Chapter 38

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"Ha ha, your formation is quite peculiar? With this current setup, could it be that you want to swallow the Principality of Muni? But that doesn't make sense. If you want to annex the Principality of Muni, you shouldn't... Ha ha, I understand!" After listening to Kangknie, Casi carefully compared the information he knew and asked with a smile. However, halfway through his question, he realized that this was likely a problem with the high-level decision-making of the Ceylon Empire, not an issue with the current woman's strategy.

"Alas! I didn't expect the deputy leader of the Mammoth Knights to be not only brave but also smart," Kangknie sighed and said.

"Hmph, my uncle is a very smart person," Lori said coldly, defending him.

"Ha ha, little girl, do you know what we're talking about?" Kangknie raised her long, slender neck proudly and asked in return.

Lori was speechless for a moment because, due to her limited experience and position, she naturally didn't know what they were talking about.

However, Casi said discontentedly, "Yes, I do admire your command ability. After I was captured, I thought about it and realized several benefits of your actions. First, you consumed a large number of people, fundamentally solving the food shortage problem in the Ceylon Empire. Second, farmers are faster at looting food than soldiers. Third, you also eliminated the Mammoth Knights, making their mobile forces disappear. You succeeded; the Mammoth Knights indeed have no more ability to send troops elsewhere. But it's laughable that you are here, Fox of Ceylon?"

"Hmph!" Kangknie, after a moment of observation, concluded that in this small team, Cook's status was not high, not only below Casi but also below Casi's niece and the magic apprentice. To put it more clearly, the high-level officials of the Ceylon Empire were taken out by a mere ant. As for the claim of being a student of a grandmaster alchemist, Kangknie would bet her head that if it were true, Casi wouldn't have such an attitude, and the little girl magician would be as respectful as possible. When Casi touched on Kangknie's sore spot, she could only respond with a helpless cold snort.

"Cook, take her, let's go!" Casi, seeing the Fox of Ceylon's expression, knew he had hit a nerve and led the way, with Cook bringing up the rear.

As Cook and his group slowly moved deeper into the mountains, the area around the ranch they left was filled with flags and countless figures. These figures were cold-faced soldiers, the Royal Guard, the emperor's most trusted men.

"Sir Ankhara, how is the third prince?" The commander of the Royal Guard, Duke Erdmann of the Ceylon Empire, asked with a grim face. Erdmann was actually the father-in-law of the third prince, who had just gotten married. This time, it was precisely because of the elite soldiers led by the Duke of Thorns that the third prince could bring a small group to take over Kangknie's authority. After all, there were still a million troops on the front lines, and a hundred elite soldiers were enough to protect the third prince from any attack, not to mention that Kangknie herself had elite guards here.

"He's dead," Ankhara, a court mage and grandmaster of the Ceylon Empire, and also a bronze-level alchemist, said, showing the emperor's high regard for the third prince.

"Dead! Damn it, who, who, I'll skin him and exterminate his entire family!" The Duke of Thorns roared after a moment, his usually plump face looking terrifying.

"Sir, please mind your manners," Ankhara said, clearly displeased, with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Sir Ankhara, don't you know who did it?" The Duke of Thorns calmed down a bit and asked.

"No, we haven't found out how the poison entered their bodies yet. Look, this food is served on silver plates with no issues. See!" Ankhara released a poison detection spell on the food in the hall, and the magical detection showed no poison at all.

"But Sir, how do we explain this major incident!" The Duke of Thorns said with a mournful face.

"Hmph, that's your problem, not mine," Ankhara said and continued to examine carefully.

"Sir, Sir, Duke, there are two survivors," at this moment, the Duke's attendant ran in, excitedly reporting.

"Quick, bring them in," Erdmann was surprised and then shouted with joy.

"Sixth Regiment, Thirteenth Battalion, Twelfth Company, Fifth Squad, Wood and Cani, reporting to the commander," it was Wood and Cani who had been sleeping.

