At the entrance of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, a large number of Serpent civilians had gathered, watching the Serpent soldiers march into the oasis.
Every soldier carried wounds on his body, which made the civilians extremely uneasy.
Most of the civilians already knew the final outcome of the battle at Withered Tree Fortress.
They were well aware that in that battle, the Serpent Empire and the Stellar Empire had only fought to a draw.
And because of it, Withered Tree Fortress had been reduced to ruins.
The civilians had already been worried, but when they saw all the returning soldiers bearing wounds, their doubts and fears only grew worse.
At that moment, Charles and General Sost stood not far from the entrance of the oasis.
They watched the actions of the Serpent civilians carefully.
"When the final battle really comes in fourteen days, I think many people will choose to desert," Charles said flatly.
"That’s certain. All we can do is try to keep the number of traitors as small as possible. After all, almost no one has faith in the Serpent Empire’s future anymore."
Charles felt helpless at that and went straight toward the core of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
The situation was worse than he had expected.
He believed he needed to sit down with High Priest Kent, Zara, and the others as soon as possible to work out a practical defense plan.
General Sost quietly watched Charles’s back as he left.
He knew what Charles was going to do, but he didn’t follow.
In his eyes, the most important thing now was to make sure all the soldiers entered Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis safely.
Only by staying here could he ensure nothing unexpected would happen.
Just then, Azka’s voice sounded from not far away.
"General, most of the soldiers have already entered the oasis. You don’t need to keep standing here. I think you should rest."
Azka’s words were sincere.
General Sost hadn’t rested for a very long time.
After enduring a brutal battle and then traveling without stopping, he was already utterly exhausted.
General Sost shook his head.
"You don’t need to worry about me. Once every soldier is inside the oasis, then I’ll rest."
Faced with his decision, Azka said nothing more.
He knew no matter what he said, he could not change the general’s mind.
While the two were speaking, Connell also followed the soldiers into Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
His mood was unusually light.
After all, for him, his goal had basically already been achieved.
The Stellar Empire had suffered heavy losses in the battle at Withered Tree Fortress, and his betrayal at the last moment had caused the royal guards of the Stellar Empire to take the greatest losses since their founding.
Naturally, this made him feel that his revenge had been very effective.
So, upon arriving at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, he wandered around curiously, like a traveler.
He was the only human in the oasis besides Charles.
His presence drew the curiosity of many Serpents.
Though some Serpents were unhappy with Connell being there, they also knew he stood on their side.
And since Charles had already displayed terrifying strength, many assumed Connell’s power must be close to his.
With that in mind, no one dared to challenge Connell.
Inside the great pyramid at the heart of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, High Priest Kent was speaking with Charles.
The two of them were discussing the defense strategy for the final battle.
"The outer wall of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis may not be as tall or grand as the one at Withered Tree Fortress, but its defenses are not weak. Since you said you brought the Gem of Light back, then I believe with its blessing, the outer wall’s defense will be strengthened even more," High Priest Kent said slowly.
Before Charles arrived, he had already drafted an initial defense plan.
In his design, the outer wall of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis would serve as the first line of defense.
Its purpose was to wear down the Stellar Empire’s soldiers.
Once the outer wall was broken through, they would then rely on the many structures within the oasis itself, using them for layer upon layer of defense.
Since the Serpents knew the inside of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis far better than the enemy, they would naturally have a great advantage in such a fight.
When most of the Stellar soldiers were finally worn down, their strongest warriors would strike, eliminating the elite powerhouses of the Stellar Empire.
In this way, the Serpent Empire would be able to win the entire battle with relative ease.
After listening to High Priest Kent’s defense plan, Charles felt a bit conflicted.
The other side had clearly done his best, but Charles knew the plan was impossible to carry out.
Even if the crown prince of the Stellar Empire was foolish, the generals of the Stellar Empire could still easily see through the defensive traits of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.
Not to mention, Harbor would also be giving them advice during the attack.
So, a defense plan without any disguise or deception was destined to fail.
"Do you think my plan is workable? Or do you have a better one?"
Charles’s long silence left High Priest Kent a little uneasy, so in the end he asked directly.
Charles shook his head calmly.
"I don’t think your plan is very workable. But for now, I don’t have a better plan either."
His answer made High Priest Kent a little disappointed.
But he quickly adjusted his mood.
"Since you don’t have a better plan yet, then let’s prepare according to mine. When you think of a more practical strategy, we’ll make adjustments."
As soon as he said that, the High Priest was about to give the Serpents their orders to begin the defensive plan.
Just then, Zara suddenly burst in, flustered and panicked.
"This is bad! Her Majesty’s condition has worsened! The curse on her body has grown even stronger than before!"
His words shocked everyone present.
A look of extreme fear appeared on High Priest Kent’s face. He froze, unable to speak.
Charles, after his first wave of shock, reacted quickly.
"No one is allowed to leave! Anyone who hears this news must not take a single step outside the pyramid!"
His first instinct was to seal the news.
If word spread that the Empress’s condition had become worse, the situation inside the oasis would grow far more complicated.
It could even cause rebellion inside the oasis before the final battle began.
After giving the order to seal the news, he spoke quietly to High Priest Kent.
"We still don’t know the full situation. So I believe the most urgent thing right now is to go see for ourselves. If Her Majesty’s condition truly has grown much worse, then we’ll have to make further choices."
Only then did High Priest Kent snap out of it.
"You’re right. We’ll do as you say! First, we lock down the pyramid, then we go and see Her Majesty’s condition with our own eyes."
With that, the three of them immediately took action.
The great pyramid was sealed at once.
The three of them rushed at full speed to the Empress’s bedchamber.
By now, there were no servants left inside. All the maids and attendants had already been driven out into the outer hall.
Every face was filled with fear.
"The curse has spread throughout the entire chamber. I was the one who forced these maids and servants out. If they had stayed inside any longer, they too would have been consumed by it," Zara whispered to Charles and High Priest Kent.
Charles nodded, agreeing with Zara’s decision.
"You did the right thing. If those servants and maids had been corrupted by the curse, the situation would be far worse."
As he spoke, Charles quickly moved toward the entrance of the chamber.
Even as he approached, he could feel the curse’s power growing stronger and stronger. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱
By the time he reached the doorway, the sight inside made him draw in a sharp breath.
The Empress’s bedchamber had been completely consumed by the overwhelming power of the curse.
The Serpent Empress, Aria, was already covered entirely by the curse given physical form. From the doorway, he couldn’t even see her at all.
"How could this be?! Why did Her Majesty’s curse suddenly erupt?! Was it because these people failed to care for her properly?!"
High Priest Kent’s voice trembled as he spoke.
Though he wasn’t as sensitive to the curse as Charles was, even he could tell that Her Majesty’s condition had become terrifyingly bad.
So his first instinct was to blame the maids and servants who had been attending to her.
"That is absolutely not the reason. The curse does not erupt without cause. I believe its outbreak is tightly connected to the Stellar Empire’s attack," Charles said in a steady, calm tone.
His calm words steadied High Priest Kent, who had already begun to panic.
"You may be right," Kent admitted. "But what should we do now?"
Zara immediately turned to Charles with the same question.
Charles didn’t answer right away.
Because deep down, he hadn’t thought of a perfect solution either.
All he realized was that the double crisis had already arrived.