Morning came and the Elves finally finished tallying the damages that they had suffered under William’s hands.
The Half-Elf had managed to destroy eleven teleportation gates in less than an hour. These gates were located in strategic locations that allowed faster travel from the Capital City towards its North-Western Border.
The System had calculated that they should destroy the eight primary teleportation gates at a minimum in order to delay the Elves’ march as much time as possible. Fortunately, William had surpassed that number, which made things even more difficult for the elves.
Now, they had to spend approximately eight days traveling through the air, in order to reach the border of the Hellan Kingdom. If they were to travel on land then it would take much longer.
The Three Guardians, Princess Eowyn, Elandorr, the Patriarch’s of the Clans, and the High-Ranking Officers of the Elven army had gathered inside the conference room of the Royal Palace in order to discuss their next course of action.
They were debating whether or not the Elven Army should travel together, or allow those with flying mounts to advance first. Their destination was the Azure Fortress. Elandorr proposed that those with flying mounts should proceed first, in order to make the necessary preparations before the main bulk of the army arrived.
Some agreed to this proposal, while others didn’t.
“I think it will be safer if the army traveled together,” one of the Elven Commanders said with a serious expression. “The attack that happened last night seemed to have been a planned action. Although the reports say that the attacker was only a single person, that didn’t mean that he didn’t have any allies to serve as reinforcements.”
“Indeed,” the Patriarch of the Eroan Clan voiced his agreement. “If you study the layout where the teleportation gates are located, you can tell that they had been carefully chosen in order to delay our advance to the Human kingdom as much as possible.
“You said that the son of the Saintess was from the Hellan Kingdom, and yet, he managed to accurately strike where it mattered the most. This knowledge should only be available to the local citizens of this Dynasty. Obviously, he had helpers as well. Helpers whose numbers we are not aware of.”
The Patriarch of the Eroan Clan was about to say more, but Shafel cleared his throat in order to divert everyone’s attention to him.
“What happened last night won’t happen again,” Shafel said with confidence. “Even if that person has allies, so what? At most they are just Human children.”
Shafel then glanced at the Elven Commander who had voiced that the Elven Army should travel as a single unit.
“Are you saying that our Mighty Elven Army is afraid of children?” Shafel asked.
“Your Excellency, that is not what I meant,” the Elven Commander replied with a calm expression. “When it comes to war, underestimating your opponent is a fatal mistake.”
“Overestimating them is a fatal mistake as well,” Drauum replied. “Eneru and Ezkalor will travel with the vanguard, while I will remain to oversee the main army. Even if that Half-Elf returns with reinforcements, he will not be able to do anything.”
The Elven Commander sighed in his heart and reluctantly nodded his head. Since one of their Guardians decided to step in the conversation, any further argument was pointless.
The talks then proceeded to the next task, which was to choose the route that the army would traverse in order to reach their destination.
Drauum, Elandorr, and the other officers frowned when they discovered that the only path for those who would travel on land was through the mountains of the Northern Regions.
According to the scouts that had been sent to gather information about the layout of the Zelan Dynasty, the Mountainous regions of the North had steep slopes, cliffs, and narrow passageways that would limit the movement of the army.
Also, it was the perfect place for an ambush. The Three Guardians were already aware of William’s ability to escape from their grasp, so they were sure that he would appear in the Northern Mountains in order to hinder their advance.
“Such a troublesome bastard.” Eneru snorted.
Ezkalor didn’t say anything, and kept a calm expression on his face. He also felt that William was a very daring person, and the chances of him appearing in the mountains to ambush them were high.
Even Drauum had to agree that the Half-Elf’s escaping ability was top notch. Even after it had scanned the lands hundreds of miles away from where they cornered William, it didn’t yield any results.
This discovery had led to another debate about which was the best solution for their problem.
“I think it is best that the army travel together.”
Princess Eowyn voiced her opinion since no one else could decide what to do.
“There is safety in numbers, and we are not familiar with the layout of the land,” Princess Eowyn stated. “It would be foolish to assume that we know these lands like the back of our hands when we’ve only been here for a very short time. There’s no need to underestimate the son of the Saintess. His father is a Hero, and his mother is the Guardian of the World Tree.
