(MC POV)
At this point, I'm not sure if I should be awed, horrified, impressed or proud of my disciples. I'm leaning towards the last one though.
"So let me get this straight… You girls managed to conquer your way here in just a mere few weeks?"
Elaria nodded with a smug smile on her face, "Of course, Onii-sama! It's all thanks to you teaching me the art of war!"
I most definitely don't remember teaching her that so it must be something my younger self taught her. Godamnit younger me!
Oh well, at least it worked out somehow.
Still weird they brought Cai Hong along here though. But I guess little Cai Hong didn't want to sit still at home so she tagged along. Elaria must have given her this uniform as a sort of cosplay to appease the cute little dragon.
What a good little sister I have.
"Ok, so I got that part, what's the plan you guys have now?"
Elaria tapped her chin, "Umm… We wanted to force them to surrender by bombing their capital city. But it resulted in their king being injured as well so no one can come to a decision for them. Since that plan's out the window, we're just going to bomb our way to the capital instead."
Did my little sister just suggest to kill several tens of thousands of people without blinking an eye?
I take back what I said about her being a good little sister.
"None of you… Have been fighting them at the front… Have you?"
My disciples looked at one another before collectively shaking their heads.
I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
I don't know what I would have done if they were subjected to the horrors of war.
Thank the heavens Elaria managed to bring long range artillery here so they could remain way behind instead of where the worst is happening.
I've seen how the front lines of war could look like and it'll definitely traumatise my cute disciples if they were to even lay their eyes on it.
All my efforts of keeping them innocent and pure would have just gone down the drain then.
I know, I know, I can't coddle them forever, but I want to at least keep them safe before the supposed end of the world happens in five years.
"In that case, all we need is for the Dong King to be in full health to stop the war, right?"
Elaria nodded, "But we don't know how long that will take…"
"In that case, I'll go and pay that king a visit then."
"Eh?" Was my disciples' collective response.
I waved my hand at them, "Don't worry, I already know my way around the place. I can just go in, pop in a healing pill into his mouth and everything will be fine."
Lian Li quickly rushed up to me and held my arm, "Master, please… Allow someone else to do it this time… We don't know what we'll do if something ever happens to you again."
I patted her head, "This is a really simple matter though. And since they already know me, it would be easier for me to help them than someone they don't know."
"But… Aren't they on bad terms with Master anyway?" Brendan pointed out. "I don't think they would allow someone they had jailed before near their King…"
I waved my hand, "Don't worry, I have many ways of gaining entry to their king. It'll be a walk in the park, really."
Manami came up and grabbed my other arm, "Absolutely not, Master. The Dongs locked you up precisely for something like this. We will not have this event repeat itself. Let one of us do it instead."
Hmm… I suppose it's difficult for me to convince them after what happened before… But I don't want them to go there and figure out the Dark Sect's involvement in this entire affair yet so that I can handle them quietly first.
So no matter what, I need to go there without my disciples tagging along…
"Since none of you know the layout of the Dong's palace, you would only be putting yourselves in harm's way when searching for the king," I told them. "Just let me handle this, it will be done within half a day, tops."
This time Diao Chan was the one who came forward, obviously trying to get me to acquiesce to her by holding on to my leg and pleading with me, "Please Master! Allow this useless one to go in your stead! I know the layout of the palace too! Even if they do something to me, I can take it!"
"Yes, but the Dongs know your face and you can't use your Spells while within their barrier right? Also, there's no way I'll let you be subjected to anything bad."
Kiyomi took note of my words, "Does… Does that mean that Master could use your Techniques while inside their barrier?"
"Hmm? Of course. I managed to counter it while I was within their prison. If you want, I'll teach you all how to do it later."
My disciples gasped in amazement.
"So that's why Master stayed behind…" Eris muttered, the other girls nodding along with her.
Eh? Stayed behind where? What is she talking about?
Lian Li bowed her head, "As expected of our Divine Master, defying all odds to reach even greater heights for our sake… Master truly is benevolent. We are not worthy."
The rest of my girls also bowed their heads, "We are not worthy."
What's with all this all of a sudden?
Ah, I get it. They must be expressing their thanks for my teaching of them so that they don't seem like they're taking me for granted.
Judging from Brendan's reaction to being unable to use his Techniques within the barrier, the girls must have felt embarrassed that they needed my help to overcome this problem as well.
How sweet of them.
"There's no need for this. All of you have sworn yourselves to me as my disciples and accepted me as your Master. To give all of you the best education I can give is a natural thing no matter what. I should be the one thanking all of you for accepting someone as inexperienced as I as your Master."
My disciples looked up at me with teary eyes.
"Master!!"
Of course I had to endure another group hug from them, I made sure I headpatted them all until they were satisfied.
Only Brendan was still standing in the corner giving me a complicated face.
Oh well, I'll make sure to give my shy alchemist a head pat later too before I leave.