553,

"I can't figure it out no matter how hard I try..." the leader pondered suddenly.

Upon seeing this, Eumerika immediately stepped forward, showing her concern. "Do you also have something you can't understand, Leader?" she asked.

The leader nodded and replied, "I understand why they captured the second, fifth, and seventh altars here, but why the eighth? Shouldn't they have captured the eleventh altar instead? This is something I can't wrap my head around."

Alexander also stepped forward. "Indeed, that is strange. Logically, they should have targeted the eleventh altar. We were actually planning to get there when we were delayed in defending the eighth..."

"Well..." At that moment, one of the Four Saints, the chubby France, twiddled with his fingers nervously and said, "Well, I think I know why it happened..."

Everyone looked at France in surprise. Even the leader couldn't figure it out, and yet France had an explanation?

"A few days ago, my friends and I were having a barbecue over there... and accidentally... I immediately ordered people to move that sacred relic to the nearby eighth altar and dispatched more people to repair it..." France covered his face like a girl and shook his head.

"May I ask how you ended up barbecuing there?" a middle-aged man inquired.

"Because... that sacred relic is so useful..." Alexander crossed his arms.

"You infuriate me," France said with a sidelong glance at another of the Four Saints, the magical gentleman Cordio.

The leader rolled his eyes, and two prisoners knelt on the ground.

"Because that sacred relic is just too handy. It can produce an endless amount of paper and act as infinite firewood..."

"Really... It was caused by the Four Saints themselves..."

As the people grumbled, the leader waved his hand. "Forget it, chasing this down now is pointless..."

"But, from this perspective, their intentions become clear."

"Lord Alexander, do you know something?"

Alexander didn't answer immediately but glanced at the leader first. After receiving a nod, he spoke up, "It wasn't a big deal at first, but all the four altars they captured have one thing in common."

The attention of the temple was on Alexander. "All four sacred relics have the ability to tame monsters."

"What?!"

"No need to guess wildly. The answer is simple, their goal is... the Great Dragon!"

"Oh!"

Cyclone heard a familiar term and it was the only name he recognized throughout the entire meeting.

"No way..."

"Is it really possible?"

"They want to tame the Great Dragon?"

An elderly man stepped forward. "Please, Leader, is it really... really possible?"

"No, it's not possible," the leader responded definitively. "Face reality, the dragons' power is second only to the ancient gods. To defeat one is already a one in a million chance, let alone taming it?"

The leader looked at Alexander, then at everyone present. "So... the Great Dragon should be upset..."

"Then why... why ignore them? Shouldn't we be sending out all our troops now?"

The leader raised his hand gently, signaling everyone not to panic. "Don't worry, I... already have a perfect plan for this."

"What is it?"

"It's a secret."

"..."

In the face of the leader's response, everyone was stunned.

"You all can go back now, but the Four Saints must stay."

Suddenly, the leader requested everyone to leave. Despite some objections, in the face of such a dangerous matter, it was necessary to seek a solution together.

However, the leader simply showed a confident smile and dismissed everyone.

As Cyclone was about to leave as well, the leader said, "Oh?! That's right, Dr. Cyclone, you should stay too."

As he was about to take a step forward, the guard who had been threatened by Cyclone earlier grabbed his left arm. "Can't you hear? The leader wants you to stay."

Even without looking, Cyclone could sense the smugness of the guard behind him.

"Damn it..."

***