NOVGO.NET Chapter 627: Catching the Traitors All at Once
Chapter 627: Chapter 627: Catching the Traitors All at Once
Andrew paced anxiously through the Great Library, searching back and forth in confusion.
He couldn’t find even the slightest trace of the human Beast Master anywhere.
“If the human Beast Master isn’t here anymore, does that mean I’ve fulfilled my agreement with Aldany?” Andrew murmured to himself.
His original task was to restrain the human Beast Master. Since the Beast Master hadn’t appeared, Andrew naturally believed he’d completed his mission.
Just then, Aldany suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Great Library.
“What exactly is going on? Why hasn’t a fight broken out yet?”
He didn’t dare enter the library; instead, he stood at the doorway, shouting inward.
Andrew swiftly approached the library entrance.
“The human Beast Master you mentioned hasn’t shown up at all, so naturally, no fighting has taken place,” Andrew explained.
Aldany was deeply puzzled by this news.
He frowned and contemplated for a moment, before suddenly realizing something important.
“So, he’s been deceiving me all along! He never stayed at the Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis; he went elsewhere in the great desert!”
Aldany pieced together all the information, finally arriving at a somewhat correct conclusion.
“He once mentioned going to the desert to look for upgrade materials for his mystical beast!” Aldany muttered to himself.
“No wonder he’s been absent these past few days. He must have left earlier, and Zara fabricated his presence in the Great Library!”
Aldany’s speculation was remarkably accurate.
Andrew stood to the side, watching Aldany mutter to himself.
He wasn’t the least bit interested in what Aldany was saying; what concerned him were the spoils he’d been promised.
“High Priest, I’ve completed our agreement. Shouldn’t you also fulfill your promise now? You said you’d let me select treasures from the Serpent Empire’s treasury.”
Andrew urged impatiently.
Aldany shook his head.
“It’s not yet time! Though our plan has achieved considerable success, I haven’t yet fully taken control of the Serpent Empire. I still need General Sost to submit to me.”
His words deeply angered Andrew.
“That wasn’t what you said earlier! You told me that as long as you controlled the Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, you’d completely control the Serpent Empire! What’s this about breaking your promise now?”
Andrew’s voice grew notably more threatening.
He even began openly threatening Aldany.
Facing these threats, Aldany did not back down at all.
Coldly, he replied, “No plan can ever be perfect! My confidant at General Sost’s side failed in his task. He couldn’t convince General Sost, and that’s why we need additional measures to force him into submission.”
“That’s your problem, not mine!” Andrew retorted with a disdainful snort.
As far as he was concerned, this was Aldany’s issue to handle.
He saw no reason why he should go out of his way to resolve Aldany’s problems.
The two of them remained locked in a stalemate.
Aldany detested Andrew’s endless greed, yet at this very moment, he desperately required Andrew’s assistance.
Although Charles wasn’t currently at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, once Aldany initiated his moves, Charles would quickly receive word of it. When that happened, Aldany would still need Andrew to restrain Charles.
Andrew also deeply resented Aldany.
He believed Aldany was deliberately breaking their deal, meaning those promised treasures might never materialize.
Their stalemate created an atmosphere filled with immense pressure.
Neither was willing to be the first to yield.
At this very moment, Andrew suddenly heard a faint voice.
“Just go along with his plan! After all, we still need him to open the Serpent Empire’s treasury.”
Charles’s voice directly resonated within Andrew’s mind.
The instant he heard Charles’s voice, Andrew immediately confirmed his earlier suspicions.
Charles had been secretly monitoring him all along!
The grave expression on Andrew’s face swiftly vanished.
Smiling warmly at Aldany, he said, “You’re absolutely right. Plans can never be entirely flawless. I’ll cooperate fully with your next move, but I’d like to know—how exactly do you plan to bring General Sost under your control?”
Andrew’s sudden change in attitude greatly astonished Aldany.
Though deeply puzzled and surprised, Aldany quickly seized this unexpected opportunity.
After all, Andrew was now voluntarily backing down.
“I’ll lead an elite force directly to Withered Tree Fortress! I’ll personally demonstrate my strength to make General Sost submit. And if he insists on opposing me, I’ll utilize the spies hidden at his side to sabotage his plans!” Aldany promptly outlined his strategy.
Andrew nodded approvingly.
“In that case, let’s proceed according to your plan. Should I accompany you?”
