Chapter 263 - Gathering the Forces (Part 2)

They were stunned when they saw Ovid Anisen standing in the doorway. Ovid had decided to follow Zander after their brief meeting. He was glad that he did.

"General Higate can be more useful if he will go with you given his fighting skills. I can manage everything here on my own. I still know how to delegate the tasks." Ovid announced confidently.

Zander shook his head and knew the real reason behind his father's decision to stay in the camp for a while. It was obvious that he wanted to avoid Renaria, who might pester him to go to Tissuria and retrieve Zenia.

Higgs bowed to Ovid and said, "Thank you, Military Advisor. I promise to do everything in my power to help the Junior Commander to accomplish her goal."

"Hmm." Ovid walked to the desk and turned around.

"What are you all still doing here? Go and prepare already."

Everyone, including Zander and Zekiah, scurried to prepare for their departure. Zander ordered his men to ready the fastest horses they have. They should reach Tissuria before the Left Minister had decided to make his move.

"Commander," a familiar voice called after Zander when he was about to go to the stable.

"What is it Gustof?"

"I would like to join the expedition as well, Commander. I have been thinking of ways to repay the Junior Commander's kindness for quite some time now. I believe I can help a lot, especially when determining the terrains and dangerous spots in Tissuria."

Zander rubbed his chin and decided that Gustof would be a great help.

"I'll consider it after you informed your family. You are, after all, a wanted man in Tissuria. What if the Ninth Prince's men spotted you?"

"I have decided to ask for some help from Young Master Zekiah to create a disguise for me."

Zander grinned, "Why did I forget that Zeze has such a skill that kills. I might as well make my men wear a disguise too."

Zander and Gustof ran after Zekiah to tell him their plan. It was going to be a long day for Zekiah.

* * * * *

Wolstan, Duke Gordon, Jorick, and the rest of the party that Zenia brought over had learned the situation in Tissuria. Jorick had been trying to master the art of teleportation with Richaem ever since they saw Azer did it that day when the Dark Magic faction nearly abducted Vaughn.

Richaem told Jorick that he saw how Azer did it the last time he was with him, but it was a total failure. Duke Gordon and Roy heard the brothers discussing the teleportation spell that Azer had tried. Duke Gordon offered his help and tried to find the right formula in determining the angle for Jorick to channel his magic and teleport anything at will. Duke Gordon should also calculate the distance of the destination.

Jorick's power kept increasing. Roy and Duke Gordon helped Jorick to develop his power. He already surpassed Richaem, who taught him all about dark magic manipulation. 

It only took a few hours for Duke Gordon to complete his calculations, and he guided Jorick. After a few failed tries, they finally succeeded. Wolstan just observed everything from the tree where he put a hammock. He was munching some apples and pastries. He felt like staying in the Anisen Manor for good, but he knew that he still had some important things to do. He must make sure that his great-grandson would be able to conceive the next heir before his 30th birthday, which would be a few years from now. 

Renaria knew that they were doing something important and just sent their meals in the place where they conducted their experiment. Odessa and Baroness Munchefort helped Renaria and spent their time with her. Renaria knew that her son and her husband were hiding something from her again.

She did not want to make things difficult for Odessa and played along with her. She thought that her daughter-in-law was so cute in trying to divert her attention from asking about Zander. She sighed because her daughter-in-law had a long way to go before she could manage to fool her.

Baroness Munchefort had always been with Renaria and the two women clicked together. The Baroness knew that Renaria was an amazing woman. Otherwise, she wouldn't have such a remarkable daughter. She looked forward to meeting the children of Odessa and Zander. She only hoped that she would still be around when that happened.

One of Zander's trusted aides returned to the Anisen Manor without alerting Renaria. Zander sent him on a secret mission to retrieve some of the fastest horses in the Anisen Manor's stable. The guards had already been alerted prior to the arrival of the aide so they wouldn't tell Renaria anything.

Wolstan noticed the suspicious movement of Zander's aide and mistook him as someone who was trying to steal from the Anisen Manor. He left his hammock and followed the suspicious man. He did not want to disturb anyone, and he knew that Ovid was not in the manor.

The man went to the stable and began choosing the horses to take out of the manor. Wolstan sneaked from behind and hit the head of the man.

"Ouch!" The man protested while rubbing the part that was hit.

Wolstan was stunned when the man did not even budge from his spot. He hit the man again. He exerted more force than before.

The man yanked the pipe away from Wolstan's hand and warned him, "Grandpa, I don't want to hurt you so please stop hitting me."

The man was whispering, and it made Wolstan mimic the tone and manner of speaking of the man. He did not feel any ill intent from the man, and he let down his guard a bit.

"Why are you whispering? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on the orders of the Commander to retrieve the fastest horses without alerting Madam Anisen. It will be troublesome to explain everything to her."

"Is the situation in Tissuria that bad?"

The man's eyes widened when he heard Wolstan's reply. He had no way of refuting. He knew that Wolstan was one of the guests of the Anisens, and he came from Tissuria.

"Yes, General Dietrich has a hunch that the Left Minister's men might outnumber the defenders of Tissuria. We need to get there fast. There's no way of telling when the Left Minister will launch an attack."

Wolstan thought for a moment and remembered Jorick's teleportation spell. He sneered at the man.

"Come with me and let me introduce you to someone that can help you get there in Tissuria in no time." Wolstan pulled the man's arm and practically dragged him to where Jorick and the others were practicing.

Jorick just completed the third successful trial in the sequence. However, he needed Duke Gordon's calculation to determine the area where he should channel his magic. Duke Gordon tried to teach Jorick how to do the calculation. He even wrote the formula, but Jorick could not understand a thing.

"Duke Gordon, I believe that you want to establish a friendship with me before when we met in Solaria. I have decided that we have been friends when we met again in Prazia. I will be with you through thick and thin, and you should do the same for me."

Rodham could not believe what he just heard. Duke Gordon was stunned at Jorick's bold statement. He never had someone he could consider as a friend, except Rodham. But, Rodham insisted that they should maintain a master-servant relationship. Duke Gordon agreed without letting Rodham know that they were friends. Adding another one was not bad at all.

Duke Gordon smiled and extended his hand to Jorick, "I accept this friendship."

Jorick shook hands with the Young Duke and continued their practice. Richaem scratched his head because he did not understand why the two men should shake hands to seal the deal when establishing their friendship.

'Is it something new?' Richaem continued observing the experiment.

Roy could not believe just how well Duke Gordon and Jorick coordinated with each other. Based on his observation, Jorick was able to channel his power in accordance with the Duke's calculations because he put his faith in the Young Duke. On the other hand, the Young Duke never failed to come up with the right calculations because Jorick was able to make him feel the right source on the spot. All he needed to do was calculate the target spot with precision.

Wolstan and Zander's aide finally reached their destination. Wolstan did not waste time and explained the situation to his companions.

"Hmm, I still need to calculate the distance that we need to travel from here to our destination in Tissuria."

"You're right, this is a bit troublesome," Jorick agreed.

"Do you mean to say that you will be going with us to Tissuria?" The man could not believe it as everyone nodded their heads.

The man panicked. Zander just told him to get the fastest horses and nothing else. How come these people seemed so calm and confident that the Commander would allow them?

"I say, kind sir, we will join you on your way to the camp to explain everything to Commander Zander. I'm sure he will agree," Wolstan persuaded the man, who felt helpless and could not refuse the old man.

'Why do I feel like talking to a king?' The man shook his head as he led the party to the camp.

Wolstan stayed at the back and sneered, 'I still got the old touch. No one can refuse this King.'