CHAPTER 557: CHAPTER 557. A CALL FOR AID

"General Amon, they are here to see the king," Hua Rong informed.

"Yes, our words are for the king, not for you!" Xin Jingsao said. It was clear he still held a grudge against Amon.

"Jingsao, control yourself," Xin Dhaije reprimanded. His disciple had acted more maturely in the past few years, but meeting Amon seemed to draw his old haughty nature back to the surface.

Amon simply chuckled at their responses. He said, "Very well, but since you are here, how about telling us how Oredolia fares? I heard Gyleth Marx invades you."

Xin Dhaije and Xin Jingsao looked at each other but said nothing otherwise. The two didn’t seem to exhibit the desire to talk with Amon, so Amon didn’t push them further. They waited for Huang San to arrive. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long. They heard an announcement from the sentry outside the hall a few minutes later.

"The king has arrived...!"

The door to the guest hall opened. Huang San entered with Lao Zen and Yang Li in tow. Amon and Yang Li exchanged a glance before he and Hua Rong knelt. Xin Jingsao and Xin Dhaije made a slight bow to the king.

"Rise," Huang San told Amon and Hua Rong. He sat at the main seat in the hall before addressing his guests.

"Honored guests from Oredolia, welcome to Echos. To what purpose do we owe you this visit?"

"Your Majesty," Xin Dhaije put his hands together in a saluting gesture. "Our two countries have enjoyed a beneficial friendship with good trading relationships this past decade. We are now calling upon this friendship and asking for Echos to join our crusade against the atrocious Gyleth Marx."

Those from Echos smirked at Xin Dhaije’s words. The friendship he mentioned was no more than an uneasy treaty that could slip into conflict with small mistakes.

"So... The news is true," Huang San said without pointing out the exaggeration of their relationships. "Why does Gyleth Marx invade Oredolia?"

"They never announced a justification for their action. Those cowards simply attacked us without provocation!" Xin Jingsao exclaimed.

Xin Dhaije gave Xin Jingsao a reproaching glance. His disciple’s brashness, which he thought had been tamed, had resurfaced. It was probably due to Amon’s provocation earlier. Xin Jingsao caught the glance and made an apologetic bow.

"Your Majesty," Xin Dhaije said. "Those foul heathens must have been unhappy that a lot of their citizens receive enlightenment and follow our temple’s teaching. In their jealousy and a pitiful attempt to display their supremacy, they attack us. Kazhan is now assisting us in a crusade to punish those sinners. If you join our crusade, we will bring this punishment to a swift conclusion. Heaven will be generous in rewarding your contribution in this righteous conflict."

Amon sneered in contempt. For them to request reinforcement like this, it was clear they were in trouble, but their call for aid still sounded unreasonably haughty.

Huang San was also peeved, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he criticized indirectly by saying, "Gyleth Marx has been rumored to have the strongest military force. I guess the rumor is true."

Both Xin Dhaije and Xin Jingsao were visibly unhappy with that remark because it made Oredolia sound inferior, but they remained silent.

Huang San continued, "While I value our friendship with Oredolia. You should be aware of what is happening in my kingdom. We are ourselves currently under attack by two nations, Farghous and Khode."

"We... have heard such news during our travel here," Xin Dhaije said. "We didn’t know if it was true."

"It is true," Huang San said. "Our army had engaged the forces occupying our two cities. We have confirmed they were indeed the forces from Khode and Farghous."

"Speaking of which," Hua Rong interjected. "Farghous should be Oredolia’s close ally. Care to explain why they attack us?"

"That’s right," Lao Zen added. "If Oredolia truly considers us allies, Oredolia should ask Farghous to pull back and send their force to aid you in dealing with Gyleth Marx."

Uneasy expressions were visible on the two envoys’ faces. After a brief, uncomfortable silence, Xin Dhaije responded, "Honestly, we are still trying to reach Farghous. They had cut all contact with us. We can’t even reach our many disciples inside that country."

"Well, that explains your desperation in asking us for aid," Amon remarked.

Xin Jingsao turned to Amon angrily. Xin Dhaije was not amused as well.

Amon chuckled at their responses. He didn’t care to mince words with them. He said, "It is clear Oredolia is not in a good position in this struggle. If we can just accept that instead of beating around the bush, we can stop wasting our time."