"They are from the Royal Guard, and it has been confirmed," the attendant said quickly, seeing Erdmann's gaze, not daring to bring them in without verification.

"How many people came with you this time? How many guards were there originally?" Ankhara asked at this moment.

"We came with the third prince as a full twelfth company. As for the exact number, we don't know at our level," Wood and Cani were already stunned by what had happened. The courtyard outside was brightly lit by huge magic crystal lamps, not just the courtyard but also the hall. Familiar faces lay silently, with the high-ranking Andrew lying motionless in the courtyard, and the proud third prince, his shrewd chief steward, and others lying in the hall. Wood and Cani were shocked, but fortunately, they had seen war and had crawled out of piles of corpses, so after a brief shock, they looked at each other, clearly reaching some kind of默契 (understanding).

"Sir, they are right; they don't know the situation at their level," the attendant added.

"Then did you see any suspicious people?" Ankhara asked again.

"None that I can recall. We were ordered to find some broom fungus and returned without any further assignments. We were tired from a day's work, so we went to sleep. We only came out when we heard the commotion," Wood reported loudly.

"Yes, sir," Cani also said loudly.

"According to the task assignment sheet, it is written this way," the attendant took out a scroll and handed it to Erdmann.

Erdmann looked at it; it was just a regular task assignment sheet, with tasks like guarding, patrolling, and setting up watch posts. Erdmann asked again, "Did you find any suspicious clues around?"

"No, sir," the attendant replied.

"Then expand the search area," Erdmann rubbed his head and ordered.

"Wait, you go out first," at this moment, Ankhara's assistant came over, whispered something, and Ankhara's expression changed dramatically. He immediately told the attendant about to execute the order and then instructed him.

"Sir, did you find something significant?" Erdmann asked excitedly.

"Your Grace, there are two pieces of news. Which one do you want to hear first, the good or the bad?" Ankhara asked with a serious face.

"Uh...!" Erdmann also felt something was wrong, staring at Ankhara in shock, clearly surprised by Ankhara's serious expression.

"The good news is that we found the source of the poison. The bad news is that the person who released this poison might be a grandmaster alchemist or a master alchemist," Ankhara said in one breath, then took a deep breath.

"Thud!" Erdmann, after hearing this, sat down on the ground, looking up at Ankhara in disbelief.

"Sir... Sir, this isn't a joke, is it?" Erdmann asked stammeringly.

"Ha ha, Your Grace, do you know, mages are very meticulous people, and alchemists are the best among them. I am fortunate to have both qualities. Your Grace, come and see for yourself," Ankhara turned and walked to one side, where several assistants were busy.

"What are they doing?" Erdmann got up and followed Ankhara to the front, seeing Ankhara's assistants mixing different juices and foods, some with two and some with three. Erdmann asked curiously.

"Ha ha, this is a non-toxic juice, and this is also a non-toxic juice, but when mixed, look!" Ankhara used the poison detection spell twice, both showing the juices were non-toxic, but as soon as the two juices were mixed, the silver cup turned black.

"Whoa!" Erdmann drew in a sharp breath, clearly stunned by this.

"This is a poison. If another juice is added, it becomes a different poison. Look, this is the poison detection light before adding, and this is after. The same goes for these foods, including the bread. After our initial detection, the types of poisons have already exceeded ten," Ankhara explained.

"Gulp! Ten!" Erdmann swallowed, imagining the terrifying scene of ten poisons ravaging the banquet.

"Also, the method of poisoning and the types of poisons are something we have never seen before. What does this mean? Do you still dare to investigate?" Ankhara asked proudly, for this was the strength of alchemists.

