The second kingdom, Terah kingdom, fell into chaos before noon.

Nobles crowded into the royal court while servants rushed desperately between chambers carrying reports that grew worse with every passing minute. Military commanders argued openly near the center hall while terrified attendants struggled to keep up with the flood of emergency summons.

Above all of it, Lilith’s voice still echoed faintly in everyone’s minds. The terrifying part was that no one in the room could forget how calm her tone had been while only carrying judgment upon humanity.

Terah kingdom king, Xender Terian, sat heavily upon the throne while one trembling noble finished reading the emergency reports out loud.

"The Gladia kingdom’s royal family remains missing. Their capital is under partial occupation by the dark elven Queen’s shadows. News has arrived that the dark elven imperial forces will arrive in a day or two. And all continental trade routes towards Gladia kingdom have been restricted."

Silence followed.

Then an older duke spoke quietly.

"We need to mobilize immediately."

Several heads turned. Another noble looked horrified at the suggestion.

"Against the dark elves?! Are you trying to doom us all?"

"If Gladia’s kingdom falls, we become next."

"No," someone else interrupted sharply. "If we interfere, we become next."

That ended the room’s momentum instantly because everyone understood the problem.

The elven Queen had not declared war on humanity but she had declared judgment upon a single kingdom accused of assassination.

Legally speaking, she was in the right.

Which meant that interfering on Gladia’s behalf could be interpreted as support for the attempted assassination of the future king of the dark elves. And, nobody wanted accusations.

The king finally spoke for the first time.

"... What of the treaty?"

The room quieted immediately.

That mattered most.

Centuries ago, after the continental wars nearly destroyed civilization itself, the races had signed the Great Continental Treaty.

No Species could invade another without justifiable cause acknowledged by the continental council.

If the dark elven kingdom attacked without reason, every human kingdom could unite lawfully against them, which wasn’t the case in this situation.

The dark elven kingdom had legitimate reasons to attack the kingdom. An assassination attempt. To make matters worse, the Gladia kingdom had fled instead of defending itself which had basically stamped the guilty charge on themselves.

With their presence, they could at least argue of not knowing that would happen but right now, they had lost all equal standing ground.

Terah King slowly rubbed his forehead.

"Idiots."

Nobody asked which side he meant because honestly, it applied to everyone.

A military commander stepped forward carefully.

"Your Majesty... should we offer support to Gladia?"

The king looked at him like he had gone insane.

"Support?"

"The dark elves are clearly preparing military escalation."

"And what exactly would you like me to say?" the king snapped," Congratulations on allegedly assassinating the future king of the strongest kingdom ruled by a psychopathic maniac? You want to kill us all!"

Silence settled in the room. The kingdom did not fear war, they were second to Gladia in military what they feared was her.

The queen was not just another monarch. She was the strongest dark elf born in centuries. Her cruel feats were used as bedtime stories for unruly children.

Well, the stories were about to come to life again. The last fifty years had been so peaceful that they all basically forgot the horror. They had also hoped marriage had mellowed her but they hoped wrong.

She was a woman who had singlehandedly inherited the throne through overwhelming magical supremacy and force before she was even fully grown. Sitting on a throne with a two-digit age was simply unheard of in the elven species as a whole.

And now she had married a man who had just conquered the annual hunting competition so completely that rivals were left in the dust.

All humanity had bet on Igrad since he was their rising star but what they got was the tragedy looming over them in exchange.

These were two monsters sitting on one throne and someone had apparently tried to assassinate one of them.

The king exhaled slowly.

"Close our borders... Send observers to Gladia. "

"Yes, your majesty."

"And find the missing royal family before she does."

That command made the room colder somehow because everyone knew the truth. If the Queen found them first... 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

There would be no negotiations left.

.

.

.

The third human kingdom, Titam kingdom, reacted differently. Much more differently since this would not be the first time they had faced near extinction from the dark elven Queen.

Unlike the military-heavy Terah kingdom, the east valued knowledge, diplomacy, and commerce above all else.

Which meant panic spread even faster there.

The imperial broadcast had interrupted an international trade summit directly. One moment merchants were discussing shipping tariffs and the next, the sky itself carried Lilith’s voice announcing possible annihilation.

Now emergency meetings filled the crystalline palace halls while scholars and nobles argued around enormous maps of the continent.

"Why is this happening to us again," someone whispered but it was loud enough for most to hear.

No one reacted to that.

"The treaty still stands," one minister insisted desperately.

"Technically."

"That word is doing dangerous work."

An elderly head manipulator adjusted his glasses slowly.

"She gave an ultimatum instead of attacking directly."

The room quieted because that detail mattered more than anything else. Lilith should have invaded immediately she had every reason to.

Instead, she had given them seven days.

A minister frowned.

"Why?"

The manipulator’s expression darkened slightly.

"Because now the burden falls upon humanity."

Realization spread slowly through the room.

If the other kingdoms ignored the situation and Gladia kingdom suffered destruction afterward, then responsibility would partially belong to them as well.

The queen had shifted the political weight perfectly. This showed how things had been cleverly planned and the cruelty behind it all.

One noble whispered quietly,

"She’s forcing us to hand them over ourselves."

"Yes," the Manipulator replied. "And if we refuse..." His eyes lifted toward the glowing map of Gladia kingdom. "...then she gains justification."