Is this really a Game?!

"Enough, even though he has come to offer help, he is still an outsider, how dare you speak of such slander in front of others!"

"How dare you speak of such slander to our king at all!" An angry voice suddenly echoed through the council room as a new figure arrived.

An old man who was walking with the help of a walking stick.

Reign knew it was nothing but a decoration, a farce.

He could sense the immense energy the old man had.

'About high-grade Tier V.' Reign speculated as he stayed quiet. Every person present here was a mage, their bodies were a bit thin and it was obvious that they didn't have that many points in endurance, vitality, strength, or agility.

In terms of willpower and spirit, they were probably above Reign when he was at the same level, but overall, he had higher stats. 

Reign had somewhat balanced stats, which didn't seem to quite be the same for many people.

For some reason, although his own team, as well as many top combatants he had met in the past had more balanced stats, there were more people that didn't.

"Now, this meeting was called because of this young man."

"He has said he wishes to join the kingdom, to help us as a mercenary, and by looking at his strength, I am certain that the high council would be more than willing to employ you." The old man said as he glanced at Reign who nodded at him.

"But for you idiotic bastards to actually start slandering our lord in such a manner, I should cut off your heads right now and call you traitors!" The old man yelled as the people present all stared down at the table they were sitting at.

Reign observed the tension in the room, realizing that he had unintentionally stumbled upon a deeply rooted conflict within the kingdom. The accusations against the king, the whispers of betrayal, and the threat of internal strife were not something he had expected to deal with during his evolution challenge.

The old man, presumably a high-ranking member of the council, continued to berate those who dared to question the king's integrity. His words echoed through the room like a thunderous warning, and the accused council members bowed their heads in submission.

The head of the council, Istamaros, who had spoken against the king, gritted his teeth but remained silent. It was evident that the topic was sensitive, and any dissenting voice could lead to severe consequences.

Reign decided to interject, trying to bring some semblance of order to the situation. "I am here to assist the kingdom of Irason, not to fuel internal disputes. If there's a task or mission you need help with, I am ready to contribute."

The old man turned his piercing gaze towards Reign, studying him with a scrutinizing intensity. After a moment of silence, he nodded in approval. "Very well, young traveler. We have pressing matters that require immediate attention. There's a strategic outpost near the border that has fallen into enemy hands. It is crucial for our defense. Head there and assist in reclaiming it."

Reign agreed to the task, understanding the urgency of the situation. The council, now under the watchful eye of the old man, reluctantly acknowledged Reign as an ally. As he left the council room, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had stepped into the middle of a political powder keg.

"Lord Athlaston, was this truly necessary?" Istamaros asked as the situation in the room suddenly changed.

"Yes, that young boy is powerful, more than me, perhaps only the king, the high mage, the guardian of the realm, the grand general, and her holiness can defeat him in battle."

"In my prime, perhaps I would have been able to trade blows with him and match him, but I can sense that in my current state, he would be able to defeat me, and not with much trouble."

The entire council room went quiet upon hearing the old man's words.

Athlaston was a member of the high council, he was actually not a member of this council, which was only in charge of this area of the kingdom which covered this city, as well as two towns, about 14 villages, and three outposts, one of which had been taken over by the enemy.

The kingdom of Elais did not border them at this part of the kingdom. In fact, this was the very south of the kingdom while the kingdom of Elais was in their north.

The reason why the enemy managed to take over the outpost was because they had sent a battalion of soldiers to covertly reach this place and take it over.

The leader of the battalion was a powerful warrior, and their main mission was to seemingly cause chaos in this part of the kingdom and have the kingdom of Irason divert some attention and manpower.

As for how the enemy battalion was planning on leaving?

They had no idea.

Their plan did work, at least partly.

The reason why Athlaston was here was to help them take down the battalion. The kingdom had sent him over here hoping that he would be enough.

With the help of the guards stationed in the city, as well as the mages that had positions in the council, their overall strength should be enough to match the battalion that was made up of 600 highly skilled soldiers, and elites that were sent over here.

"I had to gauge his reaction, to see what he thought of the news, as well as what he would think and how he would react if he thought that there was some internal strife in the kingdom."

"I would rather know that now and be certain that this young man can be trusted a bit and then apologize for what we have done than allow him to join without testing him in any way," Athlaston said as he glanced at Istamaros.

"You did well, your act was nearly flawless, hell, even I got a bit angry upon hearing the words you spoke and the way you acted."

"I merely tried copying how some people had reacted upon hearing the news in the past, you know well that there truly were some people who believed our king had done such a disgusting deed in the past," Istamaros said before scoffing.

"As if our lord would ever do such a disgraceful act."

"He is the benevolent ruler we all love, he has declined many concubines from powerful individuals of the kingdom, as well as some neighboring kingdoms because of his deep love for the queen."

"There is no chance that our king truly did what they are saying he has done, I don't know how, but those bastards have somehow managed to obtain his essence."

"I am almost certain that the king of Elais has forced his daughter to get pregnant, used one of 'those', and obtained the child that is now a great enemy to us."

"Almost twenty years of age, and he is considered to be only second to the commander-in-chief of the Elais army in prestige, power, as well as his strategic brilliance, he truly is the worst nightmare of our kingdom," Athlaston said with a nod before walking over to the window.

"Sir, do you truly believe that that man can take the outpost down by himself?" One of the council members asked with a concerned expression as Athlaston shook his head and chuckled.

"I doubt it, even though there is a small chance."

"I believe that he will see the outpost and how many soldiers there are before deciding it is not worth risking his life."

"He will then talk to us, and ask for help, which we will gladly provide, after all, with him on our side, we can definitely take the outpost back and eliminate that entire battalion without suffering many losses."

"As expected of sir Athlaston, you have already thought 3 steps ahead." A council member said as he stood up and bowed, the others doing the same, their golden hair falling down as their long and sharp ears showed themselves.

All the people living in both the Irason and the Elais kingdoms were elves.

Making his way towards the strategic outpost, Reign traversed the landscapes of Aetheria. As he got closer to the outpost, the remnants of magical battles became more evident—the scorched earth, lingering magical energies, and the faint echoes of spells cast in desperation.

What Reign didn't know was that the place he had come from was the place the enemy battalion came from as well, which was why he was able to see the same things there as well.

The south of the kingdom was mostly untouched, only being attacked by some monsters and bandits occasionally, but the battalion that had arrived changed that, causing immense stress and worry to the people living here.

As he arrived at where the outpost was, Reign crouched down about 800 meters away from it before he started scouting the outpost out.

The outpost had walls that were about 8 meters tall, and the inside was made out of wooden buildings. Reign immediately noticed the high number of soldiers, as well as some strong auras coming from inside the outpost