Chapter 89

These Iron Blood Army, clad in armor and stained with blood, exuded a chilling and murderous aura.

They had fought countless battles, yet none of them felt fatigued. They were excited because they had finally found Grand Duke Magana!

Those damned Western Barbarians, they actually dared to try to kill the Grand Duke, what a fool they are!

At this time.

The Grand Duke, with a look of disgust on his face, told Ryan to quickly let go of the mirror.

"... I'm only away for a few days, why are you so upset?"

"What do you mean by 'just a few days'? Your Grand Duke, you have no idea how important you are. Without you, the entire Western Territory would collapse! I can hardly survive without you!"

Ryan was overjoyed.

Oh Janus, the Grand Duke is truly not dead!

My Grand Duke, do you know how much I miss you? There is no one in the world who misses you more than I do for you to come back alive!

Loyalty!!!

"Oh?" Magana raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about the current situation in the Western Territory."

She fought her way out of the rift in the Inner World and had no chance to return to the Augustus Empire. She was pursued by the Western Barbarian Army and many powerful Supernatural Being along the way. Moreover, the area was isolated by an invisible force, and communication spells could not be used.

Until she reunited with the Iron Blood Army that came looking for her, and fought her way to the border of the Empire, although some kind of force was still influencing her, the mirror relic was stronger than magic, and she was finally able to use it.

And so, I immediately contacted Ryan.

Ryan told her about what had happened during this time.

"Hmph~ Damn old man, I knew he wanted to do this all along!" Magana wasn't surprised at all that the Old Emperor wanted to take over the Western Territory. They were old rivals, and everyone knew each other well.

However, Magana didn't think too much about whether the Old Emperor had orchestrated this whole thing.

She ultimately didn't understand the Old Emperor as well as Caslathdi did.

The problem now is that she must return to the Western Territory as soon as possible, but the Western Barbarians are currently blocking off everything, and the Imperial borders are also controlled by the Western Barbarians, so it won't be easy for her to fight her way back.

"My Grand Duke, I suggest you don't show yourself yet," Ryan said.

"Huh? Why? Shouldn't I be going back as soon as possible? If I stay any longer, that bastard Creed will give my entire fortune to the royal family."

"That makes sense, but you also said that Creed is causing trouble in the shadows, he's a mole. What if he has a backup plan? Didn't he consider the possibility that you might come back alive? I think it's unlikely."

Ryan had his reasons for saying that. If he were the mole... oops! If he were Creed, he would definitely have a backup plan before doing something this big.

If Magana really dies, that would be best. We wouldn't have to worry about anything; we could just leave everything to the royal family.

If she's not dead, then they'll definitely have to prepare a backup plan. After all, if a madwoman like Magana (just kidding) isn't killed off in one fell swoop, then no one will be spared once she recovers.

"Then what do you suggest?" Magona crossed her arms. She had originally intended to inquire about the situation in the southern border of Lyon, then plan to launch a decisive attack to crush the Western Barbarians, return to her territory, and kill Elwin. The old emperor's orders? Hmph! Respect him and call him emperor; disrespect him and you'll be eating the Ironblood cavalry's manure!

"Grand Duke, do you know? Just recently, that unlucky bastard Caslathdi told me that she plans to take the Iron Blood Army to the Western Territory to make a quick buck under the guise of being allies."

"Huh? Her?" Magana was somewhat surprised. "That Old Emperor's darling daughter, does she have this kind of guts?"

Ryan shrugged. "She just told me."

"Who knew she'd have such a strong presence? I'm quite impressed with her now, haha~"

Magana seemed very happy, though Ryan had no idea what she was so happy about— the Grand Duke was about to lose his home.

"So I think you should first assess the situation, Your Grand Duke. If Caslathdi steps forward, it will definitely break the deadlock, and the Iron Blood Legion won't need to rebel anymore. You can even take this opportunity to side with Caslathdi, using their strength against them, and help her deal with Elvin and the Old Emperor. In any case, the Iron Blood Legion will ultimately be loyal to you, as long as you eventually die and return... cough cough~ appear at the end."

"However, I estimate that Creed will definitely try to sabotage things. They can't let the Iron Blood Legion Caslathdi, so he will definitely use whatever tricks he has up his sleeve."

The Iron Blood Legion is now leaderless and has nowhere to go. If Caslathdi makes a move, they can directly seek refuge with this Princess.

The situation will become delicate then.

