Chapter 244: The War that Decides the Fate of 'The Bridge' Part 47
Charming Freedom
That's what Kayn called the operation he and Gilbert are executing at this moment.
Just like what its name suggests, they are charming the Assembly of Freedom using Undead Apples that Wesley is infamous for.
Employing the identical approach Wesley would employ to captivate his intended subjects, the pair gradually endeared themselves to every member within Seven's contingent of soldiers.
Later in the evening, everyone within Seven's company of soldiers was already under the charm of Kayn. Needless to say, Kayn only activated his charm in Seven, Alonzo, and the rest of the kitchen staff. Not all the time though, just whenever he needed something from them.
In this way, he can gradually extend the duration of his influence over them and effectively harness it at a later time.
"How did you get those Undead Apples?" Gilbert finally expressed the curiosity he has been holding within all this day.
"I've secretly stolen one of Wesley's Storage Rings during the chaos in their city," Kayn lied.
"If that's the case, wouldn't Wesley be able to control these people?" Gilbert felt worried.
"Whoever uses the Undead Apples will take control of the people under the charm,"
"Thank goodness," Gilbert was finally able to breathe in relief, knowing now that the method they are doing wouldn't accidentally become a dual-edged sword for them. Because if that happens, they're just doing Wesley a favor by making everyone in the Assembly of Freedom fall under his full control.
"You know that I don't do anything without certainty that it would succeed, right?"
"I was just worried,"
"Let's just sleep,"
As of this moment, Kayn and Gilbert were finally given a tent and two beds to sleep in. Though they are sharing it with the rest of the kitchen staff.
Nevertheless, it is much more comfortable compared to sleeping on hardwood as there's a comfortable mattress and a soft pillow.
Moreover, by doing this they can continue executing everything in secret.
The next day, Kayn and Gilbert woke up at the same time as every kitchen staff inside the tent, including Alonzo.
It was still four in the morning and everyone is still deep asleep. Yet, no one dared to voice any discontent or objection to waking up early, since the purpose was to ensure all the food was prepared before everyone woke up.
The ingredients were already prepared by the hunting team yesterday, so all the kitchen staff has to do was process them in accordance with what type of meal they are going to be using them for.
During the preparation, Kayn activated the charm of the Undead Apple within every single kitchen staff so that they won't ask him why he is adding another piece of ingredient to the meal.
It was only after the Undead Apple was added that he deactivated the charm so that he can conserve their duration.
As soon as the meal was ready, a bell rang around the camp which awoke everyone sleeping in their respective tents.
Soon, a multitude of soldiers streamed into the dining hall, forming a line that extended toward the kitchen staff distributing their breakfast.
It was only after all the soldiers were served their breakfast that all kitchen staff started eating, excluding Kayn and Gilbert.
"Wouldn't it be better for us if we go out and hunt our own ingredients instead of stealing them from the kitchen?" Gilbert proposed. After all, the kitchen staff would do an inventory check every after-meal. So, it would only be a matter of time before they become suspicious that someone is stealing ingredients.
"We'll proceed with that plan today," Kayn shared the same sentiment. However, it wasn't because he feared being caught, as he was confident in his ability to charm his way out of any situation. Rather, his intention was to reassure Gilbert that he had no intention whatsoever of including Undead Apples in the latter's meal.
Since there's nothing for the kitchen staff to do after serving the soldiers their breakfast and they have a long break time spanning until lunchtime, Kayn and Gilbert informed Alonzo that they'll be going out to hunt for monsters around the forest, using the excuse that they want to increase their levels.
Almost every kitchen staff expressed their intention of wanting to tag along because they only earn experience points through their weekly hunt, which would only happen once or twice a week. But Kayn and Gilbert reject all of them as they pretended to be uncomfortable hunting with people they aren't close with.
Everyone naturally understood it as they similarly don't want to leave their backs wide open to people they barely know.
Under the influence of the charm, Alonzo agreed to Kayn and Gilbert's request without any hesitation.
"By the way, we have greatly hindered the progress of the Green Horn City, so we will be going back to base tonight," Alonzo reminded Kayn and Gilbert.
Kayn and Gilbert looked at each other before nodding their heads.
"Alright,"
After running in the forest for about ten minutes and making sure that they aren't being followed by anyone else, Kayn and Gilbert quickly made a detour around the forest in order to reach the entrance of the tunnel they are going to use to escape from the Dream Village.
There were soldiers of the Herald Guild and Wing Boots Auction House stationed there, so they were immediately stopped from approaching.
"It is us," Kayn took off his disguise along with Gilbert.
"Master Kayn," The guard apologized.
"I'll be using the tunnel,"
"You have every right," The guard told everyone that there was no problem.
After receiving the approval, Kayn and Gilbert immediately dive into the underwater cave system.
The underwater cave system was already cleared of any monsters around the path, so they were safely able to traverse to the other end.
News of Kayn and Gilbert's return was already passed to Jericho and the others while the duo was still making their way inside the Dream Village.
So, the moment Kayn and Gilbert arrived, Jericho and the others were already waiting for them.
Instead of a welcoming greeting though, they were immediately bombarded by complaint after complaint from Jericho and the others because Kayn's absence made it nearly impossible to make fast progress as they aren't sure if what they were doing is exactly what the latter wanted to achieve, thus they made everything as perfectly as they possibly could.
The other reason was that they now realized they are paying for the crimes they committed against Kayn and Gilbert during the acting, so they were hoping to make up for it with the result of their hard labor.
This was exactly what Kayn wanted.
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