“But why are you saying such things all of a sudden?”

Karuta asked, and Isla responded with a deep, somber expression.

“After putting all the stories together, the most urgent thing is to get this news to Conrad Castle as soon as possible. Moreover, Eltuan is involved in the matter and also the only witness. We must deliver her to Conrad Castle no matter what.”

“Kuheum…”

Karuta tilted his head, and Jody stepped out.

“That is correct. She is an ally of our duchy, but at the same time, she is an elf who cannot lie. Eltuan’s testimony will be of utmost importance when digging into the entire story regarding Miss Serin Reiner.”

“I see. But as you can see, she’ll never get anywhere alone in that condition. Someone will have to carry her.”

Karuta smacked his lips while gesturing to Eltuan with his chin.

“What…”

Eltuan began to respond with an irritated voice, but Isla interrupted her.

“That’s correct. So she will be coming with me.”

“Kuheul?”

Karuta voice his astonishment. Everyone else flinched in surprise as well.

Isla continued calmly.

“I heard the troops from the Great Territory of Alice arrived near Ronan Bridge just yesterday. They must be sending scouts across the bridge to gauge the situation. This also means that they will be advancing into the duchy in a couple of days. It means we don’t have much time.”

“Hmm…”

“W, what should we do?”

“For now, we will move altogether towards near Ronan Bridge. Since it’s the boundary between our duchy and the Seyrod territory, it’s not uncommon to come across wild griffons, or even griffons of our duchy.”

“That’s true, but… Ah! Don’t tell me…?”

Jody started asking with a worried expression, then blurred his words with realization. Confirming his guesses, Isla replied while nodding.

“I have the ability to communicate with wild griffons. Even better if griffons from our duchy are in sight.”

“As expected!”

Jody clapped his hands in joy. Isla was born with the ability to communicate with griffons. This not only held true for the griffons of the Pendragon Duchy, the followers of Soldrake, but also wild griffons. Even though wild griffons would never have had relationships with humans before, they would never antagonize him.

As such, it meant that the group could ride to Conrad Castle after taming griffons if they could reach the area near Ronan Bridge.

“So we can take the griffons! I would have never thought!”

Unfortunately, Isla dampened Jody’s joy with his following words.

“No, not all of us will be able to take the griffons.”

“Huh? Why not?

“The forces of Alice include griffons as well. We might avoid detection if it’s just one or two, but if we move in a large group, we’ll be spotted for sure and be attacked.”

Isla was the captain of the Pendragon Duchy’s griffon knights. Befitting his status, he had a good understanding of the various griffon forces located throughout the empire, including the imperial army, as well as the many great territories.

As far as he knew, the Great Territory of Alice utilized their massive wealth and was operating a griffon unit consisting of about 30 creatures. Unless Count Louvre was a fool, he would have ordered the griffons to perform frequent reconnaissance near Ronan Bridge and across the river, since they had yet to grasp the geography.

“But if we go separately…”

“It’s too risky. With the group we have, we need at least three griffons. We might not be able to gather three creatures in the time we have, and most importantly… I am the only one capable of handling wild griffons.”

“Hmm…”

Jody gulped with a grim expression.

“So what are you going to do?”

Karuta was hot-tempered, and he asked without beating around the bush. Isla replied while turning his head back towards Karuta.

“We only need one griffon. Only Eltuan and I will be crossing into the duchy.”

“What?”

“Keheul?”

Jody and Karuta became wide-eyed. Unless they misheard, Isla had just proclaimed that he would avoid a fight and only take Eltuan back to the duchy. It was unbelievable that Isla, who stood at the peak of the Valvas Cavaliers, would say such words. The Valvas Cavaliers would never run from a fight.

But Isla continued without a change in expression.

“The rest of you four must charge at Ronan Bridge on the ground. That is the only way we can divert the attention of Alice’s forces.”

“Ah…!”

Jody finally understood Isla’s plan.

In conclusion, while he, Karuta, and the two Red Moon Valley elves charged at the bridge, Isla would take Eltuan on a griffon back to the duchy.

“We are indeed running out of time and it will be difficult to gather numerous griffons… Besides, it will be impossible for all of us to cross the bridge safely. But if we can get the enemies to turn their attention to the ground, we can ensure the safety of a single griffon and avoid their detection. Is that right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Keheum.”

Karuta also nodded as if convinced by Isla’s plan.

Silence filled the space.

Isla’s plan certainly had a high chance of success, but it also required sacrifice. The group responsible for rushing towards Ronan Bridge had to face thousands, not hundreds, of enemy soldiers.

‘That’s why you asked…’

“Are you willing to die for the Pendragon Duchy and the lord?”

Jody’s expression hardened when he realized the reason Isla asked such a question a moment ago. Under the current circumstances, the priority was to take Eltuan to Conrad Castle to reveal the true identity of Serin Reiner. And in order to achieve that, it was inevitable that ‘someone’ had to sacrifice their own life as collateral.

“…..”

A cold sweat down ran Jody’s back. He imagined himself riding his horse towards thousands of troops alongside Karuta and the two elven warriors. Perhaps Karuta and the elves could last a while, but he could only rival three or four common soldiers at best. He would not be able to avoid death.

‘I, I still have time…’

Who would not be afraid of death?

There was even a saying – Better a live coward than a dead hero.

“Phew…”

But Jody shook his head while letting out a long sigh. Two were better than one, and four were better than two. Most importantly, he could not show cowardice as a warrior of Pendragon.

‘I am no longer a wandering mercenary. I am a squire of Pendragon.’

Jody straightened his shoulders.

