Prince Hanibal's Preparations

Nighttime, Duke Bahman's residence.

Halima, who looked pale from exhaustion, was still preparing plans for every possible situation.

She had instructed her subordinates to contact the alchemists in Ashur.

Currently, there were five alchemists who had secretly arrived at the residence, so as not to attract the attention of King Mandora, who was still in the city.

Halima explained the emergency situation to all the alchemists and then handed them the recipe for the antidote of the Lusting poison.

The alchemists were surprised and impressed by Halima's readiness.

Not only did she know about the emergency situation threatening all of Mandora, but she remained calm and prepared solutions one by one.

Although questions arose in the minds of the alchemists and Halima herself. The question of whether they should prioritize the people or the water source.

Halima and the alchemists were convinced that the amount of antidote they could produce at the moment, especially with the materials only available in Ashur, would not be enough to treat the people. Truthfully, chaos had already begun to manifest in several corners of the city.

The amount of antidote would not be able to treat all the poisoned people of Ashur.

The citizens had already consumed the toxic water even before Cien warned Halima, making the situation unavoidable.

If they used all the materials available in Mandora, the people of Ashur might be saved. But not the people of other cities.

On the other hand, if the antidote is used to heal the residents, disregarding the purification of the water source, Mandora will quickly or slowly run out of water, which will instead cause a new crisis.

With a limited amount of antidote, they can only choose one option: the people or the water source.

It's a difficult choice when viewed from a human perspective. But for Halima, it must be acknowledged that she would choose to purify the water source.

It's not that she doesn't care about the people. She simply cannot save the people without addressing the root of the problem first.

Prioritizing the people is only a temporary solution. Without water, they will still die.

Even those unaffected by the poison will die and only increase the number of victims.

Of course, there are some alchemists who lean towards the option of providing the antidote to the poisoned people.

For them, it's a moral issue. As for ingredients matters, the government can seek assistance from other kingdoms. As for water, they can also buy it from those other kingdoms.

Some believe that if the government is willing to work hard, everything will be resolved.

"Then answer this, how long do you need to make enough antidotes for the people of Mandora?"

"Hmm, I don't think it will take long."

"Taking into account the time for negotiations with other kingdoms, as well as the threat and risk of Asmodeus' attacks?"

"..."

"Do you think your time to make the antidote will be faster than the depletion of water throughout the city? Have you not considered that other kingdoms may turn their backs on us? Invade us while we're dying?

"Listen! Asmodeus is in the heart of Mandora! That demon has been our king all this time! Have you not thought that there may be other demons in the other kingdoms who are happy to see us perish?! And how can you rely on the government, when that damned demon is the head of it?!"

Halima stood firm with her decision to prioritize water.

The amount of water in Mandora was not abundant. Within a short time, the water would run out.

She believed this because the water brought by merchants in the past three days was unusable.

That meant almost the entire cities in Mandora were currently relying on the remaining water they had stored.

Halima estimated that within a week or two, she would start seeing dehydrated bodies, victims of the drought.

Could the alchemists create thousands of antidotes without Asmodeus finding out within that time? Honestly, Halima wasn't sure.

"If only Prince Hanibal were here."

One of the alchemists felt that the problem of Asmodeus's presence would be much easier to solve if Hanibal were in Ashur, eliminating the demon.

"We can hope, but we must prepare for the worst. I've tried contacting various noble families about this issue and asked them to search for the Prince. We'll find out later," said Halima, feeling the weight on her shoulders.

But the voice of a young man immediately refreshed her.

"I'm here now."

A young man suddenly entered the meeting room. He was the eldest son of King Abayomi—Prince Hanibal.

Seeing the young man, everyone in the room immediately stood up to show their respect. Hanibal motioned for them to sit back down and took an empty seat.

"I received a message from Cien Millard through C-Owl. I've heard everything. Honestly, I still have doubts about all of this myself. Because... Father—no, His Majesty, as it turns out, has..."

Hanibal's expression turned gloomy, mixed with anger. He clenched his fist tightly, suppressing all the anger that was building up inside him.

"Your Highness..."

"Ah, sorry. This is all really hard to believe. But for now, I agree with Halima's decision. You have to make the antidote and secure all our water sources.

