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"I greet His Majesty the Emperor."
Rudger made a proper bow to the Emperor.
Erendir was vaguely surprised that Rudger would go to such extremes. At least the Rudger Chelici she knew was a man who would not bow down to a god, let alone the emperor.
Eileen, on the other hand, glared at Rudger, a little offended to see him kneeling to someone other than herself, even if it was her own father.
The Emperor spoke in a soft voice, whether his two daughters were listening or not.
"This is not the imperial court. Therefore, your excessive politeness only serves to embarrass me."
"I see."
Rudger rose to his feet and the emperor was intrigued, not angry, by the expressionless face that turned toward him.
His actions were fierce, but his eyes held no hint of submission.
'Indeed, a stalwart man. Besides, I wonder at the conflicting reactions of my two daughters toward him.'
"Alas. I've kept the hero too long. You've been through a lot and you deserve a break."
"I appreciate your consideration, but given the circumstances, I don't think that's possible."
The Chimeras retreated, but the terror in the capital was far from over, and that feeling was shared by everyone in the room.
The men returned to the command center once more and this time Rudger was with them.
Rudger looked around the command center.
Veronica, recognizing him, waved at him, and Trina, standing next to her, gave him a questioning look.
Elsewhere, a few mentors and wizards were gathered.
They seemed quite surprised that Rudger had made it back alive and well, and that he had rescued so many citizens.
The first-year mentors were still in the Imperial Palace, so it was the second-year tutors who were here.
Surprisingly, a familiar face was there, Chris Benimore.
'There are a lot of people.'
Each and every one of them was a powerful man but the one that caught his eye the most was a large man standing at the Emperor's side.
'He's a beast, but his first impression is that of a sword.'
He's never seen him before, but with a face that distinctive, there's only one person he could think of. Luther Werdot, head of the Royal Guard.
He doesn't wear his power on his sleeve like other powerful men. Rather, he wields his power with such precision that a stranger might mistake him for just a big, gruff old man but to those in the know, it was just as impressive.
None of the people gathered here have a flaw in their skills. At the very least, it was the best power that could be assembled at the time.
The fact that they didn't show any signs of weakness meant that they were at full strength.
'He's a little smaller than Pantos, but he feels more compressed, so it's hard to tell.'
Rudger thought of the Pantos that remained in Leathervelk and compared him to Luther.
Compared to the Empire's strongest sword, he was still far from perfect but Pantos could be called a great hero of the Suin people, a man who grew steadily stronger with practice.
'It's too much for him right now, but maybe with more experience, he'll be able to do it…….'
Rudger, who was thinking that far, realized that Luther was looking at him and naturally looked away.
Perhaps he'd stared too long as he was deep in thought or maybe Luther sensed something in his blatant gaze.
In times like these, it was best to be brazen, so Rudger ignored Luther's stare as best he could.
Gathered in the command center, the leaders discussed what to do next.
"First, we need to establish a perimeter and stop the spread of damage."
"It's too late for that since we don't know what else they're trying to do underground."
"Then what are you suggesting we do?"
"We need to go underground first and wipe them out."
"We don't know what's down there. What if it's a trap?"
"The men gathered here are some of the best in the Empire. Do you really think we're going to fall for a trap dug by a bunch of Liberators?"
The wizards wanted to be cautious, while the knights wanted to be aggressive. Of course, Veronica and Trina, the leaders of the knights, had nothing to say.
Even among the wizards and knights, opinions were divided.
"May I say something about that?"
Princess Eileen who had remained silent until now spoke up.
When she opened her mouth, people were quite puzzled. On the other hand, Trina, who knew Aileen's personality, narrowed her eyes and thought, 'This is just the beginning.'
"What is your name, the one who just called them a bunch of Liberators?"
"My name is Eric of the Nightcrawler Knights……."
"Yes, Eric. I sympathize with your sentiments but it's still not enough."
Eric fell silent as Eileen spoke up.
"As everyone knows, the Liberation Army has prepared their own weapons unlike anything we've seen before. Most notably, gunpowder that is impervious to magic."
At that, the faces of Theon's mentors hardened. As the first to encounter the Liberators, they knew the effects of gunpowder better than anyone.
"You might say it doesn't matter because we know how to counter it, but the truth is, we don't know what else they have in store, just like the chimeras they've been breeding in the capital underground."
"But didn't we stop them?"
It was the captain of the guards in charge of the capital's defense who answered.
"Of course we did. The guards did their part, and the knights and wizards here fought as best they could. Considering the magnitude of what happened, the damage is miraculously minimal."
Everyone's spirits lifted a little at that but Eileen poured cold water on them.
"But how do we know the enemy's means end here?"
"It's……."
"Even the unusual gunpowder they used is something no one in this room could have predicted."
She seems to be saying that the results are good, but then shifts gears at a crucial moment.
Eileen respects their roles and positions, but doesn't back down from her opinion because she knows how they might react. She didn't just speak with authority, but with reason.
"Think about it, my lords. If you were a member of the Liberation Army, or a warlock in league with them, would you stop after the use of the chimeras?"
No one dared to answer.
They were not kneeling before authority but harbored similar thoughts.
They were just trying to convince themselves that their enemies could not possibly threaten them but Eileen shattered that illusion head-on.
