BXBX NOVEL Chapter 289 The Oracle's Interpretation
"Our target will be the palace, particularly the Sun Tower. Capturing the palace means capturing the Sun Tower, which is the only teleportation array that is working right now.
Even if we decide to focus on going for the capital, the threat of the North is still a force we cannot ignore. Hence after seizing the palace, we go directly to the East and take it back!!!"
Duke Maxim laid down his plans with a low and serious tone. The East was too important for them to give up. It was because that was the place where they had kept all of their secrets and plans.
Should the North completely sweep the territory, it will not be long until they would figure out who the Vesalas were.
"Alright…" Empress Carolina also understood the meaning behind Duke Maxim's plans and she also thought that it was the right thing to do.
After conversing for a while the two terminated their call and proceeded in preparing their forces on each side.
Back at the explosion sites, the knights under the Imperial Family were busy going through the rubble and searching for any survivors from the explosions.
This time, it did not matter whether the knights belonged to the Imperial Sky or other knight groups, they were just the knights who worked for the Empire as one.
It was not only the knights who exemplified camaraderie in the moment of chaos, even the common people, the Temple Knights, and the Farauld Institute students and Faculty members went out of their way to go to the field and help the wounded victims.
If there's a certain group of people that were missing at the moment, that would be the entire aristocratic society who were still under the detention of the Emperor.
Except for a few young nobles who served as knights, students, and teachers, all others were in their respective estates, anxiously waiting for any news from the outside.
Emperor Valentin and Kazimir were also the pivotal personalities that made the rescue organized and efficient.
With their directions the forces and volunteers were divided into groups and were deployed strategically on the explosion sites, enabling timely rescue and help.
However, aside from the initial explosion, there were no other dark knights that initiated further assaults, much to Emperor Valentin's surprise.
But when he received Leon's notification, he was sure that the other three knights would have to make their moves soon.
The evening started and still no attacks happened.
No movements were also detected from the Vesala Estate and the other nobles. This made Emperor Valentin uneasy as he knew that there must be something the Vesala was aiming for with their move to execute a surprise attack at the capital.
"Send a message to the troops, evacuate all the residents and nobles that we have already filtered out, and be prepared to have the entire Capital become a battleground!" Emperor Valentin chose to believe in his intuition and prepare for the worst.
As much as possible, there should be no more casualties from the civilian's side, he thought.
On the other hand, the situation had already come to this state and there was no reason for their side to hold back on their plans to punish the Vesala and their accomplices.
As such, he will no longer wait for the other party to make a move. He would be the one who will move first!
Deciding his next course of action, he took his communication stone and headed to the makeshift headquarters they built near the explosion sites.
One by one, he called General Farauld, Governor Fidel, Grandmasters Andvari, and Reuben, High Priest Enoch, and Leon. There he announced his decision to mobilize all the troops that were stationed around the residences of the suspected nobles and move at his signal.
After getting their consensus, he immediately informed everyone and took his own troops to head back to the palace where Carolina was preparing for her attack inside too.
On the outside, it looked like Emperor Valentin had just temporarily come back to the palace to take a short rest prior to heading out again to the explosion but in reality, he was actually preparing to apprehend Carolina.
It was agreed that Leon would be the one who would accompany him to arrest the Empress.
So while he was waiting for Leon to finish settling his business against Roman, he secretly mobilized his troops to immediately evacuate the other members of the Imperial Family to the temple, especially, Queens Lucia and Tehila, along with his sons' wives and children.
Uneasy and confused, the women and children of the Imperial Family decided to obey Emperor Valentin's orders and did not cause anything to delay the evacuation process. The earlier they settle down, the more time for the Emperor to prepare for his own forces.
On Leon's side, the captive Roman was finally shackled in the specialized dungeons along with his fellow captives Orel and Igor. The three did not know that they were already captured as they were kept in separate and secured prison cells ridden with anti-destructive and anti-suicide arrays.
To Leon, this detention was only temporary as in the future there would be more to be arrested and the temple would no longer accommodate that many criminals.
So in truth one more person, they had to wait prior to finally executing the attack, it was Eli who was tasked to fortify the defensive array within the Empire along with the Temple Knight Captain, Mishael.
Their task to infuse the spiritual power on the array of monument in the Capital would be effective in ensuring that none of the traitors would be able to escape until they were punished by the Imperial law.
Leon prayed that the arrays would work as intended for them to finally eradicate the sources of evil in the Empire.
While he was inspecting every nook and cranny of Roman's specialized cell, he heard a familiar aged yet gentle voice asking him, "Third Prince, are you nervous?" It was none other than the High Priest Enoch.
"It would be a lie if I say I am not. I am nervous and anxious, I truly am…" Leon earnestly answered High Priest Enoch's question, "There is a fear that makes me feel suffocated. The fear that we will not be able to bring the Empire out of the chaos that we are experiencing right now."
High Priest Enoch looked at Leon who was letting his emotions and vulnerabilities out in the open. "En… but you must be confident that the heavens will not turn away from us." He advised.
"I know that we already had the cure and this itself was already enough for the Empire's survival, but still there is a limit on how much these cure potions could help and how much power could Eli wield at the moment. She is only one person, and she could only do things at the proportion of her abilities." Leon replied rather softly, while he and the rest were about to step into a war, his mind still worried about the burden Eli carried for the Empire.
Even if they arrested Duke Maxim and the rest, the moment the spirit fragment emerged, there would be no hope but to rely on Eli, who by far, only had the ability to defeat such.
"The oracle that had descended way before your father was born was like this - 'The evil will rise in the midst of the walls and bring forth absolute downfall to the Empire…' " High Priest Enoch explained.
"But did you know that after the first part of the oracle had descended, the second part finally appeared days before the wedding of your Imperial Father? Now, the oracle goes like this:
The evil will rise in the midst of the walls and bring forth absolute downfall to the Empire. But Hope will descend for the generations to come!" High Priest Enoch continued.
"Remember, Third Prince, the 'Hope' that he was pertaining to was not only a single person. This is your assurance. The oracle said that the 'Hope' will descend for generations to come!
This means from this moment on, there would be someone from every generation whom the Heavens will use to battle the chaos that would befall the Empire, no matter what time, what date, or what year the evil would try to attack.
While it was Eli whom the Oracle pertained as the one who would bring forth 'Hope' it doesn't mean that 'Hope' will end with her fulfilling the task of becoming that hope of the Empire. Her role will stay until the next generation is prepared to carry that 'Hope'.
The hidden meaning of the oracle was also like this, 'Hope' is not a single person. But a catalyst to spark confidence and determination to overcome the endeavor. 'Hope' enables people to step forward no matter how hard or impossible it is because we look forward to the goal that it brings.
This meant, my Third Prince, that you and I, your Imperial Father, the Grandmasters, and everyone that were standing up for the Empire right now, has received that same 'Hope'.
We received it the moment we believed in Eli's power enabling the creation of the cure and the fortifications of the array. That same 'Hope' will enable us to also defeat the enemy that is standing in our way to achieving the peace of the Empire.
As we carry that 'Hope' we can say that all of us are now the Subjects of the Oracle at this moment!"