Chapter 527: Speeding along

Sanborn exchanged glances with the other two commanders, deeply aware that the two individuals before them were by no means bluffing, and that any concealment or falsehood could instantaneously trigger a catastrophe.

Thus, Sanborn took a deep breath, striving to keep his voice steady:

"Your Grace, we actually... do not know the specifics of the operational plan. We merely received orders commanding us to cross the border, pitch camp, and then await further instructions."

"Oh? Await instructions?"

Ronne's brow twitched slightly, his gaze burning like a torch. "Then do you believe that with this meager force of yours, you can survive after crossing the border?"

"This..."

Sanborn was struck tongue-tied; they too had been highly resistant to such a mindless order, but military commands were as absolute as mountains, and they had no choice but to obey.

"Speak, my patience is limited," Ronne said indifferently.

The three commanders exchanged a complex look; at this very moment, they could either stubbornly choose death or leak a shred of a secret.

In the end, it was Sanborn who spoke: "We did indeed hear some rumors concerning your country, the Kingdom of Alduin, regarding certain internal changes that might be taking place, which are supposed to help us seize Mist City."

"Changes?"

Ronne's brow furrowed slightly; what kind of change could possibly allow three knight orders to capture Mist City?

Abruptly, his state of mind was violently disrupted, and a tremor arose within his soul, the likes of which he had never experienced before.

"Is this... Carlos?"

He closed his eyes to sense it, and though this place was immensely far from the Ubei Territory, he could feel that the current Carlos did not seem to be in the Ubei Territory at all.

"This direction... is it the Screaming Sea, or Mist City?"

"What did it go there for?"

Ronne called out, commanding Carlos to come over immediately.

Yet after a long while, the other party's position seemed to remain unchanged.

Hum!

The aura upon Ronne's body suddenly erupted, and a powerful sense of suffocation instantly enveloped the three men before him.

In a flash, he directly choked Sanborn by the throat. "Speak, what is going to happen to the Kingdom of Alduin!"

Sanborn felt only that he was entirely shrouded by the breath of death, his whole body turning ice-cold.

He was, after all, a Silver Moon Knight, an existence that stood proud in his own right, yet before Ronne, he could not muster the slightest thought of resistance.

Too strong, far too strong.

"I... I truly do not know, My Lord!"

"Our three knight orders have always been at the border, and were only recently ordered to transfer here. We are entirely unclear about many things!"

Cardon and the other commander, Hogni, grew panicked, and in their hesitation over whether to intervene or not, they were swept to the ground by Rydal, their bones feeling as though they were shattered, rendering them unable to move.

Advancing to the Legendary rank possessed a qualitative difference from the Blazing Sun, much like the gulf between a meteor and pure gold.

Ronne's fingers tightened more and more until the other man's face began to turn purple, and the speechless Sanborn could only shake his head frantically, a light of desperation for survival gleaming in his eyes.

With a gentle flick from Ronne, the man crashed into the adjacent woods like a cannonball, snapping an unknown number of trees before finally coming to a halt.

Ignoring the agony racking his body, Sanborn immediately crawled up to kneel on one knee, without the slightest inkling of an intention to flee.

"Your Grace, we truly do not know the detailed circumstances. The higher-ups only told us to cross the border and did not explain any follow-up actions."

Ronne sensed Carlos's position again; the other party still had not moved.

Bound by the master-servant contract, it was impossible for the beast to defy his orders, which indicated that Carlos was currently unable to move.

And the only person capable of making Carlos leave the Ubei Territory at present was Blanche.

Had something happened to Blanche?

"Something might have happened on Blanche's side; I need to return immediately."

"I leave the matters here to you, Rydal. If any nobles from the Kingdom of Alduin wish to attack Mist City, I authorize you to execute them directly!"

"Furthermore, try to keep the battlefield outside of Mist City."

"I understand, My Lord!"

Rydal bowed to accept the command. "Only, should I accompany you?"

He knew that Blanche was carrying the Lord's child; compared to a city, it was the Lord's offspring that mattered most.

"Your speed is too slow to keep up with me. Besides... Mist City cannot be lost!"

Even as he spoke, his entire being had already rocketed outward, his speed so incredibly fast that it produced a sonic boom.

