( The council of monarchs )

Michael’s declaration undoubtedly increased the tension in the room. Amongst all the monarchs and the monarchies under them, the angel monarchy was the strongest and the staunchest supporter of the light faction which was why Micheal was allowed to act so rowdy in front of his equals.

” The beast kingdom will be neutral in this war, many participants on the other side are also beasts and the constitution considers all sentient beasts who have overcome their base desire to hunt a part of the beast kingdom.

We will not take part in the butchering of our own kind but are willing to lend material and strategic support to the light faction while assuring this council that we won’t be sending a single shipment to the dark, regardless of the price offered.

Do not consider us as profiteering war merchants, we are simply doing what’s best for the beast-kind ” Beast King Omar said as he put forward his position as politely as possible using fancy words to make it seem like he was skewed towards the light faction when the reality was anything but that.

Micheal chuckled and clapped at Omar’s facade, the beast kingdom just like the dragon monarchy was a neutral territory in the first place but had historical ties with the light faction.

Micheal distinctly remembered the conversations he shared with Omar over a cup of wine as the two of them criticised his brother Lucifer for his stupid antics.

Back then Omar behaved like he was the blood-brother of the Angels and that should anything ever go wrong he would stand there with the light faction, but when push came to shove he was the first to declare neutrality.

” Very well, thankyou for participating in this edition of the council of monarch’s God Omar, I feel like the next edition of this same meeting will be a lot more interesting ” Micheal said as he indirectly asked Omar to leave which was a very rude move to make on his part.

Thankfully Omar was not one to take offence over such small matters, nor was somebody who would overstay his welcome when his presence was not wanted, so he stood up and took his leave from the council

The sound of his departing footsteps making the hearts of the other monarchs feel heavy.

” Anyone else? Any other neutral parties amongst our midst? ” Micheal asked angrily as he scanned the room but there were no neutral parties amongst them anymore.

” Good, Today God Hades is not here with us and I know that all of you understand why

While we are here sipping wine and playing council-council, his territory is under raid by the dark faction.

He isn’t here because the moment he leaves his territory it would be destroyed in an instant, it’s only because he is physically present there and is one of the MOST powerful gods with unhealable curses in his arsenal that the fighting is kept at bay.

The war has started with his territory, but it will soon spill out to ours.

The time for complacency is over, the time for eradicating the dark for once and for all is here ” Micheal said as he banged the table in front of him strongly, reducing a section of it to dust.

” The vampire monarchy needs more time, we are not equipped for battle yet and I will not send my clansmen to the frontlines until we have had sufficient time to prepare for war.

I do understand the gravity of the situation and the vampire monarchy IS committed to the security of the light faction, but immediate deployment is out of the question.

We are already fighting with the Mercenary Kingdom on our frontline planets, the barbarians they have stationed there have pushed us into a stalemate for decades now.

With Avans defecting the battle on those planets is only bound to get more intense, I cannot fight a two pronged battle without preparing for it.

So forgive me ruler of heaven Micheal, but you will not see a vampire reinforcement for your cause in the immediate future ” Regus said calmly as he was not someone who would be pushed around by the rallying call of the angels.

Throwing his men into war without proper preparation would spell disaster for internal security and the economy and as Monarch Regus could not make such a decision.

Cervantez frowned, he had specifically sent Regus a letter 6 months prior to this meeting for him to start preparing for war having taken notice that a war was imminent, but it seemed like the vampire monarch did not take his warnings as seriously as he should have.

” How much time do you need? ” Augustus Won Knight asked Regus in an impassive voice.

” 18 months ” Regus replied as Augustus nodded.

” The Won Knight Monarchy will provide unconditional support for the war effort, we will cover for the men king Regus is unable to supply for the time being, but in return we expect king Regus to reduce tarifs and facilitate cheap trade to reduce the economic burden of the war on our people” Augustus said as Regus nodded in acknowledgement, reducing export tariffs and providing discounts was something he could do.

” The Hazelgroove Empire will also provide unconditional support although we are the FURTHEST from the frontlines.

We understand the importance of defending the values of the light faction and will not wait till the battle spills to our gates ” Cervantez said as his words renewed the spirit of the meeting after all the depressing letdowns so far.

” Dwargon will increase the output of common weapons and provide as many weapons as it is capable of producing in the future.

While us dwarves will not be able to contribute much as front line warriors we promise to provide cutting edge battleships and long range artillery weapons to the war effort with subsidised rates ” The forger king said as he pitched in his commitment to the war effort.

Soon the others followed suit and tried to contribute as much as they could, but except for the angels, the won knights, the Hazelgroove Empire and the kingdom of death which was already embroiled in conflict none of the other monarchies were fully committed to the war effort.

The worst of them all was Beniogre who wanted to push for a ceasefire and peace talks with the other side, but she was silenced in the war minded council garnering no support for her plea.

She did agree to send some of her best healers to set-up healing camps on the front lines to provide relief to the injured but was apprehensive about sending her holy paladins which were capable of using demon slaying magic that was invaluable to fight greater demons and some of Lucifer’s most powerful lieutenants.

The council finally ended after 15 hours of heated discussions where the nerves of the strongest in the universe were tested.

A great war was starting and despite the fancy line-up, the fact of the matter was that a lot depended on how the internal rebellion of the dragon’s ended up.

Should the rebellion succeed and dragoon be dethroned, the rebels were most likely to break neutrality and join Lucifer in his battle on the light faction and should that happen, it would truly turn the odds overwhelmingly in the favour of the dark faction.

For now, they could only pray for Dragoon to prevail.