« What? »
« He actually … cough cough … cough cough cough … » Marshal Malindolph, qui regardait à mi-chemin, se mit à hurler. À cause de son corps, cela se transforma immédiatement en une violente quinte de toux. Veronica, qui observait sur le côté, tapa rapidement dans le dos du maréchal Malindolph pour le calmer.
« Father, calm down! » dit immédiatement Veronica.
« How … cough cough … How could this happen … » Le maréchal Malindolf était encore très agité. « Someone pretended to be the princess? »
« What? »
C'était la première fois que Maccon en entendait parler. Il resta stupéfait. « Someone pretended to be the fourth princess? »
Le maréchal Malindolf ne dit rien. Il sortit simplement la lettre et la tendit à Maccon à côté de lui. Il se tourna ensuite vers Li Huailin. « Is the letter true? How is the princess now? »
« The princess is fine, but she has nowhere to go. If she goes back to the city now, she'll probably be assassinated before she even reaches the palace gate. »
Li Huailin étendit les mains. « My partner is watching her now. I wanted you to help, but it doesn't seem like it's possible. »
« I … » Le maréchal Malindolf était si anxieux qu'il voulut se lever, mais Veronica le repoussa vite sur le lit.
« Father, you can't move at all right now, » dit Veronica.
« Now isn't the time to talk about this. This is very serious, » dit le maréchal Malindolf sérieusement.
« It's actually related to Marquis Filmte, » dit Maccon après avoir lu la lettre. « This … »
« Marquis Filmte? »
Veronica fut surprise. Tout à l'heure, Li Huailin lui avait seulement raconté ce qui s'était passé, sans donner sa propre hypothèse. La lettre de la princesse devait contenir les détails pertinents.
« This isn't as simple as the princess being switched, » soupira le maréchal Malindolf. « This must be Marquis Filmte's scheme. »
« So, the person who stabbed Father is also Marquis Filmte? » dit Veronica.
« Oh, stabbed? » Li Huailin remarqua cela. « Marshal Malindolf was stabbed? »
« Yes, on the night before yesterday, I was attacked by five well-trained assassins. »
Le maréchal Malindolf ne semblait pas avoir l'intention de le cacher à Li Huailin. « Although I only suffered a superficial wound, I didn't expect the enemy to smear an unknown poison on his dagger. The situation seems to be getting worse. »
« Haha, this is getting more and more interesting, » dit Li Huailin avec un sourire. « Did you guys catch the assassin? »
« They were all men of sacrifice. They killed themselves after the attack. Of course, they didn't have anything to prove their identities, » dit McCain avec colère. « It's all my fault. I was too careless and went to the front line … »
« You didn't do anything wrong, Macon. »
De l'autre côté, le maréchal Malindolf dit immédiatement : « The other party is targeting me. They will definitely pick a time when you're not around, so don't blame yourself. »
« It must be Marquis Filmte! »
McCain dit avec colère. « At first, I thought it was an assassin sent by the Demons, but now that I think about it, it must be Marquis Filmte who sent them. »
« Hmm … » Le maréchal Malindolf acquiesça. « At first, I also thought it was a demon, but now that I think about it, there are too many suspicious points. Not to mention other things, it doesn't make sense how the other party sneaked into our camp. But when I think about Filmus, I can figure it out. »
« This Marquis Filmte is really resourceful. Why do I hear about this guy everywhere I go? »
Li Huailin sourit. « What's wrong with this guy? He's jumping up and down. Is he planning to rebel and become the king? »
« I wonder what he wants to do. »
Le maréchal Malindolf dit d'un air grave : « But the situation isn't looking good. If I don't make it through this time, no one in the Empire will be able to restrain him. »
« Father, don't say that, » dit immédiatement Veronica.
« No one can stop him? Are you exaggerating? » demanda Li Huailin.
« Originally, the empire's strongest combat force was the First Legion, the Bartonia Legion. But a few months ago, Marshal Morphas died in battle, and not long after that, his son, Anthony Murat, went missing and has yet to be found. The First Legion has become a pile of loose sand, so much so that they no longer listen to the king's orders. That's why our Second Legion came to the frontline to fight the Demons. »
En entendant le maréchal Malindolf parler de l'histoire d'Anthony, Li Huailin y prêta une certaine attention, surtout quand il dit qu'Anthony n'avait pas encore été retrouvé. Serait-ce que les nouvelles de la rébellion de Nasser n'étaient pas parvenues à la cité principale ? Ou quelqu'un avait-il bloqué l'information ? Bien que ce fût étrange, Li Huailin ne dirait bien sûr pas ces choses.
« This way, the First Legion is no longer a threat, » continua le maréchal Malindolf.
Le maréchal Malindolf continua : « I even suspect that Marshal Morphas' death in battle and Anthony's disappearance has something to do with Filmte. »
« Filmte is now in charge of the Fourth Legion, and the only one who can compete with the Fourth Legion is our Second Legion. If the Marshal falls now, then the Second Legion will definitely … » expliqua Macken.
« Doesn't the Second Legion have an heir? » demanda Li Huailin.
