Chapter 461 The Puppet Master

Irus fell deep in thought.

After a moment, she seemed to come to a realization and said to the messenger,

"I understand the situation now. You may step down. We will discuss this matter promptly and give you our decision soon."

"Thank you, Lady Irus."

Inside the council chamber,

everyone had already been briefed on the whole story.

Irus glanced around at those present and spoke slowly,

"You all know the situation we face."

"I must tell you—this crisis is far more severe than we anticipated."

"To defeat the Demon Lord, we need every Hero by our side! Losing even one of them would lead to catastrophic consequences! No matter what it takes, we must bring that Hero back to the right path."

The assembled elves exchanged glances in silence.

After all, most of them had not lived through the great war of ages past; they could not truly grasp the gravity of her words.

"Lady Irus, but what exactly should we do?"

Someone spoke up, voicing the question on everyone’s mind.

"There’s no way to figure out how to redeem that Hero here. Frankly, it is highly unusual for a Hero to defect to the enemy camp—there must be hidden agendas we know nothing about."

"Taking rash action without uncovering the truth could spell disaster for us all."

"Understood."

"Now, let us decide who will go to provide support."

Irus’s gaze fell on Hulim Heyerar.

"Hulim, you’re coming with me."

"Alright."

Hulim nodded silently.

She did not ask for reasons, nor did she question if they were overcommitting their strength.

Based on the current intelligence, there was no way to rule out the possibility that the Bow Hero had other S-Rank Champions backing her.

If those hidden allies had been lying low out of fear of the missing Vlamir,

sending only one S-Rank Champion would likely still leave them outmatched.

That said, they could at least rule out the presence of two or more S-Rank foes.

After all, if the enemy had that kind of firepower at their disposal, they would never have hesitated to strike down the Shield Hero already.

"Next—"

"Eugene, one of you three must accompany us, but someone also needs to stay behind to command your army."

"Then I’ll stay," Eugene said without hesitation. "The other two can go north with you."

"Both of them?"

"Yes. This is a crisis for our dwarven kin—we cannot stand idly by. Besides, I’ve been leading this legion alone from the start. The army will be fine without the other two. What do you two think?"

Eugene turned to look at the other two dwarves.

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"I have no objections," Charkin replied casually.

"Tch!"

Aznov clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I’ve had enough of being ordered around like a lackey! Going north sounds like a welcome change of pace!"

"Very well, then it’s settled. Go back and wrap up your affairs. We depart at dawn tomorrow!"

"As for the elven and dwarven forces stationed in Ilz, you have ten days to prepare for your march. Once we reach Lidoyar, we will not be returning to Ilz—you must make your own way east......"

As Irus issued her orders one by one,

Pujeliru hesitated several times in the corner of the chamber, before finally mustering up the courage to speak.

"Lady Irus——"

"You’re not going."

"Huh? But I——"

"You need to stay behind and lead the elven army."

"......Understood."

Seeing the look of dejection on her face, Irus added in explanation,

"Do not be discouraged. The eastern battlefield may not be any safer than the north. From what we know of history, when the Demon Lord’s army descends on the Demon Continent, their movements will be hampered by the Great Barrier—but they will definitely send small, elite strike teams across to the Main Continent, even if it costs them dearly."

"These teams will act as saboteurs and assassins, disrupting our battle plans at every turn. Without someone strong enough to hold the line, our armies will be thrown into chaos."

Pujeliru suddenly realized the weight of her responsibility and straightened her posture.

"Yes! I will not let you down!"

"That’s the spirit."

With that, Irus looked around the chamber once more.

"That’s the gist of our plans. Everyone, make your preparations quickly."

"Yes!"

......

After the meeting adjourned,

Hulim and Irus walked side by side through the palace corridors.

"Irus, who do you think is pulling the strings behind all this?"

"It can only be the demons," Irus replied flatly.

"With the Demon Lord’s impending arrival, it’s likely that some of the ancient demons who were sealed away—but never truly destroyed—have broken free once again."

Like the one in the Red Mist Volcano......

She silently wondered if Vlamir would be able to handle it.

"......Is that really the case?"

Hulim suddenly came to a stop.

"What are you thinking, Hulim?"

Irus paused as well, turning to look at her.

"Well... it’s less of a thought... more of a gut feeling."

"A feeling?"

"Yes. Something about this entire situation feels strangely familiar to me."

Irus blinked in surprise, then fell into thought herself.

After a moment, she spoke up,

"You’re talking about... Gulos?"

Hulim nodded silently.

Then she said slowly,

"Do you remember, Irus? Gulos’s forces were divided into three factions, each led by one of his Three Pillars."

"The Faith Pillar and his followers were eliminated over a year ago. The Might Pillar’s Great Demon Mercenary Corps was utterly destroyed in the recent battle. Only the last of them—the Wealth Pillar......"

"Has not shown his face to this day."

"I can’t help but wonder—where is this man hiding, and what exactly is he up to?"

Hulim had clashed with the Wealth Pillar’s forces before.

That shadowy group known as "the Investors" had sown chaos across multiple kingdoms, yet no one had ever suspected they were part of Gulos’s legion.

Their level of secrecy was truly terrifying.

Compared to the Faith Pillar’s intelligence network, these investors were far more cunning—they operated entirely in the shadows, unseen and unheard.

For all anyone knew, they could be hiding in plain sight, posing as ordinary merchants or nobles.

What was more, their modus operandi was to pull the strings from behind the scenes, manipulating others to do their bidding instead of acting openly themselves.

It was precisely this modus operandi that had made Hulim suspect their involvement in the Bow Hero’s defection.

If anyone was capable of twisting a Hero’s mind and turning them against their allies, it was these manipulators.

Even a Chosen Hero would not be immune to their schemes.

"Now that you mention it, it’s entirely possible that this is their doing," Irus conceded.

"If it were just ordinary demons, the divine power of the Bow Hero would have protected her from being brainwashed. Even if they resorted to threats and coercion, a Hero would never act so zealously for the enemy."

"Furthermore, given the current situation, the demons’ top priority should be to travel to the Demon Continent and swear allegiance to the new Demon Lord—not to stir up trouble in the rear, where they risk being hunted down and eliminated."

"Still, no matter how much we speculate, we won’t know the truth until we get to the front lines."

Hulim nodded in agreement.

"So it’s just the four of us on this mission, then?"

"It will be more than enough. To be honest, the two of us alone would suffice."

"That’s true...... Oh right, is Prarlulu coming with us?"

"Prarlulu?"

Irus thought for a moment before replying,

"She’s a Hero, yes, but she’s still far too inexperienced. She wouldn’t be able to contribute much on the battlefield. It’s better for her to stay behind and act with Pujeliru——"

Whoosh——!

A streak of white light suddenly shot out from a courtyard up ahead.

The two turned to look.

There, they saw Prarlulu practicing diligently with her Holy Staff, swinging it again and again.

"That’s a surprise. What’s gotten into you? You’re actually practicing so hard today?"

Irus walked into the courtyard, her voice laced with amusement.

Hearing her words, Prarlulu stopped her training and turned to face Irus and Hulim.

Her expression looked rather dejected.

"What’s wrong? You seem a bit down."

"Aunt Irus......"

"Am I really that weak?"