The issue in Lukan he was talking about was the Malecia Kingdom. While the Malecia Kingdom had surrendered, they had not proceeded with the procedure. He had not even met with the Malecia Kingdom's Queen to perform the oath. As soon as he arrived at the castle, he directly flew toward the Malecia Kingdom.
With Tang Shaoyang's current speed, he took an hour and a half to reach the border of the Malecia Kingdom. He was floating above the dense forest, and he saw the tower that separated the Lionax Kingdom territory and The Malecia Kingdom. The ten meters stone tower was used as a marker as no one lived there. The border between the two kingdoms was unguarded, but he could understand why.
The forest that separated the two kingdoms was quite harsh to live in because of the murky swamp. Most of the forest was a swamp, so he did not find anyone aside from the beast that lived in the swamp. He reached the tower and landed there if he could find a direction to the settlement near the forest.
Despite his sharp sight and Spirit Eyes, he could not find a nearby settlement. He had no choice but to summon Aerelion. The Infernal Wyvern was helping Ava with the Malecia Kingdom's issue, so the wyvern should know more about the area around here. The twenty meters long wyvern appeared before him and lowered his head. "Do you need my assistance, Master?"
"Mnn, can you lead me to the nearby city? No, do you know the Malecia Kingdom's capital?" Since Aerelion was here, he might as well go directly to the Capital of the Malecia Kingdom. However, the Infernal Wyvern shook his massive head. "We never went to the Capital of the Malecia Kingdom, Master. It's Elven who went there with Queen Jasmine as we are concerned that Wrath, Kalliyan, and I will scare the people."
"Then lead me to the nearby city." Tang Shaoyang nodded his head. He could only go to the nearby city and ask the people there the direction of the capital. "Yes, My Lord." The Infernal Wyvern lowered his head near the floor, signaling Tang Shaoyang to ride on its back.
Tang Shaoyang hopped on the back of the Infernal Wyvern. Aerelion went to the north straight, and it only took them five minutes to arrive at the city. He tapped Aerelion's neck and ordered. "Go down. We need to ask the guard for directions to the capital."
"Are you sure, Master? We will scare the people in this town."Aerelion was being thoughtful of his Master. When he was here with Ava, Wrath, and Kalliyan, they often came here to harass the people until the Queen came by herself to meet them. He thought it was not good to appear here after they struck the deal.
"Why would you care? Moreover, they must get used to your appearance since this is no longer the Malecia Kingdom but the Tang Empire. They have to blend in with the beast and beastmen for the rest of their lives." Tang Shaoyang shrugged.
"Moreover, the Emperor comes to his new territory, so a grand entrance is needed." He tapped the neck once more and instructed the wyvern. "Go down, Aerelion."
The Infernal Wyvern followed his Master's order and came down. As soon as the twenty meters wyvern came into sight, he heard screams from the town. The guard on the wall alarmed the bell as they screamed. "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"
The archer pulled their bow and aimed at Aerelion until a voice stopped them from shooting the wyvern. "CEASE THE ATTACK! CEASE THE ATTACK! IT'S NOT AN ENEMY!" The guards paused their action as a man with silver plate armor rushed his way to the top of the wall, heading toward the wyvern.
The man knelt on the floor. "My name is Dorag, and I am the Commander Knight of Gunningham Town. May I know what your Excellency needs from our small town?"
Dorag listened to the Queen's decree that the Malecia Kingdom had surrendered to the Tang Empire, who had conquered the Lionax Kingdom and The Warmir Kingdom. The Queen told all the knights and commanders that the dragons were not their enemy anymore but allies. So once he heard the black dragon attack the town, he realized that the Tang Empire's representative was coming to their kingdom.
"I want to ask a direction to the capital." Tang Shaoyang was direct with his purpose. Dorag stood up and pointed toward the northeast. "Your Excellency just goes straight to the northeast. Your Excellency will arrive at Salamanca Capital after passing five cities."
"Thank you." After thanking the Commander Knight, Aerelion flew straight toward the northeast. If they followed the direction, the Capital was the sixth city to the northeast. With Aerelion's traveling speed, it took them around thirty minutes to pass the five cities. "Land to that fancy castle."
In the center of the Salamanca Capital, he saw a big palace with an inner wall. Without a doubt, that palace should be their destination, where the Queen and Ava were. Aerelion went down from the sky to the palace. The Infernal Wyvern's appearance caused an uproar to the people in the city as they thought the dragon was attacking the city.
Before landing in a big yard, Tang Shaoyang noticed something weird within the palace. For sure, the palace must be guarded tightly, but there were too many knights in the palace right now. He estimated there were roughly five to ten thousand knights, and he believed it was too many to guard the palace.
