Chapter 61 Preparation

A month of cultivation in the valley passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Royo City remained entirely calm and peaceful.

The turmoil brought by Huey Glear on that bloody, dancing night was gradually subsiding. Many Royo City officials, including the Lord of the City himself, expressed serious dissatisfaction with the fact that Rascher and his companions still lingered here.

Yet none of them dared to show the slightest trace of it. Not long ago, several more big figures had arrived, among whom was Abraham Mallet, one of the Empire's four Seventh-Tier Mages.

He was a figure so formidable and unyielding that even fierce men like Kevin Beers had to respectfully address him as "Lord." As long as the Sanctuary figures did not step out, no one could be more terrifying than a Seventh-Tier Mage.

Inside the brightly lit City Lord's Mansion, Abraham Mallet was sipping a supreme-grade aromatic tea shipped thousands of miles from the Southern Continent. This Golden-Robe Mage was tall and robust, with a mane of wild, lion-like hair and a thick, dense beard. The muscles all over his body bulged high, making him look more like a warrior of divine might than a mage.

His eyes were red, glowing like blazing flames within their sockets. Around his golden mage robe, images of soaring flames were embroidered; the moment he moved, it seemed as though his entire body was enveloped in a cloud of fire.

Notably, Abraham Mallet's left hand had only four fingers.

He lacked an index finger.

At this moment, that index-fingerless left hand was holding a teacup, the tea brought close to his lips, yet he did not drink it.

"Does this mean you still cannot confirm whether Huey Glear is still in this city?"

Opposite him, Sky Warrior Kevin Beers, sporting a handsome mustache, respectfully replied, "Respected Master Mallet, because Huey Glear used a teleportation array when he left Royo City, we were unable to effectively track him. Currently, we can only analyze his possible next moves based on Mr. Rascher's judgment."

Mallet glanced at Rascher, who was seated on the other side. "Then on what grounds do you judge that Huey Glear is still in Royo City?"

"On the grounds that he killed Master Boger at any cost," Rascher answered cautiously in the face of the Seventh-Tier Mage's inquiry. "Huey Glear is issuing a challenge to the Empire, and to make the Empire lose face, the best way is to kill those who pursue him. Master Boger was merely one of them, while Lord Kevin Beers and Lord Garrick Kingston are his other two targets. Therefore, I believe that as long as both lords remain in Royo City, he will not leave."

Kevin Beers curled his lip. "It is a pity that I stroll through the streets every day, yet I have never encountered any assassination attempt."

"Huey Glear never acts according to others' plans. Even if you give him the best opportunity, as long as it is not a condition created by himself, he will ignore it. He does not believe in luck; he only believes in the traps and snares he meticulously weaves. Everything he does is won through his own efforts, not bestowed by the heavens. This habit might cause him to miss some opportunities, but it also prevents him easily falling into traps. For a wanted criminal, nothing is more important than caution. If we think he is not a cautious person simply because he actively provokes us, we would be gravely mistaken," Rascher replied calmly.

Had Huey been present, he would have been greatly astonished. For Rascher had truly discerned an important trait of Huey's behavioral pattern: never relinquishing the initiative to others and always acting solely according to his own plans.

He never answered a challenge; he only initiated the moves.

Unfortunately, Huey was not here, so he could not imagine that this old fox understood him so thoroughly.

"Does this mean we can only wait here?" Mallet was somewhat dissatisfied. He had not come to Royo City to help these people catch an imperial fugitive; his goal was to go to Spark Prison to interrogate that bastard Crispin Boland, who had tormented his spirit for so many years.

If the man still refused to reveal the whereabouts of that item this year, then this would be his final year as a prisoner.

"There is no need to rush; I believe Huey Glear will appear soon."

"Why?"

"An intuition," Rascher replied. "A hunter's intuition regarding his prey. The prey we are tracking is fierce, cunning, and fond of deliberating before acting. Yet he is still young. Young people are always full of drive and vigor, unable to endure long periods of dormancy. There has been no movement for a month; for Huey Glear, this period of dormancy is already long enough. If he had any preparations to make, they should have been completed long ago. The time for his action is at hand. Believe me, Master Mallet, Huey Glear is by no means a man who makes preparations just to leave them there and let them slowly ferment. He will strike with the force of thunder, catching us off guard."

"Are you boasting about your opponent?"

"No, merely making a fair evaluation."

"Then on what grounds do you plan to catch him?"

"Patience and waiting," Rascher answered confidently. "No matter how intelligent a person is, it is impossible for them never to make mistakes. The more actions Huey Glear takes, the more I will understand him. One day, I will find his flaw and grab his tail."

"Perhaps there is no need to go to such trouble," Kevin Beers said coldly. "With Master Mallet here, none of Huey Glear's schemes and plots can possibly succeed."

"If he dares to come, he must have the certainty of success," Rascher replied leisurely. "Therefore, Lord Kevin Beers, if I were you, I would make the worst preparations possible. You must remember that you are one of his targets."

