Xerel and Lazarus soon arrived at the exit of the tunnel which led them to the walls of Labason Kingdom.
Lazarus punched the ground beneath his feet revealing a dug-up burrow that went through the outer walls.
"Once we arrive at the outskirts, we must swim through the Crimson river so we can avoid the empire from tailing us."
"Okay, and why is it called Crimson river? Is the water red?"
"It's a treacherous river that flows through the Netherlands and is home for powerful monsters. Legend has it that in the heart of the land, is where the abyss crack can be found. The abyss crack is where monsters from the inferno will rise to destroy the world."
'Does that mean the Netherlands is where we will have to fight the demons? If that's true then I could probably scout the terrain so I can have a better advantage once the scenario starts.'
Xerel thought to himself as he followed Lazarus through the hole. It was a relatively long hole since the walls were very wide and after we arrived at the other end, Lazarus made a silent gesture as he peeked through the small hole in the ground.
"They're already here. The soldiers are now scattered outside the walls and they're probably stopping me from escaping the kingdom."
"What should we do now?"
"Although the river is just half a mile away, recklessly running in the open is no different than suicide. We need to divert their attention somewhere else but I can't think of anything."
"Hmmm..."
Both thought deeply. Xerel went to peek through the walls and he could see soldiers walking around the walls and thought of an idea.
"I have a plan, but we have to wait until it's night."
*********
Back at the Gutalac Empire, the empress, Cristina IV was walking around the beautiful garden on their palace and behind her was a knight guarding her.
"Theena, please be comfortable with me, you're the first female knight that has ever set foot in the kingdom and I hope that we can be friends. We're in the least dangerous place in the kingdom, why don't you join me in a picnic?"
Cristina said as she sat down on the picnic table as she pours some tea on a ceramic cup.
"If that is what the empress wishes so."
Theena removed her helm revealing a face of a beautiful human. Her white hair had turned blonde, her greyish dark skin had become peachy and her ear had lost its pointy look.
She sat down with Cristina as they enjoyed the view in the garden. Butterflies fluttering around, birds tweeting on the trees, and flowers blooming on the grass.
It was a magical experience that any princess would enjoy.
'Why did I have to change to become him(Xerel)? Being restricted from my powers is uncomfortable and the fact that I, the queen of the dark elves have to serve another queen and not of my kind gives me this sour feeling that I can't get used to. Still, this isn't so bad, I've fought those feisty men and have climbed up the ranks and thankfully serve a kind and beautiful empress. Resting in such a beautiful place gives me immense peace.'
************
As dawn falls and two moons rise in the sky, the night had come to blanket the world. Two men were hiding in a burrow as they observe the soldiers guarding the outer walls without rest.
"It's nighttime, are you ready?"
Xerel whispered to Lazarus who looked doubtful.
"Are you sure this plan of yours will work? If we screw, we'll die."
"You just need to make sure not to screw up okay? Oh, here they come."
Xerel switched places with Lazarus as Lazarus focused his strength in both his hands. Xerel on the other hand activated [Mana Manipulation] to conceal the Mana brimming in Lazarus' body and put up a silent barrier on a small area around them.
"And...now!"
Bang!
Lazarus shot up on the ground as he bashes the heads of two soldiers. They were immediately knocked out as he immediately returned to the hole.
"We must be quick, the soldiers will realize that two of their men are missing!"
"I know, I'm being as fast as I can!"
Lazarus removed his armor and weapons and Xerel hid them using his spatial inventory. They removed the armor and clothing of the soldiers and wore it and left their half-naked bodies on the burrow as both stood up and marched just like the soldiers.
"We won't be caught right?"
"Don't worry, I've copied their Mana flow and mimicked it to our own so they wouldn't be able to tell it was us. We just have to blend in with them before we escape. There's still a lot of eyes watching the surroundings."
Although Xerel's [Mana Manipulation] was drastically weakened, the Mana in this world was so abundant that Xerel would simply absorb the Mana in the surroundings to fill up to the Mana he would use.
"I can sense 50 5th-circle mages warding the upper wall. 700 soldiers rounding behind the wall and 3000 outside. Our chance of escape should be 0.1%"
"Then was the reason why we had camouflage when the chances are near zero?"
"That was before, now, the chances have increased by 30%. Now do your thing."
"Yeah sure."
Lazarus started walking towards a soldier standby at the gate and started talking to him.
Being a beggar for many years was a blessing in disguise. Lazarus had observed most of the soldiers and civilians around the kingdom, he knew what was going on around the towns and villages so persuading them was no different from asking help from a close friend.
After a few minutes of talking with a soldier, Lazarus went back to Xerel with glee.
"What happened?"
"It worked! 3 hours from now, Count Hanes will go on a trip to the Liloy Kingdom to settle some political affairs. They needed knights to accompany him to his travel for protection. Thankfully there were still spots open so I listed both ourselves."
"Nice~ now all we need to do is play the waiting game."
*********
3 hours passed and a squire along with a knight opened a scroll and stated the names.
"James Johansen, Karl Marx, Ludwig Van Hoven, Biggus Di'cus, Felix Kjellberg, Arnold Search, Jack Spedicey, Mark Flyer, Sussy Baka..."
