"When was the last time you traveled to the capital, Armand?" Erasmus asked after the meal had ended.

"Four years ago, Your Excellency," Armand replied happily. "Visiting the capital truly opened my eyes to the glory of our empire. If the journey weren't a half-month airship trip, I'd return much more often."

"Also, I'm wary from the rumors of bandits blocking the paths these days."

Armand was a chatty fellow and seemed eager to impress his guests. Because of this, his answers were precise, even going as far as to add important tidbits, like what he did with the pirates.

From this conversation, Erasmus and Thirteen confirmed a few things. Some of them were good news, some of them were bad news.

The good news was that they were on the main continent.

The bad news was their location at the far eastern edge of the continent. The journey west to the capital was quite long, even by airship.

Erasmus asked Armand if he could recommend a good place to hire an Airship, which the Mayor was more than happy to assist.

"Armand, I plan to stay in this place a little longer and explore the nearby towns and cities," Erasmus stated. "I would appreciate it if you could serve as my guide to better familiarize me with the surrounding territory. If you could also provide a map of the area, I would be in your debt. The more detailed it is, the better."

"Say no more, Your Excellency," Armand replied respectfully. "It is my honor to serve someone of your standing. I will prepare the best map I can find and also serve as your guide. Just give me three… no, two days to inform my subordinate of the things that he should do while I am away."

Erasmus nodded in understanding, and after they were led to their guest rooms, the three of them discussed what they should do next.

When he was certain that no one was eavesdropping on them, Erasmus took off his mask and exhaled deeply.

"That man…" Erasmus smirked. "Talks like a politician but sweats like a thief."

Cranky nodded as he took a seat by the window. "You're not wrong. I could practically smell the nervousness coming off him. If he bowed any lower, he'd have kissed the floor."

Thirteen smiled faintly. "That's good. It means he's afraid of offending you. Keep him that way."

Erasmus tilted his head. "You want me to intimidate him further?"

"Not too much," Thirteen replied, pouring himself a glass of water from the table. "If he panics, he'll start making mistakes that could attract attention. Just make him eager to please you. Men like him live for flattery and fear."

Cranky leaned back, folding his arms. "You really think this Armand guy is trustworthy?"

"Trustworthy? No," Thirteen said, shaking his head. "Useful? Definitely."

Erasmus raised an eyebrow. "You plan to use him?"

"I plan to borrow his influence," Thirteen corrected. "He's the Mayor of Wyr, which means he controls the local patrol routes, trade passes, and most importantly, the local communication lines. If we want to move our army without alerting the Capital, we need to know the places where we can hide them."

Erasmus chuckled. "You are fond of scheming, aren't you, Zion?"

Thirteen shrugged. "As long as it works. After all, invading a world is one thing, but getting people to cooperate without causing panic takes a lot of finesse."

Erasmus leaned on his chair, looking thoughtful. "I can make him loyal. Temporarily."

Thirteen frowned. "No soul tampering."

"It's not tampering," Erasmus replied evilly. "Just… gentle persuasion. I'll make him think that helping us is his own brilliant idea."

Cranky raised a brow. "That's even scarier."

Before Thirteen could reply, there was a soft knock on the door. One of Armand's attendants entered, bowing deeply.

"Your Excellency," the attendant said, "Mayor Armand sends his regards and wishes to inform you that a troupe of performers will be entertaining in the plaza tonight. He has extended an invitation to you and your entourage, believing your presence would show the townsfolk that their leaders also enjoy mingling with the likes of them."

Erasmus looked at Thirteen, who gave a small nod.

"Tell your master we'll be there," Erasmus said calmly.

When the attendant left, Thirteen shook his head. "A festival night, huh? It seems that Armand is throwing his weight around to entertain us."

"What's the plan?" Cranky asked.

"What else?" Thirteen smiled evilly. "Learn everything we need to know so we can relay it to our allies."

Typically, upon arriving in a new world, the Jinns would immediately conquer the nearest settlement—but only if they faced no strong opposition.

On a world like Pangea, for instance, a single Rank 9 Sovereign from them could threaten an entire continent.

For that reason, they conquered with no hesitation, moving unhindered and without fear of repercussions, since they knew they held the advantage in the conquest.

But the same couldn't be said for Artem.

This world had Celestials and High Archons.

The Jinns were at a disadvantage. A single wrong move could lead to their total annihilation without proper preparation.

Therefore, their first priority was to scout the area for nearby cities, towns, or villages.

If it was a village far from civilization, they would not hesitate to enslave its people.

However, the presence of a town meant that there might be other towns or cities nearby.

Since that was the case, the Jinns opted to look for a place to hide first, where they would bide their time until Thirteen returned to tell them the next step of their plan.

Of course, Thirteen also gave them a firm order.

If someone were to discover them, no matter who they were, they had the permission to kill and ensure that there would be no one to spread the news of their arrival.

Thirteen wasn't naive and knew what must be done. He wouldn't hesitate to give an order to kill if it was absolutely necessary.

So for now, he planned to learn more about their location and minimize the needless bloodshed.

The priority was to let Erasmus return to the Royal City to meet with Queen Miriamele.

After that, the Jinn Army would advance, and strike their enemies when they least expect it.

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