Early the next morning, the sun shone brightly as it crept into the sky east of the gorge, immune to the winter snow.
Boom, boom!
Cale smiled, watching a furry white hand grasp the top of the cliff. A white tiger hopped up over the ledge.
“I’ve returned, Lord Cale.”
“How was your late-night walk?”
Gashan laughed. “It was quite enjoyable, sir—but maybe that’s because you’re out here to greet me.”
The other tigers soon jumped up as well. Choi Han was the last to appear; he landed next to Cale. “I’m back.”
“Good. You did a grea—”
Beeeep.
Cale cut short his praise of Choi Han and looked around.
Beeeeeep. Beeeeeeep.
A blaring sound akin to an alarm was coming from one of the tents, where a communication sphere glowed red. That meant this was a high-priority call. Cale entered the tent, with Fenn and Ecross hot on his heels.
“Hurry up and answer it,” Fenn told the mage responsible, and the call was quickly patched through.
The contents were enough to make Cale scoff.
“Faern, Kingdom of Knights, is a land of chivalry. Our knights abide by the knight’s creed—we scorn cowardly acts.”
Faern’s assertion echoed not just in this tent in Brek but throughout the entire Western Continent.
“We wish for land untouched by frost.”
Here and now, the northern alliance was declaring war.
I didn’t know they would pull something like this. Cale hadn’t expected them to announce their intentions so openly. But why do it this way? It probably had less to do with their chivalric code and more to do with some deeper scheme. That wasn’t nearly the most appalling aspect of the declaration, however.
“On this day, February 15th, Faern, Norland, and Askosan, as well as the Bear Tribe and the Flame Dwarves, announce that we will begin forging our path of conquest to the unfrozen lands, starting now.”
Fenn and Ecross turned to Cale. The Bear Tribe and the Flame Dwarves? They hadn’t known about this. They sought answers from Cale almost subconsciously, but he wasn’t looking at them. Instead, he glared daggers at the communication sphere.
“What a crock.”
While everybody balked at his comment, Cale gave an order to Choi Han behind him. “Contact the territory.” They needed to pick up the pace. “Tell them to gather all of the nobles of the northeastern region.”
Cale had requested a meeting of every noble house in northeastern Rowoon, where Henituse territory was situated. This land boasted more boulders than anywhere else in the Kingdom of Boulders.
It was time for a leader of the northeast to appear at last.
✦ ✦ ✦
The message arrived with the rising winter sun: “We of the Indomitable Alliance officially declare that we will claim the unfrozen lands openly and fairly.”
The northern alliance, the Bear Tribe, and the Flame Dwarves had banded together, calling their coalition the Indomitable Alliance. The arrival of this information made the Western Continent’s late winter weather feel warmer than ever.
Calls flooded in, delivering news of further developments to the tent where Cale and Fenn waited.
Beeeep.
“The Mogor Empire expresses its sympathy and states that it will work toward peace on the Western Continent!”
Yet there was little cheer to be found in the faces of those listening.
The Empire, striving for peace? Cale thought. “What nonsense.”
Many flinched at that, but no one dared to comment on his actions or words. For his part, Ecross felt a mysterious pressure emanating from Cale, as if the man were a commanding regional lord. I feel like I’m facing down my master.
The calls continued to pour in. Beeeeeep. Beeeep.
“The Kingdom of Karo says it will close all its auction houses and casinos!”
Karo had chosen to lie low for now.
“The two principalities in the north and the conurbation have sent their support of the Indomitable Alliance’s open proclamation!”
“The principality by the Empire and the free city have chosen a neutral stance! They echo the Empire’s desire for peace!”
What a mess.
With that brief observation, Cale stood up. Clunk. The others reacted to the barely audible noise as if it were a deafening bang.
Ecross got up as well. “Lord Cale, did Rowoon know about the Bear Tribe and the Flame Dwarves?”
He’d spoken reproachfully, but one look from Cale made him flinch and snap his mouth shut.
‹Human, why do you let him get away with that? You really are a good person. Even if you pretend you’re not, I know the truth. Goodness, I guess I need to try harder.›
Raon’s earnest voice didn’t provoke a comment from Cale. He knew he was a bad person. There was no need to argue with the count, as Cale would work him to the bone later on.
As Ecross cowered from him, Cale held back a sigh and answered like a proper noble. “We did not.”
His short reply lingered in the air. At that moment, the tent flap shuffled open and someone walked in. It was the white tiger, Gashan, still in his berserk state. “What’s going on?”
Those present were soon absorbed in thoughts of the Tiger and Bear Tribes. Sunlight seeped in through the open flap, leaving only Cale in shadow as Gashan stood before him. The contrast made Cale’s bright-red hair stand out in the darkness.
“Lord Cale,” Gashan asked again, “what is going on?”
Slowly, Cale answered, “Nothing much.”
Beeeeeep.
Through the din of incoming emergency calls, Cale calmly went on, “We just need to follow our original plan.” His gaze shifted toward Prince Fenn. “We’re plenty strong ourselves.”
As soon as Fenn heard Cale’s remark, he knew what he had to do. Their alliance had originally included four realms and one tribe—now two with the tigers involved. Although some unexpected events had occurred, they were far from weak. Fenn, the one representing Brek here and now, had a clear task ahead of him.
The prince found his voice. “The mages responsible for the communication spheres shall record all incoming messages. Lord Ecross, report our current status to the others.”
“Y-yes, Your Highness!”
“I heard there are still some magic bombs remaining. Resume the operation.” He reiterated Cale’s prior statement: “Everyone will focus on their individual duties.”
Fenn then glanced at Cale, remembering what his sister Rosalyn had told him: “He’s someone you can trust—no, someone you can’t help but trust.”
Her remark stuck in Fenn’s mind as Cale spoke up. “I’ll be on my way as well, Your Highness.”
At Fenn’s nod, Cale took his leave. The prince watched the cool and collected redhead disappear into the light. Once he was gone, Fenn rubbed the back of his neck. I feel like I can finally breathe.
Now that the pressure Cale exuded was gone, Fenn took a gulp of the cold morning air. Contrary to the icy atmosphere, though, his heart pounded hot and fast.
Everyone inside the tent that Cale’s group resided in felt an equal sense of heat and urgency, but there was no conversation occurring.