Chương 564: Chapter : 564

"You should fear them, Zaima," Princess Hestia corrected her servant smoothly. The 2nd Princess sounded very serious.

"Arrogance leads to mistakes. We must remain completely vigilant. The Upper Council will not protect us anymore. We are entirely on our own." Prince Hephaestus picked up his thermos. He took another gulp of black coffee.

"That is exactly why I agreed to this alliance," Hephaestus stated firmly. He looked at Iris and Hestia.

"My engineers cannot fight elite assassins. We are mechanics. We build things. I need your vanguards to cover our blind spots. In return, we will provide you with advanced tracking gadgets and communication relays. We have to watch each other's backs." Princess Iris smiled a warm, confident smile.

"You have our total support, Brother. The 13th Unit will stand by your side. We will face the escalation together." Princess Hestia let out a soft, delicate sigh. She smoothed out the silk fabric of her dress.

"I accept this temporary arrangement. But do not expect my girls to hold your hands. We are allies of convenience. We will share intelligence, but we will secure our own victories."

"Fair enough," Hephaestus agreed. He lowered his thermos. The meeting reached a solid conclusion. The three royal factions understood the massive shift in the war. They knew the easy days were completely over. The political games were ending. The true, bloody battle for survival was officially beginning. They had to prepare for inevitable, extreme hostility. Ken Eliot watched the serious faces of his teammates. He slouched deep into his chair. He let out a loud, dramatic yawn that stretched his jaw.

"Wow, this sounds like a lot of extra work," Ken complained lazily. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"Assassins? Escalations? This is a total nightmare for my sleep schedule. I am going to need a very large nap to prepare for all this stress. Please do not wake me up unless the assassins bring snacks." Laxmi burst out laughing.

"You are totally ridiculous, Ken! Go take your nap! We will handle the bad guys!"

"Thank you, Laxmi. You are a true hero," Ken cheered. The 13th Unit, the 9th Unit, and the 16th Unit began to discuss their patrol schedules. The room buzzed with focused, energetic planning. The alliance was stronger than ever. They were completely ready to face the terrifying second phase of the Succession War. And Ken was completely ready to go find a comfortable spot on the sofa, totally content to let his friends do all the heavy lifting while he enjoyed his well-earned rest.

Sayma held a glowing blue crystal. The crystal projected a digital message into the air. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her dark eyes read the scrolling text. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The room was quiet. Princess Iris sat at the table. Her violet eyes looked at the Vice-Captain. Naomi stood near the window. Her red ponytail rested on her shoulder. Laxmi tossed a tiny orange spark between her fingers. Zinia crossed her strong arms.

Ira stood perfectly still. Luna slept on a wooden bench. Risa colored a picture on the floor. Ken Eliot slouched in his chair. He held a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. He ate a chip. Crunch. He let out a loud yawn.

"The Upper Council just issued a new mandate," Sayma announced politely. She clicked her pen.

"The mutant insect invasion is spreading rapidly. The regular city guards cannot contain the swarms. The Emperor has officially authorized all Royal units to engage the monsters." Princess Iris leaned forward.

"Is there a specific target?"

"No, Princess," Sayma replied. She looked at her notebook.

"This is an active defense mandate. The capital city is divided into various sectors. Participating in the active defense will award each faction exactly twenty points per cleared sector." Laxmi jumped up from the rug. The orange flame in her hand grew larger. She grinned a wild, excited grin.

"Twenty points?! That is a massive reward! We can secure so many points today! I am completely ready to burn some bugs!" Naomi spun her twin silver daggers. She offered a confident smile.

"This is our chance. We need to secure as many sectors as possible. We can climb the leaderboard in a single afternoon." Ken slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He shoved his free hand deep into his pocket. He let out a massive, dramatic groan.

"This is totally a grinding event," Ken complained loudly. He pointed a lazy finger at the glowing crystal.

"The game developers are running out of ideas. They just dropped a million weak enemies on the map. Now we have to farm experience points. Grinding is the absolute worst part of any role-playing game. It requires way too much walking." Naomi walked over to the sofa. She smiled warmly at him. She liked his goofy attitude.

"Come on, Ken," Naomi teased gently. Her green eyes sparkled with amusement.

"We need to go farm some points. Bring your chips. We are going outside."

"I am officially protesting," Ken whined. He slowly stood up. His white shirt hung completely untucked over his belt. His navy blue suit pants looked wrinkled.

"I want double experience points for this. And maybe a large pizza. Defending the city makes me very hungry." Princess Iris drew her silver rapier. She smiled a proud smile.

"Let us move out. We have sectors to clear." The allied units dispersed to different sectors across the capital city. The 13th Unit marched toward the commercial district. The 16th Unit headed toward the western district. The 9th Unit deployed to the industrial zone. The battlefields across the capital became highly active. The 13th Unit arrived at a large outdoor market. The area was completely overrun. Giant mutant bugs crawled over the brick buildings. Huge green beetles snapped their sharp pincers.

Flying wasps buzzed in the sky. The citizens were hiding inside their homes.

"Vanguard, engage!" Princess Iris commanded smoothly. Laxmi dashed forward. She slammed her fists together. Bright orange flames roared to life. She threw a massive fireball. The flames engulfed three flying wasps. The bugs turned to gray ash instantly.

"One group down! Let us keep moving!" Laxmi cheered. She punched her open palm. Zinia stomped her boots on the cobblestones. Solid rock walls shot out of the ground. The walls blocked a swarm of charging beetles. Naomi dashed through the gaps in the rocks. Her green wind magic made her incredibly fast. She sliced through the bugs with her silver daggers. She moved with flawless precision. Ken stayed at the very back of the group. He chewed his potato chips. He did not run. He just walked at a very slow, lazy pace.

A giant praying mantis dropped from a nearby roof. It aimed its massive scythe directly at Ken's head. Ken did not panic. He did not drop his bag of chips. He just tilted his head two inches to the left.

"Observation Haki," Ken mumbled casually. He took another bite of his chip.