"Hmm? Qiandi is sending someone here? And only one person? What kind of attack is this?" One of the Esteria Guards muttered in confusion.
"You're too suspicious, my friend. Why would they send one person if this was an invasion? It must be an envoy that is bringing a message to us from them. Maybe they have something to say," another guard chimed in.
"That's right. We're under a ceasefire. Even if they intended to attack us from the back, they wouldn't come like that. Only idiots would attack from the front, that too with a single man," Another Guard added.
"That doesn't matter," Another heavy voice chimed in.
All the guards looked towards the man who had spoken as they exclaimed in unison, "Captain!"
The red-haired man that had just spoken was none other than the Captain of the Esteria Army who was leading the charge here. The man was said to be a strict person. It was said to be impossible to fool the man as he was a textbook strategist.
He was known as Hanzi Mantian.
Hanzi Mantian never took risks. Even if it was easier to take shortcuts, the man followed proper protocols. If he was supposed to take the long route, he took the long route despite having a shortcut.
He took a step forward as he looked into the distance towards a Snake that was flying towards them while carrying Long Chen.
"We can't be careless. Who knows, maybe they sent a powerful Cultivator to take on us alone? Or maybe they want us to underestimate them? We can't show our weak side. Treat it like a proper threat it is and show them that we're not lazy idiots who would be careless because of a Ceasefire!" he said softly.
"We can't be careless at all. I don't remember seeing this beast, and we fought with the Qiandi for so long. That can only mean this guy wasn't a part of the army that was attacking us. That could only mean that this guy is here from the Royal Capital of Qiandi. Even if he is here with a message, he should still be treated as a powerful warrior!" Hanzi Mantian said.
"Yes, Captain!" All the guards said in unison.
They all stepped forward and stood in proper formation as they pulled out their weapons to intercept Long Chen.
Hanzi Mantian stood a few steps ahead of the others. He was the only person who had no weapon in his hands at the moment.
"Captain, should I bring your Sword from the tent?" One of the guards asked Hanzi Mantian.
"It's fine. I have another sword. I'll just show the sword when I need it. For now, it's better that I don't have it," Hanzi Mantian replied vaguely.
A lot of his men were curious as to why he said that it was better for him not to have a sword in his hand, but they didn't dare to ask.
Long Chen had also noticed the guards in the distance who seemed to be ready to fight.
"I must say, the Esteria Guards are more alert than the Qiandi. They not only saw me but also prepared to intercept," he muttered as he rubbed his chin.
"Isn't it fine? Didn't you want to get caught? Of course, they would see us when we travel so slow. Moreover, they are supposed to be alert towards our direction because we're coming from the direction of their enemies," the Snake Monarch replied.
" I believe even those guys in the back would also see us from a distance if we were going towards them from this direction," he added.
"Interesting," Long Chen let out as he heard the Snake Monarch.
"What interesting? Don't tell me you didn't know it," the Snake Monarch inquired.
"Of course I knew it. As you said, this was intentional," Long Chen answered as he smiled subtly. "That's why I activated the Mask of Mischief in advance."
"The reason I said interesting is because it is interesting to know that even you have a brain to understand why they saw us. I honestly didn't expect that from you. It's amazing," he continued.
"Ah, Why does it feel like you're insulting me?" The Snake Monarch muttered in confusion.
"Insulting? What do you mean? I'm praising you, obviously," Long Chen exclaimed with an amused smile on his face. It was annoying to deal with the Snake Monarch, but he also found it somewhat fun to tease the guy.
"Oh, It's a praise. That's good then," Snake Monarch nodded as he believed Long Chen's words.
"You should go down soon. If we don't, we'll be bombarded by their attacks. Since we're going so openly, we might as well enter with proper respect," Long Chen commanded the Snake Monarch.
The Snake Monarch acknowledged Long Chen's command as he started going down.
The Snake Monarch went down and stopped a few meters away from Hanzi Mantian. He floated above the ground.
Long Chen jumped down from the Snake Monarch as he walked towards the guys with a confident smile on his face.
"Greetings, Young Men of Esteria. I am Prince Pei Zen from Tricion. I believe you must already know that I and a few others had gone to another world for the sake of our world. Now that I'm back, I need to pass through your Empire to get back home," Long Chen said respectfully.
"You duffer! What are you doing? Mingyu's brother didn't tell Qiandi that Pei Zen killed him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't have told his Empire. These guys will attack you if they know that you had killed their Prince!" Xun's complaining voice echoed in Long Chen's head as soon as he introduced himself.
'Don't worry. They don't know about Pei Zen being the one who had attacked their Prince. Mingyu's brother didn't tell Qiandi about Pei Zen and Tricion's scheme. They don't want Qiandi to know yet,' Long Chen answered Xun using his thoughts.
'Of course, they wouldn't tell a few guards about it. Why would they risk it getting exposed at the moment? There's no way these men would think anything bad of Pei Zen. I can even bet on it if you want,' he added.
"What bet!" Xun acted ignorantly as she realized that the men weren't attacking Long Chen. He was right.
"There's going to be no bet!" She continued.
Long Chen smiled at her response. What she could think, of course, he could as well.
"Prince Zen? You are back. That's good. Of course, you can pass through this Empire. You're our friend, after all," Hanzi Mantian said as his tone changed. He talked with a bit more respect.