Chapter 282 Heating Up (End)

Edward Enderheart Braxtein was a 24 year old young man who had a shoulder length black hair that was partly tied in high ponytail. He had slightly slanted eyes and a sharp jaw, which made many people mistaken him as someone from the East.

Currently standing in the frontmost line with the two Legion Commanders that had been assigned under him, he had a light frown as he looked at the situation ahead of him.

Just like the days before, the Demons were busy doing their things on the other side of the battlefield. He was sure the Demons could see him and his Legions, but none of the Demons batted an eyelash at them.

It had always puzzled him why the Demons had never made the initiative to attack them first, but now he realized that their goal was just to protect the Obelisk. This was the reason why the Demons had never chased them when they were retreating.

Still, considering that Lucilla could take down eight Legion Commanders by herself in Woster County, Edward found it weird that Goap, an Obelisk Master, needed Lower Middle Class Demons to guard the Obelisk.

After all, if he was really the Obelisk Master, he must have more than enough prowess to wipe them all out. This made Edward ponder about what Goap was exactly doing inside the Obelisk, and it made him worry.

"If the Obelisk Master is really up to something, we need to stop him as soon as possible. He is already dangerous as is—we can't afford to let him grow any stronger."

Glancing at the soldiers behind him and the two Legion Commanders beside him, Edward heaved a sigh. As confident as he was in his ability and the Royal Army's, he couldn't help wondering if they would be able to succeed.

The three days they had spent battling the Demons had proven that the Demons were just as strong as they were many. Breaking through the rank might be feasible, but he couldn't guarantee if they could prevent themselves from being surrounded afterwards.

"Those bastards, after all, are planning about something..." Edward's eyes turned cold as he gazed at his older brothers, who were a few hundred meters apart from him. "I doubt they will help if things turn south."

He immediately recalled the result of their strategy meeting, which had just been concluded an hour ago. It was agreed that he and his Legions would be the spear of the army, meanwhile his brothers and their Legions would support him from the back.

Being a bright young man, it was a child's play for Edward to figure out what his brothers were actually aiming for. Unfortunately, he didn't have any choice to refuse it, since all of his brothers were on the plan together.

Even if he had vehemently rejected the strategy, he believed the way he was treated would remain the same. Since they were on this together, they must have agreed to leave him alone.

While Edward was actually very grateful for being left to his own devices, he knew that they wouldn't do it without giving him problems.

Just like what had been happening for the past four days, he was sure his brothers would do their best to reduce his military power.

He was absolutely disgusted by his brothers' choice to involve the Royal Army in their family matters. He didn't want to do the same thing, but he still needed to see the light of tomorrow to succeed the throne.

In result, many of the outstanding Knights and Mages of the Royal Army had died because of their sneaky war. Although none of them had killed the soldiers directly, they contributed heavily on the soldiers' death for the situation they had created.

"What a childish mindset!" Edward harrumphed in frustration. "They have spent half of their lives being nurtured by the best mentor in the Kingdom for naught! They possess the wickedness of the King, but not his intelligence—what a shame."

Edward didn't know his father well. He had never spent a quality time with his father, nor did he want to.

He hated his father for how cold he treated his mother, but he respected his father as a Mage and for what his father was capable of. He had heard many stories about what his father had accomplished when he was young, and all of them were amazing.

Because of that, seeing how stupid his brothers were behaving really made him question whether they were really Anthony's descendants. The faint resemblance in their appearance aside, they didn't inherit Anthony's tact at all.

If they had inherited even a little bit of that, they wouldn't have done any of this stupid scheme, which in turn wouldn't have forced him to play along with them. He was frustrated because of this; he didn't want to be like them.

Sighing lightly to himself, he turned to the Legion Commander beside him, who had been watching him suffer from his inner turmoil.

"Commander Aaron... Do you think we will be able breakthrough the rank of the Monsters?"

"With the other Princes' support, yes, I believe it is highly feasible, your Highness."

"Then, what about breaking through the rank without the help of the other Princes?"

"... Pardon me, your Highness?" Aaron immediately turned awkward. "It is embarrassing for me to say this, but despite our power, with how many people we got, such a thing will not be possible."

