Chapter 480 - Declaring War
Max frowned as he studied Niccolo’s face.
The elf’s heart rate hadn’t changed the entire time, letting him know that the Faction leader wasn’t lying.
He wanted to shout, but having already destroyed a few trees to prove his point, Max didn’t want to look like a pouting child.
Even though the older elf had pale skin, the blood drain was obvious.
He hadn’t stopped trembling since they appeared in the forest, where he had spent time with Rakonath a while back.
“So… in a city you claim to be unaware of everything, the princess did things without your knowledge. That makes it seem like the royal family isn’t happy with you.”
“I… you… After what happened in the arena. The queen… she told me my time would come when a replacement was found. Now… I’m certain that time will come sooner than I had anticipated.”
“It’s been almost half a year. What do you mean that time will come sooner?”
The older elf’s words rang true, and Max realized he was looking at the short term. Words from the tower and Chromie replayed in his mind.
Implications of actions that last generations and beyond… the elves are playing a long-term game. Is a year or even a decade really that long to them?
“So the rumors you heard then?”
“I couldn’t get anyone to confirm and just because I heard whispers of a princess in our city beyond the one you have in your party… I wouldn’t get involved with Atheila unless I had to. You know her reputation.”
Frowning, Max nodded.
“I’m not a fan of you. Do you realize that?”
Without waiting, the Faction leader nodded. “It’s obvious for many reasons.”
“Your people tried to kill me and my friends—”
“By order of the–”
Max’s hand slapped the older elf, cutting him off. “I don’t care who ordered it. You acted upon it. Even if your life is forfeited, that was a decision you made. Now you’re going to do something and before you tell me no, I will give you only one chance to make the right decision. Do you understand?”
Swallowing, Niccolo slowly nodded.
“We’re going to return to your Faction house. You’re going to raid the vault and give me whatever I want. And don’t think for a moment you’ll give me stuff from just one of the lesser or other vaults. I know about them all. Even the ones hidden by dimensional magic.”
His silver eyes widened.
“I… but that’s death…”
His voice was just a whisper, yet Max heard the fear conveyed in each word.
“Possibly. However, I’ll be kind and take you somewhere to hide from the King and Queen. Choose not to do what I say, and it’s an excruciating death. After that, I’ll find the next one who can do what I want. If I have to work my way through the entire Faction house, I will.”
“But… the aura… you’ll be hunted!”
Laughing, Max pointed at the trees that were standing upright in the field where he had driven them into the ground.
“Tell me, Niccolo. Who is going to stop me?”
For a moment, the Faction leader didn’t say a word as a gentle breeze blew across them. The sunlight slowly faded, and the sky turned into a beautiful shade of orange and red.
Eventually, Niccolo’s eyes found his.
“It would appear very few.”
Bobbing his head, Max let out a grunt.
“This means you need to decide how to proceed from this moment. But trust me when I say I’m the only one giving you a chance to live if you do what I say.”
***
A little over a dozen more elves found themselves sent to the afterlife, each having learned the hard way that their weapons and spells didn’t affect him. Two managed to land a blow that scratched him, and both were burned beyond recognition.
“No more should bother us,” Niccolo stated as he locked the door behind them. “They can’t get through here.”
With a nod, Max’s frown never left his lips.
“Did you realize how many zealots you have in your Faction?”
“I… I don’t consider them what you call them. None of us do,” he replied, leading Max down a hallway. “You forget, we are taught—”
“To hate humans.”
His voice echoed off the white stone walls, and he saw Niccolo wince a little.
“Yes… but you have to understand what your people did–”
“It was two thousand years ago,” Max stated. “Two thousand years ago, a price was paid in blood. Your goddess has unleashed a cleansing on my kind for that long, and trust me when I say that nothing my people did could even compare to what yours are doing.”
He was shocked when the older elf spun around, nostrils flaring and a scowl appearing.
“Are you sure?! Were you there? No! Having lived as long as I have, you learn the history of what took place and for a moment our people were close to being wiped out!”
Flecks of saliva flew at him as a slender finger pointed at him.
“You…. your people murdered my kind and the dwarves with impunity. So many had to flee across the waters for safety. Most never returned, and now you come here, forcing me to betray my people and deciding to lecture me on who the villain is. Are you sure it’s not you?”
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Max started to laugh. Inside him was a sensation of amusement at being called such a thing.
Oh Bob… how many times have we discussed this?
“If I must play that role to protect my friends and family,” he replied, leaning forward, stopping right before Niccolo’s finger was against his chest, “then I will be the greatest villain the elves have ever seen.”
The older elf started to speak, and Max swatted his hand away, shaking his head.
“I tried to live without retaliation, and you know how many times your people kept coming after me. Over and over, I looked the other way. I turned the other cheek. Yet not once did your people stop. Then your princess, Atheila Gilmenor, made the greatest mistake of your kind. She took one of my friends and held her captive. She took an elf and tortured her to lure me and another to a fight, hoping to kill us.”
He could see Niccolo leaning away from him. The entire being of the elf was trembling as it was Max’s turn to poke a finger in someone’s chest.
