The Queen hoped that the rulers of Lunaris would be able to see the bigger picture and promise on the small things.
Leona, standing silently to the side, pieced together some of the things. She finally knew why Reinhardt was here in Windbloom, his mission, and why the Summit was urgently convened.
After a while, their talks shifted towards the uping Summit.
"Your Majesty, Jerrel intends to formally present the matter at the summit. He asked me to tell you that he seeks a united front from Solaris."
"Very well, tell him that he has Solaris’ plete backing." The Queen nodded, then, after thinking for a while, she added.
"I will dispatch messengers with gifts and letters, informing them about the issue at hand. Aetherion, in particular, owes Solaris a great debt. Thanks to your action back then, their support is assured. Once they take a stance, the others will be forced to follow."
With the Queen making her move and laying the groundwork, he could sigh in relief.
With Rune providing the evidence and Solaris, Aetherion, and other kingdoms backing him, the possibility of Lunaris promising was more than 80%.
"Then I shall take my leave, Your Majesty."
After ensuring that all crucial matters were addressed, Reinhardt stood up to leave.
.
.
With each passing day, the city of Windbloom became more and more lively.
Banners from every nation and kingdom fluttered from the building walls. Noble carriages lined the streets, and knight orders from every kingdom roamed around.
Business in Windbloom boomed to an unprecedented scale in the past few days.
Two days later... it was finally time for the Seven Kingdoms Summit to convene.
At the heart of the city, a massive circular structure forged from white stone and capable of housing thousands stood tall. This massive building was precisely the venue for the Summit.
Delegations from all nations arrived one after another.
From Solaris
came the Queen herself, escorted by Reinhardt, Leona, and the Knights of Lunar Veil.
From Nocturnium, the kingdom of night, came the Crown Prince Vaelor Nocturnis. A man with pale white skin, dark crimson eyes, and raven black hair.
His personal guard was the infamous Mordred the Black, leading his Dread Eclipse knight order.
Seeing this, Reinhardt sighed a breath of relief. He really didn’t want to meet that woman who spoke more with her fists than her mouth.
Had Erza Crimsonstar been in charge of escorting the delegation of Nocturnium, she would no doubt have attacked him at first sight.
Just like the last time in Aetherion. There was, after all, a bit of history behind them.
That said, the Order of the Dread Eclipse was in no way weaker than the Order of the Crimson Revenants.
What’s more, Mordred was a knight who had stepped into the realm of heroes. His power was unquestionable.
Just as Reinhardt spotted him, Mordred too recognized him. With his dark eyes that appeared like he had applied kohl, he measured Reinhardt.
The two knights nodded at each other in acknowledgement.
Reinhardt shifted his eyes to observe others.
From Aetherion, the strongest kingdom among the seven, came Diana’s father, the king himself.
Although not pletely, his skin was returning to a healthy tone. It seemed like after talking with Diana that day, he seemed to have recovered a little.
As for his escorts, he was guarded by none other than the Hell Marshal.
With neatly bed silver hair and his defining monocle, the knight still gave off a manding presence that was difficult to ignore.
As someone who was acquainted with Reinhardt and even had some opportunities to work together, recently in Aetherion when their capital was attacked by the Heavenly King, he had nothing but respect for the latter.
While Hell Marshal was nodding at him with a look of appreciation for his aid the last time, Reinhardt himself was thinking anything but that.
It was a good thing that Vaerion did not e. There was again a bit of history between them. One that was different from Erza.
From Drakmor, the iron empire of war and conquest, arrived Emperor Kael Drakmor, a towering figure and a famous knight himself.
Behind him stood a few members of the Bloodforged Legion, led by Achilles Ironheart, a Level 10 Hero whose battlefield exploits were pared to the wargods of old.
From Vesperia, the oldest of the seven kingdoms, came the Arch Queen Selena Vesperia, draped in a beguiling robe and high heels.
