Chapter 269 - What Happened Before the Arrest (Part 1)

Azer and the other members of the Dark Magic faction and the Left Minister's secret army along with some soldiers from Prazia busied themselves in assigning the stations that each group should guard. They wanted to use the people of Tissuria as a shield in case war broke out. They were confident in their number, but they still wanted to make sure that everything would go their way.

The Left Minister and his supporters went to see King Tarendino in the Main Palace. He already told the soldiers of Tissuria, who were loyal to him, that they should surround the Main Hall to make sure that none of King Tarendino's supporters would enter the Main Hall.

When they got there, the Left Minister saw the soldiers and smirked. Everything was going according to his plan. He was confident that nothing could stop him at that moment and victory would soon become his.

At that time, Zander and the rest of his team were getting ready to be teleported. The huge map of Ishelon also showed the distance from the camp to the Principality of Ismund. Duke Gordon suggested teleporting there first, then to the capital. He would be able to calculate the distance once they landed in the Principality of Ismund. He needed to see the actual place before he could get the right calculations.

"Teleporting to Tissuria's capital might attract a lot of attention. Why don't we teleport to the Palace of the Crown Prince? The training ground is large enough to accommodate all of us."

Duke Gordon tried to recall the location of Vaughn's palace. He had seen it when he was still young, and the area could really accommodate all of them. He should make an intelligent estimate of the location of the training ground.

"Let's do that then," Duke Gordon agreed, and Jorick prepared to teleport everyone to the Principality of Ismund.

Everyone just blinked their eyes and when they opened them, they were already in the Principality of Ismund. They shouted in glee and checked their bodies to see if some parts were missing. None of them noticed that the cavalry was there until they heard the galloping of horses and the shouting of men.

"Aaahhh!" 

The enemies attacked Zander and his companions. Zander felt a sudden rush of adrenaline and met the enemies head-on and shouted, "Higgs!" 

Higgs knew what their Commander wanted him to do. He couldn't afford to miss out on the action and ordered some men to protect Wolstan and the others. Wolstan wanted to fight, but the Ishelon military men guarding them forbade him. Zander allowed Zekiah and Ruvin to join the fight. 

"Sir, please don't make things difficult for us."

"Hmph, you should know by now that I'm the former King of Tissuria. You should not treat me this way."

"That's why we must protect you. Otherwise, Junior Commander might chop off our heads if anything happens to you."

Wolstan couldn't believe his ears.

'Did Zenzen tell them not to let any harm come to me? Oh, I miss my sweet and lovely great-granddaughter.'

"Okay, I will let you do your job. Don't forget to mention this to Zenzen."

The military men of Ishelon just shook their heads and assumed a fighting stance. Richaem looked at their protectors with admiration in his eyes.

Swoosh! Clang! Swoosh! Clang!

The enemies were no match to the elite troop of Ishelon. The fight had just started, but Zander and his men already took down half of the enemy. The Dark Magic practitioner did their best to cast their spell, but the men from Ishelon were not affected. The Dark Magic practitioners shuddered, and they turned white when they were slashed down by Zander's men.

Zander took down almost all of the enemies. He looked like a devil-incarnate covered in blood as he slashed his way through the enemies. Heads would fly each time he slashed down his sword. He was cut, but he did not seem to feel any pain. The euphoria of being able to fight like that again was like a numbing drug that could ease the pain away.

The enemies' morale began to crumble, and some tried to run away from the fight. Zander's men would not let them leave and make a report. In half an hour, they were able to end the fight. They gathered the wounded enemies and decided to take them to Luna Inn for interrogation later.

Zander went to Duke Gordon and Jorick and asked, "Can you teleport them to Luna Inn? Two of my men will accompany the captives. We will interrogate them later."

Duke Gordon and Jorick prepared to teleport the men to Luna Inn. Duke Gordon had never been there, but he saw a map once. He remembered the distance and did not find trouble teleporting the men.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! 

Someone already notified General Dietrich as soon as the manager of Luna Inn noticed a disturbance.

When General Dietrich reached the location, Zander's men along with the captives suddenly appeared in Luna Inn.