"This is absolutely not the Blazing Sun level!"

Sanborn was shaken to the core. "Sir, could Duke Ronne... could he be a Legendary powerhouse?"

Legendary?

Beside him, Hogni and Cardon had just been plotting whether they should resist if only Rydal remained once Ronne departed.

Upon hearing the word 'Legendary', they froze in their tracks.

Rydal retracted his gaze; though somewhat worried, with the reinforcement of Ronne's dual elemental forces combined with the fact that his own Legendary Knight progress was already more than halfway complete, such strength was unmatched across the entire continent.

After this incident, it seemed the strength of the Legend could no longer be concealed.

"Your vision is not low,"

Rydal evaluated. "Though I am the only one here now, I advise you not to harbor any crooked thoughts, because..."

As he spoke, his body slowly floated into the air, looking down upon the three men from above. "I, too, am a Legend."

"This..."

Sanborn's throat tightened, his expression astonished and terrified.

While Hogni and Cardon broke into a cold sweat, their bodies unable to stop trembling; they had just been thinking of making a move against Rydal.

"The Duke cherishes talent. Since you are not the lackeys of the Divine Storm, the Lord will grant you a way to live, just like Placido of Watchkeep."

Rydal dropped back to the ground. "Now you have only two choices: either surrender, or be slaughtered to the last man by me right here."

A casual sentence, yet it left the three men with no power to resist.

"We... we surrender," Sanborn said bitterly.

"Very well!"

Rydal looked at the sky. "Pitch camp here today, and tomorrow morning, bring your troops and station them ten miles outside Mist City."

He had actually wanted to use this troop to launch a direct counteroffensive against Mol City.

But considering that the situation on Ronne's end remained uncertain, and not knowing if any nobles would attack Mist City, this plan was temporarily shelved.

At this moment, under the enhancement of the Wind Shadow Art, Ronne's speed had already surpassed the speed of sound, the sonic booms echoing incessantly as he crossed from the border to the skies above Mist City in the blink of an eye.

He had originally intended to go directly to the Ubei Territory to check on Blanche's condition, but unexpectedly caught sight of David flying in from the north.

Ronne's figure materialized directly in front of David's gryphon, the sonic boom following immediately after, the immense momentum causing the gryphon to let out a panicked shriek, nearly plummeting from the sky.

"My Lord!" David recovered from his terror.

“What brings you to Misthaven?”

“My lord, this letter was entrusted to me by Governor Elron—it arrived from Blackstone Fortress addressed to you.”

Roan took it and scanned the contents swiftly. His expression darkened at once.

The message contained earlier intelligence—initially reporting that Bruno had suffered a setback in his cultivation and required rest. But Lans, upon receiving this news and combining it with reports of unusual movements beyond Black Pine Mountain, had deduced that the King must be facing a grave crisis.

“The King…”

Roan’s brow furrowed. Could it be a palace coup?

He turned to David. “When you left, where was the Lady?”

“In the Northern Wulands. But when I received the letter, Krami mentioned three griffin-riders from the capital had come to visit her.”

Roan swayed slightly, a chill creeping into his heart.

Suddenly, it all became clear—why they had sent Sandborn and the others across the border only to halt their advance. It was a ploy, designed to draw his attention away, to lure him out of the Northern Wulands.

And then, they would entice Blanche to Goldenfeather Palace and take her hostage.

As for the disturbances beyond Black Pine Mountain, Andre likely anticipated that Wushan Domain would fall this time—and had prepared accordingly.

This strategy bore none of Bruno’s hallmarks.

Roan now had every reason to believe Bruno had been overthrown. Such tactics were far more characteristic of Garrett.

“Fine, fine, fine… So this is how you wish to play!”

Roan clenched his fist, crumpling the letter in his grip.

All along, he had respected Bruno, abiding by the aristocratic codes of this society, never uttering the rebellious cry: *Are kings and generals born of noble blood?*

Yet in the end, it was the other side who first overturned the table.

*Whoosh~*

At that moment, a low cry echoed from the distant sky. The griffin beneath David raised its head and answered in kind.

“My lord, another griffin approaches.”

Roan looked up. With his keen eyes, he could clearly make out the crest emblazoned upon the rider’s armor.

It was a royal griffin. (End of Chapter)