In the room where the queens were gathered, the atmosphere was very quiet and somber after one of the knights told what had happened to the queens, especially their queen, Natalie.
Natalie stood still with a pale face. She took a shaky breath, "What did you just say?"
"There was an attack and intruders in the palace, Your Majesty. Most likely the princes and princesses are trapped with the intruders."
The knight's worried gaze fell on the queen's pale face. He cursed his friends who had forced him to break the bad news to the queen when they had decided to stand guard at the door.
Jane stepped forward impatiently, "This is impossible! The Gewitter kingdom's defenses have been fortified! They can't just come in!"
With all the information Edric had provided, Arsen should have tightened the palace guard and had a backup plan to stop the intruders. But why did their infiltration still succeed?
"Natalie!"
The high-pitched cry distracted Jane. There was Martha, holding Natalie, who was about to collapse, and helping her to sit on a nearby sofa.
"Eric... Hana... Arion..." Natalie whispered shakily as her eyes began to tear up. Why was she not with her babies at a time like this?
Natalie's eyes narrowed and she suddenly stood up, startling Martha who was beside her, "Where is Arsen now?"
The knight hesitated for a moment before answering, "His Majesty and the kings are on their way to where Prince Arion is. Likely, the princes and princesses are there as well."
Without waiting long, Natalie immediately moved quickly and left the room to catch up with Arsen. There was no way she could just stand there and wait.
Her sudden departure startled the two guards standing guard outside the room. They immediately followed their queen, leaving the remaining knight with the other three queens.
"Catch up with Natalie! I'll catch up!" Daisy pleaded with a stern look on her face, knowing that she was only slowing down her two friends.
Martha and Jane looked at each other and nodded. They entrusted Daisy to the knight and immediately ran after Natalie.
Meanwhile, at the location of Arsen and the other kings, they now stared silently and seriously at the scene in front of them.
"Arsen," Oscar called seriously. The situation was getting worse.
Arsen clicked his tongue, "I know."
The road in front of them should have been the road to where the babies were. But a dome barrier surrounding the place made it impossible for them to get through.
"Things are getting worse," Philip said in a somber tone. If Daisy found out that their children were in danger, it was certain that her condition would deteriorate again. He had to end it.
"The children are trapped inside with no protection at all," Edric muttered anxiously. The current events were worse than those in his kingdom. The enemy was more prepared than ever.
Arsen glanced back to where one of the guards was faithfully following him, "Search around the barrier for any clues."
The bodyguard immediately bowed respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty!" He immediately ran off to gather more knights to carry out their king's orders.
"Do you want to try to destroy it?" Oscar's question was immediately answered with a bolt of black lightning that struck the dome of the barrier with such force that it caused a violent shock.
The resulting explosion created a strong gust of wind that hit the surrounding area with such force that several of the knights in charge of searching for clues immediately shielded themselves from being blown away.
Oscar whistled in admiration, "His lightning is still as strong as ever." He hadn't seen Arsen's black lightning attack this strong in a long time.
Edric sharpened his gaze, "But..."
The dust that had obscured their view soon disappeared, revealing the barrier dome, which had not been destroyed and was still standing firmly.
Philip snorted unhappily, "That's not enough."
He studied the barrier dome closely, "Exactly what magic is this barrier made of?" He muttered seriously. The dome looked transparent, but they still had trouble seeing the scenery inside.
"How about attacking at the same time?" Oscar's suggestion was met with disapproving looks from Edric and Philip.
Philip snorted, "This palace could be destroyed if we do that."
Their strength as individuals was already great, let alone when combined. Not only the palace and its contents but also the area a few meters away from the palace could be destroyed.
"Your Majesty!"
The call made Arsen turn his sharp eyes away from the barrier in front of him. There, the guard he had assigned to search for clues had returned.
"Speak."
The knight straightened his body before reporting seriously, "We found several unconscious knights and servants near the barrier."
Arsen frowned, "Were they attacked?"