"I don't dare, I don't dare. I don't want my entire family to die," Erdmann recalled an incident in the Principality of Yalan about a hundred years ago. A master alchemist and his student went to Yalan for training. Unfortunately, the alchemist's student was very beautiful and was coveted by a local tribal leader. Notably, the alchemist was just an ordinary mage, and the tribe had over ten thousand warriors. When the alchemist was knocked out and woke up, the tribal leader was celebrating the capture of such a beautiful woman. But after that night, the entire tribe of hundreds of thousands died.

The alchemist simply said, "I just washed my hands in their water source." It was well known that Yalan was in a semi-arid area, and only large tribes had good water sources. This tribe had a spring, which made the entire tribe, both humans and animals, die. Even decades later, any animal that ate the grass in that area would die. The Yalan Empire had to spend a huge amount of money to hire a master alchemist from the Alchemists' Association to detoxify the area, and this incident only circulated in the upper echelons of society.

"Ha ha, you are very smart. I can tell you that none of the ten poisons this time are magical poisons," Ankhara nodded. In fact, Ankhara didn't want to offend an unknown enemy, and he didn't want to oppose someone who could poison in such a way. Ankhara wondered if he had lived too long.

"Magical poisons?" Erdmann didn't quite understand.

"Magical poisons have a deceptive nature that ordinary poisons lack, such as no change in a silver cup," Ankhara said and then ignored Erdmann, leading his assistants away. Ankhara felt fear and knew that the Alchemists' Association had an unwritten rule: if an alchemist did this, and you try to detoxify, you are opposing them. If you are confident you can win, fine, but if you are not, and they kill you, the Alchemists' Association won't intervene. They are all members, and you must resolve your own issues. Ankhara was afraid of being misunderstood by the person who poisoned in secret, so he left with a grand display, hoping not to be misunderstood.

"Damn, what a bad day," Ankhara muttered to himself as he sat on his mount, feeling his scalp tingle at the thought of possibly offending a grandmaster or master alchemist.

After listening, Duke Erdmann chewed on the words, "Deceptive, deceptive, my God!" Then, like someone being chased, his plump body showed a speed he usually didn't have.

"Go! Go quickly! Take the third prince's body away, and burn the rest, burn them," Erdmann ordered the attendant and urged the guards to protect him as he left, for Erdmann was also afraid.

Erdmann couldn't imagine what would happen if his family or he were poisoned in such a way, especially with magical poisons. He was terrified, and from then on, he developed a habit of feeding a pet, a very fragile pet, a rabbit, before eating anything.

The ranch burned in a fierce fire, and Wood and Cani left with the guards. It was midnight, and Erdmann didn't realize that this was just the first disaster. Due to the death of the third prince, Erdmann neglected the supervision of Kangknie's former subordinates.

"Alright, everyone, follow the predetermined plan. We will return to the country and wait for General Kangknie. If the general doesn't return, then we... Move out!" The commander of the Royal Guard, Honiman, ordered. Honiman had just received some bad news, which was one of the reasons for activating the contingency plan.

As for how many Royal Guards the Ceylon Empire had, there were at least several million. Apart from the guards of local nobles, all were Royal Guards. These guards were rotated every three years and completely rotated every five years, with the major rotation bringing them to the capital or to the provinces. Thus, the Ceylon royal family had a significant influence in the military, and the military was just one hand of the royal family.

"May you all be safe. Choose your own route, but one requirement: all must return alive. What is our regiment's creed?" Honiman asked loudly.

"Never give up! Never betray!" The other commanders answered loudly.

"Final intelligence update from the Roland Empire: The Griffin Knights' numbers are unknown, but they are attacking our rear, destroying bridges, roads, and other important facilities. The magic corps, with three grandmasters, you have all seen their power. The Roland Empire has also recruited over 300,000 guards, and our two flanks, the Tulip Principality, the Zara Principality, and the Medu Principality, have gathered nearly 500,000 troops. That's all. My requirement is that within one hour, everyone must strictly follow the predetermined plan. Good luck, everyone!" Honiman said and left, and the subordinate commanders looked at each other and also left.