Isla gazed at Jody for a moment before speaking.

“The Ancona Forest and Ronan Bridge are not too far away. And the Ancona Orcs are not the only residents of the forest. There are others.”

“Keheung?”

“Others… Ah!”

Karuta looked puzzled, but Jody burst into an exclamation while recalling the ‘others’.

“Yes. If you can hold out for an hour, the centaurs could arrive as reinforcements. They can run much faster and for a much longer period than regular horses.”

“Oh!”

This was also true.

Even trained warhorses could not gallop at full speed for more than an hour. But centaurs were different. They could push themselves and travel at much faster speeds than horses for several hours.

“Kuhuh…”

Even so, Karuta frowned slightly.

Although the two races had made up, he disliked the idea of being helped by centaurs as the head of the Ancona Orcs. Isla turned towards Karuta, as if noticing his thoughts.

“Centaurs are much bigger than war horses, so they should be able to pick up the Ancona Orcs.”

“Keuk! Horsehead carrying orcs on their backs? More like the great Earth God going for a dive into the sea for pleasure.”

Karuta snorted as if finding Isla’s suggestion ridiculous. Isla replied in a low, cold voice.

“The Ancona Orcs and the centaurs are both indebted to the lord. If they do not listen to me now, when the fate of the Pendragon Duchy is on the line, I will not forgive them as a knight of Pendragon.”

Isla’s eyes shone coldly with determination.

“Keheum…”

Karuta scratched his fang as if feeling a bit embarrassed. Apart from Raven, Isla was the only human knight he had difficulty with. If Isla decided to go on a rampage in the Ancona Forest, at least two or three Orc warriors would be sent to the side of the Earth God.

“Then we will leave right now if no one has any objections. If we hurry, we should arrive near Ronan Bridge before the sun rises.”

“All right, Sir Isla.”

“Keheuk! Good, let’s go.”

Jody, Karuta, and the two elven warriors stood up while supporting Eltuan. They quickly packed before leaving through the door of the inn. As the blue moon imparted a long shadow behind the four horses and the giant orc warrior, Karuta suddenly looked back towards Isla as if something had come to mind.

“By the way, I’ve been curious for a while…”

Unlike his regular self, Karuta trailed off. Isla replied.

“What is it?”

“You… You have another reason for going straight to the castle with Eltuan, right? The griffon scarecrow I know would never avoid a fight.”

“I am curious as well.”

Eltuan chimed in from Karuta’s embrace, and even Jody looked towards Isla. It seemed everyone had shared similar curiosities.

“…..”

Isla remained silent for a while, then spoke with a sharp gaze.

“It’s because I am a knight of the Pendragon Duchy… of the lord. No matter what happens, I must obey the lord’s command and protect the duchy. I will die on a battle to protect the duchy.”

The gaze and the voice of Elkin Isla, a knight of Pendragon and the Knight King of Valvas, contained determination and spirit similar to a towering mountain.

***

Before dawn.

Mist rose from the river and covered the basin located on a hill with a clear view of Ronan Bridge.

Tap. Tap.

A man accompanied by several knights walked through the morning mist and observed the bridge from the hill. He was adorned in golden armor, which was coated with moisture. He was Count Louvre, the High Lord of the Great Territory of Alice.

His white cheeks and hollow eyes resembled a corpse, but his eyes were fluttering with a strange, frightening light. After gazing down for a long time, he opened his dry lips.

“What’s the scope of the reconnaissance?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. We have searched thoroughly for a distance of six miles across the bridge. There are only two small villages. No possible threats to our forces have been located.”

Count Louvre nodded after hearing the knight’s report.

“We will depart as soon as the sun rises. I will crush those who tainted the honor of the glorious territory of Alice and make them pay for smearing the name of my family.”

“As the lord wishes!”

The knights answered with one voice and bowed their heads.

For the first time in the history of the Pendragon Duchy, an invasion by another great territory was about to begin.

***

“The lord of the nine lands and the two seas! The great golden lion who rules the ancestral lands with wisdom and bravery! His Majesty Emperor Aragon!”

Along with the loud announcement, the palace of the Royal Batallium was instantly engulfed in silence. Hundreds of officials and nobles of the imperial castle were lined to the sides of the wide and luxurious hall. They fell to one knee and bowed while shouting.

“We greet the emperor!”

The emperor walked slowly under the escort of the Royal Knights and Count Granite. He was headed towards the thirty-two stairs which led to the Golden Lion Throne, which was allowed to only a single person in the world. After taking his spot on the throne, the Ruler of Aragon spoke in a solemn and dignified voice.

“Raise your heads.”

His voice was filled with spirit and reached every corner of the palace. Soon, everyone straightened their knees and stood up. Emperor Aragon opened his mouth again as he observed the palace with vigorous eyes.

“I believe all of you are well aware why I brought together all the sirs of the Royal Batallium to this place, at this time. You have all waited for a long time!”

“We humbly receive your words! We are honored by Your Majesty’s words!”

Hundreds of nobles raised their voices at the emperor’s declaration. As the nobles’ voices died down, Count Jean Granite, who was standing just below the Golden Lion Throne, turned his head to the side.

The chief servant shouted out loud.

“Prince Ian Aragon! And Duke Alan Pendragon, the master of the Pendragon Duchy! Enter the palace!”

Tap. Tap.

“…..!”

The two figures made their appearance while receiving the countless gazes of the great nobles, the true powers of the empire. Duke Pendragon was adorned with a dazzling silver-white armor with the symbol of the dragon, while Ian was dressed in glorious golden armor with an elaborate symbol of a lion.