Time flew by quickly, with Landon putting everything in place.

And just as he suspected, the very next day, Uther became serious.

He told all he knew about the strange disease, be it rumours or not.

No official name had been given to the disease yet, and the people just called it whatever they deemed fit.

Some called it 'the heaven's punishment,' and others got more creative with names instead.

Landon nodded his head and took everything into account, comparing Uther's findings with his.

After all, for Uther to come to his aid... this meant that Uther himself had also gathered enough information to convince him or prepare him to some extent for the task at hand.

You know... When Uther got the report, only a town and a village had been affected by the strange disease.

The reason why Uther's men reported it was because they had also heard about it when visiting one of the cities in that empire.

They were official Royal Merchants. And would go to that empire to trade for some goods that Zalipnia didn't have.

So when drinking in the pub within the city close to the affected town, they had already heard the gist of things.

It was said that healers had tried to treat the disease, but all the healers died one after the other just like that.

And what was surprising was that the disease would spread out too.

At first, only a few in the town were affected.

But very soon, the entire town found itself in its current affected state.

And as if that weren't enough, the disease managed to jump and affect the next village that was a 9-hour trip on horseback away from it.

The shocking revelation was what made the Merchants afraid since Zalipnia was pretty closeby to this empire.

So if the disease could spread like this, then wouldn't it arrive at Zalipnia's borders too?

With anxious thoughts, they quickly made their way back to Zalipnia.

They only used 2 months and 3 weeks to get to Zalipnia's Capital from that city.

And soon enough, the reports were filed, and the rest was history.

It was funny because the royal merchants arrived a day before Uther and his gang were about to set off for the Zalipnian Port.

I was as if fate had been on their side as they reported their findings and worries.

Of course, Uther believed that it would also be an issue.

Why? Because a few days prior to their trip, Lucia entered vision mode again, but this time, her words were too vague.

She only said that she could see the Zalipnians dying like flies if nothing was done about the danger to come. But what made Uther more confused was that she also said that the threat wasn't man-made... Even though she couldn't tell what it was.

Her words had indeed given Uther sleepless nights.

But after listening to those men, he immediately understood what dangers were heading their way.

One thing to note was that when the men heard about the strange disease, it had only affected a single town and a village.

So during the time they took to travel here, Uther was sure that the disease must've stretched out even more.

And thinking of the doctors and nurses that came to Zalipnia and healed them up last time, Uther instinctively felt that they should be of more help than any healers.

Plus, he also believed that his saviour's people would better handle the matter too.

And that's why he felt the need to discuss things with Landon.

.

Uther and a few of his ministers all sat in his office, talking about the matter.

And as they spoke, their voices became even more and more rushed, as anxiety seemed to swallow them whole.

Typical people hearing what this disease could do to the infected, might have a moment where they were frightened.

They knew that even they turned frightened when they first heard about the disease.

Humans had the instinctive response to first protect themselves in strange and bizarre scenarios like this.

Even in war, humans would go in fearlessly because they had a weapon, shield or blind belief in some religious faith.

People needed some guarantee when going in.

So who would be willing to enter this particular battlefield after hearing that all the healers who went in died in just a few days?

This wasn't like treating wounds or something.

It was a disease! A deadly one that could spread out and kill them all!

So in cases like this, people might choose to lie to Landon, not telling him the full extent of the matter and indirectly convince him to accept the task.

But the Zalipnians didn't want to fool their saviour or anyone else for their matter... The heavens were always watching and would fight for the innocent one day.

So why commit such a sin and send someone in when they weren't prepared for the daunting task ahead?

They very readily laid down their cards and truthfully told all they knew of the matter without withholding anything back.

And Landon's silence was what made them a little fearful too.

Now, the air in the room had become so hard and brittle that it could snap at any given time.

The Zalipnians all looked at each other secretly, as if using their eyes to talk to one another.

Their faces turned ashen with worry, and without even knowing it, many had begun crossing and uncrossing their hands in anxiety.

And the culprit that caused their current state was still sitting quietly like an expressionless statue.

This... This... 

His majesty Landon was going to reject them, right?

~Gru~~~

Their bellies began to churn.

"Y-y-your majesty Landon, so, can you help us?"

Everyone's body had subconsciously leaned forward.

And just when they had readied themselves for rejection, Landon suddenly burst out into laughter.

~Giggle. Giggle. Giggle~

"You all should see the looks on your faces!"

The tension in the room suddenly vanished, and everyone now realized that they had been played by his majesty, Landon.

Dammit! For a moment, he truly gave them a jump scare. 

Nonetheless, they also knew that his actions meant that he had agreed to their request.

Uther's lips quivered with a hint of glee and annoyance: "How dare you tease this old man like this?"

"Heh... Old is right. For the first time, I'm glad you've finally accepted that you're an old man." Landon said playfully.

"You!..." Uther wanted to smack the cheeky brat's head.

And the interaction between the duo just made everyone else smile too.

The relationship between both empires sure is good. 

(^_^)