The four Knights were still trying to persuade Count Jean.
Count Jean obviously didn't believe in the invasion of Jorgendy Ridge, just like how Rogers and the others wouldn't believe that the underground army of Jorgendy Ridge would suddenly appear on the surface if they didn't see it with their own eyes. The world under the beehive was too far away for them after all. The cavemen and the minotaurs in the labyrinth were all terrifying creatures in bedtime stories. Although he couldn't explain the disappearance of his allies, he could only assume that it was Brando's private conspiracy, but he couldn't see through it.
However, whether he was willing or not, Brando's so-called 'persuasion' was more of a threat than a suggestion. In the end, he had no choice but to hand over the command unwillingly.
The setting sun slowly sank into the mountains to the west. The entire hilly region seemed to have sunk into a strange silence. The lights of Valgus could no longer be seen in the Silver Gushing Valley to the north. The horizon was pitch-black. After the hilly region quieted down, the silence made one's hair stand on end.
The four Knights walked silently on the edge of the red pine forest. After walking for a while, the female Knight Nasha finally couldn't help but say, "Maybe Count Jean is right. The situation isn't that bad. Maybe it's just a group of bandits from Jorgendy Ridge on the surface. Things like this happen often, don't they?"
Rogers frowned and didn't answer.
"Then how do you explain the strange light beams and meteors we saw last night? Also, Qui's communication magic was disrupted. This was a premeditated attack." Trevor shook his head. "Count Jean is just unwilling to bow down to Erouine. You and I both know that the nobles in these places have always been stubborn and prideful."
Nasha was silent for a moment as if she wanted to find a reason to refute but couldn't convince herself. In the end, she asked worriedly, "If Jorgendy Ridge really invades us, how bad will it be for the Empire?"
"It depends on the scale of Jorgendy Ridge's invasion," Rogers answered in a deep voice.
"How big do you think this invasion will be? Can they really threaten the southern defense line of the empire?" Nasha asked in disbelief.
No one seemed to be able to answer this question. They more or less felt that Brando was being an alarmist, but Rogers and Trevor were not familiar with the Forgotten Kingdom underground. In fact, it was rare for the average person to even recognize the entire subterranean ethnic group. Rogers and Trevor suddenly thought of something and turned their eyes to the black-haired youth in a robe.
Kui replied calmly, "Jorgendy Ridge is slightly different from us. They don't have a unified kingdom. There are only lords of various sizes in the dark underground. The only exception is the dark elves."
"Kui, how strong is the strongest Overlord?" Nasha asked.
"It's roughly equivalent to a mid-tier kingdom on the surface."
"Are there many lords like this?"
Kui shook his head. "Other than the three Black Dragons that were exiled by the Dragon Clan, there are also the famous Minotaur King Geralt and Medusa's Queen Pertana. They are known as the Kings of the Underground World."
"If we're talking about threatening the southern defense line of the empire, is a lord like this strong enough?" Nasha asked again.
"If they go all out, it might be enough. However, the war in the Underground World rarely goes all out because they have to guard against enemies in the dark. It's a reasonable guess that two Overlords are working together, but these Overlords are second to none in Jorgendy Ridge. They rarely come to the surface, which is also unknown to them. If it's not for these Kings of the Underground, it would take ten or even twenty Overlords to launch a war of this scale. "
"Kui, how likely do you think it is?" Trevor turned back and asked.
"It's hard to say. The Underground World is a world that believes in the laws of darkness. Deception is the norm in the dark. They rarely trust each other, let alone form an alliance." Kui replied.
Nasha looked at her companion with some admiration. "Then, is it possible for them to form an alliance under special circumstances?"
"Maybe," Kui replied. "But I'm not sure. The Tónigel Count might know more about the people of the Underground World."
"Why do you say that? Maybe he's just being an alarmist?" The female Knight was obviously not happy to hear that.
The black-haired youth replied, "He and the female Knight beside him are fast and confident in their judgment of the movements of Jorgendy Ridge's army. I can't do that."
Trevor felt that his companion's words were a little exaggerated. He shook his head. Although Kui had a genius mind, he was slightly worse when it came to dealing with people. He knew very well that the Erouine people could be faking it. When he heard Nasha's question, his heart was a little shaken. Could Jorgendy Ridge really pull out an army of a dozen Overlords to cause trouble for the empire? The empire was indestructible in the hearts of its people. It might be unlucky for a while, but it was impossible for it to coincidentally encounter the worst situation. Trevor couldn't even imagine that Rokezi, the Broken Sword Mountain Range, would be threatened. It wasn't just one or two fortresses, but a well-equipped defense line that was nearly a hundred miles deep.
