Chapter 959 - Krais is Also One of the Order
"Three days?" Krang repeated.
The timeframe Krais had just proposed was shockingly short.
He had personally calculated that they would need a minimum of ten days just for the preparations alone.
The arrival of the Empire's envoy was important, yes, but this was a conclusion he had reached after focusing all his attention specifically on this problem.
"When does the envoy arrive?"
The eyes Krais used to ask that question sparkled intensely.
It wasn't the face of a man exhausted by a long journey.
If Esther and Rem had been inside to witness it, they undoubtedly would have marveled, saying that Krais had just 'drawn his blade'.
This man was also a member of the Madmen Knights.
He didn't possess an Engraved Weapon, but he was armed with a mind capable of dissecting any situation and the Will required to manifest his thoughts into reality.
When facing moments like this, he wielded Will just as surely as anyone else.
In some ways, you could say he was exactly like Aetri.
Because swinging a sword wasn't the only way to fight.
Krais stood alone, peering into the future.
His insight tore through events, dissected the world, and laid its hidden workings bare before him.
What exactly did the tomorrow he saw look like?
"We have a little over ten days left. Assuming what they claim is the truth."
An official envoy arriving from the Empire was no trivial matter.
Naturally, massive merchant caravans would tag along to exchange trade goods, and the so-called 'gifts' had to be meticulously prepared.
Conversely, the Kingdom had to do exactly the same.
That is, assuming the intent was to engage in diplomacy rather than declaring all-out war right from the start.
Of course, if the envoy started spouting utter nonsense upon arriving, they would have to slap it right back in their faces.
Regardless, for all these reasons, the exact arrival date of the Empire's envoy was something strictly coordinated and agreed upon by both nations.
Naturally, it was a schedule known to everyone who needed to know.
No, even a handful of prominent merchants likely knew the schedule.
It had gone beyond 'those who needed to know' and had spread quite widely.
Which meant there were currently a lot of people who knew the Empire's envoy was coming.
Krais peered into what the demons truly desired.
'What the bastard blocking our path said earlier.'
He had offered to lend them power.
What were the exact words he left behind with his final shred of Will as he was dying?
He told Enkrid to come find him before the war truly began.
'War? With who?'
If even mere merchants knew, then the demons absolutely knew the Empire's envoy was arriving.
No, they definitely knew.
So wasn't it entirely possible that the demonic minion's offer was made under the absolute assumption that Naurillia was going to fight the Empire?
Yes.
He was certain of it.
Even if he was wrong, preparing for it was the correct course of action, so Krais aggressively expanded his imagination in that direction.
He tested possibilities, verified them, and even after checking if the bridge he needed to cross was sturdy, he still relentlessly searched for a safer, alternative route.
This was what Krais had always done.
It was exactly the same now as it had been back during their days in the troublemaker squad.
He hadn't changed in the slightest.
Nurat had often told him that this unwavering consistency was his most attractive quality.
'They will target the Empire's envoy.'
A demonic minion could transform into an assassin in the blink of an eye.
What exactly do they hope to achieve by killing someone?
Chaos and pandemonium?
'They aren't just aiming for simple chaos.'
They were setting up the next move on the board.
Krais unfolded a mental card game in his head.
Holding a few cards in his own hand, he tried to gauge the hand his opponent was hiding in the darkness.
'What is their ultimate goal?'
The demons keep each other in check.
He knew that much.
To shatter that balance of power, they desperately wanted his Captain.
But why did they want to shatter the balance of power?
Dozens of thoughts unspooled in his mind like tangled threads, drawing dozens of absurd conclusions, erasing them, and instantly generating new ones.
That was how the sudden, out-of-nowhere question formed.
'Is the clue to Ascension hidden in this?'
Esther had said the demons' ultimate desire was Ascension.
The suffocating black fog that used to blanket the Demonic Realms had grown significantly thinner than before.
It was now entirely possible to deduce their inner thoughts.
'Regardless of Ascension or whatever else, they've gone beyond simply keeping each other in check; they actively want to kill each other. What if there is an entity entirely equal to the demons residing in the Demonic Realms that they want to eliminate? What if that entity is the Empire? The absolute best-case scenario for them would be forcing those two to slaughter each other.'
