A few days later.
According to the carefully crafted original plan, Ying and her companions finally put their operation into motion. For days, they had prepared every detail, discussing routes, signals, and possible escape paths. Everything seemed relatively solid on paper… but reality rarely follows a plan exactly as intended.
"Your Highness, please help me! We had an accident here!"
"Your Highness, help! There's something wrong in the field over there—"
"Alright."
"Uh— Your Highness! Your Highness! Help—!"
Leon stood on elevated ground in Sumeru, watching the entire situation unfold before his eyes. His gaze remained quiet and slightly tired as he observed Lumine completely transform the situation.
The young woman who was originally supposed to lead the rebellion, raise the banner of resistance, and guide her allies toward victory… now looked more like a blonde girl running desperately from place to place.
She dashed through streets, alleys, and plazas across the city, constantly fleeing while being pursued by guards and investigators everywhere.
In the simplest possible terms, she looked like a small golden rat trying to survive in the middle of a storm.
Leon couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead and sigh deeply.
It was exactly as he had predicted.
Lumine's plan—and that of her companions—was slowly collapsing, piece by piece. With almost absurd frequency, something new went wrong every few minutes.
They had completely fallen into a passive position.
If it weren't for the secret assistance Leon had been providing from the shadows, Lumine and the others would probably have already been captured and completely suppressed by Sumeru's forces.
Leon shook his head helplessly.
"This is really terrible."
Beside him, Alpha also sighed.
"Well, whose fault was it for making their plan this risky?"
She crossed her arms while watching the chaos spreading through the city streets.
"So what should we do now? Do you want us to continue supporting them secretly…?"
"Forget it." Leon waved his hand mercilessly.
He turned to the blonde elf standing behind him and calmly announced that the secret support and assistance provided by Night Raid would end at that very moment.
It was time to separate their plans from Lumine's.
From now on, each side would follow its own path.
In the current situation, the only thing that golden-haired girl could do was very simple:
Avoid being captured.
In other words… run.
Alpha frowned.
"Is that really a good idea?"
Is there something wrong with that?
She thought for a moment before answering.
"If we support them until the end… their plan could still succeed."
Alpha explained that her subordinates had already infiltrated countless corners of the city.
Even though Lumine and her companions were clearly fighting beyond their capabilities, as long as Night Raid remained involved, there was still a real possibility of success.
She compared the situation to a veteran player guiding a beginner through an extremely difficult dungeon.
The novice might make mistakes constantly, stumble, and nearly die several times…
But as long as the veteran was there to protect them, it would still be possible to clear the stage in the end.
Leon merely smiled faintly and shook his head.
"That won't be necessary."
He looked back toward the streets below, where Lumine and her companions were still being chased.
"In a rebellion, the moment you fall into passivity… it means you've already failed."
Without saying anything further, Leon took out a small flare from his clothes and fired it into the sky.
In the very next second—
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Violent explosions echoed simultaneously across multiple points in the City of Sumeru.
The city, which was already drowning in confusion, plunged even deeper into panic and chaos.
Screams erupted everywhere.
Flames began rising between the buildings.
This was the final support Leon was willing to provide.
If Lumine and her companions managed to take advantage of the chaos caused by the explosions, they might still find an opportunity to escape through the city gates.
Alpha watched the columns of smoke rising into the sky and couldn't hide her surprise.
"Wow… the power is really impressive." She crossed her arms while analyzing the explosions.
"That girl Klee's bomb-making skills have improved quite a bit," Leon clicked his tongue.
"Now each bomb is practically equivalent to an advanced fire spell. Tsk, tsk… she's improving fast," Leon said. "Maybe in the future, a single bomb of hers will have the power of a forbidden spell."
Alpha remained silent for a few seconds before adding:
"What a terrifying talent… where did you find that little girl in red? She's as dangerous as Eta."
Leon also watched the fire spreading through the city.
"Yes… and the scariest part is that she's still very young."
He smiled strangely.
"I have no idea what she'll be like in the future."
He paused before continuing.
"Maybe in a few years she'll develop a bomb capable of destroying an entire kingdom."
In Leon's mind appeared the image of enormous mushroom-shaped explosions rising on the horizon.
Alpha stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then she laughed.
"You're joking… right?"
But despite her laughter, her eyes kept twitching as she looked at the explosion sites.
