"Rank 4 Mental Strength Potion.." Aeliana muttered thoughtfully.

"If we recreate the recipe and mass-produce it, we could raise an army of High Witches—Of course, my Lord can also do the same. But at least with Rank 4 Mental Strength Potion as an option, it will save my Lord's time and energy."

"Unfortunately, that's only true if the ingredients required to produce the Rank 4 Mental Strength Potion aren't rare," Vaan said with a shake of his head.

"And considering it is a Rank 4 potion, chances are, the ingredients are definitely rare. We shouldn't assume it is common outside the seven witch kingdoms just because Baron Arderlard is willing to offer three such potions."

"It's unlikely for these potions to come out of his coffers or obtained with his own wealth; Baron Arderlard was only acting on behalf of the empire," Vaan stated.

"Still, three hundred is not a small number for a secret operation, my Lord. If they don't want to leave a trail, they are better off with a small group," Aeliana mentioned before adding, "I guess the empire isn't very bright."

"From a normal perspective, that would be the obvious choice to make," Vaan calmly acknowledged before saying, "However, that's only under the assumption that their secret operation isn't leaked."

"The empire sending three hundred elites over highlights the importance of their mission as well as their distrust in the border lords. For example, if their operation were leaked, it would still be difficult to catch all the infiltrators."

"Thus, even if some of them are caught, there would still be more people leftover to carry on with their mission. In that sense, the more they send, the higher chance of completing their mission," Vaan explained.

"But if we catch even one of them, we can just interrogate them and expose their secret. We could even expose the empire's actions to the world and put them at a disadvantage," Aeliana stated.

"That's right," Vaan nodded before saying, "The empire must have also considered this problem. Thus, if they are still willing to send this many people to infiltrate the kingdom, they must be confident in their countermeasures."

"Unfortunately, they just don't know who they are up against, even if they want to find out," Vaan smiled amusingly.

Even if the empire sent deathsworn soldiers, he was confident in incapacitating them before they could commit suicide.

After all, the chances of the empire's infiltrators being Rank 5 beings were low, let alone above Rank 5.

..

..

..

Meanwhile, shortly after Baron Arderlard finished his call with Artemis's group, he used the communication crystal to relay the news to the emperor.historical

"Have you completed negotiations with the kingdom's border lords, Lord Arderlard?" Emperor Renardier immediately inquired.

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!" Baron Arderlard strongly answered as he stood upright and saluted the emperor on display along with Baron Gregory and Baron Ranulf.

"Just as we anticipated, Lord Artemis, Lord Agatha, and Lord Mesulina all revealed genuine doubt and shock when we revealed our intentions toward war; they truly thought the matter would blow over if they handed over the imperial princess."

"I don't care about that. Move onto the important points," Emperor Renardier urged, seemingly impatient as he seemed busy on the other side.

"I understand, Your Imperial Majesty," Baron Arderlard acknowledged before listing the important points in their conversation as well as their negotiation's success.

"Lord Artemis, Lord Agatha, and Lord Mesulina seemed skeptical at first, but they didn't show any strong aversion to joining the empire. I have a good feeling they will reach out to me within the stipulated date to surrender to our empire."

"They also couldn't resist the temptation of the Rank 4 Mental Strength Potions sponsored by the Wizard Tower. I am in awe of your charisma, Your Imperial Majesty. How did you convince the Wizard Tower to join our war?" Baron Arderlard asked shortly after.

"You're giving me too much credit, Lord Arderlard," Emperor Renardier replied coolly as another person appeared on the crystal display beside him.

It was an elderly man with an overgrown long grey beard, eyebrows, and hair that had been braided to look neat and clean.

The elderly man also wore a distinguishable blue robe with a golden pentagon symbol, proving he was a member of the Wizard Tower member. He wasn't just any ordinary member of the Wizard Tower either.

He was a Peak-stage Third-Circle Wizard, which put him on the same level as a Peak-Early-stage High Witch.

Although this only made the elderly man a Low-level Rank 4 being, which wasn't much different from an elite soldier in the Holy Knight Empire, his status was even higher than most nobles and lords.

The elderly man was Alastair Cane, the seventh tower master, one of the nine tower masters of the Wizard Tower.

Each tower master was said to possess power comparable to High-level Rank 4 beings despite only being Third-Circle Wizards. This was due to their Rank 5 magic staff, which could greatly augment the power of their spells up to the Fifth-Circle level.

"The Wizard Tower has always been interested in the territory of the seven witch kingdoms due to their abundance of mana. But, of course, without benefits, Wizard Tower has no reason to aid the Holy Knight Empire in this upcoming war," Alastair Cane calmly stated.

"For that, we have Emperor Renardier here to thank for graciously promising the Wizard Tower the rights to build a branch in the Kingdom of Black Rose after we conquer it. Moreover, Emperor Renardier promised to fund its construction personally."

"There's no way the Wizard Tower could refuse such a tempting offer," Alastair Cane added.

In order to ensure the Holy Knight Empire's victory in its war against the Kingdom of Black Rose, Alastair Cane had bought over a hundred Peak-stage Second-Circle Wizards. That was the maximum number he could gather from his branch.

"The sixth and fifth tower masters are also on their way. However, it will take them some time to reach the northern borders. That said, they should arrive before the start of the war," Alastair said to Emperor Renardier.

"It's reassuring to have the Wizard Tower on board in this war, Lord Alastair," Emperor Renardier replied.

"We, of the Wizard Tower, are also grateful to be given the opportunity to participate, Your Imperial Majesty."