This was the conclusion reached by an endless chain of ominous imagination, fundamentally rooted in his own anxiety.
"The minions will target the Empire's envoy while simultaneously inciting mass chaos. To be precise, a group of minions will likely target the nobles belonging to the pro-peace faction. Actually, there are probably a few who have already perfectly disguised themselves as members of that faction," Krais stated.
Hearing Krais's words, Krang fell deep into thought, his teacup still in hand.
Enkrid loudly crunched on a cookie.
Marcus furrowed his brow.
What on earth was this guy talking about?
He was too busy desperately trying to catch up to Krais and Krang's conversation.
No one spoke.
Except for the occasional blink, total silence blanketed the room.
Aside from the faint rustling of clothes, it was completely quiet.
It wasn't until enough time had passed for someone to casually stroll around the reception room twice that Krang finally opened his mouth.
"It's highly possible."
He, too, had seen the horrifying plausibility in Krais's words.
They spoke the same language.
Krais genuinely relished this moment.
Just as Enkrid felt sheer euphoria when swinging his sword, Krais relished the intricate process of dissecting a situation and systematically eliminating variables of anxiety.
He also relished seeing his deductions prove correct and watching people move according to his plans.
This was the true self he had discovered by meticulously peeling back the layers of his anxiety, moving forward, and looking deep within.
It was an incredibly helpful epiphany.
You must know yourself and know your enemy to properly plan your next move.
It was the absolute basic foundation of a tactician.
By looking back at himself and truly understanding his own inner workings, his vision—the thing called 'insight'—had expanded even further.
The accumulation of his past experiences seamlessly interlocked with his present dilemmas.
The days he had spent agonizing and scheming had forged the strength he wielded today.
'Just like the way the Captain lives.'
Were Ropord and Fel the only ones who watched Enkrid and had epiphanies?
Aurelia, who had recently joined, and Clemen, who had stumbled along the way, were certainly passionate, but Krais was no less dedicated than any of them.
Even though he didn't roll around in the dirt of the training grounds every day, the flames of his passion burned just as hot.
He took everything he had seen, learned, and realized over that long period, mixed it together, and forged it into a single, cohesive weapon.
Krais was already looking ten days into the future inside his mind.
"Three days at the longest; we must resolve it within that timeframe. The Empire's envoy has almost certainly already crossed into the Kingdom's borders. If those bastards don't just stay quietly inside the capital but head out to ambush the envoy on the road, this entire situation becomes an unsolvable knot."
To be precise, it would leave them with only one possible outcome: an all-out war with the Empire.
Naurillia had recently crushed the South with sheer military force.
To an outsider, wouldn't it look exactly like they were aggressively flexing their muscles?
Anyway, the Empire had sent an envoy to such a Kingdom, and if that envoy just abruptly dropped dead on the way?
"Ah, a demon from the Demonic Realm sent a minion to do it. Our bad."
Would anyone actually believe that if they said it?
'I wouldn't believe it either.'
Though Krais was inherently suspicious by nature and made a habit of verifying everything rather than blindly believing it.
But ironically, even if they did believe it, it was still a massive problem.
"Is that so? So you're telling me you don't even have the power to protect an envoy of the Empire from a few measly demonic minions? Then drop dead. We will show you the true might of the Empire."
It was entirely possible they would react exactly like that.
Honestly, if he let his ominous imagination run wild, he could sit here all day without resting and write an entire book's worth of worst-case scenarios.
Krais was overflowing with confidence when it came to that specific skill.
After factoring all these terrifying possibilities into his mind and meticulously calculating every single angle, the conclusion he reached was three days.
"Three days, huh."
Krang had also racked his brain as far as it would go.
He stared coldly at reality.
"Duke Marcus."
"It's impossible. The timeframe is far too tight."
They had been quietly observing the individuals suspected of being demonic minions for months.
Holy Priests had personally verified and categorized them.
Yet, some of them still remained ambiguous.
They were within the bounds of suspicion, but unconfirmed.
