"Wait, there is something I still don't understand." The system spoke up again while hiding itself in Zion's mind.
"What?" The latter's voice had a touch of impatience by answering all the questions that his system was talking about. He wanted to focus on making his way out of this damned forest, but here he was, casually talking nonsense with his system. He wished if his system could be a bit smarter, Zion wouldn't have to be so impatient and bully 007 so frequently.
The system seemed to have perceived his host's thoughts, and his body shrank in the corner as he glanced at Zion's face. Whenever the system was hiding inside his host, a screen would appear in the darkness showing his host in a third-person view as if he were merely playing a game. The system even had the authority to change the field of vision to see from any angle he wanted.
But that wasn't what he cared about at this point. He anxiously stared at his host and opened his mouth. "Why are you so sure that the black-cloaked man is going to declare a war against the kingdom?"
Zion paused his steps and thought for a while. This time, the system didn't act as stupid as he had thought he would. He was quite satisfied with the question that 007 had just asked him. "That imposter killed two people directly who knew about what the man wanted to do and opposed it directly. Do you remember what Prince Linton said in the brothel back then? He said he wanted to save the 'flowers.' I'm sure he was comparing those flowers with citizens. That means, his original intention was to save the kingdom from the hands of Rhesus, who was himself cruel enough to kill his brothers in his youth. Something must have happened in the kingdom that made him believe that Rhesus is a bad person.
"Linton had thought this imposter wanted to take the kingdom by non-violent means, which were the intentions of the original Prince Bradley. But unfortunately, the former died at the hands of the black-cloaked man. This imposter wanted to do something heinous that could kill millions of those 'flowers.' I can assume that even Oswin was killed in the same way. They were both patriots who wanted to save the kingdom. Now, what's the opposite of saving? Of course, it's killing. There's only one thing that can kill many citizens without any warning—a surprise attack on the imperial city."
The system nodded and stared at his host with eyes full of worship. For him, Zion's mind was the best thing he had witnessed. If it were 007 in the host's place, he would have died a long time ago!
Zion could perceive the system's thoughts, and the corners of his lips curved up. In reality, he had a hunch that something like this would happen for sure. That was why he had spoken about it in front of Rhesus in the cell. And now, after witnessing two deaths and thinking more about it, he was sure that the black-cloaked man was planning a war. What was the reason behind it? Zion still wasn't sure since this man was an imposter.
"Anything else?"
"Yes!" Now that the system thought about it, he had another thought that bugged him. "I still don't understand why we didn't go to the brothel. So, what if the black-cloaked man had decided to give you a hard time? It's not like you have never been in such a situation. I'm sure you can hide your presence and get out as per your usual method! I think it'll be a faster way than what you're doing right now!"
Zion's mood, which had turned so good after witnessing a rare scene of his system asking an intelligent question, went down again. He had a dark expression on his face, and it even looked like he was planning a million ways to kill this furry man in his mind silently without any trace.
The system saw through his host's mood and sealed his lips while staring at the scene before his eyes. It was better to keep his mouth shut, otherwise someday he would be brutally murdered by his host!
Even though Zion's irritation rose to an unprecedented degree, he didn't plan to keep his naive system waiting. So he parted his lips and said, "Do you really think the person who could perceive your presence would let me go so fast? I don't think so. I'm sure he would have planned something far worse than death so that I wouldn't get another chance to escape."
While he was heading toward an unknown direction in the forest, King Rhesus had already started working on his plan to save himself. The first thing he did after coming out of prison was to call out to his people and get ready for war.
But soon after that, he received the news that the prisoner who had warned him about it had escaped. Rhesus stopped his work and glanced at the soldier who had just come before him as he was sitting on the throne. His eyes stared indifferently at the soldier for a long time, as if he was trying to figure out if this person was a spy or someone he could trust.
After a while, a sigh escaped from his lips. Even though he would like to figure out who his enemies were hidden in the palace, it was impossible since they all acted so perfectly. So he waved his hand as if he didn't care and vaguely told the soldier, "Investigate but don't put all of your energy into it. Take two more guards to search for him."
But the king knew he wouldn't be able to find the man anytime soon. He leaned back on his throne and rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he were overworked and tired enough to take a nap.
To be honest, he didn't know why he would have so many rebels in his kingdom. It wasn't that he did ruthless things after taking the throne. The only time he went all out with his schemes was when he was young and had killed his brothers.
A few years ago, the situation in his kingdom started to change. The crime rate suddenly increased for no reason, and most officials started blaming the king, saying he wasn't doing anything about it. But Rhesus was himself puzzled as well and did everything he could to make things right.
But things became worse to the point that a hundred children were kidnapped and killed every day. A dozen women were raped, and many humans were stolen from the aristocrats.
As the crime rate rose rapidly, the officials in the court also became anxious.
Was that the reason why he was on the verge of being attacked today? Was someone making use of the situation in his kingdom to wreak havoc?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. But before he could ponder more about it, a soldier came running to him with sweat dripping all over his body. He saluted Rhesus and said with a voice filled with tremors, "Your Majesty, they came."