The young man's expression immediately showed a hint of panic. "Then, Teacher, what should we do? What if they really deploy the army...?"
"Don't panic, don't panic. Stay calm!" Red Moon shot him a look and analyzed coolly. "This won't be easy to accomplish. Soren is loyal to the Alliance, and he's a sensible man. He understands very clearly the repercussions of deploying the army to suppress the chaos. He won't do it unless absolutely necessary. Besides, even if he truly wants to, his subordinates may not necessarily obey him. If it succeeds, it's quelling unrest; if it fails, it becomes rebellion."
"Then, Teacher, should we do something?"
"Not for now. We only need to increase the number of people watching them and see what happens next."
"Yes."
Several more days passed.
"Teacher, I'm finding it harder and harder to understand what Richard is trying to do." In the study, the young man stood before Red Moon and said, "Based on the intelligence gathered over the past few days, we can be certain that after he arrived at Reef Rock Fortress, he didn't stop at all, nor did he meet Soren, who remained there. He passed through the city, crossed the border, and continued westward.
He then kept passing through several specially garrisoned areas, steadily drawing closer to his fief, Shalin. Judging by his fixed pace of travel, he should reach a small city at the very edge of Shalin later today."
The young man had barely finished speaking when one of his subordinates knocked and entered from outside. After saluting, he reported, "Your Highness, the latest intelligence: the target has reached Withered Stone City in Shalin. He has declared his identity as the Lord and ordered messengers to notify all officials in Shalin to go to Blackwater City,