Prophet Garten [1]
Even though Carl was trapped, he did not panic, hesitate, or become confused. His thoughts, rooted in cool reason, spread out like the branches of a large tree.
'It's an elaborate trap, meticulously planned and heavily invested with influence.'
The influence of an unknown enemy may have spread not only through the Palton Territory but also through the central army that had been dispatched, even reaching the imperial palace and perhaps even into the eastern part of the empire where Carl's operated the Laurel Troops.
'... Is it Adrian?'
As far as Carl knew, the only people in the current empire capable of building such elaborate and massive traps were Azgoth and Adrian. However, since Emperor Azgoth had no reason to do such a thing, he could only suspect Adrian by the law of elimination. Did Adrian set a trap to deal with Carl by labeling him a threat?