It All Started With Lightning

Major Events

William spent his days at rest. It was somewhat peaceful. If there was something else he could do besides reading a book, he would like to do it. Right now, Baldur was trying to reach the Bronze level. William was aware that the spiritual energy in his room was too low for him to study. So even when he meditated at night, it was only for an hour or two.

The rest of the night he spent sleeping.

Meanwhile, a meeting was taking place in their barony that William was unaware of.

In the study, the four men looked respectfully at Theo behind the desk.

If William had seen the people inside, he would have known them all. Hurim and Humir sat across from each other at the table. Their old bodies looked especially strong today. Hurim sat as straight as a spear in his double seat. Humir wore a perfectly fitting set of armor. He did not only have head armor. Next to him were Pierce and George, whom he had met at the volcano. Both of them wore armor that emitted a silver glow. With their head armor on their legs, they waited patiently.

Although George still looked rough, there was excitement in his eyes. So did the others. It was as if everyone in the room had been waiting for this day since the day they were born.

After a while, the door to the study opened.

The old Baron Thedo entered the room with a large scroll in his hand. Everyone, including Theo, stood up to greet him. Thedo gave his seat to his father.

After Thedo sat down, he opened the big scroll and spread it on the table. Then he turned to Humir and began to speak.

"Any news of the elves?"

Humir immediately stood up and began to speak respectfully. "Sir, they are very pleased with our last help. The new king told us that they will keep his promise. In a week, they will attack the Elm Kingdom. With the strength of the elves, I'm sure they'll be able to do it quickly." He said.

Thedo nodded. "Good. Then it's time for us to act." He turned his head to Hurim to his left.

"What about the two dukes? What was their response?"

Hurim also stood respectfully and began to speak with a bow.

"Sir, they both agree. We can understand that they were satisfied with what they wrote in their letters. They will definitely support us." He said.

Thedo rolled his eyes and muttered. "Peh! If they don't, they'll know. After all, we wouldn't hesitate to kill a few more people."

Then he turned to Theo. "How are things at the Academy?"

Theo stood up and smiled, "As usual. They guaranteed their full support."

"Good, good, good." Theo said 'good' three times. This was indeed a good sign.

Then he looked at Pierce and George. "What about you?" he asked.

The two stood up immediately. George spoke first. "Volcano Battalion is ready for orders!" Pierce finished. "The Metal Battalion is ready for orders!"

"Great. I want you to bring me all the information you recorded, including the backgrounds of all the soldiers, by tomorrow. Save the specials in some other way and bring them to me. I will form a new team from them."

"Yes, sir!" They both shouted and bowed.

It seemed they respected this man more than Theo.

Then he turned back to Theo. "And the mages? What about them?"

"Don't worry, everything is ready. We were able to recruit twenty advanced healer apprentices, fifty advanced attack apprentices, and three advanced dark apprentices from the mage tower. One of them is the dark elf." Theo said.

After what Theo said, everyone in the room felt more confident.

"Good, then let's get started." He stood up and took a box out of the drawer. Inside were gold coins with different symbols.

He took some gold coins and began to place them on the map. As he did so, the others approached the edge of the table.

Except for his own territory, all the other territories were painted red. Their territories were marked with a blue pen. He began to speak as he placed the coins.

"Our place is good, there is no need to worry about defense. We'll take down these three baronies first. We already have the advantage of location. Then we'll take Count Seymour's ghost city and make it our base. I hope Count Seymour will surrender when he sees us, otherwise, I wouldn't want to kill an old friend," he said.

Theo tried to reassure him. "Don't worry Dad, I'm sure he'll help us when he sees us. After all, who wants to serve a corrupt king?"

Thedo replied with a sigh. "I hope so."

After a while, he finished placing the coins on the map.

He turned to George and said, "These three barons will be your first test. After ten days, you will split into three troops and attack from here." He said, pointing to the map.

"I want to see the three baronies painted green in three full days."

George immediately bowed down and shouted. "Yes, sir!"

"Beautiful." He turned to Pierce. "We will take four troops and enter Seymour's city together, myself included. We will set up a line of defense there."

"Theo and Humir, you will take the remaining troops and clear them from the east. There should be no countersupport from the academy."

"Yes, sir!" said Humir. Theo smiled thoughtfully.

"Why are you so happy?" Thedo asked.

"I've always wanted to kill some princes. I guess I'll find out what that feels like soon."

"Ha, don't worry. The king has many children, that's enough to scratch your hands. Besides, you can have no doubt that we will take our revenge." They looked like real villains, but the truth was different. After all, a rebellion was not something that could be decided in one day. It took years of effort, hatred, and resentment. They were happy to finally be able to unleash this accumulated hatred. Time will tell if these thoughts would make them evil.

Thedo continued, raising an eyebrow.

"And William? Have you informed him?"

"No, but I will send a letter with Sora today."

"Do you think he would do something against our ideas?"

"No, but, or whatever, I don't know. William is very mature for his age. I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult if he were in my place right now. But I don't know what he will do. I will give him the mission, and if he succeeds, it means one of us. But it doesn't matter. We'll think about it then." He said. He had a worried look on his face. He hoped that William would complete his mission.

"Let's hope he's an Aureus," Thedo said. Then he went back to explaining his strategies on the table.

...

Thousands of kilometers to the west of the Jade Wind Kingdom, thousands of meters deep in the hot sand of the desert, there was a huge palace.

Inside the palace, dozens of dark elves were sitting around a long rectangular table, arguing loudly.

The two sides seemed to be clashing. On the left and right sides of the table were old men and women spitting and shouting at each other.