Aaron smiled apologetically, but the moment Edward briefly glanced at the other Princes, his face immediately darkened. He had instantly figured out what Edward was anticipating, and he couldn't help gulping dryly.

The purpose of this strategy was to send Edward and the Legions under him to the Obelisk, which was completely surrounded by the Demons from all sides. For this, the other Princes and the Legions under them would clear the way for them.

There was nothing wrong with the strategy at first glance, but once Aaron considered about what had been happening to his soldiers for the last three days, he couldn't help but worry over their survival.

'What have I and my Legion gotten ourselves into?' Aaron clicked his tongue bitterly as he thought about the situation. 'Why do these Royal brats have to settle their feud now?'

The moment Aaron turned to his Legion, the soldiers greeted him with a nod or a smile. His heart tightened at that, and he immediately looked at them with an apologetic smile.

There was a possibility that they would die today because of the ongoing feud between the Princes, and he couldn't do anything about that. He really wanted to tell his soldiers to run away, but he didn't want to make them die as traitors.

'Even though they will die today, at least, they will die with honor. It is still unfortunate, but it is way better than being hunted for the rest of their life before dying as traitors.'

With conviction, Aaron looked into Edward's eyes. He was immediately surprised once again however, since the moment he did so, Edward's eyes gleamed incomprehensibly.

"Commander Aaron, for your survival, are you willing to end the others' life?"

"... If that guarantees the survival of me and my people, I will not think twice to do it."

Aaron's answer didn't come immediately, but when it was uttered, it managed to bring small but bright smile on Edward's face. His eyes, however, conveyed nothing but coldness.

...

Wisselton, Woster County.

While the Five Princes were ready to execute their plan, Basil and the Legion Commanders had just finished their strategy meeting.

Unlike the situation in BA-32 that had just begun heating up, the situation in Woster County was beginning to calm down. The people who had fought endlessly for the past week were now having their well-earned break.

While Basil was someone who held strike while the iron is hot to his heart, he still knew how to rest. Therefore, even though now was the perfect time to attack the Demons, he still let everyone to enjoy their rest.

Nothing was more dangerous than letting exhausted soldiers fight, so giving them the time to rest was the best decision he could make.

With that being said, unlike the others, who had exhausted themselves by fighting the Demons, Basil didn't spend his recess by resting. He was not exhausted, so he spent it catching up with his fellows from Randalvine Magic Institute.

"Oh my, it's been only a few months, but look at how much you have grown! You look more mature than you did a few months ago."

... And some other people.

"Who is this lady that doesn't even hide her infatuation with Basil?"

"Uh... Maybe it's his number two?"

"Hush! Stop it! We can't afford to get slapped twice by Iliana in a day."

Whitney, Cray, and Darius furtively glanced at Iliana, who was frowning at Diana, who had suddenly joined their gathering. It was apparent that Diana saw no one but Basil in her eyes, and it made them watch the entire scene in dread.

They had never seen Iliana acting lovey-dovey with Basil even once—she looked like she wasn't really into romance, but they didn't need to read her mind to figure that just like any other women, she didn't like seeing her man with another woman.

Since they could do nothing about it, they could only put their hope on Basil. He was the only one who could do something about the situation, however he looked just as calm and insensitive as ever.

They immediately sighed bitterly at how calm Basil was taking the whole situation. At that moment, they became sure that a conflict would soon break out between the two women.

"It is not my first time seeing you, but it will be the first time we shake hands." Iliana extended her hand to Diana. "Nice to meet you, I am Iliana, Basil's girlfriend."

"Oh, my! So, you are the girlfriend that Shirley has talked about." Diana covered her mouth in surprise while shaking Iliana's hand. "She didn't say anything about you being a peerless beauty—I am pleasantly surprised."

Iliana's eyebrow twitched faintly. "Oh, same here. I am also a little bit surprised that one of my boyfriend's suitors is a single mother."

"I'll be in your care. Fufufu."

"I am afraid I don't quite get what you are talking about. Fufufu."

Both of the women were laughing, but one of them was looking at the other with eyes as cold as the abyss. Just like that, the situation in Woster County, too, began heating up.