Jormungandr and Freya couldn’t help but frown as they heard those words. The duo understood the need to test the offensive might of the Azarin Empire’s capital to understand what the Xaos Kingdom’s forces would face once they marched in.
However, while they were strong and certainly capable of defending themselves, they would be crushed if they marched against the capital. Even a probatory attack would reveal their presence, and if the Pope were to appear with a few hundred strong soldiers, they might not be able to escape alive.
Vlad noticed the duo’s worry and spoke with a relaxed smile. "Don’t worry, I do not propose we attack the capital. I am not that crazy. However, we will have to work very hard to get accurate information. I have a plan, and it will not be easy, but success will give us all the information we might need."
Jormungandr and Freya immediately nodded. They knew that Vlad’s schemes were always top-tier, and they were confident that they would obtain what they needed if they implemented his plan effectively.
Seeing the determination in their eyes, Vlad nodded and began explaining his plan’s details. Once Freya and Jormungandr heard it all, they were impressed and filled with awe before renewed determination arose in their eyes.
After that, Vlad, Jormungandr, and Freya nodded to each other and split up. Vlad used the demon summon to head north of the Azarin Empire’s capital while Freya and Jormungandr dashed in another direction, moving as fast as they could.
Each had a mission, and all needed to go according to plan if they wanted to learn the offensive power of the Azarin Empire’s capital without risking their lives.
A man with a thin body covered in golden armor stood in an impressive white marble room. His name was Golkon Manius, a General of the Azarin Empire in charge of defense within the empire’s borders.
Golkon’s days were usually very relaxed as there were no real threats to the empire since the Golden Sky kept the demons away. Of course, the rest of the cities in the Azarin Empire were in a state of total mayhem, but he only worried about Radiance City.
Unfortunately for Golkon, his leisure days were over due to the myriad of messages reaching his desk. Dozens of reports detailed explosions taking down the white walls, fires consuming several locations, and all sorts of serious problems coming from the north of Radiance City.
Someone or something was striking the towns in that direction, causing great mayhem, but no one knew who was responsible despite the destruction. At first, Golkon suspected people enraged with the empire or maybe a foreign enemy, but everything became more complicated once he saw the reports detailing the fate of the soldiers.
Scouts and soldiers had done their best to find the culprit, but not only did they find nothing, many of them ended up dead. The way they perished was not by blows or sharp weapons. They were ripped to pieces, with claw marks and teeth wounds marking their bodies.
These were clearly the wounds that a Monster would leave, and it made sense for some of the mutated beasts to have the power to kill the soldiers. However, there was no way Monsters would be so wise as to plant explosives and ensure there were no witnesses, so there was something he was missing.
Although the destruction was not severe, and only a few dozen people were dying, Golkon knew he could not simply ignore this. The citizens of Radiant City needed to feel safe and believe that Goddess Lucia was always looking out for them. If that faith were to wane, the control of the Azarin Empire over their lives would weaken immensely, and that was something he could not allow unless he wanted his head to be separated from his body.
Ultimately, Golkon decided to rearrange the scouts’ positions across Radiance City, cutting those in the south, west, and east and focusing all their power and abilities in the north.
Soon, the roads and towns were flooded with soldiers on high alert, their eyes scanning every shadow, their ears tuned to the slightest noise. Scouts moved stealthily through the woods and fields, their senses heightened, searching for clues that might lead them to the perpetrator. That burst in soldiers began to yield results as Golkon saw new leads about the perpetrator reach his desk.
It seemed that the one behind all this was a single human, but that was as much as the scouts could determine. The person was simply too good at hiding and seemed to have eyes in all directions, vanishing whenever they got close.
Seeing that an increase in the number of scouts and spies helped, Golkon redirected even more soldiers to the north. This was an extremely dangerous move as it would weaken the power of the Azarin Empire to detect threats that might arise in other places. However, Golkon did not believe any force would dare to march into Radiance City. It had never happened before, so why would it start now?
Just as the General felt confident with his maneuver and believed his strategies were flawless, something was happening on the border between Radiance City and its neighboring city to the left, Siverpool City.
The earth trembled as thousands of demonic beasts advanced. The creatures’ eyes were annoyed as they glanced at the golden force that glowed in the sky and weakened them, but they could not pull back as their master ordered them to push forward.
More than twenty thousand demonic beasts forced themselves into Radiance City, and the leaders were at the back of this massive horde. Fifteen demonic Champions unleashed a very powerful aura, especially the one in the middle that resembled a gigantic demonic lion.
However, the most powerful aura of all was that of a small figure on top of the lion’s head. It was a small yellow cat, and its eyes glowed with dark flames.