The Monarch-Chapter 699: King

Chapter 699: King
The journey had been peaceful, and they took only a few days to reach the ruined kingdom; the main reason for the delay were the routes the mages chose in order to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, and besides that, they did not want to use full speed in case of ambushes.
Meanwhile, Kayden was learning about the current situation of this world—not that it was something important for his life, but it was knowledge that could be useful at that moment, especially considering that he did not truly know the strength of his opponents.
"What is the current strength of the kings?" Kayden asked when they arrived in the capital. The view of the city was incredible, even in times of war.
The capital rose like a vertical labyrinth of colossal trunks, where ancient trees, sculpted by magic over the centuries, formed natural towers intertwined by bridges of living roots. Light filtered through the dense canopies, creating golden reflections that danced across the suspended platforms where commerce thrived despite the war. Each level of the city seemed to vibrate with ancient energy, as if the forest itself breathed alongside its people.
On the upper levels, houses and entire halls were shaped inside giant trunks, illuminated by bioluminescent crystals attached to the leaves. Curved walkways snaked between the heights, allowing sentinels to watch for any threat before it approached. Even in times of ruin, the capital maintained an almost sacred beauty, like a living temple raised by nature itself.
Kayden could feel some very strong presences in that city; there were mages with insane capabilities hidden in those trunks, but there was also a large number of normal people—yet even these "normal" people possessed strong talent and abilities. The climate of war had shaped most people in this world.
The king’s presence was concealed in a specific area. Kayden could feel that there was an almost infinite number of runes in that region. It was the most noble area of the city; the two beings accompanying him guided him quickly and discreetly to that point.
Something was wrong. Kayden could feel they were being watched. There were eyes near him, and beyond that, there were very agitated souls moving in his direction. Kayden was extremely sensitive to souls; his knowledge about them was insane. In just a few seconds, he noticed the situation.
The king had probably been informed of his arrival. Kayden remembered perfectly the favor that had once been granted to him: one of the mages had offered him a technique and taught him how to use it. It was something extremely useful for dealing with runes—incidentally, it was the same technique present in this city at this very moment.
A few minutes after they arrived in the city, they were led to an immense tree whose top formed a great plain of gigantic leaves. Dozens of structures stood upon those massive leaves, and in one of them, a few dozen mages were gathered around a peculiar figure.
The figure was a tall man with silver hair and deep amber eyes, with parts of his body covered by plates of living wood that grew like natural armor. Shining runes ran between the gaps of that wood, pulsing in an almost organic rhythm. His green-gold cloak, adorned with rigid leaves and braided branches, gave him the imposing presence of an ancestral spirit of the forest.
Kayden was genuinely impressed with how much this race had developed. This king was the absolute peak of it; his life was completely integrated with the runes—each one a lesser law. Their sum placed a second-level law directly over the creature’s body.
"Kayden Heart." The emperor did not speak any of the titles that were hidden behind Kayden’s identity. That was, in a way, amusing; his legend had died over time, or at least had died within this place.
"My regards." Kayden offered only the minimal courtesy; he did not bow his head at all. They were just a few mages who were relatively stronger, and obviously the old cliché happened.
"What disrespect..."
POOFT!
The mage’s body simply disappeared magically. Not even a single thread of his life energy remained. Everything he had built, everything he had learned, every step he had taken to reach the top of that society was completely erased in a single second—all because of one wrong sentence to the wrong man.
The atmosphere became utterly tense. These people standing together were not exactly friends, but they were part of the same group—they had faced this long war for millions of years side by side, and seeing a friend destroyed like that before their eyes, the first feeling that surged in all of them was anger, but...
Good old fear prevailed. They were not first-battle idiots; they were not people who had lived life as useless heirs. On the contrary, each of them had been forged in fire in this world. This allowed them to immediately recognize how screwed they truly were if they chose to fight Kayden.
"How can I help you?" Kayden smiled and continued as if absolutely nothing had happened. The king examined the situation for a few seconds.
With a quick glance, he was able to calculate dozens and hundreds of possibilities in his mind. Perhaps if he fought Kayden, he might win—but the chances were nebulous. The way his subordinate had been completely destroyed was illogical to him, and that alone prevented him from acting impulsively.
"My kingdom is currently at war, but..." The king took a breath and continued, "My opponents are inferior. More specifically, they hide behind an intensely strong rune."
Kayden raised an eyebrow; his thought was quickly read by the king—it was something very common to think, in truth.
"There are two of them. When one is attacked, the other attacks my kingdom, and vice versa. But that is not the greatest problem—the runes are. Unless both are killed simultaneously, they are capable of returning after a few years. This makes it impossible to truly win this fight."
The king began pointing out the facts to Kayden. Indeed, there were many problems, and many of them would be impossible to solve easily. It would require at least two people with the same strength as the king to be able to face the situation—but... that was something rare to find, and besides that, creating another mage at that level would be the same as creating an enemy inside his own home.