"What's going on? What's happening?" When Erdmann returned to the front lines, it was already 2 a.m., and he was greeted by a huge, empty camp.

"Bad news, sir. In General Kangknie's plan, there was a contingency plan. After completing the mission, the troops would face a fierce retaliation from the Roland Empire. General Kangknie set up a contingency plan for the troops to disperse and choose their own routes back to the country," the attendant realized and reported loudly.

"How could she do this? How could she do this? But, but...!" Erdmann was very angry.

"General Kangknie's argument to the royal family was simple: the remaining nearly one million farmers had crawled out of piles of corpses," the attendant said.

"Good strategy, good strategy, but Kangknie, you didn't think you would become someone's test subject, did you? Let's go! We must go quickly," Erdmann knew Kangknie had been poisoned, so when her body was not found at the ranch, Ankhara's words indicated her likely fate as a test subject. As an alchemist, Ankhara's explanation was convincing, and Erdmann also agreed, not wanting to investigate further.

"Sir, should we notify the subsequent 600,000 Royal Guards?" the attendant asked quickly.

"Let's see. I don't want to face the fierce retaliation from the Roland Empire. You know, that old guy Melif's temper isn't good," Erdmann said and quickly left, for he had only brought 200,000 troops, facing the Roland Empire's Griffin Corps, magic corps, guard corps, regular army, and the ragtag armies of the three principalities on the flanks. His 200,000 troops were nothing.

The unusual situation in the Ceylon Empire's camp was indeed noticed by the Roland Empire's scouts, but they only took a distant look, for the other side had a million troops, and no one wanted to die. However, no one dared to disturb Melif, for his daughter had gone missing, and anyone who knew the capital well knew the implications. It wasn't about Melif's reaction but about the reaction of one of the empire's three guardians, Melif's father-in-law, and the reaction of the leading lioness of the empire's five great lionesses, Melif's wife. The last time Lori was in danger, Melif didn't leave the capital for half a year, and everyone knew the reason, though Melif claimed he was focusing on his magic.

In the capital of the Roland Empire, a storm was brewing. The 300 brave warriors of the Mammoth Knights were all killed, and the military was at the center of the storm. The empire's daily morning meetings had not yet begun, but the various nobles were rushing back and forth, entering and leaving various mansions as if it were daytime.

In the eastern region of the empire, there was a large, quiet area, the least guarded, for it was home to mages. A vast area had only a few dozen isolated houses, but these houses were different. Several of them were like spires, the mage towers.

"Master, this is the message Sir Melif just sent," in the highest of the three mage towers, a figure said respectfully in front of a metal door covered in mysterious patterns.

"Hmm, come in. I have something for you to do," the door opened silently, and a distant voice came from inside. The door opened completely, but strangely, no one was there.

The figure entered, looked around, and walked in a certain direction. The room was unimaginably large, divided into countless sections, with some strange instruments. From the outside, one could never imagine the vast space inside the tower.

"What trouble has that boy Melif gotten into again? I don't know how my daughter could fall for that spineless boy," a middle-aged man gradually appeared in the figure's field of vision, complaining.

"It's a golden message, and I dare not open it," the figure said respectfully.

"Golden! Damn, damn! The last detention was for nothing. Rody, pack your things. This old body hasn't moved in a long time, and it's time to move," the middle-aged man was stunned, then grabbed the scroll, opened it, and immediately roared, with flames-like patterns appearing around his body.

"Yes! Master, but what exactly happened?" Rody asked, suppressing his fear.

"Lily is missing, Lily is actually missing," the middle-aged man raged.

"Miss Lori is missing? Miss Lori has a rare dual-element talent, with the lightning element being more hidden. How could she be missing?" Rody asked, his body trembling.

"No more talk, let's go! A million enemy troops, and untrained farmers. It's hard to imagine. And Casi was captured. What the hell, don't they know I'm still alive?" As the middle-aged man stepped out of the tower, the battle took an unprecedented turn.

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