Setting out to sea

Despite the rushed preparation time, ' Lai ' still managed to find time to go to the small dark room with Oinrich.

"' Lai,' I don't really want to know why you're looking for the Deep Sea Golden Dragon, but it's not important at all."

Oinrich brought up the topic directly, silencing ' Lai's ' prepared excuse, and then Oinrich continued.

"Actually, the Alliance Council took the last attack on Sea Blue Island very seriously, which is why they arranged for me to come here ahead of time, precisely to resolve this issue."

"Although in the last attack, the Attackers were mostly scattered Third Order Professional, and those who were captured alive were tortured at the end..."

The answer pointed to one person: Chachek, the fifth prince of the Srilan Empire, who is currently near Sea Blue Island with a Fourth Order Profession Holder.

"But the Alliance doesn't believe that's all there is to it. They don't believe that the Srilan Empire simply sent a prince, supposedly to gather intelligence, but who can really know what's going on?"

"Right now, a dozen or so Fourth Order Mage have gathered near Sea Blue Island, in a place unknown to most mages, precisely to prevent the Srilan Empire from launching a full-scale attack rashly."

At this point, Oinrich paused for a moment, then continued.

"We are well prepared, but we cannot let our enemy know that we are well prepared, so we cannot be open about many things."

"You may not know this, but a few months ago in White Dragon Port, we discovered a Spirit Realm Mage who had infiltrated our ranks."

"Therefore, the Alliance Council strongly demands that any classified operation must strictly adhere to confidentiality regulations, including our the Alliance's subsequent arrangements."

"Next, we need to test whether the Srilan Empire has deployed a large number of troops around the area, or whether it has simply sent those Fourth Order Profession Holder to fight lightly."

Oinrich took out a floating map from his hand and unfolded it.

This is a map of Sea Blue Island drawn by the Alliance, clearly marking several locations.

"The Alliance is concerned that some of the mages on Sea Blue Island are Spirit Realm Mage, and we don't yet have a good method to detect this... It will also take some time for the new testing method to be approved."

"To prevent the Srilan Empire from knowing that our the Alliance already has suspicions, this reconnaissance mission can only be entrusted to you."

"This is something I came up with on the spur of the moment when I heard that you were pulling strings to try and find the Deep Sea Golden Dragon."

"Isn't it an excellent disguise for a Legendary disciple to use his power to find some precious magical materials?"

"The enemy might be suspicious, after all, it's too coincidental, and the timing is off, but the Alliance can't think of a better way to disguise it."

"You'll proceed with your mission to find the Deep Sea Golden Dragon as usual, but you also have some other tasks to complete."

Oinrich pointed to several points marked on the map and slowly said:

"These are some of the few places where a large-scale army can be deployed. Find a reason to go near these locations. Special mages will search them; just get them up there."

"Once we confirm that there aren't large numbers of soldiers in these areas, and considering the Floating City' roaming of the Lohan Archipelago, we can almost certainly determine whether there are large-scale armies in the surrounding area."

"This is very useful information for the Alliance."

' Lai's' expression was almost like an old person looking at their phone on the subway. What on earth is going on? How come she just wanted to find a Deep Sea Golden Dragon, and then this whole bunch of tasks popped up?

Oinrich noticed ' Lai's' hesitation and spoke slowly.

"You don't need to worry about safety. Besides the protective measures I mentioned before, I will also send a Fourth Order Mage aboard secretly."

"And if the situation becomes truly urgent and all other measures fail, then you should use Communication Device to contact me."

I'll come right away; your safety is my top priority.

Seeing Oinrich's very serious expression, ' Lai ' thought there was no need for him to object, so he simply agreed to the task.

Strictly speaking, taking on this mission might even be beneficial to ' Lai '.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Wartime Provision Department's quota is used, Fran might only end up with five Battle Mage to accompany her on the ship.

However, now that the Alliance Council has assigned this task, ' Lai ' can gather ten Third Order Mage on this trip, and there is even a Fourth Order Mage hiding in the shadows.

The only problem is that if this final Fourth Order Mage is used, then things will get really complicated. She doesn't even know if she'll be able to kill the Deep Sea Golden Dragon in the end.

Even if the Srilan Empire had indeed made large-scale preparations in the vicinity, Lai still believed that attacking their ships was a very bad option.

Attacking their ship would actually be pointless; aside from a Legendary disciple and a few Third Order Mage from the Logistics Department, there were no other high-value targets on board.

Even if the attack succeeds, it won't severely damage the Alliance's presence in the Lohan Archipelago; it will only expose the Srilan Empire's plans there.

The most important purpose of ' Lai's' trip was actually to verify whether the Srilan Empire had deployed a large-scale army.

