The Book Of Flowers

Caught As Planned

"We have decided. Moving at night like this is not at all wise!"

"I can assure you that Xiang's entire army is aware of our presence. If we don't move now, we'll all get caught!"

"Then how?! All crews are human! They can also get tired, Elf bastard!"

"Don't call myself by denouncing the name of my people, you lowly man...!"

Arguing with this captain would not pay off at all

It's just...

This is all I've been expecting. Why would I try to make a plan to infiltrate secretly without using these useless creatures?

I looked towards Verdea. He's the one who has to say the next part, considering I can't lie

"alright. We'll follow what you say, captain"

"Verdea"

"I know Vainzel. But just follow my words. That's the best thing for now"

This kid knows how to make words so I can barely hold a smile

"Uhuk! Whatever..."

For the great tree. I hope this captain doesn't realize that I just smiled

"alright. Make sure you rest for at least a few hours. My people will be watching around. If there's any danger, you should all wake up immediately"

"Ready to understand, prince"

The ship's captain then glanced at me with defiant intent. But I just ignored the man and turned, until he left before us

"We will run away immediately after entering the room"

Verdea chuckled after whispering that. I followed the laughter, but we immediately held it before anyone else noticed

Huh... This brat...

"alright. Let's go back with the others. I'm going to teleport all of us now" I said

See you, Hortensia~ team We go first to Xiang~

Verdea and I started laughing again while walking towards the room where my friends were gathered

Time to go to Xiang~

...

"Yes, they'll leave as Miss Rosalia predicted. Should we tail?" The captain of the ship was speaking to someone invisible

"Please~ My Lord would like you to witness everything to do a report, and hinder Oberon's movement by setting a limit on the outside area if necessary" The voice from behind the shadow answered him

The captain of the ship simply lowered his hat a hint of respect, before leaving to carry out the order

......................

-- Xiang, in the deserted area of Long---- town

...

...

Good, there's no one around

"Fyon, run!" I called out half a whisper

Fyon immediately ran slowly, gathering with all of us who were already across a small alley

"Well... Why would... L'm... Have to try...!??" Fyon said with cold sweat pouring down his forehead

"... It's only natural that you never win hiding against me. You always panic fast"

"Shut-it!"

"GUSTY!!"

I wanted to laugh to see Fyon's words cut off by everyone who told him to shut up

All right, it should be here...

"It looks like Xiang's kingdom is pretty good at hiding things. Who would have thought that in a shanty place like this there would be a door?" Albert commented

He has a point

Really? In this filthy alley? I think the entrance to the secret passageway of Xiang Kingdom will be in a pretty clean place. It was unexpected that Claudia directed us to this place

But, I don't expect much about the cleanliness of places like this. I mean, I've seen more places smashed apart than just dirty like this. Many cities in Cassiopeia and Gong even began to take no shape due to the disaster, while this place can still stand with many luxurious buildings surrounding it

I was surprised Xiang was able to tidy up the area in his country in a relatively short time. Did Shen bankrupt his own family to ensure the prosperity of his people?

"Here it...!"

As Claudia reached down a trash can and pressed down on a section on the stone floor, the door to the secret passage revealed itself on a wall

"Woah, that's amazing...!" Verdea amazed

'So... We all have to go in?' Luxor asked, looking doubtful

He uses telepathy. At least he connected that power to the others

'certain. Our ace is still safe' I replied

Luxor began to shudder in fear, but he had no choice. He must be ready to do it

'Zaphir. Immediately bring Luxor and Fyon to escape if there really is a trap inside later' I said to Zaphir

He seemed hesitant and wanted to challenge me, but a nod later appeared in response

The Dark Elves were already in position, along with Ordelia, Black Hunt, Albert and the combined shadow army

Everything is neat. Just need to step forward into this place

Remina and Claudia gave their thumbs up, before going to hide somewhere and waiting for the return of the three higher-ups who came with us

...

I have to say one more thing before I go in

'Luxor's'

'A-What's up Vainzel?'

'... If there's anything that's beyond the limits of this plan, I want you to take over to reset everything'

Luxor gasped to listen to my words. But I didn't just stop there

'You're smarter than me, if not more. Only, you are indeed very quick to doubt. But I know you can't'

That's all I have to tell him

If there's a foreign component to this plan, Luxor will have to take over the fate of my friends

Only he can. I'm sure it is

I'm sure he can get out, even if only by himself. It's okay he left us all caught, but that's what I want from him. He knows what to do

...

It's time. We have to move forward now, after all the preparation we have done

'Forward, walk!'

