In the early morning, as the sun began to warm the air, a line of armored warriors on warhorses appeared on the open plain.
"Commander! The Central Stronghold is just ahead!"
Remedios, riding at the front of the formation, heard the reminder from her Vice-Commander, who was close behind her. She lifted her gaze slightly, and the Holy Kingdom's famous Great Wall Defense Line came into view.
"Excellent. Quicken the pace!"
That morning, she had once again seen the messenger dispatched by the Commander of the Central Stronghold. Although it was only to confirm the Knight Order's position, she could sense his urgency.
Given this, Remedios felt she should arrive at the Central Stronghold sooner to alleviate his worries.
If too much attention was paid to the matter of the mysterious knight, it might create a weakness in the stronghold's defenses. It would be disastrous if an accident occurred due to a lapse in vigilance against the Demi-human Tribes beyond the Great Wall.
With that thought, Remedios swung her reins, and her warhorse's speed increased.
Soon, the members of the Knight Order arrived before the Central Stronghold's fortress. The soldiers guarding the gate immediately recognized the Holy Kingdom armor worn by the knights.
"The Paladin Order is here!"
"Open the gates quickly!"
The Squad Leader stood on the watchtower, shouting to the soldiers below.
When the Demi-human Tribes had attacked the Central Stronghold, Remedios had been ordered to reinforce it. In that battle, the Squad Leader had been fortunate enough to witness this legendary figure and had even saved his life because of her.
Therefore, he had a deep impression of the female Commander of the Paladin Order, and meeting her again, the Squad Leader was even a little excited.
"Is that Lady Custodio?"
Remedios looked up at the watchtower, a little surprised that someone recognized her, though she had no impression of the person. "I am Remedios Custodio!"
The city gate slowly opened. Remedios didn't hesitate, immediately leading the Knight Order through the gate and into the interior of the fortress.
The interior of the fortress was no different from an ordinary stronghold, just larger in area. After the Knight Order members had settled their warhorses in the stables, the Commander of the Central Stronghold, having been notified by his subordinates, immediately rushed to greet them.
"Commander Aud."
"Commander Custodio!" The middle-aged man with two mustaches wore a joyful expression the moment he saw Remedios, relief washing over him. "You've finally arrived, thank goodness!"
"Where are those people?"
"The Captain with the monstrous mount is not in the stronghold right now. He leaves with his monster every morning, saying he's going to stretch his limbs. The others are in our training grounds. I've had people monitoring their every move, and so far, there's nothing unusual."
"Hmm, that's good." Remedios nodded, and with a smile of excitement on her face, she began walking towards the training grounds.
This made Gustavo, the Vice-Commander who had always assisted her in managing the Paladin Order, feel a sense of foreboding, and he immediately asked, "Commander! Where are you going?"
"Why ask? Of course, to give them a taste of their own medicine! Otherwise, they'll think our Holy Kingdom is easy to bully."
...
The Holy Land of Avalon Island.
"One!"
"Hah!"
"Two!"
"Hup!"
In the spacious plaza, about ten thousand soldiers, holding exquisite weapons, were repeatedly thrusting on command. The one shouting the commands was a stern-faced middle-aged man, wearing the armor signifying a 'Tiger Knight', inspiring admiration and yearning in the recruits.
Lock stood on the balcony of Eivenburg, watching the soldiers below train diligently with a slight smile.
These were all recruits infused with power through advancement magic, and they were now constantly integrating the power within their bodies to quickly complete their level-up.
"Vier, how many soldiers do we have now?" Lock asked, swirling the wine glass in his hand.
Vier, serving by his side, immediately replied, "According to your orders, sixty thousand recruits have been conscripted from all over the kingdom. They are all elites with good physical aptitude and potential. Twenty thousand of these soldiers have already completed basic training and can be deployed for battle at any time."
"Have those nobles made any unusual moves regarding our conscription in their territories?"
"The nobles who have pledged allegiance to the Golden Princess have no issues. Most of the nobles have cooperated after our people explained the situation. However... in Marquis Boluolopu's territory, our people clashed with the local security forces when recruiting soldiers, but it was all resolved in the end."
Lock raised an eyebrow, surprised that the fellow was still resisting. If Marquis Boluolopu knew that all the allies he placed his hopes on were only superficially agreeing to his 'resistance alliance' and had secretly pledged allegiance to him long ago, would he not spit out a mouthful of old blood?
Most of the kingdom's political power was now in Lana's hands, with his old father assisting in management as Lock's representative, so he didn't need to worry much.
"According to the plan, just let Marquis Boluolopu's son inherit his title. Remember to warn that boy then to be obedient; otherwise, there are as many people as needed to replace him."
