Chapter 400: Garnering More Attention

"So, what do you plan on doing next, Your Highness?" Dane asked in response to the slight frown that had appeared on Vanadir's face. In response, Vanadir went silent for a bit as he seriously pondered over the things he could do. Judging by how fast the person called The Great Calamity was destroying towns and villages alike, it wouldn't take long for the person to go ahead and crush cities into rubble. Perhaps, it might even destroy large provinces and eventually…the kingdom itself.

Naturally, it was just the Ninth Prince's imagination quickly thinking up of the worst-case scenario. But even though he knew it was the worst-case scenario, he could not help but have the feeling that there was a chance for it to actually happen. With that in mind, he decided to prioritize the matter of The Great Calamity first, which was quite a no-brainer since the war for the throne was still about eight months away. Depending on whether The Great Calamity becomes a greater problem in the future, there might be no war for the throne for the princes to even participate in.

With that, Vanadir quickly headed out of his room to head towards the kitchen, making a cup of coffee for himself and Dane as he told the latter, "I know this might be too much to ask from you at this time of day, but I want you to contact and ask the other princes if they're willing to hold a conference through mana regarding this current incident. Of course, you just have to pass on the message to their advisors. After that, it's up to them as to whether they accept or not."

"Understood, Your Highness," Dane replied with a nod. However, before he started manipulating the mana in the surroundings to achieve what Vanadir asked from him, he surprisingly extended one of his hands to Vanadir, prompting the Ninth Prince to tilt his head in slight confusion.

"Coffee, Your Highness. You don't expect me to handle all of this with a sleepy mind, do you?" Dane said soon after with a light smile on his face, making Vanadir let out a light chuckle as he passed one of the cups of coffee he made to Dane. After taking a sip of the coffee, Dane then entered a state of immense concentration, manipulating each and every strand of mana in the surroundings as he made sure that the strands would go towards each and every advisor of the princes that were still alive.

Moving his hands like a conductor in a concert would, Dane soon sent out all of those strands of mana to their respective recipients as he sipped on some more coffee. After that, he snapped his fingers, covering the surface of his body with a thin layer of water before it dissipated into mist, removing all of the dirt and grime that had accumulated on top of his skin. Then, he snapped his fingers yet again, changing Dane's clothes to that of what he usually wore.

As for Vanadir, seeing that Dane was cleaning himself up, he made his way to the washroom to wash up his whole body before coming out of it a few minutes later, looking more like a prince instead of a normal person with a crown on his head. Fortunately, that short amount of time was enough for the advisors of the princes to respond to Vanadir's request. Surprisingly, all of them had agreed to the request, even Arshe, who was currently busy entertaining the envoy from the Valiharsus Kingdom.

Placing such thoughts aside for now as he knew this situation was of greater priority in the short term, Vanadir then told Dane to send out another message, asking them to have their communication specialists create a real-time communication network between all of the princes. With that, the mage woken up by coffee soon sent out another set of mana strands, only to receive a large influx of mana as the communication specialists seemed to have already made their move.

Seeing that the communication specialists on the sides of the princes had instantly taken attention, that meant the other princes took note of this incident as well. Although they weren't certain as to whether or not the situation might end up becoming worse, to them, it was better to be safe than sorry.

With that in mind, Vanadir then entered the communication network with a strand of his own energy, allowing him to hear the voices of his own brothers resounding in his mind, silently listening as they talked about what they knew about the incident regarding The Great Calamity. Eventually, someone among the princes loudly cleared their throats, prompting others to stop talking as they sensed that the prince that was about to talk had the most prestige among them. Unsurprisingly, that person was the First Prince, Zeldrion Seraph II.

"Although it was all thanks to our brother the Ninth Prince that we're all gathered here today, I've decided out of my own accord to become the host of this meeting," Zeldrion said before asking Vanadir, "Though, if Vanadir has a problem with it, then I don't mind stepping down."

"I don't mind you being the host, Zeldrion," Vanadir replied, his tone indifferent yet solemn. "In fact, I think you'd be the best choice, given that our topic right now is regarding a problem that might become a threat to the kingdom in the future."

Hearing those words, all of the princes had become incredibly silent, so silent that even someone softly farting would make them look at the culprit with a deathly glare. After everyone had gone silent for a bit, the Third Prince Arshe decided to take the initiative in starting the topic, saying, "I'm sure all of us have received news regarding the person known as The Great Calamity. As most of us know, he has destroyed five villages in one night and killed around 5,000 lives in the process."

"However, these next words I'm about to say might shock the others, so be prepared," he continued, noticing that all of them had their attention focused on him. With that, Arshe took in a deep breath before saying, "According to a piece of news I've just recently received, The Great Calamity was able to decimate two towns early in the morning before going ahead and destroying eight towns in a row within half an hour."

