Chapter 1 Vivian's Words

Upon hearing Vivian's words, the Broken Sword Knight, Kaim, blinked in surprise, then asked with a peculiar expression, "You are also... heading north?"

His peculiar expression was understandable.

The Dragon Empire was currently embroiled in a massive internal conflict. The mutual slaughter between the Imperial Legion, the Black Sword Knights, the Broken Sword Knights, and the Northern Army had created a crisis far more severe than when this nation had once challenged half the world. In this situation, anyone with a sane mind would choose to stay far away from the vortex, let alone a group of Izhsu people from beyond the world who had just been chased by the Black Sword Knights.

What lay north beyond the Black Pine Forest? First, the Imperial heartland controlled by the Black Sword Knights, and then the Imperial capital. These Izhsu people, who had just been chased by the Black Sword Knights, were certainly not heading there. That meant they could only continue north. Assuming they could somehow cross the land teeming with Black Sword Knights—and granting they could succeed—further north lay the princess's army.

"Heading west will take you to Lion's Ridge. Beyond Lion's Ridge lies relatively safe territory. Heading east, you can find flights to Izhsu—although you may not be able to board an airship so easily at this time, at least it's a safe route," Kaim said, looking at Charlemagne and Avelna. "But heading north, you'll find only the Black Sword Knights and Her Highness the Princess's forces. I assume you're not looking for the same people who were just chasing you?"

Charlemagne paused in thought, then nodded slightly. "Since we've come this far, there's no need for us to hide it any longer. We are indeed going to find Her Highness Constance, and we are well aware of what she's doing, and what crossing the blockade lines of the Empire's major armies means."

Kaim's expression turned serious. "Please understand my vigilance, but at this time, a group of Izhsu people and four mysterious individuals from a hidden organization seeking an audience with Her Highness the Princess requires a reason. I presume... you are not simply travelers?"

Charlemagne paused briefly, then decided to tell the truth. He had concealed his identity from Kaim when the knight had first awakened because a Broken Sword Knight who had inexplicably collapsed in the Black Pine Forest seemed strange, and he had to remain cautious. But now, he had confirmed the circumstances of Kaim's arrival, and the information he had provided matched the intelligence they had gathered in recent days. Furthermore, knowing that Gorgon demons haunted the Black Pine Forest, cooperation was necessary if they wished to proceed, and under these circumstances, honesty was the best policy.

However, he remembered who the real leader of the team was, and so he looked at Hao Ren, who was standing beside him, as if to ask: can this knight be trusted?

Hao Ren noticed Charlemagne's gaze and returned a confused look. Holy crap, he couldn't understand what a handsome guy who was 0.93 Nangong Sanbas wanted by batting his eyelashes at him! Was this guy about to have some bold ideas?

This kind of two-hundred-word exchange with a single glance could only happen within Hao Ren's group, at least unilaterally on Hao Ren's side.

But fortunately, the well-informed Lily guessed what Charlemagne meant, and she waved her hand dismissively. "If you want to say it, just say it. We don't care."

Charlemagne calmed down. He knew that this little girl had incredible power of speech in Hao Ren's group, so he turned to Kaim with confidence and said, "Please forgive us for not being completely honest at the beginning. In fact, my sister and I are..."

"Envoys from the ancient Izhsu kingdom?" Kaim frowned after hearing Charlemagne's story. "I can understand your initial caution, but how can I trust you?"

"We made some disguises, but there are other things that can prove our identity." As he spoke, Charlemagne took out a magical amulet that he always wore close to his body. He activated the amulet and pressed it to his forehead. In the next moment, complex and mysterious patterns, like glowing tattoos, appeared on his arms and cheeks.

Avelna took the same action, and similar magical patterns appeared on her body.

"The bloodline crest of the Izhsu royal family," Kaim said, dispelling his doubts after seeing these marks. He then placed a hand over his chest and bowed to the two people before him, giving a knightly salute. "So you are indeed Your Highnesses. Please forgive my earlier impoliteness."

"Don't worry about that," Charlemagne quickly waved his hand. "The important thing is that we must reach Princess Constance as soon as possible. We are on a very important mission, and we can't afford to delay."

Kaim's expression turned serious. He didn't ask what that "mission" was, but instead said directly, "Heading north is possible, but we have to find a way to deal with or bypass that Gorgon demon. I must warn you that it's a lord-level creature, classified as a 'Nest Mother.' It splits off numerous Splitspawn from its body to monitor its territory, so it actually controls a considerable area. It will be difficult for us to bypass it, and there's a high probability that we'll be discovered directly. As for the creature's strength... even several powerful Broken Sword Knights are no match for that lord. If you only have this many people, heading north is just a joke."