"I understand, Master," Vier said respectfully, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Lock took one last look at the soldiers in the plaza, then handed the wine glass in his hand to Vier. "If there's nothing else, I'll return to the Holy Kingdom. The Holy Queen's envoy should be arriving soon."
His return this time was mainly to check on how the matters he had entrusted to Vier and the others were progressing. Since everything was going smoothly, there was no need to worry.
"I wish you a pleasant time in the Holy Kingdom!"
Amidst the maid's farewell, Lock passed through the teleportation device and left the Holy Land, then used a 'Teleportation Gate' to return to the Holy Kingdom's border Great Wall.
"Captain! The people of the Holy Kingdom attacked us!"
"Hmm?"
As Lock rode his Bicorn out of the Teleportation Gate, he immediately sensed the message from Barun and the others. Judging by the tone, it shouldn't be a terrible situation, but it was somewhat urgent.
"Hold on, I'm on my way back." Lock replied to his subordinate and disconnected, then tugged the reins, ordering the Bicorn, "Little Black, hurry back!"
Whoosh~
The Bicorn's front hooves reared high, then it galloped at an extremely fast speed towards the Great Wall fortress in sight.
At this moment, in the Central Stronghold's training grounds, Remedios, along with members of the Paladin Order and the stronghold's guard soldiers, had surrounded Barun and the others, creating a very tense atmosphere.
"Why are you attacking us?" Azar noticed his companion behind him slowly lowering his arm, which was gripping his necklace over his chest, and couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Then, with a serious expression, he looked at the female Paladin opposite him and asked.
Remedios directly raised the Holy Sword in her hand, pointing it at the six individuals, including Azar, and declared loudly, "You have attacked a vital border area of the Holy Kingdom and are extremely dangerous individuals. For the safety of the Central Stronghold, I now command you to lay down your weapons and surrender."
Facing Remedios's accusation, Azar was silent for a moment, then said, "We have no intention of destroying this stronghold. If the Captain's previous actions caused your misunderstanding, I apologize here."
Although he had no idea what mission he and his companions were on when they followed the Captain to the Holy Kingdom, Azar, as Vice-Captain, also felt that Lock's previous actions were somewhat inappropriate.
The members of this squad were all recruits who had only recently joined the Holy Land. Their strength had not yet surpassed the heroic realm; their worldview was still that of border villagers, and their emotions were relatively simple. Apologizing when they made a mistake was common sense.
However, the other party did not seem to accept Azar's apology.
Remedios was only slightly surprised, her tone remaining firm. "This is no longer something that an apology can resolve. You have violated the laws of the Holy Kingdom. Now, surrender immediately!"
Seeing that negotiation was impossible, Azar stopped talking nonsense, his expression gradually turning cold. No matter what, they represented the Holy Land in the Holy Kingdom. They could apologize, but they absolutely could not surrender!
"In that case, brothers, let's fight our way out!"
"Yes!" The squad members responded immediately, shouting, then gripped their weapons, preparing to break through.
"Stubborn fools! Take them down!" Remedios ordered loudly.
The two Vice-Commanders of the Paladin Order beside her exchanged glances, a wry smile on their faces. Their Commander was still as direct as ever in her actions.
However, on second thought, Priestess Quirat had instructed the Paladin Order to test the strength of this squad.
If they could be easily taken down, it would mean these individuals were nothing special, and their detailed origins and purpose could be interrogated later before dealing with them.
If they could withstand the Paladin Order's attack, it would mean they were worthy of an audience with the Holy Queen. At that point, they could apologize to the other party, citing the Commander's fiery temper. Since they claimed to be envoys and the other party was indeed at fault, they believed they wouldn't dwell on this point.
As for the possibility of them being thoroughly defeated and ultimately angering the other party, it wasn't impossible. Even if the other party was difficult to deal with, the two Vice-Commanders had a certain amount of confidence in Remedios, and with themselves added, they could at least make the other party wary.
As they were thinking this, the members of the Paladin Order beside them had already charged towards Azar and the others, following their Commander's orders.
The fastest Paladin confronted Barun, the squad's vanguard, swinging his sword down at Barun.
Barun's expression was serious. He immediately used his longsword to block.
At the moment the two swords clashed, a hint of confusion flashed in Barun's eyes. He suddenly exerted force on the hand holding the sword, directly pushing the Paladin, who stumbled backward.
An opportunity!
Barun recalled the training officer's teachings. Since he didn't want to kill the opponent right now, he immediately kicked out, forcefully striking the Paladin in the chest.
Thud!
Ah!
A dull impact sound, accompanied by a cry of pain. The attacked Paladin flew backward, falling heavily at Remedios's feet.
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A/N: Support Via Powerstone And Collections