Chapter 246: The Army Moves

Chapter 246

The Army Moves

Suddenly, the soldiers from the Rhea Kingdom made an announcement, causing the eyes of many students to flicker inadvertently. However, after hearing Young Lord Aman laughed, “huh,” his previous words came rushing back to them.

"It seems they think we are very foolish," one student, who had initially considered handing the prince over, said angrily. Now, the prince was like their shield, preventing the enemy from attacking them aggressively. The offer from the Rhea soldiers confirmed their suspicions...the enemy’s restraint was due to the prince being in their camp!

While the soldiers of Rhea were confident, they had no idea how much the students of Ares Institute were mocking their plan!

Well...they should have known better than to underestimate someone from the Setter family. Not only were they skilled, but they were also incredibly cunning!!

If they thought they could outwit this second young lord, they would need another 100 years of practice!

"We, Rhea Kingdom, is generous. If you surrender peacefully, we will not cause any trouble. We only want to take Prince Jason. I believe you are all smart enough to make the right choice. You have 1 minute to decide. See how generous we are," the Rhea soldier said again when the camp remained silent.

"No way! Don’t try to trick us. We know you won’t let us go," one student shouted back immediately after hearing the enemy rushing them.

"What? You don’t believe us? Why is that, young one? Don’t you see that we have had many opportunities to attack and even have poison that could wipe you out in one go, but we haven’t used it. Isn’t that proof enough of our humanity?" The soldier, who had volunteered, was starting to get annoyed by the students’ stubbornness.

The poison user who had suggested this plan also felt that it might fail. Instead of waiting for the result in silence, he planned to do something more.

Ellie had been watching them closely. When they realized they couldn’t trick the students, they sought another way. The poison users called over 2 soldiers and seemed ready to sacrifice them.

"If the students refuse to send the prince out, while their attention is drawn to the front, you two will find a way to enter the camp from the back. Once you’re in suitable range, throw this poison bomb into the center. This poison will knock them out immediately upon inhalation. I don’t know why the initial poison failed, but it’s likely those stratagem users have a way to prevent the poison from entering."

"If you can get this poison inside, we’ll see how they counter it. If it still doesn’t work, we’ll find another way to attack."

"Understood," the two soldiers replied. They took a sleeping poison bomb each and split up to find a way in while another soldier continued to negotiate at the front.

They were using a good strategy, but unfortunately for them, they were unaware that this camp contained a character with overwhelmingly cheating abilities.

As the two soldiers attempted to sneak around the back, their bodies suddenly collapsed into the bushes out of sight. Their eyes widened in shock as the poison bombs they carried fell, never having fulfilled their purpose. Ellie had decomposed their hearts along with their bodies. Though it took some time, it was the right choice.

The two soldiers had not yet entered the range of activating the stratagems. After the battle ended, there would undoubtedly be inspections around the area. If they were found in such a state, many would be suspicious of what had happened. The sudden destruction of their organs would remain unexplained.

Unlike those caught in the stratagems, when the soldiers inspected, they would find that these victims had died due to the stratagems. They wouldn’t bother to look deeper, as these were enemy soldiers.

Decomposing a whole human took a long time. It wasn’t surprising that Ellie didn’t order her little Mushroom to decompose many of them. Instead, she opted for minor internal destruction, leaving them to die mysteriously.

Ellie also released her little Apple, about the size of 1 thumb. It hopped along the path she directed, then consumed the 2 sleeping poison bombs. After the little creature was satisfied with its meal, Ellie let it go to harass the remaining poison users by secretly consuming their poisons from a distance.

These poison users didn’t have dimensional rings. Thus, they carried poison in their bags and had carts filled with it, intending to destroy the small camp with a cartload of toxins.

Well...they had known beforehand that there were about 30 students in the camp with the prince and 2 members of the Setter family. The people of Rhea, who feared the Setter family more than the Demon King, could not be careless. Though these were merely students from Ares Kingdom, they still brought an abundance of poison. With so much poison...blindly throwing it around was bound to hit Second Young Lord Aman eventually!

Unfortunately for them, their secret card was being happily devoured by the little thief. The little Apple was happy, and so was Ellie...

"Tch! What do we do now? They didn’t fall for it at all."

"Wait until the minute you gave them is up," the poison user instructed. He had given the 2 soldiers time as well. If they succeeded in sneaking in, no further plan would be needed. However, he wasn’t complacent. While sending the two soldiers, he had already devised another strategy.

Meanwhile, back in the royal city, the news of the students’ battle with the people of Rhea Kingdom had finally arrived. Although many soldiers were involved in the rebellion, several others were not part of the scheme. These loyal soldiers quickly rang the alarm bells, causing everyone in the city to wake up in the middle of the night and gather in the town square.

"What happened?!"

