It had been seven days since William tried to ambush the Elven Army in the mountainous regions of the Zelan Dynasty.
Due to the possibility of another ambush, the Elves sped up their journey and arrived near the border of the Hellan Kingdom. It would only take them two more days to reach the Azure Fortress if they continued their quickened pace, but Elandorr decided to let the army rest for the time being.
The following day, those with flying mounts advanced ahead accompanied by the Qilin, Eneru. They would secure the Azure Fortress and prepare for the arrival of the main army.
Meanwhile in the Capital City of Gladiolus…
Prince Ernest wiped the sweat off his forehead out of exhaustion. He had successfully disabled all the Teleportation Gates of the Hellan Kingdom, except for strategic ones that would allow The Organization to carry out their missions in secret.
As the Young Prince stepped out of the control room of the palace, he immediately saw Brendan, who was there waiting for him.
“Excellent work, Your Highness,” Brendan said as he gave the Young Prince a clean hand towel. “I have also prepared refreshments in the next room. Please, rest there for the time being.”
“Thank you, Brendan,” Prince Ernest replied.
The Son of the Prime Minister bowed his head as he moved to the side to open the door. Ever since Prince Ernest had arrived at the capital, Brendan had been assigned to take care of his every need.
So far, Prince Ernest had no complaints about his work ethic and was even pleasantly surprised because he didn’t expect that Brendan could be a very capable retainer.
“Is there any news from Sir Conner?” Prince Ernest asked.
The Young Prince understood that now was not the time for infighting, so he decided to compromise with the Deus and cooperate with them to defend his Kingdom. Even so, that didn’t mean that Prince Ernest didn’t have any misgivings about this cooperation.
“According to the news, the vanguard of the Elven Army has arrived at Azure Fortress,” Brendan reported. “As to what Sir Conner has in mind, I have no idea, Your Highness. He doesn’t tell me anything aside from the things that I need to know.”
Prince Ernest nodded. He also understood that the Leader of Deus really didn’t need to share his plans with anyone, but he hoped that he would be briefed about how Conner planned to defend the capital against the Elven Invasion.
——
“So, they finally arrived,” Conner looked at the map of the Hellan Kingdom in front of him. Right beside him were five other people, who were waiting for his instructions.
Calum, his right hand man.
Floyd, the scholar responsible for the Super Soldier Project.
A middle-aged man with short blonde hair and blue eyes. His name was Alfred, and he was The Organization’s Sword Saint, and would be responsible for leading their members to battle.
The two remaining people in the room were the two Archmages who were loyal to Conner. These men were the highest ranking officers of Deus in the Southern Continent and they had gathered to finalize the plan they had for the Elven Army that had officially set foot in the territory of the Hellan Kingdom.
“Were you able to do it in time, Floyd?” Conner inquired.
Floyd nodded his head and even gave Conner a sheepish smile. “We barely made it out before the Elven Vanguard arrived, but thanks to the Teleportation Gate, we were able to return to the capital city safe and sound.”
“How long before it takes effect?”
“A few days. But, I think it will have already reached maturity by the time they arrive here in Gladiolus.”
Conner smirked. He had long been waiting for an opportunity to make the Elves suffer, and William had bought him enough time to put his plans into action.
“What about the other cities along the way?” Conner asked. “Did you manage to administer it?”
“Naturally,” Floyd replied. “This goes without saying. Just who do you think I am?”
The two Archamages inside the room chuckled when they heard Floyd’s arrogant reply. The scholar had always had an attitude and regardless of who he was talking to, he acted as if he was just talking to a commoner.
Conner, Calum, and the two Archamages were now used to Floyd’s antics, so they turned a blind eye to his attitude.
“How about the Altars? Are they ready?” Conner asked while facing the two Archmages.
Both Archmages nodded at the same time.
“For a simple spell of this caliber, we didn’t need many offerings,” one of the Archmages replied. “The souls we didn’t use last time are more than enough to activate the spell you had in mind.”
Conner nodded. “Good. This is the first time we’re going to do this, but I am quite confident that we will see great results.”
The Leader of Deus then looked at the Sword Saint who had his arms crossed over his chest.
“Alfred, are the men ready?”
“As ready as they’ll ever be. However, I don’t think they can do anything against that Pseudo-Demigod.”
The existence of Drauum made things difficult for The Organization. They were not afraid of Eneru, and the new addition to their ranks, Ezkalor. However, Drauum remained a great threat to the plans they had in mind.
Conner frowned, “You don’t need to worry about Drauum. I will handle it if it makes a move. We just need to land a decisive blow on the Elves to break their morale. As long as we do that, we will be able to control the pace of the battle.”
The people in the room nodded their heads.
“What about that boy, William?” Floyd asked. “Are you sure he will arrive on time, bringing reinforcements with him?”
Floyd’s body unconsciously shuddered when he remembered the events that had happened in Lont. Although his men returned to his side, as per William’s agreement with Conner, all of them seemed to be very different from how they used to be.
This is especially true for the triplets who had the unique ability to merge with the Earth. They seemed to be more reserved, and only talked when someone asked them a question.
“I don’t know if he will arrive in time or not,” Conner admitted. “However, if he arrives late, the only thing that he will see is a city in ruins.”
Conner had already had a proper talk with Prince Ernest about what they would do as a last resort. Although both of them didn’t want to do it, they both agreed that this would ultimately lead to the Elves’ annihilation.
“According to my estimate, they will arrive at the capital in ten days,” Conner stated. “Of course, if a certain Qilin decides to attack us on its own then we will have no choice but to put it in its place. I doubt Eneru will be that stupid to face us on his ow–“
A hateful roar reverberated in the air followed by a powerful explosion. The men in the conference room exchanged glances before hurrying to leave the room.
A few minutes later, Conner stood outside the palace as he stared at the Qilin who was currently fighting against a Taotie. The two Beasts wrestled in the air vying for supremacy.
Conner sneered because he didn’t expect that Eneru would be stupid and arrogant enough to dare to challenge him on its own. What he didn’t know was that Eneru was merely scouting ahead and checking the defenses of the Hellan Capital.
Also, he wanted to know if the irritating Half-Elf was present in the city. He had made a blood oath against William and he was keen on ripping him to shreds. However, before he could even call out the boy’s name, Jekyll had appeared out of nowhere and engaged it in combat.
If it was the usual Eneru, he would have definitely chosen to flee and regroup with Drauum and Ezkalor. However, right now, he was so blinded by rage that he decided to vent out some of his anger on Jekyll.
The two Myriad Beasts fought tooth and nail in order to kill each other. While this was happening, Conner was already making his arrangements on the ground. Although he expected that there was a chance for Eneru to appear, he didn’t expect that the arrogant Qilin would really arrive to serve himself up on a silver platter.
