After hearing the slightly warning tone from Elara, Zhao Yu's face lit up with joy.
He knelt directly in front of her, tears of gratitude streaming down his face.
"Thank you, General! If Plumera Kingdom can help the people of Zhao Xiang avoid this disaster, the Zhao clan will crawl on their knees and always follow the royal family of your nation.
We will never break this vow!"
After writing a letter to General Qi and having Black Hawk deliver it, Elara told Zhao Yu to return to Plumera Kingdom and wait. She then led the troops to continue advancing toward Sargassum.
The western part of Plumera Kingdom had been occupied by the Magnolia Kingdom rebels, but the eastern side near Sargassum remained relatively peaceful and stable, not much different from what Elara saw during her last visit.
When they arrived at the Sargassum border with sixty thousand elite soldiers, Elara instructed Senior General Duanmu and General He to stay hidden along the border with the troops and wait for her orders. She used [Face Illusion] to disguise herself, then entered Sargassum with the Wei Clan members, posing as a merchant caravan.
Sargassum was a third-tier medium-sized country. Its economy was developed, and its military was decent compared to others of the same tier. Overall, it was in better shape than the chaotic and invaded Magnolia Kingdom and Plumera Kingdom, and there were still troops guarding the borders, so she couldn't boldly lead sixty thousand soldiers in like she did before.
According to information from the Wei Clan members who had infiltrated Sargassum earlier, ever since Elara allied with Prince Yu and Prince Leland in the northern campaign and defeated and annexed Salvia Kingdom and its three subordinate states, the Sargassum royal family had lost support and contact with the northern power Jiasi Kingdom. Since then, they had been living in constant fear.
Sargassum had implemented widespread martial law. Even the highly relied upon and proud Zhaiyun Pavilion faced many restrictions. Import and export trade had drastically declined. Everyone entering or leaving Sargassum was strictly inspected, and other than merchants, commoners from other nations were basically not allowed to enter.
Elara held a trade token from Zhaiyun Pavilion. Using [Face Illusion], she turned into a regular merchant. When passing through the border checkpoint, the border guards carefully examined her token and checked their carriage. After confirming it was loaded with various goods, they let them through.
While the soldiers were inspecting, Elara also quietly observed the checkpoint.
The walls weren't high enough, the weapons were poor, and there weren't many guards.
Easy to break through.
Elara looked away and led the Wei Clan members straight toward the Sargassum capital.
Unlike the bustling prosperity she saw last time, the capital of Sargassum, once the commercial hub of Zhaiyun Pavilion in the southwest corner of the continent, was now eerily quiet.
The streets were lined with closed shops, and even some local businesses under Zhaiyun Pavilion had big "Sealed" notices posted by the Sargassum government.
After arriving at the prearranged inn, Elara had just finished bathing when the Wei Clan members who had infiltrated Sargassum earlier silently entered her room. They knelt down and presented the information they had gathered in recent days.
Elara took the reports and frowned slightly.
In short, after the Sargassum royal family learned that the northern states Jiasi Kingdom and even Salvia Kingdom were destroyed, they had been living in constant fear, worried that Elara and Prince Yu would come for revenge.
They clearly knew what they had done.
Plumera Kingdom and Dahlia Kingdom had both risen to nearly second-tier nations, and with their territories flanking Sargassum on both sides, the country had nowhere to turn. No nearby country could rival the power of Plumera Kingdom and Dahlia Kingdom.
Since the fall of Salvia Kingdom and Jiasi Kingdom, Sargassum imposed nationwide martial law, fearing assassins or revenge from Plumera Kingdom or Dahlia Kingdom. They even sacrificed some of Zhaiyun Pavilion's business operations to ensure their own security.
But the Sargassum royal family had long coveted Zhaiyun Pavilion. The northern campaign had started because they tried to offer Leif to the old duchess of Jiasi Kingdom in exchange for favor, and also to take full control of Zhaiyun Pavilion from Leif.
Now with Jiasi Kingdom destroyed, the frightened Sargassum royals seemed to give up entirely and act recklessly.
They accelerated their seizure of Zhaiyun Pavilion, and even blamed Leif for the flooding of their mother river Bidai two months ago and the rotten relief food. They accused him of embezzling the aid rations and funds that Prince Bing had worked hard to obtain, replacing them with spoiled supplies, causing the recent disaster.
