Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

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(The imperial castle of Roxanna: )

"What?! What do you mean they entered the forbidden forest!?"

It was a shout from the worried mother who could not believe the absurdity that she had just heard from the messenger.

"Say it again! Again!"

As a powerful witch who had lived for hundreds of years, the emotional shock had caused her Mana to become unstable.

Every individual in the room including the normal servants, the knights, as well as the messenger who had relayed the information himself had become stiff.

Some of them had even fainted due to the sudden surge of Mana.

"Vera… calm down." They were in the main chambers of the imperial castle that was currently filled with all the ministers of the empire as well as the important people who were close to the emperor.

There were a lot of people present, in fact, there were more people present here than usual periodic meetings that they had.

The information that was shared by the messengers came from all around the world. Some information was about the children of the important nobles around the empire and beyond, while some information was more fundamental and important.

One simple messenger whose only job was to present the information that they were supposed to before the council had almost fainted just now because the empress lost her temper for a moment.

If it weren't for the protective barriers and spells around the hall, some of the weaker servants might have faced severe consequences as well, however, anything like that was prevented this time.

"Calm down and let him finish first." Emperor August was calmer than the three empresses expected him to be in the situation.

However, all three of them could see his quenched fist. They knew he was not as calm as he showed. And given the setting they were in, this was the best he could do for now.

"Dalven. Continue." Looking straight into the eyes of the messenger who had just gotten back on his feet, he asked in a gentle tone, something that gave the messenger a little more strength.

It wasn't easy for him either. This topic itself was unfathomable for most of the people present here right now.

"Prince Charles and his party have entered the forbidden forest through the eternal plains of Adanca. From the sources, it is confirmed that they have successfully entered the forbidden forest of Kamut and the entire party has gone in there together.

Furthermore, the report suggests that they have entered after thorough preparations. The report also suggests they had been preparing for this for a long time now."

The messenger's voice did not shake.

He was in the presence of his lord. It was his duty to deliver as clean a message as he possibly could.

There was no need to fear. Occurrences like the one a moment ago were something these special imperial messengers had become used to.

Reporting a clear and precise message was what came before their own safety or fear. They were well-trained, and Emperor August prided on that fact.

"That is all, my lord." With a bow of absolute respect, the messenger stepped back and waited for the order of his lord.

"Good work, Dalven. You may retire for the day."

Those were simple words, however, they lifted all the pressure that he had on him.

"Yes, my lord." Stepping back a single step, the messenger vanished in a simple beam of light.

It wasn't too flashy, and it wasn't magic either. It was a movement technique that all the imperial messengers were taught. This was something that had helped them countless times in times of need, and the people present in this room had already seen this many times, so they weren't surprised by this.

"Hmmm…"

Of the many reports that had come before this one, the news of his eldest child going to the death's door was the worst for him as both a father and a ruler.

"You can go if you want-."

"I'll stay." Empress Vera was the imperial adviser. Even though the situation was not the best right now, she wasn't going to abandon her position in an official setting like this one.

She could mourn later. Her son wasn't dead, the fool had simply walked into a place where he might never return from.

"Very well then."

The nine forbidden areas of their planet were places where many adventurers had stepped foot in, but throughout the known and unknown history, few had ever managed to get out of those places with their lives and minds intact.

These places were famous for breaking the mortals from their core. It wasn't simply about being strong or weak in those places, whenever one was talking about the forbidden areas, one's mentality mattered as well.

Those places were nothing less than a torture chamber. The mental strength that one needed just to survive and come back from those places was unbelievable.

If one of the best parties had entered one such place, then there should have been some chance that they would come back. However, that might not be true this time.

"Haaa…" Emperor August remained silent for a moment.

The entire hall was silent as well.

No one spoke anything. The servants that were helping the other servants who had been affected by Empress Vera's Mana release were being helped without any sounds as well.

The situation was grave. The eldest prince of the empire might never return to them anymore… the possibility that the party would come back was pretty slim.

They must prepare for the worst. But still…

"He chose this path. All we can do now is pray for their safe return." Nodding at the other two empresses, he looked at his first partner.

It was not easy for her, he could tell that much. She needed some time to herself, but she was too stubborn. She would not rest until they were done with this conference, but it was fine for them to take a little rest.

"It is what he chose, so I must respect his decision. I trust him that much at least. He wouldn't have done something he wasn't sure about."

At the single of the emperor, the other two empresses took Empress Vera and excused themselves from the hall.

She did not want to go, obviously, however, she did not have any choice. The other two empresses were adamant and they knew this wasn't easy on her.

Ultimately, the situation was taken care of. And since they needed to finish this work, the emperor looked at his ministers and resumed the meeting with another nod.

"So, where were we, minister Jeff?" At the words of the emperor, a person stood up among the ministers sitting in a line before the absolute thrones.

He was wearing simple clothes. From the looks of it, it seemed like he was a mage. The energy that he was giving off was pretty powerful.

There weren't many like him in the room. Fewer had as confident a face as he did.

"Yes, my lord. We were discussing the movements of the Union forces. We speculate they might be the reason behind the unusual activities within the empire and surrounding lands."

All the nations around the world including Roxanna are facing many challenges these days.

There were strange activities happening around the world, there were many things that the secret forces of the nations were doing that did not make any sense to the ones administering them.

Many things were strange about these coordinated activities.

Some forces around the world had secretly formed an alliance that few people knew about. These combined forces were referred to as Union forces.

Some units of these forces focused on the destruction of the demons and the elements related to them while some simply moved in a strange manner.

Their actions did not make sense to the observers, but they were strange. And these strange movements of theirs were attracting even more attention to them.

"Seems like there is not much information available on this 'union' force. Minister, should you not have more information on these kinds of things?"

Emperor August was pretty upset by the previous news but he had currently returned to his ruthless self.

He wasn't angry right now even though his child had walked into the death's doors by himself.

If he were to ask him why he does all these things, he knew he would have some strange answer so he did not ask him the last time they saw each other a year ago.

Now that the time to meet again was approaching, he had entered a place where he might never get to come back.

"We have gathered all the information we could, my lord. Their movements are too discreet. They move like shadows and they don't leave any traces behind. Not even the trace of Mana."

There were many speculations about the Union forces.

No one knew why those people came together to form this meaningless group. But it was certain that they shared a common goal.

"We have still not found the leading figures of the group but we are certain they have achievements to their name."

There was something common within these forces of different unions. While some had unique individuals leading them, they weren't as unknown as the rest of the groups.

Some were famous adventurers, some were retired captains from different noble knight-mage companies. Some were famous affiliates of the associations and magic towers… these people were once forgotten or were almost unknown to the world.

Yet, they were moving right now.

"We don't know their objective but they are after something, my lord."

They were searching for something.

And, it was a certain fact that there was someone else, a bigger force behind this than any of them could anticipate.