Krang hadn't tried to uncover the minions' true intentions.
To be precise, trying to unravel their exact motives on top of everything else was simply too overwhelming.
They lacked the time, and just trying to control the flow of information was already giving him a migraine.
Furthermore, his preconceived notion that the only things demonic minions desired were slaughter and chaos had played a massive role in that oversight.
'Demons are not idiots.'
Krang violently shattered a firmly rooted concept within his own mind and established a new one.
This was his greatest strength.
The ability to remain entirely un-dogmatic despite being a King, to genuinely listen to the words of others, and to spare no effort in seeking the absolute truth.
Of course, he hadn't blindly accepted the opinion without a single doubt.
Isn't assuming they'll ambush the Empire's envoy a massive over-interpretation?
He asked himself.
No.
Preparing for that exact scenario is the correct path.
Assuming we actually have the capability to do so.
He answered himself.
Following that, Krang firmly braced his resolve.
Meanwhile, Marcus had also finished his own calculations.
Whatever else he might be, Marcus had definitively proven his competence as a military commander who led armies.
Therefore, he spoke exactly what he saw from his own perspective.
"If Enki and that Rem bastard help, it'll be a ridiculously tight squeeze, but we might just be able to pull it off. The person who came with you at the end was the witch, right? We have to exclude her from our calculations."
It was near impossible to accurately gauge or predict what could be achieved through spells.
Therefore, she couldn't be factored into a concrete military strategy.
Marcus was predicting the success rate of the operation relying solely on Enkrid and Rem.
It felt like it could work.
It also felt like it could fail spectacularly.
Because they still hadn't identified the true identities of every single enemy.
Krais didn't have the full picture of the current situation.
So, he asked.
"May I hear a detailed explanation?"
Krang replied.
"As much as you need."
With those words, Marcus opened his mouth.
He began to systematically summarize everything they had uncovered so far and the operational plans they had devised.
The tea was still piping hot.
The conversation was moving at an uncontrollably blistering pace.
For Krang and Marcus, this was natural since they were the ones who had been preparing this the entire time, but it was a different story for Krais.
He was simultaneously digesting the intricate structure those two had built in real-time while continuously calculating the enemy's true intentions steps ahead of them.
Even if his terrifying deduction proved incorrect, there was absolutely no reason to drag this out any longer than necessary.
Even if the demons weren't targeting the Empire's envoy, it wasn't as if they could just sit back and watch them operate, right?
'They wouldn't be stupid enough to target Krang directly, would they?'
Enkrid quietly watched the men fiercely debating and thought to himself.
Krang was currently under the absolute protection of the Sun Tree.
Even Enkrid himself couldn't pierce through that protection in a single strike.
And it wasn't as if Krang was the type of fool to blindly trust that protection and neglect his own personal guard.
Sure, he occasionally did crazy things like charging out to the Southern frontlines, but he only did that because it was absolutely necessary.
Listening to their conversation from the sidelines, there was never a plan to use the King himself as bait in the first place.
Krang fully knew that he was too fortified to even function as proper bait.
'Then what is the bait?'
To catch a fish in a river, you usually have to attach bait to a hook and wiggle it around.
However, if you already know exactly where the fish is, you can always just hurl a harpoon and impale it.
Assuming you actually have the skill to do so, of course.
Enkrid was more than willing to become the harpoon Krang hurled, provided the King asked him to.
Without nodding even once, Krais focused entirely on the explanation before finally speaking.
"If we're going to resolve this within three days, we can't just operate metaphorically 'at night'; we have to literally execute this under the cover of darkness. Captain, please call Rem."
"Yeah."
Enkrid casually dusted the cookie crumbs off his hands.
Guess snack time is officially over.
It seemed as though the dynamic had flipped, with a subordinate ordering the Captain, but Enkrid couldn't care less.
Rank and status were the least important things in this room right now.
Enkrid stood up and walked out.
The Commander of the Royal Guard, standing watch outside the reception room, immediately acknowledged him.
At a single glance, the arming doublet the Commander wore was clearly extraordinary.
Was it woven from the fur of a demonic beast?
The faint crimson light radiating from it looked incredibly mystical.