« My son, Edwin, is now working as a diplomat in the main city of dwarves. He can only return to camp after two years. This is an order from His Royal Highness. He hasn't been conscripted, so he can't leave his post without permission, » dit le maréchal Malindolf.
« So if I die now, he won't be able to come back in time to take over the situation. »
« Sorry, Father, it's all because I'm a woman, » dit Veronica abattue.
« Sorry, Veronica, you've done very well. It's not your fault, » dit le maréchal Malindolf en tapotant la fille sur le lit.
« What about the Third Legion? » demanda Li Huailin.
« The Third Legion is an empty number … It used to be, but in the war 60 years ago, it was basically wiped out. It hasn't been rebuilt until now, » répondit Macken au nom du maréchal Malindolf.
Maccon répondit au nom du maréchal Malindolf. « Although it has been maintained, there are no combat troops now. »
« In other words, the main fighting force of the empire is the Second and Fourth Legions. If something happens to you now, the Fourth Legion, which is Filmte, will become the sole power? » Li Huailin acquiesça.
« Yes. » Le maréchal Malindolf acquiesça. « That's what I'm worried about. »
« In that case, this Filmte started planning a few months ago. First, he killed Marshal Morphas of the First Legion, then assassinated his son Anthony, causing him to go missing … » dit Li Huailin.
« What? He killed Morphas too? » Le maréchal Malindolf dit avec surprise.
« Oh, I heard that Morphas' death was suspicious, but I just found out who did it. »
Li Huailin acquiesça et continua : « Then Filmte contacted the Demons and started attacking the humans … »
« Huh? How is that possible? » Macken demanda avec surprise. « Where did you get the news? »
« It's just a guess. » Li Huailin étendit les mains. « Is it impossible? »
« No, it's possible … » Le maréchal Malindolf dit soudain. « Think about it, it's really possible. »
« Then he assassinated Marshal Malindolf, caused chaos in the Second Legion, kidnapped the princess, and attacked the king. Oh, this whole plan is amazing, » dit Li Huailin en étendant les mains.
« Bang!! » Michael frappa du poing sur la table. « That bastard! He actually did this for his own power. »
« Father, what should we do now? » demanda immédiatement Veronica, comprenant que les choses tournaient mal.
« This … » Le maréchal Malindolf fronça immédiatement les sourcils. « Let me think … »
« We'll bring the army back now, and then bring Her Highness to expose Filmte! » dit Macken férocement.
« Impossible … » dit le maréchal Malindolf. « If I bring the army back now, I might die on the way, and the army will be in chaos. But if I bring a few people back through the teleportation portal, I guess it'll still be the same. They'll be killed before they reach the palace. Filmte wouldn't have thought of this. He must have sent people to watch the teleportation portal. »
« Also, the Demons won't give us a chance to bring the army back, » dit Veronica.
Veronica dit : « Filmus must have given them information about us. If we retreat, they'll definitely chase after us. By then, the country might not even be able to protect itself. »
« Yes, we can't move the army, » dit le maréchal Malindolf en acquiesçant. « We have to think of another way. »
« Now that you can't go back, what about the princess? » demanda soudain Li Huailin.
« By the way, I get it. The princess is the breakthrough point. »
Le maréchal Malindolf eut soudain une idée. « If we can expose the fake princess in front of the king, then everything about Filmte will be revealed. »
« But the princess can't enter the city at all. » Li Huailin étendit les mains.
« We can't do it now, but we can wait for a few days. The princess has just been switched, so Filmus won't make a move so soon. His assassins can't keep an eye on the city gate all day either. We have to wait for an opportunity now, » dit le maréchal Malindolf.
« Yes. »
Li Huailin acquiesça. « But even if we bring the princess to the palace in two days, we can't be sure which one is the real princess. »
« Actually, I know what they did, » dit le maréchal Malindolf.
« They must have used a secret potion that can change one's face. Not many people have heard of that potion, but I'm one of them. »
« Oh? » Li Huailin acquiesça. « And then? »
« Actually, there's an antidote to that potion. As long as it's applied to the face of someone who has changed their face, they'll change back. So if we can get the antidote, we can expose the fake princess. »
Le maréchal Malindolf dit et regarda Li Huailin. « Warrior, please find a way to get the antidote. »
« Eh? Me? » Li Huailin fut d'abord stupéfait, puis il entendit une notification système très mécontente.
[ System Notification: Marshal Malindolf has issued you an S-rank main mission, Path to Salvation -6 — Find the Potion. Path to Salvation -6, Find the Potion: Marshal Malindolf wants you to find the antidote to the face-changing potion. It's said that this potion is a special potion of a tribe in the south. There seems to be people talking about this mysterious tribe near Muryek City. Please go and check it out. Mission Reward: 655,555 experience, 65 gold coins, 6,755 reputation points, and special reward. ]
« Hey, hey, I just got an A-rank, and now there's an S-rank. What kind of joke is this? The first round has so many rewards. It's a scam! » Li Huailin regarda la notification de mission et faillit pleurer. « Do you think I'm S68? I won't do it even if you kill me. »