BXBX NOVEL Chapter 237 Sudden Announcement
- POV General -
Several days had passed since the night when the warriors of Elysium had witnessed one of the beautiful performances that opened the coliseum. Despite the war, life had returned to normal, with everyone working to rebuild their spirits and bodies after the first major event to shake the Empire. The smiles had not disappeared from the faces and soon that pleasant atmosphere had returned to the growing non-human city.
The morning had dawned and despite the time of day, the imperial mansion was already bustling with people running around. The reason for this was that the Empress had ordered the gathering of all the section chiefs who were helping to run the Empire, which was a rare thing. Usually, with the exception of the Army Commanders, the leaders went through the Queen, who was in charge of the overall management of the affairs of Elysium with her team.
In the mansion and on every floor, maids, butlers, soldiers and many others could be seen rushing around. In just a few minutes, the hall of the mansion would be invaded by the most imminent figures of the Empire, which did not prevent it from being very stressful. Indeed, five minutes later, the section leaders began to appear before the large door leading to the throne room.
There were the 10 Chaos Commanders, which included the leaders of the Forest Guardians, the leader of intelligence and the leader of the medical section. There were also the leaders of the sections responsible for construction, Elysium security and communication. More were arriving and soon the 23 expected people were complete announcing the imminent opening of the big door.
"Ladies and Gentlemen your attention please ! Thank you all for coming as agreed, Her Highness, Empress Freya and Her Majesty, Queen Gaya will receive you !"
Suddenly, Triss the half-human cat, responsible for managing the mansion alongside Lia, raised her voice clapping her hands silencing the group that was chatting. Everyone took a serious look while standing in front of the door in a well-organized way. The two guards posted in front of the door, two very large minotaurs, then pushed with all their strength, finally opening the access to the throne room where the sovereigns were waiting.
"Please enter"
Triss in a respectful voice true to her post, bent slightly signaling to the others that they could finally head to the back of the room. Without waiting for a second longer, they moved forward with apprehension and the desire not to make any mistakes. It was not often that they were all summoned at the same time and moreover in the big room reserved for serious and official events.
So, the Commanders and various section leaders present knew very well that in moments like this, no mistakes were allowed, which was quite stressful. The sound of heels clicking on the long red and gold carpet echoed from all sides and between the huge pillars. The closer they got, the more a natural ball in the stomach appeared, feeling the pressure emanating from the two leaders at every meter.
"Take a seat."
Lia, who wasn\'t in the hall with the others, stood in suit at the bottom of the few steps leading to the thrones, addressing the arrivals. In front of her and from behind, everyone was surprised to discover Princess Kira, who had recently become Commander, not standing next to her sister. She was waiting there, dressed in black and red, cloak, gloves and even boots, in a perfect military position, straight, motionless and serious.
Finally, at the top of the stairs were Freya and Gaya, also waiting patiently for everyone to take their seats to start the important meeting. The Queen was dressed in a long, fiery orange, red and black dress that matched perfectly with her hair that she had in a ponytail. Her ice tiara with crimson jewels sparkled and all could not help but be struck by her beauty, reassuring, warm and timeless.
Gaya smiled warmly as always, but this warmth was quickly overshadowed by the coldness of the one beside her on the central throne. Ebony hair loose, ice crown, dressed in an imperial suit entirely black and white, raised by her official cape with fur collar. The Empress, as cold, distant and serious as ever, was there, watching the people stand in front of them before standing up and saying a single word.
"Good morning"
Her voice suddenly echoed in the very large room, startling those who had forgotten what it sounded like in such a situation. The next moment, everyone was kneeling on the floor, head bowed as a sign of respect for the Empress and the Queen even though Shiro was not present. Even Kira was no exception, standing in the same position as the other Commanders, with a palpable pride in her violet eyes.
"Please stand up, we have a lot to do, let\'s not waste time."
"..."
"As most of you know, I\'ve been talking to this vampire Jade Wolfury for many hours to hear her story. It would take a long time to explain it all, but after hearing it...I have decided that my family and I will be leaving the Empire."