It was a remarkably eye-catching piece of armor.
Furthermore, the way his posture was far more aligned and grounded than before made it glaringly obvious his martial skills had improved significantly.
"Have you been well?" the Commander of the Royal Guard asked.
When Enkrid had first entered, they had only exchanged brief nods as he walked past.
"As you can see. Did you happen to see where Rem wandered off to?"
"He was soaking up the sun out in the garden just ahead."
"And the person who arrived with us?"
"If you mean the woman with the bewitching appearance, they are together."
"That's an impressive piece of armor you have there."
"It's woven from the same thread used to craft the Sun Tree's cloak, blended with the fur of a high-tier demonic beast. It is the absolute pinnacle of the Kingdom's craftsmanship."
It was idle chatter, but even from this brief exchange, a chain of thoughts unspooled in Enkrid's mind.
'Weaving is a craft primarily dominated by fairies and humans.'
Since fairies fundamentally refuse to work with the leather or fur of demonic beasts, it meant this armor was the absolute greatest masterpiece crafted by human hands.
Though mixed with a few lighthearted jokes, his words were primarily brimming with overwhelming pride.
They were the words of a man fiercely loyal to his position protecting the Royal Family, and deeply proud of the Kingdom's current prestige and unyielding Will.
Well, to be able to sense all of that from just a few short sentences meant...
'Will.'
It was because of the unyielding Will this man constantly harbored and maintained.
In that exact moment, Enkrid had a profound premonition that this man, whether sooner or later, would inevitably reach the pinnacle and become a true Knight.
Someone who constantly harbors that level of Will and lives their life fully embodying it has an incredibly high probability of eventually awakening and commanding Will.
Even more so with a Will this remarkably pure.
Of course, it wouldn't happen immediately.
And naturally, there was still a high probability he might never achieve it at all.
"Just ahead?"
"The inner palace garden. His Majesty decreed that it should be open to everyone, so it has become a place anyone can freely enter."
Even those words are filled with deep satisfaction.
Enkrid thought to himself as he shifted his gaze.
The Commander was flawlessly executing his duties as the head of the Royal Guard.
He had perfectly memorized the exact location of every single person who had entered the palace.
Especially considering Rem and Esther were individuals who practically screamed 'high risk' at a single glance.
Whether they were the Madmen Knights or anything else, the Royal Guard would do absolutely whatever it took to protect their King.
Because that was this man's absolute duty, his responsibility, his dream, and his everything.
Furthermore, that was exactly how this man protected his own world.
Then Enkrid simply had to do the exact same thing.
Just like the man standing before him, he just had to faithfully execute his own duties.
It was a profound thought sparked by a few simple words.
"Rem, Esther. Get over here."
Exactly as the Commander of the Royal Guard had said, the two of them were visible just beyond the corridor, lounging in a sunlit corner of the garden.
They immediately walked over.
"Are you done talking? I stepped out because it sounded like you guys were getting into some serious headache-inducing politics," Rem grumbled.
To be precise, Rem had been entirely absorbed in quietly reviewing something that had recently clicked in his mind.
You could say he was far more interested in digesting a new martial epiphany than listening to politics.
Esther was exactly the same.
A spell that vanished leaving only white ash behind was a completely new phenomenon she had never seen before.
To Esther, very few things in this world took precedence over unraveling a new spell.
Though, of course, if it were truly necessary, she would adjust her priorities.
"Yeah, we're roughly done," Enkrid replied.
By the time they walked back into the reception room, the core of the discussion had already been finalized.
***
If you enjoy the series and want to get more chapters early, head over to https://payhip.com/Samowek
Next 100 chapters - 25e [Be sure to message me on discord for any information]
[SHOP BEST BUY] - 50e - Every chapter translated - Latest WN-1105+ daily chapters from monday to friday for a month.
-KNIGHT - Cost 20e - Chapters 1035-1105 + daily chapters from Monday to Friday for a month
I welcome you to join our discord https://discord.gg/RY7BbJpeAZ
**ANY INFO ONLY APPLIES TO THE LATEST CHAPTER HERE ON WEBNOVEL**