After finishing my actions, I teleported to the elf village using Akari's phone. I had sent this authority to Akari beforehand as well.
On Premeus's side:
Premeus understood this time that anger wouldn't help. He immediately ordered his other soldiers to handle the situation. He sent Haru downstairs together with the soldiers as well. Since it would be dangerous for him, he decided to wait in his room.
A massive brawl was unfolding downstairs. The lower class was high in numbers. Even though the guards were gaining the upper hand, they were forced to kill some of their own people. At the same time, some guards were also losing the fights. The man with the bow in the back had provided good support.
"Where the hell did he find that bow?"
After a while, the guards prevailed in the fight. Everything was brought under control, but heavy losses had been suffered on both sides. Then they argued about who had added the poison. Just as the argument was about to escalate, Haru began reasoning.
"Rei was inside. He added the poison. I remember him walking around with potions. I'm certain he did it. Stay calm. He even had a disguise potion."
"Then he must still be around here! Let's catch him immediately!"
"He's probably already escaped. He can teleport somewhere I don't know using his phone. Let's keep control for now. Let's focus on the upcoming game. Everyone stay calm."
After Haru's logical speech, the atmosphere began to settle even more.
To calm the public outside, Haru said they would change some laws and abolish their taxes, even without Premeus's decision. Hearing this, the people calmed down further. The protests were quieting, slowing down.
So Rei planned to inflict damage from the inside before the game started. If it weren't for this idiot, I wouldn't have allowed it...
On Rei's side:
When I arrived at the village, Celebria and Lie came up to me and checked on my condition.
"Are you alright, Rei? You don't have any problems, do you?"
"Yes. My tactic went well. I created a riot among the people."
"I see. I won't ask too many questions."
Celebria stepped in front of Lie and began asking about my condition. Lie tolerated it, knowing it wouldn't be in her interest to say anything.
"I missed you, Rei! Where have you been?"
"I missed you too. Like I said, I was doing espionage work. The game will start soon."
"Don't go away for this long again, okay?"
"Alright. By the way, there was a raid on the village. Did you hear about it?"
When Lie heard my question, she calmly began to speak.
"Yes. The village we first came to was taken over. I saw them at the edge of the forest, so I didn't leave this place and waited for you. They attacked Akari's village too, but they resisted."
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"I had heard up to that part. Thank you anyway. I'll talk to the elf king to get more detailed information."
I left them. I entered the central building, knocked on the door, and entered the elf king's room. He was reading something at his work desk.
"So you've returned."
"Yes, I'm back. You must know about the events."
"I do. They didn't dare attack this place. Same with the goblin nest."
"How do you know the goblin nest wasn't attacked?"
"Elves have good ears. That's how."
I understood he was implying that they hadn't heard soldiers' sounds in those areas.
"Who are these soldiers? Do you have any information?"
"They call themselves the Children of Darkness. They have a kingdom beyond the magical bridge behind the Dark Forest. But that place is a much darker region."
"A magical bridge? What's that?"
"Beyond the Dark Forest, there is a passage bridge made of magical energy. I have no idea how it was formed, but it allows passage into their territory. You could say it's a transit bridge between them and us. The underside and surroundings of the bridge are completely empty. This area stands in the air. These empty parts are called the Void. Those who fall into the Void are never seen again. No one even knows whether they die or not. The Void sections are located at the boundaries of the thousand-kilometer area."
"I understand. That information was important. So why are they attacking?"
"I have no clear information, but by nature, they have always been savage. Because they are greedy, raids like this happen from time to time."
"So it's nothing out of the ordinary?"
"No, not really. Don't worry. They return after taking what they came for."
"I understand. A new idea has come to my mind. I'm going to implement it."
I left the room. After eating some food and taking care of my needs, I came to Lie. She transferred the leadership back to me, and we swapped phones. Then I told her part of my plan. Without showing myself to Celebria, I ran toward the village.
When I looked at the village, I didn't see any of the townspeople. There were soldiers in black clothing with strange swords. I made noise and drew their attention to me. When they saw me, they began rushing toward me. I ran toward Premeus's castle. We had about a thirty-minute chase. Thanks to my past, my conditioning and speed were quite good, so I wasn't caught. When I reached the front of Premeus's kingdom, I used my teleportation and returned to the village. The soldiers were stunned when I suddenly vanished.
Then they saw the kingdom in front of them. I had sensed their greedy nature. My aim was to show them the kingdom, full of supplies they had never seen before. About a hundred soldiers were looking at the same area, thinking. I had presented them with a new target. They pulled out a black orb in their hands, spoke into it, and gave instructions to their soldiers.
When I returned to the village, I came to Lie.
"Did it work, Rei?"
"Yes. Now the dark soldiers will likely want to target the kingdom. I've directed an army from outside to attack."
"Great!"
"The tactic doesn't end there, of course. I calculated both possibilities. If they can't reach an agreement, the kingdom will be under attack—which is already in my favor. But if Haru and Premeus somehow reach an agreement, I'm sure Haru will want to recruit some of them into the team in exchange for the deal. This will only happen if the battle becomes exhausting for both sides. If that happens, they'll have more people on their team, but at the same time, they'll feel more confident, and their strategy will become more aggressive. That's also part of my aim. If I can manipulate their strategy into something aggressive thanks to the confidence they feel, their defense will remain weaker. If they don't prioritize defense, they'll never understand what I'm going to do."
Lie nodded and continued listening to me carefully.
"So you're saying both possibilities benefit us. And in the other scenario, they'll think they're in an advantageous position. So, are you going to tell me what you're going to do now?"
"No. Of course not."
"I knew it..."
"Is it because you don't trust me that you won't tell me, Rei?"
"No. Of course not. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have even given you the leadership."
"You're right. So do you just like keeping information secret?"
"I suppose you could say that."
I looked up at the sky. There were a few hours left until evening. I was thinking about what Haru would do.
Let's see what you'll do about this situation, Haru.
Even though I had beaten him once, he was still a challenging opponent. Premeus himself had already disappeared from my mind...