"If they thought they could threaten the capital with a mere chimera army, they're idiots who don't deserve to be dealt with, but I don't think they're idiots."
They didn't just unleash the chimeras indiscriminately, but made them retreat underground once again, meaning that they had a plan and it was clear they had another means of striking a blow to the Empire.
"At this moment, I have the best of the Empire at my disposal. Capital guards, police, high-ranking wizards, the Three Orders, and the Royal Guard."
She glanced at Rudger.
"And then there are the teachers of Theon."
Normally, on a list of this size, the Teachers of Theon would not be on the top of the list, no matter how prestigious they were but Eileen had recognized Rudger, and he deserved it, given that he had brought so many people back alive.
This caused the second-year teachers of Theon to breathe a sigh of relief as they took up their seats, looking slightly uneasy.
"Does the First Princess have any thoughts?"
Trina, who had been listening, asked.
"Lady Trina Ryanhowl, what does that mean?"
"Apparently, the First Princess believes that the enemy's offensive is not yet over."
It seemed a bit disrespectful of Trina to suddenly speak to the First Princess like that and indeed, the others glanced between the two with nervousness, but Rudger saw it differently.
'She's a great support while pretending not to be.'
Trina had deliberately put herself forward and asked a negative question to reinforce Eileen's opinion. It wasn't a prearranged behavior, but it was clear from the way it worked that they'd been having this conversation often before.
As Rudger had suspected, Eileen's eyes lit up with satisfaction.
"That is a good question. Would the enemy think that your lordships, the pride of the Empire, would fall to a mere chimera army?"
Everyone shook their heads at those words. The chimeras were certainly a threat, and they were numerous, but they were nowhere near close to the power gathered in this place.
"Yet they sacrificed their own power, and even sent in the chimera. What do you think their intentions were?"
"They have the means to wipe this place out."
The answer came from the gathered mentors and all eyes naturally turned to one place.
Casey Selmore stepped forward, her azure, wavy hair bouncing as Eileen's eyes lit up with interest.
"You must be Casey Selmore, the second lady of Selmore House."
"And a detective."
A smile of amusement tugged at Eileen's lips at the challenging tone. It wasn't often that someone was so confident in her presence.
Casey met Eileen's unwavering gaze. For a moment, her eyes flickered past Rudger, but it was so brief that no one saw it.
"So, Detective Casey Selmore, do you have anything in mind, or have you made any deductions?"
"The chimera army must have been a ruse, a raid using the remnants of the Liberation Army. Unless they're stupid, they would have known about the power gathered here. A mere chimera army can't even make a scratch."
"Then what?"
"There's something more. Something that makes them think they can pull off a victory against our power. It's not just a guess, it's a certainty."
"Then they knew we'd gather like this."
"No. They're hoping for it, and they're probably doing something underground to make it happen."
Casey's words were unsubstantiated and wild, but plausible in their situation.
Inwardly, Rudger found himself agreeing with her.
'She's right, the Liberators are up to something underground, and the special gunpowder and chimeras are nothing more than tricks to stall us.'
Except they needed to know exactly what it was.
Rudger didn't know the details yet since Hans and Belaruna, the men he'd sent underground, would have to bring back information before he could move forward.
'Given their skills, it's about time.'
Rudger was counting down the minutes as the door to the barracks opened and a young, blonde man stepped inside, it was Passius.
'There you are.'
Rudger realized that what he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
All eyes turned to Passius. Some didn't recognize him, but many more did after all he was a proud member of the Royal Guard and a master knight.
Casey, on the other hand, recognized him in a different way.
"Gee, am I a little late?"
Passius smiled wryly as he met the countless glances that flew his way. He then turned to the Emperor and bowed lightly.
Anyone else would have been forced to kneel, but the Royal Guard was permitted a shorthand way of showing respect to the Emperor.
Passius then handed Eileen the piece of paper he had brought with him.
"Princess."
"Thank you."
Eileen scrawled on the paper he handed her and placed it on the table in the center of the barracks.
All eyes were on the table and naturally, Princess Aileen was now in control of the situation.
The Emperor himself, Augustus, simply stood by and watched.
The leaders could tell from there that the Emperor was backing the First Princess.
"They've built a huge facility underground."
"A facility?"
Deputy Veronica asked.
"Yeah. A chimera army of that magnitude would require a huge incubation facility. It wouldn't surprise me if they did."
"But there's no room for that in the underground……."
"There is. The Empire has a long history and there are sections of the underground that have been abandoned over the years as the aqueducts were repaired and expanded."
Princess Eileen did not reveal the details of the space beneath the aqueducts since they didn't need to go there.
"Perhaps they've been building facilities there, preparing for a long time."
"But cultivating a chimera of that size requires not only a facility, but also vast amounts of materials, and it's unlikely that such materials have been shipped in from the capital for so long……."
The captain of the guard was about to speak, but Eileen held out a hand to cut him off.
"I understand. It may seem as if the guards and police of the capital have done nothing, but I assure you, they have not failed in their responsibilities."
"What?"
"They didn't bring in the ingredients for the chimera army from outside in the first place. No, they didn't have to."
"Then……."
"There are materials in the underground facility that they could have used."
"What?"
Everyone listened for Eileen's next answer and she told them the shocking truth she discovered.
"It's a world tree."
"A world tree?"
"Yes. A dead world tree, buried deep underground, unknown to the world."