The ground trembled slightly.
A group of a hundred riders galloped past Kieran and the others like lightning.
The direction of the riders told Kieran their destination: Tita Town.
"They must be Sergnei's reinforcements!
How did they react so fast? "
Bosco who was climbing up the hill muttered to himself in confusion.
"Just like what you said, that Ms. Jenny James's power is far greater than we imagined. She might even have spies in Tita Town …"
Kieran didn't find it strange at all.
After he knew who his enemy was, he was fully prepared.
It was even more so after Bosco asked about the man's life in detail.
Jeanne James, the sister of King James VIII.
Because of the late king's decision, she lost the throne but was unwilling to be left out.
Jeanne had personally formed no less than a dozen secret organizations and her men were spread across every corner of the imperial city, including those around King James VIII.
As for the public...
Based on what Bosco said, the military minister who pursued Jeanne when he was young was Jeanne's staunchest supporter.
More than 60% of the kingdom's army was related to the military minister.
If it wasn't for some of the older nobles who stood by King James VIII's side, the king that Bosco mentioned would have been replaced before he even ascended the throne.
Even so, the king wasn't having a good time.
Not only could he not protect Mary's mother, he couldn't even protect himself.
Kieran had asked the king about the monster attack during the winter hunt.
All he could describe it with one word: coincidence.
But it was too much of a coincidence, to the point that it felt like someone had arranged it beforehand.
As a matter of fact, a moment before King James VIII fainted from the injury, Jeanne had taken complete control of the palace.
As for why she didn't just kill King James VIII and ascend the throne herself?
It wasn't because she cared about the sibling relationship.
It was only because King James VIII had a wizard who claimed to be the most powerful wizard in Warren.
Her persistence allowed King James VIII to live a little longer.
However, that was the limit.
Since he hadn't shown himself for a long time, he didn't have the right to stop Jeanne James from infiltrating the royal court, the imperial city and even the entire Warren Kingdom.
Kieran was quite sure that the assassin he saw in Swusters Castle that night was one of Jeanne James's men.
That was the only logical explanation for everything that had happened.
After seeing the corpses of Sergourney and the others, the assassin sent back a message.
Then Jeanne James sent reinforcements.
The hundreds of Knight in front of him were only a small portion of the reinforcements.
The real army is still behind us.
"Trouble!"
"We need to reach Thunder Fortress as soon as possible!"
"Only when we get there will we be able to wait for the only assistance we can get!"
Bosco said with a solemn expression.
"Thunder Fortress."
Kieran asked.
"That is the trump card His Majesty left for me."
Bosco said but he didn't reveal what he was talking about.
Kieran didn't pursue the matter.
He looked at Mary.
"Ready?"
"There will definitely be countless enemies in front of us."
"If you want to leave, this is your last chance!"
Kieran said.
"You said you will send me to the imperial capital!"
Mary emphasized with a determined face.
"Then …"
"Let's go!"
Kieran jumped on a horse and under Bosco's guidance, they chose a secluded area away from the main road.
In order to avoid possible pursuers, they started to hide during the day and move out at night.
Despite that, battles were still unavoidable.
Lady Jeanne James was much more resourceful than Kieran had imagined. She sent out pursuers time and time again, chasing and intercepting Kieran and company with extreme precision.
Though, in the end, all they did was provide Kieran with a few low tier Magic equipment as spoils of war.
Days turned into days.
On the tenth day, Jeanne James' pursuers didn't show up again.
However, whether it was Kieran, Mary, or Bosco, none of them were happy about it.
They knew Jeanne James would never give up, so he must be preparing for something.
The next time the pursuers appeared …
It would be time for Jeanne James to reveal his trump card.
Though, it didn't stop Kieran and company from moving forward.
When the end of the second week and the start of the third week, Kieran and company arrived at a mountain cave not far away from Thunder Fortress.
The night breeze was blocked by the mountain ridge.
Mary was exhausted, hugging her sword and leaning on the warm campfire, falling into a deep sleep.
Kieran was busy cooking in front of the campfire.
After the water in the pot boiled, the vegetables and meat were put in.
The vegetables were harvested along the way and the meat came from a couple of wild hares. The wild hares were still in autumn, so they were very plump. Whether it was roasted or boiled, it would be a decent choice.
Though, considering the coldness of the night, boiling soup became the first choice.
