As a villain, he could do whatever he wanted.

Page 125

"If Lius were here to guide me, perhaps I wouldn't need to think about anything at all. Lius has always been so caring towards us, both in the past and now." Leon exhaled, suppressing her girlish thoughts, and adopted the dignified demeanor of a female general. She turned and descended the stairs from the city wall to her army, where she began to prepare the defenses for the Northern Fortress. "I hope your next actions, Lius, will be as successful as the defense against the cultists. I will always be praying for you in my heart, my commander, my... lover."

Chapter 255: The First Day of Operations (Part 3)

Meanwhile, on the other side, near the capital, another group was also on its way.

“Ms. Aurora, we are almost at the capital. According to the orders given by Prince Lius, people from the north should be coming to meet us soon. Let’s set up camp here for the time being.”

In the forest, a caravan of merchants, dressed in grey robes and wearing simple masks, spoke to a young woman sitting in a carriage.

Aurora nodded slightly and waved for the carriage at the front of the caravan to stop. She and the others set up camp in the forest to prepare for the series of events to come.

"Rest here for now, and be vigilant. If anyone approaches, come and let me know immediately." "Yes, Ms. Aurora."

After informing the caravan guards beside her, Aurora stretched slightly, lay down on the seat in the carriage, rubbed her eyes which had dark circles, and slowly let out a deep yawn.

"Phew... It's almost noon. I wonder when Lius will arrive. He only told us to wait here, but he hasn't given us any specific orders yet. I hope he has some idea of ​​what the next move will be."

Rubbing her eyes, Aurora looked out the car window. A ray of bright sunlight shone on her face, causing her to gently touch her chest with her fingers, where she felt the letter nestled between her two round, full breasts.

The letter contained a simple instruction: to keep Delora on her heed of Lius's commands and to respond accordingly.

This was something Aurora already knew, and the most important thing about the letter was not its contents, but the embossed logo on the cover.

This emblem is unique to royalty.

In other words, this was a letter personally written by Her Majesty the Queen and sent to Aurora.

For most people, the importance of this letter might not be understood; they might simply think it was some kind of order issued by the Queen herself. However, for Aurora, she fully understood the meaning behind this symbol.

"Does Her Majesty the Queen want me to activate this long-prepared team? It has been hidden for ten years, and the day has finally come for it to be officially revealed. Thinking about it this way, it is really a bit abrupt. Could it be that it was Lius who specifically requested it...?" Aurora pondered this in her mind, while looking at the team outside the carriage again.

Warriors and knights in various armors stood in a row, forming a defensive line like a city wall, while well-equipped mages stood alongside as backup to ensure they could deal with any possible emergencies.

"The letter stated that we should all follow Lius's command. In other words, Her Majesty the Queen has completely handed over command of this team to Lius, or rather, allowed him to take complete control of the team in order to facilitate future operations."

With this thought in mind, Aurora sighed slightly, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with the decision. After all, this team had been supported by her caravan for many years, but now it was to be handed over directly to Lius. As a merchant, she found it hard to swallow this insult.

However, if we think about it more deeply, we have already established a relationship with Lius in private. As long as what he said is sincere, these teams will still be "ours" in the future. Even if they are handed over to Lius for management, it will not make much difference.

Thinking about it this way, Aurora's frustration eased considerably. After stretching her body slightly, she heard a knock at the carriage door. "Knock, knock, knock." "Hmm? Come in."

Hearing the knock, Aurora beckoned the person outside to come in. When the carriage door opened, a young soldier who looked very nervous came into view.

"Oh...Ms. Aurora, over there...over there's a strange person coming, looks like...a cultist." What?!

Hearing the girl's indistinct words, Aurora immediately became alert, revealing a serious expression. She quickly stood up from her seat, leaped down from the carriage, and landed in front of the girl to further inquire, "What you said... is it true? There really are traces of cultists?"

