Chapter 186: Box

Hugh and Serena were both surprised that the soldier spoke up. They had both thought their cover was blown, but it seemed like this soldier had just saved them.

"Yeah. She was my neighbor back in our street," another random soldier uttered.

"She's always been here, platoon leader."

"She is an important part of our platoon."

All of the soldiers started to agree and give Serena the backup that she needed. Without them, the platoon leader could have tried to execute her.

However, why would the soldier do this? Why would they stick their neck out for a person that they know was a spy?

The platoon leader was speechless. With all of the soldiers agreeing with each other, he had no choice but to believe them.

"F—fine. Get back to your places!" the platoon leader shouted as he was embarrassed by them.

The platoon leader quickly went out of the way and went back to his place. With all of the soldiers going against him, he would be d pressed to find any reason to kill Serena.

Once that platoon leader had left, they all heaved a sigh of relief, especially his Hugh and Serena.

Hugh looked at all the soldiers and saw that they were all satisfied with their lies.

"Why would you do that for us?" Serena asked.

Then, the random soldier smiled and looked up at the skies.

"What do you mean? You are our soldier, aren't you?" the soldier said as he winked at both of them.

Hugh and Serena both smiled. It seemed that not everybody in this army was a bad person. Particularly, this platoon seemed to be full of good people.

"I don't know what you guys are going here, but you better be careful," the soldier said.

Hugh and Serena both nodded. They had seen firsthand how difficult it was to sneak into the army undetected.

If it were not for the goodwill of the soldiers, she would have been killed or executed.

Of course, she could have tried to escape with Hugh. However, they would not be able to spy for more information after that.

The army would be tight and without any holes to pass through.

"We didn't want to serve the current commander," the soldier said with a melancholic look in his eyes.

"However, we made a promise to the past queen of the kingdom."

Once the soldier said those words, most of the soldiers removed their helmets and looked down. It looked like they were sad about the past queen.

Hugh looked down as he was in deep thought. Past queen? Did that mean that it was Mia's mother?

"That's why we are here," Hugh said as he looked at the soldiers. "We're here to overthrow the current commander."

The soldiers were surprised by Hugh's motivation for spying in this army.

Then, they all shook their heads. They knew firsthand how difficult it was to overthrow the commander. Not when the commander was at the peak of his power.

"You better give up," the soldier said. "It's impossible."

Hugh and Serena frowned. Although the mission was hard, it was not impossible. There seemed to be something that they did not know.

"Why?" Hugh asked.

"The commander will soon become king," the soldier said.

Hugh and Serena both looked at each other. They thought that only royals could become king or queen of the Cheroque kingdom.

"There are no more royals in the kingdom to stop him," the soldier said with a deep and pained voice.

Then, Hugh and Serena both looked at each other. It was not over yet. Mia was still the last living royal blood of the family.

"There is still one!" Hugh said enthusiastically.

The soldiers were surprised by Hugh's words, but they did not believe him.

"Her name is Mia, and she is the daughter of the former queen!" Hugh said.

Then, the soldiers were in deep thought as they heard that. From what they remember, the former queen had formed her own family, but it was only a rumor.

They did not think that it was true. No one thought it was true.

"Why do you think the commander set off towards an unknown town? It's because Mia was there!" Hugh hammered in his point.

The soldiers started to have hope, but they still did not fully believe Hugh's words. It seemed like it was too good to be true.

"We came here to help Mia ascend her throne before the commander could conquer the whole kingdom!" Serena said.

The soldiers all looked at each other and they all thought back to the time they served the royal family. They all longed for a noble cause like this.

"We'll help you," the soldier said as he raised his sword near his heart.

Then, all the soldiers in the platoon raised their hands in participation. They were all ready to give their lives to serving the would-be queen of the Cheroque kingdom.

——————

Jane and Aric both trekked their way towards the Cheroque kingdom.

They were currently riding on a carriage that they had found in the middle of the forest.

This was from a merchant, and they had agreed to let Aric and Jane on if they would guard the whole carriage. Since they were good fighters, nobody had approached the carriage.

"Where should we go?" Aric asked.

Jane was silent. She did not know what they were going to do once they got to the Cheroque kingdom.

They knew that they had to find Mia and save her, but they did not know where to start. They only knew that she was in the Cheroque kingdom.

"First, we'll try to save Miser and Darren," Jane said.

Aric nodded. Back then, they could not save them because there were too many enemies.

Now that they were near the kingdom, they could sneak in and try to save them from the clutches of the bald men. The only one they had to worry about was the man in the carriage.

He was the one who seemed strong from the beginning. However, there were two of them. If they had to fight, she was sure that they would win.

After a long journey, they finally reached the gates of the kingdom.

They could see that there were a lot of people walking in and out of the kingdom. It was bustling with people and businesses.

Jane and Aric both got off the carriage as they both started to look for Miser and Darren.

From what they saw from the hidden message back then, they should go look for them at the heart of the castle.

When they both looked up, they could see an elevated castle in the middle of the kingdom. It was large and overbearing, but it somehow seemed devoid of any life.

Aric and Jane quickly went towards the castle in an attempt to find Miser and Darren.

They ran through the streets and the roads until they reached the very bottom of the castle.

However, it was surrounded by a tall wall that was guarded by a lot of guards. They could not simply jump over it as they would be seen by a lot of people.

They had to sneak in without anyone noticing. Then, they looked towards the entrance of the castle and saw big boxes being carried inside.

Aric and Jane both thought the same thing as they approached the boxes.

The guards of the entrance saw a man carrying a box using both his hands. He seemed to have trouble carrying it.

"Let me see your certification," the guard said.

Then, Aric peeked out from behind the box and smiled at the guards. Inside the box was Jane who bent her whole body to try and fit in.

"It's with my colleagues inside!" Aric said as he swayed left and right trying to balance the box in his hands.

"We can't let you inside," the guards said. Then, the guards eyed the box in his hands.

"What is that inside? Let us take a look," the guard said as he walked closer to Aric.

Aric was in a panic. If they looked at the inside of the box, they would see Jane and they would know they were trying to sneak in.

The guards raised his hand as he was about to open the box when all of a sudden, Aric swayed to the left.

"Hey! You want the big guy to be angry at both of us?! He wants it right now!" Aric shouted as if he was truly angry.

Then, the guards flinched. They assumed that this package was for the commander.

If they were caught delaying the package, then they would surely be killed on the spot. They could not risk that, so they decided to let Aric inside.

"Okay, okay. Come inside," the guards said as they opened the doors to the inside of the castle.

Once inside, the doors closed behind them. Aric stopped trying to pretend that the box was heavy for him to lift.

Then, he walked towards a corner and left the box on the floor. Then, Jane came out of the box