Chapter - 668

Decisions
Unwilling to accept the truth that had been presented to him, Daneel went over all of the Anti-Enthrallment spells that were present behind the third seal.

Enthrallment was something more complex than Mind Control: in the latter, specific instructions needed to be given, but, in the former, a vague sense of admiration would be born that could be used to basically achieve anything. In other terms, it was an advanced version.

Indeed, just like both the Ancient Dragon and the system had said, the spells he found were too flashy, and without a doubt, the Big Four would be able to notice easily.

For example, one of the spells dictated that those under the effect of the Enthrallment could be subjected to a complex formation that would wipe their mind and 'reset' their preferences and likes according to what they were before the spell was cast on them.

Another advocated for a bright flash of light that would give the same result, but there were cases where eyes were burnt out as the light was too bright.

If that had been true even for the Giants during the Age of the Empire, then without a doubt, if he used it now, he would be blinding tens of thousands of people.

After spending a day futilely looking for other solutions, Daneel understood that he needed a different perspective, which meant that he had to break away from this for now and focus on other things.

Thankfully, there were a lot of things that he could shift his focus to. First, he went Eloise, who smiled so brightly when she saw him that he felt glad that he had used the opportunity before to spend some time with her.

She was one of the most valued people in his life, and regardless of whether he entered a relationship with her or not, he wanted to know more about her, just like he had been 'advised' to do so. From that long talk the other day, he felt like he was getting closer to her, but he didn't yet know whether this was in the capacity of a friend, or something more.

His character had never been one where he would want to 'obtain' woman, so even though he had no intention now of putting this away, he wanted to be sure before he made a decision.

Although Eloise seemed a bit shy, there was no tension between them, and, if anything, it was as if they were more comfortable in each other's presence.

He had come to go over the records of all those who had approached Lanthanor for jobs, and the progress of the walls.

Taking the documents in which the details of all the job seekers were present, he flew along with Eloise into the sky so that they could check out the wall together.

The whole purpose of the wall, originally, had been to both break all the barriers between the three kingdoms inside, and to entice all those already in the regions between the three kingdoms to enter the alliance.

So far, the news was promising. The schemes had been quite effective in pulling 30% of the settlements into the Alliance, and he was even planned to have a meeting with the heads of all these settlements so that they could be further integrated permanently, with no risk of them changing their minds later on.

The rest looked like they were waiting and watching to see whether the announcements would result in something concrete, and not be just fake ones designed to pull them into the fold.

Now, Daneel was happy that he had gone with this plan, as the walls also kept out the emissaries of the Queen.

The Queen probably knew that if she carried out such things inside his kingdom, he would definitely find out right away.

Either way, he was happy with the progress.

The foundations had all been filled up, and in some places, construction of the actual wall had also begun. As he saw all this, he couldn't help but remark on just how easy things on Earth would be if magic could be used.

For example, the major time taking and resource intensive task was lifting heavy objects, but here, it could be easily accomplished by a few mages working together. Besides, as the mages of Eldinor were already quite powerful, and because they really wanted to be a part of this historic construction, they worked very efficiently and they even had high stamina which allowed them to keep working for quite a long time before breaking for rest.

Using the most simple, yet effective design of all, hollow metallic sections were being set up first before being filled with earth. The earth would then be solidified in a process very similar to how bricks were made back on earth, and along with a few spells that were from the Empire and that had been used during the construction of the walls of Lanthanor(which allowed him to escape suspicion on this matter from the Big Four), a majestic border wall would arise.

After they were done, they arrived back in the palace, where Eloise spoke about another topic that had been on her mind since quite a long time.

"Daneel, why don't we use this opportunity to bolster our army, too, if possible? So far, the armies have been small because of the fact that not everyone can train as a Fighter or a Mage. Is there no way to make that change? Right now, patriotic feelings are very strong, and there has always been the general idea that entering the Army would allow one to settle for life, both because of the hefty pay and benefits that are given to each soldier and his family, even after death. What do you think? Even if we can't increase their potential now, as the Big Four are watching, can't we do so later? Or use some kind of formation to allow them to be effective?"

This was something that Daneel had thought of before, but he had hesitated as he had already been under the purview of the High Council, which was also definitely keeping a close eye on his military might.

That was why he had also not gone ahead with the 'resurrection' of the mages who had been sacrificed during the event with Eldinor, but as Eloise spoke, he realized that he could do something which would not call too much attention upon him.

In his mind, he recalled a certain image that was a part of the memories of the Emperor, which he had come across when the first transfer had occurred.

Then, some images had been seen by him, although the rest had appeared like a blur while being recorded by the system.

Maybe this image was just too grand to be ignored, so it had flashed for a moment in front of his eyes, and he had never forgotten it.

It was that of an army that looked like ants swarming a large figure, and it looked as if that figure would fall at any moment.

He had not been able to see many specific details, but as he inquired the system about it, he realized that he had been right in remembering that image in this context.