If Elvin wants to fight, he has to consider Caslathdi's identity and the support the entire Western Territory have for Caslathdi. Rather than letting the Old Emperor take back the territory directly, they would definitely prefer to support Caslathdi in preserving this territory.

Caslathdi is weak, and only chaos can benefit her. Her thinking is not wrong. The blame lies with the Old Emperor for giving the Second Prince preferential treatment by sending Elvin to the Western Territory... Father, is this the crown prince's training? It wasn't my second brother who went.

Caslathdi was definitely not going to accept that conquering the Western Territory would make him the next emperor.

"No." Magana shook her head. "What if that unlucky bastard Caslathdi backs down at the crucial moment? The Old Emperor is her father. I don't trust the fate of the entire Western Territory to be in the hands of the royal family."

Although she was happy to see Caslathdi and the Old Emperor fighting amongst themselves, it wasn't impossible that Caslathdi might pull off a major reversal and lead the Western Territory forces to pledge allegiance to the Old Emperor.

After all, this can be considered as helping the emperor solve a major problem. Maybe the Old Emperor will be so happy that he will promise Caslathdi Di some benefits to help her fight for the Crown Prince War?

"Your Grand Duke, you actually thought of this?!" Ryan was surprised. To be honest, he had never thought of it, but it was actually possible. After all, they were family, and Caslathdi was also very meticulous. Even if he didn't think of it at first, it wasn't impossible that he would do what Magana said when the situation forced him to.

"Is that hard to imagine? That old woman and her whole family are like that, not one of them is innocent... Hmm? Wait, what did you think of me before??? Did you think Grand Duke was just a muscle woman who only knew how to fight?"

"Oh, Your Grand Duke, you are of course supreme and omnipotent in my heart."

Ryan thought to himself, "That's not just my opinion. That's just how your character is. So blame the game company."

"However, if Caslathdi doesn't go, then the situation in the Western Territory will be troublesome."

"Ryan, how's the situation in the Southern Territory?" Magana suddenly asked.

"Everything is going well. The invasion by the Kainter Kingdom some time ago has been repelled, and the rule of Berman, Kosotoya, and Nade has basically stabilized."

"Very good, that idiot Caslathdi must trust you a lot now, right?"

I guess so.

"So even if you come to the Western Territory, will she agree?"

"Uh-huh?"

Ryan was stunned.

No, Your Grand Duke, what do you mean by that?

"I certainly can't hand over the Western Territory to that guy, but Ryan, you just said that it would be troublesome for me to go back directly, so I thought of a compromise: you go to the Western Territory in place of Caslathdi, what do you think?" Magana crossed her arms, feeling proud of her brilliant idea.

Look at my brain, what problem could possibly stump me, Magana? Nothing!

"..."

"Ryan, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you think this is a brilliant idea? You're one of my men, and I trust you completely with the Iron Blood Legion. Caslathdi is also at ease. I reckon she's not really confident about going to the Western Territory, so this is the perfect opportunity. Hasn't she always wanted to send you to me as a mole? Now is the perfect time."

"..."

Ryan's lips twitched slightly.

My Grand Duke, when did you become so clever?

"Your Grand Duke, I think this matter can be discussed further."

"You say."

"First of all, how can I convince Caslathdi that my presence can win over the Iron Blood Legion? Secondly, why should those people in the Western Territory trust me? Even if they know I'm one of yours, they won't easily believe me, right? After all, even Creed betrayed us."

"Ryan, are you afraid of dying?"

"Of course not, I am willing to go through fire and water for the Grand Duke."

"That's fine then." Magana smiled confidently. "Don't worry, there won't be any problems."

Ryan looked bewildered. "Why do you say that?"

"I feel like you'll be fine."

"?"

"I believe you, Ryan, just as you believe I'm still alive, right? Human intuition is very accurate."

"???"

Huh? Ryan's current feeling is, 'Huh? You're serious?'

Such a big thing, you felt it could be done, so you went ahead with it?

"What if it doesn't work?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I, Magana, have fought my way to this point, enduring countless hardships." Magana waved her hand dismissively. "If things really don't work out, I'll just take the remaining legions and conquer the Southern Territory cities to start over. You can manage the territory for me then, and I'll be in charge of expanding it. Let that Old Emperor know that I, Magana, am not someone to be trifled with. If you really push me too far, I'll launch a counterattack on the Imperial Capital!"