As he spoke, the Broken Sword Knight's gaze swept over the fully armed guards. He could, of course, tell that these people were all seasoned veterans, far from ordinary soldiers. The best among them were probably no weaker than the Black Sword Knights, but to challenge a lord-level Gorgon, this fighting force was really too weak.

The warriors who were accustomed to charging into battle were naturally unwilling to be looked down upon, but those who had been selected as guards for this secret mission had been carefully chosen not only for their martial prowess but also for their personalities. Naturally, they would not lose their composure in this situation. They also understood that the other party was not insulting them but stating a fact, so they could only choose to remain silent, unwillingly.

But Hao Ren didn't think this was a problem at all. "Ahem, did you forget about us? If you're worried about combat power, we have plenty of it here."

"You?" Kaim was taken aback, looking Hao Ren and his group up and down with some suspicion. He had just listed these four unarmed people as non-combatants.

"That's right, we're the main fighting force," Hao Ren nodded as a matter of course, then pointed to himself and his teammates. "We beat up Black Sword Knights like it's a game. This one can nuke the world from afar, this one is invincible in close combat, and of course, the most powerful one is her. She's the strongest fighter among us..."

Lily folded her arms and wore an expression of an otherworldly master.

Kaim: "..."

"It's true," Charlemagne said from the side. "Don't judge by appearances. In fact, they were the ones who solved all the crises along the way. I and my guards are ashamed to say... we were mainly responsible for cheering them on."

The group of guards all turned their heads to look elsewhere.

Seeing that Kaim still had some hesitation and doubt on his face, Lily couldn't help but say, "If you don't believe me, you can spar with me. It's always more reliable to verify it yourself than to just talk about it."

Although the Broken Sword Knight was still somewhat doubtful, the situation before him did not allow him to make many choices. After being beaten to the ground by Lily, he decided to believe Hao Ren and Charlemagne's claims.

After a brief rest in the ruins of the lost kingdom, the group returned to the three magic vehicles. After bypassing the impassable areas in the ruins, the group set off north into the Black Pine Forest.

But this comfortable journey by car did not last long, because after continuing north for a while, the road through the forest came to an end.

Although in that confusing Black Pine Forest, travelers could always follow the roads through the forest to reach any exit in any direction, in this Black Pine Forest, which had shed its false fog and only had its true face left, the roads through the forest were not well-connected, especially since Hao Ren and his group intended to choose the shortest route to directly pass through the northern woodlands. They had to cut their way through the dense forest in the second half of their journey.

But this was not a problem for a team with outstanding combat power, where even the weakest members were magic-martial dual-cultivators and battle-hardened veterans. Apart from not being as comfortable as sitting in the car, traveling through the forest would not slow them down too much.

During the monotonous journey, Hao Ren approached Kaim, who had been speaking very little since the start of the journey. "I have a question I'd like to ask you about..."

"Go ahead," Kaim said concisely.

"You said earlier that the Black Sword Knights had lost their minds? What's going on with that?"

"The literal meaning," Kaim spoke more frankly than before after Charlemagne revealed his identity and Hao Ren's group confirmed their intention to go north to meet Princess Constance. "Those once glorious warriors have been twisted. An evil force has twisted their original loyalty and bravery into a more fanatical and dangerous inclination, but this distortion is extremely insidious, because at this stage, very few people realize that their rational parts are no longer human."

"Indeed. We've had close encounters with the Black Sword Knights, but they behaved no differently from normal people. Oh, except for their faces."

"You've already seen the appearance of the Black Sword Knights after being corrupted?" Kaim was slightly surprised, then understood. "That's right, with your strength, even if you're chased by the Black Sword Knights, it wouldn't be difficult to kill a few of them along the way. As you said, the madness of the Black Sword Knights is still latent at the moment. They will disguise themselves with seemingly normal words and deeds, but their inner selves have actually fallen into chaos. That corrupted appearance is proof of that."

"From the way you're talking... it won't be long before the Black Sword Knights' problems are exposed to ordinary people, right?" Hao Ren frowned. "At that time, I'm afraid that a large portion of the Empire will side with the princess, right?"

"Before that, the corrupted Black Sword Knights will be enough to drag this world into utter disaster," Kaim said in a heavy tone. "And we... are taking action to prevent this disaster from happening before that day arrives."

"Ah, it seems like that's a very righteous reason indeed," Hao Ren nodded. "But there's one thing I don't quite understand... what caused the corruption of the Black Sword Knights? Could it be... really your emperor with the Dragon Soul..."

"The only one who can influence the Black Sword Knights is His Majesty Berentin," Kaim said, which was tantamount to indirectly confirming Hao Ren's statement.

Just then, the smell of burning that filled the air suddenly entered Hao Ren's nostrils.

Kaim raised his hand. "Everyone be careful, we're approaching the territory of that Gorgon demon."