Lazarus and Xerel halted as soon as they heard the names of the soldiers who were unconscious as they walked right through the gate.
"Don't act suspicious, that Knight is Jude Fallon, he is very strict and loyal to the Hanes Family. He's ranked 11th in the rankings here in the Labason Kingdom and is nicknamed "Unstoppable Lance" because he specialized in jousting and is also ranked 1st in the jousting tournament. When he's riding his trusty stallion, he's deemed unstoppable that even duke Rainier, one of the strongest people in the kingdom is alert when facing him head-on so make sure to act normal."
"Gulp!"
Xerel swallowed his nervous saliva as he marched towards the gate along with the other soldiers who had been stated by the squire.
Jude Fallon was keenly observing each soldier as they passed by him and when Xerel came close to him, a window panel appeared in his view.
Ting~
[Jude Fallon
Rank: Silver Knight
Level: 73
HP: 65,700/65,700
State: Alert, Focused]
Gulp!
Xerel swallowed his dry saliva as soon as he read the window panel. Although he was quite weaker than Lazarus, he was still way above Xerel's level.
'Damn! I should've hunted monsters first before attempting this suicide mission.'
As soon as it was Xerel's turn, sweat poured in his forehead as he avoid his gaze even with the helm hiding his face, he could feel the pressure in his stares, and looking at him in the eyes would kill a weak-hearted person.
Tak!
Xerel was suddenly blocked by his Lance and immediately, Xerel felt goosebumps coursing through his skin.
'Shit! Did he find out!? My concealment should be able to fool even a great wizard.'
Tak!
Jude Fallon hit Xerel's back causing him to lift his chest from the blow.
"Don't March with your back arcing, you look like an old man, raise your body like a proper soldier!"
"Y-yes!"
Realizing that he wasn't caught gave Xerel a sigh of relief as he straighten his pose and walked away. Lazarus didn't need any suspicious look as his march was very perfect considering that he was an ex-knight.
After every soldier was checked, Jude Fallon rounded all of them to arrange their positions.
"You will be in the front, you'll be in the back, you'll stick with the carriage, you'll be behind the carriage, you'll be on the front of the carriage..."
Jude Fallon started to arrange them around the carriage that was waiting for Count Hanes to arrive. Xerel had made sure to exude an identical Mana pressure with Lazarus as a result, both of them were positioned in the farthest back.
'Nice! Escaping should be easy with this position!'
Both of them were thinking the same thing. Soon, Count Hanes arrived and along with him was a beautiful maiden dressed in royal clothing. Count Hanes was a slim and tall man in his 60s as he had a bald cap, a monocle, wearing a blue tuxedo, and a very bushy grey mustache. Beside him was a maiden in her 20s, she had fleshy white skin, slim, and wore a gown like she was about to attend a Ball. Sharp nose, pink lips, and blue eyes. She was exuding a very delicate aura like a dandelion in the wild.
'She reminds me of my little sister, very innocent and has this natural charm. I wonder how my little sister is doing now? She should be in her 3rd year in high school. Knowing her, she should be acing her exams.'
Xerel recalled her memories of her Sister as he stared at the maiden. The maiden simply glanced at the soldiers with alluring eyes and a window panel appeared in his view.
Ting~
[Antoinette Hanes
Rank: Bronze Royalty
Level: 21
HP: 5,900/5,900
State: Horny]
'Wtf!?'
After reading the description of the maiden, Xerel's eyes almost popped out of his sockets.
'To think such an innocent maiden is having such dirty thoughts! Damn, if I were not in this situation, I'd smash that girl! To think the first time I'd see the state; Horny would be from a woman and not a man. How could this world get any weirder?'
Count Hanes greeted Jude Fallon and using [Mana Manipulation] Xerel could eavesdrop on what they were talking about.
"Is everything ready?"
"Yes your highness, we'll arrive at the Liloy Kingdom in three days, if there are no problems in our journey, it will take one and half-day."
"Good. My daughter here has been asking me to get her married to Duke Willem's son, Hunter Willem. Well, this would be a good proposition for our family and if they accept for the marriage, our power will only increase."
"That would be great for the Hanes family. Your daughter is anything a man would need, smart, diligent, and pure."
"Thanks, uncle Jude."
'Pft! Pure my ass..'
"Why do we only have such few men?"
"The kingdom is currently on high alert because a convict is trying to escape. We are not sure who the convict is but seeing that the emperor and even the great wizard is the lookout, it seems to be an important search."
"I see...unless it doesn't connect with us, there shouldn't be no problem."
"Don't worry, if we may encounter the convict, I'll protect the family with my life on the line."
Hearing their conversation, Xerel couldn't help but silently sneer. The two entered the carriage and it started to move.
Xerel and Lazarus were on guard and made sure to blend in with the others and as they arrived at the exit, the mage on watch cast their spells and scanned the carriage and soldiers. Xerel and Lazarus held their breath and as soon as they were hit by the scanning light, nothing out of the norm happened as they breathe in a sigh of relief.
'Phew~'
They continued on their march and were now reaching their destination: Crimson Lake.