The God's Games

In front of everyone, Hanjun has demonstrated his strong power.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he said, "My request is simple, just like what King Varis said. Can't you agree to these terms?"

The others glanced at each other.

Seeing the Freehold of Veranil's fate, they realized that with the Church of Light now in control and they were powerless against them.

Duke Dzemael saw this and knew their plan had failed.

He gritted his teeth but had to act as if nothing had happened since King Varis was watching him.

Hanjun's strong stance left the other countries' envoys unsure of how to respond.

King Varis knew it wasn't the right time to force them.

Once the brave heroes returned and relayed the news, the other envoys would surely change their minds.

And since the meeting still had a few days left, there was no need to force them into a decision right now.

King Varis reassured Hanjun and said, "I understand that the Church of Light is essential right now, but other countries need a little more time to accept this. Let's discuss this matter again later."

Although King Varis was trying to smooth things over, his words made the faces of those present turn sour.

It was almost like he was mocking their recent actions as foolish.

Hanjun was still willing to give King Varis some respect, but he made one thing clear: "We need to settle this before the meeting ends. I hope to hear a satisfactory answer by then."

With that, Hanjun prepared to leave.

He had already achieved his goal for today, and he probably wouldn't be needed for anything else.

Duke Dzemael watched him leave with a grim expression.

Hanjun's words had hit him hard.

They had planned to control Hanjun through public pressure at the conference and manage the entire Church of Light's strategy.

But they hadn't anticipated that the demons would invade the Freehold of Veranil's territory.

This gave Hanjun a huge opportunity to turn the situation around and led to the failure of their plan.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It seemed like they needed to come up with a new plan.

Duke Haillenarte didn't enter the meeting room this time.

When he heard that Hanjun had suddenly left the meeting room, he quickly sent someone to follow him and see what he was planning to do.

Meanwhile, back in the meeting room, after a brief silence, Duke Dzemael continued the discussions, guided by the hints provided by King Varis.

However, the topics that followed were rather dull and uninteresting.

After the day's discussions finally ended, Duke Dzemael felt exhausted.

Enjoy new adventures from empire

His throat was sore, his mouth dry, and his back aching.

The sore throat was from hosting the meeting all day without even having a sip of water, and the back pain was from sitting in one place for so long.

Yet, before he could fully recover, Duke Dzemael went to find Duke Haillenarte.

The two of them needed to figure out what to do next.

After exchanging information, Duke Haillenarte's expression darkened when he learned that their initial plan had been resolved so quickly.

He remarked, "After Hanjun returned, he didn't leave the church. It seems he still hasn't found out our hiding place."

Although they hadn't located where the Order of the Shattering Light was hiding, the situation was still far from optimistic.

Duke Haillenarte asked, "Should we activate the final plan?"

Duke Dzemael hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "Let's hold off on that for now. We haven't reached that point just yet."

While they were discussing, a royal guard brought them a message from His Majesty, inviting them to the palace.

Why would King Varis summon them at this moment?

The two of them exchanged glances, sensing the brewing storm.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the palace, King Varis clapped his hands and gestured for them to sit beside him.

The last time Hanjun came to the palace, Duke Dzemael, and Duke Haillenarte had sat in these same seats.

Back then, they had deliberately approached King Varis and delayed his meeting with Hanjun.

Looking back, it seemed they had tried to use that opportunity to make Hanjun believe that King Varis didn't value him, hoping to sow discord.

However, the plan hadn't worked.

Instead, it led to a successful alliance between Hanjun and King Varis, and during the meetings between the nations, King Varis had even spoken in Hanjun's favor.

Now, being summoned by the king, it was clear without needing much thought that His Majesty was displeased with their recent actions, which had crossed a line.

After calming themselves, the two dukes noticed King Varis was warmly hosting them.

They exchanged uneasy glances.

But just as they sat down, they were startled by the king's words: "Both of you is the dukes of the Kingdom of Orinthia. Has the Kingdom ever wronged your families?"

This sudden question made both of them jump in surprise, too scared to remain seated.

"Why is Your Majesty asking such a question?" they asked nervously.

King Varis waved his hand and calmly said, "What I mean is, you are both part of the Kingdom of Orinthia. In the past, when you worshipped the God of Darkness, I didn't say anything. That was a well-known fact, but..."

The two dukes knew that everything King Varis said before this was just pleasantries.

The real point was coming next.

The king remained cheerful, like a kind old man, but Duke Dzemael and Duke Haillenarte weren't fooled by his appearance.

"But now, everyone's goal is to survive from the demon army's attack. As the dukes of the Kingdom, your faith might not be appropriate anymore."

If anyone else had said this, the two dukes would have had a reason to oppose it.

But it was the king himself speaking, and he held a significant amount of power.

The dukes grew uneasy.

"Your Majesty is right," one of them said cautiously.

King Varis then became blunt, "I'll be clear: at this moment, if you are unwilling to abandon your faith, you have no place in my presence."