"That's right... but, how should I put it... that cultist seemed a bit strange. Although he was wearing a black robe, he didn't show much of an aggressive attitude, nor did he try to conceal his actions. It was as if he deliberately let us see him."

The girl spoke hesitantly, while Aurora frowned slightly, gently releasing her grip on the girl's collar and turning the light towards the soldiers.

They had just heard what the two men said, and each of them showed a serious expression. They also put their weapons in attack positions, maintaining a certain fighting spirit and ready to deal with any possible situation. "Everyone, do not act rashly for now. As Lius said before, if we encounter cultists, we should first try to negotiate, and then consider attacking them."

After greeting those around her, Aurora took a deep breath and looked at the girl in front of her again, asking, "Where is that person now? Is he close to our camp?"

“This… was discovered by our previous reconnaissance team. The captain is currently guarding the area and sent me to contact you, Ms. Aurora… Ms. Aurora, would you like to go and check it out yourself? Wouldn’t it be too dangerous?”

"Is it dangerous?" Hearing the girl's words, Aurora pursed her lips and finally shook her head:

“Even though it’s very dangerous, we have to have a proper talk now. This is the order that Prince Lius gave us. As the commander, we cannot disobey his requirements. So let me take the risk myself this time.”

As she spoke, Aurora straightened her clothes, gave instructions to the knights around her to guard the place well, and then took two elite soldiers with her and followed the girl toward the place where the cultists had been discovered.

Five minutes later, the group arrived at the place the squad had scouted earlier, and there, Aurora also encountered the black-robed girl who had come here.

"You're looking at the black-robed girl in the middle of the road, who shows no signs of hiding." Aurora frowned slightly, seemingly surprised by the sudden appearance of this cultist. The black-robed girl, through her face revealed beneath the black robe, gave Aurora a kind smile. She held her skirt with her small hands and performed a standard ladylike curtsy to everyone.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Ershu. I am here today to meet with the caravan members. Hello, Ms. Aurora. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please take good care of me."

"Hello." Aurora was a little surprised by the black-robed girl's friendly words, but she still maintained a calm demeanor. She nodded slightly to Ershu and took a step forward, breaking the original safe distance. She faced Ershu, clasped her hands, and gazed at her face.

Although the girl in the black robe couldn't be clearly seen, just by looking at the smile on her lips and her fair skin, one could sense the beauty beneath the black robe.

This made Aurora more wary of her. After shaking hands briefly, she took another step back, distancing herself from the girl in black robes in front of her.

"So, Miss Ershu, what brings you here today, to this place where opposing forces stand? Are you here to declare war on us?"

Looking at Ershe, Aurora decided to take the initiative and asked him this question. Ershe waved his hand slightly, maintaining his smile, and gently shook his head.

"Hehe, I won't do that. Although I also have some hostility towards your caravan, the current situation is not the time for us to make a move. Ms. Aurora, you don't need to be so defensive. Today I guarantee that I will not attack you or your caravan in any way."

"If you won't attack us, then we'll have to leave now. Get out of here quickly. According to our plan, no extra traces are allowed within five miles of our camp, especially for a cultist like Miss Ershu."

Looking at the black-robed girl in front of her, Aurora gave her an unceremoniously dismissive order. Then she slowly turned around and, led by the knights beside her, returned to the original camp. On the way back, she waved slightly to the back to show her rejection and farewell to Ershu.

"If I were to bring news of Prince Lius, would you be willing to speak with me, Ms. Aurora?"

Just then, Ershu suddenly spoke again, slowly uttering these soft words from his lips.

The words sounded very soft, as if they were describing something very ordinary, but when they reached Aurora's ears, they were like a thunderclap, exploding directly in the young woman's mind, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn around to look at Ershu again.

"What did you say? Leus!? You have news about him?"

"Yes, hehe, after all, it was Young Master Lius who personally gave the order to me to deliver the message to you. How could such a thing be fake?"