Without even giving them time to understand anything, Freya had dropped these words with the utmost seriousness, leaving the others puzzled. No one knew what Jade had said to her, but one thing was certain, it was important enough that for the first time ever, the Imperial family was moving together. Many wanted to speak but there was still silence as she waved to a maid standing far behind.
She was a young dog woman carrying a tray who at the signal of the Empress, soon brought her what she had in her hands. She trembled slightly but with a small awkward curtsy held out the tray where something hidden in a cloth was presented before leaving. Without further ado, the she-wolf lifted the white napkin before revealing to everyone the severed head of the King imprisoned in the ice for safekeeping.
"Here is the head that Commander Luna had the honor of cutting off a few days ago, the head of one of the two leaders of the neighboring Kingdom that had targeted us. You are probably wondering why it is here and that is why you are here..."
Everyone was silent, hanging on her lips as the Empress ran her fingers over the ice cube with a smile. As she had predicted, the man\'s eyes were revolted and reflected a special and unique desperation and fear. Alayna\'s father was now a mere head, a pale face forever bereft of body and life, destined to serve the Empire and the dark designs of its Empress.
"I cannot yet tell you why we will be absent, but while we are gone, all of Elysium will work for the destruction of the Kingdom of Zal !"
Freya\'s voice had caused the walls to shake and unconscious exclamations and the raising of several voices. Not only was the Empress about to leave the Empire, but it was her entire family that was going with her ? Moreover, to prepare the destruction of the neighboring Kingdom without them ? She had just dropped two big bombs that for the moment were frightening, pushing the most impulsive Commanders to react.
"Empress wait ! Take one of us with you to ensure your safety !"
"Ralph is right and as for Zal... your Highness, I\'m not sure that..."
With a wave of her hand, it was the Queen who silenced Ralph and Emilia understanding their fear but also knowing that they were useless. The decision had already been made and could not be changed even if for the moment they all did not know why exactly. Seeing Gaya\'s gesture, the two Commanders were silent, bowing their heads in apology to let the sovereign continue what she had to say.
"I will be leaving with my entire family but also Jade, Miss Lia, Commander Kira and her new squadron that\'s it, because I need each of you here. Your posts will be important for the next few weeks so let me explain."
With a snap of the finger, a huge ice table appeared in the middle of the small group at the bottom of the stairs, forcing them to quickly move aside. On it was a perfect replica of a 3-D map depicting the northwestern part of the continent, Elysium, Zal, and what was around. The relief had been reproduced identically thanks to the perfect knowledge of the terrain that the Empress had accumulated during the long months of study in her office.
"We\'re going to send the human Myles still a prisoner back to his Kingdom with the little gift we have right here...the head of Theophylactus Zal. I want the intelligence section to also go there quietly to spy on the entirety of what happens when he returns. We all need to know !"
"..."
"With the little message delivered, it is easy to predict that the Kingdom will no longer try to come and kill us but will simply prepare for our attack. I estimate the time we have at most 1 month, after that time we will destroy Zal completely"
As the Empress spoke, she descended the stairs, clicking her boots on the steps, her cloak following gracefully. Her violet eyes stared intently at the table with a desire to conquer that could be felt in the air. What Freya had just said resonated in everyone\'s heart and after a few minutes of silence, the leaders of the Guardians and Commanders, Persea and Ynir raised their voices.
"Your Highness, our recent victory has spread throughout the Dark Forest, Syn\'s, and even beyond the mountains, causing a great influx of citizens. All are seeking shelter, protection for their own, and many want to join the military."
"If I understand correctly, this is also part of your plan, isn\'t it ? Gather as much information as we can about the Kingdom while building our own forces."
"Exactly. That\'s why the help of all section leaders is requested especially during our absence which should not exceed one month. New buildings will have to be constructed, farms will have to be expanded, various personnel as well not to mention the army. The reason you are here today is because my wife and I trust you enough to run the Empire perfectly during our absence."
Elysium was expanding, since its creation it had never stopped growing which pushed to evolve also the ways to manage it. A currency had been established, a newspaper and all citizens could even open a store to show their skills. Many things had changed and with the new influx of people that the war had brought, the Empire could only become more and more powerful.
