Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1203: Chapter 1203:- The Capital

“So, when did you plan all of this?” Rin asked Aditya as she followed him toward a town located around thirty kilometres away from the Capital.

It was a relatively small and peaceful town primarily known for agriculture. However, what made this town particularly famous was its production of various kinds of magic fruits. Large farms and orchards surrounded most of the town, supplying magic fruits to the Capital and several other nearby cities.

Aditya briefly looked at Rin before turning his attention forward again.

“The day my parents told me to give up on them and kill them if my cousin ever decided to use them against me.” Hearing this, Rin was not particularly surprised.

She knew her man far too well. Aditya was never the type of person who would quietly accept the two options placed before him when both choices resulted in him losing something precious.

At that time, Aditya had seemingly been given only two choices.

The first was to prioritise saving his parents. However, doing so could jeopardise his chances of winning the civil war. Ren could use Alen and Elena as hostages, forcing Aditya into an unfavourable position or even using them to manipulate his decisions during the most critical moments of the war.

The second option was to look at the bigger picture. Aditya could abandon his parents, consider them already dead as they themselves had requested, and focus entirely on winning the war. If Ren eventually used Alen and Elena against him, Aditya would have to suppress his emotions and sacrifice them for the sake of everyone else.

Either way, Aditya would lose. And that was precisely why he had refused to accept either option. Instead, Aditya had created a third option for himself. He would rescue his parents from the Imperial Royal Palace just as the civil war began.

“Right now is the best opportunity we will ever have to infiltrate the Imperial Royal Palace, reach my parents, and bring them out.” Aditya explained as they continued forward.

“I honestly don’t think we will get another opportunity this good.”

“Because the war is beginning now. My cousin will be focused on the battlefield. His attention, the attention of his commanders, and the attention of almost everyone supporting him will naturally be directed toward our army.”

A faint smile appeared on Aditya’s face. “And Ren would never imagine, not even in a million years, that instead of personally leading millions of soldiers onto the battlefield as their Supreme Commander, I would come to the very place where he believes my parents are safely trapped under his control.”

That was the greatest advantage Aditya possessed right now.

Ren knew how important winning this civil war was to him. After seeing Aditya gather millions of soldiers and personally assume the position of Supreme Commander, the most obvious assumption was that Aditya would remain on the front lines throughout the war.

Aditya intended to use that assumption against him. “While everyone is looking toward the battlefield…”

“I’ll be somewhere they never expected me to be.”

“I had already sent my subordinates to contact the former Prime Minister.”

:He is currently living outside the Celestial Dragon Empire. After leaving his position, he completely stepped away from politics and cut almost every connection he had with the affairs of the Empire.”

“At this point, it wouldn’t even be wrong to say that he no longer considers himself a citizen of the Empire that he served as Prime Minister for many centuries.” Rin quietly listened as Aditya explained everything.

“Fortunately, once he learned about the situation, he became willing to help us. Even though he has been away for some time, he still has several good connections inside the Imperial Royal Palace. With his help, passing through the checkpoints and entering the Imperial Royal Palace should be relatively easy.”

“However, his involvement ends the moment we get inside.”

“He made that very clear. His promise is only to help us safely pass through the checkpoints and gates of the Imperial Royal Palace. Once we’re inside, he will make some excuse and leave. Whatever happens after that will be entirely our responsibility.”

Rin nodded her head in understanding before looking at Aditya curiously. “Still, I didn’t expect someone who has deliberately kept himself away from all forms of politics and involvement with the Celestial Dragon Empire to agree so easily to help the exiled Crown Prince.”

Aditya merely smiled at Rin without giving her an answer. In reality, convincing the former Prime Minister had been nowhere near as easy as Aditya made it sound.

Initially, the old man had not even been willing to sit down and speak with Aditya’s subordinates. He had no interest in hearing what they wanted, nor was he willing to listen to the message that Aditya had sent them to deliver.

Unfortunately for the former Prime Minister, he still had one very obvious weakness, and that weakness was his granddaughter. Aditya had ordered his men to use her safety as leverage and threaten the old man if necessary.

The threat had never been intended as their main method of gaining his cooperation. Its purpose was simply to force him to stop refusing them and actually sit down for a proper conversation. And it worked like a charm.

Once Aditya’s subordinates finally managed to get the former Prime Minister to listen, they explained the entire situation to him, including why they had resorted to threatening his granddaughter merely to get his attention. After a lengthy conversation and learning what was truly happening inside the Celestial Dragon Empire, the old man finally agreed to cooperate.

Aditya had no intention of explaining that particular detail to Rin right now. “Our most important task is getting inside the Capital safely.” Aditya said, changing the subject.

Aditya, Rin, and his subordinate, Lou Han, had all completely changed their appearances before approaching the Capital. None of them looked particularly wealthy or powerful. At the same time, their appearances were not ordinary enough to make them look like poor commoners.

Instead, the trio had deliberately chosen appearances that made them resemble moderately successful merchants. This identity offered several advantages.

Merchants regularly travelled between cities, making their arrival in the Capital easier to explain. Their clothing could also justify carrying money, storage rings, documents, and various goods without immediately attracting suspicion. Most importantly, appearing as merchants was considerably less suspicious than entering as unknown rogue cultivators or pretending to belong to some noble household.

Their false identities had been prepared accordingly. Even with these preparations, entering the Capital would not be easy.

According to the information gathered by Aditya’s subordinates, security throughout the Capital had reached an unprecedented level. The guards were taking their responsibilities extremely seriously, and every individual attempting to enter the city was being thoroughly checked.

Even movement through the gates had been restricted. There were limits on how frequently individuals could enter and leave the Capital, while identities, reasons for entering, and other details were being carefully recorded.

The reason behind this was very obvious. The Celestial Dragon Empire was officially entering a state of war. The Capital was the heart of the Empire and the location of the Imperial Royal Palace. With millions of soldiers preparing to clash on the battlefield, the possibility of spies, assassins, saboteurs, and enemy cultivators attempting to infiltrate the Capital had increased dramatically.

As a result, maximum security measures had been implemented throughout the entire city.

After reaching the teleportation array and standing in line with the other travellers waiting to use it, Aditya suddenly turned toward Lou Han.

“Lou Han, I need you to stay here.” Lou Han immediately looked at Aditya in confusion.

“Taking a Seventh Order cultivator with us into the Capital will draw unnecessary attention,”

Aditya explained in a low voice. “That is the last thing I want right now.” Lou Han immediately opened his mouth, intending to argue against the decision. In his opinion, he needed to remain beside His Majesty at all times, especially during a mission as dangerous as this one.

Aditya had deliberately brought almost no supporters with him. Aside from Rin, Lou Han was the only subordinate accompanying him. To Lou Han, this meant that His Majesty had placed an enormous amount of trust in him. Therefore, he considered it his responsibility to make sure that both His Majesty and his woman returned safely along with Alen and Elena.

Even if fulfilling that responsibility cost him his own life, Lou Han would not hesitate.

However, before he could argue, Aditya raised his hand and gestured for him to stop. They were standing in a public area surrounded by travellers and guards. This was neither the time nor the place to create a scene.

“Wait here.” Aditya said firmly.

“I have a solid plan. Rin and I should be back within an hour or two at most.”

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