At the beginning of May, a Sky Ship was flying in the sky. Around it were ten Griffin Knights, and on the ground were three hundred knights in full sets of magic armor, controlling their horses and marching in an orderly manner.
The 10 Knights in front of these 300 Knights were all Grand Knight Captains. In their hands, there were 2 different flags. One was the unicorn flag of Family Harry of Harvest City, and the other was the giant dragon flag.
Nobles who knew a thing or two about heraldry would recognize that these were the two flags of King Abel of the Duchy of Carmel.
This was the first time Abel had traveled as a king. In order to maintain the dignity of the Duchy of Carmel, he had to show off the power and bravery of the Duchy of Carmel.
No matter if it was the sky ship or the Griffin Knight, they were all symbols of the power of the Duchy of Carmel. On top of that, there were 300 Knights in magic armor. This level of protection was something that no Duchy in the Holy Continent could resist.
For this trip, the Duchy of Carmel had forced the Duchy of Raqqa and the Duchy of Rohr to move 50 miles away from the border between the Duchy of Carmel and the Duchy of Keyen.
Although the Duchy of Raqqa and the Duchy of Rohr were not happy about this, they could only swallow their anger and move 50 miles away from the border. Now there was a wide enough path between the Duchy of Carmel and the Duchy of Keyen.
This was the path that Abel's army was moving towards the Duchy of Keyen. The Duchy of Keyen was originally planning to do something because of Abel's visit, but now they had to change their plans.
At this moment, Abel was sitting on Sky Ship 1. The other 2 Sky Ships were left in the Duchy of Carmel's Harvest City area to deter any spies who dared to spy on the secrets of Harvest City.
At this moment, he was reading a spell book he got from an elite orc priest. King Kenneth of the Duchy of Keyen wanted to merge with the Duchy of Carmel, which messed up his training plan again.
Originally, he was planning to end his exploration of Tarasha after the war, but now he had to postpone it.
Luckily, his rank 12 wizard core was full, and he was waiting for a chance to level up. Because of this, he decided to wait until he was a level up. That way, he would have more confidence in killing Duriel.
Every time a wizard leveled up, the suppression from a higher level would lessen. This was especially true for a dark gold commander like Duriel.
The merger of the Duchy of Keyen into the Duchy of Carmel was still a secret. However, the Duchy of Carmel had provided a batch of food to the Duchy of Keyen. If the Duchy of Carmel hadn't shown its strength yet, they would have some thoughts about it. But now, all they could do was envy.
The Duchy of Keyen had used this batch of food to give its people a chance to breathe.
When Abel's army entered the Duchy of Keyen, a group of 100 Knights joined the Knight Regiment. This was the last military force of the Duchy of Keyen. These Knights joining the Duchy of Keyen's escort was a sign of the Duchy of Keyen's welcome to Abel's arrival.
Of course, this was also the last glory of the Duchy of Keyen. These 100 Knights would eventually become Knights of the Duchy of Carmel after the merger. The Knights of the Duchy of Carmel didn't know about this.
On the way to Billy City, the capital of the Duchy of Keyen, countless citizens of the Duchy of Keyen looked at this powerful army with admiration. The sky ships in the sky made them feel a sense of fear that they had never felt before.
This was the fear that humans had towards the unknown. A ship that could fly in the sky with powerful weapons. Anyone who saw it would feel a deep sense of powerlessness.
It was because of this display of power that the citizens of the Duchy of Keyen were filled with respect towards Abel. This was also Abel's intention.
He wanted to let the citizens of the Duchy of Keyen see the power of the Duchy of Carmel. On top of that, he used food to feed the citizens. This would make it easier for the Duchy of Keyen to integrate into the Duchy of Carmel.
It was winter wheat season, but along the way, most of the land of the Duchy of Keyen had been barren. The invasion of the 4 Duchies had made the Duchy of Carmel desperate. The food of the Duchy of Carmel was like a bowl of water in the desert. Although it wasn't much, it gave them hope.
When Abel's army appeared outside of Billy City, King Kenneth and the ministers of the Duchy of Keyen were already standing outside of Billy City to welcome Abel.
This kind of etiquette was out of the expectations of all the nobles in Billy City. It also made all the diplomats and intelligence agents in Billy City very confused.
No matter how prestigious Abel's status was, King Kenneth's actions were more like the actions of a subordinate. As a king, coming out of the city to welcome someone. This kind of etiquette would only appear when a country had surrendered.
