The Broken Halo

"When the Gate becomes complete, the White Crown and the Seven Seats will gather for the first crossing. The Nails among the workers and raid force will wait for the second bell. They will not touch the primary anchors. They will cut the secondary anchors in the order already given to them."

"The front of the raid will enter the Far World. The rear will remain beneath the demon sky. The Crown and the occupied Seats must be caught inside the road between realms. Let space judge those who believed the east belonged to them."

Akaza slowly unfolded his arms and a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"They want to trap this Crown and Seats inside the rift."

"That is what the letter suggests," Simon replied calmly.

However, he too was a little bit surprised.

With his experience and knowledge, he could envision what Black Banner planned on doing and how they hoped things would work out.

The delays were bait.

The more Velmora struggled, the more incapable its local officials would appear. Eventually, the ruling clans of the Darkness Kingdom would stop trusting them and send their own experts, resources, clan representatives, warriors, and commanders from neighbouring eastern cities.

But what he was not certain about was why the rebels had the belief that they would be able to make the demon they call the Crown and the demons they call the Seven Seats to Velmora.

’What if they bring other demons aside from this Crown and Seats they’re talking about? What will the rebels do then?’

Simon shook his head and decided to push such questions to the back of his head for now.

From what Simon was reading and could indeed, Velmora would believe it was receiving support.

Not knowing that Black Banner was gathering its targets in one place.

Sonya stared at the dark hide with an interested expression.

"That’s actually not bad."

Akaza gave her a strange look.

"Of course you’ll say that planning to tear several demons apart inside an unstable rift is not bad."

Sonya nonchalantly shrugged.

"And so? It’s not like you care."

Simon ignored them and continued.

"When the Crown enters the road between worlds, the eastern blades will leave their sheaths. Before the foreign dawn reaches its highest point, the command halls, military stores, messenger towers, and reinforcement roads must fall. The east must wake without the Crown’s voice."

’I see now... So this is why it’s called Crownless Dawn.’

Crownless Dawn.

By the crimson moonrise, the eastern region of the Darkness Kingdom was meant to lose the royal representatives and commanders controlling it.

However, the following part of the letter changed the atmosphere inside the room.

Every word was written in crimson.

Simon’s gaze lingered on it briefly before he began reading.

"The Old Banner must not receive the final coordinates. The Sleeping Commander will be given the false road, and his Nails will remain outside the Chrysalis when it hatches. The eastern road belongs to those who bled for it. We will not surrender another victory to a leader who has mistaken survival for ambition."

"When the Crown disappears between worlds, the New Banner will rise beneath a foreign dawn."

Sonya’s smile slowly faded and her expression became serious.

"Old Banner? New Banner? Nails of the Sleeping Commander?"

She paused and looked at Simon with the same serious but also baffled expression.

"Why does it seem like they’re planning to hide the copy of the rift from other Black Banner members."

"I’m not sure too. But it looks like it," Simon replied calmly.

Akaza looked at him.

"The Old Banner. Could that mean their leader, Damar?"

Simon did not answer immediately.

The Old Banner could refer to Damar, his loyal faction, or another powerful leader within Black Banner.

The Sleeping Commander might be Damar, one of the two Demon Lords serving beneath him, or a commander like the Third Warden.

The letter did not say.

However, Simon had a feeling that the Old Banner was refering to Damar because of the mention of a New Banner.

"It may be related to Damar," Simon eventually replied. "But guessing is not knowing."

Sonya clicked her tongue.

"You’re too cautious, you know?"

Simon looked at her with a slight raise of his brows.

"An incorrect guess can get us killed, and are you one to talk after what you got us into?"

Sonya froze, and she said nothing else.

Simon shifted his attention back to the letter.

One thing was certain after everything he had just read.

Operation Crownless Dawn did not belong to all of Black Banner.

The eastern faction preparing the operation intended to kill some of the Darkness Kingdom’s important individuals, steal an independent road to Earth, and keep that road away from another faction inside the rebellion.

They were preparing to kill the Crown and their own leadership at the same time.

’Crownless Dawn huh... Whoever that created this plan is truly greedy. The person wasn’t satisfied with just dethroning one crown, he or she wants to dethrone two.’

Simon moved to the last paragraph.

"If the convoy falls, report through the Murmur Bone that the first vein has opened. If the convoy survives but the required materials are secured, report that the wound still bleeds."

"If the cell is exposed, destroy this letter, preserve the torn-banner seal, and wait for the Second Claw to speak first. Do not contact the Seven Nails. Do not search for the Chrysalis. Do not speak of the true road before the Old Banner is blind."

There was no name beneath the letter.

Only a black handprint crossed by two claw marks.

Simon stopped reading.

The room became silent.

The letter revealed the general shape of Operation Crownless Dawn, but many pieces remained hidden.

They did not know the identities of the White Crown, the Seven Seats, or the Seven Nails.

They did not know where the spatial artifact called the Chrysalis was hidden.

They did not know who the Eastern Hand, Second Claw, Old Banner, or Sleeping Commander truly were.

Simon’s gaze moved toward the Murmur Bone.

The Third Eastern Warden had been ordered to wait for the Second Claw to speak first if his cell was exposed.

That suited Simon perfectly.

He did not need to send a careless message and expose his ignorance.

He could wait.

Listen.

Gather information.

Then decide which part of Crownless Dawn could be turned to his benefit and how he could use the Black Banner and Velmora to advance his bloodline.

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