Chapter 209 - "Take Aim"

The prince and his comrades were busy the following hours just to make sure that their big surprise to King Yama would be successful. Since he had been planning these for months and already polished them days ago, the only thing to do was to execute them.

Deep into the night, five huge carts covered in large linen cloth were transferred towards the empty Umbria City's bridge. Levi's allies were dressed in knights' clothes to prevent suspicion, and they even got themselves fake identification scrolls.

They first made sure that all of King Yama's knights and allied city guards were busy with something else. Those who were too curious about what the carts held were ordered to go to another city, telling them that they needed to change shifts.

Once cleared and all set, Levi's comrades took off the cloth, exposing large weapons made from iron and bronze, attached to a two-wheel wooden carriage. 

The specialized cannon was tilted towards the direction of the castle. It was the inventor of these, Zen Silverblade, who gave the instructions and the cue. Wearing the same clothing as his allies, he stood near the barrier and looked around to check their surroundings.

Since there was no indicator of any obstructions, he raised his arm and waved his hand, and his allies fired the first cannon. A huge ball of mana-made Fire was shot towards the castle. 

Zen used his binoculars, which were modified to have an impressive magnification ability, to see where the cannon hit. Seeing that it hit the garden of the Oracle, he scratched the back of his head. Although the Oracle's favorite willow tree was already burning, it was not his target.

"We missed," he uttered. He took a look with his binoculars again before speaking to his comrades, "Prepare for the next attack. Adjust the angle."

With no time to spare, Zen assisted his comrades on where they should move the heavy object. The second and the third cannon fired in his signal, and he grinned as he saw the Oracle tower getting burned by the huge Fire balls.

Zen wanted to know if the walls were magic-resistant, so he ordered to fire the fourth cannon to hit the castle wall, and his guess was right. It really was.

"Sir, we need to go," one of the men told him. 

Before they left, they set up the fifth cannon in the middle of the first to fourth cannons. In thirty seconds, the fifth cannon blasted, destroying the whole bridge! All of the cannons sunk into the waters, preventing King Yama's men from examining them. 

The firing of cannons and the burning of the Silverblade's castle walls was the signal sent by Prince Levian to all the Silverblade family's allies. It meant that the path to reclaiming the throne had started! 

…

It was the middle of the night, but almost everyone in Umbria City woke up. Some people on the streets kept on yelling about how their iconic bridge shattered, while the others flocked the broken bridge. The city was then declared to be under a state of disaster. Royal Knights and knights from the castle marched towards the broken bridge to examine it.

The security got strict, that even when the sun arose, the knights were everywhere in the city. It was not only in Umbria city, but also around the Land of Rosaria.

But it did not faze the prince at all. He had his own fortress: the Sanctuary of Goddess Destinia.

The reason why the Sanctuary was the safest place of all, was that in every corner of it was an enchanted symbol. It could be activated at will and during emergency purposes in case of people influenced by Dark Mana barge into the sanctuary, and King Yama knew of it. This is why he never once tried to step in. It was a holy place that everyone in the Kingdom knew the Goddess of Destinia watched over.

In the middle of the secret dining hall was a map of the Land of Rosaria. Wooden pins were placed on it, marking the positions of their allies. 

Levi and his comrades continued talking about the second step of their plan. Now that the Umbria bridge had collapsed, it would be hard for King Yama's troops to go beyond Umbria City.

A sudden opening of the door distracted them. 

"Everyone, we have a problem," Preston Bronzelain said in a panic. Behind him ran his mermaid Nymph Servant Mermaine.

"What happened?" Levi asked.

Preston approached them, took deep breaths, then responded, "My older brother changed his mind and refused to help us. Now, he ordered the Land of Rosaria's city and town guards to assist King Yama's knights!"

Levi banged the table with his fists. This is why he was quite nervous that everything seemed to be going smoothly!

"But I will still help you, as promised," the young man assured him.

"How can I be sure that you will not betray us?" he looked at him intently.

Preston then showed his wrist, where he put the luminous pearl. He then raised his hand, "I swear to Goddess Destinia, that I will serve the true king!"

If Preston would betray him, he would lose one of the luminous pearls, because it can only be embedded onto one person. He was already thinking about imprisoning Preston and Mermaine in the Sanctuary's basement if they actually rebelled against him.

But the determination in his eyes made Levi gauge his trustworthiness. Those eyes were like spring water, clear from any doubts.

"Very well. I would like you to assist the Werewolves in infiltrating the castle's prison beach," he pointed onto the map, "Your Servant is a Mermaid Nymph, and I am sure she can be of great help. Will that be alright with you?"

Preston nodded at him.

Mermaid responded to the prince whom she considered as a distant friend, "I will do my best!"

Levi smiled, then patted Mermaine's shoulder, "Thank you. I knew I can count on the two of you."

After the meeting that afternoon, Levi and Ivory went to the beach down the Sanctuary's cliff. They saw Lucius sitting on the sand and staring at the open sea.

"Lucius! So here you are!" Ivory happily called him, and approached him in a hopping manner. She sat down beside him.

"How are the preparations going?" the blond young man asked his older sister.

"Not so good," she sighed, "General Bronzelain backed out, and now he became our enemy. Your friend Preston and his Servant are still going to help, though."

"His mind is just like mine, so I am sure he's not going to let King Yama spread his evil deeds in our Kingdom… Why are you two here, by the way?"

Levi answered, "I am waiting for someone."

Lucius raised his brow. Who could the prince be waiting for on that empty beach?

Then, from the right side of the sea came large boats.. In front of the first boat, a woman was waving her hand up high, making her silky black hair sway with the wind.