It was hard to imagine that destructive power on that level could come from a girl who wasn't even ten years old.
It was simply absurd.
Even so…
It also made Klee's future extremely predictable.
Alpha couldn't help but take a deep breath.
It was really difficult to associate that absurdly cute face with the violent explosions that were destroying parts of the city at that very moment.
Meanwhile, Leon seemed to be appreciating the scene as if it were a work of art.
"On a sunny day… a super bomb and a little explosive lolita make a perfect combination. As a great sage once said: Art is an explosion."
Alpha shot him a strange look.
Leon quickly raised his hands.
"Hey, hey… don't make that face. I'm just joking."
Alpha sighed.
"Forget it. I'll start preparing our plan."
She looked at Leon.
"Which one do you intend to use?"
Leon shrugged.
"Any of them will do." He added calmly, "After all, we prepared more than a dozen perfect plans. Any of them will work."
Alpha nodded.
"Then let's start with the first option."
She turned around and began walking away.
The reason Leon had decided to stop supporting Lumine was simple.
Her plan had already failed.
Even if Night Raid could force success through brute power, it would require far too much effort.
The cost would be high.
And compared to acting on his own…
It simply wasn't worth it.
Moreover, the explosions Leon had caused were not chosen randomly.
He had carefully selected the targets.
The mansions of several Akademiya sages had been destroyed.
Especially the residence of the Grand Sage Azar.
Leon had prepared special treatment for that place.
Numerous bombs had been planted there.
At this moment…
The mansion no longer existed.
In its place remained only a massive crater.
Meanwhile…
On the other side of the city.
"Now! Everyone, run!"
Although Lumine was not known for brilliant strategy, her reaction speed and mobility were excellent.
Just three seconds after the first explosion, she immediately realized that this was the perfect opportunity to escape.
Without wasting time, she grabbed her companions and ran toward the city exit.
Once they managed to pass through the gates of Sumeru, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The surrounding region was extremely complex.
Dense tropical forests mixed with desert terrain.
Gigantic trees over one hundred meters tall could be seen in every direction.
Chasing someone through that kind of environment would be extremely difficult.
Moreover, countless natural caves existed beneath Sumeru's territory.
Lumine and her companions quickly found one of those caves and hid inside.
Even if thirty soldiers searched the area for ten full days…
They might still fail to find anyone.
The underground of Sumeru was practically a massive natural labyrinth.
Leon had already explored part of it using his spatial perception and had never seen a place so strange.
The entire underground seemed like a gigantic piece of cheese full of cavities.
Meanwhile, inside the cave.
Lumine sat on the ground, looking dejected.
"It failed…" she sighed.
"I really didn't expect so many accidents to happen along the way."
She lowered her head.
"We were too naive."
Beside her, Paimon was being held like a doll.
"Wow… that was really dangerous!" Paimon said, still trembling. "We almost got captured!"
"Good thing Your Highness secretly helped us…"
The others were also worried.
Among them were Dehya, Alhaitham, Cyno, and Tighnari.
Everyone knew that overthrowing the government of a kingdom would never be simple.
Even so…
They hadn't expected to be chased around in such chaotic fashion.
In the end, they hadn't even come close to bringing down the Grand Sage.
All they had done was run the entire time.
If it hadn't been for Leon's secret assistance…
They would probably be locked in Sumeru's prisons by now.
Lumine looked around at all the companions gathered there.
She sighed deeply.
"Strange…"
she murmured to herself.
"I know His Highness never makes things look easy… but why does everything feel so difficult when I'm the one trying to do it?"
Now that she had become an ally of Leon's group, Lumine knew about many of his secret operations.
Plans involving the Knights' Kingdom, Great Britain, the Lawrence family, neighboring minor nations, and even the Holy Land.
Some of those plans hadn't even been executed yet…
But the seeds had already been planted.
Thinking about it, Lumine had once believed that she might be able to compare herself to him.
Perhaps even accomplish similar feats.
But now…
Reality had proven that to be nothing more than an illusion.
Not everyone could be like that young man.
Someone capable of perfectly controlling everything behind the scenes.
Lumine let out another sigh.
"Hey… never mind."
She stood up.
"My part is finished."
She raised her gaze toward the cave entrance.
"Now let's watch His Highness's performance. His real plan… is about to begin."
(End of Chapter)