At the same time, half a month ago, Sargassum accused Leif, the true master of the Zhaiyun Pavilion, of colluding with foreign powers and pinned all the evidence of the royal family's former dealings with Jiasi Kingdom and others onto him, using that as the final cover-up.
Because of his background, Leif was already disliked in Sargassum. Once the royal family released the so-called evidence, and after the collapse of the Bidai River dam two months ago and the disaster grain rot that killed many people, the public's anger exploded. Leif became someone everyone in Sargassum wanted dead.
The royal family took the chance to seize the power of Zhaiyun Pavilion and officially issued a kill order for Leif, sending powerful fighters from various factions across the land to hunt down the so-called fugitive.
Elara squinted as she finished reading the letter. The Uno attendant knelt before her and spoke softly.
"Your Majesty, it's been confirmed. That so-called Prince Leif was actually a hidden agent from Jiasi Kingdom planted in Sargassum. After Jiasi Kingdom fell, Prince Leif relied on the forces and connections he had secretly gathered over the years in both countries to maintain his standing and continued colluding with the royal family."
"Two months ago, the Bidai River suddenly collapsed. The real reason was that many years ago, due to things like the empty national treasury, the royal family had colluded with Prince Leif in staging an act and secretly swallowed up the funds meant for reinforcing the riverbanks, which were already poorly built."
"After the collapse, the royal family took out the so-called relief grain that Prince Leif had acquired months ago from Jiasi Kingdom and sent it to the disaster areas. But most of it had already been sold privately, and part of the profits went to the royal family. The remaining rotten relief grain was sent out, and once exposed, they blamed Leif for it again."
"A few months ago, you taught Young Master Leif how to treat salt-affected lands. He followed your method and managed to improve conditions in some parts of Sargassum. But all the praise and credit were stolen by Prince Leif and the royal family."
"On the contrary, when the Bidai River collapsed and the relief grain spoiled, it was Young Master Leif who had Zhaiyun Pavilion deliver real disaster supplies. But one month ago, the royal family imprisoned him, and the pavilion became too focused on rescuing him to keep up with relief distribution."
Elara rubbed the corner of the letter between her fingers. She and Prince Leland had been campaigning together in the Northern Frontier during this time, and Leif's experience had certainly been filled with highs and lows.
She looked at the kneeling Uno. "So, where is Leif now?"
"Half a month ago, Young Master Leif was still imprisoned in the dungeons of the royal palace in Sargassum. Ten days ago, a sudden disturbance occurred inside the palace, and he escaped. He is currently hiding in the Zhaiyun Pavilion headquarters right within Sargassum's royal capital. General Giles of Dahlia Kingdom also secretly entered Sargassum a few days ago and is in the capital too."
The Sargassum royal family had placed the whole country under martial law, both out of fear of retaliation from her and Prince Leland, and to prevent Leif's escape. But Leif had hidden himself right under their noses, inside the capital. The most dangerous place really was the safest.
While sharing the news, Uno also handed over the collected evidence to Elara.
Uno and his team worked quickly. The evidence matched the reports they had just given.
As long as this evidence could be shown to the people, the true faces of the Sargassum royal family and Prince Leif would be exposed clearly.
However, Sargassum's current situation was full of corruption. Without intervention from her or Dahlia Kingdom, under the royal family and Prince Leif's domination, there was almost no chance to bring justice to light.
But since she was already here, she had to resolve Sargassum's problems and had to do it within two days.
"Tell me Leif and Giles's exact location. Also, take this evidence and carry out tonight's mission."
Elara ordered Uno to report the location of Leif and Giles and instructed them on everything they needed to accomplish that night.
After Uno left, she picked up a brush and wrote letters to Senior General Duanmu and General He.
Once that was done, she ordered a few local Sargassum dishes and quietly ate in her room while waiting.
Late into the night.
Giles arrived as expected.
The extremely young Guardian General of Dahlia Kingdom still wore his deep red hair tied up with a jade crown. His features were sharp and defined, and he stood tall and straight.
"Your Majesty."
After entering the room, Giles greeted Elara and then reported all the findings he had gathered over the past few days.
His findings matched what Uno and his team had discovered. He also informed Elara that Dahlia Kingdom's army was already in position at the eastern border. Before his departure, Prince Leland had told him that once Elara arrived in Sargassum, all plans would follow her lead.