Chapter 623: Landon’s Observations – Part 1

I bet if it was Lucas here, he would be allowed to give his opinion, Landon mused to himself, a tiny smirk appearing on his face as he thought about his strange little friend from the Rockwell Kingdom.

Truth be told, Landon was feeling a bit conflicted at the moment.

His mother and grandfather might currently be the leaders of the anti-war faction, but since he was born, both they, and everyone else for that matter, had instilled the notion of conquering the Rockwell Kingdom into him as the ultimate goal of the Darr Kingdom.

Up until recently, Landon had never had a reason to question that goal; in fact, he had wholeheartedly embraced it, but after spending time with Lucas, Eris, Christina, and all the others from the Rockwell Kingdom, he wasn’t so certain of himself anymore.

On the one hand, Landon actually thought engaging in a serious battle with them would be interesting, but on the other hand, the idea of fighting to the death with people he considered some of his closest friends was more than a little off-putting.

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be an easy solution to this issue, not that his personal feelings would be allowed to influence the direction of the Darr Kingdom.

"Son."

"Hm?" Landon’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted, causing him to look up to find his mother standing in front of him.

Quickly standing up, the young prince bowed his head slightly, "Forgive me, Mother. I was... lost in thought."

"I can see that," Talia raised her brow slightly as she studied her son’s face.

She had always been very proud of Landon, both because of his raw talent and also because of his serious attitude, but even from her perspective, he seemed more mature than a few months ago.

Seems traveling to the Rockwell Kingdom and experiencing real combat have been good for him, Talia thought to herself before motioning to him, "The meeting is over. Follow me."

Nodding, Landon didn’t ask any questions and simply did as he was told.

If his mother wanted him to come with her instead of just letting him leave, she must have an important reason.

Sure enough, a quarter-hour later, Landon found himself face-to-face with his grandfather, King Darian, in the latter’s private cultivation chamber.

Only two other people were present, his mother, Crown Princess Talia Darr, and Minister of War, General Gino Tabor.

Once the doors were sealed, and the privacy Spirit Arrays activated to ensure no one could possibly listen in on what was about to be discussed, Darian dropped the regal act, leaned back on the bench he was sitting on, and smirked, "So, little brat, tell us what you really think."

"About what?" Landon asked plainly, having gotten used to his side of his grandfather a long time ago.

"About everything," Darian shrugged casually, "I want to know what your honest opinion of the two kingdoms is, as well as our chances of winning in a war with them."

"But I just..." Landon started, but was cut off by his mother.

"You reported the facts you were able to confirm," Talia commented, her eyes narrowing slightly as she continued, "But that doesn’t tell us the whole story, and you know it."

General Tabor didn’t say anything, but the look on his face said everything Landon needed to know this giant of a man also wanted to hear what his real thoughts were.

Knitting his brow slightly, Landon took a moment to think before letting out a sigh. He knew what he was about to say would not be taken well by the people gathered in this room, but at least they would listen to his words.

If he had tried to give his unvarnished opinion back in the Royal Council Chamber, he would have swiftly been shouted down by the Noble Faction, not that he hadn’t been accused of cowardice anyways.

None of the 3 adults in the room rushed the boy, all of them simply waiting for him to speak his mind.

It took a minute, but Landon eventually resolved himself and declared, "If war is truly unavoidable, then we should gather our forces and attack as soon as we are able to. Today, if that were possible."

"Oh?" King Darian raised his brow slightly, "Not even the most aggressive of those damn nobles would suggest such a thing."

"No, I doubt they would," Landon shook his head.

"So," Talia asked, "Why are you suddenly so eager to go to war, son?"

Being referred to as ’son’ here signaled to Landon that his mother wasn’t asking for his strategic analysis as a prince, but for his personal reasons.

Knowing this, Landon took a deep breath and spoke his true thoughts, "We will never have a better chance of defeating the Rockwell Kingdom and seizing part of their territory than we do now. Never."

The heavy emphasis Landon was putting on his words, and the certainty with which he was speaking, got everyone’s attention, especially General Tabor who finally decided to join the conversation with his trademark frugality of words, "Why?"

"Because..." Landon began, before he paused, not quite sure how to explain himself.

At fist, he couldn’t find the right way to express his thoughts on the matter, because it wasn’t something rational, it was much more a gut feeling, something instinctual that no words could describe.

Finding himself at a loss, Landon tried thinking back on everything he had seen during his extended stay in Misty City.

What came to mind immediately was his interactions with three youths.

All the seemingly random things he and Lucas had talked about.

All the experiences he had together with Eris at her Rising Phoenix Guild.

The life-and-death battle he had fought together with Christina.

That wasn’t all, however. Landon also recalled the training he did together with Timothy, the talks he had with Danika, even the games he had played with Toby and Mabel.

Suddenly, it came to him, and he unconsciously muttered, "It’s their next generation."

"Hm?" Talia tilted her head slightly, "You mentioned this before, Landon. Right after that very strange 16th birthday banquet. Something about the Rockwell Kingdom’s current younger generation being special."

Lifting his head, Landon actually let out a small chuckle before shaking his head, "Special doesn’t even begin to describe it."

"Go on," King Darian urged with great interest.

Glancing around at the adults in the room together with him, Landon explained, "Each of you has a rival, or someone you can consider your equal in the Rockwell Kingdom, yes?"

Darian, Talia, and Gino all nodded as that was indeed the case.

As a matter of fact, each of them could name several individuals from the Rockwell Kingdom who, for lack of a better descriptor, was their ’equivalent’, someone who was either strong enough, smart enough, or crafty enough to serve as their match.

Seeing this unanimous response, Landon hypothesized, "I imagine that, more than anything else, it is the relative parity between the leaders of the two kingdoms that has resulted in stalemates in all of our previous wars."

"That, and our near equal military strength," Gino nodded, feeling no shame in admitting this as it was simply the obvious reality.

Whether it was in terms of the number of soldiers, their equipment, their training, or the logistical support behind them, neither the Rockwell nor Darr Kingdom had any kind of decisive advantage.

"En," Landon nodded, before his voice dropped and a sense of solemnity mixed with a bit of helplessness crept into his tone, "That will not be the case when it is my generation’s turn to take over."