Chương 1291: 1321 - Task Force Kyros II

A hush fell upon the Assembly chamber as their 'guests' entered. Paladin Anzu sauntered in with the confidence of a man who considered himself untouchable. His shining armor was eye-catching, but it paled in comparison to his short-cropped white hair and the gleam in his blood-red eyes. All of that, however, paled in comparison to the smirk on his lips and the radiance of his aura, which blanketed everyone and everything in the chamber.

The circular chamber was fairly open, built originally when Prios first established complete control over Asuwiya and started to look outward. He envisioned a great League of planes that would come together to, at first, pool their military resources to solve each other's security issues, but eventually turn into a real and proper interplanar state. To that end, he'd built the Assembly chamber to accommodate a vast number of dignitaries.

By the time that the League had reached its maximum extent, however, less than a quarter of the chamber had been filled. Forty-three planes spread across five planar clusters made up the League. Few of these planes were unified, which meant that one hundred and fifty-six different political units were represented within the chamber. The chamber had been built to seat more than four times as many representatives, but Prios didn't necessarily see it as a failure that he hadn't filled it.

That the League stopped expanding was no failure, but rather a necessity as they reached the logical boundaries of what they could feasibly control, and no one was willing to pony up the resources to extend their reach further when, by the very nature of the League, they wouldn't be benefiting much from that conquest.

As Anzu walked in, flanked by a dozen men in intimidating plate armor, and followed by half a dozen massive war golems, Prios found himself for the first time becoming self-conscious about the chamber. Several representatives were missing, which only exacerbated the feeling of emptiness within the chamber.

The chamber itself was built around a large circular stage, with tiers of seats surrounding it rising toward the domed ceiling, which had been enchanted to show the night sky with all of the stars of the member planes glowing particularly brightly. Aside from that, the chamber was sparsely decorated, letting the richness of the polychromatic marble that it was largely built from do the heavy lifting rather than fill the place with murals and statues and the like.

There was no place for any single ruler to sit—not even Prios had something that could be considered a throne. Instead, he sat within the seats with all the other representatives. He was in the first row and typically ran each meeting, but this position didn't give him any greater voting power, nor did it give him executive power over any of the other members. From where he sat, Prios looked around the chamber.

He largely ignored the adjutants and secretaries around the edges who were there to support their representatives, and instead focused on the men and women themselves. Most of them had carefully schooled their expressions to give nothing away before Anzu arrived. However, when he entered the room, all talking died. His aura settled around them, ensuring that each and every one of them could feel his power. That cowed many.

Not all of those within the League were monarchies, and even for those that were, not all of the Kings were present. Their representatives weren't necessarily that strong, a fact that was underscored when the fourth-tier representative from the Durian Republic collapsed in his seat from the pressure of Anzu's aura, with several others looking to follow suit. Not all were so affected, however. King Euphemus looked a little pale but otherwise remained largely the same as ever.

Archon Evander sat up a little straighter and weathered the pressure well. King Zorus, already angry, looked even further enraged by Anzu's apparent arrogance. Of course, all were tenth-tier mages, and Prios doubted Anzu was truly attempting to exert much pressure with his aura. Regardless, he certainly made an impression, both good and bad.

"Paladin Anzu," Prios said as he stood up and made his way to the stage, fulfilling his role as the head of the chamber, "be welcome here." Anzu didn't have time to respond before Zorus, his armor gleaming in the white light that filled the chamber, loudly growled, "It's a greater welcome than invaders deserve." A smirk and a brief glance were Anzu's only response to the King before he turned his attention back to Prios.

"I am Anzu," he said formally, "brother of King Leon of Artorion, last heir of the Thunderbird. In ages long past, the Thunderbird Clan ruled these planes, and my brother has decided to make it so once again. I ask all of you to acknowledge his suzerainty and share in the spoils to come!" His voice echoed through the marble chamber, with not a single representative verbally responding. Prios could sense some auras flexing, indicating silent conversation, but none were yet willing to give voice to their thoughts.

Even Zorus only scowled and drummed his fingers on his armored knee. So, Prios took it upon himself to elicit details of this offer for all to hear, even though, thanks to the diplomats that had come in years past, most aspects of the offer were already well-known.

"Your King asks a lot. He would ask us to give up our independence for 'spoils'? The Asuwiyan League is proud, Paladin, and will not submit to such vague promises."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Anzu replied as he faced Prios and crossed his arms, looking almost like he was posturing before a duel.

