CHAPTER 262 UNEXPECTED COMERS

Meanwhile, at the Gehenna Border, Alyssa stared angrily down at two envoys from the Roaring Flame

Empire in her own military camp. They were bruised all over; their clothes in a disarray. Her beautiful

face twisted in seething anger.

"You lost the tributes to be sent out to the Timber Deity Empire for our secret alliance?" Alyssa said

calmly. Yet her charming eyes betrayed her true emotion for they were full of fury, like two orbs of fire

burned where her eyes were supposed to be.

The two envoys felt desperately hopeless. They understood that they could be sentenced to death for

losing the tributes.

"Princess Alyssa," one of them pleaded. "We did not intend to lose the tributes. A four-star spirit-

manipulated beast attacked us out of nowhere and took out one of us who carried the tributes. It is hard

to tell at this point if he is still alive or not," he explained.

"Why did you fail to protect the tributes? Why wasn't someone with higher power sent to deliver the

tributes? If a manipulator at the Supernal Stage was sent then this would not have happened!" Alyssa

shouted with great annoyance. Among the tributes was a treasure map. The possibility of someone

else finding that treasure map represented a huge loss and risk for both of their empires.

The two envoys kept their silence. The Roaring Flame Empire was but a medium country compared to

Timber Deity Empire which was a powerful one. And thus, they were unable to send a manipulator at

the Supernal Stage even if they wanted to. The alliance was made hastily given the circumstances.

The Roaring Flame Empire took the situation into consideration and immediately sent three envoys

above the Heavenly Stage to complete the task as soon as possible.

And a team made up of three spirit manipulators above the Heavenly Stage was more than capable to

handle any situation that might arise at the Gehenna Border. But no one expected the situation where a

four-star Demonic Devouring Boa ambushed the group. If it was an ordinary four-star spirit-manipulated

beast, three spirit manipulators above the Heavenly Stage could get rid of it easily. But the beast that

attacked them was Demonic Devouring Boa that was known for its ability to absorb spiritual power.

Thus, they were defeated and lost the tributes.

"This talk is pointless! I will dispatch two squads of spirit manipulators. They will go to the location

where you were attacked and then hunt down that four-star spirit-manipulated beast. We don't care if

the third envoy died. We only want the tributes. If we fail to find the tributes, Timber Deity Empire will

think twice about our alliance." Alyssa's brows knitted together as she stared at the envoys.

The envoys nodded with the same sad expression although the words gladdened them. It was a

chance to be absolved for their failure. They would not be sentenced to die if the missing tributes were

found.

Alyssa waved her hand, which signaled that the two envoys could leave. Then she convened with the

Commanders of the Timber Deity Empire.

"What news of the movement of the Crimson Dragon Group?" Alyssa asked the Commanders present.

"The Crimson Dragon Group is constantly moving troops between military camps. They seem to be

preparing for a war," one of the Commanders replied.

"The Crimson Dragon Group is normally placid and does not act rashly. The war is on schedule,

however. And Timber Deity Empire already has plans in place. We can misdirect the Crimson Dragon

Group in Holy Dragon Empire first!" Alyssa said.

"Are the shock troops ready?" Alyssa asked.

"All shock troops are ready and awaiting orders. They are located near the northern sky military camp

of Crimson Dragon Group. They can immediately mobilize once an order is sent."

"Great! Send a message to mobilize. We will attack the Crimson Dragon Group by surprise. If the

northern sky military camp is disabled, the defensive line of the Crimson Dragon Group at the northern

side of the Gehenna Border will collapse. The other military camps will have no choice but to dispatch

troops to support that position. This will weaken the northern defensive line of the Crimson Dragon

Group. And then we will strike and take that advantage!" Alyssa said.

"Princess Alyssa, you are truly ingenious and a master of military strategy. The Crimson Dragon Group

is no match for you," the Commanders said.

"I am eager to confront Lance, one of Three Great Generals of the Holy Dragon Empire. It is said that

he is an expert of military strategy and tactics and knows much about special formation techniques. He

will be a worthy opponent. I wonder if I will get the chance..." Alyssa said in a soft voice. Her face

became emotionless and nobody knew what she was thinking about.

In the meantime, in another part of the world, Rocky went through the rolling hills and approached the

area under the jurisdiction of the northern sky military camp. With a map in his hand, he studied the

area where Dark Heaven Insects would possibly show up. The area under the jurisdiction of the

northern sky military camp was large, comparatively as large as the area under the jurisdiction of the

northeast military camp. It was not easy to search for Dark Heaven Insects. Additionally, Rocky was a This material belongs to .

stranger here and he was worried about the possibility of encountering wild spirit-manipulated beasts or

patrol squads from the northern sky military camp. So his movement to search for a Dark Heaven

Insect was restricted and slow.

Night fell as Rocky moved into a valley.

"We'll have to spend the night here," Rocky said. It was dark. Rocky found a small cave with Uriah and

little Rubygon. He planned to spend the night there and continue to look for Dark Heaven Insects

tomorrow at the break of light.

Rocky was about to close his eyes when a sound came from a distance. He frowned, creased his

eyebrows and silently moved out of his cave to find out what caused the noise. Numerous torches lined

the trail in the valley. And they were all heading toward his direction!

"Why are there troops here this late in the evening?" Rocky wondered.

He paused and signaled Uriah and little Rubygon to stay and be silent. He then went out towards a

boulder along the valley. He made a few silent leaps, lowered his head behind the boulder and studied

the approaching troops.

The light of the torches revealed the uniforms and ornaments of the soldiers to be ones that did not

belong to either the northern sky military camp or to the other camps of the Crimson Dragon Group.

The wood carved emblem embroidered on their clothes clearly implied that they were troops from

another country. It was obvious that there was something wrong since they were within the northern

sky military camp's territory.

'Are they on a covert mission?' Rocky thought as his eyes squinted.

Unexpectedly, Rocky sensed the presence of spirit manipulators. He checked carefully and found more

spirit manipulators behind the troops. They were above the Earthly Stage and more than one was at

least at the Heavenly Stage. It became obvious to Rocky that this was a powerful group of soldiers and

this estimate came mostly from the spirit manipulators that were present in the group.

'It appears that something unexpected and unfriendly will happen very soon!' Rocky thought.