Returning to the present time, in the Alzar Kingdom's temporary encampment, Elizabeth just received word of the Xingyuu Empire's movements and rushed to the war tent. Her face was wrought with concern. How could it not be? War! The Second Great Kingdom War began again, and she understood first-hand the destructiveness and desolation that war brought. A battlefield meant death! She could not treat this lightly. When she arrived, several Royal Guards were standing by and a dozen more Grand Knights were patrolling the perimeter. Elizabeth nodded to her friends and walked in alone. Upon seeing her enter, General Dennis immediately stood at attention, and everyone else hushed and paid their solemn respects.
Waving her hand nonchalantly and sitting at the head seat, she said, "Tell me what happened."
Everyone followed her and sat down, while General Dennis cleared his throat and said, "One of our soldiers was approached by a Xingyuu merchant who came to deliver this letter." Taking out the letter that Chang and Tai were meant to deliver, he continued, "They said it was penned by the Imperial Princesses for the heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom."
In the Imperial Princesses' original plan, they wanted Chang and Tai to personally deliver the letter to the Alzar army. It might be dangerous and time-consuming, but the contents were pivotal to the entire war. If the Imperial Council or the Li Family learned what they were planning, then the situation could rapidly degrade to a worse-case scenario. There could be no turning back at that point! But the Imperial Council's attack was out of their expectations, forcing them to return to the princesses' side. No matter what, their absolute highest priority was to protect the princesses and that would never change. That was the pride of Protector Chang and Tai! On the way, Tai threatened a merchant to deliver the letter. That was how it eventually wound up with the Alzar army.
"Did you confirm it was from the princesses?" Elizabeth naturally asked. It would be foolish to believe the words of some random merchant, especially one from the empire.
"At the very least, we can confirm it wasn't a prank. The letter was written using a mixture of old military codes. There was the Crimson Province's code, used seven years ago, the Pinium Province's code, used four years ago, and finally the Golden Province's code, used three years ago. There's no way that a regular citizen could have done this. We've also interrogated that merchant meticulously and he said that Protector Chang and Tai were the ones that threatened him to deliver this letter."
Elizabeth grew lost in thought, which encouraged the others to speak up. One of the Legion Generals asked, "Although the message was encoded, that doesn't mean that the writer has to be the Imperial Princesses. What if this is a plot devised by the Imperial Council?"
"That's right. Those are our old military encryption codes, which have been broken by the Xingyuu Empire before. What the Imperial Princesses know, the Imperial Council must also know. This must be a trap."
"In the first place, we must think about why they decided to contact us. We're at odds with both the Imperial Council and the Li Family. It doesn't make sense to reach out to us. Are they hoping to broker a non-aggression pact between the Li Family and the Alzar Kingdom?"
"We are establishing our bridgehead here in the Samfeng Province. Although the Yunyun Stronghold is directly administered by the Imperial Council, the rest of the province falls under the Li Family's jurisdiction. It is possible."
"What a joke!" someone snorted. "Even if they wanted to, we shouldn't fall for their schemes. Dare I remind everyone how the Second Great Kingdom War started? It started because they violated the peace treaty and attacked us! I suggest that we ignore them!"
"I'm in agreement because it's too dangerous to trust the Xingyuu Empire. The two civilizations have fought each other for over five hundred years. The bad blood that runs between us is enough to fill an ocean. We have no reason to trust their words."
"The situation is still too early to tell. After the Imperial Council attacked the princesses in Guanhuang, the Li Family might choose to ally with us instead. We should wait until we receive more information."
"What happened in Guanhuang?" Elizabeth's brow wrinkled as she asked. Although she was the Royal Army General, she deliberated most of the decision-making to General Dennis or Admiral Aura. Her regular military reports were quick summaries that glossed over a lot of details.
"We're still trying to figure out the details, but around a week ago, there was a small-scale skirmish in Guanhuang between the Imperial Council and the Li Family," General Dennis explained. "It involved several Perception Realm combatants, including prolific figures such as the Blind Snake, Humming Swordsmen, the Four Dragons of the Loon Family, and even Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing."
Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing. This name alone was enough to raise the tension in the room! Regarded as one of the world's strongest warriors, alongside Sir Winstin, he was the leader of the Four Cardinals and the Imperial Sentinels. His reputation spread far and wide, striking fear deep into the hearts of these battle-hardened generals. Wherever Cardinal Hui went, a storm was sure to follow! As expected, everyone, as well as Elizabeth, grew serious.
"Although the Li Family eventually regained control of the situation, their losses were heavy, and Princess Ming was injured. It could be considered their defeat."
"What about Princess Ming now?" Elizabeth asked worriedly.
Despite being enemies, she could not help but feel conflicted about the Imperial Princesses. This was something that she did not understand very well either. After all, the Xingyuu Empire was responsible for slaughtering her family and townspeople! Even now, after more than a year, she could still vividly remember the scenes of carnage and hopelessness as New Havens fell. Memories of her father, mother, sister, and brother's final moments, trapped in agonizing grief and regret, were burned onto her mind. It would be impossible to forget it! She had the right to be vindictive! The Xingyuu Empire was the villain! That belief was further reinforced when she was captured in Port Silic and brought to the Yunyun Stronghold. She thought it was over, that she would be executed in Yongtein, and that her story would end here.
However, the Imperial Princesses would aid in her rescue and return her to the Alzar Kingdom. They would explain that the entire Second Great Kingdom War was a conspiracy created by Minister Linshi and that everything was a misunderstanding. But did being led around the nose by Minister Linshi suddenly absolve them of any wrongdoings? Elizabeth did not think so. At the end of the day, both Princess Xiuying and Ming contributed a lot to the Imperial Council, which oversaw the entire war. You could say they were indirectly responsible for the slaughter of New Havens! Just because they realized their actions were a mistake afterwards did not mean anything. Elizabeth was not that magnanimous to forgive them like that. If she did, it would be insulting her deceased family!
It would be simpler to hate them, but she could not find the will to do so, because their situations were too similar. Both were plagued by loss and blinded by hatred. Both wished to make the other side pay. Both were pulled and forced to follow the world's flow to wherever it went. Both wished for peace. When faced with something like this, anyone would feel empathetic. That was human nature! Furthermore, they were kind at heart. They would never hurt anyone unless they were hurt first. So, although their time together was short, they could understand each other. If possible, Elizabeth wanted to resolve things peacefully with the Xingyuu Empire, using the Imperial Princesses as the starting point. It was one of her main motivations in coming here!
"The Imperial Princesses are unharmed."
Elizabeth exhaled in relief, which everyone noticed. They began thinking as to what her true relationship with the Imperial Princesses was. It was dangerous to outwardly voice their suspicions, but they all felt uncomfortable around her. This was not a surprise. She might be the heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom, and the Royal Army General; however, there was too little information about her since she rarely stepped into the public light. It was hard for anyone to create a solid picture of the person known as Princess Elizabeth Etuvel Reindel. What if she betrayed the kingdom and defected to the empire? It would spell disaster for them, much less the whole war campaign! Holding their reservations was a natural course of action then.