At the far end of the table sat a healthy young man in a golden robe, his pitch-black hair slicked back and his face clean and square. He could be recognized by the golden crown on his head. The five sharp points of the crown pointed to the sky. A precious stone was engraved in the center of each point.

The position of the crown was slightly tilted. The king rested one hand on his chin. He listened wearily as the elders argued before him.

After a while, the argument escalated until it reached him.

"Sorry! We can't put honey on the bread of the surface! Please, it's none of our business!"

Sitting on the right was the man who spoke, who looked to be in his fifties, even though his ears were beginning to soften. He was dressed in loose robes like a monk.

A stern, younger-looking figure sitting across from him stood up and began to speak, pointing a finger in his face.

"What do you know about the surface? Isn't it enough that we have lived underground for so long? We long for the hot sun! The people of the surface enjoy comfort and plenty. Day after day, they forget their true purpose. Do you want to live happily forever in such a shallow corner?" Then he turned to the king.

"My king, this is a great opportunity for us! Baron Theo will raise the flag of rebellion. He is waiting for us to make a move." Then he added respectfully. "My king, please remember! Baron Theo is our benefactor! We must repay our debt to him! Kill two birds with one stone!"

The king stared blankly into his eyes. When he got no answer, he sat down again and continued the discussion.

After a while, so much chatter must have bothered the king that he said, "Enough." With the excitement of the discussion, no one could hear him. The angry king raised his fist and slammed it down on the table with all his might.

"I SAID ENOUGH!" The corner of the wooden table that his fist touched was decorated with a hole the size of his fist.

The entire hall fell silent in an instant. Everyone looked expectantly at the king, who had been silent since the discussion began.

He stood up and clasped his hands behind his back. He began to speak slowly.

"What I'm going to say next is not just for one side, but for all of you." He said. His eyes swept over everyone at the table.

"What has Baron Theo helped us with? Moss, you speak." Said.

Moss was the one who had just brought up the debt issue. He stood up with his solid body and began to speak after bowing. "Sir, surface resources, human culture, techniques we don't know, tools for mages. He even contributed to your ascension," he said.

"Okay, you can sit down." The king nodded in satisfaction.

"I made a promise to Theo. Or rather, in exchange for his help, he offered me two options. One is a promise of support when he takes over the Jade Wind Kingdom, the other is to take over the already weakened Elm Kingdom."

Then he put both hands on the table. He looked at the crowd sitting and listening intently. "Well, which one do you think makes more sense?"

A few people started to speak, but the king gestured with his hand to stop.

"Speak one by one. Miles, speak." He said.

The man he called Miles was the monk-looking man from earlier.

He stood respectfully and began to speak after bowing. "Sir, of course, the first option. By sending only a few hundred soldiers, we can make it easy for him to take over the Jade Wind Kingdom. I am sure he will help us and even improve our relationship after receiving it." He said.

"Okay, now you talk, Moss." Said.

Moss stood up again and began to speak. "Sir, I think it's the second option. Our people deserve to live on the surface. I know that the Elm Kingdom is mostly desert, but there are also beautiful places. Besides, we can also benefit from the surface beauties of the Black Forest. Besides, I think we can easily conquer the Elm Kingdom. They are weak, they only know how to have fun in oases with music and women. I can even say that they have forgotten how to fight." Then he looked away from the king and looked at everyone at the table.

"Finally, we can unite with Theo and take the High Mountain Kingdom between us. We have something in common between the two of us. In this way, as the two mighty kingdoms, we provide the greatest preparation for our true destiny!" He said his last words, raising his voice and looking at the people around him.

The king nodded in approval.

"Well said. Now..." He looked at everyone.

"...I put the first option to a vote. Those in favor, raise your hands." He said.

The king had already chosen the side he supported with his sentences. Ten of the forty men in front of him raised their hands. Miles shouted, looking at those sitting on his side who did not raise their hands. "What do you think you are doing? Do you want war?"

One of the king's aides immediately replied. "We must send soldiers in both directions. At least that way we have a place on the surface!" he said.

Miles was silent, not knowing what to say. He didn't speak again. He went into deep thought.

The king spoke again. "Those who accept the second option, raise your hand."

"Strangely enough, more than thirty hands were raised this time. Including Miles."

The king immediately asked in surprise.

"What happened, Miles? Did you change your mind?"

Miles didn't stand up this time. He answered calmly with a black face.

"If everyone has decided to fight, then everyone agrees. I don't want any separation."

" Hahahaha! Beautiful. What you did was brave, Miles. Then as Commander-in-Chief of the surface Campaign, Moss, I assign you. Your assistant will be Miles! Miles, I know you two may disagree on some things, but you two make a whole. Take care of each other! In one week, you will launch the first attack. Come to me tomorrow with a strategy." He said and left laughing.

Miles' face darkened a little from helping Moss, but inside he was happy.

"I'll be watching your every move, monkey man. What did Theo offer you to be his dog?" he thought to himself.

Dark Elves were very conservative and territorial, like magical creatures. They were happy in their current state. There was no need for them to attack the surface since they had such a large area as the underground at their disposal!

He also knew that most Dark Elves longed for the sun, even though they loved the darkness. Their appearance had evolved that way because they lived underground. The records of the Dark Elves were older than humans. So they knew how they got here and why they lived underground.

Moss pulled him out of his thoughts. After the king had left, he stood up first and held out his hand. "Come, Miles. Let's go and get us a place on the surface!" he said.

Miles stood and shook his hand with an eager look. "Then let the dark days end!" he said.

With this slogan of his, forty people at the table raised their glasses and shouted.

"LET THE DARK DAYS END!"

With this handshake, the surface adventure of the elves began.

...