Chapter 526: The Army Crossing the Border

Outside the Golden Feather Palace, Arseno and other royal ministers emerged, lifting their eyes to the sinking sun and the few clouds stained red across the horizon.

"This sight is much like the Kingdom of Alduin now, already in its twilight years."

Arseno looked toward Texas, the Minister of Justice beside him. "You just jumped out to oppose His Highness; given his nature, your days ahead will be difficult."

Texas shrugged indifferently. "My good friend Oak was arranged by His Majesty to tutor His Highness for a time. He didn't return for this year's anniversary, nor did any letters arrive. I fear..."

"You had better think of yourself. When His Highness formally ascends the throne, I doubt you will keep your position as Minister of Justice."

"I have already given it thought."

Texas smiled helplessly. "Upon returning today, I will send my children and grandchildren to the Duchy of Gistana, or simply to seek refuge in the Northern Wu Territory. Should anything truly happen, at least the clan won't be wiped out."

"Forget about the Northern Wu Territory."

Luther said with a smile, "Looking at this setup, Ronin's treason is bound to be framed as truth. War will surely ignite there. You could, however, seek the protection of Duke Vargis."

"Give me a break!"

Texas laughed and cursed, "If I remember correctly, your daughter Mixi is with Ronin. What, are you going to write a letter to make her return now?"

"This is His Majesty's arrangement!"

Luther declared, "The Cox family shall forever obey His Majesty's arrangements."

"Alright, alright."

Arseno sighed. "Don't be in such a rush either. Let us first see how Ronin reacts. Anyone with eyes can see this is a trap. I wonder if he will even dare come?"

"If he dares come even under these circumstances, I would truly admire him!"

Only after they left the Golden Feather Palace and returned to their respective manor estates did they learn that the rumor of Ronin killing King Bruno was already spreading through Golden Feather City, Horn Bay, and other places, causing a massive uproar.

Clearly, Garret had disseminated the news ahead of time, likely intending to ruin Ronin's reputation and force the entire nation to view him as an enemy.

Yet in this society, no matter how the common folk discussed or boiled with passion, as long as those at the top made no decision, the impact of public opinion was not as grand as imagined.

Except for those who had already firmly aligned with Garret, the majority of the nobility would likely maintain a wait-and-see attitude, for they had all witnessed Ronin's might.

If Ronin fell into a disadvantage during this incident, many would undoubtedly follow the trend to echo the Crown Prince and join the army to crusade against the Black Mountain family.

Conversely, if Ronin displayed sufficient dominance amidst this storm, the onlookers would continue to watch for a while longer.

When a Blazing Sun Knight went mad, the castles of ordinary nobles were utterly defenseless; rather than carving up the Black Mountain family, they would consider the risk of being the bird that sticks its head out.

…

Ronin had already arrived at the City of Mists, reaching the kingdom's border together with Rydal.

As his mental power enveloped the mountain forests below, Ronin clearly sensed the state of the enemy forces hidden beneath the trees.

"The personnel below number over ten thousand. Excluding ordinary men, the number of transcendents indeed matches the organization of three knight orders."

"Judging by the energy fluctuations on their bodies, there should be one Silver Moon Knight and seven Meteor Knights. Their overall quality is decent enough."

Rydal scanned the area below. Though his current standing as a mage had reached the level of a Grand Mage, his mental power could not be projected outward, and lacking fire-attribute perception magic, he could not clearly grasp the situation underneath.

"My Lord, with our strength, we are more than capable of sweeping through the three knight orders below. Shall we strike directly?"

Even if these men were all Flame-Imprinted Knights capable of unleashing power a level higher, they were still no match for two legends.

To say nothing of the rest, Ronin casting a ninth-tier magic, the Storm of Destruction, would be enough to tear the knight orders below to pieces.

"We certainly could, but I am quite curious about the purpose of this group. By any look, they do not seem eager to launch an attack."

Ronin looked up at the sky; it was still two or three hours before dark. Under normal marching conditions, it was impossible to pitch camp at this hour, yet the group below had already halted, preparing to spend the night in the woods.

Moreover, previously so many of Aruba's men had been slain by Ronin. Did they really expect to take the City of Mists with a troop of this level?

