Rise of the Legendary Emperor

Chapter 9: We are not here to survive but to rule

In the morning, a frosty chill hung in the air. The sweet surrendering scent of the morning dew filled the campsite of the elves with a fragrance that did not belong on land, the cold wind breezed through the four people and a winged lion standing at the campsite. Obviously, these four were Don, Arwen, Amaryll and Uncle Dior, and the winged lion was Knight.

Uncle Dior was telling Don to depart in the afternoon so they could reach the Slave city without any hurdles but Amaryll still didn't know that Don was planning to go there.

"What are you up to?"

Amaryll walked towards the gathering while yawning and rubbing her eyes, her golden hair was ruffled up in the wind, she was crossing her hands and gently rubbing them to get some heat, her eyes still had weariness because of recent events, she looked at Arwen then a small surprise appeared on her face when she noticed Uncle Dior.

"Uncle Dior"

"Good morning Amaryll"

"Good morning uncle, is there any problem?" Amaryll asked and looked at Arwen and Don, Uncle Dior didn't say anything as he just glanced at Don and Arwen.

Noticing Uncle Dior looking at Arwen, Amaryll stared at Arwen for an answer but he didn't give her one quickly but he sulked for a moment before answering

"Uncle Dior is here to accompany Don to Minister Brian's manor in the Slave city."

"What!"

"What!!"

Amaryll and Uncle Dior yelled at the same time.

Amaryll saw genuinely shocked uncle Dior when he heard about going to Brian manor, she realized Uncle Dior was also in the black.

"Arwen you didn't say anything about going to Brian's manor, are you mad?" Uncle Dior shouted at Arwen and even though he stared at Arwen, the question was directed towards Don.

Obviously Arwen knew that but he just scratched the back of his head and glanced at Don.

For a while, only the chirping and the sounds of trees moving in the wing could be heard as the group stood in silence.

But Amaryll was shivering and shaking when she heard about Brian's name as her face went pale.

If the bandits caught her last night, Brian's manor was the place she would have probably ended up, she knew that very well so she immediately turned to face Don

"Don, why are you going there? are you trying to get yourself killed?" Amaryll began to shiver while asking.

Everyone was looking at Don to see what he was going to tell them, but Don calmly looked at Amaryll, the girl was still slightly shivering not due to the morning cold but in fear of Brian.

"The bandits he sent were just lackeys, he was the head. We should kill him before he realizes his lackeys failed to do the job"

Knight nodded in approval, he knew that destroying the head would make the whole body fall apart, and also he always supported Don.

Don's true purpose in engaging Minister Brian was to gather information about the mysterious mage, killing Brian was just icing on the cake but he didn't want to remind them about the mysterious mage or his real plan.

Arwen knew Don's motive and why he didn't reveal it to Uncle Dior and Amaryll. Amaryll was already pretty shaken up and reminding her of the mysterious mage is just make things worse.

Uncle Dior and Amaryll couldn't come up with a counter-argument as they understood that it must be done.

"So will you come with me?"

Uncle Dior knew why he was chosen for this journey and he also knew that killing Brian would mean less trouble for them yet he couldn't just agree to go with him but he needed an assurance.

"I can show you the quickest way to the Slave city but if you want me to come with you, I need time to think about it"

Amaryll was going to say something when Arwen shook his head.

He knew Uncle Dior was a cautious person and he wouldn't just agree to go with Don but they couldn't talk so freely with shivering Amaryll beside them.

"Amaryll go and see how Elrond is doing"

Noticing that Arwen was suddenly asking about Elrond, Amaryll gazed at Arwen but seeing Arwen's stubborn look on his face, she realized she had no option in this matter.

"I am not a little girl you know" although she was still looking pale, she pouted and started to walk in the direction of Elrond's camp which was made by Don.

Uncle Dior waited till Amaryll was out of listening range.

