Chapter 123: he Staff and the Barrel
In a place shrouded in darkness and silence from all sides, a woman who appeared to be in her forties sat upon a throne. She wore a completely black dress, two enormous black wings extended from her back, and two large horns emerged from her head, stretching upward!
"What do you want, Dragon King? Have you finally decided to attack the Giants or what?" The woman looked toward a mirror before her and narrowed her eyes.
"Silent Queen, you already know some fragments of the distant past. The Elves have broken one of the ancient pacts, and I want your help in bringing them down. The Falcon King and the Golden King have both given me their word and will send their support, in addition to the Centaur Race, which will assist at the Falcon’s request. That leaves only you and the Phoenix Queen." The Dragon King looked at the Silent Queen coldly and cautiously, as if he was not pleased to be dealing with her!
"You ancient races are truly strange. One of them was fallen for decades, and the moment he recovered some of his vitality and strength, you immediately panicked and began preparing armies against him. And one army wasn’t enough—you gathered four armies and are still asking for more?!" The Silent Queen looked at the Dragon King with mockery and pity, then continued in clear ridicule, "Do you no longer have any dignity, or did time destroy it just as it destroyed everything else?"
Faced with the Silent Queen’s mockery and ridicule, the Dragon King’s expression remained indifferent. "I will not blame you for your ignorance. No one taught you about ancient history, nor did anyone ever pay you any attention. But allow me to educate you a little...." The Dragon King replied mockingly, while the Silent Queen’s expression remained rigid as it was, refusing to let his words provoke her.
"In the distant past, it took the combined armies of the three races to stop the advance of the Cradle Tree and the Elven armies alone. Do you understand this clearly? Our entire armies were only able to stop their advance, not defeat them. And because of beings far superior to you, me, the Immortal Tree of Cradle, and the ancient ancestors in both status and power, the Elves’ entire power was sealed, and they were promised to live in peace in exchange for not interfering in anything concerning the kingdoms. But behind that peace and mercy that surrounded them and the Cradle Tree for tens of thousands of years, there was a history made of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood!" The Dragon King spoke in a cold voice and continued.
"And now that they have been freed from the seals imposed upon them, it is only a matter of time before they regain their strength and armies once again, along with their ancient ambitions. Those entities ordered me to move against them sooner rather than later." He then continued mockingly.
"Then don’t tell me that the ambitions of their new king have not reached your ears."
The Silent Queen looked at the Dragon King for some time and narrowed her eyes as she thought. After a few seconds, she looked at him again calmly and spoke coldly.
"What will I get if I participate in this war with you?"
"I’m telling you that if they regain more of their strength, neither I nor even you will be safe from them, and you’re thinking about what you will gain in exchange for defending yourself?" The Dragon King spoke in an angry tone, displeased with the Silent Queen’s manner of speaking.
"Spare me all this beating around the bush, Dragon King. No one here will suffer more from this than you. Our relationship with the Elves isn’t bad, so there will always be a middle ground between us and them. And you said that you convinced the Falcon King and the Golden King to participate. Don’t tell me you convinced them with those words alone." The Silent Queen tilted her head slightly and spoke mockingly. "And then you say there are higher entities controlling things from behind the scenes. Don’t tell me they didn’t support you with something to help you win this war, right?"
Faced with this question, the Dragon King narrowed his eyes for a while, then smiled maliciously and took out a black staff made from the trunk of an ancient tree. At its top was a dark blue crystal.
"Didn’t you always want a weapon as powerful as our Dragon Spear, the Falcon Wings of the Falcon Race, and the Golden Shield of the Golden Lion Race? And you tried many times to create one for yourself, but you failed every time, didn’t you?" The Dragon King waved the staff in his hand enticingly before the Silent Queen.
"What do you think of this? If you participate in this war, this magical staff will be yours. It came from the same source as the weapons of the ancient races, and it is no less powerful than any of them."
The Silent Queen’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the staff, and she quickly asked, "What does it do?"
*The fish has taken the bait.*
The Dragon King sneered inwardly, but maintained his smile outwardly. "It is capable of multiplying the power of your techniques several times. By using it together with your Law of Silence, you will be closer to the Soul Reaper on the battlefield."
The Silent Queen looked at him for some time and narrowed her eyes. "I don’t want it after participating in the war. I want it before the war begins, otherwise, don’t expect me to participate!"
The Dragon King continued smiling at the Silent Queen’s condition. "Of course. I’ll send someone to you with it immediately, and it will reach you within one week at most." His smile then changed as he looked at her seriously and threatened her before ending the call. "But I must remind you that within two weeks at most, your entire army must be ready. I will tolerate neither delay nor betrayal. Otherwise, all those armies will not march toward the Forest of Light. They will march toward your kingdom instead."
The Silent Queen looked at the empty mirror before her after the Dragon King immediately ended the call. She frowned, displeased by his threat. But in the end, she smiled when she remembered that she would obtain that magical staff after one week.
"Sister, are you really going to agree to that proposal? Wouldn’t it be better not to interfere in matters that have nothing to do with us?!"
Beside the Silent Queen sat a woman who looked very much like her, but was clearly younger... approximately in her mid-twenties.
The Silent Queen looked at her with disdain and disgust, then turned her gaze away from her and said mockingly, "Then don’t interfere in matters that don’t concern you!"
---
In another place filled entirely with red trees that resembled cups, their leaves looking like locks of blazing flames.
A gigantic red palace was built, decorated with statues of numerous firebirds.
Inside this palace, in the throne room, sat a woman of extraordinary beauty upon the throne, with a floating mirror before her.
"What is your decision, Phoenix Queen? The rest of the four ancient race kings have agreed, and you are the only one remaining. As I promised you, I will give you an entire barrel of Phoenix blood!"
The Phoenix Queen looked at the Dragon King’s image in the mirror for some time before finally shaking her head coldly and saying decisively,
"The Phoenix Race will not participate in this war!"