“Of course! Since the human Beast Master isn’t here at the Great Library, there’s a high likelihood he’ll appear at Withered Tree Fortress instead. I still need you there to restrain him during the battle.”
Faced with Aldany’s request, Andrew had no intention of refusing.
Smiling, he replied, “Very well. I’m ready—prepared to depart at any time.”
“My subordinates will need some time to prepare. And before I leave, I must arrange everything within Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis. We’ll set out tonight,” Aldany stated.
After agreeing on a departure time, Aldany left.
Although he had seized control of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, his grip on power was far from stable.
Before leaving, he had to make a series of strategic arrangements.
Only then could he ensure that none of his enemies would pull off a last-minute comeback.
All the while, Charles had been observing everything from the shadows.
He had already identified all the traitors within Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis who had aligned themselves with Aldany. When the time came to strike, he intended to eliminate them all in one sweep.
That was precisely why he had pressured Andrew into backing down.
There were traitors lurking around General Sost as well—deeply hidden, nearly impossible to detect.
Only by forcing a direct confrontation between Aldany and General Sost could those deeply embedded traitors be exposed.
Once every last traitor was eradicated, only then could true stability return to the Serpent Empire.
And so, Charles waited until nightfall.
He then began silently trailing Aldany and his party.
At the same time, Withered Tree Fortress had just received a transmission from Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
General Sost was utterly shocked.
He could hardly believe that, in the midst of such a critical and deadlocked frontline situation, such a major upheaval had occurred in the rear.
Although the intelligence he received was vague and somewhat contradictory, one thing was undeniably clear—Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis had descended into chaos.
“General, what should we do now? Should we immediately redeploy our forces to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis?” Azka asked worriedly.
He believed the first priority should be ensuring Her Majesty the Queen’s safety.
Naturally, that would mean redeploying the entire army back to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
But before he had even finished speaking, another Serpent general voiced a strong objection.
“We absolutely cannot do that! If we pull back our forces now, Stellar Empire will crush the frontline defenses in an instant. Even if we succeed in securing Her Majesty’s safety, the Serpent Empire will be teetering on the edge of destruction.”
The moment those words were spoken, a heavy tension filled the entire war room.
Everyone knew that Withered Tree Fortress was the strongest—and the last—fortress the Serpent Empire could rely on.
If they abandoned Withered Tree Fortress and the surrounding defensive walls, the Serpent Empire would be forced to face the Stellar Empire in a final decisive battle at the Wall near Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
And that would almost certainly mean the complete destruction of the Serpent Empire.
“Then what do you suggest? Are we supposed to just abandon Her Majesty the Queen?” Azka snapped, his tone fierce.
Unlike many of the other Serpents who had fallen into despair, Azka still held out hope. He believed that Charles could come to their aid in the upcoming battle.
Charles was extraordinarily powerful. If he chose to fight, he could easily stand alone against an entire army from the Stellar Empire.
The tense atmosphere in the war room quickly escalated into a heated one.
The Serpent generals and Azka began shouting over one another, their disagreement erupting into a full-blown argument.
General Sost suddenly slammed his hand against the table with a resounding thud.
“That’s enough! Everyone, be quiet!”
The noise ceased instantly, and a heavy silence fell over the room.
General Sost looked around the table, meeting everyone’s eyes before speaking slowly and firmly.
“We absolutely cannot give up Withered Tree Fortress! Recalling the army to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis is out of the question!”
His words left Azka deeply disappointed.
But even so, Azka understood that now was not the time to argue with General Sost.
“We’ll stay here and wait for High Priest Aldany’s arrival. I’ve already rejected his offer to surrender. He’ll likely reach Withered Tree Fortress within the next few days. When the time comes, we’ll adapt and respond accordingly.”
With that, General Sost turned and left the room.
One by one, the others in the war room followed, each of them burdened with their own concerns.
Every Serpent was deeply worried. None of them knew what lay ahead.
News of the heated argument within the war room quickly spread throughout the Serpent army.
Connell, who was secretly disguised as a Serpent, naturally caught wind of this information—and it thrilled him.
“The Serpent Empire has fallen into civil strife! If I bring this news back, I’ll be credited with a great achievement!”
Originally, Connell had planned to gather military intelligence on the Serpent forces and report it.
But now that he had learned of this internal chaos, he realized the army’s plans were no longer important.
If word of this internal conflict within the Serpent Empire reached the Stellar Empire, they could seize the opportunity to completely annihilate their enemy.
And when that happened, Connell would be hailed as the greatest hero of the Stellar Empire.