“We almost killed her, but she escaped by using an item. Otherwise, your people would have one less royal who seeks the blood of others. But if calling me a villain helps you feel better about yourself, know my name will be one every elven parent whispers to their children as a warning. They will make sure that your kind never seeks to kill us again. Doing so might summon me again, and a time might return where most of your people are wiped out.”
The sound of Niccolo swallowing seemed loud as his voice trailed off. “I… forgive me.”
Those words were a whisper as the Faction leader looked away and at the floor.
“Forgiveness isn’t coming, but you can earn freedom. Now hurry. I don’t have much time and must deal with other things.”
***
Macy and Molly both looked at each other. Each looked terrified, and Max couldn’t understand why they hadn’t learned yet.
His sudden appearance in their throne room, the binding of guards who had attempted to attack him with stone—none of this was new.
He let his aura go for a second, allowing them to sense how much stronger he had become. Their eyes widened to a whole new level.
“You don’t understand!” Macy proclaimed. “You are going to bring war and destruction upon us!”
“I’m doing this? The guy whom you both know was hunted by you and the elves? Are we not forgetting that you two allowed the elves to cull our people for more power? I know you can’t answer my question about what happened to your father, but tell me, do you honestly believe either of you has a chance of surviving without me?”
Macy’s red eyes glared at him while Molly stayed silent, her head slowly moving up and down.
“But the report! Your aura! How can you hope to survive?”
“He’s stronger than any of us,” Molly replied, answering her sister's question. “Who is going to stop him? Besides, we both know he’s right.”
Max watched as the pair stared at each other, sensing something taking place between them without words.
“Tell me, will you drag us into this, or are you here for a different reason?”
Smiling, he shrugged.
“You two can thank Everett. He is the one who told me I needed to inform you about what happened. While Factions aren’t supposed to get involved in wars or kingdom conflicts, we both know that hasn’t been something the elves have been honoring.
“Even if you can’t or won’t do anything when Savantus reaches out and demands or tells you something, let him know I’m coming to him. Tell him Max Hoste said that for every human he commands to be killed, I’ll do the same to his people, but at a scale he can’t imagine.”
“But the gods?!”
He shook his head at Macy, seeing the fear in her eyes.
“Why don’t you have a bloodline? Why hasn’t Phaius granted you his?”
She reacted as if he had slapped her, almost hitting her head against the ornate throne.
“What do you mean?!”
“Neither of you possesses the bloodline, and I’m guessing he may have offered it at some point. Yet it hasn’t come. Why is that?”
“You… you know about the bloodline?” Molly asked.
“I do, which should tell you more than I’m allowed to say. Now then, for the last time I will lay all my cards on the table and if you can’t tell that I’m serious by the red aura surrounding me right now, I won’t repeat myself.”
He took a few steps closer to where they both sat, each shifting on their thrones as he did so.
“All this,” Max said, motioning in every direction with his hands, “rests upon doing what I say. Go against me or attempt to deceive me, and I’ll not hesitate to end your lives and choose someone else to rule this kingdom until Phaius and I talk again.”
He smiled as both of their mouths fell open at his last words.
“I’m not threatening you… I am simply informing you of the consequences. Your bloodlust and appetite are going to end. Either learn to be queens who rule for the people and do what is right, or I’ll find someone who is willing. Do you understand?”
Macy’s face matched her eyes, and for a moment, he believed there might be one less queen in the kingdom.
Finally, she took a deep breath and simply nodded.
“You’ve changed Max Hoste…” Molly said. “What happened to the young boy who stood before us not long ago?”
“He grew up because people pissed him off. I’m done using a carrot. From now on, all I’ll use is a chopping block.”
Both seemed to unconsciously touch their neck slightly.
“Good. Now, then, I need to accomplish about a hundred other things. Just remember, I’m not in the mood and if I think you’ve acted wrong for a moment, I may overreact.”
With a snap of his finger for show, the stone bindings that had imprisoned the guards vanished before he moved to a window and jumped onto the sill.
“Behave or die. You decide.” Searᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
***
“How did that go?”
Max shrugged and looked over the paperwork he had drawn up.
“Everett, you and I both know neither of them are the queens we need, but if they screw up, you’re going to find yourself on that throne.”
“We both know I don’t want that job.”
“Still, until we find better, you’re the one I trust, and everyone in this city knows you have my complete support. Hopefully, they’ll be smart and grow up. If not…”
Sighing, he signed the papers before him and slid them across the desk to his Faction leader.
“What do you think the others will do?”
Taking the papers from him, Everett stored them before picking up the small glass of alcohol and downing it in a single gulp.
“No one is happy with what has happened. There is already a slight migration of adventurers who have left the other Factions. Some aren’t excited at the potential prospect of war, yet none doubt the power you and your team have.”
A rolled-up parchment appeared in his hand, and a second later, the map of all the known lands was before them on Everett’s desk.
“With Dagon most likely supporting you, or willing to stay out of this fight, it becomes a two-kingdom battle. Know that once this letter reveals what the elves were doing to our people, you’ll have a short window to solve some things before many demand action.”
“This is why I specifically state that anyone who decides to cause problems will deal with me.”
Everett grunted. “You can’t face the entire world on your own. You know that.”
Max grinned. “That’s the thing. I’m not alone, and you know it.”
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