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Four months later.
The commander of the city guard rode swiftly, riding a horse from the Leafvile City gate to Tobias' residence. The hurried arrival of the man in silver armor raised many questions in the heads of the townspeople.
He was riding fast through the Leafvile City's main street for a specific reason. From the information he received from his soldiers in the watchtower, they said a group of forces with armor and swords was walking in a neat line toward Leafvile.
A soft knock on the door of Tobias' house startled the people inside. Tobias, who was sitting in his chair, turned his head slowly toward Elisa.
Without wasting any time, Elisa nodded her understanding. She walked over to the house's wooden door and opened it quickly to see a well-built man dismounting from his horse.
"What is it, Andrea?" asked Tobias.
"I'm sorry to disturb your work, Lord Tobias. There is a large group of soldiers on a long march to Leafvile,"
"Wait? Troop mobilization? Isn't it too early to do that right now?" asked Elisa."I can't wait any longer, Elisa. I'm afraid that if we don't use this opportunity, it will put a stop to my plans," Tobias explained."But war must be a drawn-out affair; it could take months. If you insist on fighting now, your troops will starve in the middle of winter," said Elisa.Tobias stopped what he was doing, setting up wooden bows in several eastern regions. He raised his head, looking at Elisa, who was standing next to Liam.It was indeed fall this month, the leaves falling from the trees. Farming was in full swing, storing up food supplies for the three months of winter."What's wrong, Tobias?" asked Liam."Her words stopped me in my tracks. What she said could be an issue in the assault on Atrea's territory," Tobias explained."That's why I asked you not to mobilize the troops to the east. Do it when winter is over," Elisa pleaded.To
King Constantine couldn't do much about it. He cannot force his will on Tobias either, or his daughter's marriage will not go well in the future. Constantine rose from his seat, walking over to Thomas, who had become agitated by Tobias' confession.King Constantine stood tall with a sharp look in his eyes, piercing and trying to intimidate his son. He didn't know if Tobias' story was true, but if it was, then Thomas should apologize to Tobias."After all his explanations. I want to hear your own version," Constantine explained sternly, his forehead furrowed.The middle-aged man and Queen Elena, and the four youngsters walked away from Tobias' residence. They left, keeping Tobias alone in his grief and disappointment."Is Ingfried still in Valestria?" asked Constantine, curious."I think so. I saw Caroline yesterday," Elena explained."Then we'd better leave," said Constantine.He walked side by side with Elena into his carriage while
Tobias chose to go to the first village, which was located in a forest. Before they arrived, Tobias and Liam would meet at an intersection after entering the dense forest.Both of them continued to spur their horses on at a steady pace. They didn't want to be in a hurry to arrive, of course, while both of them scanned the surroundings.The forest was an unpredictable area. It could be used by people to commit robberies or other crimes without being detected.Not only evil-hearted humans but many wild animals roamed the forest. Given that this place was their habitat, there was no fear whatsoever for the animals to defend their habitat or territory.The first intersection Tobias encountered was the same as when he rode in from the west with Giselle, Theo, and Mira. Tobias stopped his horse, looking right and left.Liam did the same, "Where's the road to one of those villages?"Tobias pointed to the dirt roads on two sides, north and south, "T
"Dieter Archibald?" asked Tobias.The man had no idea that anyone else from the House of Archibald was still alive. In all the time Tobias had lived in the Archibald residence, he had never seen Dieter, and his parents had never told him anything about Dieter."I'm your grandfather's older brother," Dieter said, smiling as he tried to remind Tobias of that.Tobias sighed. If only he knew what Archibald's family tree was like, he might know Dieter's identity better.His small family was all he knew; they had all been killed in the war against Valcke. Giselle and himself were trying to restore the glory of the House of Archibald at any cost."I apologize. I don't remember anything after waking up from the coma," Tobias explained.Dieter Archibald's eyes widened violently; he hadn't expected Tobias to feel that way. If what Tobias said was true, then there was no way he could have known Dieter or even his own grandpa."I see, huh. I'm su
The villagers' steps began to stop near a cliff. Tobias and Liam watched with expressions of admiration for the beautiful landscape of the Atrea region.Because of its high location, Tobias and Liam could see the landscape of the urban areas and forests in the western region. He could see Hooktown and several other towns under Valcke's control."You can watch the war from here," Tobias said."It's something we've been doing for a long time, ever since the war against Valcke in Stratham happened," the villager said.He stood with his head slightly bowed. Liam was focused on watching the man while wanting to know what the man was doing. However, it was different with Tobias, who was still standing near the cliff secured by the fence, staring at the landscape of the Atrea region, which was now filled with farm fields."It looks like Valcke's purpose for capturing that territory is to use it as their farm," Tobias said."If I can seize this terr
Tobias couldn't wait for them from above. He looked down with a peek. There were a total of 20 people walking along armed to the teeth.They looked eager to kill Tobias, not knowing the consequences of dealing with the nobleman.One by one, the criminals began to walk up the stairs. They walked in neat rows, their right hands holding weapons while their left hands held torches.Seeing the situation that was happening, Tobias couldn't stay long in that place. He thought he would be completely trapped if he stayed here when the criminals arrived.Tobias looked to his right and left, seeing if there was any room in the rock. He picked up the torch, trying to shine some light around the place until he found a fairly dark corner.He returned the torch, walked over to the dark corner, and hid in it. Tobias was fairly certain that the bad guys wouldn't be able to find him, as they were too distracted with their ambition to kill Tobias."Come on. Le
The young man thoughtlessly dragged the man before him to walk out. Liam followed while carrying the bodies of the criminals to be thrown from the cliff, of course, to hide the traces of the murder that occurred.The man only throws away the spy who has just been killed. Tobias told Liam not to dump the other. Tobias was afraid that the disappearance of the bodies would raise the suspicions of the spies.Liam nodded his head, obeying. His hands began to lift the man's body that felt cold in his palms, throwing the body as hard as he could down the cliff."His body won't be left when night falls. The beasts in the forest must have smelled his blood," Liam said.The man turned his head slowly, looking behind his back at Tobias, who stood firmly before the spy he had arrested."I do remember the road to the village. However, in order to confirm whether it's the right path or not, I need to take you with us," Tobias said, crossing his arms in front of
"Let them in," said the troop commander.His order was immediately obeyed without arguing by the soldier guarding the gate. Instead of blocking Tobias and Liam, they were welcomed into Hooktown, which had been turned into a military town."Thank you, Commander," Tobias said."Just call me Heimer," said the middle-aged man, looking very dignified in his military shirt with a shiny badge attached to his upper left chest.He continued to make his way into the center of town, Tobias and Liam following on foot. He handed over the horses to the soldiers at the gate; it wouldn't be good if only the two rode horses while following Heimer.Liam and Tobias continued to look around them, specifically at the houses and shops that had been turned into sword forges. Not a single civilian was to be seen here; it was truly a closed and sterile area."We're sorry. We can't keep the defense line any further," Heimer explained."You saved a city from de