"It is indeed a bit strange."

Rydal's brow furrowed slightly. "Perhaps they are waiting for other troops from the City of Moore? Or rather, is there other reinforcement?"

Reinforcements?

Looking around, only the City of Moore on the enemy's front line possessed any scale. From where would their reinforcements come?

Could it be they were waiting for a noble within the Kingdom of Alduin, behind the City of Mists, to rebel, so they could launch a pincer attack?

"We will know once we capture their commander and question him."

As Ronin spoke, he flew straight down toward the woods below.

It was not that he was too arrogant, but rather that his and Rydal's strength allowed them to act with absolute impunity before three knight orders.

At that moment, the commanders of the three knight orders from the City of Moore were gathered inside a large tent, gulping down hot wine. Though the taste was satisfying, complaints filled their mouths.

"I have no idea what those above are doing, sending us to provoke the City of Mists with this little military strength. If Ronin leads his men out, won't we all perish in the wilderness?"

"Indeed, Grand General Aruba died at Ronin's hands. At our level, I doubt he even needs to act himself; he could just dispatch a few knights under his command to deal with us."

"It feels like since King Tyro ascended the throne, many orders seem like sheer nonsense, lacking even a shred of the late king's wisdom..."

Though the three of them were commanders, they were still only Knights of Honor. In the past, they would surely have wished to rely on merit and war to expand their influence and climb into the upper echelons.

But they were no fools. Faced with an invincible foe, they too would complain and hesitate.

Yet while the three were conversing, a terrifying power descended from the heavens. The resulting fierce wind directly tore open and blew away the sturdy tent, leaving the three completely exposed.

The trio paled with fright, shielding themselves against the gale with their hands while straining to observe their surroundings.

Under the sweeping fury of the wind, the entire camp had already turned upside down, thrown into absolute chaos.

After a long while, the wild wind gradually dissipated, and the three regained their senses, their hearts still pounding with lingering fear.

But when they clearly discerned two figures slowly descending from the sky, a horrifying, dreadful emotion enveloped their hearts once more.

"You... Who are you?"

Sanborn's voice trembled slightly. He was a Silver Moon Knight and possessed the ability to take flight. Yet the flight of the two men before him was entirely different from that of a Silver Moon or a Blazing Sun.

From their bodies, he could detect no fluctuations of battle aura or magic whatsoever.

What sort of ability was this?

"This is the Conqueror, Duke Ronin."

Rydal introduced, "Though you outnumber us, I advise you not to act rashly, otherwise the consequences will be beyond your imagination."

Sweat dripped from Sanborn's forehead. In all his years of fighting wars, he had never met an opposing commander-in-chief or lord who would venture alone into enemy lines.

Yet he had no choice but to believe Rydal's warning.

These two... were dangerous!

"Everyone, do not approach! Stay away from here!"

Sanborn commanded loudly. The members of the knight orders who were originally gathering toward the spot were momentarily at a loss.

"Didn't you hear the commander's order? Why are you still standing there?"

The other two commanders shouted sharply.

What a joke; they were a mere seven or eight paces away from two Blazing Sun Knights. One wrong move and they would die on the spot; these fellows truly had no eyes for danger.

Ronin glanced at the space between the brows of the three men; there was no Flame Impression, nor were there any abnormal energy fluctuations upon them.

"You are quite sensible, it seems."

Luo Ning smiled and said, “I’m very curious—how exactly do you plan to use these three knightly orders to attack my Mist City?”

“No, no, no!”

“Your Grace, please don’t misunderstand! We have no intention of attacking Mist City at all!”

“Yes, Your Lordship, we were merely… just passing through for fun…”

Luo Ning shot a sharp glance at the Meteor Knight who had spoken last. “You certainly have a fine sense of leisure. I’d like to know your name.”

“C-Carton!”

The captain of the Meteor Knights hung his head, replying in a weak, lifeless voice.

Inside, he cursed himself furiously. To say they’d brought three knightly orders out for *fun*—what an idiotic thing to utter. Was he utterly brainless?

“Carton,” Luo Ning repeated. “A fine name indeed. Since you claim you’re not here to assault my Mist City, then how do you explain this act of crossing borders uninvited?” (End of Chapter)