Upon entering the meeting room, he glanced around with a frown.
Ahead of him were roughly ten Elders, and most of them had missing limbs.
It was completely different from the scene before, where more than twenty Elders were seated at the table with all sorts of expressions on their faces, their hearts filled with all sorts of schemes.
Arthur's gaze moved from the Elders and landed on the table.
On it sat a head...
The head of Mordred Pendragon!
Arthur widened his eyes in shock, then, soon coming to a realization, his body trembled with rage and anger.
Calming himself after a few minutes, he put on a composed exterior and walked to the head seat before sitting down.
He glanced down at the group of Elders in front of him and noticed their weary expressions.
The air around the whole meeting room was filled with gloom.
Arthur racked his brain on what to say next, not knowing how to console the Elders.
After some silence of nothing coming to mind, he finally smiled and spoke, "Elders, this is a minor setback, and I believe the Pendragon family will definitely rise back to the top."
Arthur's words lit a light inside them, yet they already knew this much...
One of the Elders sighed and said, "We know that, Your Highness. But we have a few resources which will definitely be swallowed up by the other noble houses as soon as the opportunity presents itself, and what better time to do so than now?"
Arthur thought his words made sense, frowning deeply before replying evenly, "That is also a minor setback as well; it's not something we can't deal with. We just have to look for a way to overcome the crisis."
The Elders now looked at Arthur in a new light, noticing how he was not only trying to lighten their moods but trying to soothe them with the thought that the Pendragon family wasn't destined for destruction.
The Elders all sighed simultaneously. Then, finally, one of the Elders spoke up, "Actually, Your Highness, the issue is resolvable…"
"Huh?" Arthur was stunned, "It is?"
Although he was comforting the Elders, internally Arthur was already planning on how to escape.
There was no need to endanger his life for just a simple noble capital, as it would bring him no benefit and might even lead to his death.
The Elder who had spoken up, Luke, an old man with a lightly trimmed black beard, continued, "I don't think the other noble families will dare attack us if you enroll in the prestigious Sentient Academy."
"Sentient Academy?" Arthur said grimly.
The Elder nodded, and a few other Elders widened their eyes in realization.
A female Elder couldn't help but grin as she spoke like an excited child.
"That's right, by enrolling in the Sentient Academy, you will be under the protection of the Federation, and so will the Pendragon family!"
Although her words sounded reasonable, a frown still formed on Arthur's face.
Of course, he had heard of the Sentient Academy. Who hadn't?
It was practically the most prestigious Academy in the whole of the United States.
All sorts of players from around the United States came to the entrance test just to enroll in the Academy.
The test was extremely strict, and unless one passed the test, there was no other way to enter the Academy.
Many thoughts passed through Arthur's mind as he pondered on whether he would be accepted into the Academy with just his 'Level 1'.
After all, although the Knight level had drastically increased, he realized he was still stuck at 'Level 1' no matter what he tried.
Arthur glanced at the Elders, and they could also see the worry in his eyes, their faces betraying their emotions.
The Elder who had spoken before, Luke, understood Arthur's line of thought and immediately stated:
"Your Highness, you don't have to worry much about the test. I heard that they only test one's strength, and with the abilities of your summon, it shouldn't be a problem for you to pass the test."
Arthur finally nodded.
If that was the case, then he didn't have anything to worry about, or at least he hoped so.
"Thank you for the suggestion. In the meantime, I will have to leave the Pendragon family in the care of the Elders."
Arthur knew that this was also his chance to win the hearts of these Elders and prove to them that he was a worthy king.
That he was Arthur Pendragon!
Whether he was a summoner or not, who was to say a summoner couldn't dominate the world?
Arthur glanced at all the Elders, noting that they had nothing much to discuss.
He stood up, and immediately he did, the Elders stood up as well.
"The meeting for now is concluded. If there is anything else, you may inform me about it, and I will personally see to it that it is handled. However, I won't be around for long."
Noticing the Elders' puzzlement, Arthur continued, "I plan to head to the remaining E-rank dungeons in the family and clear them alone before finally departing for the entrance examination to the Sentient Academy."
The Elders finally understood, bowing politely as Arthur left.
…
Arthur entered his room and immediately began meditation to recover his Mana.
During the battle with the Undeads, he had almost completely drained his Mana, bringing it to a pitiful single digit.
Now...
Blue and white strands of Mana in the surroundings swirled towards him, causing a soft, warm, blue glow to form on his body.
He enjoyed the warmth of the Mana as he silently inhaled the mana into his body, the process taking a long while.
After more than a few hours went by and the sun was completely standing still in the sky with no signs of going down the horizon or being covered by clouds, Arthur finally opened his eyes, feeling his Mana had recovered.
'Time to go and clear another dungeon!' Arthur rubbed his bald head in excitement, then quickly waved his hand lightly into the air.
Immediately a dreadful aura permeated through the surroundings as a black, abyss-like portal materialized in his room.
From within it stepped the towering Golden Knight, Titan.
Patting the Golden Knight, Arthur chuckled, "Come, let's head to a dungeon, Titan. Who knows? I might just get lucky and obtain a Celestial Stone."
...
A/N: Sorry the chapter is later than the usual time. Please drop a power stone or 2, thank you.