"Consider this, then: King Leon grants all who acknowledge his authority full rights and citizenship under his law. This includes the right to travel and trade. The resources of his entire Kingdom would be open to you should you acknowledge him as your King. Furthermore, you would hardly be giving anything up—King Leon would allow the Asuwiyan League to continue to exist in its current form, and would grant your armies and fleets the status of auxiliary forces.

In other words, they wouldn't be disbanded or folded into the central military.

"You lose nothing. You retain your ways of life, your autonomy, and your armies, while gaining access to King Leon's protection and interplanar markets."

"You say we lose nothing," Zorus shouted as he leaned forward, defiance glimmering in his hard eyes, "but to bow to another is to lose dignity. I am a King! Kings do not bow!"

"Honor," Prios interjected as Anzu turned towards Zorus, his smile hardening, "and dignity are important to everyone here—""Your King seeks to make us bow," Zorus shouted as he stood up, his anger reaching a new peak as Anzu continued to smirk, "and you offer us luxuries to accept it? I would rather live in a ditch, wearing rough hides, than lower my head! And your 'protection' is worth nothing! Not when I can protect myself! And all of this your King offers, but he can't even bother to show up in person!

Nothing you offer entices me, and I say you should return to the cursed womb that birthed you! You and your sheep-hearted King will find nothing but death here!" Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Death," Anzu hissed, his aura rising, the killing intent it was laced with intensifying to the point of frost starting to spread across the chamber's walls, "is more than acceptable to me. My brother sent me here to bring your planes into his Kingdom. That will happen, one way or another. My fleet is larger and stronger than anything you can throw together. I am stronger than you, and beyond your ability to resist. My original offer remains open, and it will be the only one you will receive.

If you should turn it down, then you will die, your planes will be conquered, and your people will become my brother's people.

"These are your options. Submit and thrive or resist and die. You will not retain your 'independence', such as it is right now. Not since my brother set his eyes upon these planes."

"You cannot dictate to me!" Zorus shouted as he leaped onto the stage, his own killing intent rising, though not coming close to matching Anzu's.

"You—" Prios intervened, and this time, he was much more forceful about it. His aura exploded from his body and enveloped Zorus, halting him in place, preventing him from making a greater spectacle.

"We have heard your offer, Paladin Anzu. Will you give us some time to deliberate?" Amusement flashed across Anzu's face as he relaxed, his aura abating slightly.

"You have had years since my brother's diplomats arrived. I'd think another day or two wouldn't make much difference, but… well, it won't make much difference. I'll allow you one day. After that, I expect an answer…" With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the chamber, his knights and golems following close behind. Only once the door shut behind them and sealed them into their privacy wards did Prios release Zorus.

"You COWARD!" Zorus shouted at Prios, which catalyzed all the other representatives in the chamber to start shouting.

"We cannot stand against them!" Prince Pandion shouted.

"The offer is fair!" Ducissa Cassiopeia declared.

"An acknowledgment is all he wants, and we gain the universe!"

"He demands more than just acknowledgment!" King Ialysus shouted, the iron in his voice taking Prios by surprise. He wasn't expecting such a declaration from a man who was generally peaceful.

"He'll demand tithes, in men and gold!"

"Do we not already give such to the League's coffers?" Oligos Koronos argued.

"How is this any different?"

"We are all the League," the Elevated Sithon pointed out.

"The coffers of the League are for us all, they do not go to a distant King far from our lands, who does not care for us!"

"I WILL NOT BOW AND SCRAPE LIKE A SLAVE!" Zorus roared, his voice alone practically shaking the chamber.

"LET THIS DOG-FACED KING SEND ALL THE WARRIORS HE HAS TO MY PLANE! I WILL RETURN THEM IN PIECES! HE WILL NEVER MAKE ME BOW!"

"Enough." A single word, but uttered from Prios' lips, it silenced the entire chamber and turned all eyes to him.

"This League has stood for tens of thousands of years. Building it, then maintaining it, has been the project that has defined my entire life. A life that has been longer than it should have ever been. A life that has seen all of my comrades, all those whom I admired in my youth, all who faced the universe with me when I first served the Thunderbirds so long ago, die. I have poured my life and abilities into the forging of this League.

