Theus had originally planned to build a railway to transport the livestock over.
But it was a massive undertaking. While the terrain from Rhine to Blood Port was relatively flat, there were still many mountain ranges in between that had to be crossed somehow. It would require careful long-term planning.
Even with Castel pushing it forward at full force, it would take at least half a year.
Transporting them overland alone was far too inefficient, leaving them stuck at an impasse.
In the end, Lina was the one who realized it—they could perform the ritual directly in the Empire!
Theus had already made public his ability to switch bodies, so his personal security was no longer as important. Even if he were killed or trapped, everyone would still know it was him once he switched to another body.
Moreover, the ritual itself could span a certain distance. Lina had previously been on the front-line battlefield and directly targeted Castel.
After negotiating with the Empire, they ultimately decided to hold the ritual within Imperial territory. Theus had also come to Tis, though the two sides were still quite far apart.
"This is the ritual site. The preparations are complete. How are things on your end? Over."
"We're ready. The ritual can begin at any time. Over."
Theus held the radio handset as he communicated with the other side.
No one accompanied him this time. Since it was a long-distance ritual, the target designation might not be precise enough. If anyone happened to be nearby and the ritual targeted them instead, that would be quite the joke.
Although Lina had guaranteed that Theus's presence in the Sea of Unconsciousness would serve as a guide and prevent any mistakes, everyone in the surrounding area had still been cleared out for safety's sake.
"Has