"There are no wounds on them, Your Majesty. But there is something strange about their consciousness."
His last remark caught the attention of the four kings, "Consciousness?"
"Your Majesty!" Another call immediately interrupted their conversation. Another knight was running towards Arsen from the other direction.
Arsen snorted, "Speak."
The knight bowed respectfully before speaking, "We received word from the knight on duty with Lord Reiga that there was an attack at the back gate of the palace!"
Arsen's gaze sharpened, "The back gate?"
Is that why Reiga hasn't returned from his duty yet and hasn't reported to him?
The knight continued his report, "Sir Reiga and his troops are taking care of them, Your Majesty. The situation there is still under control."
Edric hummed, "So they're a distraction." He murmured.
The planning of the intruder group was more deliberate this time than the last. Had the capture of one of their members made them more vigilant? If so, another surprise attack might be in store.
Oscar snorted in annoyance, "No wonder there aren't many guards around this barrier. Surely some of them were called to help there."
"Or they are trapped inside the barrier, or it could be worse." Philip continued seriously.
Arsen turned his gaze to the first knight who came to him, "You said there was something strange about the consciousness of the people you found unconscious."
The knight nodded firmly, "Yes, Your Majesty. No matter how hard we tried to wake them up, nothing worked. There were no injuries to their heads either, so it is unknown what the cause of their unconsciousness was."
Then he remembered something he had almost forgotten, "Mr. Chris was there to examine them and found that there were unusual waves in their brains."
"Chris? Arsen muttered, not too surprised. If Chris said that, it meant that something was really happening to their consciousness. Chris' analysis was undoubtedly correct.
"Illusion." Edric's murmur caught the attention of his three friends.
Edric looked seriously at the barrier, "This barrier is made of illusion magic. That's why the people they find won't wake up. They are trapped."
And if his guess was correct, this magic was also the reason why the search for the group of intruders had been so difficult in the past week. They were hiding with this illusion magic.
What puzzled him was, why wasn't it used from the beginning? Why was it only used in the past week?
Arsen was silent when he heard this kind of magic, "There is only one person I know who has this kind of magic."
He immediately ordered the first knight, "Do not let anyone approach or touch this barrier. Stay alert and wait for the right moment to attack."
Then Arsen turned to the second knight, "Return to Reiga and immediately take care of the attack there. Capture all the insects and bring them to me."
The two knights immediately saluted, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
After the two knights left, Arsen glanced at his rivals, "Let's do your idea, Oscar."
They fell silent and looked at him confused. Oscar was even taken aback by Arsen's words, "Really? Seriously?"
Arsen usually did not agree with his stupid ideas, which were mostly careless and would cause a lot of damage. It was his rival who had first rejected his idea firmly and with a tone of not wanting to argue.
Arsen snorted, "Not at full power, stupid. Only 30% should be enough."
Oscar, Edric, and Philip looked at each other before shrugging indifferently. There was no harm in them trying it.
Their right hands were enveloped by their magic auras powerfully. Black lightning for Arsen, fire for Oscar, ice for Edric, and shadow for Philip.
Simultaneously, the four of them released a powerful magic attack towards the dome barrier, creating a loud explosion accompanied by a shock that was more intense than before. Even if only 30% of the power they released, the impact was still devastating to the surroundings.
Arsen sighed, "That should be enough." he muttered without being heard by his friends.
They stared seriously at the dome of the barrier which began to waver and flicker but showed no signs of breaking.
Oscar snorted, "The barrier is wobbling but not crumbling."
Arsen didn't care about his rival's ramblings, "It doesn't matter. My goal is not to destroy it."
Arsen glanced at the shadows hidden behind the pillars in the corridor far from their position. He could see the unstable shadow of someone there before that person stepped out.
Arsen's gaze became sharper and colder, "I see you finally decided to stop being a coward and finally showed up."
His tone of voice turned heavier and sharper as he uttered a name.
"Robert Walson"