Chapter 376: Celebration

Maerr-viki Continent, Seraph Kingdom.

A week has passed since the Ninth Prince and the First Prince have met up with another to talk about forming an alliance between the two of them regarding the war for the throne, only for them to end up forming a mutual agreement. Naturally, an event like this would have spread throughout the whole kingdom like a firestorm. Though surprisingly, it didn't.

Well, the reason why such an event like this didn't spread throughout the kingdom was due to the fact that both parties had agreed to use all of their control over information to make sure this piece of news was not spread, allowing both sides to focus on their own things in peace.

At the moment, Vanadir and the others were currently in the royal training grounds, practicing the attack that they were going to use in the war for the throne. Unsurprisingly, with all of them being more or less skilled in combat, the only type of group attack that they were practicing at this point were those that utilized the powers of all five of them…which Vanadir called the Vanadir Coalition Supreme Arts.

Looking at his team members with a smile, the Ninth Prince said to them, "Since we've already mastered the group attack that focuses on me as the one dealing the final blow, how about we try and create a group attack wherein the focus is dealing the most damage as possible?"

With a look of confusion, Valentia asked the Ninth Prince in response, "Wouldn't that attack be the one where you're the focus?"

Shaking his head, Vanadir replied, "Nope, I'm still a Rank 3 class wielder. If I were at Rank 4, then that might have been the case."

"In any case, only two people in this team of ours could fit the role of dealing the most damage," he continued before pointing at Valentia and Dane. "That would be you two."

In an instant, Valentia shook her head as she replied, "Although I can deal a lot of damage, I can only do so when I amass a lot of blood." With that, she pointed at Dane and said, "Dane would be the best fit for this."

Hearing this, Dane waved his hands as he let out a light chuckle, saying, "You must be jesting, Lady Valentia. Surely your firepower is greater than mine when it comes to battles."

"No, Dane. Valentia does make a point here," Vanadir could not help but say after pondering over it for a while. "If you consider her being put in a fight against a hundred people, then yes, her might would be greater than yours since she could amass a lot of blood thanks to her class. But in the war for the throne, we're only up against teams of ten at the very most. She wouldn't be able to exhibit her greatest power."

"As for you, you aren't limited by the number of enemies. Even though it might seem that your damage output is consistent, it's the best one in our team in this case," he concluded. "With that, let's focus on creating a group attack where you're the focus, Dane."

Seeing as most of them were looking at him with a gaze of hope, Dane eventually gave in as he awkwardly smiled. "Alright then. Though, please do not have high expectations of me."

And with that, the five of them sat in a circle as they talked about possible spell and skill combinations they could use to maximize the amount of damage they could deal on the opposing side. Unsurprisingly, they were eager to talk about their skills and spells, wanting to contribute a lot to the birth of the next group attack. Though, while most of them were eager to do so, one of them seemed to be in a daze, thinking about something else.

"Hmm? Is there something bothering you, Erea?" Vanadir was the first one to ask, noticing that Erea had become unusually silent as of late, recalling how she was quite active in participating in previous talks.

Hearing her name being called, Erea seemed to have snapped back to reality as she awkwardly smiled and shook her head. She then replied, "Ah, it's nothing, Prince Vanadir. I was just thinking about something else."

"I see. Well, let's continue." Although Vanadir had a feeling that something was off about Erea today, since Erea did not bring it up, he had no choice but to continue with the conversation. Naturally, the others were worried about what was happening with Erea, with Valentia and Griselle being even more so. Giving each other a nod soon after, the two of them silently made a vow to themselves that they would find out what was going on with Erea.

Eventually, the five of them were finished with their conversation, with all of them sporting light grins at the possible prowess of this group move they had just made, save for Erea.

"Alright, everyone! Let's start!" Vanadir shouted as he nodded at Dane. In response, Dane slowly moved forward as a ball of mana started to manifest above his right hand. Soon after, he compressed this ball of mana before layering more mana on top of it…only to compress it once more.

As he was doing this, the Ninth Prince then looked at the others and shouted, "Everyone! Buff Vanadir!"

"2nd Circle! Boiling Blood!"

"3rd Circle! Reaper of Life!"

"3rd Circle! Mana Blood Conversion!" Without hesitation, Valentia was the one to go first, casting all of the enhancement spells she had on her arsenal to Dane, increasing the efficacy and might behind the mana he had. After that, she took in a deep breath as a slightly malevolent aura surrounded her. With that, she pointed one of her fingers towards Dane before shouting, "4th Circle! Blood-laden Might!"

Whoosh!

As the malevolent aura surrounding Valentia was shot out of her finger, this aura was soon absorbed by Dane, increasing the pressure he exuded by multiple folds as the ball of mana gained a slight tint of crimson.

"Griselle, you're next!" Valentia said to Griselle behind her, who nodded in response as she sent out multiple strands of light in one go.

"3rd Circle! Titan Vessel!"

"3rd Circle! Titan Might!"

"3rd Circle! Titan Mind!"

"2nd Circle! Skill Reflection!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Although Griselle was well-known in the kingdom as someone who could defend an area on her own, she still had some spells hidden that she rarely used, namely spells that enhanced her combat capabilities. Seeing as how it was being used on Dane's move, Vanadir could not help but become jealous as he asked her, "Why didn't you use it on my move?"

"You didn't ask!" Griselle said in response just as the final strand of light from her had been absorbed by Dane. At this point, the pressure Dane was exuding was on par with the pressure Vanadir exuded while he executed his group attack. Naturally, with Valentia and Griselle done, Erea was the one up next, only to still be in a daze until she was reminded by Valentia.