"We land directly to the main building." Tang Shaoyang pointed at the building where most of the knights gathered. The knights spread out, letting the Infernal Wyvern land in front of the main castle. When he hopped down from Aerelion, all the knights sheathed out their swords.
"What's the meaning of this? I am the Emperor of the Tang Empire, and this is how you welcome your new Ruler? With swords?" Tang Shaoyang did not bother to conceal the Slayer Aura and the Dragon Aura anymore. Once his aura went wild, all the knights took five steps back, giving a bigger room for Tang Shaoyang and Aerelion.
The knights exchanged glances as confusion spread out. They had heard about the issue of their Kingdom surrendering to an Empire. However, the situation was different as the nobles staged a revolt, not willing to submit to the Empire. That was the reason why the knights gathered in the palace area. They wanted to force the Queen to abdicate the throne.
Once they heard Tang Shaoyang's identity, the knights tightened the guard. Since Tang Shaoyang admitted that he was part of the Tang Empire, more reasons for them to let him pass into the main building. "I see, so the Malecia Kingdom changes their decision? So, you want a war against the Empire?"
Tang Shaoyang summoned Zara and Maldros, and the atmosphere completely changed once more. The angel and beastmen's appearance caused the knight to feel apprehensive. "Get ready to fight anytime. We will be wiping them out if they attack us first."
Zara licked her red lips and responded with a seducing smile. "Why don't we take the initiative and wipe them now? Watching the tournament just makes me want to fight as well."
At this moment, an old man passed through the knight's formation and rushed toward Tang Shaoyang. Of course, the old man was unarmed, and he wore the luxurious linen clothes that a noble would wear. He had a panic-stricken face as he warned the knight. "DON'T YOU DARE TO ATTACK UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR CITY TO BE RAZED BY THE DRAGON!"
The knights flinched when he heard the shout. This warning especially came from an influential figure of the Malecia Kingdom. Most of them knights lowered their swords by half, but they were still cautious, just in case they were suddenly attacked.
"Welcome to Salamanca Capital, Lord Tang Shaoyang." The Old Man knelt in front of Tang Shaoyang. He looked on the ground, did not dare to raise his head to look at his new ruler. Even though it was not official yet, the Malecia Kingdom had agreed to submit, and this event might ruin the kingdom if it angered The Tang Empire.
Tang Shaoyang recognized the old man. "So what's the meaning of this, Old Man?"
"I am ashamed of what happened with my kingdom, but The Malecia Kingdom still holds its commitment to surrender to the Tang Empire." The old man remained to kneel. "My name is Alex Stone, and we are currently talking it out with the opposition nobles. Can you give us more time to convince the opposition nobles?"
"I have given you enough time, and I will not give you more time." Tang Shaoyang was firm with his words. "I just want an answer, does the Malecia Kingdom agree to surrender or not? Give me the answer!"
Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump!
Alex Stone's heartbeat sped up as he felt the sharp aura directed toward him. It was just an aura, but it suffocated him. This shocked him, not because of how strong the aura was, but because the aura worked on him. He was Primordial Rank, and a mere aura affected him to this extent.
"Yes, My Lord. The Malecia Kingdom agrees to submit to the Tang Empire." That was a quick answer from Alex. "But can you give us more time to convince the opposition nobles?"
"Are you deaf or what? There's no more time for you or the opposition nobles. Since the Malecia Kingdom has submitted to me, what happened here is for the Empire to handle, not you." Tang Shaoyang took a step forward and looked down at the old man. "So, what are the opposition nobles trying to do? Are they trying to overrule the Empire's authority? If that is the case, then it's an act of treason, no?"
Alex Stone's body trembled when he heard the last part, the act of treason. If the opposition nobles labeled a rebellion, then there was only one fate waiting for them, the death penalty. That was the last thing he wanted to see. There was a momentary silence from Alex Stones before he replied to Tang Shaoyang.
"I am afraid there will be a backlash if you do that, My Lord." Alex Stones still lowered his head. "If you labeled them as the rebellion, I am afraid the others will follow their steps and fight the Empire. We can't underestimate their influence within the kingdom, My Lord."
"Oh, that's an interesting answer you have there, Alex." Tang Shaoyang grinned ear to ear.. "Is that your personal answer, or does it represent the Malecia Kingdom's stance? I will assume the Malecia Kingdom backs down on their words and decides to wage war against the Empire based on what you just said to me. Please make it clear, Alex! This will be the last time I ask you this, does the Malecia Kingdom surrender to the Empire, or are you going to fight the Empire?"