No matter when, the king always represented the dignity of a Duchy. Once the king lost his dignity, the Duchy would be looked down upon by the human world.
No matter how weak the Duchy of Keyen was, it was still a Duchy recognized by the human world.
Although Abel and the Duchy of Carmel were powerful, Abel wasn't a grandmaster blacksmith. His status as a king was equal to King Kenneth.
Abel also gave King Kenneth a lot of face. Not far from the city gate, the sky ship landed. He walked down from the sky ship.
"The prestigious King Abel, welcome!" King Kenneth quickly stepped up and bowed deeply.
He had already treated Abel as his king, and he was only a noble who was going to pledge his loyalty to Abel. Although his status was lowered, he could still protect his family's wealth. It was worth it.
"King Kenneth, thank you for welcoming me!" Abel bowed back and said with a smile.
The ministers behind King Kenneth looked at Abel with a complicated gaze. Since King Kenneth's operation was very secretive, they had only just found out about the Duchy of Carmel.
Abel was a nightmare for the Duchy of Keyen. He was the one who turned the Duchy of Keyen from a powerful country to a weak one. The disappearance of the wizard circle greatly reduced the Duchy of Keyen's power.
However, Abel was a wizard when he fought against the wizard circle of the Duchy of Keyen. If the wizard circle of the Duchy of Keyen didn't do something that went against the rules of wizards, what happened afterward wouldn't have happened.
No one could say for sure what was right or wrong, and this hatred should have been very deep.
However, the invasion of the 4 duchies made the 4 neighboring countries of the Duchy of Keyen even more enemies than Abel. Countless Knights and nobles were killed, and their food and wealth were robbed. The Duchy of Keyen was almost destroyed.
At that moment, Abel reached out to them and provided food to the Duchy of Keyen. He helped the Duchy of Keyen survive the most difficult time.
Therefore, the ministers of the Duchy of Keyen had a very complicated attitude towards Abel. At the same time, they knew Abel was going to become their king, and their fate was going to be in the hands of this young king.
"The prestigious King Abel!" The ministers bowed. Things had already reached this point, and they knew why Abel was here today. They couldn't stop this from happening, so they could only accept it.
At that moment, the ministers began to think about the attitude of their families. They wanted to be on good terms with Abel so they could get some power.
"After you, King Abel," King Kenneth said, making an inviting gesture.
At that moment, a luxurious carriage stopped next to Abel. This was a special carriage for the royal family of the Duchy of Keyen. The golden body of the carriage reflected the nobility of its owner. 4 snow-white war horses were using the same golden harness to pull this golden carriage.
Just as a servant was about to open the door, King Kenneth stepped forward and opened the door first.
Abel smiled and made an inviting gesture as well. He invited King Kenneth to get on the carriage as well. King Kenneth showed absolute respect towards him, and Abel showed the same respect towards King Kenneth.
As the carriage moved forward, the citizens of Billy City gathered on both sides of the road. When they saw the golden carriage, they cheered like crazy. They truly welcomed the Duchy of Carmel who helped them.
Some of the nobles who were interested in Abel and the duchy of Carmel saw the sky ships flying at the same speed as the carriages on the ground. The griffin knights were circling around the sky ships, and the nobles who were interested in Abel and the duchy of Carmel immediately gave up on that idea.
The carriage slowly moved forward and was welcomed by the people around it. 300 Knights of the Duchy of Carmel followed behind the golden carriage, while 100 Knights of the Duchy of Keyen led the way in front.
The front curtain of the golden carriage was opened. Abel and King Kenneth smiled and waved at each other as they chatted softly.
Just when the sky and the ground were protected by a powerful force, Abel's expression suddenly changed. A magic shield appeared in his left hand and blocked in front of him and King Kenneth.
Abel's head Knight intuition told him that he was being targeted by a murderous spirit. Changing gears from his portal bracelet was a technique he had learned through countless battles. He reached his power of the will into his portal bracelet, and the shield appeared in his left hand in a flash.
Of course, there was a better way to deal with it. He could directly move next to the attacker and grab him.
However, doing this would put King Kenneth in danger. He couldn't let King Kenneth die at a time like this. The Duchy of Keyen was about to become the Duchy of Carmel. He didn't want anything to happen to King Kenneth, and it would affect his plan.
"Ding!" An armor-piercing arrow flew out from the carriage on the side. At the same time, 2 white lights appeared on the side of Abel's carriage. It was the light of the "instantaneous movement." 2 intermediate wizards were attacking Abel at the same time.