Since her coronation, the Empress had grown accustomed to always being in the know, but now it was time to delegate and trust even more. That was why the she-wolf was going to leave the preparation of the annihilation of an entire Kingdom to her closest subordinates. However, there was one question that was burning on everyone\'s lips and that finally would be formulated suddenly by the dwarf Yuric head of the blacksmiths.
"Y-Your Highness, is your departure related to the plan to destroy the Kingdom ? Your return and the beginning of Zal\'s destruction coincide, so I was wondering...mmmmh are you going in search of a secret weapon or perhaps someone in particular ?"
The little man had worked many times with the Empress who had shared her modern knowledge which he saw as a gold mine. Thus, many more revolutionary inventions mixing mana magic and modern knowledge were under construction. Yuric knew very well that Freya was also trying to discover many secrets about this world and therefore suspected that her journey was linked to this quest for knowledge.
"Indeed these two things are related. However, I am more in search of answers and information that later may prove to be decisive. Not only that linked but if I\'m not mistaken this little trip could change everything but I can\'t say more for the moment."
At this moment, everyone was wondering what Jade Wolfury had said to their sovereign during their little one-on-one chat in the prison. In the room, only Gaya and Kira knew about it and knew that keeping it quiet was necessary for the moment for various reasons. The various section leaders knew this, but Emilia was the first to ask the question that would determine how much time they had to prepare.
"By when is your departure scheduled, your Highness ?"
"As soon as we release Myles in the direction of Zal with one of our horses followed of course by the intelligence section discreetly. Let me explain..."
The Empress had a particular plan in mind aimed at terrorizing Zal and especially the Supreme who had crossed the line not to cross by going after Shiro and Angel. A race against time was about to begin and the success of the operation would only depend on the wolf\'s calculations. Raising her head with an ominous smile, Freya placed both hands on the table ready to share the little trick she planned to play on the humans who had challenged her.
"This is how we\'re going to do it..."
[N/A: There was a little timeskip but don\'t worry you\'ll know what happened with Jade, Kalaa x Shiro x Angel in detail in short flashbacks or whatever]
___
FULL STATUS
Names : Freya / Lucifer Nightshade
Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old
Sex : Female
Course: Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult
Race : Imperial Demon
Titles :
- Demon Goddess of Primordial Blood and Death (former - until all powers are recovered) - 30%.
- Wrathful Lucifer (7th Sin) - Master of the uniques Sins Demons (to unlock it, please gather the other 6 - 3/6 - (locked)
- Dragon tamer
- Ruthless slayer
Level : 45/70
Exp needed for next level: 0 / 46 000
HP : 170 000 / 170 000 MP : 85 000 / 85 000. BLOOD : 100 / 100
Strength: 660
Defense : 660
Agility : 666
Endurance: 663
Speed : 662
Intelligence: 660
Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)
Attribute points to allocate : 0
Married to : Gaya Nightshade
Daughter : Shiro Nightshade
Twins (son & daughter) : Tyle & Altaïs Nightshade
Little sister : Kira Nightshade (Greedy Fox)
Big sister : Kalaa Nightshade
Empire (menu)
Subordinates: 2241
Humans killed: 153
Souls: 0/3
Elements: Ice / Chaos (Freya) - Blood / Death (Lucifer)
Skills (all):
Attacks :
- Demon Claws (Lvl 5)
- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)
- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)
- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)
- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)
- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 7)
Défense :
- Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)
- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)
- Pain Resistance (lvl 6)
Attack/Defense :
- Domain of the Ice Empress "Frozen Wrath" (lvl 4)
- Death Gaze (lvl 1)
Others :
- Humanoid form
- Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 20%.
- Ice creation (Lvl 6)
- Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)
- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)
- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)
- Master of Souls (lvl 3)
- Lucifer\'s Threads of Blood (lvl 3)
- Healing Blood (lvl 3)
- Analysis
- Telepathy
Passives :
- Commander (lvl max)
- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]