"By the way, I know why you really going to Brian's manor Don"

Arwen and Knight looked surprised when they heard Uncle Dior as he continued

"You wanted to know more about the mysterious mage the bandit leader told you about" uncle Dior sneered when he talked about Bandit leader, a hint of irritation could be found in his voice

Knight frowned at the tone and the way Uncle Dior was behaving, he didn't like when people talking to Don like that,

Likewise, Arwen also noticed Uncle Dior's tone and Knight's reaction, he was ready to jump between them at any second if the situation elevated but for his surprise, Don seemed calm as he said

"You have something to say?"

Uncle Dior was a clever man. He could sense no threatening vibe was coming from Don, so he decided to give him peace of his mind.

"I am thankful for what you've done for us but killing the bandit leader was a wrong move, he could have more valuable information about Brian and the mysterious mage"

Don didn't interrupt or argue with, he just listened to Uncle Dior while Uncle Dior continued

"If you didn't kill him, we would have gained more valuable information about Brian and the mysterious mage"

"Yes you are right, that was a mistake I've made. I am used to killing my enemies without giving them more time"

The three of them were slightly shocked at the fact that Don admitted his mistake including Knight and especially uncle Dior. He thought the young man would behave arrogantly or argue with him since the powerful people he met had a tendency not to admit their mistakes or even hear other's opinions on them.

This made a good impression on Uncle Dior, he would appreciate a person who was honest with himself and admit his own mistakes.

"I won't make that mistake again when I deal with Minister Brian" Uncle Dior could see that Don's not acting but honestly admitting his fault because he lived long enough to tell when people lied and it was one of the skills he learned through experience.

So because of this skill, Uncle Dior knew that Don is telling the truth. Since he made sure of that, he didn't need to argue with him and decided to go with him.

"Alright I'll pack somethings for the travel and meet you here in awhile"

After he said this, Uncle Dior began to walk towards his tent and Arwen followed after him.

In Uncle Dior's perspective, only fools would not acknowledge their shortcomings, and following a fool would only get himself killed. And now he grasped the fact that Don is not a fool.

On the other hand, If Don argued with him or acted arrogantly, he would have shown him the way to the Slave and let him go alone with a proper lie so he doesn't get himself killed by Don. 

Knight waited till they leave as he was still knitting his brows because of Uncle Dior's attitude,

"What were you thinking Don? You should have kicked his elven butt"

It was obvious Knight didn't like Uncle Dior as he said

"If you admit your fault, they will think you are weak"

"I might have kicked his butt if we were in the Divine continent and we are not"

"What's the difference? you know better than anyone that it's the rule of the jungle, only the strong survive and this world is not an exception " Knight declared in a voice of absolute certainty.

"We are not trying to survive anymore Knight, we are here to rule. Not every problem can be solved by brute force, we need " he didn't finish his sentence as he tapped his head with one finger 

"And you think that we don't use our brains" Knight frowned while saying

"Not always, we need to change our ways if we want to succeed. And to change, we need to learn from someone who uses their brain more than their fist"

Hearing Don, Knight slowly started to grasp Don's reasoning 

"Uncle Dior was just like that someone, we need people like him"

"But didn't he get himself captured by the bandits?"

"Did he?"

Knight started to reminisce about yesterday's events to remember that Uncle Dior was not with the group of elves captured along with Arwen and Amaryll but he was with the elves that Knight himself rescued.

"I didn't notice in the heat of battle but Dior wasn't in danger when I saw him, he was just stood there along with some injured elves"

"See even if we didn't come here, he would have escaped... brain" he tapped his head again.

"What about his people? what about them if he just escaped"

"What could have he done? if he just went to rescue them, he would have ended up dead. Self-sacrificing is a coward's way, just people labeled it as heroism"

Knight knew that Don was right when he considered the things Don said. He came to this world not too long ago but he was learning and starting to change the way he's thinking.

"It's hurting me to say but we do need people like Uncle Dior," Knight said with gritted teeth and addressed him as Uncle Dior.