Celey, who had just retired to her room after working hard until midnight, asked impatiently. She held significant authority among the apothecaries, and it was essential to protect their rights. If the remaining apothecaries were too exhausted to concoct potions the next day due to an inconsequential alarm, Celey would hold those responsible accountable.

"Head Apothecary, Commander, there is an emergency involving the institute students!!"

Upon hearing this, Celey’s heart sank. She glanced at the city’s squad leader, who was smirking maliciously to himself, with hatred. Her small fingers, accustomed to handling concocting potions, clenched tightly. If she were a soldier, she would have grabbed a sword and beheaded these scoundrels already!

Initially, she had only suspected that something terrible might happen but had hoped it was just her imagination. Who would have thought it would actually occur? If so...that young girl Ellie must be in grave danger!

"What has happened to them? Where are they now?"

"Apothecary Celey, please calm down. Let my men explain the details first. After all, this is our job, our responsibility. You only need to focus on your duties." The squad leader waved dismissively.

He felt that this Celey was really someone not worth keeping. Her demeanor suggested she knew something, making him suspicious.

"...Very well. Then do your job quickly. I won’t interfere further so as not to slow you down."

"Hah! It’s good that you know your place. Stick to your work, don’t be too bold and meddle in others’ affairs, lest you get into trouble for being too outspoken."

Celey was even more enraged upon hearing this threat. If not for her assistant holding her back, she might have walked up and spat in that man’s face, declaring, "I know what you’re doing!"

"Alright, report now," the leader ordered, and the soldier immediately complied.

"The soldiers of the Rhea Kingdom have appeared in the Green Forest, sir. They are currently engaged in combat with the students’ camp, and among them is the prince!"

"What?!! The prince is there too? This is a disaster!" The commander of the soldiers feigned shock, pretending not to know beforehand, but the corners of his mouth betrayed a hidden smile.

"Indeed, we must go rescue the prince immediately. If we delay any longer, who knows what might happen? As those responsible for the safety of this city, we wouldn’t be able to save our own necks even with ten heads!" The soldier spoke fearfully, but the response he received left him stunned.

"Yes! We must move as quickly as possible. Have you located the prince’s group? There are over 30 of them, including the highly skilled second young lord of the Setter family. I believe they can hold out for a while.

"I think our priority should be to disperse and find the remaining 3 student groups as quickly as possible. They are scattered and might be ambushed just as fiercely."

“What’s wrong with you?! The prince’s group is in a crisis, and you’re telling them to wait?! What kind of decision is that?!!” Celey shouted furiously.

“What?!! It seems that Apothecary Celey really wants to interfere with my orders, huh? Or are you actually in league with the enemy? Otherwise, why would you oppose such a reasonable order!”

“Do you think the lives of the other students are insignificant? They are all the children of nobles. If something happens to them, can you take responsibility? And what’s this...you say the prince’s group was being in a crisis? You’re making it sound like you’re looking down on the prince!”

“The prince’s group, combined with the second young lord of the Setter family’s group, has 3 times the number of students compared to other groups. With such a large number, they’ll surely be able to hold out.”

“Moreover, I didn’t say we wouldn’t help the prince. Once we find the other students, we’ll regroup and go help the prince. So, explain to me how my order is wrong! From what I see...it’s you who’s trying to delay us.”

“Or do you actually want to tarnish the prince’s reputation, showing everyone how worthless he is, making it seem like we’d let the other noble children die just because Prince Jason is protected by a group 3 times larger?” The head soldier skillfully twisted his words to paint black as white and white as black.

Celey’s anger flared, her face reddening. However, she couldn’t speak any further. The other soldiers, initially puzzled by their leader’s orders, now bowed their heads as well.

They felt that the leader’s orders seemed wrong, just as Lady Celey suspected, but his words also seemed reasonable.

Seeing that his subordinates were convinced, he prepared to issue the next order. However, before he could speak, the soldier who brought the report interrupted urgently.

“S-Sir. Actually...”

“Actually, what?”

“Actually, the other 3 groups of students have already joined the prince’s group, sir. So, there’s no need to split our forces to find the remaining students.”

“What? What did you say?!” The leader was furious upon hearing this. How could those students have joined the prince’s group unless they already knew they might be attacked? Or could it be...

The head soldier glanced at Celey, who was smiling smugly. He clenched his fist and understood everything instantly. Apparently, on that day, Celey had indeed spoken to that girl, Ellie, and they must have known all along. He shouldn’t have believed in their performance, otherwise, they could have already let the prince be captured by now!

“Good, very good! Then we’ll head to the prince’s camp,” the leader said through gritted teeth. He could only hope that the Rhea Kingdom’s forces were as competent as they had boasted. If they could resolve the situation before he arrived, there would be nothing to worry about. However...what they still didn’t know was that the student’s camp was already in a state of such chaos that even the students who created it were astonished.