Chapter 455: The Shadow Of Betrayal [Part 2]

Somewhere in the south, far away from the city of Eden...

"To think a high-ranking chieftain would personally meet me. What an honor," the Commander of the Blue Wolves of the Aurelion Empire, Evander Raithe, said with a smile. "Since you’re here, I believe you’re serious about betraying your people?"

"I’m not betraying my people," Hagen replied. "I just wish for someone who wasn’t born in the Borderlands to drop dead."

"Ah, yes." Evander nodded. "The candidate supposed to be the Barbarian King after this war is over. So, you want to kill him using a borrowed knife. But why should we listen to you?"

"His death will prevent the tribes from uniting," Hagen answered without hesitation. "You wouldn’t want to face a united barbarian army, would you?"

Evander chuckled. "Hagen, we’ve known each other for many years. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to become your ’yes man’? More importantly, do you really think the Borderlands have a chance of winning? I’ll tell you now, you have no chance of winning.

"If you want to live and perhaps gain a position after your people are subjugated, it would be best to jump to our side now. Otherwise, you will lose the only chance you have."

Hagen smiled faintly. The Commander might not have acted this way if he had known what Leone was capable of.

After experiencing the war against the Monster King, as well as the way the young man handled himself, Hagen knew that even the Aurelion Empire would have a hard time with their invasion.

Although Hagen himself didn’t want to admit it, he truly feared that Leone could force the Aurelion Empire to retreat.

If that truly happened, then no one would be able to deny the young chieftain’s abilities.

No one would question his right to become the next Barbarian King.

And Hagen was very scared that his only chance to get rid of him using a borrowed knife would slip away from his grasp.

"Commander, this isn’t the first time the Aurelion Empire has invaded our lands," Hagen said calmly. "What makes you think you can win against us this time around?"

The chieftain spoke these words softly, but there was a subtle arrogance mixed in them. Clearly, he wanted to ask what made Commander Evander confident that things would end differently this time.

But instead of being angry, Evander actually laughed.

"I admit that it would be difficult if we wage war against the Barbarians with our army alone," Evander replied with a smile. "But what if we weren’t alone? What if we got outside help?"

"Are you talking about the Kingdom of Britannia?" Hagen asked back. On the surface, he looked very calm. But on the inside, his mind was racing, thinking of things to say.

"Oh?" Evander looked genuinely surprised that Hagen knew about this piece of confidential information. "I guess I underestimated your information network. Only the high-ranking officials of our empire know about this information. How did you come across it?"

Hagen didn’t reply. Instead, he only flashed a mysterious smile at the man as if this was something that he had achieved on his own.

However, he was merely putting up a front.

It was Leone who told them that the Britannian Army was planning to join forces with the Aurelion Empire in order to invade the Borderlands and take full control of Eden.

Back then, Hagen only took the young man’s words with a grain of salt.

Now that he had seen Evander’s reaction, he confirmed that all of it was true!

If the two factions really joined together to invade their lands, then their chances of winning would drastically decrease.

He then remembered that Leone said that he and the Aslan Tribe would try to delay or make the Britannian Army retreat.

Hagen felt conflicted. A part of him hated Leone for taking the position that he had been striving for his whole life.

To become the Barbarian King.

And yet, he once again found himself relying on the thought that the young man would be able to create a miracle and drive off the Britannian Army back to their own lands.

Seeing that Hagen had no intention of sharing any information, Commander Evander shrugged.

"Since you already know of the Britannian Army’s imminent arrival, I will no longer say anything," Evander stated. "But for the sake of the friendship we have fostered over the years, I will give you a chance, Hagen."

The Commander then raised his hand for a handshake and looked at the chieftain with a serious expression.

"Join hands with the Aurelion Empire. If you do, I’ll see to it that you and your family will at least enjoy a position with privilege no less than what you have right now. In fact, you might even gain more from it. Such is the fortune of those who are part of our glorious empire!"

Hagen looked at Evander’s hand for a few seconds before raising his head to stare back at him.

"I’ll think about it," Hagen replied. "In any case, my offer still stands. If you ever change your mind about becoming a borrowed knife, I will make sure to deliver Leone to you on a silver platter. Trust me, you will be happy to nip this... young man in the bud before he could grow into something that would flatten your empire to the ground."

"Hah!" Evander laughed. "You really make the funniest jokes, Hagen. Very well, I’ll give you some time to think about it. We will meet again when our army comes knocking on your doorstep. Don’t worry, we won’t make you wait for a long time. At most, we’ll be there in a few days."

"Likewise," Hagen replied. "When you change your mind, make sure to send me a message."

After saying those words, the chieftain finally left.

Evander looked at Hagen’s retreating figure until he truly disappeared from his sight.

A moment later, the space beneath the commander rippled. A man appeared wearing black robes, standing right beside one of the Commanders of the Aurelion Empire.

"Should I kill him?" the black-robed man asked. "A high-ranking chieftain coming all this way is a rare opportunity. If we don’t kill him now, he might become a problem in the future."

"No." Evander shook his head. "Hagen is a very ambitious person. Once he realizes that joining hands with us will benefit him rather than fighting against us, he will personally open the gates of Eden to welcome us. He is simply that kind of man. By the way, is there any news from the side of the Britannian Army?"

"None so far," the black-robed man replied. "The last report we received was that they had departed from Stoneguard Fortress a week ago. At their current pace, they should arrive at Eden around the same time as our army."

Evander nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent. Then everything is proceeding according to plan."

He didn’t know how their King managed to do it, but asking the Kingdom of Britannia for help was a good plan.

With two powerful factions attacking Eden from the north and the south, it would only be a matter of time before its defenses fell.

Evander was confident that even if the great shaman, Gundar, made a move against them, their Wind Guardian would be able to handle it.

And if the great shaman was taken out of the picture, Evander was certain that the barbarians would have no one else to turn to.

This was why he had allowed Hagen to leave. In his eyes, it didn’t matter whether the high-ranking chieftain was a friend or a foe.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t aware that the Kingdom of Britannia was currently being besieged from two fronts, leaving them with no choice but to pull back their forces that were meant to make their way toward Eden.

While Evander was dreaming of their glorious victory over the barbarians, Hagen made his way back to Eden.

He wasn’t aware that Leone had already planted the seeds of his betrayal in the hearts of the people, who were now going to pay more attention to his every move.