It's been two days since the spy incident happened.
The Pope and Rachana, who were still rushing with the rest of the Vanderford Princes through a flying beast, we're now seeing the blue skyline of the ocean.
"There it is, the Vanderford Ocean…" Rachana's eyes flickered in a complicated light.
She never thought that she would be going back to this place without even having to use her powers for the war.
'D*mn! If not for that failure of a Crown Prince we would have been invading the gorge at the moment! I would have gotten a hold of the Third Prince right now!' Rachana clenched her fist in frustration.
She felt like it was really a waste of time to come back to the main continent to meet Lord Raven. She did not understand the value of coming back to the continent at all.
'He could have just sent his orders to us through mental communication?!'
'Why does he even need us to come back?'
This has been her question ever since they were forced to retreat to the Desolate Regions back then. The only way for her to feel reconciled was to ask the Pope himself about the matter.
Unfortunately, these past three days, the two of them could not talk about anything without the others hearing of it.
That is why other than the matters regarding the travel, she and the Pope had not talked about anything that was of greater importance such as the specifics of the war.
In less than an hour, the party finally managed to land on the coast.
They were flying toward the coast of the Melenberg territory which was already virtually their territory in the Seirende Continent.
"Because we have landed here, our trip across the ocean back to Croix Island should have been longer. But fortunately for us, the main temple managed to set up a teleportation array to the interim Island which reduces our travel time by two weeks." The Pope explained to them as they landed.
"Let's go to the harbor point building, that's where we'll be taking off. As soon as we land at the interim island a sea vessel has been prepared for us to take us to the continent for at least a week…"
He looked at the group and immediately walked toward the building a few blocks up front.
"But Your Holiness Pope, what about our travel essentials from the interim island to the Vanderford Continent?" One of the Prince asked worriedly.
"The vessel had already prepared everything we needed for at least two weeks. Even so, we are positive that we can make it to the island in a week." The Pope answered straightforwardly.
Rachana did not talk the entire way, only observing the things that were happening around her.
When she heard that they will be using a teleportation array from the coast to the interim island she was surprised.
As one of the closest officers to the Pope, she had an idea of the wealth that the main temple had with respect to the mana stone reserves.
She knew that the Pope is willing to take a third of the mana reserve just to shorten their period of travel.
If she is not mistaken, another third of the mana stone reserve might be spent when they go back to invade the Seirende Continent once again.
Rachana raised her brows as she looked at the Pope, she really could not understand why they were doing this when it is just as efficient for them to attack the enemy upfront!
Nevertheless, she did not cause any commotion and just chose to quietly follow the party to the teleportation array.
The people in the harbor were still quite relaxed despite the news of the war being spread out. It was so because they knew that they were protected by the main temple and the Vanderford Empire.
Not many knew but the Mellenberg territory has long been annexed by the two forces without the rest of the world knowing. The acting monarch of the territory was actually only a puppet and it was directly the main temple that was managing this palace.
This is also the reason why the Pope chose to head to this territory to teleport despite the fact that it would consume a significant amount of mana stones on his end.
They did not know if the forces of the Seirende Empire had already gotten control of the rest of the harbor points in the continent.
While the Pope was not afraid of these forces, he was quite apprehensive of the idea of delaying their trip because of a battle.
Soon the group reached Harbor Point. It was a simple coastal-style building made of sturdy lumber wood about three stories high.
It proved to be the busiest point on the coast because it is where the people buy their tickets and rent rights for the sea vessels going to the Vanderford Territory.
When the guards saw the Pope and Rachana's team, they immediately served them attentively.
"Greetings, Your Holiness Pope, Your Highnesses, and the Great Paladin! The chief has been waiting for your arrival."
Then they were led by the butler inside who immediately served them refreshments and a place to rest.
When they were at the lounge, the Chief of the Harbor Point greeted them respectfully and even informed them that they had prepared sleeping quarters for each of them.
However, the Pope immediately informed,
"We shall not stay longer than an hour… it is best for us to teleport before noon so that we can depart to the interim island before sunset."
The princes were not surprised by his decision as this matter was already agreed upon by them. They could only pray that the sea vessel that the empire has prepared for them is fitting enough for their status.
Other than that, they have no qualms about traveling non-stop as the matter in the Vanderford is much more important than their comfort.
"I see, Your Holiness… we will immediately prepare the portal and inform you as soon as possible." The Chief of the Harbor Point understood and immediately excused himself.
In no time, the portal was ready, and the party immediately stood on their respecting resting couches to go to the teleportation array.
The teleportation array is set on the topmost floor of the building and there were already array masters that were preparing the high-powered teleportation array for them.
"Your Holiness Pope, the array is already set and only needs your fuel and artifact." the Chief announced.
Looking at the Chief with understanding, the Pope reached for his space pouch and handed over a pocket of mana stones and his crest.
Rachana's eyes flickered in helplessness. That pouch meant a third of their mana stone reserve! How wasteful!
However, no matter how regretful she was feeling, the anger of Lord Raven was still something she could not bear and so she had to just follow the arrangement.
Voong!
Just as Rachana was still in the middle of her lamenting, the teleportation array suddenly lit up and created a whirring sound.
"The portal is ready, Your Holiness." The Chief's eyes squinted because of the excessive light but he still tried his best to look at the Pope and the rest.
"Let's go…" The Pope announced.
The rest of the party immediately stepped into the array and waited for the transport to happen.
"We wish you a safe trip!" The Chief and all the array masters shouted in unison as they activated the mechanism for transport.
Vrrrr!!!
The teleportation array and the surroundings shuddered as it was an attempt to have long-distance transport.
In the spatial dimension, the Spatial King Zenith was disturbed by his spatial fairies.
The little fairies informed that the Pope's party was using a teleportation array to immediately jump to the interim island between the harbor point and the Vanderford Empire.
"Hmmm… Master's wife told me to watch out for these people… Let's make trouble for them…" Zenith's childish bored face bloomed into a happy smile.
At last, there was something he could play on today!
"As for you, I will send you to the Master's wife's side… tell her about the trip of the Pope!" He ordered another spatial fairy.
"Aye!" The little spatial fairy saluted cutely in front of Zenith before disappearing.
"Come my subject… let's give these evil people a hard time!" Seeing that the fairy already did as she was told, Zenith called the rest of the spatial fairies around and watched the teleportation process of the Pope's party.
"Close all the access points… do not open them until they give us more mana stones to eat!"
A cunning smile bloomed on his face as he looked at the dignified faces of the Pope and the rest, expecting that they would be able to jump to the island with just a minuscule amount of mana stones.
"Not under my watch, evil old man!" Zenith covered his mouth in a mischievous grin.
Since the Master's wife and his Master did not specify anything about taking care of them, then he shall play with these evil people a little more before giving them what they want!
