NOVPUB
Chapter 208: To the Capital City
Grand Duke Rivas listened to Irene’s story, and it left him shocked. He truly felt that the heavens had aided his daughter’s escape. However, the repeated mention of a man named Aldrian only deepened his curiosity. Who was this man who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and left so many people astonished? Yet, more than that, he was also irked by seeing his daughter speak about this man with a smile that could captivate any man. He had never seen her talk about another man with such an expression before.
"Don’t tell me, Irene has already been captivated by that man?"
As he reached that conclusion, his heart ached. Even though that man had saved his daughter, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something precious had been taken from him.
"Dammit! Who the hell is he?! How dare he captivate my daughter?" he thought, clutching his chest as if in pain before turning to Irene.
"So, where is this man? I want to meet him," he demanded.
"I don’t know. He just disappeared after saving me. It’s a pity I only know his name. I can only hope we meet him again in the future—he was my savior, after all," she said with a radiant smile.
"No!" Grand Duke Rivas thought, his heart sinking as he saw his daughter smiling like a lovestruck woman. He truly felt as if something had been stolen from him.
Suddenly, a guard’s voice echoed from outside the tent.
"My lord, we have news that the person who saved Lady Irene was spotted in the southern part of town."
Hearing the report, Grand Duke Rivas immediately stood up and strode outside, while Irene simply smiled.
"Where is he? I want to see him!" he demanded, though his tone sounded more irked than excited about meeting his daughter’s savior, leaving the guard confused.
"That... he suddenly disappeared with a group of people, my lord. We couldn’t track his movements, so we’ll need to wait for reports from the other sectors," the guard replied.
Grand Duke Rivas gritted his teeth, his frustration mounting as he fought the urge to chase down that man himself. He glanced at his daughter, who only smiled at him, calm and unbothered. In the end, he could only sigh and address the guard.
"Alright, keep me informed if you find his traces or location. I want to know who this person is that everyone keeps talking about."
"Yes, my lord!" the guard responded before leaving.
Once the guard was gone, the grand duke turned his attention back to his daughter.
"Dear, I need to visit Fanalis to check on things. I think it’s better if you rest here or return to Rivas City to recuperate," he said.
"I will go back to Rivas City, Father. I need some rest after such an experience," she replied, her expression showing no signs of trauma or distress but instead radiating happiness.
"Damn it! I’ll find you myself, bastard!" he swore silently in his heart.
As for the man Grand Duke Rivas swore to find, he had already arrived in Vicanti and was on his way back to Rivas City. From there, he intended to move on to another destination in line with his next plan.
"Since we’re already here, we might as well root out the devil infiltrators and traitors while we’re at it. We need to act efficiently and as quickly as possible," Aldrian sent a voice transmission to the others.
"What do you have in mind?" Xin Haotian asked.
"We need to visit the capital of the Doria Empire, or more specifically, the headquarters of the Alchemist Association," Aldrian said.
"The Alchemist Association headquarters? What do you plan to do there? It’s the largest alchemist organization on the continent, with the most influence and connections. I hope you’ll be careful about what you do, young master." Eleine cautioned.
"Of course I’ll be careful. Don’t you see? I always do everything with careful calculation," he answered. However, the others wore doubtful expressions, as he always brought chaos wherever he went. It seemed that more chaos was on the horizon for the Alchemist Association.
"Anyway, as you already know, there are traitors hiding within the Alchemist Association, and from the looks of it, they are high-ranking members. If we want to flush them out, I’ll need to infiltrate it. I also need to make sure they lose all possible escape routes. After what happened to Duke Badin in the Forgeheart Kingdom, these traitors will surely know that they’ll be found sooner or later and begin planning their escape with the devils’ help," Aldrian added.
"What if they’ve already escaped?" Eleine asked.
"We’ll find out soon after we arrive in Tania. If the traitors have already escaped, then there’s nothing we can do. But I have a feeling they haven’t escaped yet. However, this war will likely hasten their departure," Aldrian replied.
Aldrian’s group then stepped into the teleportation portal to Rivas City, the transit point to the capital of the Doria Empire—Tania City!
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The city of Tania, the capital of the Doria Empire, was already bustling with activity on an ordinary day, but today, it was even more lively, as if there were a festival. People flooded one of the main streets to cheer for the soldiers returning from the frontlines. The long line of soldiers and knights created a spectacular sight, and the spirits of the people were at an all-time high, with many shouting victory chants.
All of the soldiers walked toward the largest structure in the city that could be seen from afar—a massive white castle. Even those who only caught a glimpse of it could sense the aura of sovereignty emanating from this place. It was the place where the Doria imperial family resided, the imperial palace of the Doria Empire. Now, the palace was open to greet the heroes of the empire that had successfully thwarted the devils’ plan to dominate the empire.
Inside the throne hall of the castle, many nobles from the empire had gathered to witness the return of the soldiers from the frontlines. At this moment, three knights with the most impressive cultivations stood in the hall. All were at the Middle Emperor stage, kneeling before the middle-aged man with the strongest cultivation present. His mere presence commanded attention and his aura was like that of a sleeping giant. He was Durand Doria, the emperor of the Doria Empire.
"The commander of the First Brigade, Antonio Luka, has returned with victory."
"The commander of the Second Brigade, Giovanni De Calin, has returned with victory."
"The commander of the Third Brigade, Carlo Farmoni, has returned with victory."
The three knights spoke one by one. They were the spearheads of the empire in times of war and the most prominent generals of the imperial family. Emperor Durand nodded with a satisfied expression, but as the emperor, he knew the truth behind their victory. Instead of seeing it as a true victory, he believed that the devils had simply given up on their invasion on their own and retreated to their own territory.
It was fortunate that the devils had retreated, but it also sparked many questions in his mind. Why had they retreated? If they were retreating, what had caused them to do so? Was this war just a game to them, or was something brewing behind the scenes that he didn’t know about? However, he couldn’t reveal these doubts to the people of the empire, so the imperial family claimed that the devils had been successfully repelled back to their own territory.
All of the nobles also knew that something was wrong with the devils’ invasion and retreat, but they could not understand what was in the Devil’s mind. Because of this war, they also knew there were traitors within the empire, but they could not pinpoint them, as everything was still unclear. Suspicion lingered among them, as there were many channels through which the traitors could take advantage.
So, while the atmosphere was festive, it was also quite awkward. In the end, though, the devils had retreated, and the empire had successfully avoided a greater loss, so it was still a positive outcome.
"Thank you for your hard work. You will be rewarded immensely. I know you are all tired after a long battle, so rest easy. The rest of the ceremony can wait until later."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the three commanders shouted.
"We have successfully defeated the Devil’s threat. This is proof that our nation will always stand strong. Even if they come at us with all their power, we will show them that we are not weak. We will face everything they throw at us to keep our glorious empire standing tall!" The emperor’s voice resounded throughout the entire city, which responded with cheers and shouts from the people.
The people’s spirits burned like fire after the emperor’s speech. Some said that this war had been particularly fierce, with the battle leaning toward the devils’ victory. They also noted that the devils’ attack on the Doria Empire was unlike any previous invasion. But in the end, they emerged as the victors, and the people remained optimistic that the future would be just as triumphant.
Aldrian and his group had just stepped out of the teleportation portal, and although he heard the emperor’s voice, his interest was more focused on exploring the city. It was time to commence his plan!
