System's POV - Chapter 1284: Your Luck Has Finally Come To An End
Chapter 1284: Your Luck Has Finally Come To An End
Two weeks had passed since Thirteen had met with Queen Miriamele.
He wasted no time during this period and finally completed the Runic Formation in the capital. Now, if there were any immediate dangers, the formation could resist them perfectly—at least for now.
Thirteen understood they were pressed for time, but he still decided to execute his plan to stir the hearts of the people, allowing them to at least understand the current situation.
Standing in front of tens of thousands of Artemians, Thirteen stood at the podium and faced them all with a calm expression on his face.
This announcement of his would be relayed throughout the entire world, for the King had declared a state of the nation address.
However, the one to make the speech wouldn’t be him but his right-hand man, whom he had appointed two weeks ago.
Thirteen chose to use this opportunity to launch his propaganda, and stir the pot in order to make the people understand what was happening in the world.
With the power he wielded as the second most powerful official of Artem, Thirteen began his speech.
“Good day to all of you,” Thirteen said with a smile. “Today, I am going to address an anonymous report which states that Castor Deneb and Regulus Serpens are planning to start a rebellion to throw the empire into chaos and steal the throne from our rightful king.
“But they are not alone. They are supported by the High Archons, and Archons of the Valis and Serenor Continents. We have yet to verify the authenticity of this report, but as I speak, we’ve mobilized our people to track down the whistleblower and investigate their claim. All I hope for is that the report is a mere jest.
“It is not our wish to alarm you or incite panic. But given the severity of the news, and since I am tasked by his Majesty to ensure the safety and prosperity of the Kingdom, I decided to let all of you know about this possible rebellion—for if it’s true, you ought to evacuate for safety and we’d like you to be prepared. Of course, we’d soon reach out to Lord Castor and Lord Regulus to confirm whether this report is true or not.
“I just have an extra request for everyone. Do not understand the power you hold. Together, please pay close attention to them and be the judge as to whether they are loyal to the empire or loyal to their own self interest. The same can be said to their subordinates, who are currently preparing behind the scenes to start a civil war.”
Thirteen paused for a bit so that everyone could digest what he had said. A minute later, he once again made a declaration.
“Artemians, our King wishes for every citizen to be able to live their lives peacefully without fear of war or rebellion. If it’s confirmed that there are indeed individuals who wish to trample our peace, I hope we can rely on you to support the King in dealing with them!
“We will not allow those with evil intentions to rule this land, for they do not care about its people but the power and control that comes with the position. If any of these suspicions are confirmed, we shall hereby declare them as traitors of the empire, whom everyone should fight against, even at the cost of our lives!”
The teenage boy then raised his closed fist high for everyone to see.
“For freedom!” Thirteen shouted.
“”For Freedom!”” the crowd shouted.
“For peace!”
“”For Peace!””
“For the prosperity of Artem!”
“”For the prosperity of Artem!””
A deafening roar of patriotism spread in the surroundings as the Artemians of the capital declared their full support to their King.
Thirteen eyed the people and said a few more important matters before finally ending his speech for the nation.
He didn’t know how the Celestials were going to react to his declaration, but since he managed to rouse the crowd, the people would be inclined to fight alongside them when the time came.
An hour after his speech ended…
The ruler of the Valis Continent, Castor, held a meeting in his castle.
“I’m sure all of you are aware that someone has leaked our plans of rebellion,” Castor said calmly. “It doesn’t matter who did it because we can no longer turn back time. I called all of you here to ask if all of you are ready for war.”
“I’m almost done with my preparations, My Lord,” a High Archon replied.
“We’re almost done with our preparations as well, My Lord,” an Archon answered.
There were eight people inside the room including Castor.
One of them was a High Archon, and the rest were Archons.
They were the powerhouse of the Valis Continent, and all of them answered to him.
“My Lord, how should we deal with the people?” an Archon inquired.
“What they think doesn’t matter,” Castos replied. “We can no longer turn back. For now, everyone should just stay quiet and avoid giving any reply to those questions. Once we have taken over the Empire, it will not be too late to pacify the populace.”
The Archons glanced at each other uneasily, but since their leader had spoken, they had no choice but to follow through.
“I’ll give you all exactly one week,” Castor stated. “One week later, we head to the capital and drag Astrion off his throne.”
Castor had long wished to sit on the throne of the Empire and become its rightful ruler. Also, he didn’t want to admit it, but he also wanted to make the Queen his woman.
During the war in Chandrea, she was someone whom the Celestials had trouble defeating.
Left with no choice, they decided to take her people hostage, which forced her to surrender.
King Astrion then took her as his wife, which was something that Castor had vehemently opposed back then.
He had stated that the King was not worthy of the Saintess of Chandrea, but since he was the King, and the army listened to him, Castor’s opposition bore no fruit.
In the end, he was forced to watch as the beautiful woman became another man’s wife, haunting him to this day.
’Astrion, your luck has finally come to an end,’ Castor thought. ’Enjoy your remaining days on that throne because soon, it will become mine!’
Castor was the one that had planned the rebellion. He was also the one who talked to Regulus and convinced him to support him as the new king.
Of course, Castor promised to properly compensate him for his help, which the latter agreed to.
Unfortunately, his effort to secure Rana as an ally failed. But, since he believed that she wouldn’t dare to oppose them for the sake of King Astrion, he decided to leave her be.
’Just one more week,’ Castor mused. ’I can’t wait to see what your reaction will be after I’m done with you, Astrion.’
With thoughts of revenge in mind, Castor and his allies started to strategize on how to effectively bring down the defenses of the capital, whom they believed would easily fall under the joint attack of the two Celestials, as well as their massive armies.