Ershu smiled slightly, and as if to prove that her words were true, she reached into her bosom while speaking to Aurora, and pulled out a badge engraved with the family name of Lius, which carried Lius's magic, as evidence to support Ershu's claims.

A look of surprise crossed Aurora's face. She seemed taken aback by what she was seeing. She then forced herself to calm down, took a few deep breaths, and stared at the black-robed girl in the distance with a complex expression, as well as at the flawless badge in her hand.

“The markings on the badge are real, there is nothing false, and the magic was indeed extracted from Lius. No one but Lius could fuse magic to this extent, which means... this person was indeed commissioned by Lius to come here to meet me.” As she pondered this, Aurora’s face gradually returned to calm.

Although she didn't know why this situation had occurred, as a businesswoman, she had an extremely strong ability to adapt to situations. Therefore, after hesitating for a while, she finally nodded slightly, sat down on a wooden post next to her, and waved to Ershu to sit down in front of her as well.

“If that’s the case, then Miss Ershu, please tell us the message you brought. What does Lius want to tell us? And why did he send you cultists to deliver the letter? Can you tell us these things?”

"First of all, I want to point out a misunderstanding on your part, Ms. Aurora. It is not that our entire church has contacted you. To be precise, only I have been entrusted by the leader... cough, Prince Lius to repay a favor. So I am now providing you with assistance. Please do not misunderstand. There will be no cooperative relationship between me and you, neither for Ms. Aurora nor for Prince Lius."

"Is it just to repay a favor to Lius? If so, that makes sense. Okay, I understand completely now."

Aurora nodded slightly to the black-robed girl before her, gesturing for her to continue. Ershu smiled again, sat down opposite Aurora, and spoke softly to her and the wary knights behind her:

"Young Master Leus sent me here for... well, it's quite simple: to reveal some information about our church's whereabouts." You want to reveal your whereabouts? Is this also a way of repaying a favor?

"Hehe, you could say that. In short... our church plans to attack the capital, and if you want to defuse this offensive, you need to start your advance immediately."

"Huh? You... are going to attack the capital?!"

Hearing Ershu's words, Aurora's eyes widened slightly, surprised by her bold statement...

Chapter 256: The First Day of Operation (Part 4)

"You...you're going to attack the capital? Right now?"

“That’s right, Ms. Aurora, this is our church’s current self-proclaimed title.” Ershu nodded slightly, leaning closer to explain:

"Within the main capital, there exists a key to the formation. Therefore, we need to send people to either launch a strong attack or sneak into the main capital to find an opportunity to activate this key. What you need to do now is to head towards the capital as fast as possible. Perhaps you can find the key before us, or defeat the people we sent there."

With a meaningful smile, Ershu spoke softly to the dark-haired young woman in front of him, as if he were talking about something very ordinary, without showing any fluctuation in his expression.

As for Aurora, faced with the black-robed girl's calm tone, the look of concern on her face deepened. After a moment's thought, she shook her head slightly and continued to ask, "How can we believe you? How can we believe that what you say is true? If all of this is just a scheme you've used to lure us away, divert our forces elsewhere, and then carry out your real plan when our defenses are weak, wouldn't that have caused us a great loss?"

"Several levels ago, someone asked me a similar question, and my answer has always been the same. Looking at Aurora, Ershe's smile deepened, and he softly said to her:"

“If you doubt my words, then don’t believe them. You can also do nothing at all. What does that have to do with me? I’ve only come to convey what Prince Lius instructed. After that, I will have no further connection with him or you. Once the favor is repaid, I can return to the previous hostile state.”

"So all of this is really just you trying to repay a favor to Lius?" Aurora asked the question again, her doubt undiminished.

"Hehe, that's right, that's exactly it. If you still don't believe me, Ms. Aurora, then there's nothing I can do." Hearing Aurora's words, Ershu shrugged and shook his head slightly with a helpless expression:

Whatever happens then will have nothing to do with me, and this conversation between us will not have any outcome. For me, this is perhaps the best result; it repays the favor without harming the church. It's a win-win situation. I must thank you very much, Ms. Aurora.”

