493 Chapter 493

Three True Path Stage warriors were stationed at the northern border of the Empress Cobra Zone.

The next assault would happen in four hours, and while they waited, they had to secure the borders in case the Council decided to launch a sudden attack.

Usually, nothing special would happen. Some citizens and some True Mages would pass the border, but that was about it.

But today, something would happen.

As the warriors waited for the next assault, somebody slowly entered their Spirit Sense from the north.

Just like normal, the warriors checked the new person, but this time, they did a double take.

Their eyes opened in shock, and they immediately contacted their commanders.

About five kilometers away, a smiling young woman with icy blue hair slowly walked towards the border. She seemed relaxed, and it looked like she was only out here on a casual stroll.

But when the warriors saw her, they felt the incredibly powerful Mana inside her.

Everything around her turned into Ice Mana as she slowly strolled along.

She had to be a Late High Mage, at the least!

"Identify yourself!" an Early True Path Stage warrior demanded.

Deep inside, the warrior was nervous and terrified, but he still had to do his duty.

The smiling woman stopped walking and looked at the distant warrior with a calm smile. "Hello, I am Council member Sylvia Eternalfrost, and I am here to negotiate with Duke Whirlwind."

The warriors took a deep breath.

Sure enough, she was a member of the Council.

This was not someone they should or could deal with!

About ten kilometers away, Shang watched the Council member with furrowed brows as the three High Mages behind him kept renewing his augmenting Spells.

Shang knew all the Council members. After all, Jerald knew all of them very well, and he knew that Sylvia Eternalfrost was one of the more powerful members.

She was definitely more powerful than Duke Torrent.

But, even more, it was suspicious that she was here.

Did the Council not care about Jerald getting involved anymore?

But then, why did she come alone?

Two minutes later, Jerald landed in front of Sylvia with furrowed brows.

"You are here to negotiate?" he asked.

Sylvia nodded with a smile, but the words she was about to say were shocking.

"Yes, I'm here to distract you so that my seven Mid High Mages can assassinate Count Sword," she said with a smile.

Jerald's eyes shone for an instant, and he scanned his surroundings.

Shang also scanned the surroundings. Sylvia Eternalfrost hadn't used her Spirit Sense to communicate but had directly said these words.

Yet, neither Jerald nor Shang could find anyone else.

A second later, Jerald's eyes narrowed as he looked at Sylvia.

"Is it Darkness' Veil?" he asked.

Sylvia chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yes," she said as she lifted her right hand.

Several black runes appeared in her hand, floating around each other in some form of pattern or dance.

"It seems like Susan really bet all her cards on this move of hers," he said with disdain.

Sylvia chuckled some more and crushed the runes in her hand.

SHING!

Suddenly, seven Mid High Mages appeared a kilometer behind Jerald.

Jerald quickly inspected them, but he noticed that they hadn't readied any Spells. They hadn't even summoned their Foci.

"Susan's Spell is as impressive as ever, isn't it?" Sylvia asked as she looked at the Mages. "You can't see these Mages approach at all. They can even ready their Spells."

Jerald could only agree.

These seven Mid High Mages could have walked into the Empress Cobra Zone without being noticed.

Then, they would have simply searched for Shang and would have prepared a combined Spell.

Shang had been the target of such a Spell before, back when he had attacked a stronghold of the Blackshadow Kingdom back when he was still in the Grandmountain Kingdom.

Such a Spell would take a lot of Mana and time to set up, but the combined power of so many Mages was terrifying.

The combined power of seven Mid High Mages would have created a Spell with the power and speed of a Spell from a Peak High Mage.

Even more, they would have probably been able to unleash it toward Shang from only a couple of hundred meters away.

Shang's chances of survival would have been slim.

Of course, since Susan would have indirectly helped the Mages, she would have broken the agreement.

However, the chances of success were high enough to risk it.

As long as Count Sword died, the Council could gather and then assault Jerald with all ten members at once.

Of course, Sylvia would have already left by the time the Mages showed themselves.

Like that, Jerald's army would be decimated in the next battle as long as he didn't personally join the fight.

The Council knew exactly that Count Sword was the most important piece in this war.

The warriors also took deep breaths when they noticed the Mages.

It was like they had just talked with someone, and the person they were talking to was suddenly showing them that they had been aiming a gun at them the entire time.

Jerald looked back at Sylvia. "And what do you have to gain by unveiling this weapon in front of me?"

"Proof," Sylvia said. "Proof of my intentions."

Jerald's eyes shone. "And your intentions are…?"

"To join you."

Silence.

Jerald narrowed his eyes and looked deeply into Sylvia's smiling eyes. "You do know that the existence of the Council is the very reason why we are even at war, right?"

Sylvia nodded like a happy little girl. "Yes, but putting everyone into one category just based on what path they chose is not the smartest thing to do."

"If everyone were to do that, you would be hunted by the warriors just like all of us since you are a Mage, right?" Sylvia asked.

Jerald continued looking into Sylvia's eyes.

"So, you've realized that the Council is about to lose, and you seek to gain something out of it. After all, you joining me could spell the end for the Council, and you believe that I wouldn't pass up on such an opportunity."

"Kind of," Sylvia answered.

Jerald only kept looking at Sylvia with narrowed eyes.

"Duke Torrent tried the same thing, and now, she's dead."

"I know," Sylvia said like she wasn't worried at all.

Jerald looked at Sylvia in silence for several seconds.

"Alright, let's hear it. What are your demands?" he asked.

Sylvia's smile widened.

"Nothing."