While Noel and the others were discussing their escape plan, the people from the town were actually the soldiers of the kingdom and had been witnessing their entry. By utilizing Legolaz's influence, these undercover soldiers had sighted Noel and Dimitri.
Because the town was near the border, they had stationed another Spirit Grandmaster, who happened to be another Great Protector.
However, the other party didn't know anything about Noel and Dimitri as Legolaz had hidden this information. All he knew was that Noel and Dimitri had entered the town. Even with Dimitri's power, it was impossible to avoid his detection unless they were planning to loop around the city instead of entering it.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the Great Protector only put them on surveillance and told the information to Legolaz. He didn't dare to take on Dimitri or something, considering they came in peace.
It didn't take too long for Legolaz to receive the information. Obviously, since they had made an agreement with the Supreme Devil Organization, they shared the information with Qiel.
"They have spotted them." One of Qiel's subordinates entered the room where Qiel and Nelfer were staying and discussing their next plan.
"Where is it?" Qiel asked.
The subordinate approached her and pointed at the city near the border of the Zaecuria Kingdom.
"!!!" Qiel opened her mouth in shock as she hurriedly stood up and asked, "Are you serious?"
"Y-Yes!" He panicked, not knowing what to say as he only delivered the information.
"What's wrong?" Nelfer, who was busy recovering, ended up asking.
Qiel didn't answer immediately. Instead, she fell into deep thought. 'The city is near the border. They still need to cross another city to reach the Zaecuria Kingdom, but is this really their plan?'
'That Noel Ardagan should have known about my intelligence after our battle. And I have predicted that they are using the Zaecuria Kingdom to loop around and seek refuge in the Greenwood Kingdom.'
'But if he is that smart, then I don't think he will follow this plan, fully knowing that I can see through his plan. We need more information. There are at least four possibilities. First, he will continue with this plan and escape to the Zaecuria Kingdom. Second, he will use this as bait before using the gap to break through.'
'The third one is the most troublesome. He will move back, confusing us. This way, he can move in all directions around the kingdom, making us search for him. But considering we have Legolaz's agreement, we can somehow find them even if it requires more time.'
'The last option would be going to the opposite border. Yes, there is a chance that he is going deep inside and heading to the border where the people won't know him. In other words, he will use the demon territory to escape from any form of surveillance. And we're currently in the southern part of the region. It will only take three more days to reach the border and loop around to enter the Zaecuria Kingdom through the demon territory. But will he do it while protecting the kid that Legolaz wanted?'
Qiel's expression turned grim. Each possibility would require a lot of manpower. Additionally, they were fighting against time.
"Tell Legolaz that they might use the southern border to escape to the Demon Territory. He should stop them there. Also, since he is spotted in that area, there is a chance that the kid he is searching for is in that town."
"As for us, we will hold him back on the border of the Zaecuria Kingdom, preventing him from reaching this country," Qiel ordered.
"Understood." Her subordinate acknowledged the order and immediately disappeared to pass the message.
Meanwhile, Nelfer asked, "I'm not sure about this, but what about the small gap that leads directly to the Greenwood Kingdom? Won't this be exposed if we mobilize our people?"
"This is because of you." Qiel gritted her teeth. "Do you know that because of your condition, you won't be able to stop them?"
Nelfer didn't say anything. After that defeat, he felt like he had lost the right to stop her. If he wasn't reckless, he could stand in that gap and stop Dimitri until Qiel arrived and flanked them from both sides.
But with this condition, Nelfer could only stop Dimitri for a few minutes. It was definitely not enough for Qiel.
That was why Qiel had to improvise and said, "You and I will stay together. If we create this gap, he will definitely take it. In other words, as soon as he begins to move, we'll head directly to this area and ambush them. This is the only way to stop them. He wants to outsmart me? I will outsmart his outsmarting."
Nelfer saw the confidence on Qiel's face, so he immediately nodded his head, showing his agreement.
"We'll be moving now," added Qiel while looking at Nelfer's condition.
"Alright." Nelfer had also understood the fact that Noel wouldn't give him time to recover.
…
All involved parties began to move.
As expected, Legolaz stationed the troops in the south, preventing Noel from crossing. However, this place was the most unlikely place Noel would go and since he couldn't openly show his cards because it would mean harming Noel, he agreed to guard this area. The person he wanted was Tristan after all, so Noel couldn't do much to him.
Meanwhile, Qiel and Nelfer brought their group to the border of the Zaecuria Kingdom, waiting for Noel. If he truly used the Zaecuria Kingdom to loop around, then they would have a big clash here.
Noel would surely avoid it and go for the small border that was linked directly to the Greenwood Kingdom. Hence, Qiel and Nelfer stationed themselves on the edge of the border so that they could immediately return when necessary. They only had a few elites under their command as the rest were spreading across the border.
A shadow suddenly moved away from the city. A normal person would have a hard time spotting it, but there was a middle-aged man standing on top of the city's tallest building who witnessed the shadow. He was the Great Protector that governed this town.
"It seems that they have gone." He muttered in a low voice. "I have agreed to inform Legolaz about their arrival and departure, but he doesn't give me anything to search for that kid, so I don't care. I'll just inform him about that shadow."
Even Great Protectors didn't think of each other as their allies. They were rivals since being a Great Protector meant having a shot to become a Grand Protector. Only because Legolaz promised him a hefty reward that he agreed to monitor Dimitri and Noel. He didn't have any interest in looking for Tristan.
Meanwhile, there was a woman walking in the town. The woman had covered her entire body with a coat, but she didn't hide her hair inside the hood. Instead, she let the wind blow her hair as if she was trying to show that she was a woman.
Yes, she was Sandra, and the one who became her leg was Tristan. This was the reason why Noel wanted Sandra to hide. He wanted people to know only about Tristan, allowing Sandra to easily move around.
She examined the entire city while thinking, 'It seems that there is no effort in searching for us. However, we can't let our guard down. According to Master, leaving the city is not that much of a problem, but escaping from the border city is the problem.'
She took a long breath to calm her down as she signaled Tristan to move to the left, entering a building.
The building looked like a tavern. There were a lot of people eating inside and the booze smell was quite strong.
Sandra maintained her calm expression as she headed to the staff at the counter. She asked, "Border City."
The staff looked at her as though he was examining her. After a moment, he said, "Three Thousand Low Grade Demon Crystals."
"I need a trusted escort party."
"…" The staff seemed to be doubting her, but Sandra suddenly took out a bag filled with Demon Crystals. But instead of Low Grade, it contained Mid Grade and even Advanced Grade Crystals.
As soon as he saw that, the staff changed his words. Instead of saying the price, he offered a group. "Welbelfon Mercenary Group. Their captain is a Spirit Master and there are a few Spirit Wielders."
"Good. Arrange the party." Sandra nodded.
"Let me guide you to the waiting room," the staff politely extended his hand, guiding them to a separate room. Since Sandra seemed wealthy, he better treated her well, hoping for tips.
Sandra agreed and walked to the room where there were two long chairs for discussion. Sandra sat on one side while asking Tristan, "Are you alright?"
They couldn't expose their identity, meaning Tristan couldn't get a breather and had to stay in this awkward position while Sandra was sitting.
"Yes. This is nothing compared to the treatment in that place."
Sandra silently agreed, remembering their time with the slave merchant. She also knew that all the related parties should have taken their positions and the final battle to decide their fate had begun.
