While the two Guardians of the Silvermoon Continent were busy pursuing Jekyll, the Elven Defenders were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. The healers tended to the wounded and those that had suffered from Celine’s Dark Magic, while the rest used Earth Magic to stabilize their surroundings.
The Cavern had received serious damage and they didn’t want it to collapse any time soon.
One Blademaster and One Archmage left the defenders to check on what was happening above ground, leaving the rest to defend their teleportation gate.
Five minutes later, one of the injured Elves glanced around her surroundings because her sensitive hearing had caught something.
“What’s wrong?” the Elven Cleric tending her asked because he noticed that something was amiss.
“Can you hear it?” the injured Elf inquired because the sound that she heard a while ago was getting stronger. “I hear some kind of chirping sounds.”
Some of the Elves who overheard their conversation quieted down and listened to their surroundings. Soon, their eyes all moved in a certain direction and that place was…
The ground under their feet suddenly shifted and a wide mandible jutted out of the ground.
Cries of alarm echoed within the cavern walls as several Warrior Ants emerged from the ground right under the Elven Defenders.
Four Giant Golden Ants of the Millennial Rank rampaged and headed towards the Teleportation Gate. Riding behind them were three Sword Saints and one Archmage.
“The Kraetor Empire!” The Elven Archmage cast a defensive spell to protect himself, but he was a second too late.
His head slid to the side as a transparent blade took his life in less than a second.
The Elven Blademaster knew that he couldn’t possibly handle the attacks of three Sword Saints at once, so he immediately used the teleportation scroll in his possession.
Seeing that their only opponent had decided to flee, the Sword Saints of the Kraetor Empire ignored the young Elves and immediately attacked the Teleport Gate. The gate was instantly demolished due to their powerful attacks.
The Sword Saints didn’t take any chances and used a storage ring to take all of the broken pieces for safe keeping. When all the destroyed pieces were gathered, they turned their attention to the young Elves who were currently being thrashed by the Warrior Ants that completely outnumbered them.
The Sword Saints exchanged glances with each other before nodding at the same time. They then moved in to knock as many of the young Elves unconscious as fast as they could.
It didn’t even take five minutes before all the Elves had been subdued and the Warriors Ants carried them down into the tunnel that they had created beforehand.
They made a hasty retreat because they knew that the Qilin and the Earth Golem could return at any moment.
Fortunately, Jekyll had lured them far enough away from the location of the Teleport Gate that neither Guardian Beast had any idea that someone had delivered the Coup De Grace, while they were busy pursuing the Taotie.
—–
Empress Sidonie nodded in satisfaction when she saw that the operation had been a complete success. William was not the only one who was worried about the Elven Reinforcements that would come to aid their vanguards in the Southern Continent.
The Officers of the Kraetor Empire had held several meetings on how to effectively deal with the Teleportation Gates that the Elves were constructing.
Due to the Ant Queen’s countless eyes observing the Zelan Dynasty, Sidonie was able to come up with a daring plan that would catch the Elves by surprise.
She had ordered the ants to start making a tunnel that extended from the border of the Anaesha Dynasty up to the Northern Regions of the Zelan Dynasty, where their Teleportation Gate was being constructed.
She already knew how many defenders were protecting the gate, so she prepared an army that numbered in the hundreds of thousands. It was supposed to be a blitzkrieg operation that would focus more on destroying the gate, using the Ants as cannon fodders.
The Three Saints and One Archmage were there to ensure that things would proceed according to plan. Empress Sidonie knew that no matter how strong the Ants were, a Human’s mind was more complex and capable of making quick decisions at a moment’s notice.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty,” Prince Jason said with a smile. “With this, the Elves will not be able to create a force that can threaten us.”
The Prince was standing several meters away from Empress Sidonie because he was afraid that he would not be able to resist her charm, even if he was wearing a set of charm resistant artifacts.