"You are truly detestable, Rascher." A flash of fierce murderous intent crossed Kevin Beers' eyes. On the contrary, the Seventh-Tier Mage's flame-like eyes flickered with doubt.

He always felt that Rascher's attitude was exceptionally strange, as if he were anticipating something.

Christine had not seen Huey for many days, so much so that when she opened her eyes this morning and saw Huey, she couldn't help being startled.

A pink soft pillow was hurled at Huey as Christine shouted, "Oh, does this bastard finally know how to show his face? Do you know how long you've been missing? If the other members of the Dardanelles family weren't still here, I would have thought you had run away."

"Run away? Why would I run away?" Catching the pillow Christine threw, Huey took a greedy sniff; the fragrance was delightful.

"Because Royo City has welcomed another batch of powerful reinforcements. Shouldn't you be scared out of your wits?" Christine retorted ungraciously.

"Your tone is full of schadenfreude. Could it be that you're this angry because you haven't seen me show up every morning lately?"

"I'd rather never see you at all," Christine curled her lip.

The Countess had grown accustomed to Huey using his uniquely extravagant gestures to proclaim his frantic pursuit of her throughout the city, so much so that when this pursuit suddenly vanished, her heart felt thoroughly unaccustomed to it.

Huey walked over, sat on the edge of Christine's bed, and gently stroked her cheek with his hand. This intimate gesture made the Countess's heart leap wildly.

Huey said slowly, "You look charming when you're angry. It's hard to imagine you would be angry just because you haven't seen me for a few days."

The Countess stared blankly at Huey as the young man spoke in a very serious tone:

"You are falling in love with me."

Oh, heavens, the Countess's face instantly burned hot.

How could I fall in love with him? This is completely impossible.

"I... I am ten years older than you; this is simply impossible," the lady murmured.

"Age has never been a gap, has it?" Huey leaned in close to Christine and whispered.

"You..."

A light kiss had already landed on the lady's soft lips.

She felt the sensation was simply wonderful.

Ever since her husband died, no man had ever treated her like this.

In fact, even her husband had never been able to give her such an elating sensation with a mere gentle kiss.

At that moment, Christine felt as if she were a young girl who had just fallen into her first love, her whole body radiating the awakening of youth.

"I..." She wanted to say something.

Huey stopped her.

He pressed a finger against her lips. "Don't say anything. It was merely a kiss; you don't need to be this nervous."

Christine glared at Huey, looking very much like a cute cat.

"Then what on earth did you come to find me for?"

"Starting today, we will announce our romance to the outside world," Huey replied.

This news gave Christine a shock; she stared at Huey in dumbfounded silence. "What on earth are you trying to do?"

"Just as we agreed before, I will spend a pleasant and wonderful night in your room. At the same time, a major new event will erupt in Royo City," Huey answered unhurriedly.

After stepping out of Christine's room, Huey quickly returned to his own.

Brian Buckler, Lilith, Hoding, and Eagle Ashling were already waiting for him.

While cultivating in the valley, Buckler could be considered another of his teachers—someone who could point at his nose and shout loudly, or even beat him to within an inch of his life. But upon returning to Royo City, Huey instantly became the soul and center of everything here.

Even Buckler admitted wholeheartedly, "Huey Glear is a born leader. He doesn't need exaggerated gestures or violent roars to prove his majesty; a mere few words and a single glance are enough to make everyone obey him implicitly. What amazes me is that while this world is not short of people born with the majesty of kings, for a lowly figure accustomed to pandering to others on a lonely island to possess such natural royal dignity without anger is truly strange and incomprehensible."

Arriving among the group at this moment, Huey's tone was calm and cold. "I've already settled things with Christine; she will serve as our cover. Eagle, how are things on your end?"

"Everything is going smoothly, and all preparations are complete. However, the risks of this operation remain very high. Huey, I still maintain my view and hope you won't enter the prison interior. Once the plan fails, you won't have a chance to get out."

"Yet my entry can increase the chances of success by at least twenty percent."

"Yes, but I must remind you that the Spark Prison operation is merely a branch of your overall plan. There is no need for you to take risks for a branch plan."

Huey looked at the old necromancer, who continued, "You must understand, Huey, no matter how high the probability of success is for an operation, as long as you personally participate every time, there is always a chance of encountering failure. The more times you participate, the greater the possibility of your failure!"

Pondering slightly, Huey nodded. "You are right, Eagle, but I still insist that I must participate. Not just this time, but every single time hereafter."

"Why?" Everyone failed to understand.

"Because that is precisely the reason why I am fighting against this nation. Only from the corpses of my enemies can I feel that breath of freedom and the peace of my fallen comrades. I cannot start a war only to shy away from it. Perhaps this is a hopeless war, but from the moment I initiated it, I made all preparations. We strive for victory, yet we are also prepared for death."

At that moment, everyone stared at Huey in a daze.

Unfolding the blueprint of Spark Prison's defenses, Huey said in a firm tone:

"Now, let us review all the details of the plan once more. If there are no issues, we begin the operation tomorrow night."