Abel couldn't move, and King Kenneth was only a normal noble. He wasn't even a Knight. Even the slightest attack could kill him.
When the armor-piercing arrow landed on the magic shield, Abel could clearly smell the stench of the arrow. There was a huge amount of poison on the armor-piercing arrow.
The 2 intermediate wizards also had a lot of battle experience. As soon as the 'fireball' spell appeared in their hands, they were already done. This was a two-handed casting technique. They had already activated the 'move in a flash' spell when they were in the carriage. At the same time, they also drew the 'fireball' spell pattern.
When they arrived in front of Abel, the fireball was ignited without any hesitation and flew towards Abel.
The fireball spell was an area of effect spell. If it exploded, Abel would be able to protect himself, but King Kenneth would be hurt.
The probability of an ordinary person surviving the explosion of two fireballs was close to zero.
After the two intermediate wizards threw out the 'fireball' spell, another spell pattern was almost completed in their other hand.
Abel gently placed his hand on King Kenneth's body and ignited the "instantaneous movement" spell. His "instantaneous movement" spell was cast after the "fireball" spell, but before the "fireball" could reach him, he had already disappeared from the carriage.
After the luxurious golden carriage was hit by the two fireballs, it exploded into pieces in two consecutive explosions. The four white war horses were also injured by the explosion and turned into a pile of flesh and blood on the ground.
The 2 intermediate wizards didn't expect Abel to be able to move in a flash. This didn't match the information they received. The information they received didn't say that Abel was an intermediate wizard.
While the 2 intermediate wizards were searching for Abel's location, 2 bolts of lightning came from the sky and struck them.
If the attack came from Abel, they might have a chance to move in a flash. Even if they didn't, they would've activated their move in a flash scrolls to escape.
However, they didn't expect the attack to come from the sky. Although the Sky Ships were powerful in battle, that was only in battle. They didn't think the mechanisms on the ships would be able to accurately hit them in a crowded place like this.
They were wrong, and the price for that was being hit by the lightning spiral.
If it was a Bursting Ballista, they wouldn't be able to react in a short period of time. This was because a Bursting Ballista required a person to aim and fire. No matter how good an archer was, they would still need time to prepare.
However, the lightning spiral was different. It was controlled by the spirit of Sky Ship 1. As long as it was within its detection range, it could attack at any time.
The passive defensive magic items on the 2 intermediate wizards were activated. This reduced the effect of the lightning spiral attack, but it was only reduced by a little. The remaining power was enough to severely injure and paralyze the 2 intermediate wizards.
Abel ordered the 10 Duchy of Carmel Knight Captains that rushed forward, "Protect King Kenneth!"
Abel's heart was filled with rage. He couldn't believe this kind of assassination attempt was on him. After he left King Kenneth in the hands of the 10 Knight Captains, he turned into a flash of white light and struck the 2 intermediate wizards with his shield.
He didn't use a lot of strength with the shield strike, but the stun effect of the shield strike had made the two intermediate wizards lose control for 2 seconds. Afterward, he took out 2 shackles from his portal bracelet and put them on the wizards.
At this moment, the carriage on the side of the road was struck by a few bolts of lightning. When the Knight Captains opened the door, the 2 archers inside were already charred corpses.
The two archers were terrifying assassins. They knew how to suppress their killing intent and only reveal it at the last moment. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong target. The Sky Ship was far more terrifying than they expected.
The two archers only managed to shoot a single arrow before they were baptized by the lightning that fell from the sky. Although their bodies had been trained to be extremely tough, in the face of the lightning spiral attack, without the lightning element resistance, no matter how strong their bodies were, it was useless.
Abel grabbed the two wizards and disappeared in a flash of white light. Afterward, he reappeared on the Sky Ship.
He threw the two wizards on the ground and said to the Grand Knight Of The Bodley, "Tell the investigation department to find out who tried to assassinate me!"
"Your Majesty, they are intermediate wizards. What about the Wizard Union?" The Grand Knight Of The Bodley knew a lot about intermediate wizards. He knew that they had a lot of privileges. Usually, intermediate wizards who tried to assassinate people in the city would be handed over to the Wizard Union. The local duchy had no right to do so.
"Don't worry, the Wizard Union won't do anything for these two wizards. I want to see who will!" Abel said with a murderous look in his eyes.
It was supposed to be a happy day, but something like this happened at a time like this. How could he not be angry?