"What sorcery is this?" General Dietrich was surprised but undaunted.

"Greetings, General Dietrich. The Commander told us to bring the captives here for interrogation later. We need to look after them for a while."

"The Commander came? How about the Junior Commader's plan? We are already preparing to go to our posts."

"Didn't you receive the message that we are going to aide the Junior Commander?"

"No! I have not received anything! Who sent the message?"

"It was supposed to be… General Higate."

"What is he doing? Why did he forget to send it to me?"

"General Higate came with us, and they will be on their way to the Palace of the Crown Prince."

"Where are they now?"

"In the Principality of Ismund."

"They will be too late when they get there. It would take at least a week to reach the Capital."

The soldier grinned, "We left Ishelon just a while ago to reach the Principality of Ismund."

General Dietrich's eyes widened and asked, "Did we have a vehicle that can travel that fast?"

"We teleported."

"Tele-what?"

* * * * *

Duke Gordon and Jorick began preparing for their next teleportation. Zander and his men buried the bodies to avoid arousing suspicions. After completing their task, there were no traces that a battle happened there. The horses were also teleported to Luna Inn.

Everyone got to their places and waited to be teleported once more.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

They finally reached the training ground of the Palace of the Crown Prince.

"Whoa, be careful," Zander shouted when one of Vaughn's men was about to attack him.

"That's Zenzen's Big Brother, at ease!" Ruvin shouted and he got down from his horse and asked, "Where's my Big Brother?"

The guard pointed to the direction of the stable, and Ruvin went there right away.

"Big Brother?" Zenia couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Zander.

She noticed the cut on Zander's arm and ordered someone to bring in her first-aid kit. Zander was laughing when he saw Zenia.

"Zenzen we were just in time. We stopped a cavalry in the Principality of Ismund when we teleported there."

"Teleport?" Zenia looked at Duke Gordon and Jorick. Both men nodded their heads.

"Ha-ha, that's great! Can you teleport someone to a place right away?"

Both men nodded again.

"Call Redivo here and tell him that there's a change of plan. Zeze, you know what to do," Zenia winked at Zekiah who went inside the Main Residence immediately.

He knew that Zenia wanted to see for herself how the teleportation was done. He should disguise himself as her once more. But, he did not know what he should do next. 

When Zekiah reached the room that he had been using in the Main Residence, he pulled out a huge chest from under his bed. It contained all the things that he would need to disguise himself. He already left some materials there so he wouldn't need to carry his stuff each time he would visit Zenia. He even left some of his clothes there.

He looked for Rosalie and asked for one of Zenia's dresses. She knew that their Crown Princess had asked her younger brother to replace her.

"Where do you plan to go, Young Master Zekiah?"

"Zenzen did not say. Where will she go today?"

Rosalie knew that Zenia would go to the Main Palace, and she went back to Zenia's room to look for the right dress. She pulled out a not-so-formal attire but good enough for the occasion. It was a light and comfortable dress.

When Zekiah saw it, he approved of it right away. He began applying make-up to get ready. He was almost done with his disguise when Zenia came looking for him. She was carrying her uniform.

"You brought that here?"

"Of course! It's mine anyway. I like this uniform so much, and I will wear it. I haven't worn this yet."

"What do you want me to do?"

Zenia explained that Zekiah should bring the evidence to Vaughn in the Main Palace.

"Don't leave his side and remind him not to act rashly. I'm sure that the Left Minister will do everything he can to provoke Vaughn."

"After I deliver it, can I go back here?"

"No, you need to stay with him. What kind of wife am I abandoning my husband on this crucial moment?"

"Aren't you doing that already?"

"Hey, I will be able to contribute more if I take part in the action. I also need to make sure that people will not get involved in the fight. I don't want to just stand there and be a doll."

"That's why you're pushing that role onto me?"

"You're making it sound like I'm such an evil sister. I will not do anything to harm you," Zenia grinned and patted Zekiah's cheek.

Zekiah shook his head. He had already decided that his life was no longer his ever since that day when the old Anisen Manor was set on fire.