We started to move forward with our hearts beating so fast and full of adrenaline

There can be no doubt. That is what will bring about the failure of this plan

......................

...

...

...

Only the sound of droplets on a puddle of water could be heard below this place. Remina also made us a second mock map as our guide to walking

Luxor's holding the map. If there really was a scout near here, I'd like to at least look like we don't know anything about the road. And when anyone starts ambushing, he'll instantly melt the map into water before we're caught

Luxor purposely directed us to some dead ends to avoid suspicion. Telepathy is very useful in situations like this. That way, he could direct us without telling what his original intentions were openly to the one who could hear

We have to stay careful. The more we get into this place, the more we are in danger

"HAAHH!! Where to try the right path?!" Verdea suddenly shouted, startling us all

But I immediately realized what his intentions were

"Where do you think the right path is going, Vain?!"

"I don't know. And please keep your voice down..."

"Oh, okay. I'm..."

Verdea blinked one eye, and I only replied with a smile that said, 'May also'

He did this so that people who might be ready to ambush could mark our position. That way, they will actually play right into the palm of our hands faster

All my friends understood without taking a long time, and we continued walking while putting on a restless face

We walked, and based on the time I counted, it didn't take a minute...

Less than a minute, and all the hiding Xiang troops surrounded us

We were certainly surprised, especially when we realized that they were besieging from both directions

The panicked Luxor immediately threw all the magic he could slap off blindly, hitting some people and making others come forward to catch us

Fending them off, I threw a seed of a thorny bush that blocked the besiegers coming from the front, then started attacking the ones behind one by one with ease

The road was open, all my friends immediately ran out trying not to get caught

But that's how I think

As we passed through all the 'fallen' troops, one of them felt my feet until I almost tripped

When I turned to look at that person, he suddenly turned his head in an abnormal way, as if his bones did not have a neck

Plus, this person's grasp was extremely strong. I was forced to hit him with a force that should be able to kill a normal person, to make sure that person did not move

But it's not just that guy. All the soldiers I had slain along the way had started to wake up again as if they had not been hit by anything

"Damn! They all seem not human!" Zaphir said

"Not really"

!!!

We were all startled by an echoing voice that we did not know and seemed to reply to Zaphir's words earlier. It felt like a telepathy, but we didn't recognize who it belonged to and where it came from

Except me. I know whose voice this is

"Shen...!"

"Waw~! Very precise!!"

"Stop playing around and show yourself!"

Shen laughed out loud in response to my words

"Can. But pass first all the test soldiers it~!"

Trial warrior??

"What do you mean!?"

"Telling all things will ruin the surprise. Find out for yourself, and be careful~!"

Right after he finished speaking, a soldier jumped at us and almost caught Fyon, had Zaphir not hit him against the wall

Not stopping there was the problem, the people who I closed their way using the thorny bush clawed out of it, without regard for their bodies that were wounded by the sharp thorns

"Yes God. I feel like I saw them...!" Verdea muttered in fear

I told him to hide behind me and close his eyes

Forced, we also issued our own holy weapons

"Don't use the original power of your whip, Fyon"

"You think I'm crazy?!"

He would kill these people if he did...

The whip could kill a person in an instant, right after their skin was hit by a slight whip

He even killed a giant who lost control at that time, and the power of his own weapon even frightened Fyon

"Let me pave the way!"

I put the stick in the air, and then I threw the end of the handle to the ground, until some plants grew out of it and sprayed a purplish gas

All my friends held their breaths, as we tried to run past all those soldiers

But...

One of them caught Verdea when we ran between them

I was forced to take a breath and hit everyone who tried to get close

"Damn! They're immune to this sleeping poison!"

What the fuck are these people?! They are no longer human!

Verdea's hand again, but we were surrounded. I wanted to hit the ground again, but...

One of them jumped at me, hit me and dropped me to the ground. A few more followed, until I was buried and could not move

Verdea tried to release all those people from my body, but she herself was immediately restrained by 2 soldiers

He accidentally took off his breath in shock, and the sleeping gas he inhaled accidentally until his head began to feel heavy

AAAARRGH!!!

RAAGGH!!!

Huh...!!!

Huh...!

Huh...

...

...

Complimentary

We got caught

I'm trying to look around, to make sure anyone gets caught. And apparently, Zaphir managed to bring the two men out

Only me and Verdea have been captured by them

...

She's asleep

Huh... Shit...!!

At least I want him to come with Zaphir...!

...

Yes already...

At least we're still straight on this plan

Minus Verdea was asleep and this army of abnormal humans, we were actually caught as planned