“He already proved his capabilities when he had destroyed the Teleportation Gates and cornered us into taking only one route for our advance. Also, he was able to escape from our encirclement. This feat is not something that can be done by someone ordinary.”
The Princess of the Elves lowered her head after voicing out her opinion. Although she didn’t say it out loud, she made it clear that William had been able to take his leave right under the noses of three of the Guardians of the Silvermoon Continent.
The corner of Drauum’s and Eneru’s lips twitched because they couldn’t refute Princess Eowyn’s statement.
Ezkalor, on the other hand, chuckled in agreement. Unlike his two comrades, the Elder Dragon was quite amused by William’s daring escape. This had increased his impression of the boy whom he had met last night.
Half an hour later, everyone came to an agreement that the army should march together. This was to keep the incident that had happened a few hours ago from happening again.
Just as the Elves finished their discussion, William had arrived at the Gate of the Beginnings. He had overslept, because his lovers didn’t have the heart to wake him up and allowed him to rest properly.
Even so, he felt thankful because he felt refreshed after he woke up. The past few weeks had been exhausting for him because he had been traveling non-stop in the Anaesha Dynasty in order to mine resources and to capture Herd Type Beasts to add to his army.
As he walked towards the Gate of the Beginnings, he sensed a welcoming presence in the surroundings. It was as if the Gate was meeting an old friend who hadn’t visited it for many years.
William stared at the gate for a while before placing both of his hands over it. Suddenly, a tingling sensation washed over his body and a notification appeared on his Status Page.
—–
< Ding! >
< Would you like to enter the Gate of Beginnings? >
< Yes / No >
—–
William chose Yes, and immediately he felt himself being pulled towards the gate.
Soon, he found himself in what seemed to be at the end of a tunnel, staring down at a massive maze in the distance.
“Erchitu,” William said softly.
A portal appeared beside the Half-Elf and a Giant White Ox stepped out of it.
Erchitu had a shocked expression on his face when he saw the entrance of the Labyrinth, which would take them towards the Palace of King Minos where the Minotaur Race resided.
“Unbelievable,” Erchitu muttered. “To think that you could pass through the Gate of Beginnings despite the powerful seal that was placed on it.”
Erchitu looked down on the Half-Elf beside him with genuine admiration.
“Just how did you do it?” Erchitu inquired.
William scratched his cheek because he also didn’t know how he did it. What he didn’t know was that the Gate of Beginnings had been made by David, to protect the Minotaur Race from those who wished them ill.
Since he was the one who made it, it was only natural for his chosen Disciples to be able to enter it as well.
“Do we need to traverse that maze before we can meet your King?” William decided to change the topic and asked a question.
Erchitu got the hint and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Since William didn’t want to talk about it then he wouldn’t force the issue.
“Yes,” Erchitu replied. “Beyond this maze lay the Ashenward Palace. The stronghold of the Minotaur Race.”
William could sense the pride in Erchitu’s words as he said the name of their palace. The Half-Elf could tell that the Giant Ox had missed his home after being unable to return due to his current circumstances.
“Well then, let’s go,” William said with a smile. “If possible, I would like to have an audience with your King. Can you take me to him, Erchitu?”
Erchitu nodded his head as he lowered his hand to pick up William. He then placed the Shepherd on his shoulder as he walked towards the entrance of the Maze.
The Minotaur Race knew the route of the maze by heart, and none of them could get lost in it even if they wanted to.
The Giant Ox had only taken a few steps inside the entrance when the walls of the maze started to shake.
Erchitu and William’s eyes widened as the Maze rearranged itself right before their very eyes. Instead of a series of twists and turns, the walls had arranged themselves properly, leaving a straight path forward.
“Um, is this normal?” William asked.
Erchitu firmly shook his head. This was the first time he had seen this phenomenon after traversing the maze for so many years.
Clearly, this was another privilege that was only available to David’s Disciple.
—-
Deep inside the Ashenward Palace, King Minos opened his eyes. He had clearly felt someone enter the Gate of the Beginnings, and knew that this was no ordinary intruder.
The King of the Minotaur Race raised his hand and two Minotaurs appeared in front of him.
“Go and welcome our guest,” King Minos ordered. “Bring him to me.”
“”Yes, Your Majesty!””
