Valerian mulled it over for a long minute, his eyes tracing the frantic movement of the sleeping baby in Antheros's arms. Finally, he shook his head. "No. I don't think this is a good idea."

  Antheros's face fell. "Why not?" she asked, her voice tight with disappointment.

  "You found that cave because a monster went inside," Valerian said calmly, the words like cold, hard stones. "That means its existence isn't a secret. Not anymore."

  "So?" she shot back. "If a monster comes, we have traps. We can handle it."

  Valerian's gaze sharpened, and he let the single word hang in the air between them. "A daemon?"

  The tent went completely silent. Of course. A daemon was a whole different matter—not just a beast, but a cunning, thinking entity. They were a threat that had shattered families and kingdoms, a threat that couldn't be outsmarted with simple traps.

  "Well," Anya said, her voice small. "Daemons usually don't come this far from the central Cursed Lands. And I heard they're migrating east, so the chances are very slim."

  "But not zero," Valerian stated. He looked around the circle. "Like you all said, our fighting power is close to zero without the royal guards. If a daemon attacks, there will be massive casualties. And the guards can't do their duty if they're constantly worried about our safety."

  Mike leaned forward. "But, my lord, we can't stay here. What if Emperor Duri orders our capture and tries us as invaders? We have to get into the Cursed Lands, and that waterfall is our best bet."

  Valerian gave him a stern, tired look. "Think about it, Mike. There are four royal guards, and they have to guide a caravan of over a hundred people to the far end of Twin Peaks. How can they protect us and lead the way at the same time?"

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  Mike had no answer.

  Then Leo spoke up. "What about a teleportation array? We could build a temporary one right here." He leaned in, his eyes shining with desperate hope. "Hear me out. The four royal guards can scout ahead, clear the path, and once they're at the waterfall, Virkam can set up the teleportation."

  Virkam held up a hand. "Hold on." He adjusted his spectacles, a nervous habit. "I'm good with formations, but not that good. A teleportation formation is… a little out of my league."

  "Don't worry," Mike said, his voice full of pride. "We have special methods for that, especially for a teleportation formation. It was our ongoing project…" His voice trailed off, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "Right before this storm happened."

  Virkam's eyes widened in surprise. The military implications of such a thing were staggering. A traditional teleportation circle required a massive amount of power and fixed gates—yet they claimed they had a way for him to do it on the fly?

  "That's too risky," Valerian said, cutting off his thoughts. "If we move everyone at once, they'll be sitting ducks if an attack comes. That's the second problem." He didn't wait for a reply. "The first is mana consumption. We need spirit stones for this, and we don't have enough. We can't get more inside the Cursed Lands."

  "What about heart stones? The cores of monsters?" Leo asked.

  "They'll work," Valerian sighed, "but we'll need a huge amount of them."

  "Which is not scarce around here," Antheros said with a hopeful smile.

  "True," Valerian conceded, "but you're all missing the bigger picture. You can defend yourselves. The people who followed us, the families who risked everything for me... they can't. If a daemon attacks, we'll have heavy casualties, and I don't want a single one." His voice cracked slightly. "I only have a few families left."

  The raw grief in his voice made everyone flinch, their grim expressions softening into a shared sorrow. They all looked down, each lost in their own thoughts.

  Finally, Dhruba Kulrai stood up, his face etched with impatience and resolve. "This meeting is going nowhere. Instead of trying to win that area, I say we find a better one." He turned to Valerian. "Let me lead an expedition with Anya and ten of my best people. Let's see what truly lies in the Twin Peaks, and then we'll decide."

  Valerian nodded, relieved to have a new direction. "Agreed. Let's find other alternatives. We can also camp near the wall after entering the Cursed Lands. It's relatively safe, and nothing much happens there."

  The group nodded, and a quiet sense of purpose filled the tent as they began packing up. They were about to step into the Cursed Kingdom—not as victims, but as rulers who would be remembered for centuries to come.