Chapter 349: Demon King Rohan's Emissaries

Alicia and Chloe looked at their king in complete silence. An absolute, ironclad devotion gleamed in the beastwoman's eyes, while Chloe's face reflected a deep admiration for the strategic mind of the man she now served.

Even Ophelia, the proud queen of Morrisen, couldn't stop a faint blush from tinting her pale cheeks as she noticed the unwavering confidence with which Ryan spoke of bringing the church to heel.

"My..." the demon queen murmured, breaking the silence with a brazen smile that tried to hide her fascination. "The next time I have to figure out how to destroy a rival demon king, it would definitely be best to leave all the planning to you."

She looked so satisfied and fascinated with the plan that she couldn't help but mention with a hint of irony that, had she left the planning of the Kowarre invasion to him in the past, she never would have ended up defeated and sealed in a miniature form.

Ryan maintained his stoic expression at the compliment, but his mind was already working at full speed, calculating the possible variables of the assault.

'Even so, it's highly likely that far more people will get involved in this event than we estimated,' Ryan thought, observing the village's vast horizon. 'Udriela's personal guardians, the church's elites, and any high-ranking holy knight who tries to get in the way... But, ultimately, that's also part of my plans. It will be the perfect opportunity for all my warriors to test their new level of power in an unrestricted fight to the death.'

With that idea lingering in his head, Ryan stared at the women in front of him as they fully grasped the magnitude of the ambush he had designed.

"And what exactly do you think about William, Your Majesty?" Alicia interjected suddenly, taking a step forward with a very curious and analytical tone. "Can we really trust him and his party of heroines for this operation?" the young wolf asked, twitching her ears in distrust.

Ophelia and Chloe found Alicia's sharp question highly interesting. In fact, they both reacted by straightening their postures, as if they had also wanted to ask the exact same thing for a while now but hadn't found the right moment.

"I acknowledge that William's influence as a hero will be of great help, but I've structured my entire plan assuming the worst-case scenario; that is, without actually including him," Ryan explained calmly. He made a dismissive gesture with his hands, downplaying the human's loyalty completely. "If I assume from the very beginning that William is actually a double agent working for the church, it won't affect us in the slightest."

But Chloe took a step forward, frowning with an obvious tone of concern.

"But, my lord... if William truly is a traitor who reports all our movements to the higher-ups, how is it possible that it won't affect us on the battlefield?" the brown-haired young woman asked, fearing an ambush from the holy knights.

"Alright, pay attention. The thing is, William will only know that we are going to the nation of Geizan, but he won't know absolutely anything about this massive teleportation relic we'll use to drag his sister and her guards into this world." Ryan pointed at the grass beneath his feet to emphasize his point. "If the church finds out through William that we are going to attack, and they set a trap for us, it won't actually affect us because we don't plan to stay in Geizan for a single second. Whatever they do against us in the outside world will be useless. Do you understand now? Whether the hero betrays us or not is an irrelevant factor that won't alter our main plan."

"I see the trap..." Ophelia murmured, her eyes widening as she understood the cold genius behind Ryan's information management. "So, you really never trusted that young hero after all and are just using him as bait?" the demon queen asked.

"It's not about whether I trust him or not," Ryan clarified in an icy tone, devoid of any emotion. "But his younger sister is practically a prisoner and a sacrifice for the church. William's judgment as a strategist and a warrior might be completely clouded and lost to his emotions. He won't act accordingly on the battlefield if he sees his sister's life is in danger."

Ryan hardened his gaze, preparing his subordinates for the cruel reality of war.

"Besides, I cannot guarantee under any circumstances that Priscilla will actually make it out of this alive. So, I prefer to keep William as far away from my real plans as possible. He will naturally be present in Geizan during the tournament, but, if possible, I would rather he not be transported to this place along with the others."

The silence in the valley suddenly became dense and heavy.

"By the time we arrive, the goddess Udriela might have already taken complete control of her body," Ryan continued mercilessly. "And if the only way to prevent that deity from adding to Keeper's power in this world is to kill Priscilla with our own hands, we'll have no other choice but to execute her. Naturally, murdering his younger sister isn't something I want William to know ahead of time, much less something I want him to witness. Do you understand now?"

The girls nodded slowly, taking in their king's dark determination.

'But in the future, William will be a very valuable and powerful ally against the other nations,' Ryan thought in the privacy of his own mind. 'I will genuinely try to save Priscilla to earn his absolute loyalty, but... if it's not something I can achieve without putting my own people at risk, I will have to kill her without hesitation.'

After making the harsh directives of his invasion perfectly clear, Ryan finally gave the order to leave the village. He stored his interspatial relic inside his coat the moment his boots touched the cold, snowy ground of the castle courtyard again.

Without wasting a single second, Ryan began delegating the logistical tasks exactly as he had structured them in his head.

Karol and Beatrice received the order to wake Iris up, and they were to leave for the nation of Geizan immediately. Their main mission was to scout the terrain, see how easy it was to infiltrate the elven capital without drawing the church's attention, and above all, test in a real environment the new, expensive relics that Runa and Mika had specifically crafted to hide their identities and demonic mana signatures.

After the infiltration group said their goodbyes and left on their covert mission, Ryan fixed his stern gaze on Helen, Mirian, and Irina, who had just returned from their little insubordinate exploration.

The three of them were given the strict, unyielding order to patrol the distant, inhospitable borders of Kowarre's territory. They were to ride the wyverns and guard the skies without rest and without food.

Naturally, they refused and complained loudly at first. Helen argued in frustration that she didn't understand why the hell they were being assigned such boring guard duties that clearly fell outside their usual responsibilities.

And that was when, following a massive, stern lecture that echoed throughout the snowy courtyard, Ryan made it perfectly clear to them that this was a punishment with no right to reply, precisely for failing to fulfill their responsibilities, abandoning a critical meeting, and disrespecting his authority as a commander.

Although the elf Irina hadn't wanted to neglect her duty initially, the simple fact that she allowed herself to be dragged along and forced by Helen's recklessness, showing a lack of character to maintain formation discipline, also cost her the same cold punishment.

The three warriors lowered their heads, defeated by their king's relentless logic, and reluctantly marched off toward the wyvern stables.

That same night, the dark, silent hallways of Ryan's massive castle felt unusually empty and peaceful; only the loyal dragoness Lise, the devoted Chloe, and the ever-diligent Alicia remained by his side.

But the following day, a border guard arrived at the castle. In his hand, he carried a letter bearing a seal that belonged to one of the leaders of Kowarre's cities.

News had finally arrived from the emissaries coming from the Ignis nation.