As their rallied army was taking a break in the middle of their march toward Richtpole, Prince Paul’s keen senses took heed of something that was heading their rallied army of around eighty thousand strong. He reined in his horse and maneuvered it around. From the horizon, he squinted his eyes and caught a glimpse of a man riding on a stunning black stallion. With ginger hair and a suit of black, Paul immediately recognized the man. Duke Lancer and Marquis Krieg noticed the approach of the man as well, keeping an eye on him until he reached their location.
“It’s been so long, Rick.” “You as well, Your Highness.” The man, Rick, formally nodded to the prince before shifting his attention to the person he had not personally seen yet. Upon finally seeing Rick, who was one of their greatest collaborators, Edward was intrigued by his magnetism and already had a nice first impression of him. “So, you are Rick,” he said, putting on a smile. “I am glad to finally meet you. I heard a lot of things about yourself, and I also unknowingly enjoy your music that was played in my city.” “It’s an honor to be praised by such a great nobleman and warrior such as Marquis Krieg. I apologize in advance for cutting this out, but we are in the middle of a war, so we better get things done.” “As serious as always,” Robert interjected. “But Rick is right; there’s no time to waste, especially in our current situation. Rick has news to deliver, I suppose?” “Yes, I got good news. All of the battles within the borders where other nations are involved are successful.” “When you say all, does that include the Raevender Viscounty…?” Paul hesitatingly asked. “Yes, Your Highness. The Empire of Dixon approved the participation of the Viscounty of Raevender in the war. The cities that are tasked with them, the cities of Baron Geisler and Viscount Gespenst, have been effectively seized not long ago.” “That’s great!” Paul suddenly became enthusiastic. “So, when will they be able to join us?” “Actually, they are coming this way as we speak.” Coincidentally, as soon as Rick finished his words, a distortion could be seen in the fabric of space a few meters behind Rick. All of them, except Rick, were baffled by what they were seeing and intently focused their attention on it. Immediately after the appearance of the distortion, it shaped into a quadrilateral and eventually painted a garden-like scenery within it. The Portal had been laid from the other side. Afterwards, a single figure stepped out of the spatial technique. With her light-brown hair done with a twisted crown braid, she snatched the attention of the onlookers around her, the three gentlemen, and a portion of the army who had noticed her entrance. As legends had it, her lavender armor and the rapier hanging on her waist made them realize who she was. She was none other than the legendary Sword Saint herself, Mylene Raevender. “The Sword Saint…” The bystanders who took a glimpse of her pleasant beauty and powerful presence were stunned. After all, she was considered the true embodiment of beauty alongside her wife, Claire. Some even concluded that she was the most beautiful person they had ever seen.
But the surprises did not end there. After Mylene, a few more people made their entrance. Next to Mylene was a young girl with long, silky, and lustrous black hair with the same purple gaze as her. Clad in light armor, her shape was somewhat obvious to the people around her. She was Louise Raevender, the daughter of Mylene. The third one to step on the grassy earth was a young man with the same features as Mylene. Her son and the heir of the viscounty, Raphael Raevender, had entered the war. However, that was not the end for the members of the Raevender family.
After Raphael, there was another man. He had dark brown hair and navy-blue eyes, and he seemed to be in his early to mid-twenties. Although he was unrecognizable by anybody, they could feel his strength despite being relatively young.
Next to pass the Portal was a woman with the same age group and physical traits as the man: dark brown hair and navy blue gazes. Judging from her outfit and gear, many could think of her as a rogue who specialized in speed and agility. The last person to arrive was another woman equipped with a ruby-red hood and an ebony staff in her possession. She had wavy, golden blonde hair and a gleaming purple gaze. As anyone could guess, she was a magic caster. The last three people to arrive at the location were, in order, Michael, Lucy, and Uriel. They were formerly the members of an adventurer party, Myriad Wings, after they disbanded. They became acquainted with the Raevender family after one of their colleagues, Gabrielle, was engaged to Mylene and Claire.
“Alright, everybody’s safely arrived here.” Mylene said this as Raphael was closing the Portal. She then led the group and made an approach to the prince and the others.
“Nice meeting you, Prince Paul.” “The honor is mine, Viscountess Raevender.” After Mylene greeted him, Paul carefully dismounted from his war horse in order to have a proper conversation with the Raevenders, and so did the others. “Long time, no see, Rick.” “Nice to see you again, Michael.” As soon as he landed on the grass, Michael and Rick approached one another and grasped their hands as if they were blood brothers, except that they actually were. “It seems like you two know each other.” Seeing their bond, Paul asked. “You are right, Your Highness. I have known Michael and the others for a long time, though we split apart after they took the path of adventurers.”
“I see. I am glad for your reunion, then.” “It’s been years since we met,” Edward reminisced. “But the Sword Saint hasn’t changed a bit as far as I can remember.” 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝘮
“Oh my, Marquis Krieg, you are making me so old.” “Ah, right, I barely remembered it, but Marquis Krieg participated in the campaign to fend off the monster invasion that happened years ago, right?” “That’s right, Your Highness. But I only saw her briefly since she immediately flew away to subjugate the monsters by herself.” Edward closed his eyes for a short time. “But more importantly, we thank you for accepting our request to assist us in this war.” “Not a problem, Marquis; both of us will benefit from the outcome of this war. We will help you win this war in exchange for what you have offered. It is just a matter of mutual interest.” The reason why the Raevender family was involved in the war was because of the terms they had agreed to—the pieces of land—and the territories of the royalists they would conquer after the war. But the deal would take effect if the prince’s side won the war. In order to assure the victory of the prince, the members and vassals of the family decided to personally play a part in the conflict, fighting the opposing forces directly, which brought them to the current situation. “Even though, your territory’s assistance in participating in an issue outside your own yard is already a huge help.” “Helping our neighbors is not always a bad thing, Your Highness.”
“Alright, our break is about to end, so it’s always been an honor for the Sword Saint to join us in our march.” Later on, Prince Paul raised the flag anew and continued their rally toward the capital.
This content is taken from 𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