Her presence, although came a little short of the Queen of Solaris, was beautiful enough to mesmerize the crowd.
Walking behind her, like a living, walking fortress, was Sigurd Gallowstone. A Level 10 Hero whose frame could give even the mighty Brutus a run for his money.
Standing at over three meters, the man was like a giant.
Then from the Kingdom of Paradoxis came King Mercurion Paradoxis. Behind him stood Cassian Nightfall, one of the renowned heroes of the land.
It was like an impromptu meetup of heroes. The Seven Kingdoms each brought one of their heroes and the knight order they led as escorts.
The pressure could be imagined.
Even while just staying still, a knight who could reach Level 10 exerted a force that was difficult for ordinary people to handle.
Add that to the fact that not one but six of them were present here at the same time. It was a sight in itself. After all, it was not every day you get to see such an impressive lineup of knights and heroes.
The six Heroes glanced at each other in silent acknowledgement. All of them prideful individuals in their own right.
Reinhardt shifted his gaze away from the great kingdoms.
The smaller nations also had quite a few remarkable individuals.
From Rune stood King Jerrel Runehart, calm and resolute, acpanied by the elite Order of Emerald.
From Baskerville, there was the knight Galahad.
There were a few more exceptional knights standing at Level 9. Their powers were nothing to scoff at.
.
All the rulers and their delegations sat around a massive circular table carved from ancient stone, conversing with one another.
Smaller nations offered formal greetings to the great nations.
As for the Great Kingdoms themselves, they were busy fighting a war of wits with one another.
Their words were polite yet sharpened with political nuance, veiled challenges, and subtle jabs. Their smiles hid daggers, pliments masked accusations, and each sentence carried layers of meaning.
They were at it for a while, until it was time for the summit to convene.
However, during all this time, one seat remained empty. Namely, the seat of Lunaris.
Out of the Seven Great Kingdoms, Lunaris was the only one that had yet to arrive.
As time passed by, seeing that there was no indication of anyone arriving, a faint tension began to spread, especially Solaris and Rune.
Jerrel folded his hands, frowning in consternation.
The Queen of Solaris tapped her finger against the stone table, her patience running thin.
The summit had been convened because of Lunaris. And yet, its delegation had failed to appear.
As the silence stretched on, making everyone unfortable, the King of Aetherion, the de facto leader among the Seven, spoke from his seat.
"Let us wait. Lunaris is not a kingdom that would dare ignore a summit of this scale."
And so they waited.
Minutes passed, turning into hours. Still no sign of Lunaris. No messenger or any explanation.
By now, even the King of Aetherion could tell that something was wrong.
The unease thickened, turning heavy and oppressive.
Just as murmurs began spreading across the chamber, one of the knights standing behind the King of Aetherion shook intensely as if he had received some kind of grim message.
He then leaned forward and whispered into his king’s ears.
The effect was instant, the facial expression of the king changed, turning into shock and disbelief.
What was going on?
Just as the other kingdoms were suspicious of the intel he received, they too got hold of the grim news through their own methods moments later.
Without exception, the faces of all the rulers darkened.
Reinhardt, standing behind the Queen, did not have to snoop to overhear the message. He could hear it just fine from his place thanks to his powerful senses.
And from what he learned, even he, with his Divine Traits, was unable to pose himself.
All contact with Lunaris had been severed!!
Every messenger sent to that kingdom had mysteriously disappeared!!
It was as if the entire Kingdom of Lunaris had been swallowed whole by silence.
The realization was like a cold bucket of water. Chilling and ominous. Something was going on in Lunaris, and whatever it was, it derailed all of their plans and schemes.
Whispers erupted into chaos as tensions flared. Especially, the smaller nations. Because their munication network could not be pared to the Seven Great Kingdoms, they were in the dark about the whole picture.
Additionally, with their messengers disappearing like on route to Lunaris, they could only assume the worst.
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