Upon hearing the girl's slightly sarcastic words again, Aurora frowned, her expression becoming more thoughtful, as if considering her next move. She also gave the girl in black robes a conflicted look.

“Ms. Aurora… just arrest this cultist. I think she’s just talking nonsense and there’s nothing to believe. Let’s arrest her first and then interrogate her later.”

As Aurora pondered, a female knight slowly approached her and whispered something to her. Aurora nodded slightly without hesitation, subtly signaling the surrounding soldiers to act, but her tone implied disagreement with some of the knight's words:

"It's difficult to make a correct judgment about this person in a short time, but the badge she just handed over was indeed bestowed by Lius himself. In other words, for Lius, the woman in front of him is a trustworthy messenger. This is his judgment, and it is also the message he wants to convey to us with this action."

Hearing Aurora's words, the female knights beside her exchanged glances, then continued to ask her, "From what you've said, Lady Aurora, do you believe this message was truly delivered to us personally by Prince Leus?" "Hmm... if it were him, I believe he wouldn't do anything unwise. Sending this cultist here today shows his trust in her, his confidence that she can correctly deliver the order to us. In that case, we don't need to have too many doubts; we can investigate as instructed in this message."

Faced with the dark-haired young woman's words, Ms. Aurora's subordinates glanced at her and finally nodded vigorously, accepting her version of events.

“We understand, Ms. Aurora. After we capture this cultist, we will do as you just said and reorganize the remaining forces to head towards the capital. Also, the soldiers from the Northern Region should be on their way. We will send people to meet them, so please don’t worry.”

"Yes, thank you for your hard work. Go ahead and do it."

Weiwei nodded slightly to the female knights beside her. Aurora secretly waved her hand, signaling them to go about their tasks. Meanwhile, Ershu, who was watching this scene from afar, burst into lively laughter again, calling out to the group in the distance:

"Hehehe...Ms. Aurora, are you planning to attack me? You just delivered the intelligence, and you're already trying to harm me like this? You really have no sense of decency. There's a rule in wars between nations that you shouldn't kill envoys, yet now you're going to attack me, the one who delivered the message. With no support in my current situation, isn't your behavior a bit too despicable?"

"Humble tribe? Ting, dealing with cultists like you doesn't require any underhanded methods. You call us humble tribe? When you were secretly operating in the main country, you should have considered this, especially your attitude towards us. Didn't you have any hostility towards us? You should have thought about this from the very beginning."

Clutching her ample bosom, Aurora softly hummed to the black-robed girl in the distance. Meanwhile, Ershu remained unperturbed, simply extending a hand from her heavy robes to wave slightly to Aurora and the other female knights, as if bidding them farewell:

"Ha. Thinking about it this way, it seems that we were indeed a bit too naive and did not anticipate this sudden situation. However, upon closer reflection, after I finished giving you the information, I also mentioned that we had become enemies again. From this perspective, I can forgive your rude behavior."

"Hmm? What do you want to do?"

Seeing Ershu's gentle wave of the hand, Dinora became alert and retreated behind the armor of the female knight beside her, fully prepared for any attack Ershu might make next.

Meanwhile, Ershe, watching Aurora's actions, made a "relaxed" expression and shook her head slightly at Aurora.

"Hehe, no need to be so nervous, Ms. Aurora. As I said before, I will not attack you or your companions today, so please rest assured. What I am doing now is just protecting myself. Although I admitted before that I did not expect your sudden change of attitude, in reality, getting out of your encirclement is not a difficult thing for me."

"What did you say?"

Hearing Ershu's words, Aurora's expression showed a renewed look of surprise, and she was about to confront him further.

However, Ershu had already achieved his goal, so there was no need to linger any longer. He simply waved his hand gently and then smiled as he bid farewell to the people from the opposing forces.

