“You are very straightforward, Tyrant,” Mercury said indifferently, “I am very sorry that we have to hold our first meeting in such a long time on this scorched earth.”

“This scorched earth was once a kingdom,” Pace said coldly. “Stop beating around the bush and just tell me directly, what do you want?”

“【Day of the Crown】, he was captured by you, what is his current condition?” Mercury said.

“He is in prison,” replied Pace. “Why, do you want to ransom your captive?”

“No, to be honest, this is a bit surprising to me,” Mercury’s face was as calm as water, “I thought that after he committed so many sins against the kingdom, you would just execute him.”

Hearing this, Pace frowned slightly – it was obvious that Mercury was trying to find a reason to start a war.

If [Crown Day] died, the Federation might forcibly twist this incident into a reason for all-out war.

“He’s not dead,” Pace said. “Why? Want to redeem your assassin?”

“That’s what I mean,” said Mercury. “If you return him to us, perhaps…”

The light green eyes looked at Pace meaningfully, and Mercury’s meaning was very clear.

Pace lowered his head and was silent for a few seconds, then he said:

“I’ll discuss this with Eshilia.”

“Please,” Mercury nodded, “We still have plenty of time.”

……

La Vatino – Grau Yad Kingdom

“Okay, I know.”

On the small terrace at 31 Pixie Street, Ashlia put down the communicator and lowered her head.

She sighed deeply, then turned to Ryan:

“Pace was captured, at least that’s what he implied.”

“What?” Ryan frowned. “Send troops? The ground armored forces of Thebite are already close to the gravel hill. They have been lurking according to the predetermined plan and can take action at any time.”

“No, we can’t do it yet,” Ashlia said. “The best time for us to do it is after our allies on the other side have dealt with the Lord of the Black Tide. By then, their Eyes in the Sky can provide us with powerful firepower support.”

“The Federation won’t let us wait until then,” Ryan said decisively, “They have no reason to…”

“Ryan, they gave conditions.”

Ryan was stunned by Ashlia’s words. He paused for a few seconds, as if he had guessed what the conditions were.

“What conditions?”

“Return [Crown Day] to them,” Ashlia didn’t dare to look into Ryan’s eyes, “If that’s the case, then…”

“No! Absolutely impossible!”

Ryan’s roar frightened Ashlia so much that she trembled slightly. She mustered up the courage to turn her head, only to see that the veins on the royal guard’s face were bulging and his eyes were wide open.

“Your Majesty! He is the murderer who killed Her Majesty Celica! How can we let a murderer walk out of La Vatino alive!”

“I…”

“He killed Her Majesty Celica, killed Princess Eshilia, and almost killed you!” Rein approached Eshilia, “You haven’t forgotten the oath you made, have you?”

“I didn’t, but…”

“We should kill him! Then declare war on the Federation!” Ryan shouted regardless, “Fight into Aston Plains, His Majesty Rosedes is there, we should…”

“enough!”

Ashlia summoned up the courage to shout angrily. The old royal guard was stunned and his eyes were focused on the girl’s face.

——Two lines of tears ran down Sharduo’s cheeks.

“I hate him more than you do, and I hate them more than you do,” Ashlia’s voice trembled, “but now… we must stabilize the situation, we must…”

She was speechless and just looked at Ryan with red eyes without saying a word.

The old royal guard gently covered his face with his only remaining hand, wiped it, and then said in a low voice:

“I’m sorry…I lost my temper…”

“Go find… find Wilkin’s guards,” Ashlia said softly, “Prince Aloi’s men have been involved in the guarding of [The Day of the Crown]. Let them escort him… out of the city… to the gravel hill…”

“I see.”

The old guard nodded, then turned and left. His back looked so much older that Aisilia felt a little dazed.

She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands, but suddenly found that she couldn’t cry a single tear.

……

Study – [Federation “God’s Punishment” Admir Sky Eye Mothership]

A shadow rose from the darkness. After passing the ship’s token recognition, the shadow condensed into a human shape and slowly walked to the old man beside the desk.

“Lord Laplace, they have agreed to our request,” Mercury said, “Crown Day will be released soon.”

Laplace was reading a newspaper. When he heard Mercury’s report, he spoke without even looking up:

“Then move Wilkin’s chess piece. After raising it for so long, it’s time.”

“Yes.”

Mercury lowered his head slightly, then took two steps back and sank into the shadows.

Laplace’s eyes scanned the newspaper. It was an old newspaper, and the content was probably reporting on a competition that happened a long time ago.

Among them, the headline was the most eye-catching: Prince Wilkin Akkaya Aziz died in the “Tower of Babel Competition”.

“Avada Aziz,” Laplace murmured softly, “make use of your last strength.”

……

Embers Hall – Wilkin

In the dark hall, Prince Aloi Aziz, dressed in golden armor, was half-kneeling.

