The Door Opened

Eliminating Maud was imperative.

Using a hostage to force Maud to come was merely a way to minimize the cost.

Even if Maud had refused the invitation—

To fulfill Lord Imu's instructions, the Five Elders would still mobilize every available force and uproot Maud at any cost.

Now.

Maud was willing to venture into danger alone for the sake of his "family." This was precisely the situation the Five Elders wanted to see most.

Although the reaction to the long-awaited reunion between the brothers, Maud and Moyou, was somewhat inexplicably abnormal...

The arrow was already nocked, and there was no turning back.

In the eyes of the Five Elders, since Maud had come, it meant Moyou could indeed serve as a hostage.

As long as they could keep Maud pinned down here, that would be enough.

As for the possibility of using Moyou's life to make Maud obediently give up resisting...

The Five Elders were not optimistic enough to believe that would work.

The Braided Hair Five Elder, wearing a black flat cap, coldly watched Maud trapped in an inescapable net and slowly raised the cane in his hand.

The agents dispatched outside kept a constant watch over every controllable area on the Red Line.

Even the stretch of sea far from the Red Port was within their surveillance range.

The large fleet that had followed Maud was anchored in that stretch of sea.

The agents sent out would monitor the fleet's movements in real time.

This extensive deployment of eyes was precisely to ensure that Maud had come to the Holy Land alone.

With this prerequisite in place, they had sufficient time and room to respond afterward.

Next—

The Five Elders would rally every available force in the Holy Land to surround and kill Maud.

They figured that the