Chapter 437 437 Manipulation

At night, in Thory, the capital city of the Ceraisian Empire. To the north section of the Royal Palace, Edeline sat by the tree in the courtyard. Her bare feet brushed against the soft grass.

Aldred was sitting in front of her with Mira and Ivette.

Both of his wives were currently having a troubled expression.

"I cannot betray Montcresia. There has to be another way," Mira said.

Edeline calmly said: "You do not betray Montcresia. You will simply help me eliminate them, and I will put you in power."

Mira shook her head. "You want me to help you kill thousands of Montcresian? I cannot do that. Even if Aldred is my husband, I cannot do that."

Ivette nodded her head. "I also disagree with this. There has to be a way. I think Aldred also wanted a peaceful way to solve this problem."

"There is a powerful treasure inside Montcresia's capital," Edeline said. "With that treasure, you can protect millions of lives. Like I said, you are not a traitor, but a savior. Millions of lives will be saved in exchange for a few hundred thousands."

Mira abruptly stood up. "NO!"

"Even if you refuse, I still have ways to defeat Montcresia. Do note that the Ceraisian Empire hasn't even used a fraction of its power to fight this war."

"Then we will fight to the death."

"So you have chosen to be our enemy?" Edeline asked.

Aldred stood up. "Mira, don't do this. I am sure we can work something out."

"Knowing you, I don't think you can't think of any other solutions except killing everyone and everything in your path. And I cannot stop you. I stayed by your side all this time, but I have tolerated enough! I am leaving."

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Montcresia."

"I am leaving too." Ivette stood up.

"Come on you two," Aldred said. "Hey, wait."

"Let them be, Aldred," Edeline said.

Aldred stopped in his tracks and sighed.

Suddenly, the wind blew, rustling the leaves on the trees.

"They have left," Edeline said.

Aldred smiled. "Alright, Mira, Ivette, you two can return now.

Mira and Ivette popped out of the corner.

"Did they leave yet?" Ivette asked.

"They have. Now we can talk properly."

Ivette let out a sigh. "Acting is really hard."

Mira sighed as well. "That is true. I wonder how you guys do it so naturally." She looked at Edeline and Aldred.

Edeline smiled. "It is part of my job, so I am used to it."

"So who are they anyway? Why do we have to trick them and make an act?" Ivette asked.

"They are spies. Spies of the Dragons specifically," Edeline replied.

Edeline had detected spies monitoring them, so he told Aldred and the others to set up an act. The Empress wanted the Dragons to think that she wanted to go all out against Montcresia.

The reason she did this was because she wanted to lure the Dragons to send their best soldiers to the front line, leaving their lords all alone back home.

But to make that happen, she had to show great enthusiasm for going to war.

"You also said that almost no Montcresian soldiers will be killed. How can that be possible?" Mira asked.

"I have my ways." Edeline smiled. "I have some friends in Montcresia. They can help me."

Mira flinched. The Empress of the Ceraisian Empire had friends within Montcresia? Mira couldn't comprehend Edeline's thought process. She was supposed to be enemies with Montcresia, and yet she did not seem to have the intention to destroy it.

"I wanted peace," Edeline said, staring at Mira's eyes. "Just like you. But to achieve peace, I have to prepare to fight my enemies. And my enemies are not within Montcresia."

"No wonder why so many women admired you, Empress Edeline. You not only have a noble goal, but you also have the power to reach it."

"I also heard a lot about you, Sister Mira. They said you are the mother of all heroes, and idols for many sisters."

"I am nothing compared to you."

"I wouldn't say that." Edeline smiled.

"So what do we do next?" Aldred asked.

"Mira and Ivette have to pretend they left for Montcresia. Aldred, you stay in your room and do nothing. This also applies to your friends. I will inform you what you need to do next."

…

Pharder was sitting in his office as he intently listened to the spy's report.

"The Empress is planning to send her main army to Montcresia? Powerful treasure inside the capital? We have to take action immediately. We cannot let them get ahead of us."

Pharder immediately vanished and visited his friends of Diamond Ranks, telling them about this news and suggested for them to move quickly as well.

His suggestion was heard, because he had always maintained a good reputation among his friends. This made him at ease, because he could quickly move a large army.

But on the other side, Lord Athar was very skeptical about this news.

Frowning, he deeply thought about something. "We haven't managed to spy on the Empress for a very long time. Now that we did, we obtained such a valuable piece of news? This is too coincidental. Almost as if it was orchestrated."

"I think so too, my lord. But…"

"But what?"

"Our spies have found movements among the Phoenix. They are gathering their forces, and have begun taking positions in the front line."

Lord Athar frowned deeper. He closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he slammed his fist on the armrest. "Prepare our soldiers to the front line. Don't let the Phoenix get ahead of us."

"Yes, my lord."

The man left the room, leaving Athar alone.

"Is this because of Aldred? Why did the Empress suddenly dare to make a bold move?" His frown got deeper and deeper, until he realized something.

"Aldred obtained the treasure…"

"That must be it. He obtained the treasure, so that's why the Empress got the guts to make such a massive movement. She was confident in her power."

Lord Athar clenched his fist. "In that case, I have to convince the others to make a move. Only by doing this together could they get an advantage over her.

The lord quickly sent his messengers all over the place to relay the information he received, and also giving them ideas on what he thought about this situation.

Unlike Pharder, Lord Athar's credibility, status, and influence was far far larger. Because of his movement, other powerful nobles also made their move, and all gathered their forces to the front line.

The Holy State of Montcresia was shocked by this news. All out of a sudden, thousands of powerful armies gathered at their border, threatening to attack at any seconds.

And yet, the heroes hadn't been deployed. What was going on?

A lot of questions arose from the soldiers, but they had faith in their government, so they did not utter a single complaint.

The Dragons also made a move on the Phoenix. Using a passive-aggressive approach, they managed to push the Phoenix to the back. Of course, they also paid a price for this action, but they thought it was more than worth it.

They did not know however that their action was completely manipulated by one single woman.