Supreme Magus novel Chapter 2013

Chapter 2013 The Price of Change (Part 1)

Once Belius fell into Thrud's hands, the Empire would have to deal with the Divine Beasts on a daily basis. The Mad Queen had made no mystery of her intention to restore the Kingdom's borders to the position they had been after Valeron.

In other words, she meant to invade the Empire and once she got past the natural barrier of the mountain range, nothing would stand in the way of her troops. The Empress was trying to recruit as many Faes and Beasts as possible, offering equal rights for their kind, but very few had answered her call.

Thrud's deal was better since she also offered them Awakening and full disclosure of the secret of the violet core.

The only reason they had yet to join her army and the Mad Queen still lacked the numbers to start another campaign against the Gorgon Empire was that Awakened creatures didn't trust her.

The Royals had spread the news of the Unwavering Loyalty array far and wide so there was no telling if those who fought under Thrud's banner did it out of their free will.

Awakened feared the possibility that going to the Golden Griffon to accept her offer and gain the knowledge they sought would also mean being doomed to a lifetime of slavery.

The Awakened of the Empire unaffiliated with the Council preferred to bide their time and keep an eye on the situation while using their peers of the Kingdom as guinea pigs.

If the war ended in Thrud's favor, they planned to sneak past the borders and check whether her followers had truly regained their freedom or not. If she lost, instead, it would mean that what she had to offer didn't amount to much, after all.

'The Kingdom has gained a lot by bringing Verhen into their fold.' Milea thought. 'He became an Archmage at eighteen and single-handedly destroyed two lost cities, something unprecedented.

'Taking one of them down usually requires decades of preparation and the intervention of the Council or a Guardian. I checked Leegaain's records about Menadion's Desperation and his relationship with Solus is no different from that between a Horseman and their host.

'If Dusk really cares about this girl, then with his help Kelia can reach even greater heights. While Solus's worth lay on the tower's slow recovery, Dusk's current limits actually play in my favor.

'Even without his steed, the Red Sun holds more knowledge than an entire academy but to make use of it he needs the proper facilities. Something that only I can provide him.

'I'll make Verhen regret refusing to join the Empire after he ran away from the Kingdom. He said that I'm too weak to guarantee him the safety he requires for his family and sadly, he's right.

'The Empire has no Guardian-crafted relics of the caliber of the Royal Fortress armor, but with Kelia's help and Dusk's masteries of three of the strongest bloodline abilities, things will change.'

"The Empire would indeed gain a lot if we were to become an Archmage at your service." Dusk spoke from Kelia's mouth since he was still in control. "Yet survival in exchange for our servitude is not worth it.

"Why should we accept your deal? There's nothing in it for us."

"Don't put words in my mouth, Horseman." Milea shook her head. "I never mentioned servitude. If you become my ally, Kelia, you'll simply be on probation for the duration of your studies at the Red Emperor academy.

"You'll experience how the Empire will treat you were you to become an official and I'll make sure that you are not just Dusk's puppet. Once you reach the fourth year, I'll start to assign you field missions to evaluate your skills and let you gain practical experience.