Romus remained silent, while Matt grumbled under his breath. It was hard to determine what he was saying, but Ning could make out so of the words to be curses.
"You said many important figures were assassinated?" Mari asked.
Ning nodded. "Generals, leaders, rchants. Anyone of value was targeted. Even the previous emperor died."
"What about their security? How did they get past them?" Mari asked.
Ning shrugged. "Apparently, the assassins were, in fact, people who were already close to these figures. Considering how many people died, I'm thinking soone controlled their minds into killing them all."
Matthew looked up. "And why is the bla on the Republic?"
"Because they are the enemy, obviously," Mari said.
Shara thought for a mont. "But they are not the only ones with sothing to gain here, are they? Didn't you say the three camps were separate? So they were, in fact, three parties against a single one. Why couldn't it be one of the camps that attacked the others?"
Ning smiled. The girl had learned a lot.
"I don't rember anyone in the Republic with the power to control the minds of others," Matthew said. "Even if that were the case, how would they be able to et with the close confidants of so many high-ranking figures from the camps? The battlefield is the only place where they ever et each other, but the rchants never go there, neither do so many other generals and leaders."
Ning nodded. "The assassination did what it needed to do. It riled up everyone into attacking their singular enemy. However, now that the enemy is defeated, I believe people are beginning to realize that they might have been played. At least, they are beginning to consider the possibility that it might be soone from one of their three camps."
Romus looked up. "Any idea who it might have been?"
Ning shrugged. "I don't think we have enough information to find that out. For now, we have to keep our minds open to the possibility of any of them being the perpetrator."
Matt took in a long breath and said, "Whoever it was, it doesn't change the fact that we lost. Which ans, going to the camp as we are is a waste. There is no army to defeat there."
Ning nodded. "The army is indeed halfway toward the capital by now. Perhaps they have even already arrived. They did leave a while ago."
"Then we head directly toward the capital too," Matt said in a stern voice.
"Alright, I'll map out the route," Romus said. "We might have to fight against the people in the camp on the way, but if everyone is wounded as he says, then we might have a—"
"No!" Matt said. "Not the camp. We need to take the shortest route possible."
Romus frowned for a mont, going through his mind to map out the shortest route.
"That forces us to go through the mountains, leader. It can be dangerous," he said.
"It can be," Matthew said. "But considering our army has already lost, there is no reason to believe that the news hasn't traveled to the people up in the mountaintops. They should have left their positions, so the pathway should be open now."
Romus frowned. "We were always warned to never take that route. Friend or foe, they will kill us if they still are there."
"Then let us make sure they are not there." Matt turned to Ning. "I must ask if you are willing to take this journey with . Before the army goes up the mountain, we must go there and see if any soldiers still remain."
"We must persuade them, if they remain, to not attack. If they don't, we need to dismantle any traps left behind. This could be dangerous."
Ning raised an eyebrow. "Alright, count in," he said. "But I need so rest. I haven't slept in a while."
"No worry. Considering we will be running non-stop for the next few days, we will need to make preparations so that we don't have to leave our carriage again for those few days."
Mari sighed. "Alright, gather up all your soldiers. We will need to prepare much food for the next few days. This will take a long ti."
Matt nodded.
"I'll help," Shara said.
Romus was already halfway out of the carriage when he stopped and said, "It should be dark soon. We will cook deep into the night. At sunrise, Ning can leave with the leader, and an hour after that, we will follow behind."
"Sounds perfect," Ning said. "Now, please let get so sleep. My butt is sore from sitting on your undead's shoulders for a day and a half."
The people chuckled as they left one by one. After a while, Ning was left alone in the carriage, so he pulled a blanket from the side, laid down on one of the beds, and fell asleep.
He awoke naturally deep in the night, unsure of what ti it was. He found Shara and Mari sleeping nearby inside the carriage too. He looked outside and saw the moon down on the horizon.
If he understood the position of the moon correctly, then it was soti past three in the morning. In just an hour or two, they would be leaving.
Ning laid down on his bed and thought of what he needed to do next. Now that things had changed so much, he wondered if he could really do it at all.
Could he make Shara the Empress?
'It's not a matter of if or can,' Ning thought to himself. 'It's a matter of must. No matter what the case, I must do it.'
So, he began thinking of ways to succeed in his plans. The biggest issue now was dealing with the opposition. If only Ning had so way of telling who the opposition was exactly. Sadly, he didn't have his system to quickly give him that answer.
Ning could only wait until he found out that information himself.
Lost in his thoughts, Ning didn't realize how long had passed. He heard a knock on his door after so ti when the horizon began to glow in the east.
Ning opened the door and saw Matthew outside.
"You ready to leave?"
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