"Well then, goodbye everyone, whether it's Ms. Aurora or the other knight ladies. I won't stay any longer! I hope that when we meet again, we can have such a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere!"

Accompanied by soothing words, Ershu maintained his composed demeanor, releasing a golden light from his hand and merging his body into this strange power. Then, like his companions, he was gradually transported away by this dazzling golden power, disappearing from the spot before everyone's eyes.

"Wait a minute." The words "Don't even think about escaping" carried a hint of urgency. The female knights beside her swarmed forward, trying to stop Ershu's disappearing figure, while the mage quickly cast a blocking spell.

However, Ershu disappeared so quickly that the knights' attacks were completely ineffective, and in the end they could only catch a few traces of the black-robed girl.

"Damn it, I've been tricked!" Recalling Ershu's words to her earlier, Aurora realized that it wasn't just her mocking or teasing her. This girl in black robes had probably anticipated this sudden attack, and thus, the moment she arrived, she gathered her strength, ready to escape at any moment. Even her conversation with Aurora at that time was for this purpose.

Ershu... This person is not to be underestimated. If all the cultists are like this, then it will probably take a lot of effort to wipe them out this time. With this thought in mind, Aurora became even more wary of this mysterious cult. She quickly composed herself, waved to signal the knights to gather around her again, and asked them to return to the camp with her.

"Thank you, Ms. Aurora, for not capturing that cultist."

"It's alright, it's not your fault. We don't know enough about those cultists, and we don't have enough information about the magic and abilities they use. Being able to keep her under control here for the time being is already a pretty good achievement."

"But we still failed." Don't dwell on the failure; it was just a small competition, nothing to be ashamed of. Look to the future to avoid a similar defeat next time.

Looking at the soldiers around her, Aurora shook her head slightly and spoke generously to them. The soldiers nodded vigorously with gratitude, and their steps behind Aurora became more and more firm.

Finally, after returning to the camp, Aurora gathered the knights together and sent a group of them ahead to the capital to scout and record everything they encountered along the way, searching for any trace of the cultists, and to report back to her at all times.

"This is an open strategy. Even if we know there might be a trap, we must not be negligent in this regard. Therefore, it is best to take a two-pronged approach. If anything happens, with your strength, you should be able to handle it smoothly. Remember, do not linger in battle. Focus on gathering intelligence, understand?"

"Understood, Ms. Aurora."

Following the merchant woman's instructions, half of the knights mounted their horses and began to gallop towards the capital through the dense forest. Aurora, on the other hand, remained in the forest camp with the other soldiers and mages, sitting in their carriages and gazing at the road leading to the north, waiting for the people they were waiting for.

After some time, about half a day had passed, and the sun was beginning to set, the traces of the tall horses unique to the northern army were finally discovered.

“Ms. Aurora, you see the flag? That’s the flag of the Northern Army. They’re on that hilltop, not far from us, they’ll be there soon.”

The soldiers ran to Aurora's carriage and reported the latest information to their leader. Aurora nodded slightly, her eyes showing a serious expression, and slowly stepped down from the carriage.

"We've finally arrived... Good, quickly meet with them to discuss the next steps. The others, get the carriages ready. Once we've finished discussing things, we'll head towards the capital without any delays."

"Yes, Ms. Aurora."

At the merchant's young wife's command, everyone busied themselves inside and out, each carrying out their assigned tasks. Aurora also raised her head slightly, gazing at the gradually setting sun in the distance, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Lius, is there anything in your plan that I didn't anticipate? Let's rewind a little, back to the time when Ershu was teleported away from Aurora," Hu slowly opened her eyes from the golden light. Ershu was facing a very peaceful room, a secluded residence that Lius had arranged for her, and where she had been staying for the past few days.

Alright, the leader's plan has begun. Next, we need to get in touch with him properly.

With this in mind, the girl in black robes slowly took out a communication stone from her bosom and began to report on the current situation to the blond boy in another location.