General Sost's decision to join the operation made both Charles and Zara very happy.
Without hesitation, the three of them left Withered Tree Fortress right away.
The vanguard of the Stellar Empire was already not far from the fortress. If they wanted to set a trap, they had to act quickly—time for preparation was running out.
As they walked away, High Priest Kent's eyes stayed locked on their backs. His face was heavy with worry.
"Please, let nothing go wrong…" he muttered under his breath.
Kent never truly approved of Charles and Zara's plan. But since the other three had already agreed, he couldn't oppose them outright. All he could do now was pray that Charles's plan would not go terribly wrong.
Just fifteen minutes later, Charles and his companions found the Stellar Empire's vanguard.
By then, the enemy troops had already stopped moving forward. They had discovered a huge rock in the middle of the desert and used it as cover to build a defensive line.
