Azka hesitated in the face of Charles' urging. He still felt that he hadn't fully grasped Charles' true intentions.
"Are you really just going to let me go ? Aren't you going to get more information from me?" Azka asked cautiously, testing the waters.
"What? Do you want to face torture? If that's what you're asking for, I can certainly oblige!" Charles responded with a teasing tone.
Azka quickly shook his head.
"Forget it! I'll return to the frontline immediately, and I won't tell High Priest Aldany about this."
Azka also extended some goodwill towards Charles.
Charles nodded, smiling as he said, "That's good! Hurry up and leave!"
Under Charles' repeated urging, Azka finally set off.
Charles and Zara watched Azka's retreating figure until it disappeared completely. Only then did Zara, looking a bit confused, ask, "I still don't understand. Why did you let him go? I feel like he might still be hiding some information from us."
"Of course! He definitely didn't tell us everything he knows!" Charles said confidently.
His words only deepened Zara's confusion.
"So, what's your next plan? With Azka gone, it seems we can only continue investigating Aldany. But Aldany is very secretive, and it's difficult to find his hidden secrets."
Zara furrowed her brow as she spoke about the difficulty of investigating Aldany.
Charles nodded in agreement.
"You're right, which is why I don't plan to investigate Aldany further. I also don't intend to stay at Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis any longer. I want to head to the frontline."
His statement left Zara in shock.
"To the frontline? It's extremely dangerous there. Besides, your presence there could very likely trigger some unexpected chaos. The Serpent warriors at the frontline have a blood feud with the humans of the Stellar Empire. Even though you're not from the Stellar Empire, you are human, and they will surely see you as an enemy."
Everything Zara said had already been considered by Charles. The frontline was indeed very dangerous. Furthermore, his arrival could make the conflict between the Serpent Empire and the Stellar Empire even more intense.
But Charles felt he had no choice.
Staying at Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis, there were no more leads to follow. Moreover, he didn't want to continue playing games with Aldany anymore—it had become tiresome.
"I know heading to the frontline will put me in a difficult situation, but staying at Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis won't yield any more clues. Maybe on the way to the frontline, I could find a way or an item to suppress the curse on the Queen," Charles said.
Upon hearing this, Zara was left stunned.
She indeed felt that staying here any longer wouldn't lead to any more clues.
"If that's the case, then I'll set off with you! With me by your side, at least I can ensure that the Serpent soldiers won't attack you directly," Zara offered, hoping to continue acting alongside Charles.
However, Charles shook his head with a smile on his face.
"You can't come with me, because you have a much more important task. You need to stay here and protect Her Majesty the Queen's safety. If both of us leave, the Queen will be unprotected," he explained.
His words reminded Zara.
The reason Zara had been able to leave earlier was because Aldany hadn't yet revealed his ambitions. In order to gain more support from the Serpent high priests, Aldany had to ensure the Queen's safety.
But now, the situation had changed drastically. Aldany had already exposed his ambitions. He was aiming to control the entire Serpent Empire.
If both Zara and Charles left, Aldany might once again act against the Queen.
The Queen had already become extremely weak due to the curse's eruption. If Aldany attacked again, he could very likely succeed in assassinating her.
Zara hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she had no choice but to give in.
"You're right. I should stay here and protect Her Majesty the Queen. You go to the frontline alone. But before you leave, we still need to take some precautions," Zara conceded.
"Naturally, we can't let Aldany know that I've already left," Charles responded, relieved that Zara's thinking had finally aligned with his own.
Once they made their decision, they headed back to the grand library.
Inside the library, Zara ordered the Serpent soldiers to tightly guard an enclosed area.
"You must stay here and make sure no one enters. Charles and I will be interrogating Azka here! Our interrogation is extremely important and cannot be disturbed by anyone!" Zara commanded, and then she and Charles entered the area that was completely sealed off by Serpent soldiers.
In this section of the library, there was a passage leading out to the Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis.
"Through this passage, you can directly reach the outer wall of Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis," Zara said as she opened the door to the passage.
