91 Re-United
The ceremony went on as one after another people pledged their allegiance to Percy as soon 17 of the 21 chiefs had bent the knee.
In Avalon , while the Draco family mentained the national army , the other clans also mentained a small amount of independent soldiers that were permitted by the government to prevent internal rebellions and defend their own territory from petty issues like bandits.
Collectively across all 21 clans the total number of independant soldiers were well over 500,000 in number which were pledged as bannermen to the Avalonian throne today alongwith every clan leader that bent the knee.
This meant that not only did Leif manage to present a strong external image , but he was also successful in gaining a lot of added benefits for the avalonian throne , as with a simple trick he was able to rally 500,000 soldiers to the Avalonian army.
Most of the neighbours of Avalon were not thrilled by this turn of events , as Avalon having a semi democratic throne system reflected badly on their feudal ways , however everyone had to admit that the United Avalon was growing as a bigger and bigger threat with everyday that passed.
From excellent internal security to a flourishing economy and now even a secure future ruler . The country of Avalon looked on the up and up and it seemed that nobody could stop them now.
As the 20th Clan leader took the knee and everyone’s attention was captured on the ongoing ceremony , the wife of the 20th clan leader sneakily opened a bottle she had hidden beneath her dress , as she unleashed a shadow demon under the cover of the night .
Shadow demons were tools for assassination. They were semi-intelligent beings who used scent to hunt their prey and with the right scent available , they could hunt any human while being completely blended inside shadows.
Costing a fortune to buy and program , shadow demons could only be used by very influential governments to assassinate political opponents.
The dealers of shadow slaves only traded with high profile clients and made them sign soul contracts in exchange for the slave and charged an incredibly high price for the service..
Should the assassination attempt fail , the shadow slaves were trained to self destruct rather than fall into enemy hands , as every trace of their being was destroyed with their deaths.
Undetectable in the cover of night where shadows and darkness were everywhere , they could not be detected under normal threat scans , as they moved under the surface and without making even the slightest bit of noise.
It was because of this feature that shadow slaves were the assassination weapons of the elite class as not only did they have a high rate of mission completion , incase of failure no tangible connection could be established between the slave and their contractor.
While low profile clients like independent clan leaders could be charged with a crime without proofs , influential government officers and powerful kingdoms could not.
In Everlon where the smallest conflicts turned into large scale showdowns , nobody could accuse anyone lightly of a heinous crime such as assassination.
The target of the shadow demon today was Percy Draco , and as the entire Draco family and Percy himself were in rapt attention over the pledges , the demon had the perfect opening to strike.
As the 21st and final clan leader bent the knee , the crowd erupted in cheers and applause albeit fake , as with his consent it was official that Percy became the crown prince of Avalon.
While everyone waited for him to complete his speach of allegiance , the shadow demon finally picked his moment and chose to strike.
Having already secretly circled to Percy’s back , he was virtually unopposed as he had managed to avoid Alexander’s detection with him not being on-guard against enemies hidden in the shadows of earth.
********
( Ronan’s POV)
While Ronan was happy for his brother , his focus inside the ceremony was completely on all the humans that had a threatening red aura about them as he continued to monitor them all for any signs of trouble.
Moments before the clan leaders wife was about to open the bottle , Ronan observed her aura change as it went from a murderous red to a pitch black depicting that she had death on her mind.
In that one moment , Ronan saw the demon being unleashed as it buried itself inside the ground.
Having a chaotic black and red aura the demon moved from within the shadows , as while everything looked normal on the surface in darkness , when the demon passed under a torch his shadow that reflected nothing was as clear as a day.
Ronan was calm in this situation , he could have shouted and alerted everyone about the demons presence , but he chose not to . Instead he carefully observed the demons movements.
The demon was fast and it took only a matter of seconds for it to circle behind the Draco family as it closed in on its prey.
Ronan constantly moved from the very back of the crowd to the very front as it watched the demon , but he could not find an opening to attack the demon before it came out of the ground.
Laser focused in saving his family , Ronan forgot about the fact that he was supposed to be hiding , as him coming to the front of the queue instantly gathered grandfather Augustus’s attention on him.
Although Augustus saw Ronan his first reaction was to sigh in melancholy as he thought that his brain was hallucinating.
Choosing to look at his boy in joy and sadness , he watched on thinking it was a merry dream . However as Ronan suddenly moved with incredible speed alerting both Percy and Alexander , Augustus broke out of his stupor as well.
SPLAT!
Ronan had been stabbed …
******
( Meanwhile the three Protectors council )
” How many times do we have to tell you … The Aesir are dead . Yes humanity has wronged the Aesir , but i donot approve of a stay order on the extermination of the Draco clan just because you beleive that the boy maybe special “. Medivh said in an annoyed tone as he found Shakuni’s ideals childish and idealistic.
Medivh was a mage , an ancient order that was founded from before humans became elemental users , as while the humans did not have the dantian to convert world’s mana into elemental energy , they did possess the intelligence to find alternatives.
The ancient order of Magi , managed to wield the world’s mana in its purest forms and create the holy mage kindom where they reside to this day.
It was because of this upbringing that Medivh detested the forbidden elemental users the most , as while it took the mages countless sacrifices to wield the mana of the world , the superior elemental users were just born with the affinity to wield mana close to its purest form without any training required.
At the same level , throughout the history of mankind there was never a mage that defeated a forbidden elemental user , and it was a stain that made Medivh vehemently despise the chosen ones.
He wanted to revoke the stay order on the annihilation of the Draco family that shakuni had placed and he wanted the world to be reminded that the forbidden elemental users were nothing more than a menace to society . A menace that the world order would not stand for
However shakuni remained stubborn.
He said ” Read the report carefully Medivh , the boy has yet to slaughter an innocent . What is his punishment for then? being born ? “.
Medivh snorted as he found Shakuni’s words to be ridiculous , he said ” Do i have to wait for thousands of innocents to die before i make my move?
The kid has forbidden powers and hence his entire bloodline must be eliminated. THIS IS THE WAY ! “.
BANG! Medivh banged his fists on the stone table and completely destroyed it.
However shakuni remained unfazed as he snapped his fingers and it became restored once more.
His voice deepening , as a black aura surrounded him , shakuni said ” I’ve given you my verdict , unless you want me to leave this boyband of yours …. you will comply “.
Medivh did not take the threat lying down and instantly started chanting an disaster class spell of his own , as the world’s mana swirled around his body!!!
Darren found the escalating fight to be dangerous , hence he mediated before it went out of control.
Darren said ” Let’s give the boy a chance Medivh , if the ring acknowledges him as it’s master then we let him live… “.
Then looking at Shakuni he said ” If the ring doesn’t acknowledge the boy …. or he kills an innocent before or after being acknowledged and loses controls of his powers…. He dies “.
” Tch , fine ” , Medivh was the first to say as he let go off his spell , but continued to glare at shakuni who did not say a word.
” Ok “.
In the end shakuni agreed as this year’s meeting of the three protectors was concluded with a fight over the fate of Ronan Draco.
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