Lionheart flapped his wings as he fought against the wind currents.
Dave, who was wrapped in thick clothes, was currently sitting behind the Gryphon's back as they traveled through the dark skies of the Northern Regions. The flying carriage they pulled behind their backs flew steadily amidst the strong winds that passed over them.
Flying alongside them, was another Gryphon pulling a flying carriage that belonged to the Foreign Ambassador of the Hellan Kingdom. These two carriages flew side by side throughout the night in order to arrive at their destination as soon as possible.
Inside the carriage of the Angorian War Sovereign, Wendy slept peacefully with her head resting on William's lap. She was covered with a warm blanket and a sweet smile hung on her lips. William, too, had his eyes closed. His right hand rested on the armchair of the couch, while his other hand rested on top of Wendy's hand, which was placed over her belly.
The other members of the Angorian War Sovereign were similarly resting on the comfortable couches inside the carriage.
Flying carriages were built for long travels, so there was sufficient space inside to accommodate up to a dozen people. Ian looked at William and Wendy with an envious gaze. With a glance, he could tell that their relationship had grown closer and he was feeling bitter about it.
'It's not fair,' Ian thought. 'We were the ones who saw him first.'
Ian covered his face with a blanket because he didn't want to look at the two that were making his heart ache with bitterness. He doesn't understand why he was feeling this way, but the thought of William being together with Wendy was making him feel sad.
Kenneth opened his eyes and gave his Ex-Roommate and the beautiful girl sleeping on his lap a glance, before he, too, closed his eyes to sleep. For him, it didn't matter who William ended up with. What was important to him was the boy's happiness.
On this journey to the North, William brought his own Knight Squad with him.
Wendy, Ian, Kenneth, Bruno, Brutus, Amelia, and Dave were the people he had chosen to accompany him on his mission. At first, he was planning to bring Priscilla or Spencer along, but rejected it after some careful consideration.
Priscilla was his Vice Commander and she needed to be in the academy in case of an emergency. As for Spencer, he was Wendy's twin brother, so William wanted to bring him along at first. However, knowing the siscon's overprotective tendency, he decided to kick him off his list.
Since he had already accepted Wendy's feelings for him, having a third wheel was annoying. Of course, Spencer discovered that his sister was going to accompany William on his mission. Because of this, he decided to tag along as well. He tried to convince William to take him, but the Half-Elf refused firmly.
The excuse William gave Spencer was that the Inter-Division Battle was just around the corner and he had to train his subordinates properly in order to have a chance of winning. Naturally, Spencer didn't buy his b*llsh*t, but he was powerless against the Commander of a Knight Order, so he grudgingly took a step back while cursing William inside his heart.
On the second day after they left the academy, the group finally saw the famous mountains of the Northern Regions in the distance.
"I can't even see the peak of the mountain," Wendy muttered as she gazed at the towering mountain in the distance.
White Clouds shrouded the peak of the Kyrintor Mountains and only the middle-part of it could be seen.
They were currently camping ten miles away from the base of the mountain and having their breakfast. All of them were wearing winter clothes, because the temperature was very cold.
William passed Wendy a cup of coffee before drinking his own. It was the biggest mountain that he had seen in both of his lifetimes. Although he didn't have the opportunity to see Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, he had seen pictures of it in magazines and watched documentaries about it on television.
For some reason, William felt that the Kyrintor Mountains' height surpassed it by a good margin. As to how high that margin was, he couldn't really tell at this point in time.
"Take a good look at it, ladies and gentleman," Sir Jerkins said as he made a gesture towards the mountain. "This is the last frontier of the Southern Continent, and hailed as the 'Unconquerable Lands of the North', the Kyrintor Mountains."
The members of William's group had been briefed about the contents of their mission during their journey. Of course, the part about the war was not said in order to prevent any leakage in information. William only told them that the Hellan Kingdom had finally decided to form an official alliance with the Northern Tribe and their duty was to ensure that the proposed alliance would come into fruition.
"What are our chances of success, Sir Jerkins?" Amelia asked. "I've heard from my father that the Northern Tribes don't like to deal with the people in the kingdom.
Amelia's father and the Ambassador were good friends. Sir Jerkins would often come to visit them whenever he had time, so Amelia treated him as if he were her own uncle. Of course, she still called him Sir to show her respect for his position in the kingdom.
Sir Jerkins' gaze softened as he looked at the young lady whom he treated like his own niece. He then smiled and spoke his honest take on the matter.
"Our chances of success are less than 10%," Jerkins admitted. "This is why we should do our best this time around. I just pray that we came at a good time and that the chieftain is in a good mood."
An hour later, they cleared their camp and resumed their journey. Their destination, the town of Northwell at the base of the mountain. It was one of the three towns that the tribes used to trade with the Hellan Kingdom.
According to their agreement, teleport gates were not allowed to be erected in any town near the base of the Kyrintor Mountains. This was to prevent any attempt at invasion from the Hellan Kingdom.
When the two Gryphons landed near the gates of the town, the guard captain blew a horn to alert the Mayor of their arrival. Sir Jerkins smiled wryly when he heard the horn because he was familiar with the sound it made.
The tribes used different horns to pass their messages and the horn that the Guard Captain used was the horn to announce that "Pesky Guests" had arrived in their domain.
"Well, at least they didn't sound the horn of battle," Sir Jerkins shook his head helplessly as he ordered the Gryphon Rider to stand his ground. He didn't want the first "Lookout" of the tribes to have a bad impression of them.
Because if they somehow annoyed this particular Mayor, forget about going to see the chieftain. They would immediately be barred from climbing the mountain.
A sturdy man, who looked like a Barbarian bred for war, walked out of the town's gate with a group of people behind his back.
His name was Cadell Gunnar, the mayor of Northwell. He held the title "The First Guardian" because he was responsible for protecting the main town at the base of the mountain.
"Sir Jerkins, you're back again?" Cadell snorted. His tone was laced with displeasure towards this bearded Ambassador who always had a smile on his face.
Sir Jerkins gave Cadell his trademark gentleman smile and nodded his head. "It's been two years since my last visit. I hope you've aged well during that time, Lord Cadell."
William and the rest of his order also disembarked from their carriage and stood behind Sir Jerkins. The red-headed boy wanted to know more about the Mayor, and decided to let the ambassador do all the talking.
Cadell scoffed and scanned the people that had arrived in his domain. He then gave Sir Jerkins an annoyed gaze and asked him the most important question.
"Why are you here?" Cadell asked. He was a busy person and was preparing to meet with the Great Chieftain because of the ceremony that was about to take place.
"I came to meet with the Great Chief to pass along the message of our King," Jerkins replied. "My King also asked me to personally deliver gifts to his Excellency and wish him well."
"Hoh? Gifts you say?" Cadell sneered. "So, are those kids the gifts you are talking about? Well, they're not half bad."
Sir Jerkins chuckled and waved his hand. "Lord Cadell, please, don't tease the children. They are here to assist me in my mission to see your Great Chieftain."
Cadell clicked his tongue, but still nodded his head. He then signalled for his men to open the gates and allow their entry.
Although they did their best to not show it on their faces, William and the rest were very curious to see what the towns in the Northern Tribes were like. They wanted to know how these indigenous people lived, and the secret of how they had retained their autonomy for hundreds of years.