In the assembly room, Tristan went around checking the progress of the elites of Arcadian Kingdom. He wanted and needed a comprehensive understanding about the manpower he had in order to deal with the incoming threat as efficiently as possible.

Wizard Faros had selected and trained three dozen high level combatants which would then form the responder units. Their task was to become the first one to respond to and initiate the enemy while flexibly adapting to any possible changes. To put it simply, they were the vanguard.

For that reason, half of these units would consist of the Kingsblade while the other half was taken from the senior magicians. Obviously, those who were selected were the cream of the crops. The best of the best.

Even so, Tristan evidently frowned when he heard the report.

“It’s not enough!” He said. “We need more than that.”

Tristan told Wizard Faros to at least double the number because a measly thirty six individuals would be far from enough.

The reason for that was because a strong, first responder unit would be extremely crucial to stop the enemy’s momentum. Their efforts would prevent the immediate chaos Tristan expected to happen and buy the time needed for further preparation.

“I want the high elves’ flyers to be added to the units. In addition, a dozen dark elves’ fighters. All of them had to have the minimum strength of saint level.” said Tristan as his head turned to a certain individual. He didn’t even realize that he subconsciously glanced toward Illiana for confirmation.

Seeing the look Tristan gave her, Illiana nodded her head subtly expressing her acknowledgement. She even offered to provide an Elf magus to the responder team, which Tristan gladly accepted.

On the other hand, Serene who watched all of this happening felt strangely uncomfortable. The sight of Tristan and Illiana making a decision together didn’t really sit well with her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do in this meeting.

The second matter was about the preparation regarding the twenty five cities under the jurisdiction of Arcadian Kingdom. They discussed many things and possible complications to prevent unnecessary panic spreading among the masses.

In the end, it was decided that some of the information, mainly those of importance, would be hidden from the citizens’ eyes. In the meantime, all the top officials of the cities were briefed about the matter.

Suddenly, Tobias asked a question that gave everyone in the room some thought.

“My King, what should we do with the people in the event that the enemy were much stronger than we expected?”

In response, several solutions were submitted. Some of them were immediately dismissed due to its absurdity and impossibility, while some of them were rejected because it was impractical and inefficient.

Through the process of elimination, they were left with two solutions that were deemed feasible and could be adapted. First was to tell them to stay in their respective cities and immediately surrender when the enemy knocked on their front door. Second was to bring and gather all of them in the capital to make the last stand together.

The two solutions still brought debates to the elites in the room. 

There were naturally pros and cons. 

Some found the idea to be outrageous and believed it would not come into fruition. Some thought bringing all the citizens together would make them easier to defend. Another rejected the solution as a jam-packed capital crowded with five hundred thousand people would only make the task of defending harder than it had to be.

Tristan, however, had a different alternative.

He abruptly turned to Serene, which the latter noticed. His sudden action successfully shook her.

“Wife, I have an important task for you.”

Tristan wanted Serene to prepare an evacuation plan. In case of emergency including but not exclusively of what Tobias said, he wanted the citizens to be brought to hide in the Evergreen Forest. What Serene had to do was to fill in the details and specific measures.

The Arcadia elites were unexpectedly shaken with the idea, which weird Tristan out as an act of evacuation was the norm in case of emergency back on Earth. However, it only took them a few seconds to realize that what Tristan proposed seemed to be the best alternative.

The Evergreen Forest, after all, expanded its reach all the way to west of Arcadia. With enough preparation which included designated shelters and stocked food, the place could indeed be a good location for people to hide until the battle was over.

“I am sure the wood elves will fully support this project. Queen Serene will take care of our people’s safety.”

Those words successfully brought a smile to Serene’s face. She nodded her head readily, accepting the task.

Now, the next matter; the defense and the communication during the battle, which would depend much on Professor Emmet’s research result and preparation. However, this would have to wait after the meeting as he had things to show at the O district.

This left Tristan for one last matter to discuss. His wedding and appointment ceremony of becoming the Arcadian King.

“How is the guest list?” asked Tristan. “How many people have confirmed to attend?”

The wedding would be held in three more days, hence he needed to make sure that people would come. He couldn’t afford to lose his prestige on such a significant event of his life. This event was prepared partly for the sake of marriage itself; its main purpose was to bring as many renowned individuals, in other word, top combatants, to the capital.

The wedding would be held for a week, hoping by then that the guests would be convinced to stay and defend the city together. Unfortunately, Tristan found that many top elves wouldn’t come to his wedding, to be exact, the wood elves and none of the high elves.

Queen Leena stepped forward and said, “I apologize for not being able to attend.. You already know where we will be heading to at that time.”

Apparently, the invitation from the high elves to enter the Mist had more influence than he thought. Illiana also said that a few of her elders would also not be able to attend the wedding as they accepted the high elves’ invitation. Naturally, she couldn’t stop nor prohibit them from doing that.

Tristan let out a sigh. This situation where they were divided could very well become the reason for them losing the incoming battle.

Even though Tristan was annoyed by the situation, he would definitely not show it outwardly.. He ended the meeting and headed to the O district to check on the professor’s progress.