Chapter 247: Fury (1)
The sky was blue and dark. There was still a lot of time left until it was dawn.
The central temple, one of the sacred places of the eight clans, was as quiet as always.
It was even more so because there was no strong wind blowing because of the terrain where the temple was located.
It was quiet. Since everyone was asleep, there was supposed to be no sound at all, let alone footsteps.
But not today. Lots of people went back and forth, raising their voices. Among them was Kirtimuka, the nanny as well as the bodyguard of the Queen of Fury.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Kirtimuka shouted, who jumped into her room forcefully as if to destroy it. Her behavior was very rude, given that the one staying in this room was not only the chieftain of the Gandharva clan but also the Queen of Fury.
But Kirtimuka didn't care at all. She didn't act arrogantly just because she was the queen's closest aide.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Wake up now! Your Majesty!"
She shook the queen's shoulders violently with her big hand. The queen, who was drooping on the big bed, opened her eyes wide open and talked nonsense, half awake.
"Ah, I didn't doze! No, I didn't nod off. Yes, I did so. Oops... I'm sorry. Prince Antoniox, don't be upset."
She was about to cry at the end of her words. It seemed that Mahora, who was a teacher of etiquette to her, saw Antoniox in her dream.
Kirtimuka grew even more urgent. Once again she shook the queen's shoulders and shouted.
"Your Majesty! A terrible thing has happened! Wake up!"
"Kirtimuka?"
The queen finally spoke, blinking her eyes. Her voice was very weak since she usually slept late in the morning.
Kirtimuka shouted, holding her shoulders, "It's a war! The army of the King of Gluttony has crossed the border! Battles are currently underway along the eastern border!"
The queen suddenly came to her senses. As soon as the queen got up from her bed suddenly, Kirtimuka said, picking up the clothes on the bed, "A meeting of the representatives of the eight clans was called. As they are coming to the conference room, you have to hurry up."
She was not in the movable dungeon, Vimana, but the temple of the eight clans. Besides, the representatives of the eight clans were also in the same place because of a series of meetings every day.
She asked Kirtimuka instinctively. "How big is their invasion? Is it big enough to require the convening of the representative of the eight clans?"
"It's not clear yet. But it looks like an all-out war."
It was already a few months ago that the Queen of Fury and the King of Gluttony deployed their own troops on the border areas. Because of this, their invasion and defense against each other was quick.
The Queen of Fury slapped herself on the cheek with both hands. After completely waking up, she and Kirtimuka left the room. She was dressed in baggy pajamas, but she had no time to change her clothes leisurely.
More than half of the heads of the eight clans already gathered in the conference room located in the center of the temple. Some of them were in pajamas like the queen, others with their hair disheveled.
The queen sat on her seat reserved for the head of the Gandharva clan. If she could have her way, she wanted to rush to the battlefield right now, but she had to endure it. In some cases, an all-out war could take place, so even if she was impatient, she needed to review and discuss the matter with them.
She felt every minute, every second was so long. It took more than a few minutes for all the representatives to gather, and it took another more minutes for them to receive the briefing from those who attended the meeting to brief them about the war status on the battlefield.
The Queen of Fury clenched her teeth.
The situation was worse than she thought.
It seemed that the King of Gluttony was thinking of an all-out war. He was striking the eastern front by mobilizing large troops, which could not even be compared to the armed clashes they had exchanged several times so far.
"It seems that he mobilized even those troops that he had concentrated to confront the King of Lust. He was also moving the troops confronting the Dragon Legion dispatched by the King of Violence."
"He must be crazy."
Somebody cursed at the king. The Queen of Fury also agreed.
If he had not cursed, she would have done so. The King of Gluttony's attack was like a reckless warmonger. Aside from his troops deployed to check the King of Lust, how could he move the troops from the frontline where they were pitted against the Dragon Legion? Was he going to do lance charging without taking into account the consequences?
"What about the King of Gluttony? Did you find out his whereabouts?"
