"But that's not the only reason I called all of you." He turned his attention to Ariel and Rapunzel, "I also have something to ask of you two."
Ariel puffed her chest in response, indicating that she's more than capable of doing whatever Henry asks her to do. While Rapunzel simply smiled with a nod of her head, happy to help her beloved.
"Considering that both Atlantis and Arendelle Kingdoms are near each other, I was hoping that you, Ariel, would help Elsa construct those walls. If I'm right, it would be faster to freeze water than create ice walls out of nothing. With your water powers, you could manipulate the ocean to create a wall of water for Elsa and her ice spirits to freeze in place."
However, Ariel scratches the back of her head, "I-I'm not sure if I'm capable of doing that on such a large scale. I haven't really been practicing with my powers."
"Then now is a good time to train them."
"But what about the merchant ships and those that are traveling to the western great lands? Umber Kingdom isn't the only place there you know?" Rapunzel spoke out with a slightly worried tone, she just remembered that one of Corona Kingdom's allies was from the land of the west, a small non-affiliated Kingdom.
Of course, Henry had long thought of this, "We leave only a single opening, a tight valley between two ice walls where only a single ship can pass through. Behind that said valley would be where Arendellian ships would be on standby."
Elsa instantly approved of the plan, if Umber Kingdom indeed waged war upon the central lands, she didn't want to be the only one holding them off herself, no matter how powerful she is, she's just a single person at the end of the day.
She added in, "I can make an outpost for them to stay in. But I might need those fire rune thingies you used back in Disneyland, I don't want them to freeze to death on their first day."
"Alright, just tell me when you need it."
Now that Henry had already stated Elsa's and Ariel's responsibilities for the upcoming war, all that's left is Rapunzel.
"There's no need to worry. I've already received the reports from my spies on the Agrabah Kingdom. Rest assured, I don't think they're planning to join this war anytime soon, so just simply reinforce your borders and be alert."
'Besides, I know what kind of Kingdom Agrabah is like, the sultan is peaceful for as long as his magic advisor isn't manipulating him yet, and my spies indicated that the Sultan is still right in the head.'
Rapunzel sighed in relief, she was a slight bit nervous about everything they've been discussing so far. This was her first time being in the center of a Great War and despite only having restored her status as Corona Kingdom's princess, she had already grown to care about them.
Only Ariel was giddy out of the three, "You know, I used to watch my father discuss with his close advisors like this whenever some old river deity turns aggressive and tries to eat up our borders. It's like I'm finally stepping in his fins."
Elsa watched her with a chuckle, "Calm your gills. I'm sure this Great War wouldn't be as great as the last one. They don't have people with powers like us, not to mention, we also have Henry here."
"Let's not be too overconfident now, Elsa. We never know when something unexpected suddenly comes to bite us in our arses. Let's stay cautious and proceed as planned. This upcoming war would be a great stepping stone to introduce our Federation to the entire world. If we win, more Kingdoms would flock to join us."
———
Several orders were quickly sent to different sides of the continent. For a whole day, Henry wrote non-stop. Once finished, each parchment was delivered to its respective outposts.
A few hours later, General Liam had departed with roughly 5,000 strong men to intercept the Vikings who were wiggling their way towards Lioncrest.
As of current, their army was housed by one of the central lands' kingdoms that allied with them, the Ironhold Kingdom. The first thing Henry did upon learning this was to write a letter to the said Kingdom, offering a chance to redeem themselves by surrendering the housed Vikings, in exchange for a trade and military alliance with them.
Normally, an offer like this would be like god sent from the heavens above, not all Kingdoms get to have both a trade and a military alliance with one of the Great Kingdoms.
But things have changed. Almost the entire continent now knows that the Lioncrest Kingdom is once again at the center of an upcoming great war.
Hence, Henry already knew full well what their answer would be. And that answer soon came when the reply came the next day in the morning along with a brutal gift.
A decapitated head of the messenger that was sent to deliver the message.
Henry calmly sat behind his desk as another but old General Knight read the reply in front of him. Surrounding him were his father's advisors, who now belonged to him, along with Master Elias.
"Take your blooddamn offer and shove it up your arse. That's everything that was written." General Darius could barely hold back his anger as he read the letter in his hand.
Henry simply held his hand in front of him, stopping him before he could say anything that would trigger the atmosphere in the room that was already on the verge of exploding.
"I think we all know the King of the Ironhold doesn't write like this. I assume that the chief leading those Vikings was the one who wrote the reply."
Henry tapped his finger on the table several times, the people of power around him were deep in their thoughts.
