Chapter 490: Shots Fired

"Tell me of good news, Baron Cook." The king of Trisal Kingdom sat on his throne while the good baron bowed before him.

"I have secured friendship with the Astronians, my king. This is the name of those people."

"They come from a doomed land and are here to escape the demise of their world."

Baron Brody Cook stopped for a moment as he witnessed his able king nod in understanding. A breath passed and he continued to deliver his findings.

"They also bring us a gift." The baron said and motioned for his assistant to approach. Lydia saluted in place before she brought an alien box into the midst.

Without ado, the girl opened up the box and two things were reflected in everyone's eyes.

A mirror-like object about the size of a palm and an average squarish thing made out of light metal.

"What are these things?" The king queried. He leaned forward and he was expecting weapons and such. Unfortunately, the king was about to be disappointed in a few breaths.

"It's a magical tool and gives cold air, my king." Baron Cook answered and pushed a button on the square object.

"WHOOSH!" A second after, a gentle hum could be heard from the unknown square object. And exactly a full minute later, the entire hall became even colder than the already wintry night.

"Ahhhh... I can see its usage on hot days." The king smiled to hide his discontent. He mused that he may have expected so much from this first meeting.

Sensing the negative feelings on the king's face, Baron Brody Cook uttered the greatest news of all. It was obvious that he deliberately saved the best for last.

"The Wizard Solomon is dead, my king." The baron grinned at this time.

"WHAT?!" The king of Trisal roared in question. He could not help but stand up with this shocking news.

One should know that wizards and magicians were the strongest aces in the heart of a kingdom.

Should anyone of them fall, they would absolutely cripple a nation. In worst case scenario, this would also mark as the end, death, and slavery of millions of people.

"Tell me how it happened?! Quickly!" The king was excited and it was clear to see at this time.

"As you wish, my king." Baron Cook relayed the information as clearly as he could and a booming laughter could be heard in the aftermath of the report.

"HAHAHA! FOOLS! Send spies at once to the Baldur Kingdom!"

"If they don't have any more wizards sitting in their courts, then we shall happily add their territories into ours!"

The king laughed some more and the day ended well for him and his people.

* * *

A new day arrived and many souls were already busy even before the sun rose in the horizon.

Many tents were set up outside the Astronian camp and the products displayed ranged from fresh meat to dining wares.

It was clear that a lot of natives in this world wanted to be the first ones to take advantage of these rich newcomers.

"I'll buy all of your products."

"How much for everything?"

"Thank you so much for coming." Amira Walker bought everything as a sign of goodwill to these traders. Even the villagers got a single piece of gold coin for their efforts and cheap stocks.

Since this was an ancient world, one can only imagine the price of gold at this time. The small village dwellers jumped in joy and immediately left the place in panic.

Wealth was after all a great lure for unforeseen disasters.

* * *

"Ohhh... A rat came in." Our bored gamer muttered while he was playing an rpg game inside his room. Nevertheless, he did not take action to bar the sneaky attempts of this daring soul.

Clark continued to play as if he could not care less for such an intrusion.

"Pffft!" Less than five minutes later, a body crumpled headless on the ground.

The weapon used was suited with a silencer and thus, it did not arouse the attention of the people around the death scene. It was also lucky that the spy was well versed in hiding.

The cleaning bots had an easy time disposing his body without the notice of the Astronians.

"And the rat is gone." Clark shook his head at the stupidity of some. No rats could escape the tight security around Amira Walker's watchful eyes. 

* * *

A week passed and a large army came at the border of the Goblin Grasslands. There were about one million soldiers gathered in this siege.

"The Xurin Kingdom is crazy!"

"How could they bring a million troops against a mere one hundred and one enemies?"

"The Astronians are strong. They could even kill Wizard Solomon of Baldur." The many spies of myriad influences hid to lay witness to this big battle.

The Xurin forces took 3 days of preparation and in the morning of the 4th day, they began to march closer into Astronian camp.

"LOOK! It's finally starting!" The ground shook and the process was slow. There were many siege weapons and caravans of supplies.

It was obvious that Xurin had anticipated a prolonged and protracted kind of war. Alas, not all expectations can come into reality.

"Surrender or face death!" A robed man rose into the sky and his voice alone was enough to send shivers unto the spines of the mortals beneath him.

"That's the Arch Magician of Xurin! Cameron Flame!" The spies recognized this robed figure. This one was a renowned magician in this world.

When the last echoes of this man's voice ended, a new one replaced it all too suddenly.

"BANG!" A long range gun spat out its angry fury in reply and in a blink of an eye, the Arch Magician of Xurin ate a whole bucket of bullets.

Although he tried to defend himself through a magical shield around his body but alas, this was not enough to escape this tribulation in his doorsteps.

The shield broke and so did his body next. The soldiers of Xurin would have to spend an entire day to search for his remains in the aftermath.

It did not need telling that it was an ugly scene indeed.

"..." There was absolute silence thereafter. A few breaths later, a terrified man's scream broke the hearts of these warriors.

"RUNNNNNNNNNNNN!" Thus, a stampede occurred that resulted in the deaths of many. The war began and ended with just a single shot fired.