"Are you really sure you want to leave now? It would be safer to leave at night. If you leave now, you might be spotted by Aldany's spies," Zara warned. She felt that Charles was being a bit too hasty.
Even though going to the frontline was an urgent task, Charles should have waited until evening to leave, as it would be much safer.
Charles smiled and shook his head.
"Leaving at night might lead to even bigger problems. Aldany is a cunning and sly person, and he will surely send out more spies at night," Charles explained.
His words convinced Zara.
The two of them said their final goodbyes, and then Charles entered the passage.
The passage was very narrow, wide enough only for one person to pass through.
After walking down the passage for about 10 minutes, an underground dark river appeared within Charles' line of sight.
"This underground river must be connected to the other underground rivers. This suggests that the underground passage system of Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis is more complex than we initially imagined," Charles thought to himself.
In the dark river, Charles noticed traces of the curse's power. This further confirmed his suspicion that the underground passages of Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis were far more complicated than anyone had anticipated.
Continuing along the path for another half hour, he arrived at the bottom of a vertical shaft.
Climbing up the shaft, he finally reached the outermost wall of Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis.
In that moment, he quickly concealed himself in the shadow summoned by Mousie.
Protected by the shadows, he successfully managed to distance himself from Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis.
"From here on, it's up to you, Rainbow!"
No longer needing to worry about being discovered, Charles decided to let Rainbow carry him at the fastest speed to the frontline where the Serpent Empire and the Stellar Empire were in confrontation.
Rainbow seemed very excited.
It thought it was playing a game with Charles.
With a leap into the air, Rainbow carried Charles swiftly towards the frontline.
At the same time, inside the pyramid where the high priests were gathered in Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis, Aldany gathered all the high priests who trusted him.
"You all saw what happened this morning! Kent has completely gone mad! He actually sided with the humans. Doesn't he know what harm humans have caused to the Serpent people?!" Aldany roared angrily.
The high priests remained silent.
While they trusted Aldany, they also felt that Kent's actions weren't entirely wrong.
"Why are you all silent? Do you also believe in that human?" Aldany demanded, clearly displeased.
He began to pressure the others to express their opinions.
One of the oldest high priests slowly spoke.
"Since I can remember, humans have never been friends of the Serpents. I've never seen a human with good intentions towards the Serpents, so I will never believe in that human," the high priest declared.
This statement greatly pleased Aldany.
"Truly, as expected of a wise one with long experience! Your judgment is spot on!"
Before Aldany could finish his words of praise, he was directly interrupted.
"Please, let me finish what I have to say. I still have more to add." The elderly high priest coughed twice and cleared his throat.
"Although I don't believe in humans, I think High Priest Kent's actions were not wrong. Her Majesty the Queen's health is in terrible condition. Even if we don't trust the humans, there's no need for us to engage in battle with them. Even if we were to secure a final victory, Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis would suffer significant damage during the conflict."
After speaking, the elderly high priest rose to his feet with the help of his assistant.
"I've said everything I wanted to. What decision you all make from here on out is no longer my concern. I'm old and nearly at death's door. I will not participate in the discussion any longer."
Having spoken these words in his frail voice, the elderly high priest slowly walked out of the pyramid.
His words left the other high priests exchanging uncertain glances.
Aldany was at a loss for words.
He had gathered these high priests with the hope of stirring them up to join him in confronting Kent.
But after the elderly high priest made his stance clear, it was obvious that the other high priests had been swayed.
"I don't think High Priest Kent's actions were wrong either."
"Perhaps we should endure for now. Once Her Majesty's health improves, or once we receive good news from the frontline, we can settle accounts with that human."
"Aldany, we sympathize with you deeply, but we also believe that making an enemy of Charles right now might not be the best decision."
One by one, the others began to agree with the judgment of the elderly high priest.
Upon hearing this, Aldany realized that his plan had failed.
He forced a smile and said, "Since everyone feels this way, then let's proceed as suggested."