On the other side of Prasinos…
The Pope and Rachana had already boarded the ship to go to the Seirende Continent. With them were several of the 'temple servants' accompanying them to assist in their mission to go to the coastal territories of the continent.
The excitement on their faces could not be covered as they thought of how they would be making a move against the Seirende Empire.
"Are you not nervous Pope? What if the Paladin appears again?" Rachana looked at the aged Pope whose eyes were glimmering with anticipation.
Upon hearing the word Paladin, the Pope's expression darkened.
Clearly displeased by Rachana's provocative words, he sternly glanced at her and said, "Since when is it my business to worry about dealing with the Paladin? Your very existence is meant to deal with her!"
Rachana shrugged and did not say anything in retaliation. After all, she could not blatantly disrespect the Pope who was the one who gave her this position. In any case, he is right, the Paladin's opponent must be her.
"In any way, I will never let down my guard again. If she had the power to appear anywhere and at any time, I would always be ready for her appearance!" Rachana declared with hatred in her eyes.
She cursed herself for being caught off guard the last time she encountered the Paladin. She believes that if she was prepared enough to know about her powers, then Paladin would never win!
Now that Rachana knows what the other party can do, she believes that she could win this time.
"What's more important is for us to find a way to get to the Seirende Temple directly. We have to destroy that at any cost! In that way, we will no longer care about them being able to counter the curse's power!" The Pope said.
"With the Princes being hostage, the Emperor will panic and be forced to assemble his troops to rescue his sons. We will take advantage of that fact to force our way in. Though it is not that easy to penetrate that territory, with significant manpower being deployed, it will be manageable for us to go and enter." The Pope explained.
"Hmm… but are you not feeling anything unusual? Do you really believe that the Seirende Empire did not sense anything coming from Vanderford's end? Look at the Green Wave, they were sure to move ahead and summon their kin back.
Though, I don't really care if they take such precautions! Eventually, their land will be our hunting ground and their kind will be our subjects for experimentation!" Rachana declared.
"Who cares if they caught wind of the Vanderford wanting to make a move against their territory? With the Crown Prince making them busy with all our demands, how could they even prepare for war in such a short time?
Besides, we know that even if we have an advantage, the Seirende is a strong empire itself. It is not a war where the opponent has no means to retaliate.
They are a strong opponent and we will still struggle to defeat them even if we prepare this much. Get that in your head and do not make the same mistakes again!" The Pope reprimanded Rachana.
The fact that their side called this operation a war is because of the ability of the Seirende Empire to fight back, prepared or not.
While he does not believe that the Seirende had any means to win this time, he still believed that they have the ability to cause their side to incur massive damage before they finally fall down in defeat.
Meanwhile, the Vanderford Territory is also moving in full force.
Most of their troops were already stationed at the inner part of the Seirende Continent and the camps were already fortified.
"When everything goes smoothly, the Seirende people will not even reach the coastal areas and will be trapped in the middle of the northeastern territory." The royal aide explained to the Vanderford Emperor who was sitting on the throne with an excited look.
"How are the other princes doing their task?" The Vanderford Emperor asked.
"When they heard that they had the chance to snatch the crown prince position they immediately set off with their troops to go to the Seirende Empire. Each of the five princes now had their respective camps we can use for reinforcement." The royal aide replied.
"Good! Good! In two days, they will be deployed to invade the nearby territories so that they could amass supplies for the entire army. With that, we no longer have to worry about having not enough supplies in that continent alone!" The Emperor of the Vanderford chuckled heartily.
"Continue to monitor what would happen on the Crown Prince's side. I give him my highest hopes!" He added.
"Yes, your Royal Highness!" The aide replied and went on his way.
–
Two days were finally over and the designated time for departure came.
In front of the Court of Sinners, the prisoners were transported into a modified carriage where it was ridden with arrays. They were escorted with their entire bodies covered in dark clothing, making the witnesses outside unable to identify who these people were.
Looking at this, Crown Prince Ranon's eyebrows raised in interest. The Seirende people were as cunning as ever, how could they still be thinking shrewdly when they were actually walking obediently toward the traps set for them?
If not for the reason that he personally saw the prisoners being dressed inside and witnessed the entire process of their coming out in the prison he can still raise the fact on how he can be so sure that they were taking the right prisoners.
But as expected, the Third Prince was extremely cunning and smart, the very fact that he was invited to witness such a scene shut him up. Now, even if he witnessed them being dressed, once they were out and loaded inside, he would have no way to keep track of who is who during the entire journey.
In no time, they were lined up in front of the prison and were ready to set off.
The Emperor and the High Priest stood on a platform to look at them and started to address the entire convoy.
"This Emperor wishes for every one of you to have a safe trip and complete the mission in glory…" Emperor Valentin gave quite a lengthy speech before he signaled High Priest Enoch to address the crowd.
The High Priest, however, no longer gave any speech. Instead, he lifted up his hands towards the sky and shouted loudly as he could,
"Oh heavens, send your faithful troops to bring justice to the oppressed.
Let no evil befall them as they go, and make them able to fight against it.
May the enemies lurking in the dark shudder in fear and back off!
At the sight of your might and power, covering this man who is braving danger!"
In an instant, the skies lit up, and a golden light showered the army, both from Seirende and the Temple, and covered them with mighty holy powers.
"It's the High Priest's blessing!" The men exclaimed excitedly.
On the other hand, Crown Prince Ranon showed a face of awe, but inside his robe, his fists were clenched tightly. 'This Priest is indeed formidable!'
Kazimir, Antoine, and Leon discreetly looked at his reaction but failed to see the concealed hatred inside of him. After all, the Crown Prince was able to hide everything he did since he stepped inside the land. It showed how extremely cunning and cautious he is.
In the end, the men departed, they marched towards the gates of the Capital heading to the east where the nearest route to the borders of the Empire is located.
If it was just a simple diplomatic journey, the Emperor would have acted generously and allowed them to travel by teleportation array. However, since they were transporting highly dangerous criminals, they opted to travel by foot.
It was because there might be a chance that the interception will happen on the other side of the teleporting station, where they have no way of knowing.
And so, at full speed, it will take them around a week to officially step out of the Empire.
Then they will spend another two to three months traveling to the northeast, where the Holy Island is located. This is already the fastest route available for them.
The downside is that this route is full of danger and extreme conditions. They will be crossing the most desolate land in the continent - the Scorching Wasteland.
This wasteland is famous for being remote and hostile to normal travelers. This is due to the fact that these lands were notorious for their extreme weather conditions, so much so that even animals and beasts find it hard to survive in this place.
But not so for the convoy troops traveling with Leon….
As well as the hidden armies waiting for them to be trapped upon arrival!
