, he'll be arriving tomorrow"

Captain Joshua was shaken as his eyes widened, "What?! How come we're only getting the news now?!"

Count Farbius just shook his head as he also didn't have any idea, he turned his head towards his butler and relayed his orders, "Get the castle ready to receive His Majesty tomorrow! Place the city on high alert, and…start cleaning up the rats in the streets. I want them gone by tomorrow, dismiss!"

"As you command, my lord!"

The butler's eyes flashed with a cold glint as cleaning up the rats in the streets only means one thing, a purge!

A purge directed towards enemy spies and any hostile organizations towards them!

Not even ten minutes later, twenty teams of 50 soldiers consisting of 15 cavalry, 20 infantry, 10 archers, and a group of 5 wizards charged out of the castle gates and dispersed in different directions.

Soon, armed conflicts occurred in different parts of the cities, causing civilians around those places to run away from fear and the nearby businesses to quickly closed down their stores as they were afraid that they might accidentally get involved in this conflict especially when they saw thay the soldiers of the City Lord were the ones involved.

Back at the City Lord's castle, Captain Joshua and Count Farbius are still deep in talks when the huge door leading to his hall is slowly pushed open as Minerva appears at the door. She carefully walks forward with the butler walking ahead of her.

"My lord, I have brought Guild Leader Minerva"

The butler gave Minerva the signal to stop when they were halfway from reaching the Count, and the former hurriedly made his way toward his lord and gave his report before he slowly distanced himself from them.

The count just nodded and signaled for Minerva to come over.

"Greetings Lord Count. It's an honor to see you again" Minerva sent her greetings first to the city lord before turning her attention to the other person beside him, "Greetings, Captain Joshua"

"Leader Minerva, sorry for summoning you hastily when we've just parted ways not long ago"

"It's not a bother Lord Count, I'm pretty sure that there must be some pressing matters to deal with when you have urgently summoned my presence here" Minerva answered eloquently, and at the same time, she was also surprised that the noble before had actually apologized to her since not only her, but all the players in the game had the impression that almost all nobles in the game are pretentious arrogant pricks.

'Maybe because the highest nobles that most players had met so far are only Barons. I guess, the higher their titles are, the more they act as real nobles' Minerva thought, but she didn't cast aside the thought that the Count before her is just built different from the rest of his peers and he's just more humbler.

"Yes, it indeed is something serious that I summoned you here. I want you and your people to get yourselves ready since I'm planning on bringing you and two more of your people to welcome the arrival of His Majesty tomorrow" Count Farbius didn't beat around the bush and quickly told her the purpose of coming here.

"Huh?"

Minerva was dumbfounded at first before she was shaken awake when the City Lord's words finally registered in her head, especially when the familiar blue screen popped oit before her eyes.

[A Quest has been generated!]

[Quest: Get Ready To Meet His Majesty]

Get yourself and the boys ready! Wear the best clothes you can wear for tomorrow to make an impression on the King! It's even better if you can wear a full set of Epic-Grade equipment!

Reward: There's a slight chance that you might receive a Quest directly from the King!

Failure: None!

Hint: Stick to the Count always and you might get your long-awaited wish.