The moment Ezra exited the throne room, the Emperor got up and approached the wall behind him, which seemed to hold no significance, put his left palm on a specific part of it and pushed it in.

The wall separated, revealing a dark passage hidden within.

With hasty steps, the Emperor and the royal advisor walked in and took a turn to the side, where a room lit up with dim yellow light could be seen.

In it, a circular contraption stood on two hinges that had been locked into the ground like a standing mirror.

This was one of the key tools that helped Niton thwart many battles and keep its position as one of the seven superpowers.

Now, the circular part of this contraption seemed to hold nothing as its golden sheen shone in the light. In front of it, a chair could be seen.

Saying nothing, the Emperor sat on the chair, while the royal advisor placed his hands on the ground and pushed mana into it.

The floor lit up as the previously invisible markings became visible.

They were runic markings, and they were carved into the ground in the shape of a big circle, containing almost everything in the room.

At the moment, all such markings lit up with a light blue color as the mana density started building up.

It was then that a sound resounded.

*Kriiin!*

Horrible screeching came from the contraption as the circle seemed to come alive, with blue particles rotating and coagulating within it.

The Emperor closed his eyes as his hand stretched forward, and from it, mana emerged and was promptly pulled into the contraption.

*Zizizizizi*

The sound of the coagulating mana was loud and a bit deafening, to Adept-ranks and below that is.

The Emperor was unaffected despite being in close proximity, but he did find it annoying, for it was identical to the buzzing of a fly.

Thankfully, the Emperor didn't have to hear it for long, because the coagulating mana suddenly expanded.

Like a piece of flattened yeast, it spread into a thin film of dark blue color and attached itself to the circle's edges.

An instant later, a view could be seen on the film.

_______________________

Within the office of Sir Winston, Whittown's admiral, was a burly man in dark gray armor.

A sword was strapped to his side, but the man had a stiff expression as he walked all over the office, occasionally sighing or taking deep breathes as he stared straight at an item sitting in the middle of the admiral's bookshelf.

The man, Eltrod, couldn't hide his nervousness. He was the admiral's right hand man, as well as the son of a baron.

Which was why he had been tasked with his current mission and told to stay while Winston headed out.

But he was inwardly freaking out!

Why wouldn't he, when he was tasked with reporting the situation to the Emperor?!

The Emperor!

It meant that any mistake could have his family blacklisted.

Of course, Eltrod also had the notion that he might be thinking things too far. Nonetheless, he didn't dare to relax as he awaited the expected call of the Emperor.

What would you know, the fateful call arrived.

At once, the item on the bookshelf vibrated, while the runic markings etched on it lit up with a blue color.

An instant after, the object projected a blue circle, a very small one.

Elrod was already standing in front of it, but he couldn't see anything, and even after a few seconds, no sound came through.

He moved to check if there was something wrong with the object, when a voice called out.

"Where is the Admiral?" said a voice that was thick enough to make Eltrod jump back in fear.

He couldn't know, but the Emperor was observing him from the other side.

Following Winstons orders, he immediately began the briefing with a bow.

"Eltrod Welson greets his majesty. The admiral is not here at the moment as he as has gone to the Windless Peaks to answer the urgent call for help, and more importantly, to verify the claim of an unearthed resource"

The Emperor gained a small glint at the last statement as his mind got to work.

"Tell me, what is this resource that makes him think war is inevitable?"

Eltrod calmed himself and spoke slowly..

"A manite mine"

The eyes of the Emperor widened, while the royal advisor behind him breathed in heavily.

Nevertheless, as if to show the reason he was an Emperor, his eyes became cold in the next instant and his pounding heart calmed immediately.

"That is..very interesting indeed, and they called for help?"

"Yes, your majesty"

"Hmm, Windless Peaks..that is where Avilla's borders clash with ours. Could they have already attacked? It was certainly possible that Avillians had attacked as they claimed the manite mine...If that is the case, then I guess war is truly inevitable"

"A Master-rank official will grace you with his presence a short time from now. Before then, get as much information as you can about the situation. The admiral should inform me as soon as he can"

"Yes, your majesty" Eltrod quickly replied.

Without another word, the projection on both sides dissolved back into particles.

"Sire" the royal advisor called out.

"Who shall we send?"

The Emperor felt a headache coming as he thought of it.

Master-ranks were rare, but not too rare in an Empire housing more than ten million people.

Only..almost all Master-ranks were affiliated to either a noble house, or a guild.

Of course, it wasn't that the Empire couldn't order them about. The problem was that such individuals usually prioritized their affiliations before the Empire.

If a Master-rank affiliated to a guild was sent, he would make sure to plunder his own share for his guild, and because they didn't have informants around, it would go unnoticed.

Afterwards, the Empire would still have to reward him with a part of the little resource remaining as a reward for his deeds.

It had happened far too many times, and while the Emperor might not have cared if the resource wasn't that special, mana crystals were too precious.

Honestly, the Emperor would just go and destroy said guild.

But because of a lack of justification, there would be a lot of consequences.

The Empire had unaffiliated Master-ranks just for this type of situation, most of which were Master-rank mercenaries.

The problem was..

'None of them are close by'

Most of them were not near Windless Peaks.

It would take them a week at the very least to arrive, and if Avillians were already there, then they could have plundered everything before said Master-rank arrived.

Then he thought of something.

'There's nothing saying I only need to send one of them. And if it's those two, they'll be stuck at each other's throat'

A plausible plan was quickly formed as the Emperor gave out names.

"Send a message to both Evercroft and Varent. Have them dispatch one master rank each to the Windless Peaks"historical

The royal advisor gave a faint smile.

"Yes, your majesty"

The road this action would lead to was unknown.

One thing was sure though.

A lot had happened in the span of a day.