CHAPTER 67: THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR 2

(Third Person POV)

Everyone sat at the table while their focus was on the black-haired boy.

"Currently, the southern region of the kingdom has been suffering for many years without anyone knowing. Therefore, I need one of you to go there and improve the situation."

Orlax spoke as he watched the map displayed on the table and looked at the people sitting in front of him.

"But Your Majesty, what about the southern duke? Won’t he oppose this?"

Lyric spoke, surprised by Orlax’s decision.

"Well, the southern duke is already dead. Elena killed him."

Orlax sighed as he recalled the information Elena had sent him earlier that morning.

"What?!"

"Who is Elena?"

Both Daria and Jordan spoke one after the other, each with a different question.

"Well, the southern duke was conspiring with the court and committed numerous crimes. As for Elena, she’s my new assistant."

Orlax placed several images on the table, taken by Elena, showing the scenes she had witnessed. Everyone began to feel disgusted by what they saw.

"That bastard!"

"What a vile person!"

Everyone had angry expressions on their faces—even Armanthor appeared disgusted by the scenes.

"But I’ve never heard of the name Elena before. Who is she?"

Jordan returned to the topic, curious about Elena.

"Well, you might not know her by the name Elena... but rather by another name—The Ugly Witch."

Orlax looked at Jordan for a few seconds before answering his question.

"That woman! Are you sure, Your Majesty, that she’s suitable for such a position?"

Orlax began to feel irritated by Jordan words about Elena and looked at him sharply.

"I don’t think it’s your place to judge who I appoint as my assistant. Since I chose her, that means she’s suitable—simple as that."

[The Emperor’s Presence Activated]

A suffocating pressure filled the room, making it hard for everyone to breathe.

"I apologize, Your Majesty, for my mistake. Please calm your anger."

Jordan spoke while clenching his teeth under the weight of the pressure.

The pressure began to gradually subside, and silence filled the room for a moment.

’I need to recover my ’Right’ quickly. I’m losing control of my emotions too easily.’

Orlax let out a sigh as he looked with his right eye at the cluster of white particles near his heart.

’I need a few more days and I’ll recover it.’

"Your Majesty, I will go to the south and manage the situation there."

Armanthor spoke suddenly, pulling Orlax out of his thoughts and drawing his gaze.

"Are you sure, Grand Duke?"

"Yes. Currently, I’m the only one capable of handling this mission due to my experience. As for the capital, I can leave it for a while since the situation there is stable."

Orlax nodded and then turned his gaze toward Daria, making her sit upright.

"Daria Moon, I want to know the economic status of the Empire, and whether we can enter a war without worrying about people starving."

"Your Majesty, our economy is self-sufficient. Although we import some things from other countries, the absence of those imports won’t affect us. The north supplies us with most of the meat consumed in the empire."

Daria took a sip of water to moisten her throat before continuing.

"And we get our crops from the eastern region. We have enough stock to last at least ten years. There’s no need to worry about the empire’s economy."

Orlax placed his hand on the table and began tapping his finger while thinking about Daria’s words.

"That’s good. But monitor the situation closely—some people might take advantage of the war to raise prices and make life harder for the people."

"Of course, Your Majesty. No need to worry about that."

Orlax nodded, then looked at Jordan, who was ready for his part.

"Your Majesty, we currently possess a huge quantity of magical missiles—enough to destroy entire empires. And we have enough soldiers to wage war against three empires simultaneously. I will also place tight security on the empire’s borders in case of emergencies."

"Well done."

Finally, it was Lyric turn. He appeared to be a man in his early fifties, with white hair and green eyes.

Lyric was in charge of magical affairs in the empire and was considered the second strongest mage after Armanthor.

"Your Majesty, we are currently working on a magical spell capable of creating a barrier to protect cities from sudden attacks. However, this spell requires ten master-level mages to activate due to the enormous amount of mana it needs. If I can find an alternative, we may be able to protect all cities in the empire this way."

Everyone looked at Lyric in shock because his words sounded like fantasy.

"Are you serious?"

"Since when did such a spell exist?"

Everyone began discussing it until Orlax raised his hand to signal them to quiet down.

"Where did you get such a spell, Lerik?"

"Your Majesty, do you remember the floating castle that crashed near the empire’s borders?"

Orlax nodded as he recalled the castle, which used to belong to The White One, as Elena had informed him.

"Well, I went to the crash site out of curiosity about the castle. There, I found a box with some words I didn’t fully understand. Inside, I found this spell."

Lyric pulled a small wooden box from his spatial ring and showed it to everyone.

The box looked a bit old and had several strange words that most of them couldn’t understand.

"What?!"

Orlax suddenly stood up, causing everyone to look at him strangely.

"Your Majesty, what is it? Do you know this box?"

Lyric and Armanthor asked as they stared at Orlax closely.

’How could this be...?’

He calmed down and sat back in his chair, thinking for a few seconds before speaking again.

"It’s nothing. I thought I saw something familiar."

Orlax waved his hand to signal Lerik to continue.

"The spell talks about powerful protective magic—complex in nature—and a part of it describes the creation of a dome that can protect entire cities."

Lyric handed out several papers that contained the spell and a simplified explanation of it.

"We currently have around 32 master-level mages in the empire. That means three cities a week, given the time required for mana recovery."

Lyric sat down and connected his phone to the table, displaying a map of the empire.

"The empire consists of 145 cities, so we’ll need about a year or more if any issues arise."

Silence filled the room after Lyric finished, and everyone started thinking of a solution.

"What if we use mages from other empires to reduce the time?"

John, who had remained silent until now, spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention.

"That’s not an option. If we bring in mages from outside, they’ll find out about the spell."

Armanthor replied, sighing as he explained something he considered obvious.

"Armanthor and I can help with the process. We both possess more than ten times the mana of a master-level mage. I also have rapid mana recovery, so I can cast two spells per day."

"That’s feasible. We can reduce the duration significantly—perhaps to two months."

Lyric nodded in agreement to Orlax’s suggestion.

’Still too long...’

"And we also have Elena, who has reached the grandmaster level. She can help as well."

After thinking for a while, Orlax informed them that Elena had reached grandmaster level, shocking everyone.

"Your Majesty, are you serious? The witch has reached grandmaster level?"

"That means we now have four grandmasters in the empire! Hahaha!"

Everyone was amazed by the news, while Armanthor had a big smile on his face.

"Yes, she hasn’t made it public for her own reasons. So I don’t want any of you to speak about it."

"Of course. With her help, we might finish in less than a month."

Everyone nodded and promised to keep the matter secret.

"Very well. Our meeting ends here. Everyone may leave... except John."

Everyone began leaving the room until only Orlax remained, sitting in his chair and staring at the tense John.

"Alright. Even though you did it because they threatened you, betrayal is still betrayal. So you will be imprisoned in a cell beneath the palace for now, and I’ll decide your punishment later. Is that clear?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. I’m ready for any punishment. Even if you execute me, I will not object."

John replied in a steady voice, clearly expecting this outcome.

Orlax called for the guards behind the door, who then escorted John to a cell beneath the palace.

Now alone in the meeting room, Orlax relaxed in his chair and let out a sigh.

"What was written on that box... Are you waiting for me now?"

[To Orlax Tirshtain, I, the Great One, send you this message. This spell is but a small piece of my treasure. Come quickly to my location. I am waiting for you.]

That was what was written on the box—in the exact same language as Orlax’s original world, before he was transferred to this body. His true world.