The shadow on the throne said nothing, just sat in the darkness. Aloi could not feel his father’s red-gold gaze.

After he returned from the defeat at Thebes, his father never looked at him again.

“…”

After a long time, Aloi finally couldn’t hold back his impulse and said:

“Father, the war between the World Alliance and the Federation is about to begin. Are we really not going to do anything?”

In fact, Aloi has asked his father this question countless times, but his father always has only one answer:

“do nothing.”

Aloi’s ability to mobilize Wilkin’s internal military forces is limited to his own guards. In fact, even these guards do not belong to him. If the Avada has a higher order, the guards will obey the King of Avada first.

“…”

After a short wait, the Avatar King on the Golden Throne gave the same answer again:

“do nothing.”

Originally, Aloi would have given up on similar persuasion after hearing such an answer, but this time, he decided to convince his father.

His elder brother Akkaya Aziz died in the Federation, and his ambitions were also annihilated in the Federation. Now, he is eager to find the meaning of his own survival.

“We have to do something,” Aloi stood up and faced the shadow on the golden throne. “The Federation will never let Wilkin go. Once they destroy the World Alliance, we will be next!”

“do nothing.”

“We can’t just do nothing,” Aloi said. “Give me the military power. You don’t have to leave the Embers Palace. I will bring you the victory you expect.”

“do nothing.”

“No!” Aloi yelled, “Have you forgotten how to govern? Please don’t repeat…”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, little prince, how can you not listen to what dear daddy says?”

Quite suddenly, the shadow on the golden throne let out a “chuckle”, which made Aloi stunned.

Then, he watched the figure slowly stand up and walk down the stairs of the Temple of Ashes.

One step… Two steps… Three steps…

A pair of old, bloodless bare feet broke through the shadows and stepped onto the stairs reflecting the moonlight, followed by bloodless arms, messy robes, and a neck that had turned somewhat pale.

When Awada Aziz stood in the moonlight, Aloi was completely speechless.

——His father’s eyes had already rolled back and his face was gray, and it looked like he had been dead for some time.

But his mouth was still open, and there was a jet-black eye in it, staring straight at Aloy.

“Listen to daddy and go to the crib~”

“You…you you…you are…” Aloi took two steps back tremblingly.

“I’m Avada Aziz, your dad.” Avada’s body chuckled, “Don’t you recognize me?”

“No…no…impossible…”

“How is that impossible? I have always been here, little prince.”

Avada nodded politely to Aloi, then turned and climbed the stairs, issuing an order:

“Let the guards work with the federals… His mission has just begun… Those idiots… actually think that [Crown Day] will be captured by them? He is an extremely important variable…”

“Yes!”

Several guards left the shadow of the Embers Hall and went to deliver the message. A flash of thunder flashed, illuminating the stairs of the Embers Hall and making Aloy’s face pale.

……

Ryan Terras quickly crossed the outline of the new city and came to the new prison on the shore of Lake Hiplanda.

It was a prison designed for [Day of the Crown] alone. It was surrounded by plains on all sides, and snipers were stationed on high platforms. Anyone who tried to escape from the prison would be shot dead.

[Day of the Crown] It is impossible to escape from such a place.

“…”

Along the way, Ryan clenched his fists tightly. He could feel the hatred burning in his heart. His stomach was like acid reflux, burning his whole body from the inside out.

He is the person in the world who wants [Crown Day] to die miserably the most.

And now, he was going to let that guy go?

Ryan’s instinct told him that he shouldn’t do this, but his reason told him that it was for the greater good.

The overall situation…the so-called overall situation, how many people were sacrificed in the end?

The elderly guard had no choice but to follow orders.

After all, he had sworn allegiance to the girl.

“……”

However, when Ryan arrived at the new prison, he discovered something was wrong.

——There were no guards at the prison gate.

According to the original situation, Wilkin’s guards and the kingdom’s guards should be guarding here in a one-to-one ratio, with people inside and outside to prevent rebellion from either side.

Sensing something was wrong, Ryan ran over quickly. He rushed into the prison and saw a mess.

——The ground was littered with the bodies of the guards.

His heart began to beat rapidly, prompting him to quickly find the cell and look inside.

Sure enough, there was no one.

[The Day of the Crown] escaped.

Ryan looked at the corpses on the ground nearby – most of them were Kingdom Guards, but relatively few were Wilkin Guards. The wounds on the bodies of the Kingdom Guards were all on their backs, and it was obvious that they had been ambushed without being noticed.

It was clear that the Wilkins had rebelled.

“No…No…No!!!”

Ruiyin punched the wall hard. At this moment, a pair of golden eyes flashed before his eyes:

“Eshlia…?”

Ryan raised his head suddenly, as if he realized something, and then ran quickly towards 31 Pixie Street without looking back.