With a slight jolt and a light nod, she then cast the spells she had previously cast on Vanadir, imbuing the power of fire and water into the ball of mana Dane wielded. Although it did not seem like much, Dane knew for a fact that it had increased the power behind the ball of mana he wielded by a certain amount.

"Since those three are done, it's time for me to make my move," Vanadir said with a grin as he tightly gripped on his blade. "Ignition Mode!"

"[Magnus Tempestria: Dragon's Fang]!"

Whoosh!

As the blade transformed into a larger blade made out of mana, Vanadir then slashed out at the sword as a blade made out of green light made its way to the ball.

"[Wind Dragon's Four Forms: Wind Dragon's Claw]!"

Swoosh!

Without any hiccups, the energy imbued in the attack was soon absorbed by the ball of mana as the crimson red ball now had hints of dark red, blue, and green strands surrounding it. Seeing this, Dane went ahead and imbued into it the element of Earth, allowing the first three elements to show their greatest properties before he compressed it even further.

Feeling that he had compressed the ball of mana to its limits, Dane then went ahead and threw it towards the ground. "Hah!"

Bang!

At the very moment the ball of mana had collided with the ground, multiple cracks started to spread throughout the training ground as the surrounding land quaked for quite some time due to the might of the attack. In fact, a few of the maids and guards in the palace were quite shaken by the quaking, wondering if it was the end of the world.

Fortunately, the quaking did not last for long as the energy in the ball of mana eventually dissipated. Nevertheless, a level of might far greater than the attack Vanadir did was achieved, eliciting smiles to appear on the faces of Vanadir and the others. Even Erea could not help but be snapped back to reality from the attack, only to excuse herself after the attack had lost its energy.

Seeing this, Valentia and Griselle went ahead and followed Erea to ask her what was going on in her mind while Vanadir could not help but let out a peal of laughter from the might of the attack. Slapping Dane on the shoulder from joy, Vanadir then told him, "I knew you could do it! To hell with your talk about low expectations!"

In response, Dane awkwardly smiled as he replied, "As long as I've achieved the needs of Your Highness."

After talking about what they could improve about the group attack a bit more, Valentia and Griselle appeared in front of the two, prompting Vanadir to put on a slightly solemn expression as he asked them, "So, what's wrong with Erea?"

"Well, how do I go about this?" Surprisingly, Griselle was the one to reply, scratching her head before coming up with a decent answer. "In short, it's Erea's birthday today, and she doesn't know how to spend it."

"Hmm? Shouldn't she spend it with her family if that's the case?" Vanadir could not help but ask in response, to which Valentia shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "That's the problem. She can't recall who her family is."

"Isn't there a clan with the surname Magimillia?" Vanadir asked once more, though this time, he asked this question to Dane. After a moment of silence, Dane shook his head as he replied, "According to the information networks you've given me control over, Your Highness, a clan with the surname Magimillia does not exist in our Seraph Kingdom."

"She knows it's her birthday today, and she doesn't know her family? I can't help but feel pity for her," Valentia could not help but say, putting a slightly sad expression as she could not help but empathize with Erea. Soon after, Griselle could not help but feel the same way, only for the two of them to start tearing up as they thought about the possible things that were going on inside Erea's mind at the moment.

As for Vanadir and Dane, they went silent for a moment as they looked at each other, wondering what they could do to help out. Eventually, the two of them seemed to have thought up of the same thing as they looked at each other with a gaze of realization.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Dane?" Vanadir asked Dane, to which Valentia and Griselle could not help but look at.

With a light grin on his face, Dane responded, "I wouldn't be surprised if you've read my thoughts, Your Highness."

"What's going on with you two?" Valentia could not help but ask, which only made the two grin even wider as they knew their thoughts were definitely the same.

"Ah, I get it!" After some time, Griselle let out laughter as she finally understood what was going on in the minds of the two. With knowing nods, the three looked at each other as it seemed that they were planning something in secret.

At this point, only Valentia was clueless, making her go into a slight rage as she said, "Oh, come on! Just spit it out and tell me what it is already!"

With grins on their faces, Vanadir, Dane, and Griselle looked at each other before telling Valentia in unison, "We're going to hold a birthday party for Erea!"

"…why didn't you tell me that in the first place?!" Naturally, after knowing how simple the answer was, Valentia could not help but become mad at the three, wondering why they had kept her in the dark for so long. Laughing the anger off, Vanadir then looked at Dane, who nodded as a rift appeared above the heads of the two girls.

Clink! Clink!

Soon, small bags filled to the brim with gold coins appeared from the rift, which soon dropped onto the palms of the two. With a light grin, Vanadir then told the two, "We're not well-versed on how a birthday party for a girl her age should be celebrated, so we've decided that you two shall be in charge of the decor and food. As for everything else, leave that up to us."

Seeing as how they had become in charge of something important for Erea, Valentia and Griselle instantly tightened their grips over the small bags as they nodded in response before leaving only Vanadir and Dane in the training grounds.

With only them being in the royal training grounds, Vanadir was about to say something to Dane regarding Erea's birthday party, only for the expression on Dane's face to take a turn for the worse.

Naturally, Vanadir had an inkling that the news Dane received from the information network was anything but good. But when he heard the words that came out of Dane's mouth, only seething anger could be seen on his face.

"Your Highness…"

"I've obtained word that the Third Prince has met up with an envoy from the Valiharsus Kingdom."

"..."

"…that bastard!"