Kyran did not suffer from a headache, but the more he listened to Jita, the more his head ached. The complexity of the Armakea's situation was to be expected, being a monarchy system. However, if there was something Kyran hated the most other than politics, it was the combination of political pursuit and succession to the throne.
The Regis Clan strived to become what they were now because they dealt with any strife in the family and the clan members as soon as possible. Aron was not a perfect leader, but he was a good listener. Along with the Regis Elders and other leaders among the regular clan members, they could get to the bottom of any problem and resolve it efficiently. Because of this, their clan could uphold their moral standards and live peacefully within the walls of their estate.
It was also because Kyran grew up in such an environment that his dislike for unhealthy political strifes or similar situations was evident.
Nevertheless, since he decided to get involved in several affairs inSomuli, he would face them head-on and, as much as possible, deal with the situation most efficiently.
After Jita shared all she knew, Kyran had her stay on standby while he went inside Achim's bedroom.
Inside was a makeshift bed with a trunk at the end. Achim's things were in the trunk. Kyran had already checked it when he borrowed some clothes and did not find anything noteworthy. They only included spare clothes and gold coins.
Kyran changed back into his clothes and removed the face-altering mask. Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes. He contemplated everything he knew about the Armakea's situation and already figured out how cunning their King was.
What made Kyran think this was how the King only promised the succession right to the throne. He never mentioned relinquishing the throne once he was cured.
Achim wanted to have Cyneah heal the King. If it was her, chances of the latter's health receiving a boost, not to mention an increase in his magic level, just like with the fake Sovereign, he could easily reign for more years.
But what would happen to Cyneah then?
Knowing how powerful her healing ability was, the Armakea King would not leave it be. After all, others would definitely covet her ability.
There were two ways for the King to deal with Cyneah. One was to imprison her, ensuring that others would not exploit her. Or two, he could order for her death.
Based on what Kyran understood about the King of Armakea's character, chances for him to do the latter were high.
As for Achim, once he realized what was happening, he would not stay put and wait for his uncle to relinquish the throne. He would find a way to get rid of his uncle so he could ascend the throne. He might even get rid of Cyneah before she could heal his uncle if he noticed the truth early.
The King favored Achim because he was ambitious, just like himself. Thus, he expected the younger man to do something once he realized he had no plans to relinquish the throne. With this in mind, he likely had a contingency planned out already.
Regardless of how the situation in Armakea unfolds, the fact that Cyneah's life would be in danger was something Kyran would never allow.
Kyran sighed as he opened his eyes. No matter how he looked at it, conquering Armakea would not be easy. There were far more ambitious people in the Royal Family, and based on his limited knowledge, the only ones he found to be reasonable were Achim's father and sister.
For the record, Achim's sister was one of those who hired mercenaries in Howling Pass. But she did not request them to abduct a powerful Eidum. Instead, she was the one who wanted to set up a meeting with the Abbot so she could speak with him and ask for his help. In the end, no one supported her idea because they did not want to owe the Eidums any favor.
In any case, absorbing Achim was a good call for Kyran because he was related to all the key people he had to deal with.
However, he was still short on people he could use. While it was true Achim had a hundred capable knights under his leadership, this number was nothing compared to the ones the King had. Jita already confirmed this. Besides, the knights under the King's leadership, though most were Arch Maguses, some were at the peak and could ascend at any time. A few were even the same as Haji, a legendary.
Kyran could not help but sigh in his heart once more. There were so many high-level mages in Somuli, unlike in the Human plane. The two planes did not differ much if he had to look at their resources. As a matter of fact, the Human plane was at an advantage because of its rich natural magic energy.
To be honest, Kyran knew the difference between both planes, and that was the number of conflicts between nations.
Confrontations between nations in Somuli were frequent. Because of this, their mages could hone their skills through actual combat.
In Ylfaen, the ones who managed to attain a high mage level were those in the borders because they could hone their magic through constant battles with their neighboring mages. Nevertheless, the number of occurrences and scale of battles in the Human plane was fewer and smaller compared to Somuli.
Another way to hone one's skills was through beast hunting. But there were far fewer locations in the Human plane where hard-to-deal-with beasts could be found. While in Somuli, one could encounter feral beasts just by wandering through the forests and wilderness.
Putting all these thoughts aside, Kyran began devising his next move. With Achim on his side, he got better cards he could use. But before that, he had to deal with the Armakea's plan to attack the Eidum's border. He also wondered what was inside the cargo that arrived in their HQ meant for the magical beasts.
After a few hours, Kyran sensed the absorption of the three knights was completed. Not only that, he also sensed Achim and Haji could finally be summoned.
Without further ado, Kyran summoned the latter two to discuss his plan.
For the next hour, the four— including Jita— discussed how they would deal with the attack on the Eidum's border.
"My only concern is your knights," Kyran said, looking at Achim.
He remained seated on the bed while Achim, Haji, and Jita sat on chairs he took out for them.
"Honestly, I was worried for a second that your connection with the rest of the knights would be removed after absorbing you. But that does not seem to be the case," he continued thoughtfully. "Because they are not connected to you in the first place."
"You need not worry, master," Achim replied. "Thou we do not have any visible connection. They swore allegiance to me through a pact."
Upon hearing this, Kyran recalled the pact Cyneah had with Nahir. Apparently, any pact formed between complete beings or, in general, inhabitants of Somuli was not affected even if he absorbed one of the two. If this was the case, how was a pact formed, and where was it kept?
"Won't they have the ability to rescind the pact?"
"They do, but doing so would mean death."
Kyran narrowed his eyes. That was more or less the same as the pact Cyneah, Nahir, and the old man had.
"If they realize you are now under my control, they might choose death over betraying Armakea," Kyran reasoned.
Achim's brow furrowed slightly, "That is... a possibility."
"Then the Prince only has to be careful so others will not notice," Haji supplied.
Kyran shook his head, "That is not enough."
He looked at Achim and added, "I don't doubt your skills. But we can't rule out another possibility that someone in Armakea could see through your change. Another thing to consider is the King. Can you confidently say that he does not have a way to remove the pact those knights made with you? For all we know, he may have a way to change the target of your pact and get them to work under him."
All three looked at him with wide eyes. Such thought had not crossed their mind at all. But after hearing it, they did see the possibility was relatively high.
"I will place a mark on them in the meantime," Kyran told them after some consideration.
He could absorb them but did not have the time and energy to do so. Besides, once he conquered Armakea, he had no reason to absorb all of them. He could place a mark similar to the one he gave Ezra. He considered placing the mark on Achim's father or his sister, depending on who among them could lead Armakea better.
"I can call them once you have recovered enough strength," Achim agreed.
"No, I'll return to the Eidums' side after I can summon Anan, Eikin, and Tamir. I'll put a mark on them at a later time."
"Understood."
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