Mahabharata, the head of the Deva clan, asked. A young Mahoraga who attended the meeting to brief them about the war status replied hastily, "He is not seen anywhere at the moment. The man who is spearheading the attack is Judyceras, the "Demon King of Earthquake," who was in charge of the eastern front. He was allegedly seen commanding his troops on the battlefield."
Even at this moment, the battle was underway. The Queen of Fury once again suppressed her feelings. She quickly reviewed all the intelligence available and checked out the situation.
The reason the Queen of Fury planned to attack the King of Gluttony was because of the alliance with the master of the House of Mammon as well as the assistance of the King of Violence. On the other hand, the King of Gluttony had no alliance. Rather, the King of Gluttony was confronting not only the queen but also the King of Violence. So, it was unreasonable for him to strike first in this situation.
If that was the case, what happened? Did the King of Gluttony form an alliance that she was not aware of? Or did he join hands with the King of Lust?
She thought that the absence of the King of Gluttony for more than a month was related to his efforts to form an alliance behind the scenes. But she kept thinking he didn't do it because such activities never befitted the king that she used to know.
"What happened to the King of Lust's forces? Why are they moving?"
At that moment, Kavilaka, the head of the Karvinka clan, asked the young Mahoraga.
With her hair and feathers turned white, she was calm as always. As if impressed by her serenity, the young Mahoraga replied calmly, "The King of Lust has never shown any sign of moving. According to the reports of our scouts there, the masters under the command of the king are also showing no movement at all."
More than half the scouts of the eight clans were the Karvinka clan who could freely roam the sky. It was almost impossible for the king to move a large-scale military force without avoiding their watch, who could look very far down the sky.
Actually, the King of Lust did not move. It was clear that his army did not join the King of Gluttony.
The Queen of Fury stopped thinking. It was meaningless for her to think further. She got up from her seat and drew everyone's attention.
"Let me tell you this as the queen of the eight clans, not as the head of the Dritarasstra clan. I'm going to join our forces in the eastern front from now on and confront the King of Gluttony's forces."
The King of Gluttony was still missing. However, his troops were constantly gathering in the eastern front. The eastern front, where the war was currently going on, was of great strategic value because it was not far from the border that shared the territory of the King of Lust.
Aside from the personality of the Queen of Fury, the eastern battlefield was worthwhile for any king because of its strategic value.
"Let me ask for the assistance of the King of Violence and the House of Mammon. I would like to enlist your full support from the rear."
She already revealed at the meeting yesterday that she formed an alliance with the Mammon family as well as the King of Violence. She took a deep breath then looked at the head of the dragon clan and the head of the Deva clan.
"As always, I'm going to assume the worst scenario. Both of you, please defend the northern area like before."
"We take your order."
Only
Sugura, the head of the dragon clan, and Asterio, the head of the Deva clan, paid their respect to the Queen of Fury. Like she said a moment ago, she was giving them an order not as the head of her Gandharva clan, but as the queen of the eight clans.
"Head of the Garura clan, dispatch a messenger to the King of Violence. Gardimundi, once again, go to the House of Mammon and ask for emergency assistance."
Biryupakcha, the head of the Garura clan and Gardimundi's father, also showed due manners to her and followed her order. Although Gardimundi tried to protect the queen who was going on an expedition to the eastern front, she could not dare to resist her order in a public meeting like this, so she also accepted the queen's order politely.
After revealing her war plan like that, the Queen of Fury said, "It must be an unexpected attack. But we have been preparing for this kind of war. As always, I think we can overcome this crisis wisely."
Their first meeting was finally over. The queen hurried out of the conference hall and climbed on the back of Astra, a huge beast, with her bodyguards. She cleaned her body and armed herself with weapons on Astra's back. As large as a fully grown ancient dragon, Astra spread its iridescent wings. Then it immediately soared high in the sky and headed east.
The sun was rising.
The Queen of Fury grabbed the Godly Energy of Gluttony.