Chapter 458 A General!
Chapter 458 A General!
There was pin-drop silence again for a while since what Elder Viru said made it quite difficult for anyone to refute.
In fact, everyone knew that what Elder Viru said was the truth. The young exile had proved himself enough already, but how could they all just silently watch and accept it?
They never in their dreams expected this boy to actually even leave a scratch on Draven, let alone leave him half-dead with just a single move.
Lauden couldn't even speak up this time since Elder Viru was a great senior figure, and it would be blatant disrespect and unwise to question his words.
It was also known that despite being blind, Elder Viru was the strongest among them, and in fact, he chose to remain blind to 'see' what he could not 'see.'
Elder Tobias could only clench his jaw as he helplessly shot a glance at Lauden.
"Elder Viru, I have great respect for you but what you just said makes it seem like you might be overlooking some very important things about this boy," Elder Tobias said with a slightly disgruntled look, not expecting Viru to speak up all of a sudden. Still, he carefully chose his words to not make it look like he was openly questioning him.
"Is that really so, Elder Tobias? Elder Viru simply stated the facts. He only stands on the side of truth no matter what. Or are you slandering his morals?" The youngest elder among them, Morbius the 5th, asked with a subtle snicker. He had a grayish beard, unlike the others who had white beards.
Despite being the youngest among them, he was said to be the bold one who had no qualms about speaking his mind.
"Elder Morbius, you…" Elder Tobias found himself speechless as he looked at Morbius with a glowering expression.
If he said 'yes', then it would mean that he was indeed insulting Elder Viru, but if he said 'no', then he wouldn't be able to have any influence in this matter anymore.
Eli had a smirk as she didn't expect two of the royal elders to actually speak in favor of Azu. She knew Elder Viru was a very wise man, but she still wasn't sure if he would act against Azu due to his controversial background.
She rarely interacted with these elders since all of them seclude themselves and only show themselves for important occasions. Thus, she felt that maybe she didn't really know much about Elder Viru and Elder Morbius.
"We should stop bickering among ourselves, and instead, as per the laws written by our Frozenblood progenitor, I call upon the right to make a decision on the fate of this boy through Supreme Judgment!" Elder Orien said aloud with a veiled glint in his eyes.
"Supreme Judgement? No…" Eli mumbled in dismay upon hearing it since it would involve making a final decision based on the votes of the royal elders.
The Supreme Judgment can only be called for by the royal elders in very important matters where all or some of the important officials have concerns about the decision their king would make.
And in this case, Elder Orien, Tobias, and Doru knew that the Frost King would listen to Viru due to his seniority, and that was something they couldn't afford to see.
The Frost King hummed as he said, "Fine. If that is what the respected royal elders want, let's proceed with it."
Lauden's face lit up since this meant not all hope was last, while Azu had a bad feeling, especially since he knew what the Supreme Judgement was and how it works.
Based on his knowledge, all the royal elders would have one vote each, while the Frost King would have two votes as his voting power due to his status.
He knew the Frost King hated him due to getting involved with his daughter and even almost killed him that day if it weren't for Eli stopping him.
He still didn't know if coming here was a good idea, but he had no regrets since he didn't want to let down a certain someone. Hiding in fear forever and suffering in silence wasn't something he envisioned for his future.
"Who all are in favor of granting the status of a citizen to a boy who possesses the bloodline of our mortal enemies and whose father is the exiled prince of the Nightfall werewolf tribe and his mother who is a traitor to our own bloodline?" Elder Tobias said aloud as he raised his hand, followed by Elder Orien and Elder Doru.
.
Elder Tobias frowned upon seeing Elder Viru and Elder Morbius silently sitting without raising their hands.
Still, they didn't care since the Frost King would surely know which would be the wisest decision he should be making as a king.
Eli was nervously staring at her father, hoping that her father wouldn't give in to the pressure of the majority or the hatred inside him since she knew about his personal tragedy.
However, the expressions of the three royal elders faltered a bit when they saw the Frost King was being unnaturally silent as if he was deep in thought.
Lauden furrowed his brows as he felt that something definitely seemed off.
He couldn't even guess what the Frost King was thinking since, based on what he knew about him, the Frost King lost his mother in a werewolf attack, because of which he massacred the werewolf tribe the assassin belonged to all on his own at a young age, granting him even more respect and privilege to rule the kingdom.
"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I have to remind you that recognizing someone who possesses our enemy's bloodline would incur the wrath of so many people and cause riots we might not be able to control," Elder Tobias stressed and continued, "And—"
The Frost King subtly raised his hand to tell him to stop talking, making Elder Tobias swallow his words with a red face.
The Frost King finally spoke in a loud voice, "After careful deliberation, I hereby declare that the son of the exiled daughter of the Aliester family will be granted the status of a 'General'! But his mother will still be in exile until her son proves his loyalty."