He could tell that both the intermediate wizard and the archer were real assassins. Especially the fighting skills of the 2 intermediate wizards. They were definitely not normal intermediate wizards.
Of course, the intermediate wizards were powerful, but they were bound by the shackles. They were just like normal people, unable to use their mana. Abel also took the portal bags from the 2 intermediate wizards. The 2 intermediate wizards were like meat on a chopping board. They couldn't resist at all.
The investigation department had countless ways to make anyone talk. Abel just had to wait for the results.
"King Kenneth, are you alright?" Abel flashed back to the ground from the Sky Ship and asked.
"Thank you, King Abel, for saving my life. If you didn't, I would've died on that carriage!" King Kenneth looked at the charred carriage and thanked Abel.
"I've already asked the investigation department to interrogate them. Maybe I've dragged you into this!" Abel smiled and waved his hand.
The destruction of the carriage caused chaos among the people, but the battle ended as quickly as it started. The two powerful wizards were subdued in an instant. This caused the people to cheer again because of Abel's power.
After switching to another carriage, King Kenneth and Abel got on the carriage again and headed towards the palace.
When they arrived at the palace, King Kenneth had already calmed down. However, the way he looked at Abel was a little different. Power was always something to be respected.
Before, Abel's power was only in the legends, but now it was happening right in front of his eyes. This experience was different from the legends.
Within the palace hall, all of the nobles of Bili City, as well as some of the powerful knights, were gathered here.
Although they were all nobles and Knight in Billy City, most of the nobles and Knight in the Duchy of Keyen were gathered in Billy City due to the invasion of the 4 Duchies. Although the war was over, the destruction caused by the 4 Duchies and the lack of food made the nobles and Knight stay in Billy City.
When Abel and King Kenneth walked into the palace, hundreds of nobles and Knight's gazes all landed on Abel.
"Ahem!" King Kenneth coughed lightly, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall to him.
"The Duchy of Carmel is a powerful Duchy. Under the leadership of King Abel, 300 Knights defeated the alliance of 5 Duchies formed by 14,000 Knights. This is a miracle!" King Kenneth introduced in a serious tone.
There was a round of applause in the palace. A glorious victory was always something to sing about. The commander of this battle was right in front of them, so everyone was very excited.
"The Duchy of Carmel is also a rich Duchy. Even with the severe shortage of crops, the Duchy of Carmel can still guarantee the food of every citizen. They have also extended a helping hand to us!" King Kenneth continued.
There was another round of applause in the palace. Everyone here had benefited from the help of the Duchy of Carmel.
"Today, I represent the royal family of the Duchy of Keyen to pledge my loyalty to the prestigious King Abel. I will also hand over the rights of the Duchy of Keyen to King Abel. The Duchy of Keyen will be merged into the Duchy of Carmel. My citizens will no longer suffer from hunger. My people will also live in peace and stability forever!" King Kenneth's voice rose as he announced loudly.
The sudden news caused the entire hall to fall silent. Everyone in the hall was still unable to digest the news they had just heard.
No one here was a normal person. As nobles and Knights, they understood the Duchy of Carmel better than anyone else. They also knew how powerful the Duchy of Carmel was and what kind of situation the Duchy of Keyen was in.
The Duchy of Keyen had always been struggling at death's door. If it wasn't for the Duchy of Carmel destroying the surrounding Duchies, the Duchy of Keyen wouldn't have been able to survive until now.
Joining the Duchy of Carmel was acceptable. In the Kingdom of Saint Ellis, other than the Duchy of Carmel, no other Duchy would accept them. The other Duchies didn't even have enough food to feed themselves, let alone the Duchy of Keyen.
However, the only problem now was if they joined the Duchy of Carmel. Would they be marginalized? Would their titles and territories be affected?
"I, Abel, accept the loyalty of Duke Kenneth. As long as the nobles of the Duchy of Keyen are loyal to the merged Duchy of Carmel, your territories and titles will not change. However, I still need everyone's support in the process of rebuilding this land!" Said Abel with a smile as he looked at the anxious crowd.
The Duchy of Keyen was not small. Due to the war, there were very few nobles left. Once it was merged into the Duchy of Carmel, it would need all kinds of talents to rebuild.
In the Holy Continent, all these talents came from nobles. Civilians didn't have the inheritance of management, so Abel still valued the nobles and Knights in the palace.
"We pledge our loyalty to you, my king!" An old noble said with a bow.