"How dare you...!" Xin Jingsao exclaimed. He looked ready to lunge. Amon showed no concern. He was now much stronger than this envoy.

"Jingsao!" Xin Dhaije called to stop his disciple from acting rashly. He also felt insulted by Amon’s words, but he was more mature about it. He let out a long sigh before saying, "Fine! We are indeed in a predicament. The enemy has struck us at the worst possible time. We had our own internal turmoil when all this happened. Not to mention the nationwide loss of contact with Farghous. We were still trying to get a handle on the situation. To be honest, the idea to request your aid only came from our Xin Lai Sect. The other two sects within our temple oppose this act, but our sect thinks it is important to reach out to whatever allies we have."

"Some advice then, you should be more courteous when asking for aid," Hua Rong criticized.

Huang San struggled to keep a straight face when he saw the two envoys’ expressions after Hua Rong’s words. It was plain to see that they were trying their best to restrain themselves.

Huang San didn’t want to tease the two further. He told them, "While I value Oredolia’s friendship, we have our own problem to deal with. Maybe once we repel our invaders, we can continue this conversation."

Xin Dhaije was visibly disappointed by the answer. He was still thinking about what to add when Amon said, "Everyone, based on what Envoy Xin said, it is obvious my theory has been correct."

"Theory?" Xin Dhaije turned to Amon.

"I suspect someone is pulling the strings behind these incidents that are happening around the world."

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Xin Jingsao uttered.

Amon ignored the confrontational question from Xin Jingsao. He addressed Xin Dhaije, "You mentioned before that you are having internal turmoil within Oredolia."

"One which you do not need to know in detail," Xin Dhaije responded.

"Fair enough," Amon said. "We also had turmoil before the invasion; the problem with the rebels, and the trial to select our new monarch. Furthermore, the timing of Gyleth Marx’s march coincided with the invasion by Khode and Farghous. Those three countries are in alliance."

"Preposterous," Xin Jingsao uttered. "Everyone knows Khode shunned all other countries."

"Then how do you explain they come out of their shell now and invade us?" Amon asked.

"It... It could be the deed of an independent faction within Khode," Xin Jingsao said.

Amon shook his head. "We have received intel from General Jiang Tong yesterday, confirming the enemy he faced is led by a General from Khode named Xuang Feng."

While Khode maintained minimum contact with the outside world, it didn’t shut off other countries completely. News from inside still reached the outside world from time to time. One of which was about Xuang Feng, a high-profile military officer from Khode.

Lao Zen stated, "If Xuang Feng leads this invasion, it means the order came from the highest authority within Khode’s high council."

Amon nodded in agreement. "For a closed nation like Khode to interfere in matters outside its borders is highly unusual. Whatever their objective is, I don’t think it is conquest."

"No? Then what possible reason for invading another country?" Lao Zen asked.

"That’s what we need to find out," Amon replied. "What we know for now is that we have three countries working with each other to invade the remaining other countries. Since it is that way, it is wise for the defending countries to cooperate as well."

Hearing that, Xin Dhaije seized the initiative, "In that case, then it’s settled! Echos should send troops to help us repel Gyleth Marx. Once that is done, we will do the same to help Echos defeat Farghous and Khode."

Amon shook his head. "When I said cooperating, I didn’t mean militarily. What I propose is the sharing of information."

"Information?" Xin Dhaije was unsatisfied with Amon’s response.

"The enemies have taken the initiative. We are not in a position to send our troops to aid others, but we can focus on discovering the enemy’s real target. Only by knowing the objective can we get to the bottom of this war."

"How do you suggest that?" Xin Dhaije asked.

"We will assign a target for each country," Amon proposed. "Oredolia will focus on re-establishing contact with Farghous. Once you do, use your followers inside that country to poke around for the true reason Farghous invaded us. Whilst Kazhan’s and your main military forces face Gyleth Marx, instruct Kazhan’s outer tribes to enter Gyleth Marx and raid their settlements. Those tribes are experts in raids. Ask them to prioritize gathering information about Gyleth Marx’s intention."

"What will Echos Kingdom do?" Xin Dhaije asked.

"We will invade Khode and demand that they explain their action by force," Amon answered.