The vast fortress allied forces slowly marched towards Border Town.

At the forefront of the army was the knight order formed by the six great families of the fortress. The difference in the power of each family could be seen from the armor and attire of their knights. Undoubtedly, the most eye-catching were the knights under Duke Ryan, whose steeds were short-tailed horses from the royal capital, known for their endurance and larger size than other horses. The knights sitting on horseback looked even more majestic, their armor uniformly forged by the fortress's "Hammer and Dragon Tooth" blacksmith shop, with large lion heads carved on the silver, shining, thick breastplates, and wolf heads on the shoulder armor, as if roaring. Exquisite patterns were embroidered on the capes behind them, and red ribbons were tied around their waists.

These knights were not just for show. After each Month of the Demons, they were responsible for clearing out the remaining demonic beasts outside the city to ensure smooth land routes. Each of them had accumulated considerable combat experience. In one-on-one duels, they were not much worse than the knights of the royal capital, only slightly inferior in number – of course, it was an astonishing expense for the Duke to gather an elite knight force of one hundred and fifty men.

Duke Ryan looked at this sharp division with satisfaction. Without a doubt, with their strength, no one in the Western Region could stop him.

Walking in the middle of the army was a mercenary force, whose equipment was much inferior in comparison. Most of them wore old chainmail or lamellar armor, either missing gauntlets or helmets. Some were only equipped with cheap leather armor, and their weapons were also various. They were scattered along the road, grouping together in twos and threes, talking and laughing loudly as they walked, as if this trip was not for battle, but merely a spring outing.

At the rear of the line were the freemen forcibly conscripted by the lords, dragging carts loaded with food and tents, slowly following behind the mercenaries. The difference in speed made this army of about fifteen hundred people very long, and the leading knight force had to stop from time to time to wait for the rear to catch up.

"Lord," Earl Hilltay. Medra of the Elk pulled on the reins, allowing himself to move alongside the Duke, "we are still half a day away from Border Town. If all goes well, we should arrive at Xu Shi (4 PM). At that time, will the army rest for the night and act the next morning, or immediately launch an attack on the lord's castle?"

"Do you still want to sleep in the wild?" the Duke laughed, "I think we should be lying on the big bed in the castle at night, not in the wet mud. Of course, the face of the royal family must be taken into consideration. After arriving at Border Town, I will first send an envoy to persuade him to surrender."

The Earl of Honeysuckle walked slightly ahead and turned his head, "The knights have been walking for a day, and both people and horses are tired. Would it be inappropriate to attack directly? After all, Roland Wimbledon has safely survived the entire Month of the Demons with his miners. I think we should be cautious."

"Haha, others may not know, but don't you know the details of the demonic beasts? My old friend. They are indeed terrifying in the wild, moving swiftly and with amazing strength, but with a city wall, most demonic beasts are just targets. After all, they are just beasts." The Earl of the Elk shrugged, "I am surprised that he can build a city wall so quickly, but with this alone, he can't possibly resist my knights, right? They are not brainless fools."

"That's right. And I also received a message from the north," Duke Ryan said casually, "Hermes was attacked by a large number of hybrid demonic beasts this year, and the New Holy City almost fell. The reason is still unclear, but it seems that this year's demonic beasts are all heading for the Holy City, and the Western Region is just a few stragglers."

As the owner of the Western Region, his gaze was not only focused on this remote land. He had spies in major towns for many years, constantly sending him the latest information from all over the world. The fierce battle in the Northern Lands was not the main point. A few days ago, he received a secret report from Cliff Edge City that the New King Tifico and Queen Garcia of the Azure Water had a fierce battle in Eagle City in the Southern Region – and according to previous news, Tifico's team should arrive in Eagle City a month later.

The letter did not mention the course of the battle, but only stated that when Tifico returned from Cliff Edge City, only a few thousand of his troops remained, and he was even unable to block the road as he had done when he came. Some people also saw a raging fire in Eagle City, with black smoke rising almost as high as the clouds, which was witnessed by residents of the surrounding towns.

Undoubtedly, whether or not Queen Azure Water died at the hands of Tifico, such a painful loss was a serious blow to the New King. This secret letter made Duke Ryan restless, and he sent multiple confidants to the royal capital and the Eastern Region overnight, hoping to find out Tifico's current situation. If this war between the two kings had the opportunity to destroy the New King's unstable regime, he would definitely not mind adding another torch to the fire.

If he wanted to declare himself king independently, now was almost the best opportunity. The soldiers in the north were buried at the foot of the Holy City, and the south had just experienced a great battle and obviously needed to lie down and lick its wounds. Not to mention the Eastern Region and the royal capital, they probably wouldn't recover for several years. As long as he gathered a group of people to eat the north, he could tear Graycastle in half. By then, the territory and population he possessed would be comparable to the Everwinter Kingdom in the far north of the continent, and his strength would be fully capable of contending with the southeast of Graycastle.

And he, Osman Ryan, would be the first king of this land.

Thinking of this, the Duke showed a smug smile. He hoped that after ending this farce today, he would immediately escort the prince back on his way tomorrow. If he was lucky, he would be able to welcome the good news from his confidants in the castle in three days.

As the sun gradually set, approaching the peaks of the mountains, Ryan saw the looming outline of the Border Town castle... and, a densely packed crowd of people outside the town.

"Father, Duke," Lane. Mede, who was responsible for leading the way at the front of the army, came back to report, "Those people in front should be the Fourth Prince's guards. They are all holding weapons and don't seem to welcome us."

"That's good, at least we don't have to bother to invite him to the castle," the Earl of the Elk laughed, "Go and tell the knights to slow down, we are still far from the charging distance."

"Yes, Father," Lane took the order and left.

Duke Ryan raised his telescope to observe the opponent's formation. The team in the mirror looked very strange. They were holding strange weapons, standing in dense rows, one next to the other. If the weapon was a spear, he couldn't see the spearhead at all, and the handle was too short. Moreover, the array they displayed was too unconventional... Such a thin defense line would be penetrated with a single charge?

This made the Duke a little confused. Even if the prince didn't have any common sense about military formations, he still had knights and guards under his command. They couldn't all be playing along with him, could they? After thinking for a moment, the Duke decided to let the mercenaries take the lead, and the knight force would temporarily stay in the charging acceleration area to wait and see what the prince was up to.

Of course, the envoy to persuade surrender still had to be sent. Duke Ryan summoned a confidant, "Go and tell the prince that I have no intention of harming him, but the decree of King Tifico Wimbledon has arrived, and I have to obey it. If he lays down his weapons and surrenders now, he will not be harmed in any way, and I will escort him back to the royal capital as a prince."

The gathering of the army was a very slow process. The knights took their positions one after another, while the mercenaries were still slowly gathering in front of the formation. At this moment, Duke Ryan saw four bursts of fire on the opponent's position – the fire flashed and disappeared, and then a puff of green smoke rose. He frowned, thinking he had seen it wrong. Just as he was about to take a closer look with his telescope, a series of thunderous roars suddenly exploded in his ears!