With someone taking the lead, the nobles and knights bowed and swore their allegiance one after another. There was not a single person in the hall who was still standing upright.
The news that the Duchy of Keyen had merged into the Duchy of Carmel had shaken the entire Holy Continent. This was the first time a Duchy had merged into a Duchy in the past 1000 years. The position of the Duchy of Keyen had made the other 5 Duchies of the Kingdom of Saint Ellis extremely anxious.
The Duchy of Carmel's territory was now connected to the other 5 Duchies. They were now connected to a powerful Duchy that could suppress all the other Duchies. This made the other 5 Duchies feel pressured.
They had already lost a lot of territory because of the compensation they had to pay after the war. Now, they didn't feel safe at all.
The atmosphere in the palace of the Kingdom of Saint Ellis was extremely tense. The Kingdom of Saint Ellis had lost a weak Duchy and gained a powerful one. This had greatly affected the power of the Kingdom of Saint Ellis.
Although the Duchy of Carmel was a Duchy, it was getting closer and closer to the Kingdom of Saint Ellis in terms of power. The Kingdom of Saint Ellis had 20,000 Knight soldiers, and the Duchy of Carmel had 10,000 Knight soldiers.
The Kingdom of Saint Ellis had a team of 100 Griffin Knights. Although the Duchy of Carmel only had 14 Griffin Knights, their equipment was more powerful. They also had the support of the Sky Ships, so the Kingdom of Saint Ellis had lost their air superiority.
In terms of wizards, the Duchy of Carmel had Wizard Moreton with his lightning talent. If a war broke out between the Kingdom of Saint Ellis and the Kingdom of Saint Ellis, the result would be terrifying.
The elite wizards of the Kingdom of Saint Ellis didn't even dare to go to Harry Castle. That was the graveyard of elite wizards. 3 rank 17 wizards had died there, so most of them had lost the courage to go to Harry Castle.
However, the scariest thing about the Duchy of Carmel was that their king, Abel, had the power to destroy cities. With this power, Abel's destructive power was almost on par with the power of the Kingdom of Saint Ellis and the Duchy of Carmel.
"Father, Duke Kenneth has no right to give the Duchy of Keyen to Guru Abel!" Prince Derek stepped up and bowed.
Although he said that he didn't have the right, he had already referred to Kenneth as a duke. This was a tacit acknowledgment of the fact.
"Your Majesty, we can't just sit here and watch the Duchy of Carmel grow. The Duchy of Carmel has a lot of food. In times like this, it's too easy to buy people's hearts. Also, I don't know how Guru Abel got so much food. This is what the kingdom needs the most!" Duke Earnest lowered his voice.
He could already feel the pressure from the Duchy of Carmel. Both Prince Derek and Duke Earnest seemed to have a good relationship with Abel on the surface, but because of the differences in national interests, they directly asked the Kingdom of Saint Ellis to punish Abel.
"Derek, go to the Duchy of Carmel for me again. Bring me a new map as a gift for the merger of the 2 duchies and the 15 cities of the Duchy of Carmel!" Although King Ambrose said it was a gift, his face was dark.
Prince Derek looked at King Ambrose in shock when he heard that he was going to bring a new map as a gift. If he brought a gift like this, it would mean that the kingdom had accepted the Duchy of Carmel's expansion.
"Father, are you really going to accept the Duchy of Carmel's position just like this?" Prince Derek asked unwillingly.
"Derek, if we don't accept the merger of the Duchy of Keyen into the Duchy of Carmel, will the merger of the Duchy of Keyen into the Duchy of Carmel stop?" King Ambrose lowered his voice.
"No!" Prince Derek shook his head and said.
"If we really start a war with the Duchy of Carmel, is that okay?" King Ambrose asked again.
Prince Derek shook his head again. How could they start a war? They had sent 20,000 Knights to the Duchy of Thunder to take advantage of the situation, but they had come back with their tails between their legs. Just the amount of food that the 20,000 Knights needed was more than what they got from robbing the 4 duchies and the Duchy of Keyen. Even if they wanted to send out another 20,000 Knights, they wouldn't have enough food.
"We can't start a war, and we can't stop the Duchy of Carmel from merging into the Duchy of Carmel. If we don't accept the merger, the Duchy of Carmel will still be strong. If we accept the merger, we can also ease our relationship with the Duchy of Carmel. Everything is for the benefit of the kingdom!" King Ambrose said to Prince Derek.
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