"Really?!" Star and Josephine exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with surprise as Sunny simply nodded, a warm smile gracing his lips.
"When we have time, I'll teach you," he promised, his gaze lingering on their eager faces.
Josephine, still processing the revelation, turned back to her food, a thoughtful expression on her face. "So, what are we going to do now?" she asked, looking up at Star.
"My Queen," a deferential voice interrupted, and the three turned to see the head cook entering, followed by five maids, each balancing a tray laden with an array of dishes.
Josephine's face lit up. "Oh! What would I do without you?!" she exclaimed, a genuine smile adorning her features as the maids meticulously placed the food on the table.
"It's alright, my Queen," the head cook replied with a gentle smile.
Sunny offered a silent nod of thanks to the cook, and soon, the group was engrossed in their meal, the clinking of cutlery filling the air as the cook and maids discreetly exited.
"Hmm… Brother, why did you let that man escape?" Star finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence, her gaze fixed on Sunny.
"Yes… Why did you let Xanor escape?" Josephine echoed, a hint of confusion in her voice. "He's the vengeful type."
Sunny's smirk widened at her words. "I'm hoping on that."
"…?!"
Star and Josephine exchanged bewildered glances.
"Why?" Star pressed.
"Soon… You will understand," Sunny replied cryptically. Then, his tone shifted, becoming more direct. "Show me the map of the city. I want to know all the exit and secret passages." He turned to Josephine, who nodded in understanding.
"Now let's eat, we have a lot to do tomorrow."
___
[Tens of Miles from the City.]
BAM!
The ground shuddered, and the Wendigos, caught off guard, stopped their advance, their heads snapping up.
A brilliant pillar of light, descending from the heavens, slammed into the earth with immense force.
The Wendigos' general, who had been resting, rose to his feet as Xanor emerged from the fading light, clad in a sleek, black elite-class armor.
"Oh?!"
The general's lips curled into a smirk as Xanor strode towards him, the Wendigos instinctively parting to create a path. "What do we have here?" he drawled.
"Wipe out that smirk on your face," Xanor retorted coldly. "I am here to assist you."
"Haven't you been assisting us from the start?" the general asked, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
Xanor was silent for a moment, his gaze unwavering. "Take me to your king," he finally commanded.
"My King? Why would I do that?" the general's brow furrowed.
"Take me to your king, and you will have the whole beast nation as food," Xanor stated, his expression grim and resolute.
The general slowly sat back down, his gaze piercing. "You are discovered, right?"
Xanor remained silent, offering no reply.
"Okay then…" The general's expression hardened. "Help me wipe out the beast nation, and you will have the privilege to see our King."
"That I can do." Xanor turned, his eyes fixed on the distant, small city. "When would we reach?" he asked.
"A day after tomorrow," the general replied.
"Oh." Xanor looked at him over his shoulder. "Josephine now has a powerful mate… We will have to go all out."
"Going all out is my code," the general declared with a smirk, and with a swift snap of his fingers, the ground began to rumble.
BOOOOM!!!
Xanor whipped his head to the west, his eyes widening as a colossal worm, its body covered in menacing spikes, erupted from the earth.
SCREECH!!!!
"The Abyssal worm… Good. But I don't think one is enough."
"One? Who said anyone's having one?" The general's smirk widened.
BOOOM!!
BOOOOM!!
BOOOOM!!
BOOOOOM!!
BOOOOOM!!!
Xanor watched with stunned disbelief as more than twenty of these monstrous worms burst from the ground, their ear-splitting screeches echoing for tens of miles.
'He… He has such monsters, but hid them?! What was his previous plan?' Xanor mused, a frown creasing his brow.
'A total of fifty gigantic abyssal worms, all Half-Heavenly rank… Enough to take down a small army, and with their skills, we might win.'
He looked at the city on the horizon, a cold resolve settling in his eyes. "Just wait for me, I will make you beg for mercy," he muttered.
____
[Next Day!]
[One More Day for the War.]
[Elves Nation.]
[Throne Hall.]
The massive double doors swung open, revealing Blood Eye, Nioh, and Nicolas, followed by four elven soldiers, as they entered the opulent Throne Hall.
The Elves' Queen and King were seated on their thrones, observing the three as they stopped before them.
"Are you done with your investigation?" Blood Eye asked, her voice laced with an icy edge.
"Come on, we have to be sure," the King replied calmly. "You might be here with a motive; we need to make sure."
Blood Eye raised an eyebrow. "By keeping us still for hours?" she retorted.
"In the best rooms in the castle, and always attended to," the Queen pointed out, rising from her throne and walking towards the trio. "Your offer you gave us yesterday, we are sorry, but we won't accept it… The elves are the second strongest nation; even the Star Nation won't easily go against us, so why would we support you? I am not disrespectful or anything, just stating the strength."
Nioh scoffed. "If you say so. What about the other deal?"
"After doing the investigation and getting the report, we decided to sell the mercenaries… But we don't have that number you mentioned."
Nioh pondered for a second. "How many do you have then?" he asked.
The Elf Queen's gaze flickered to the third eye on Nioh's forehead, a knowing smile gracing her lips, aware that she couldn't lie to the man before her. "We have 5,000,000 Grand-Class mercenaries. 10,000,000 Elite-Class mercenaries. 50,000,000 Rare-Class mercenaries. 100,000,000 Common-Class mercenaries…" She paused, then asked, "Do you want Scrap-Class?"
"No…" Nioh thought, glancing over his shoulder at Blood Eye and Nicolas, then sighed. "Not much, but it will do," he said with a hint of disappointment.
'Not much?' The Queen and King, even the soldiers and council present, were utterly stunned by his remark.
"Okay… What's the total amount?" Nioh asked.
"Well… The total is two trillion galaxy crystals," the Queen stated.
Nioh nodded, his expression flat. With a thought, a holographic screen materialized before everyone, and in less than ten seconds, Sunny's face appeared on it.
"My King… This is the current situation."
Nioh proceeded to explain everything to Sunny, including the cost of the mercenaries.
"You must be the Queen, right?" Sunny asked, his gaze turning to the Queen, who nodded.
"165,000,000 mercenaries isn't enough…"
"Isn't enough? If I may, are you going to war?" she inquired, surprised.
"Yes… With the Wendigos," Sunny answered.
"Oh?" The Queen nodded in understanding, while Sunny continued, "Can you tell my subordinates how you create these mercenaries?" he asked.
"What?!" The Queen was stunned.
"Not acceptable!" The King shot to his feet in rage.
"Yes!! We held our position as the second strongest because of this secret!!" the oldest council elder yelled, his voice echoing through the hall.
"I won't agree with this!!"
"Same!!"
All the council members erupted, vehemently opposing the idea.
The Queen sighed. "Sorry, but I can't just—"
"Five trillion galaxy crystals for the information."
"…?!!!!"