It heartens me to see that even those planes that were brought into it less willingly now so openly and vociferously advocate for it—at least, in service of the status quo, if not out of genuine love and affection for what I have helped to build.

"We have had ample time to argue and make our opinions known in these past few years, ever since those arks first started arriving in our arkyards, bringing word of a new Thunderbird King. But I hope that, for the sake of my power if nothing else, you'll listen to my words with an open mind, and consider what I have to say carefully.

"The reason I built this League was not to be a King, myself, else I would now be wearing a crown. I built this League to ensure the security and prosperity of all the peoples represented in this chamber. That was the purpose. To bring peace, wealth, and stability to a region of the universe that fell into anarchy with the fall of the Thunderbird Clan.

"And now the Thunderbird Clan is back, and promising to ensure for us all that I started this League to provide. Security, prosperity, and connection with the wider universe. If the Thunderbird Clan has returned, then I am willing to give up my autonomy to them, so long as they keep their promises. So long as King Leon follows through. You may say that this is nostalgia for a time long past, or that I am too loyal to that Clan for my own good: to that, I say that you could not be more wrong.

I have gone for so long without the Thunderbird Clan that I no longer hold many feelings toward them, good or bad. I hold fond memories, but for the Clan? King Leon's appearance alone changes nothing.

"But now he comes here, sending a fleet beyond our ability to win against, and a commander who matches, if not exceeds, me in power. He promises us autonomy, rights, and prosperity. I believe that we should take this offer. As Anzu said, we lose nothing and gain everything. So Asuwiya will bow to King Leon." Prios paused, his gaze raking the room, making eye contact with every representative present.

"Who will join me?"

"You should have pressed them then and there," Admiral Floats-on-Wind chided.

"Giving them time only allows their dissenters to whisper poison into their ears."

"It's one day," Anzu responded, confidence coloring his expression brightly.

"It won't make much of a difference."

"It would have been easier to convince them to bow if you hadn't been so confrontational," Words-Like-Honey argued, the diplomat looking not at all impressed with Anzu's report. Anzu narrowed his gaze at the diplomat, the urge to frown growing quickly.

A swift glance around the rest of the conference room indicated his other commanders, some of whom were projecting in via comm slates rather than coming in person out of an abundance of caution, were more mixed in opinion despite both his second-in-command and accompanying diplomat finding faults with his actions.

"They had to know that we're strong," Anzu stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No one will bow to the weak, no matter what is promised. If they see us as weak, then they'll take everything that we have—or try to. If they see us as weak, then they will ignore us. More than that, self-interest only goes so far. No matter what is offered, the overly proud won't bow. Only force lowers those heads. Only strength. And for it to be effective, that strength had to be shown."

"Is it not enough that our arks choke their sky?" Words-Like-Honey asked.

"No," Anzu definitively responded.

"Most of them didn't see our arks. Most of them don't know the power of our arks. Most of them have arks of their own, which buoy their confidence. Most of them don't know strength unless they can look it in the eye and understand it on a personal level. I had to see them in that chamber, and I had to express my power. I had to project strength. Those that resist now will only be those who would never be convinced to bow, not even if my brother were to come here himself."

"If that's the case," Floats-on-Wind asked, "then why give them the day if it's so meaningless? Force them then and there."

"The day gives them time to think," Anzu said.

"Had I forced their answer there, then they would feel manipulated and would hold resentment, which might lead to sedition and treason later, when our presence is no longer felt as keenly as it is right now. With even this one day to think, they'll be more open to accepting the offer, as they will feel it is more 'their' decision."

"That… is wise," Words-Like-Honey acknowledged.

"I still believe that more could've been brought around with the appropriate gifts, promises, and threats."

"How long do you want us to remain here?" Anzu asked, his patience starting to fray.

"We have far more ahead of us than the Asuwiyan League. It's the largest in terms of number of planes, to be sure, but we have much farther to go. If we take too long, then we won't finish our part of the campaign for many years." For a moment, silence fell upon the room as everyone considered their situation.

"Whatever their decision," Floats-on-Wind said, "we'll be ready."

"King Leon gave us our orders," Anzu said.

"Even if we have to burn these planes to ash, they'll join the Kingdom. I'm sure it won't come to that. I'm sure they'll make the right decision." The loud-mouth King who leaped onto the stage during the meeting came to his mind.

"Or that most of them will."