"As for the citizens, I'm sorry, but we can only quarantine them for now. Send a message to the rulers of other cities to instruct their people to stay in their own homes, so they don't attack each other. Then prepare the soldiers to patrol in every city."

"Sorry, Your Highness, but if we impose a large-scale quarantine, won't this alert Asmodeus?" One of the alchemists asked.

Hanibal let out a long breath.

"I know. That's why I will stop him. By any means necessary. But before that, I still have to confirm with my own eyes whether it's really Asmodeus or still His Majesty, the King."

Hanibal then explained his plan.

Tomorrow afternoon, he will meet with King Mandora at his residence. Hanibal would personally test whether King Mandora was genuine or not.

Before that happened, Hanibal wanted to prepare a few things.

First, he wanted some of Duke Bahman's knights and a few of the strongest adventurers in Ashur to be ready at a location outside the city.

If King Mandora turned out to be Asmodeus, Hanibal would confront him and lure him away from the city to where the knights and adventurers were. There, they would fight Asmodeus together.

After that, the rest of the city soldiers will begin evacuating the citizens from the city. While Hanibal and the others keep Asmodeus busy.

Hanibal hopes that all the residents can go as far as possible.

This is done in order to respond to the situation where Hanibal and the others lose the battle against Asmodeus.

So if Asmodeus returns to Ashur after winning, the citizens will not become victims of his anger.

On the other hand, if Hanibal wins, he will follow the residents who have left and invite them to return.

"Understood, Your Highness. But what happens if there are some people who refuse to leave?" Halima asked again.

For her, it was clear that Dion was currently hypnotized by Asmodeus and used as a spy or puppet to access the water source.

Halima was even sure that Dion was not the only one in this condition.

"Force them to come with you when the battle is underway. If they still don't want to go, you can only leave them behind. Hoping that the battle ends in victory." Hanibal said with a bitter smile.

Halima, hearing that, could only sigh softly. Delaying the evacuation for a few people would only increase the risk.

Not to mention that it wasn't just the hypnotized people they had to deal with.

They also had to figure out how to evacuate those who had been poisoned without triggering their animal instincts.

Halima felt the burden getting heavier. And Prince Hanibal asked for this to be prepared for tomorrow afternoon. Less than twenty-four hours.

Halima calmed herself by inhaling and exhaling regularly.

"Sorry, Halima. I know this is difficult, but we don't have much time," said Hanibal, understanding the burden the middle-aged woman was carrying.

Halima shook her head. "This is my responsibility. I will do whatever it takes to save Ashur!"

Hanibal smiled, then turned to the five alchemists.

"For all of you. I want you to leave now and head to the nearest city. Your lives are currently the most precious, and I want to secure you as early as possible from Asmodeus' reach.

"After you arrive in that city, create enough antidote potion to purify a water source. I also hope you will contact all the alchemists in Mandora.

"Once you're done with that, move quickly to the city bordering Westya. Finish the rest of the work there. If the worst-case scenario happens, evacuate to Westya and continue making the potion there until Mandora can be reclaimed."

The alchemists were stunned by the order, but they also understood their value to Mandora's survival. They accepted Hanibal's command and began preparing for the long journey.

"May I meet Duke Bahman?"

Hanibal asked when only he and Halima were left in the meeting room.

Halima nodded and led him to her brother's room. There, Hanibal saw Duke Bahman in a worrying condition.

"It's..."

"Just as you suspected. Afflicted by Asmodeus' poison. Cien has given me the recipe for the antidote, but it will take longer to make because some of the required ingredients are too rare."

"Three years. That means Abyss' movements have been planned for that long. Right now, we might only be seeing the surface, Halima."

"...you're right, Your Highness."

Prince Hannibal and Halima felt that their battle with Abyss might have just begun. And Asmodeus was just the opening act.

They were afraid of what would happen in the future. But all of that could only be considered once the crisis before their eyes was resolved.

"So, how long have you known Cien Millard?"

Halima was taken aback by this. The woman then smiled faintly and recounted the relationship between the Bahman Family and the Millard Family for several decades.

The relationship had been maintained well, even until now, although the current Baron Millard was far below those of his predecessors.

"An interesting family, the Millards. At least until Cien Millard was brought down. The husband became a resident of Death Valley, and the wife became the owner of the largest orphanage in Kastia. They are very intriguing and also insane! Hahaha! I really want to meet both of them!"