He vaguely agreed with the female Knight's statement. Perhaps the enemy in front of them was just an army of bandits that came from the Underground World to the surface world. They might be formed by the army of one or two Overlords who were bribed by the Lion Beastmen. They came to the empire to cause trouble, distract the attention of the empire's army, and take the opportunity to plunder.
Just as he was thinking about this, Rogers suddenly asked, "Kui, how strong would the power of the entire Jorgendy Ridge be if they were to join forces?"
The black-haired youth suddenly raised his head and looked at his companion who had been frowning. For the first time, there was an inexplicable expression on his face.
"That's impossible," he replied.
… …
Although Trevor and Nasha both hoped that Jorgendy Ridge's invasion of the empire was just a private action of one or two Overlords, what was happening in the south of Ruseff, at the end of the Rokezi Highland, was obviously going against their wishes. There was once a majestic fortress at the mountain pass, but now, only rubble and debris were left. The whole fortress seemed to have been hit by a terrible force from the front. The originally intact wall had a huge gap in it. The gap was bathed in the moonlight, and the whole section looked like it had been burned by fire. Even the bricks were carbonized black, and the gravel was sparkling. It was the crystallized gravel. Such scenes were scattered all over the fortress. In addition to the lifeless dead objects, there were also charred and twisted corpses of animals — cows, horses, donkeys, and even a huge Drake that was almost burned into a skeleton. It leaned empty against the side of a house on the street that was also burned into a frame structure. There was no sign of it struggling. It reminded people of the moment when death came, when the extremely high temperature instantly turned this behemoth into ashes from its body to its soul.
But it was not just animals. Human corpses were also everywhere. Some of them were wearing armor, but now they had melted and solidified into a metal solution. Some of them were just civilians, but whether it was the elderly or children, men or women, they were all turned into unrecognizable charcoal. Such corpses were scattered all over the street. Their positions indicated that they were hiding from something when they were alive. But time stopped at the last moment.
The entire fortress seemed to have been plowed through from the middle. The streets and buildings in these areas were in shambles, but the other districts were still intact. However, the streets and the hillsides on both sides were filled with sharp wooden stakes. Countless human corpses were impaled on these stakes. The corpses stared blankly at the dark sky. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and their eyes had long lost their vitality.
The broken fortress became a dead city. There were no Cruz people, and there were no enemies. It was as if the Grim Reaper had passed by and quietly took away all the lives.
This scene was not the only one in the entire Rokezi Highland, east of Broken Sword Mountains. It was happening in many places at the same time. This was Fort Parsilian, the Empire's Rokezi. Although the Broken Sword Mountains consisted of thousands of forts, checkpoints, and fortresses, only Emerald Claw Fort, Fort Elno, and Fort Parsilian were the real core of the defensive line. The other fortresses were built around them to protect them. Fort Parsilian was the last checkpoint of the defensive line in the direction of the Empire. In thousands of years of history, it had never been breached or even attacked. But today, an army that the Cruz people had never encountered before had changed the course of history.
When Ferris woke up from the ruins, he still could not forget the most unforgettable scene of his life. He remembered that the fortress was attacked by a group of harpies. The highest commander of the fortress believed that it was a monster attack. Perhaps there was a new nest somewhere near the fortress. Such things often happened in the border areas. The desolate Rokezi Highland was originally a place where monsters roamed. The imperial soldiers were not surprised to join the battle. As an imperial crossbowman, Ferris naturally had to participate in the battle, but he was relatively safe in the shooting room with the others. Although the noise on the city wall was somewhat unbearable, and the creaking sound of the heavy weapons being pushed to the back of the battlements by the militiamen was also unbearable, at that time, he used the winch of the heavy crossbow to draw the string, put the bolt in, and then walked to the shooting hole to observe the situation outside.
Then, at that moment —
He seemed to hear a shrill scream coming from the wall. The sound seemed to fall from the sky, but it also sounded like the cry of a ghost in the middle of the night. The shrill scream made his hair stand on end. Then, he saw a huge, cold, emotionless eye through the shooting room. That eye, with just one look, made him feel as if he had fallen into the abyss. A bone-chilling chill seemed to rise from the bottom of his feet, freezing him there. Although he opened his mouth to scream, no sound came out.
He vaguely heard the terrified screams of his colleagues on the wall. The screams merged into a buzzing sound as if they were describing a monster that terrified them.
But before Ferris could hear what it was, the ground shook. He saw the walls of the shooting room collapse toward him. After the ground beneath his feet disappeared, the world fell into darkness.
When Ferris woke up again, he realized that it was the collapsed bricks that saved his life.