In an instant, gasps could be heard resounding throughout the communication network, most of them shocked by what they've heard. As for Vanadir, he remained silent. The same went for Zeldrion, who had an incredibly strong information network just like Arshe.

Seeing that Arshe had brought all of them up to date on what was happening regarding The Great Calamity, Zeldrion then asked the others, "With that, I want to ask the others as to what we should do as princes of the Seraph Kingdom."

"Isn't the answer obvious? Let's try and kill that person calling himself The Great Calamity." Surprisingly, the Seventh Prince, whose name was Fenton, was the first name to suggest this idea. But of course, that idea was instantly shot down by both Zeldrion and Arshe as Zeldrion asked Fenton, "Do you know how strong the town leaders are? At their weakest, they're at the peak of Rank 4. Normally, they would be a Rank 5 class holder."

"Now, ask yourself. What rank is your class at?" he continued, prompting Fenton to shut up as he realized that the idea wouldn't work in the first place. That was because, if he continued with the idea, he would just be serving himself up to the person calling himself The Great Calamity. With that, a deafening silence overtook the communication network once again. However, that silence did not last for long as Vanadir was the one who started to talk instead, saying, "Since all of us don't have the strength to fight against The Great Calamity, then don't you think there's only one solution we can use to solve this problem?"

At first, most of the princes in the conversation were confused as to what Vanadir meant by that. But then, Zeldrion and Arshe soon realized what Vanadir meant by that, with Arshe asking Vanadir, his tone slightly doubtful, "Are you sure you want to bother him? Remember that he announced the war for the throne as he wants to ascend to the Transcendent level."

"That's in the future, Arshe. For now, he's still the strongest person of Seraph Kingdom," Vanadir said. At that instant, the others finally realized what Vanadir meant, giving him their words of agreement. Soon, Zeldrion voiced out his agreement as well, with Arshe voicing out his soon after, with a slight sigh, of course.

With the unanimous agreement of the other princes, Vanadir then said, "Alright then. It seems we have to write a letter to the strongest person of Seraph Kingdom…"

"King Zeldrion Seraph."

…

Sometime later in the day, within the royal palace of Seraph Kingdom.

Inside one of its large and prestigious halls was a man of decently tall stature, sitting on an exquisitely carved chair inlaid with multiple gems of great clarity. On the man's head was a crown far larger than those worn by the princes. Adding on the magnanimousness, the majesty, and the calmness emanating about him, as well as the strength hidden underneath his body, one would not mistaken this man for another, as he was the current king of Seraph Kingdom, King Zeldrion Seraph.

At the moment, one of the many attendants in the palace had appeared in front of King Zeldrion, respectfully bowing as the attendant extended both of his hands. On his hands was a parchment that had the wax seal of the royal palace. Seeing this, he grabbed the parchment as he excused the attendant, breaking off the seal before reading its contents.

After looking at the words written on the parchment in silence, a solemn expression could be seen on the king's face as he thought about what was written. Unsurprisingly, as the princes of the kingdom had met up to come to an unanimous agreement to ask help from their father, it was no surprise that a letter with all of their signatures would soon appear in front of their father to read.

"Hmm…" Pondering as to what he should do, King Zeldrion closed his eyes for a bit before muttering, "What do you think of this? Do their words hold any weight?"

At first, one would think that he was just talking to himself, thinking over the possible solutions he had in his arsenal. However, a few seconds later, a soft voice soon resounded throughout the room as it replied to his question, saying, "According to what I've divined, there's a high chance that their words would become true. In fact, there's a chance that it might destroy the kingdom, if not the continent if not taken care of."

"I see," King Zeldrion said in response, lightly nodding his head as he now had an idea on what to do. Crumpling up the parchment he had received from his sons before burning them with a flame made out of mana, he then sent out a mana strand towards a certain location in the kingdom, telling the person that would receive the message, "I need you to come here as soon as possible. This is an urgent matter."

Surprisingly, the one on the other side did not care that he was talking to King Zeldrion, letting out a sigh as he replied, "And here I thought I was going to devise another spell. Sigh…give me just one second."

Swoosh!

Exactly one second after the person on the other side was finished talking, a spatial rift was opened beside the exquisite chair King Zeldrion sat on. Around a minute later, the figure of a man stepped out a rift, radiating an aura of magnanimity that did not lose out to him. Unsurprisingly, King Zeldrion had a slight frown on his face as the man appeared, yet the latter did not care.

The man sported casual clothing, though the majority of it was covered by the cape he was wearing, which had a gold trefoil at the center. His blond hair was combed neatly, matching quite well with his steel glasses and his silver gray irises. Not only that, but the man constantly exuded the feeling that he was one with knowledge and energy, which suited his current position very well.

This man was none other than Dalton Thymesis, the one who had the greatest authority at the Arcana Tower, also known by many as the Supreme Sage.

"So, what do you need your old friend's help with?"