The day felt peaceful, almost too peaceful, as the group of Danes walked across the field. Suddenly, a shadowy figure passed through them and, before they were able to see who it was, most of them were instantly knocked to the ground.
"Who is that?! Show yourself!" One of the still-standing Danes said.
From a mist made of black shadows, a young man emerged wearing a satisfied smile. The Danes stared at him in shock, he used the opportunity to snap his finger. Plant roots sprouted from the earth beneath them and tied the Danes up before hanging them upside down.
"Witchery! That's a shaman! Argh!"
Of course, the shadowy figure was no other than Emery. As soon as the two groups separated, Emery used the opportunity to stop the Danes and force them to say what they were doing with the Iceni.
To entice them to talk, Emery even decided to tighten the coils of the root on their bodies as much as he could without breaking their bones, but even as he heard a crack before he loosened the coils a bit, it appeared they were merely bottom-tier grunts. All they knew was the Iceni representatives told them to not pillage certain villages and the Danes' agreed to follow a certain path.
Emery used his spirit reading and recognized the path leading to one of the Logress' territories, which they would later pillage and burn.
He flicked his fingers and more roots appeared around him, acting as makeshift hands to strip the warriors from their weapons, armor and clothes, leaving them only in their undergarments and tied up upside down.
Afterwards, Emery wore one of the Danes' clothes and stopped the Iceni knights. Caught off guard by what they thought to be an ally, they were unable to react fast enough to Emery's attacks. He overpowered them with pure strength, knocking out a dozen knights and a few silver knights.
"We are allies! Why are you attacking us!" One silver knight shouted.
"Are we? I didn't hear of such a thing!" Emery shouted back, before hitting the back of the knight's head.
Thanks to his disguise, Emery was able to fool them and see which path those knights asked the Danes to take.
But that wasn't even the most shocking thing. From the knights' confessions, Emery learned the invasion was part of a joint effort between not just the Iceni and the Danes, but also the North Brigantes tribe with the Norgales kingdom.
Two biggest neighboring countries and two kingdoms of Brittania were collaborating to destroy Logress. What Arthur said in his letter was really not an exaggeration.
Just like before, Emery used the roots to strip them all out of their weapons and armor and left them hung and tied up. Using the information he learned, Emery was able to spot the hidden markers carved to the trees set by the Iceni. In order to save time, he opened his [Spatial Gate] one after another, until he landed in the outskirts of Logress territory.
It was a simple, farming village with a calm atmosphere. A few dozen houses made of wood and roofed with intertwined plants could be seen throughout the area.
Unlike the first village he passed in the Iceni territory, this village was still bustling with activity. The searing heat of high noon has started to fade, to be replaced with a refreshing breeze carrying the distinct scent of fresh leaves. A slight red tint had replaced the edges of the blue skies, an indication it was almost time for the sun to set.
Some families gathered near the river to fish for their dinner, the laughter of children could be heard around where several middle-aged couples were busy fishing. Shops started to pack up their goods to close for the day. The sole tavern in this small village was starting to bustle with activity.
Laughter and the voices of someone challenging another villager to another round of games could be heard from inside. All in all, the calm, lively village was a contrast to his turbulent emotions.
One thing was clear, the village had not been warned.
The more time he wasted here, the more danger Logress and by extension the entire land of Britannia would be in.
He decided to ask around for where to find the chief of the village and told them about the upcoming danger. One of the villagers directed him to a simple house. Just like the others, it was made of wood, but it was a bit bigger compared to most of the other houses.
A chief was busy writing something on the table, while a dozen villagers were tending some other matter inside the huge room. Without wasting time, Emery told them about the threat.
They were skeptical at first and asked Emery far too many questions, wasting time he did not have. In the end, this situation ended up forcing him to pull out his Divine Order wizard badge, after discreetly taking it out from the [Spatial Storage].
Upon seeing the carved badge, their dismissive attitude immediately changed. The village chief put down his pen, stood up and started to order the immediate evacuation of every villager.
As they packed up their belongings, Emery approached the chief and asked about the status of the Divine Order Tournament.
"Yes, today is the third day. They should know who the champion is today." The elderly man answered.
Emery then decided to ask the real question that had been hanging on his mind ever since he reached the coast of Brittania.
"Do you know anything about the wedding?"
"Of course!" The village chief answered
"Yes the wedding of our King Arthur and our future Queen Gwenneth will be held after the tournament, everyone was invited. It should be in a few days. The 6th day, to be precise."
Before the chief could finish his words, Emery heard a distant battle cry and drums of war, so he ran out towards the river. With his enhanced senses, he saw the Danes had started to take a course through the river, no doubt planning to raze everything in their path. They were still a few miles away, but it would be better for them to evacuate as soon as possible.
There was not much time left. He contemplated leaving immediately, but he didn't want to just leave the villagers to their fate.
Thinking he still had 3 days until the wedding and how he could just use his spatial gate to save time, he believed he still had time to help the villagers.