It's important to understand that on the mainland, a single Fourth Order Profession Holder and an army led by Fourth Order Profession Holder are two completely different things. Even if the latter encounters several Fourth Order Profession Holder and can't win, they can still run away. But what if they encounter a situation where they can't run away?

"We'll discuss these Fourth Order concepts when you return. Your headache should be somewhat relieved by now."

"Just in case, I've already handed over the knowledge I possess to Roderick. If something really goes wrong, you can always find it with Roderick..."

' Lai ' frowned, looking somewhat worried, but seeing Oinrich's very serious expression, she still didn't say anything.

After getting Monica to sign the papers, Fran, feeling guilty, didn't go back to the Wartime Provision Ministry office, even though she could have gone directly there. Instead, she wandered around outside.

While strolling around, she spotted a familiar figure.

"Mentor, what are you doing here?" Fran's eyes widened, never expecting Harbos to appear on Sea Blue Island at this time.

At this moment, Harbos was wearing a high-necked shirt and sat on a chair to the side, looking like a rather reclusive mage.

Fran still remembered that back in White Dragon Port, Harbos told her to go ahead and follow the Alliance's arrangements. Fran had no right to know what the Alliance's plans were for Fourth Order Mage like Harbos.

She knew, of course, that Harbos would likely be assigned some important tasks by the Alliance, meaning he was currently stationed near Sea Blue Island to prevent a full-scale attack from the Srilan Empire.

But why should we go to Sea Blue Island? Unless...

Fran's heart skipped a beat; she seemed to know why Harbos was here.

"The Alliance has assigned me an important mission, and for some reasons, I have to participate in this somewhat dangerous mission."

Harbos explained with a smile.

Fran guessed that Harbos was probably the hidden Fourth Order Mage on the ' Lai ' ship.

"Is it dangerous?" Fran asked with some concern. After all, Harbos was her mentor, and if something really happened, she would be in trouble.

Harbos waved his hand and slowly said:

"There might be some injuries, but if I encounter any situations I can't handle, the Alliance will immediately provide support."

Fran recalled Oinrich's tone, as if he were giving his last instructions, and knew that besides sending back ' Lai, ' whom she had high hopes for, Oinrich would put Harbos second.

After all, it's really not easy for the Alliance to produce a Fourth Order Mage. Preserving the life of this Fourth Order Mage is to accumulate more strength for the Alliance.

Fran didn't ask what kind of mission Harbos was planning here, and Harbos certainly wouldn't answer, since even most of the Third Order Mage on the ship probably didn't know the true purpose of this operation.

As someone who is openly ranked at the second level, she would have no reason to know.

' Lai's ' preparations were very rushed, because the Alliance was clearly still at war, so the time she could carry out her activities was extended to a maximum of ten days.

And so, the day after she brought up the matter, the ships were ready. Several Construct School mages from the Logistics Department worked through the night to modify the remaining ships on Sea Blue Island, and they were finally able to be officially delivered the following day.

This matter was rushed, and the preparations were not thorough enough. Ten Third Order Mage were sent up, and many lower-tier mages were also sent up to broaden their horizons.

In the end, about thirty mages boarded the ship, which was almost half of the Logistics Department's strength. Such a large-scale operation caused quite a stir not only among the mages on Sea Blue Island but also among the mages themselves.

Even outside of Sea Blue Island, Chachek, who hadn't obtained much useful intelligence during the previous attacks, noticed this.

The last time he interrogated that Third Order Mage, combined with the information he obtained from Cesar and Nolan, both third-tier mages, he could only glean some information that the Alliance would continue to send war forces over.

Besides, there are no answers to questions such as why the Alliance went crazy and wanted to occupy the Lohan Archipelago, and whether they were afraid of not being able to recoup their costs.

The Alliance will not tell the lower-level mages why it is targeting the Lohan Archipelago, even though the Alliance of an attack on the Lohan Archipelago have been circulating for a long time.

However, many mages still attribute the cause to the fall of the Number Three Floating City, but since the fall occurred so long ago, this explanation is clearly untenable.

"Your Highness, I think we should go back. This is really not a place to stay for long," the Wind Hermit said to Chachek.

Chachek's response to this has consistently been one of rejection.

"No, we can't go back yet." Chachek was eager to understand why these believers and the Alliance of the Deity had been mobilizing forces and preparing for war lately.

He sees this as both a risk and a rare opportunity, and he won't give up just because he encounters some difficulties.

The Wind Hermit didn't need to say much about this, but simply reminded Chachek of one thing.

"According to the contract we signed, if Your Highness proposes something that I cannot do, or deliberately puts me in danger, then I have the right to cancel this contract."

"Of course I know that, I'll find an opportunity."

Chachek gazed at the ship that had just set sail from Sea Blue Island and was heading towards the deep sea, his eyes filled with curiosity.