An hour later, when Kieran opened the pot and stirred the milky white soup with a wooden spoon, the big meat pieces were rolling around.
Musou Level was able to easily handle the dish before his eyes.
Even though there wasn't enough seasoning, Kieran purposely picked the vegetables to remove the fishy stench and enhance the freshness. The soup before his eyes instantly emanated an alluring aroma.
Mary, who fell into a deep sleep due to exhaustion, woke up right away.
When Kieran took out the dry bread that he brought with him, the little girl had already taken out her bowl out of habit.
If there was anything that she looked forward to throughout the journey, it would be Kieran's cooking.
Pursuers appeared again and again behind them.
Checkpoints after checkpoints in front of them.
The seemingly endless journey was truly torturous for Mary.
However, under such torturous conditions, Mary's growth surprised even Kieran.
From hugging her with difficulty to carrying her on his back without any hindrance, it had only been two weeks.
"Eat and rest early. We have a big battle at dawn."
Kieran broke a piece of dry bread that was as sturdy as a stick and passed it to Mary. He watched her dip the bread into the bowl filled with soup and couldn't help but say.
Kieran planned to pass through Thunder Fortress at dawn, which completely blocked the way to Riverdale.
"Um."
Mary nodded.
Bosco, the king's envoy, had said more than once that there would be reinforcements once they reached Thunder Fortress.
However, after two weeks of traveling together, both Kieran and Mary had a deeper understanding of Bosco's character. They could only trust 30% of what he said.
The so-called reinforcements?
Both of them didn't harbor much hope.
So, when Bosco really appeared with his men, Kieran and Mary were shocked.
"Why are you looking at me like that?
Like I'm bragging all the time. "
Bosco opened his hands and shrugged his shoulders. His face was filled with delight, but when he saw the half-empty pot, the delight on the imperial envoy's face vanished without a trace.
"Didn't we agree to wait for me to come back for dinner?"
Bosco grumbled.
When the imperial envoy discovered Kieran's cooking for the first time, he couldn't believe it, as if he had seen a meteor fall to the ground.
Even until now, Bosco still couldn't believe that a sorcerer could be an outstanding chef.
There wasn't much of a style to it.
However, one thing was for sure: Kieran's cooking was still delicious despite the lack of ingredients and seasonings.
Bosco had guessed more than once that Kieran had enchanted his food.
However, his guesses didn't stop Bosco's pursuit of delicious food.
Bosco really wanted to jump into the pot right away.
However, the person beside him forced him to stop.
"This is Lord Fandral, the strongest wizard in Warren."
Bosco purposely paused for a while before saying.
The king's envoy was hoping to see the shock on Kieran's face.
Unfortunately, Kieran was calm.
"Fine, I'll leave it to the big shots like you, I'd better eat."
Bosco then ran towards the pot.
Kieran and Fandral were sizing up each other.
The person in front of him was a middle-aged man. His hair was thick and black, and he had a full beard. However, his eyes were extremely bright.
His body was buff and the staff in his hand was as tall as a man and quite heavy as well.
Kieran didn't doubt the man's close combat strength at all.
If it wasn't for Bosco's introduction, Kieran wouldn't have thought the man was the strongest wizard in Warren.
Firstly, the man's age.
Although a wizard didn't get stronger with age, it took more time to learn more knowledge. Therefore, most of the powerful wizards were elders.
Secondly, the man's buff body and temperament.
He really looked more like a Knight than a wizard.
The body could be said to be natural but the temperament was not. It was nurtured.
"Did he hone his skills on the battlefield?"
Kieran wondered.
"2567 huh?
I heard you've caused quite a lot of trouble for him recently. That's great! "
Compared to Kieran's guesses, Fandral was a lot more direct.
The wizard who had the physique and temperament of a Knight showed a hearty smile and said, "Come, let's return to the imperial city."
He then started to draw on the ground.
A magic circle that Kieran couldn't identify appeared on the ground.
After Fandral signaled everyone to stand in the magic circle, his lips trembled a little as he chanted the incantation to activate the magic circle's power.
But …
After a flash of light, nothing happened.
Kieran and the others were still standing on the spot.
Kieran instantly frowned.
PS: Second update ~
Let's go eat roasted rabbit meat tonight!
Decadent! Begging for monthly tickets ~ Begging for subscriptions ~
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