As mentioned before, the Magic Decay Valley was located in the division between Xanzion, Volztain, and Heffal. Having exited it through the west side, which seemed to be the fastest route to get out of the valley, they obviously came out in Xanzion.


    "How do we even go back now?" Fgita couldn''t help but get nervous.


    us looked at Vera. As someone usually tasked to move in the shadows, she definitely has methods to infiltrate enemy territory without being noticed. "That''s your area. What do we do from here?"


    Vera nodded. "First, we need to find a city, settlement, or anything. Good thing we are still using the uniforms from Xanzion, and with the ongoing war, it won''t be too weird to see us passing by." Right after, she looked at Linfel. "Do you think you can use that trick of yours to fool any identification system?"


    "Only if I am the one using the Magic Energy Signature, but I can''t guarantee," Linfel exined. "I could try to hide under your clothes like thest time and do it, but I would rather not risk it."


    Vera was satisfied. "Don''t worry. I usually wouldn''t rely on such methods anyway since Magic Energy signatures were supposed to be impossible to fake. I don''t know this trick of yours either. So I will only rely on it if absolutely necessary."


    She continued. "Chances are that any cities near the border have been evacuated or at least are under martialw. The best-case scenario would be to steal one of their airships and go around the fighting zones."


    "Wouldn''t we be found straight away if we stole an airship?" Julius couldn''t help but ask.


    "Probably," Vera didn''t deny that. "But if we flee at full speed and avoid any fighting zone by a long distance, Xanzion won''t send many other airships after us since the war is more important. Besides, we don''t really need to fly all the way to the center of Heffal Country. We only need to go far enough to be inside the Haffal Territory and far from the fighting zones.


    Then, we can simply abandon the airship and let Xanzion do whatever it wants with it. We will cover the rest of the journey on the ground."


    "Have you stolen an airship before?" Alvin was curious.


    "As a matter of fact, I have," Vera faintly smiled. "I can''t tell much about where, how, or why, but I have experience with it. I can pilot one, too, if necessary."


    "What if we can''t steal an airship?" Milia was more worried about the n failing.


    "Like I said, that is the best-case scenario," Vera shrugged. "It is fairly hard to aplish since any airship will be located inside military bases or at least guarded ces. If an airship is out of the question, we will have to take the long way around."


    "I see..." Linfel understood what Vera intended. "Volztain to the north, Xanzion to the west, and Porfate on the south. However, we are also bordering one more country."


    "Binnan to the east..." usmented. "You intend to leave Xanzion through Lergen Country on the northwest and go all the way around until we reach Binnan. Since we aren''t at war against them, we should be able to make our way back once we get there."


    Vera confirmed. "That''s the idea, but this one will take us various days because of the closed borders."


    "That''s great!" Julius couldn''t be happier. "It is much safer than stealing any airships. Let''s do that!"


    Vera narrowed her eyes. "I wanted to go back immediately. With the provisions taken down, we have the perfect opportunity to strike back."


    "It''s not like we would make much of a difference anyway," us agreed with Julius. Julius was a coward, but he was right this time. "I also vote for us to go around, even if it takes a few days."


    Fgita, Alvin, and Milia quickly agreed. "We also prefer to go around. We helped the country in that suicide mission and managed toe out alive, thanks to Linfel. Can''t see why we should go back so fast since they sent us to die without us even knowing it."


    Vera looked at that united front. It was obvious that she was the only one willing to go back and join the army as fast as she could. But then again, she found it hard to me them, considering the circumstances. Heffal does owe this group a lot. "Sigh... fine.


    Then we will go around. From what I can see on the map, the nearest city is Tuliyal. But we can ignore that one. The best choice is to go around and far away from it until we reach another of the cities on the back."


    us was happy that Vera relented, which didn''t happen often. "Good. How about Cinxeti City northwest from here? It is far away from the border, and although it might be under vignce, it shouldn''t bepletely blocked."


    Linfel agreed. "It makes sense. Three countries attacked Heffal at once. They shouldn''t expect any counterattacks anytime soon, so the country should be working more or less normally further away from the borders. Military presence is definitely expected, but not as much as near the borders."


    Vera checked the map as well and nodded. "Seems good enough. Let''s go."


    ---


    As Linfel''s group moved to the Xanzion Country, things turned interesting back in Heffal.


    "They disappeared, right?" The question came through the MCOM, reaching the ears of Litivia, the Vice-Principal. Naturally, the one asked was Xfel, who was on the South Sea fighting against Porfate Country.


    Litivia felt helpless and answered back. "Alvin''s father said he was supposed to be in his room, training during thest few days. However, it had been some time since Alvin and his Familiars came out to ask for more Red Magic Stones, so I went there to check. Since I got no answer, I forced my way in, but there was no one in the room. There hasn''t been for a while already.


    Alvin''s father insists he doesn''t know anything."


    "Don''t worry," Surprisingly, Xfel didn''t seem worried. "Just let them be. They wille back sooner orter. Meanwhile, try to find Milia. That Frondor fe isining on my ears nonstop. See if you can find any information about herst location or whatever."


    Litivia was taken aback, not expecting Xfel''s weak reaction. "M-Milia? O-Okay, I will see what I can do." Themunication ended a momentter, leaving Litivia even more confused. ''Could it be he knew Alvin left? But how...? In any case, it is not my problem anymore.'' She sighed in relief and left to carry the other orders.


    ---


    At the Heffal Headquarters, news about the mission sess against Xanzion provisions had arrived almost as soon as it happened. At the moment, the Heffal President, Mano Valdin, was sitting in front of several screens where he could see various other important figures from other countries. "And that''s the gist of it. What do you think? That should be more than enough time to get here."


    One of the figures on the screens heard that and was the first one to answer. "Imend you for seeding in taking down Xanzion''s provisions. However, the price is still not right. We would be using our own Maguses and Familiars, after all. Each death will be heavy on our rankings."


    Mano narrowed his eyes. "Erto, you never change... Fine. What else do you all want?"


    "Three years of Magic Energy Stones supply and a pledge," Erto answered with a faint smile.


    *Bang!*


    Mano mmed the table in anger. "Are you trying to cripple our country forever?"


    Erto didn''t seem to mind, though. "It is that, or the fall of Heffal. It is up to you."


    The other figures all nodded, looking very pleased with the way things were going on the table.


    Mano got up and paced a little as his advisors discussed the pros and cons of the deal. In the end, they all reached the same conclusion, albeit with heavy hearts. "We can''t offer three years. We would be guaranteed to be destroyed in the future if we do it, so it wouldn''t make any change. Two years is our absolute maximum."


    Erto and the others didn''t seem the least bit disappointed. "Hahaha! You made the right decision, Mano. Then it shall be two years. Leave the rest to us."


    A few hourster, the negotiations ended, and Mano exited the room with a tired expression. Nheless, he seemed relieved. "Let''s see how far Volztain, Xanzion, and Porfate are willing to push this war now."