Whispers in the Council Chamber

Hella Kingdom, Palace Council Chamber.

The magical lamps on the vaulted ceiling illuminated the hall brightly. At this moment, the long table in the council chamber was crowded with people, and armored soldiers stood lining the windows.

The man sitting at the head of the council table was nearly fifty years old with sharp eyes. He was the King of the Hella Kingdom—Arthur Hella.

“Minister of Border Defense, has the cause of the recent magical beast riots in the Forest of Death been investigated?” His stature was not imposing, yet everyone present instinctively sat up straighter.

The thin, middle-aged man sitting on the left side of the long table stood up, bowed slightly, and frowned deeply. “Replying to Your Majesty, the magical beasts on the outskirts of the Forest of Death are overly dense, and their level of restlessness exceeds normal parameters.” He paused and said somewhat cautiously, “We dispatched three scout teams, but the furthest only penetrated forty kilometers into the outskirts. As for the situation deep inside, we have not yet investigated it clearly...”

The King looked at the Minister of Border Defense, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop, his voice betraying little emotion. “What about the Adventurer's Guild?”

“We posted an adventure commission of Diamond Rank and above at the Adventurer's Guild, but no adventurers have accepted it yet,” the Minister of Border Defense said somewhat anxiously. “The cause of the anomaly is currently unknown. An anomaly capable of causing so many magical beasts to flee is not something even high-level adventurers would easily take on.”

Silence fell over the council chamber for a brief moment.

“Your Majesty, this old minister shall make a trip personally.” An elderly man sitting on the left spoke slowly. He wore a dark-red mage robe, his hair was white, but his eyes were sharp. Even when facing the King of Hella, he showed no obsequiousness.

The King's gaze turned to the elderly man, and he remained silent for a moment.

“With Court Mage Leader Aler going personally, this King is naturally at ease.” The King nodded slightly, his tone softening a bit. “Prioritize safety. Once you ascertain the situation, leave as quickly as possible. Do not enter that territory unless absolutely necessary.”

The elderly man was none other than Aler, the Court Mage Leader of the Hella Kingdom. He was a long-lived Red Jade Rank fire mage and the former headmaster of the Royal Magic Academy. Many of the ministers present, including the King himself, had once been his students.

Aler nodded and sat back down, saying nothing more.

Another minister at the long table spoke up at the opportune moment, steering the conversation back to border defense: “Your Majesty, the defense status of the two border cities, Linyu Port and Shixiao City, is currently within manageable limits. Most of the beasts assaulting the walls are scattered low-level magical beasts, and our current garrison is sufficient to handle them.” Having said that, he flipped through his documents. “Recently, we mobilized forces from the inner city to reinforce both cities with a Gold Rank mage squadron each, so there is no risk of them falling in the short term.”

“However, we do not know how long this beast tide will last. Linyu Port relies heavily on trade for its resources, and under the current circumstances, trade has basically ground to a halt. If this continues for a long time, it will trigger a famine.”

The King frowned slightly and asked, “How much longer can Linyu Port hold out?”

“About two months. If the beast tide persists, their food supplies will be completely depleted.”

The King's finger paused on the armrest, then tapped it slowly twice. “This King recalls that Linyu Port's granary reserves could last at least half a year in previous years. How is there only two months left?”

The minister wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly explained, “Replying to Your Majesty, that was indeed the case in previous years. However, due to the severe drought this year, the harvest in the southern region was less than half of previous years, so the amount shipped to Linyu Port was naturally reduced. They relied entirely on maritime trade with the Kingdom of Chaowu to make up the deficit. Now that the magical beast riots have disrupted port trade, food is only leaving the city's reserves with none coming in. Two months is already a generous estimate.”

Silence fell over the council chamber once more.

The King turned his gaze to the Minister of Finance, who sat on the right side of the long table and had remained silent. “How much food can still be mobilized from the national treasury?”

The Minister of Finance stood up. “Replying to Your Majesty, supporting both Linyu Port and Shixiao City simultaneously can last at most half a year.”

“Understood. If the beast tide is still ongoing in a month, allocate another two months' worth of supplies to these two cities.” The King finalized the plan after a brief consideration.

“Eight months at most,” the King's voice deepened. “If the beast tide is still active after eight months, the border cities will run out of food.”

“Your Majesty, there is one more thing... Recently, a large volume of high-quality magical crops has flowed into the Royal Capital.” A young official pulled out a ledger from his person. “Golden tomatoes, magical chilis, magical pumpkins, Moonlight Grass... These items far exceed ordinary magical crops, and are even much better than the treasures harvested from dungeons.”

As he spoke, he tapped his finger on the ledger. “However, the source of all these goods points to Linyu Port. The specific trail goes cold at a small firm called the Morris Chamber of Commerce, and the person in charge is extremely tight-lipped.”

“Continue the investigation, but do not alert them. Since he is using official channels, do not make any moves against him. It is impossible for there not to be a powerful force behind someone who can stably provide such crops,” the King said calmly.

“Understood.”

With official business concluded, the atmosphere in the council chamber finally eased slightly. The King picked up the teacup beside him and had just taken a sip when the Second Prince, sitting to his lower right, stood up and spoke: “Father, I have heard that Loviki Lawrence has been active in the vicinity of Linyu Port recently.”

Second Prince Alan was reasonably handsome, with a faint resemblance to Arthur, but his expression was much more frivolous. He spoke with an air of deliberate casualness: “She has been away from home for many days, and the Lawrence Family is also very concerned. Furthermore, the situation at the border is unstable. Should I dispatch people to bring her back to the Royal Capital?”

“The matter of our marriage alliance has dragged on for so long; it is time we had a resolution. I also wish to take this opportunity to show our sincerity to the Lawrence Family.” The Second Prince's tone was very casual, as if Loviki were merely an object that needed to be “brought home.”

The other ministers in the council hall remained silent, and the Minister of Border Defense even shifted his gaze to the map.

The King held his teacup and looked at Alan, his scrutinizing gaze lingering for a moment before he finally said indifferently, “Loviki's matter will naturally be handled by the Lawrence Family. Instead of worrying about this, you would do better to finish reviewing the tax petitions from those northern lords.”

Arthur knew very well that his second son's character and ability were far inferior to Loviki's, but this marriage would bring no harm to the royal family, and the Lawrence Family was also keen to make it happen.

However, if that genius fencer was resolutely against the marriage alliance, he should consider putting the matter aside. Trying to win over an unparalleled genius of the Hella Kingdom in this manner would either drive her to oppose the kingdom or ruin her, neither of which was something he, as the sovereign of this nation, should do.

But for now, the most important thing was to resolve the crisis in the Forest of Death...

Prince Alan's smile stiffened for a fraction of a second, but he quickly regained his nonchalant expression. “Father is right. Then I shall wait a little longer.”

He leaned back in his chair, crossed one leg over the other, and let his gaze drift toward the plaza outside the window, clearly having lost all interest in the council meeting.

After the meeting adjourned, Arthur and Aler left together privately.

“Your Majesty, this old minister will set off for the Forest of Death tomorrow. Once the situation is clear, I will send word back to the palace as soon as possible.” Aler bowed his head slightly to the King.

“Take care, Teacher.”