Despite rigorous planning, the possibility for the unexpected to occur was always possible. Scarlet had met with the Guardian Knights, but the Roaring Dead Legion had reached the Transverse Mountains faster than she expected.
The atmosphere in the tent was deeply oppressive. The leader of the Guardian Knights, Menkin, was standing quietly in front of Scarlet, unsure of how to explain his mistake.
After a few minutes, Scarlet sighed and shook her head. The abilities of a ruler could sometimes determine the success of his subjects. Scarlet knew that she did not lose to Baery or Anfey. It was her king who had lost.
Yolanther had top level powers and so did Edward the Eighth. However, Yolanther knew how to utilize the powerful people who served him much better than Edward the Eighth did. The only top level power Edward the Eighth sent to the Country of Mercenaries was Douminge, while Yolanther had sent almost all the top level powers under his control.
Douminge once served as the royal family's mentor and was a good friend to the oldest prince and princess. Last year, Edward the Eighth wanted to marry the oldest princess off to the Country of Mercenaries but Douminge argued with him about it, after which Douminge quit being the mentor. After learning that the princess disappeared, Douminge swore that he would never serve Edward the Eighth again. Edward the Eighth learned that making the princess marry a mercenary was a bad idea. His actions had alienated Douminge.
Scarlet knew why Edward the Eighth was so stern on the matter, but that did not stop her from recruiting Douminge. Douminge liked her plans for the Shansa Empire and was willing to go with her to the Country of Mercenaries.
Douminge was the only top level power Scarlet was in control of. Even though the three dark knights she had were powerful, they were man made creatures created through alchemy and necromancy. It would not be hard to trick and destroy them.
Scarlet knew that the different between Edward the Eighth and Yolanther was that Yolanther knew how to utilize his resources. Because Edward the Eighth was not as skilled, she knew she would not receive help from his royal mages. Scarlet had control of the nation's army, if she had the support the top level powers, it would be easy for her to overthrow Edward the Eighth. Even though Scarlet had no such plan, Edward the Eighth's insecurities still made him worry.
The Guardian Knights suffered a defeat at Anfey's hand because of Edward the Eighth. If he had sent his two top level mages, it would not have happened.
"This is my fault, general," Menkin said with a sigh. "Please, you must punish me."
"It's not your fault," Scarlet said, shaking her head. Menkin had made the right choice in retreating. If he died, the Guardian Knights would be without their leader.
"But at least we drove out the Maho army," another commander said. "If we can control the magic crystals, we can wait it out."
Scarlet shook her head. "This is not all of Yolanther's power," she said. She wanted to destroy the Roaring Dead Legion because she knew how dangerous it was. If she could manage to destroy the legion, it would take out a large part of the Maho Empire's military power. If Yolanther turned his entire army on her, she would not be able to win the war.
"Then we should…"
"Go after them."
"Go after them?"
"Baery has almost never lost," Scarlet said. "If our informants are right, the defeat he suffered earlier by our hands made him question his abilities. We cannot allow him to recover. We have to take him out."
The commanders glanced at each other in silence.
Not only was Scarlet frustrated with Edward the Eighth's actions, she had a personal vendetta against Baery. If it wasn't for him, her mother would still be alive. She turned to her commanders, eyes wide with rage. "Deliver this order to your men…"
Anfey and Jacob finally returned to the League. Anfey hurried to find Christian and asked, "What happened? Why did you retreat with the Roaring Dead Legion? What are you doing here? Where's Alice?"
After the two successfully slowed the Guardian Knights, Anfey and Jacob originally planned to retreat into the Transverse Mountains. However, the two ran into a few druids and learned that the League went around Scarlet's army and was heading north.
Anfey was shocked by this. He had planned for the League to leave because those remaining in the Country of Mercenaries would have only made things difficult for the League.
"I'm here," Alice called. "Don't look at me. I didn't choose this."
Anfey frowned and turned to Christian. They were the only people who had enough authority to change his plan.
"I received the order from my father," Christian said. He retrieved a letter from his dimensional ring and handed it Anfey. He read through the letter and his eyes widened in shock.
"He gave us such an important job?"
"He gave it to us," a voice said. Anfey turned around and Saul appeared with two dozen mages. The mages behind Saul were wearing expensive robes and were armed from head to toe. Anfey stared in shock as he recognized the royal mages.