Ants really could take down a giant if there were enough of them.

And in that image, apparently, a Hero had been killed by a formation that consisted of 100,000 Amateur Humans Fighters and Mages who were training together for that task for a long time.

True, the same thing might not be possible in this age, as they were not as many Amateur Humans. After all, just getting to that stage would allow one to enter an army.

Yet, if the minimum power level could be decreased, wouldn't it be pretty impressive even if the target's power level was also decreased, in turn?

What if 100,000 normal soldiers, with no power, could bring down a Champion?

Daneel's eyes blazed with hope as he thought of this, because in the fight against the Church that was sure to come, there would be many Champions to take care of.

If the general populace could help and take up at least a little bit of the slack, then he knew that it would go a long way in helping them achieve a favorable outcome.

But first, he had to take baby steps, and not hurry in this momentous task.

So, he told Eloise, "Devise a new job. It should be for fit and young people, and they will be added into a new corps in the Army where even those with no potential whatsoever in either Path can join. However, to make sure that not everyone will flock toward it, make it so that the benefits and the salary are lower than regular soldiers, but also keep in mind that it should stand out among other jobs, too. Of course, it should be made clear that they will be risking their lives as there will be active campaigns or even life-threatening tests, so that should be enough to dissuade too many. After all, even though we will be picking those with no potential, I want to go for quality, not quantity. Set the limit to 10,000, and when it is reached, notify me."

This hasn't exactly been what Eloise had been expecting, but she still felt glad that there was a different job which could be fulfilled, as that meant that they now had more options to employ people.

Nodding and giving him a smile, she left to begin instantly, after which Daneel went back to his chambers.

Checking back on his list of things to do, he realized that he had still not checked up on the other schemes that he had begun.One thing he really did not want to do was be like many governments back on Earth where all sorts of schemes would be announced and begun, and then left to themselves to fail. This could be prevented by monitoring them on a timely basis, so he intended to definitely do that as he did not want any failures to his name.

Other than that, in the Nine Sovereigns, except for Eloise who was still not ready, his father was the other Peak Exalted Human who was ready for a breakthrough.

For a moment, Daneel wondered whether he should also be placed in the Road through Hell, but he hesitated because of all the things that had gone wrong so far with that approach.

Besides, he definitely did not want to see history repeat, such as seeing his father aim for his 'royal balls', too, if he really did go ahead.

Thinking for a bit, Daneel saw a pattern.

In both the cases of Luther and Kellor, where both men had been quite mature, their breakthroughs had been smooth with just a little push being needed.

Yes, this approach would be better. Right now, his father was taking care of the construction of the walls, and after he was done, Daneel planned to maybe assault him in disguise while threatening the life of his wife, which would definitely be enough for him to find the 'need' to break through.

As that matter was settled, he shifted back to the most pressing one - the Queen's plan.

However, surprisingly, the moment he began thinking about it, it was as if a light bulb turned on above his head.

He didn't know whether it was because of the break he had taken, or all the things he had handled during it, but he had just gotten an excellent idea which was unconventional, but which just might work.

Taking a deep breath, he asked the system, and when he got the green signal, a wide smile spread across his face.

Oh, she would definitely not be expecting this.

Still, if he wanted everything to go smoothly, there were a lot of preparations to make.

Without any further hesitation, he got down to them with gusto, as he really did love plans like these in which he was using the system with his creativity in order to get a solution.

Funnily enough, her expression when everything unfolded was one of the things he was looking forward to the most.

So, with that in mind, the king worked through the night.

…

In the Sect of Hedon, a section of the medical bay had been completely closed off for the past few days, and rumors abounded regarding just why this was happening.

The seniors in the sect instantly understood that it must be that another valued sect member must have sustained an injury which required him to be treated by that scary healer. Each and every sect member who had gone to that sect and come back would always tell the most horrific of stories, so even the seniors felt a heavy feeling in their stomach as they spoke about it in hushed tones.

Listening to all this, the newcomer to the sect who was the reason behind this happening breathed a sigh of relief as he had been a bit scared that this guy could go outside the sect and come back to, maybe, disturb his plans before he went ahead with them.

It had been quite easy finding someone else to do the job, especially in a sect like this which valued power over everything else. A simple promise to get the person to the Hero level had been enough, and even though he had sworn an oath to do so, it wasn't like oaths needed to be fulfilled if the person on the other end was dead.

On enquiring, he found out the timeline in which the 'stabilising' of the person would be done, with let him know that his plan of setting the Mad Doctor loose might just coincide with the time when the guy who had blinded himself would be taken outside.

Well, in that case, there was no chance whatsoever that there was any risk in anyone finding out that there was something amiss.

Soon, the king would either be dead, or too crippled to do anything more. If that wasn't the case, then he would simply be getting even more 'presents' from the Church which would help him handle the person.

Either way, the King's fate was sealed, and this was a thought which made a low laugh appear from the man.