"We are truly grateful!" With the familiars destroyed, many rescued citizens knelt respectfully before the Dawn Empire's knights.
Without them, they could not have survived.
And after seeing Takeru and the empire's knights in action, some people were even more determined to go to the Dawn Empire to become citizens.
"Forgive me for being presumptuous. This is where the Sword Hero is, isn't it?" Soon, a woman in a gray cloak came to the front of the convoy.
However, blocked by the many knights, she could only stand at the periphery.
"What business do you have with Takeru-sama?" Hearing her words, Esdeath looked at her calmly. But because of Esdeath's assertiveness, even just looking at someone could give them a huge sense of pressure.
However, although the woman was surprised by Esdeath's strength, she remained relatively calm.
"I came to ask the Sword Hero to kill me." Hearing Esdeath's words, the woman said something that stunned Esdeath.
But as her words fell, everyone felt a special gravity and pressure. However, the knights, already accustomed to enduring gravity, though surprised, didn't panic too much.
They quickly adjusted their state.
Just as Esdeath was on guard, the woman disappeared from the spot, and the gravity seemed to disappear instantly.
"Takeru!" Seeing this, Beatrice in the carriage directly looked at Takeru beside her. She could sense the spatial fluctuation.
"Don't mind it. She'll come out again." Hearing her words, Takeru shook his head gently.
"Your Majesty Sword Hero, the kings of the other countries are already waiting over there. Please move to the central council chamber. The other knights' accommodation has also been arranged." Seeing Takeru and the others deal with the familiars, the knight captain again invited Takeru and the others to the meeting area.
But the meeting wouldn't happen right away.
Besides the Dawn Empire, countries farther away hadn't arrived yet. But they would arrive around evening. The meeting would be held tomorrow morning.
And because the Spirit Tortoise had stopped moving, they had about two or three days to discuss countermeasures.
For now, Takeru and the others could rest. Takeru and the others were arranged to stay in a relatively luxurious inn.
But compared to the hotels in the royal capital, it wasn't comparable at all, nor could it match the villas Takeru usually built.
Although the conditions were somewhat poor, it was the most luxurious inn in this city.
Besides Takeru and the others, leaders from other countries were also staying here. After briefly sensing the people from other countries, Takeru didn't pay much attention. No one caught Takeru's interest.
However, with Takeru's arrival, many leaders from other countries came to greet him. Everyone was surprised by Takeru, not expecting a Hero to be able to seize a country.
Most importantly, being able to tame Mirellia and have her willingly assist him was a level of method and boldness they simply couldn't imagine.
But seeing Takeru wasn't interested in talking with them much for now, they wisely took their leave.
Returning to the room, Filo jumped directly onto the large bed and stretched.
"Filo, that's very rude!" Seeing Filo's actions, Raphtalia instinctively spoke.
"Hee hee, Master doesn't mind!" Hearing Raphtalia's words, Filo didn't mind. She sat up and took some snacks from her item bar, putting them in her mouth to eat.
Since getting her item bar, Filo had been very excited. She had Takeru help her make many boxes to hold food. Then, she picked a lot of delicious food from Takeru's portable space and stored them in her item bar for easy snacking.
"Good grief." Seeing Filo's unperturbed demeanor, Raphtalia sighed.
"Alright, Raphtalia, don't be so nervous. Being too restrained won't make Takeru-sama happy either." Seeing Raphtalia's expression, Rifana advised her from the side.
Hearing Rifana's words, Raphtalia was stunned. Takeru smiled at her.
"Takeru, should we go hunt the Spirit Tortoise directly?" Then, Beatrice sat on a chair, looking at Takeru curiously.
"No need to be so rushed. There's still enough time. We'll go tomorrow. There's an interesting meeting tomorrow morning." Hearing Beatrice's words, Takeru shook his head with a light laugh.
Hearing this, everyone nodded, not refusing Takeru's suggestion.
Soon, they took everyone into the portable space to rest for a while. When the time was about right, Takeru brought everyone back outside.
The night passed without incident. When the sun rose the next day, several knights came to invite Takeru and the others to the meeting.
Takeru directly took Emilia and Mirellia to the council chamber. The leaders of the other kingdoms basically brought one attendant each.
Besides Takeru, Naofumi and Emilie, who had also arrived, were invited.
"Now, let's first confirm the current situation." Sitting in the meeting room, one of the kingdom's leaders spoke.
"After the Spirit Tortoise destroyed the capital, it advanced towards this border city and then stopped moving. If the legend is accurate, the Spirit Tortoise should stay for two or three days." The person in charge from the Tortoise Kingdom quickly reported the situation to everyone.
"It destroyed this country's capital, took the lives of the royal family and many citizens, and then started taking a nap. How despicable!" Another leader spoke with indignation.
"According to legend, the Spirit Tortoise specifically attacks densely populated areas. Its next target is probably Rosilote. This city is likely on its path." Soon, Mirellia, standing behind Takeru, quickly spoke.
She was once a ruler of a country, and everyone had interacted with her not long ago, so they were still quite familiar with her.
So, although Mirellia had lost her position as queen, everyone still showed her some respect. Naturally, they wouldn't ignore her input.
"If that's the case, with so many troops gathered here, the Spirit Tortoise probably won't ignore it." Hearing this, another leader spoke.
"None of this matters. Compared to that, how to deal with the Spirit Tortoise is the real point, right?" Looking at everyone's discussion, Takeru interrupted the meaningless conversation with narrowed eyes.
"With the brave knights and soldiers from various countries gathered here, as long as we launch a full-scale assault, we can easily deal with it." Hearing Takeru's words, a relatively strong-looking leader stood up and spoke confidently.
"Exactly."
"There's no need for the Four Saint Heroes' help either." The other two countries that came to support echoed.
Hearing their words, Takeru just looked at these national leaders with contempt and didn't speak immediately.
"It's impossible. Our soldiers are also ready to die. But no matter how many thousands or tens of thousands of people attack, we couldn't stop that moving fortress. It's impossible to crush that spirit beast by force. We earnestly ask the Four Saint Heroes for help." Looking at everyone's discussion, the Tortoise Kingdom's general quickly spoke.
Having truly clashed with the Spirit Tortoise, he keenly felt that numbers truly didn't matter much.
After all, they couldn't even break the Spirit Tortoise's defense. No matter how many people went, besides feeding it, it was meaningless.
"If I may be frank, if the soldiers of the countries here were to fight the Spirit Tortoise, besides in vain sacrificing soldiers' lives and offering souls, it would be completely useless. I think the Tortoise Kingdom, which has fought the Spirit Tortoise countless times, understands this best."
"And my purpose in coming to this meeting today is not to discuss how to join forces to kill the Spirit Tortoise, but simply to take this opportunity to tell you that I will take care of the Spirit Tortoise, including its corpse, which I will take solely."
"Besides that, the last point is a warning to you all. The Dawn Empire is a country I established. I will not actively attack others, but if another country wants to be an enemy of the Dawn Empire, they can weigh carefully. The Dawn Empire will not go easy on its enemies." Looking at everyone, Takeru spoke arrogantly.
Hearing Takeru's arrogant words and feeling the terrifying pressure he exuded, the national leaders were stunned in place.
Although some were unhappy, feeling Takeru's terrifying oppression, they couldn't say anything for a moment.
Seeing Takeru's arrogant and domineering demeanor, Mirellia behind him felt a bit helpless. But she would neither refute nor deny Takeru's words.
Since Takeru said so, it meant he could defeat the Spirit Tortoise. And she would obey all of Takeru's commands.