Chapter 602 - Arrangements Before Departure (1)
After leaving the workshop tower, Leon visited the city guard's main garrison in Upper District.
"The city guards at your service, Your Highness. How can we help you?" A city guard captain saluted with a fist rested on his chest.
Behind him stood 40 other elite guards with Rank Awakener Realm cultivation that followed suit and saluted simultaneously with a stomp.
Leon glanced at the gathered group of elite city guards that displayed rigorous discipline and unity—a stark contrast to the group of pot-bellied drunkards that he once months ago.
After a moment, Leon calmly asked with a casual look, "Is there a map of the Capital I can see?"
"Of course, Your Highness!" the city captain answered before barking to one of his men, "Bring the Capital's map over here for me!"
"Yes, Captain!" An elite guard immediately answered.
Shortly after the elite guard headed inside the main garrison building, the captain used his Earth-ability to raise the ground and form an earthen table with smooth surfaces like a slab rock that have been sculpted by master artisans.
"The map, Captain!"
"Un."
The elite guard returned shortly with the map before the captain laid it out on the earthen table for the prince.
"The map of the Capital, Your Highness."
"Un. Thank you." Leon nodded.
He studied the map of the Capital before finding the most ideal locations to deploy the Demon Gathering Arrays in each Upper District.
Shortly after, he divided the 40 elite guards into 4 groups of 10 and took them to each site one by one, deploying the Demon Gathering Array in the area before heading to the next one.
"Your jobs are to protect these Demon Gathering Arrays with your lives. Do not let anyone approach them, and definitely do not let anyone destroy them until I get back, is that understood?" Leon instructed the elite guards.
"Yes, Your Highness! We hear and obey!" The elite guards complied without questioning before Leon nodded with approval.
"Good!"
After all Demon Gathering Arrays were deployed and all elite guards were stationed to guard their designated areas, Leon left with the captain.
"Your Highness, may I be so impudent as to ask what those bone disks are used for?" the captain asked humbly with strong curiosity.
Leon after the captain a casual glance before explaining, "Those bone disks are runic devices that can gather the Demonic Energies in the air and compress them into a concentrated form. You should understand what this means, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" The captain answered, immediately understanding the crux of the purpose for deploying the Demon Gathering Arrays.
It was not hard to understand.
Nevertheless, the captain could not help but mention, "I'm afraid that this task might be too much for the city guards to handle alone, Your Highness. We might require the palace guards' assistance in guarding these runic devices."
Although the captain was a 3-Star Ranked Awakener, it did not make him feel capable nor strong in the present era of quick changes—where anything could happen anywhere and anytime.
"This is what we are heading to the palace for. I will arrange it, and you will take the palace guards with you. I do not need to tell you how to handle them, right?" Leon casually asked.
"No, Your Highness." The captain quickly shook his head and said with a cupped-fist salute, "I completely understand what needs to be done. You can leave it to me, Your Highness."
"Good."
Shortly after they arrived at the palace, Leon immediately made the arrangements before the captain left with 16 palace guards.
Leon watched the group leave his sight before turning around and heading back to his father's study room to discuss and make some arrangements with his parents.
However, the study room was empty when he arrived.
Seeing a palace maid passing by, Leon immediately pulled her over and inquired, "Where did my parents go?"
"Y-Your Highness!" The palace maid, Ellie, cried softly with a hint of excitement after seeing the prince suddenly coming out of King Heinrich's study room.
"His Majesty, King Heinrich, and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, are both in the back courtyard, Your Highness." She answered shortly after while carrying a tray with teacups and a teapot on them.
"I see. Thank you," Leon nodded.
Shortly after, his gaze shifted down onto the tray of teapot and teacups the palace maid was carrying before asking, "Are you bringing the tea to my parents?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I see. Then we can head over together."
Leon spoke without much thought, but the palace maid immediately broke into a bright smile as she happily responds, "It will be my honor, Your Highness!"
Shortly after, the two of them headed in the direction of the back courtyard, walking alongside each other.
Ellie snuck glances at Leon's side portfolio from time to time, but she was slightly disappointed that the prince did not seem to take notice and look her way.
She could only silently lament in her heart.
Sometime later, Leon and Ellie arrived in the back courtyard, where Heinrich, Elizabeth, Duna, and Darlene were all seen seated by the stone table and chatting cheerily.
However, after they spotted Leon's arrival, Heinrich and Elizabeth's smile immediately disappeared without a trace before they glanced at each other for a moment and nodded.
Leon immediately noticed the strange atmosphere, but before he could open his mouth to speak, his mother stood up and pulled him away with a solemn look.
"Come with me. We need to talk."
"Uh… Yes, Mother," Leon responded compliantly while scratching his head cluelessly with an inexplicable feeling in his heart.
He could not help but feel like he was in trouble for some reason.
Nevertheless, he allowed himself to be dragged away by his mother. They did not stop until they arrived on the palace walls, where a good view of the Capital could be seen.
"Is the current stir in the atmosphere the result of your doing, son?" Elizabeth inquired.
She could sense movements in the air, but nothing was visible to her eyes
"Yes, Mother. I just deployed the Demon Gathering Arrays into four corners around the Capital to draw in the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere.. This will reduce the risk of our people going berserk."