Everyone in Robert's mouth was the high-ranking military in The Lionax Kingdom. The First Prince and The Second Prince, The Left-Wing Guardian, Larry the Headmaster of the Royal Academy, and the three Archdukes.
The first one to return was King Emerson, along with an old man with long hair, wearing a golden robe. The old man with a golden robe did not bother to greet The Right-Wing Guardian as he went to his seat. Robert Kingsley did not make a fuss about it since Larry was one of two people in the kingdom who could treat him like that.
The First Prince, The Second Prince, Left-Wing Guardian, and three Archdukes entered the room together in the following minute. The Left-Wing Guardian nodded to Robert Kingsley while the other five greeted by bowing their heads to Robert Kingsley and King Emerson. As soon as everyone was in their seats, King Emerson started the emergency directly.
"Since everyone is here, I will inform you guys about the new situation in the war. I received a report about a new force from Gigante Forest."
When Gigante Forest was mentioned, everyone in the room was surprised, including the Left-Wing Guardian. They had agreed to make peace with Gigante Forest, so it shocked them for Gigante Forest to come out at this moment. The Left-Wing Guardian, Lorian, the second Legendary Ranked Knight in the Lionax Kingdom, shot a surprised glance toward Robert Kingsley. The latter nodded his head in response.
"We are not sure why they attacked us at this moment, but from the report. The Gigante Forest has taken several cities, including Braum City." King Emerson continued explaining the situation. "I have sent several scout teams to investigate further, so we will not get the exact answer until the scout team returns.
However, I heard an interesting rumor, and it was said that the one who led the army from Gigante Forest is a man called Alton."
When brought up Alton into the discussion, everyone on the table was shocked. That name was so familiar to them, one of the strongest of the Lionax Kingdom. Soon, everyone looked toward the Headmaster of the Royal Academy, Larry Bomian. He was the Fotia Legion's ex-commander and Alton's old friend.
Larry was as shocked as everyone else as he was not expecting to hear that name again after years. He ignored the gazes and looked toward Robert Kingsley, "Are you sure it's Alton?"
Robert Kingsley shook his head calmly. "I don't know. It's just a rumor and speculation. However, I assure you that Gigante Forest indeed joins the war as well. They have taken Bareham City, the city that is still under our authority, meaning Gigante Forest is declaring a war against us."
"But why? Gigante Forest has breached the treaty if that force is not under Alton's leadership. But we have talked this out with the Elven and The Moon Tribe. They should not prevent that force from attacking our territory." Lorian had a puzzled expression on his face.
"Treaty? What are you talking about, Lorian? There's no treaty. It was just a verbal agreement, and our people are still entering the forest to hunt their kinds. I think they were fed up with it and did not bother to stop the gathered force from attacking us. I think we should put a strict restriction on Hunters, but it's a topic for another day." Robert Kingsley shook his head.
"We can assume that this force from Gigante Forest is under Alton's leadership. With Alton's capability, he could gather dozens of tribes under his banner and attack us when the Revolution Army made their move. We can safely assume that the Moon Tribe and The Elven are not involved in this attack.
What they want is peace, so they will not attack us unless we attack them first." Robert Kingsley shared his thoughts about the movement behind the attack.
"I see," Lorian nodded his head and looked at Larry. "What do you think, Larry?" The Left-Wing Guardian sent an inquiry glance. "What do I think? What do you mean?" Larry did not back down easily as he squinted his eyes at Left-Wing Guardian. "You have made a promise with me not to ask me to join the war as long as I surrender.
I have followed your terms, so I will not say anything about this war as well."
Larry was not betraying the Fotia Legion. He surrendered so the Lionax Kingdom would stop hunting down the members of the Fotia Legion. However, he was asked to teach the young knights in the Royal Academy, but he would never join the war in return. That was the term.
"The promise became invalid when the ex-member of the Fotia Legion attacked us first. You promised us to stop the ex-member of the Fotia Legion who would create chaos in the kingdom. Alton is a former commander of the Fotia Legion, so you must join the war to stop your old friend from doing something stupid." Robert Kingsley smiled at Larry.
"Also, I am not asking you about the war. The thing I want to ask is not about war but Alton. How strong is he now? You can probably gauge his strength since you have known him the longest. That's information that I want from you." Lorian openly asked Larry to betray his friend.
Larry gritted his teeth while glaring sharply at Lorian. He clenched his fist tightly, but Robert Kingsley answered it instead of Larry. "Alton should be at Legend Rank by now, or else he would not make this stupid move. He should know how strong we are, so if he is not a Legend Rank, he should know that he has a zero chance to win against us."
"That's true, but I just want to hear it from Larry directly. Since he was Alton's best friend, he should know more about Alton than any of us in this room." Lorian looked straight at Larry, still waiting for the answer.
"Hah…." Larry let out a sigh. "Based on his talent, I think Alton has reached Legend Rank." He relented when he saw the smile on Robert Kingsley's face.