“It is too early to celebrate,” Empress Sidonie replied. “The Qilin and Ancient Golem are not pushovers. If my hunch is correct, these two Beasts will launch an attack on our own Teleportation Gate to even out the playing field.”
Prince Jason smiled as he eyed the beautiful Empress. “That may be true, but I’m sure that Her Majesty had already thought of a plan to counter them, yes?”
“I alone will not be able to defeat those two powerful Beasts, especially the Ancient Golem that is close to being a Demigod,” Empress Sidonie smiled. “Fortunately, the Kraetor Empire has their own Guardian Beasts that could match them in battle. If they are not here then the Elves will still be able to conquer the Southern Continent with the aid of their two powerful protectors.”
Prince Jason nodded. Just like the Elves, their Empire had already made enough preparations. They were not afraid of the Ancient Golem because they, too, had their own Guardian Beast that was just as strong as Drauum.
“What do you think they will do next?” Jason inquired. “Will they continue their plan to conquer more lands after this incident?”
Empress Sidonie giggled and it made the hearts of those present in the throne room skip a beat. Prince Jason was one of them and he silently cursed himself for not being strong enough to resist her allure.
“With the current situation, the Elves are clearly at a disadvantage,” Empress Sidonie said as she leaned her back on the throne. “They have two options. One is to attack us, and the other is to send an ambassador to negotiate.”
Empress Sidonie smiled before continuing her explanation. “If they decide to attack us then they would just be cornering themselves. They can’t afford to resist the combined attack of the Kraetor Empire, as well as the forces of the Hellan Kingdom. I’m sure they will do their best to negotiate a compromise, even if they had to pay us a heavy compensation.”
Prince Jason crossed his arms over his chest because he agreed with Sidonie’s reasoning. An Elven attack would lead to the Elves’ downfall, so they wouldn’t choose that option no matter what. His only concern was due to the fact that the beautiful Empress seemed to have no wish to unite the Southern Lands under her banner.
“Your Majesty, can you please tell me what you plan to do?”
“Me? I want to play it Big.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” Jason inquired.
Empress Sidonie rested the side of her face on her palm as she eyed the handsome Prince from the Kraetor Empire.
“One month,” Empress Sidonie said softly. “If the Elves don’t initiate talks with us after one month… we will move in to invade them.”
Prince Jason frowned. Their own Teleport Gate would be completed in two weeks and once that happened, the mighty army of the Kraetor Empire would step foot on foreign lands.
If Empress Sidonie willed it, this army would march forth and conquer the entire Southern Continent unimpeded.
Since that was not the case, Prince Jason couldn’t find a reason as to why they should sit down and listen to the compromise of the Elves.
If he had the final say, he would immediately declare war and launch an all out attack on the capital of the Zelan Dynasty, before dealing with the Hellan Kingdom, who was currently the weakest faction among the three.
“Your Majesty, what is your goal?” Prince Jason inquired. He no longer asked what Sidonie’s plan was, but her goal instead.
< Hehe. You can ask as much as you want, but you’re not getting an answer oh~ >
Morgana teased the handsome prince from within Empress Sidonie’s Sea of Consciousness. She knew that Prince Jason would definitely lose his marbles if he discovered what her other half wanted the most.
Empress Sidonie chuckled internally as she met Prince Jason’s inquiring gaze.
“I will only say it once, so you’d better listen carefully,” Empress Sidonie said in a firm manner. “What I want is Absolute Conquest. A move to conquer everything, including the body, heart, and soul. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Morgana laughed because she had already anticipated this answer from Sidonie. She even praised her other half for her ingenuity in the choice of her words.
Prince Jason sighed in his heart because if what Sidonie wanted was Absolute Conquest then it matched the Kraetor Empire’s interest. If he only knew that what the beautiful Empress wanted to conquer were not the lands of the Southern Continent, but the heart of a narcissistic Half-Elf then the handsome Prince would definitely do everything in his power to erase William from the face of the Earth.
