238 Chapter 23The almost ever-present winds of the Burning Sands appeared once again as it carries dust and grains of sand along the path that it is taking before vanishing. The dust and grains of sand were being thrown everywhere but the mighty and tall stone walls of Ishtar kept everything at bay, preventing the harshness of the desert from entering inside the busy city of Ishtar. Merchants, nobles, commoners, officials and soldiers, humans of different professions move along the paved roads of the city as they go on with their daily lives, not bothering about what is happening or what lies outside the mighty walls of the capital.

At the very center of the city lies the palace of the king which is somewhat considered as the very heart of the kingdom because in it lives the ruler of the kingdom. The palace also houses some of the most important offices of the kingdom within its peripheries which never lacked the presence of wealthy or powerful individuals.

Inside the throne room, almost all the powerful people of the kingdom were gathered together, be they friends or enemies with each other. After the cleansing that happened after Prince Gyassi ascended the throne, many were hesitant in attending this assembly specially those who were clearly or somewhat against the prince suddenly taking the throne without a decree from of the real ruler of the kingdom.

Many were against the idea of him taking the throne and proclaiming himself king, especially those families or officials that had some kind of conflict with him. A lot of people are afraid of the new king but not because they are in the wrong but because of the vindictive nature of the new king. It was a known and proven fact, not just some gossips to smear the image of the new ruler. The now rotting heads of those who were victims of his vindictiveness can still be seen in the pile that was turned into a figure of power at the plaza of the city.

“What do you think does he wants from us? He won’t have my head for just merely denying him entry inside my shops, right?” an old man who needed a cane to walk spoke as beads of sweat began gathering along his forehead. The prince now the new king was a regular customer of his stores but because of almost everyday trouble that he brings whenever he gets drunk was hurting his business, he had to deny him entry. Many of his workers also complained about how roughly they were treated by the monarch, two of his best-selling women were forced to quit their job after the king disfigured their faces.

“Whatever agenda he has with us! It can’t be something good… Nothing good has ever happened for us in this damn city after he returned from subjugating the monsters that flooded towards the kingdom from the north.” A man well in his fifties grumbled as he inspected their surroundings. In almost every corner of the throne room, there stood one of the Royal Guards who could be mistaken as statues if you don’t look at them closely enough.

“I heard that we are now at war with four different powers and its seems that it would increase later on if this continues… And of course, we can’t escape unscathed.”

“I’ve heard news that Commander Nassor successfully repelled the retaliation of the Kingdom of Alberna and its allies. And it seems like they are doing well, for the meantime.”

“I doubt they would last long if they won’t receive any sort of aid, be it fresh soldiers or supplies.”

…..

“It seems that the new king had some falling with the old commander and those with him based on the information that my informants have gathered.”

Those who were present inside the throne room began discussing between themselves as they waited for their new ruler to arrive. There were those who were questioning the decisions of the new king as he doesn’t seem to have plans in aiding the old commander and those with him that he sent to accomplish a task that was close to impossible. Some of them were worrying about themselves and their families while the others were calculating how much of a bribe should they offer to make peace with their new ruler.

“His Royal Highness, King Gyassi Vinna has arrived!” a loud voice that was almost as deafening as thunder echoes through the enclosed walls of the throne room. The thick but small door inlaid with gold and expensive glittering gems located just near the throne started to open slowly.

There in all his glory stood the new king dressed in glamourous golden armor which gave off a bright light as the light from the torches on the walls of the throne room gets reflected unto the eyes of those who were present. Full battle armor with a bloody red cape, the vibe that the now King Gyassi gave off was dangerous.

King Gyassi walked proudly towards the throne which was now his, following behind him was his ever-present protector, Commander Ishaq who seemed to be glued to him since wherever the king was at, he would always not be far away. After the now king proclaimed himself king, many stood up and openly admonished him and he didn’t take t quite well, the words of those who were against him was replied with cold iron steel which also made its way all the way towards the family members of those who reproached him.

The king looked down at the gathered people before from the elevated platform where the throne is located at, almost all those who accidentally met his look bowed their head to avoid his gaze but some held his gaze as they stared back at him with defiance. A satisfied smile crept up to the lips of the king as he attained the result that he expected.

Sitting comfortably on his throne, King Gyassi knocked the butt of his scepter on the floor pulling the attention of those in front of him towards him. Commander Ishaq stood below the flight of stairs to the throne with his eyes always scanning the surroundings and the people in front of him for signs of danger. He was always on the alert as you never know when these people in front of him would suddenly turn crazy because of desperation like the previous ones that he had dealt with.

“Since my father isn’t able to perform his duties, I as a filial son and responsible prince of the kingdom assumed the throne to stabilized and make decisions that had to be made. With my wisdom, I will the kingdom to greater heights than ever before…” the king proclaimed then pausing to see the reaction of his audience and he sure was not happy with the response that he got.

“I’m different from my father, I won’t put peace and harmony as my main priority! We don’t want to fight useless wars, but I dare say that I will slay any who dares to disturb our kingdom’s prosperity! That is evident by the decisions that I have done even before I have ascended the throne. The monstrosities of the north came to invade our lands but led an army and slaughtered them all! I even sent the Bulwarks of the Sand to return the favor and we will soon hear of their success! Lands that haven’t been explored before would soon be available to us! Territories with untapped wealth that would soon be ours!” he continued then paused once again to see the reaction of the audience. The response this time was somewhat mild. Some of those in his audience showed some excitement upon their faces after the mention of new lands with possible wealth that haven’t been touched before, most of them were merchants.

‘Typical merchants… all you care about is richness…but you have to make sure that you live long enough to spend it.” King Gyassi thought inside his head as he clicked his tongue at the expected response from the greedy merchants.

“The Albernans have always been limiting us on how much iron we can buy from them, the Free City of Lazica denies us entry into their city and forcing our merchants to conduct trade in the wilds, the Kellan Union forbids us from entering their lands to conduct trade and the Federation of Duridarr looks down on us because of our skin. They all have been hampering the progress of our kingdom towards prosperity and as I said, I will slay them all.” He shouted with enthusiasm as he stood up from his throne to emphasize that he meant what he really said.

The audience before him began murmuring, he sat back down on his throne once again after a few breaths as he watched the reactions of those before him. His audience knew it and he knew it that his words were nothing but crap except for the one about the Albernans. The Free City of Lazica forbids entry to all merchants no matter where they are from which became normal to those who came to the city to make profit. The Kellan Union doesn’t forbid anyone from entering their lands but instead are very welcoming to visitors especially to rich merchants since the Kellan Union is known to be the land of mercenaries and everybody knows that as long as the risk is worth it or the price is high enough, mercenaries can quickly switch into bandits and the thing about the Federation of Duridarr is absolute nonsense as they share the same skin as them, tanned dark by the blazing sun.

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