Chapter 449: Preparation For A Nasty Surprise

"Arslan, I'm glad that you are still alive!" Paul wasn't able to stop himself from giving Arslan a bear hug after seeing him.

"I won't live for much longer if you continue to crush my lungs," Arslan wheezed as he tapped Paul's back to tell the emotional knight to back away.

Prince Alaric watched this exchange with a smile. He was quite thankful seeing that the strongest Prodigy of the Zelan Dynasty was safe. However, the slave collar hanging on Arslan's neck dampened the mood of the reunion.

William had interrogated Arslan earlier before releasing him from the prison. Naturally, he made up a story that he possessed a legendary artifact that could store people inside it. Everyone looked at him in doubt, except the people that were in the know.

In order to reinforce his lie, William decided to drag Jekyll along and tell them that the artifact was given to him by the Dentist of Lont, who was also a Taotie.

After experiencing Jekyll's abilities, everyone half-believed William's explanation and decided to drop the topic about his artifact prison.

"William, Is there a way to remove this slave collar?" Prince Alaric asked. He hoped that his distant cousin would be able to find a way to free Arslan from his enslavement.

"There is a way, but I think it is better to let that collar stay on his neck for a little while longer," William replied as he pointed at his own slave collar. "A slave collar makes people drop their guard because they are not afraid that a slave might revolt. If we use this fact to our advantage…"

The Crown Prince was a smart person and he was able to catch on to what William was hinting at.

"Make him a double agent?" Prince Alaric inquired.

"Yes." William nodded. "Of course, if he doesn't want to then I can remove the slave collar on his neck. However, it will take some time to do so."

Arslan who was listening to their conversation looked at William in disbelief. He never thought that there was someone that was capable of removing a slave collar from another person. When Arslan saw the slave collar hanging on William's neck, he believed that the latter was telling the truth.

His impression of William also became better because in his mind, both of them were slaves and shared the same hardship.

Actually, William had discovered a few things about the Collar of Wisteria after having a heart to heart talk with his Master, Celine.

One of the hidden functions of the slave collar was to give its previous wearer the immunity to enslavement magic.

The second interesting function of the collar was that it could actually dispel the enslavement magic of other slave collars.

Now he finally understood why Celine and Celeste were forced to wear their slave collars when they were young. This was to prevent the two of them from being enslaved by anyone. Now that William had worn the collar for several years, even if he took it off, no other forms of enslavement magic would work on him.

According to Celine, the Collar of Wisteria had nine special functions. 

-- Unlock the hidden power of light or darkness within a person.

-- Prevent anyone who wears it from being affected by enslavement magic.

-- Grants the ability to dispel the enslavement magic of other slave collars or any other similar tools and artifacts. 

-- Grants the last wearer of the collar the ability to pass the collar to others, making them their slave.

-- Allows the user to enter certain places in the Silvermoon Continent that belonged to the Wisteria Clan.

Celine had only told him five of the nine functions of the collar because the remaining four were something she couldn't share with anyone even if she wanted to. 

Her grandfather had given her an absolute order, while she was still wearing the collar, that she mustn't divulge the four remaining functions of the Collar of Wisteria to anyone.

William lied when he said that he needed some time to prepare the method of dispelling Arslan's slave collar because he thought that the young warrior would play a more important role if he became a mole within the Elven Forces.

Naturally, Arslan also understood the consequences of William's plan. On one hand, he was prone to suffer abuse and torture from the Elves if he returned to the capital of the Zelan Dynasty.

On the other hand, he would be able to receive and pass important information to the Alliance because he served as a personal guard of Princess Eowyn.

What Arslan didn't know was that William was testing his resolve. If he agreed to remain as a slave then he would tweak the Slave Collar to allow Arslan a little bit of freedom. He could choose to ignore certain orders and even act independently.

Simply put, Arslan was like a hidden blade that could stab the heart of the Elven Chain of Command when they least expected it. Although this role held untold danger, it could also tilt the balance of the war during crucial moments.

Arslan stared long and hard at William for several minutes before nodding his head. He had finally made his decision and his answer made everyone look at him with admiration and respect.

"I will ask you one last time." William patted the shoulder of the teenage boy who was older than him by a few years. "Is this your final answer?"

Arslan nodded his head firmly. "Yes. I will return to Briar Glen and become the rat that will bring the Elven Race to their knees. But, I have one condition."

"Speak," William replied. "If it is within my ability then I will grant it."

Arslan stared straight into William's eyes before saying his demand. 

"Let me kill the Elven Princess."

William frowned and firmly shook his head.

"You can't," William replied. "Princess Eowyn is my Moth- the Saintess' Disciple and one of the precious Princesses of the Elven Race. If you kill her then the Elves would make a blood oath to exterminate not only you, but all the citizens of the Zelan Dynasty. Believe me when I say that they are capable of doing this."

William told Arslan about the appearance of the two Guardian Beasts of the Silvermoon Continent. 

Drauum alone was more than enough to raze the Zelan Capital to the ground. The wrath of a Pseudo-Demigod was something that couldn't be brushed off easily. 

Arslan narrowed his gaze as he digested William's words. As much as he wanted to give the Elves a devastating blow, he couldn't involve the innocent survivors of their Dynasty. He didn't want to become the sinner that played a role in having their Dynasty wiped off of the face of the Southern Continent.

"Then allow me to kill…," Arslan stated. "I will not compromise again."

"Deal." William agreed to Arslan's condition.

He didn't care about the life of the other Elves, but he cared about the life of the Elven Princess. 

William's mother, Lady Arwen, only had two Disciples. The red-headed boy didn't want his mother to be broken-hearted at the loss of one of her Disciples.

Celine had already informed him that not all the Elves had agreed to the invasion of the Human lands. The beautiful Elf may hate her race, but she didn't want to lie to her Disciple. After all, William's mother was the Saintess of the World Tree.

"Come with me," William said with a mischievous smile plastered on his face. "We need to discuss a few things before you return to Briar Glen."

William had already felt Arslan's resolve, so there was no need to hold back. He intended to have Arslan give the Elves a nasty surprise that would make them regret enslaving the battle-hardened prodigy of the Zelan Dynasty.