Herms looked around him with a cautious look on his face. The people who surrounded him were not really strong, there were only 3 King Stage Cultivators, 18 Expert Stage Cultivators, and he didn't really care about the others. Of course, he could also sense around 20 or so archers hiding in the corner. If it was a normal situation, Herms could have simply annihilated all these bastards. However, right now, Alcimus was standing in front of him. With him and more than 200 Soldiers that had surrounded him, winning this fight was next to impossible. Even if he was an Emperor, he was not a god. The odds were not in his favor at all. Alcimus was using numbers to make us for the lack of his powers. Herms's expression turned solemn. He then glanced at Astaria and seeing that she is still sitting on her seat, he knew that she had no intention of helping. He could understand her reasoning as well, him and Alcimus fighting against each other is beneficial for her, it makes no sense for her to put her nose into their business. Riona and Eardwolf were the same, well, it was not like they could actually do anything about this situation, they had already stepped back when he and Alcimus started fighting. Herms glanced back at Alcimus. "Do you really want to do this?" "Heh. What? Scared?" Alcimus laughed. Herm's expression turned solemn, "You know how this would end up right? I can easily escape from here, then, it will be a war." Herms threatened, then without giving Alcimus any time, he continued, "And you, Astaria, it may look likes you would simply be able to reap the rewards later, do you really think this war wouldn't affect you? Aren't you forgetting something?" Herms questioned. Astaria narrowed her eyes. "The Mythical Creature. It won't sit idly if the two of us fight, who will guarantee that it won't kill the last remaining Emperor to avoid the unbalance between the Kingdoms?" It was clear, Herms was indirectly threatening Astaria. He was asking her to stop this. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎 It seemed that even he didn't want war, at least not now. "Stop with the bullshit." Suddenly, Alcimus spoke. Then, he threw a paper at Herms. Herms picked up the paper and soon, his expression changed. "It is the letter you sent to Amletus. The search party I sent into the Forbidden Region was annihilated by you, that creature is already dead. Your lies won't work on me any longer, Herms." Alcimus spoke. Hearing this news, Astaria's eyes widened. "What did you say?" She questioned. It was the first time this expression appeared on her face. She really was taken aback by this shocking news. Seeing her acting like that, Nux couldn't help but smile inwardly. He didn't expect Astaria to be so natural when it came to acting. She was just a few steps behind him. "T-The Mythical C-Creature is dead?" Riona couldn't believe it as well. Herms's face turned serious. He noticed Riona's and Eardwolf's reactions, and from their shocked looks, it looked like they didn't know about the letter. This Alcimus bastard must have gotten it when he killed Amletus. The only thing Herms couldn't understand was why did the Skadi Kingdom stay silent when their Emperor was killed. Anyway, right now, none of that mattered. The cat was out of the bag. He could go on about how Alcimus forged this letter and all that, however, with Armando standing next to Alcimus, and how he himself reacted, Alcimus knew that this situation was not savable now. Astaria wasn't a fool. Someone like her could easily put 2 and 2 together and uncover the truth. "Herms. What is the meaning of this?" Suddenly, Astaria questioned with a solemn look on her face. Herms's expression turned cold. Just as he expected, Astaria was now completely against it. 'Heh. He was right. Not everything goes as planned.' Herms thought inwardly, then, he decided to abandon his idea of resisting it any longer. Phase one, was now over. Herms glanced at Astaria, then he turned towards Alcimus and warned, "I will remember this day, Alcimus. I will make sure you regret it. Especially you, traitor." Armando's legs turned weak as he kneeled on the ground. His face was as pale as paper. However, nobody cared about his condition because of Herms's next words, "I, Herms Lysander, declare war on both Skyfall Kingdom and the Woods Dynasty, Astaria and Alcimus, in these last 2 weeks, give goodbyes to your close ones and prepare your neck to be cut by my sword. I will be the sole ruler of this continent after all this is done." Saying those words, Herms ran away. Alcimus wanted to chase and kill him right now, Astaria, however, didn't move. "Shouldn't we kill him right now before he creates more trouble?" "It is not that simple." Nux, however, shook his head. "What do you mean?" Alcimus frowned. "He will lead us to his territory, there, we will be the ones who will be surrounded," Nux replied. Alcimus turned silent. "Well, it doesn't really matter." Nux stretched his body, then, his face turned serious and his eyes shined, "If it's the war he wants, The war, he will get." An air of confidence surrounded Nux. Seeing him acting like that, Alcimus frowned. He had a lot to say, however, he held himself back. Eliyard, however, wasn't the same. "How dare you talk in between when two Emperors are talking with each other?" Nux turned towards Eliyard, "You really are a useless fool, just like Amaya and Ember said." "H-Huh? L-Lady Amaya?" Eliyard's expression changed. Ember, he understood, that woman didn't have a good impression of him in her mind, however, he was pretty sure he hadn't done anything that would disappoint Lady Amaya. Eliyard started thinking. Amaya was a woman he cared about a lot, after all. "Oh? Does this man have a crush on my lovely daughter?" Suddenly, Riona commented. "Huh?" Elliyard's expression changed. "Your daughter?" "What? You didn't know?" Riona smiled and Elliyard's and Alcimus's expressions changed. They finally realized who this 'Lady Amaya' was! "Wait…" Alcimus suddenly spoke. He glanced at Riona, then he glanced at Astaria, And an absurd possibility cooked up in his mind.