Chapter 607 - 606: The Complex Castle

Chapter 607: Chapter 606: The Complex Castle

"I’d hate to let those four thousand Gold Coins go to waste," Colin joked.

"Then please hurry and come with me," the steward said with a smile. "I can only rest easy once you are with the Family Head."

The group immediately entered the main gate, following the steward toward the inner courtyard. From a distance, Colin could see several figures dressed as Mages bustling about, apparently drawing a Teleportation Array.

The group followed the steward into the inner courtyard.

The steward turned back and said, "Gentlemen, would you like to Teleport now, or would you prefer to rest inside the mansion for a while and have some lunch? The nobles are still in the process of conscripting soldiers, so things aren’t extremely urgent just yet."

Colin glanced at the man’s expression and knew at once it was just a polite offer.

He said, "We’ll Teleport now."

The moment he finished speaking, Kase, who was standing behind him, groaned twice. The Half-Orc, who was prone to motion sickness from Teleportation Arrays, was about to suffer again.

The group led their Big Hoof Treasure to the center of the Teleportation Array.

The nearby Mages immediately began Casting and Spellcasting, and the Array slowly lit up.

A familiar sensation spread through their bodies. When they opened their eyes again, the scene of the noble’s inner courtyard had been replaced by a room built of brick and stone, inside which stood several Guards.

"I’m really..." Kase’s voice came from behind.

Colin glanced back. The Half-Orc’s brownish-yellow face had turned almost white—a rather frightening sight.

But after he dry-heaved a couple of times, he quickly recovered. He must have built up a little resistance after Teleporting a few times.

"Foreign gentlemen, you’ve arrived quite quickly."

A man’s voice came from behind. Colin turned to see that the speaker was a man dressed in the traditional hunting robes of the Northern Lands. His features were also typical of the North—broad and resolute, the face of a man who had clearly weathered many storms.

Colin frowned, thinking for a moment before saying, "You’re... Mikhailo, right? I didn’t get that wrong, did I?"

"Yes, I am Mikhail Tolchevich. I’m pleased you remember my name. I hope the beds we arranged for you last time were to your satisfaction." The man smiled.

’He’s the one who posed as a decoy for Albert when we escorted him back to the Northern Lands,’ Colin thought. ’Good thing I remembered just in time.’

"Albert has been waiting for you for a long time. Please, come with me, gentlemen." Mikhailo gave a slight nod, then led the group toward the door.

Beyond the door was a rectangular bailey.

A small training ground had been cordoned off within the bailey with wooden frames. A crowd of soldiers, weapons in hand, were shouting around its perimeter. It looked like two skilled fighters were training inside.

Kase glanced in that direction several times, looking like he wanted to go over and trade a few blows.

A few soldiers on the outskirts of the crowd saw the group emerge from the room and quietly alerted their companions.

However, others in the crowd had seen Colin’s group before. With their explanations, no commotion broke out. Someone even called over a few Grooms to help settle their Big Hoof Treasure.

Following Mikhailo, the group went up a staircase to the top of the gatehouse.

The moment they stepped onto the castle wall, the vista before them opened up dramatically.

The castle was built on a solitary limestone peak over two hundred meters high, thrusting into a river valley like a Dagger.

The castle was surrounded by gentle slopes covered in moss, grass, and shrubs, with towering, snow-capped mountains farther in the distance.

Patches of coniferous forest, farmland, and farmsteads divided the land. A ribbon of white water cut a winding path across the landscape. A town of moderate size was built by the river, and even from the castle walls, they could see white sails gliding slowly over the water.

Colin looked down and around.

The main keep they were in was situated on a vertical rock formation, surrounded by cliffs on all sides. The only way to the adjacent peak was via a drawbridge.

In the distance, high walls and towers also stood. Among them, he could make out a tower that looked like a Mage Tower and a small Morninglord Cathedral.

The road down the mountain coiled around the small peak, twisting and turning like a meandering river or a switchback road.

"Five... seven... eight..." Kase muttered from the side.

"What are you doing?"

"Quiet. I’m counting the gates." Kase waved his hand dismissively, acting as if it were a matter of grave importance and Colin was just a pesky fly.

"There are thirteen gates. Stop counting."

"Five... seven... eight..." Kase paid him no mind, completely lost in his own world.

"This castle feels incredibly safe," Orelia remarked, leaning over the parapet to look outside. "I doubt even a few thousand men could breach it."

Mikhailo said with a touch of pride, "If we were ever truly besieged, we could defend these walls until we die of old age. There’s no doubt about it."

Of course, the Northern Noble’s pride was certainly not unfounded.

From Colin’s perspective, the fortress could only be described as impregnable. It was hard to imagine what kind of army could ever conquer it.

As the group was chatting, Colin suddenly noticed Dorn.

He stood behind a merlon with his arms crossed, looking utterly bored. Kase and Ale were flanking him, making it impossible for him to get to a crenel and see what was outside.

Dorn, noticing Colin sizing him up, said irritably, "I swear, if you laugh out loud right now, I will absolutely punch you square in the gut."

"Laugh about what? I wasn’t going to laugh."

As he spoke, Colin recalled paying Donkexes for his Plate Armor, and suddenly the situation didn’t seem so funny anymore.

"Hmph. I’ll let it slide."

Colin paid the Dwarf no mind and turned to look at the scene outside the castle.

Below them was a massive camp. A log palisade enclosed a sea of colorful tents. Blacksmith shops, stables, and small, makeshift Divine Halls... it had everything you’d expect to see.

Figures bustled between the tents, and a variety of different banners fluttered in the wind from the tops of several tents. This indicated that many nobles from different families had gathered in the camp, along with the soldiers under their command.

However, having never seen anything like it, Colin had no idea just how many people were in the camp. All he could be sure of was that there were a great many of them.

In that instant, Colin was overcome with a sense of unreality.

Just yesterday, he had been lying in a warm bed in his new home in Thousand Masts City. Today, he had been Teleported to the front lines of the battle against the Orcs.

Even though he was only here as a guard, the feeling of experiencing a war firsthand was still a novel one.

Mikhailo looked at the group staring down from the wall—Dorn excluded—and asked, "Shall we be on our way, gentlemen?"

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