Hahaha, hahaha, she's serious! Did you hear that? She's really considering it seriously, and she's even thought of a backup plan!

"Oh Janus above, Your Grand Duke, you are so wise, so brave and wise. I feel full of power now and have nothing to fear."

"Don't worry about Ryan, I won't let anything happen to you. If you get into danger, don't worry, I'll help you," Magana said. "Do a good job, I believe you can do it."

That's right, I'll definitely do my job well. If I don't do it well, I'll feel like I've wasted my time as a mole.

"Alright, I have something else to do. The Magic Power fluctuations here are a bit unusual. I reckon that guy is catching up again... Go, Ryan, I'm leaving the rest to you."

Sizzle~

The mirror returned to its normal state.

Ryan stood in the room, feeling like a million grass mud horses were galloping through his mind.

"Don't panic, Ryan, it's not a big problem. As long as Caslathdi doesn't agree to me going, it's fine, right? This is not something a commoner like me should be involved in, is it?"

Upon closer inspection, there's no problem. Oh damn, I shouldn't have said anything. I should have just let Magana come back to oversee things.

But here's the problem: this is definitely a trap. If Magana falls into it, the Iron Blood Legion is very likely to fall. Without the Grand Duke's protection, he's in real trouble now.

An hour later.

Aideburg, in the courtyard.

"Really, Ryan? You're really willing to go to the Western Territory for me?!" Caslathdi was surprised and delighted, and delighted and relieved. She was right, Ryan was a man of courage and resourcefulness!

"Ah." Ryan was taken aback. "Your Highness, you agree?"

No, you just agreed?

"Yes, actually I've been thinking that if I really go there, it might escalate the conflict. I'm not confident I can persuade the Iron Blood Legion, but they have the guts to kidnap me and even kill me to vent their anger," Caslathdi said seriously. "I have to make sure we can reach an agreement with the Western Territory, so I need someone to communicate with them first for me... Ryan, thank you for thinking of this for me."

"Yes, that's what I think too."

Ryan thought to himself, "I suspect you two are plotting against me, but unfortunately I have no proof."

However, if Caslathdi really gets into trouble in the Western Territory, the Old Emperor will most likely immediately take back control of the three cities in the Southern Territory as well, and he will be back to square one overnight.

Neither way seems to work, so it seems like we have no choice but to take a gamble?

Anyway, the Grand Duke said that if we really encounter danger, he can protect us. If all goes well, we might even get to see the short Grand Duke.

When that time really comes, Master Ryan will definitely show her his utmost loyalty!

The plan has been finalized; now it's time to get started.

The mayor's job could be handed over to 'Ina', and 'Shally' was guarding the city's defenses. Caslathdi originally wanted to send the remaining Royal Guards to protect Ryan, but he refused.

The Iron Blood Legion still has about a thousand men left, and with Gruk and others around, that's enough.

If we really encounter any danger, what use are a few hundred more Royal Guards? And the 'royal' guards... well, Ryan is worried that if we bring them over, they'll be killed by the Iron Blood Army of the Western Territory with their eyes.

"You little rascal, I told you not to get involved in these things, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what happened!"

At the train station, Jonathan, who came to see him off, lit a cigarette, took a few deep drags, and before he had even finished half of it, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

You could tell he was genuinely agitated.

Ryan shrugged. "The mission of the Burning Covenant is to protect the Empire and prevent it from falling into chaos. If I can ease the situation in the Western Territory, wouldn't that be a huge contribution?"

"I'm afraid you'll die in the Western Territory before you even have a chance to prove yourself. Do you think this muddy water is so easy to wade through?"

From Jonathan's perspective, he actually supports the Empire in resolving the Western Territory issue.

However, things have become a bit complicated now. On one hand, the Western Barbarians are still eyeing the region covetously, and without the Iron Blood Legion guarding the Western Territory, things could go wrong. Secondly, Elvin led the troops there, so is this really a power struggle for the crown prince position, or is it truly for the sake of the empire?

At last.

What if Magana didn't die?

Once that Iron-Blooded Grand Duke returns, with his volatile temper, the empire will likely be thrown into complete chaos.

"Alright, it's decided anyway... Here, take this." Jonathan handed Ryan a badge with a dark flame symbol.

Ryan was taken aback. "This is..."

"If you encounter any difficulties, take this to the people of the Burning Covenant. Even in the Western Territory, someone will help you."

"Captain, where did you get this?"

"How do you know him?"