"Gentlemen. I believe we have misjudged the situation. Perhaps we weren't betrayed by Ironhold and Cinder Kingdoms as we initially believed. It seems to me, Thorgard has managed to hold them captive, either through blackmail or any other means."
Not only the advisors but even Master Elias were surprised by his accusation.
"Is there any particular reason you came up with that, Your Majesty?"
"Call it a gut feeling. As far as I know, I've never been once betrayed by my own instincts.
He then turned his attention to his Elias, "Master Elias, how far is the teleportation circle you have that is nearest to Ironhold Kingdom?"
Elias tightened his lip, "You're not planning to go there yourself, are you?"
"I am. I gave an order to General Liam to besiege their Kingdom. General Liam is already past halfway there, or maybe he has already arrived so there's no time to change the order. I'll simply settle it myself and then let General Liam and his army handle the rest."
To which Elias replied with a sigh, "10,000 Vikings, Henry. Are you sure you can handle that?"
"Why don't you try to see the outcome with your future sight?"
"You know I've long stopped relying on that magic spell weeks ago."
"Well then, you'll just have to wait for the good news." Henry stood up, prepared to leave.
Elias simply gave him a long stare and replied, "I have an obscured tower hidden in the plains directly beside Ironhold Kingdom's capital city. I'll teleport you there."
After that, the meeting ended. Advisors went back to doing whatever they've been doing previously while General Darius went to the barracks—as the only General Knight left, the entire military matter was left in his hands.
Meanwhile, Henry followed Elias back into his study, he also fetched Sunshine on his way up. Speaking of Sunshine, Henry had already mastered enchantments, and thanks to it, Sunshine is no longer just a sword made of fancy and expensive materials.
It is now worthy of being called a Magical Artifact. Among the enchantments, Henry categorized their uses into two categories.
First were the Necessary Enchantments. The Clean Enchantment makes sure the blade and hilt will always stay clean, so unlike a normal sword, even if Henry dropped Sunshine on muddy ground, it would come out squeaky clean.
Another Necessary Enchantment the Anti-Corrosion. Although the materials that were used to make it don't rust, corrosion is an entirely different matter, hence the Anti-Corrosion enchantment.
There's also another enchantment which Henry would declare to be the most useful one ever, is the Recall Enchantment. No matter the distance, the terrain between them, the sword will always return to Henry's hand as long as he wills it. Henry wanted to make it so it would avoid destroying things during a recall attempt but it's too much of a hassle to do that and besides, letting his sword destroy quite a few things just to go back is quite a bit funny.
Of course, it is also a nod to Thor's Mjolnir from Marvel. Henry always loved that function.
Last but not the least was also another nod to Thor's Mjolnir. The Ownership Enchantment. Its function is simple, no one other than Henry would be able to lift the sword. If other people attempt to, it would be impossibly heavy.
Yes, Henry didn't make it follow the Only The Worthy Can Lift rule. Mostly because this is a universe with several Disney films jumbled together and he knows very well how many characters are known as Worthy.
The next and last category was the Power Enchantments. These are the enchantments that push Sunshine beyond just a normal sword.
This is also the category with the most enchantments. Sharpen, Lightweight, Thrust, Power Strike, and many small ones.
The bigger ones on the other hand are those that consume his magic the most. First is the Indestructibility Enchantment, which is self-explanatory, makes the blade of the sword nearly impossible to break by any normal means.
Another big power enchantment is Photosynthesis, which is derived from his Sun's Blessing. What it does is simple, the more the blade is exposed to the sun, the more it empowers not just Sunshine but also Henry himself if he chooses to do so.
Another Enchantment is interconnected with the Photosynthesis Enchantment but leans more on the offensive side. In layman's terms, if the sword has absorbed enough Sunlight, Henry would be able to unleash a devastating beam of light that is nearly as hot as the sun himself.
Mind you, the absorbed sunlight doesn't fade away even under the shade. So if the blade has absorbed a certain amount of sunlight, it would stay that way for as long as Henry doesn't use it.
Thanks to these two Enchantments, Sunshine finally lives up to its name.
Henry planned to add a few more enchantments but that would be for another time. For now, however, these enchantments are enough for what's about to come.
"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you, Henry? You know, you're the first ever King who enters war all by himself."
Henry chuckled, "That's because most Kings need their Kingdom and armies to serve as their power. But I'm the exact opposite of that."
Henry glared at the distant land outside the window, "It's not the Kingdom that powers me, instead, it is me that powers the entire Kingdom."