Amber Sword

Viscount Finn from Narlie, accompanied by several knights clad in deep blue battle robes, ascended a high ground near the Bunoan Guard City, holding up a monocular with an iron-blue face, observing the smoke-wreathed Ampezel Northern Guardian City from afar.

At the end of the narrow view through the telescope, one corner of the Bunoan Guard City had completely collapsed, with some shattered rocks melted into crystalline forms. Thick smoke rolled up from within the city, rising halfway to the sky. Based on his years of experience, the enemy must have used Fire Elemental Magic to breach the city walls and enter, with more than a hundred Harbor Guards within the city scattering into the countryside without much resistance.

Viscount Finn said not a word. Was this the supposedly impregnable city defense of Ampezel, as boasted by the Harbor Guard officer to him? The city walls, long in disrepair, had barely half the defensive capability of some forts in the north, with some battlements clearly overgrown with moss. If not for the broken, anchor-bearing flags thrown at the foot of the walls, he would have thought this was a castle abandoned for years, let alone the soldiers’ negligible combat prowess.

Soon, the feedback from the returning reconnaissance cavalry confirmed his suspicions. The Princess’s army seemed to have passed through the area between 8 and 9 p.m. The feedback from the Flying Dragon Riders corroborated this evidence, though the reconnaissance cavalry still found some wounded Harbor Guards—according to these firsthand accounts, a small squad under the Princess silently approached the castle. Two women—more precisely, powerful female mages—used Fireball Techniques to bring down the city walls, after which Light Cavalry poured in. Despite their ’desperate resistance,’ the Guards couldn’t hold their ground and fell.

However, Viscount Finn received more reliable information: In fact, it was indeed a small squad from the opposing side that acted, but not anyone’s powerful female mages. Instead, they were a tall and a short female elf, apparently children. At first, they seemed to be testing the city’s defenses with Fireball Techniques, but unexpectedly, the Bunoan city walls, dilapidated over the years and accumulated with water during the storm, exploded upon encountering high heat, killing more than ten Harbor Guards instantly. This was the only casualty the Harbor Guards suffered in this battle.

Then the Light Cavalry from the Royal Knight Academy poured in through the breach, and the Harbor Guards immediately surrendered, with only a few escaping into the wilderness.

"The Kingdom is full of these useless fools." Viscount Finn spat out in anger.

Yet, he dared not raise his voice too high, as the Black Blade Legion hadn’t performed much better. This was actually the reason for his outburst: that afternoon, Baron Valen had confidently assured him of holding back the Princess’s army. He led an entire troop of Highland Infantry, delivering a grand gift to the enemy, not only losing his own life but, critically, an entire battalion, with fewer than three hundred returning. How could he account to Count Vitojin?

And those mountain people, always flaunting their power and forming cliques, were now battered as if they’d seen ghosts, unable to speak coherently, which made Viscount Finn deeply resentful. More importantly, Baron Valen’s misjudgment indirectly affected his own, and the mountain people’s nonsense made him miss a great opportunity. Of course, Viscount did not dare admit that he too was frightened then, thinking the Princess might circle back and devour his column—a possibility not entirely unlikely. The consequence was evident as his panicked withdrawal of the Flying Dragon Riders.

From the high ground, it was now all too clear—the Princess’s army had cunningly turned to attack Bunoan Guard City, emptied its grain reserves. More shameful for him was their setting fire to nearby noble estates of all sizes.

Those noble lords were now furiously taking up issues with his boss, Count Vitojin. The local nobles within Erune were well-connected and intertwined, even a big figure like Vitojin dared not offend them lightly. However, for the trouble Viscount Finn caused him, the Count is unlikely to be so magnanimous as to let bygones be bygones.

Fortunately, his efforts weren’t wholly without gain. He put down the copper monocular, clutching a sheep parchment report in his other hand. This report was first sent by the Flying Dragon Riders, a sworn statement from the Guard City’s commander, confirming that indeed, there was a contingent of Rubis Mercenaries under the Princess’s command.

This coincided with the intelligence passed from the rear.