He lay in the darkness for an unknown amount of time before he regained a little strength. Then, ignoring the soreness all over his body, he gritted his teeth and opened a path through the rubble. As if miraculously, he found that he was not seriously injured. Other than the dull pain when he breathed, which made him suspect that he had broken one or two ribs, his hands and feet were very nimble. There were only abrasions. He used his hands and feet to climb out of the rubble. The next moment, the miserable scene in the fortress reflected in his eyes. Ferris instantly clenched his teeth. Everything in front of him seemed to have appeared in his dreams. Although he had expected it, he still could not help but tremble.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the mountain pass. That was the direction where the monster army had disappeared. From there, there was the mountain path leading to Emerald Claw Fortress. Behind it was Luo Keqi, the heart of the Broken Sword Mountain Range's Fortress Group. His heart was cold. He had realized that this was not a monster attack at all, but a premeditated surprise attack.
That eye …
Ferris trembled as he recalled the scene he had seen. He seemed to want to convince himself that it was just an illusion, but the real fear lurking in his heart reminded him what it was.
That was a dragon —
A black dragon.
…
There was a saying in the Cruz Empire: Every day in the Empire is calm, but every day in the Empire is treacherous. This sentence may not be appropriate to describe the entire Cruz Empire, but it was most appropriate to describe the imperial city of Rushta.
Since three days ago, the White Rose Garden was shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere. The Sacred Cantilever Palace was lifeless, as if everyone who walked in would be tainted with bad luck. In the past, this usually meant that Her Majesty's mood had changed again. Generally speaking, there were many factors that caused Her Majesty to be angry. For example, a certain noble caused her displeasure, or disappointed her. For example, the Holy Cathedral of Fire and Her Majesty often offended each other. This was a fact that everyone knew. But in addition to the above two main reasons, there were also some minor side events. For example, the mountain people, Anzeruta, or other barbarians killed the tax collector of the Empire. Or, several grand dukes who were married to the Royal Family sent people to one of Her Majesty's banquets. The relationship between the Silver Queen and these relatives of the Empire was extremely bad. This was recognized by the whole Empire.
In fact, there were some new names recently. For example, a certain Count from Erouine was said to have become a thorn in Her Majesty's side. There were also rumors about the female mountain people Countess. It was said that every time Her Majesty summoned her, her Majesty's mood would become very bad.
But this time, there were no nobles causing trouble, and the Holy Cathedral of Fire was well-behaved. Although the Seventh Prince's carriage accidentally fell off a cliff on the way back to the Imperial City at the Lache of Tiles and was seriously injured, the mountain people were very obedient. They even sent a delegation to explain the matter. This delegation was about to arrive at the Imperial City. This attitude showed that they had completely surrendered to Her Majesty. It seemed that there was no need for Her Majesty to be furious about this matter.
On the other hand, there seemed to be no news from Flowerleaf and Ludwig. The rumors about the Tónigel Countess also seemed to have disappeared in the past few days. According to Her Majesty's maidservants, Her Majesty also did not summon a female Countess recently.
The only news that could be considered as news was that a few days ago, Bankel, Violet Valley and other regions reported a rare divine artifact reaction. However, these divine artifact resonances only occurred independently in a very small number of regions, and no one in the wider region observed it. The warlocks of the Tower of Stars and Moon had yet to conclude whether this was an illusion or reality.
But in fact, in the entire circle of high-ranking nobles of the Empire, only a few well-informed people knew that since that day, the Empire had lost all news of the regions south of Anklova. The news here referred to the secret report of the Knight of the Imperial Court belonging to the Royal Family. Originally, there was a report every day, but since three days ago, from Vargos to the Bear Lake region to Rusef, and even the entire region south of the Rockoqi Stronghold Complex, it was as if they had disappeared from the map.
If it was a normal day, a delay of one or two days would not be a big deal. But before this, almost the entire Empire's attention was focused on this region. The nobles of the Empire were still waiting for the results of the final battle between Brando and the nobles of Anzeruta, but suddenly, there was no news of this region. Whether it was private or secret agents sent by the Royal Family, it was as if they had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Everyone immediately thought that this was the doing of the Tónigel Countess.
But the news that came later made the entire Empire fall into a dead silence.
In the early morning of the third day.
Constance summoned her two Knight Commanders into the White Rose Garden.
At this moment, the Commander of the Royal Knight Regiment, Mr. Travis, and the Commander of the Imperial Dragoons, Mr. Kevin, were wiping the cold sweat off their foreheads with a handkerchief. One of them came from the House of Palut, while the other came from a noble family that the Queen trusted. On the surface, they were the leaders of the two Imperial Guards under Constance, but anyone who had lived in Rushta for a period of time would know that these two gentlemen were secretly in charge of the external affairs of the Imperial Court Knight Regiment.
… …
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