Chapter 453 - 305: Arrived in Gonda

After nearly half a year apart, her feelings for the Lord hadn’t faded in the slightest. In fact, they seemed to have grown even more intense.

After all, anyone stuck in the dull and dreary Church, listening to the thrilling stories coming from the south, couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing.

Especially when the hero of those stories was now standing right in front of her.

"His Majesty believes our Church contributed a great deal to the war and that this should not be overlooked. Therefore, His Eminence the Archbishop dispatched us, along with a Bishop, to Gonda."

"Lord Levi, you must brace yourself. This banquet might not be an easy one for you," Fu Jin said earnestly, turning to Levi after breathlessly climbing onto his pony and wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Oh? And why do you say that?" Levi frowned.

’Not long ago, both Fulina and Leiden told me the same thing, but they’re on my side, so it was to be expected.’

’But now that even an outsider like Fu Jin thinks it’s going to be tough, things might be more serious than I imagined.’

"Because we won’t be the only party attending," the old man said, counting on his fingers. "The Holy Sith Kingdom, Talisi, the Debei, the Southern Territory, and the Northern Territory. That makes five factions in total, and each has a different agenda."

"But they certainly have one goal in common: the Dragon Knight!"

"After all, the appearance of a Dragon Knight is even more dazzling than that of a Legendary Powerhouse. No one will overlook his presence."

"It’s even gotten to the point where the border skirmishes between the Holy Sith Kingdom and the Debei have died down."

’To think that a border problem that’s plagued the Debei for decades was solved by a mere, newly-minted Marquis like me.’ The Lord couldn’t help but find it amusing.

But he also knew that a single Dragon Knight was more important than five entire armies, capable of tangibly boosting a kingdom’s military strength.

"Still, you shouldn’t worry too much, Lord," Si Kai added. "His Highness the Prince, who’s also heading to Gonda, will do his utmost to resolve this problem."

In fact, a rumor—of unknown origin—was spreading that Duke Fulina and the Lord of High Cliff Castle had an ambiguous relationship and might one day be joined in marriage.

As a result, all the Northern Nobles now considered the Dragon Knight to be one of their own.

Upon hearing that he was heading to the banquet in Gonda, ten percent of the nobles were rubbing their hands together, eager to help. The other ninety percent declared that if worse came to worst, they would just draw a line in the sand and make him the true King of the North.

With the help of a Giant Dragon, the Royal Court’s Griffin Knights would be no cause for concern.

"Then what do I need to do?" Levi scratched his head. He hadn’t expected someone to voluntarily run interference for him.

"Just try your best to have a positive influence," Knight Si Kai said, stroking his thick beard. "Lord Filo has been in the political arena for many years and navigates the labyrinth of power with ease. He can be a bit hot-tempered at times and his methods are unconventional, but generally, there won’t be any major issues. Even if a problem does arise, His Highness the Prince is an expert at muddying the waters."

Hearing phrases like "but" and "generally" instantly made the Lord feel uneasy.

In his mind, "a bit hot-tempered" meant a terrible temper, liable to explode at any moment. "Generally, there won’t be any major issues" meant there absolutely would be.

"Why didn’t they pick someone more mature and level-headed," Levi sighed.

He had a feeling this banquet was going to take an unpredictable turn.

"Lord, while Lord Filo’s temper can be a bit bad at times, he is an absolutely competent politician and trustworthy," Si Kai said, clearly aware of what Levi was thinking.

After finishing their serious discussion, the group fell into casual conversation.

For the most part, Levi recounted the great deeds he had accomplished.

Aided by his Persuasion Skill and natural eloquence, he told his tales so vividly that he was more captivating than any tavern Minstrel.

"Lord, I think even if you weren’t a noble, you could be a wildly successful Minstrel," Si Kai said, voicing his honest opinion.

"Alas, my original dream was to be a Minstrel who hobnobbed with the nobility," the Lord said, looking at his own bulging biceps with a complicated expression.

By the time he finished the story of how he single-handedly descended from the sky on a Giant Dragon to defeat a Legendary Demon, the young Priest Masha’s eyes were filled with nothing but Levi’s heroic figure.

The white-bearded old man at her side was so distressed his hands were trembling, as if he were watching a delicate flower being planted in a pile of cow dung.

After finishing his story, Levi suddenly remembered something and turned to Si Kai. "Back when you were stationed at Terror Castle, did you notice anything strange about those Skinflints?"

The Lord was still bothered by the fact that the gates of White Bone Fortress had been suddenly opened by someone from within.

If he could just find evidence of who was responsible, he would make them taste the power of the Legendary Weapon, Digen’s Howl.

Si Kai pondered this seriously for a moment before saying, "If anything felt off, it was how suspiciously Little Skinflint died. Right after, an illegitimate son just so happened to inherit his position."

He finished with a shrug. "To be honest, that kid Bodun’s luck is just enviable. Old Skinflint only had one son, Little Skinflint. After he died, the inheritance had to fall to Bodun. After all, Old Skinflint is over fifty, and despite having married many wives, he’s never had another child."

"Who’s to say if it was really just luck," Levi said with a cryptic laugh, letting the topic drop.

He just had a strange feeling that Terror Castle had to be involved in that incident.

’I should have taken advantage of the chaos back then to slaughter those soldiers from Terror Castle and just blamed it on the Demons. No one would have said a word.’

It just went to show, some lessons had to be learned the hard way.

And so, the group chatted about this and that as their party of thirty expanded to fifty. They set out from the Golden Radiance Great Plain, heading south along the smooth Lion Heart Avenue.

「Half a month later.」

They crossed the border of the Northern Territory and officially entered the lands controlled by Gonda.

The most immediate difference was that while it was still snowing in the Northern Territory, here the sun shone brightly despite the cold, making for a rare spell of good weather.

As the wheels rolled on, another seven days passed, and a magnificent city appeared on the horizon, looking brilliant and golden under the setting sun.

"How tall is that?" Masha, who was clearly visiting Gonda for the first time, marveled as she tilted her head back to look at the exceptionally high city walls.

She felt like an ant staring up at a magnificent human house.

"One hundred twenty-eight fathoms high. It took seventy-two years to build, a joint effort by countless artisans, laborers, and Mages who control the Earth and Metal Elements, and was fully completed two thousand five hundred sixty-seven years ago." Leiden pushed up his glasses; by now, he could be considered a true Debei Tong.

He even knew more about Debei history than the Debei people who were present.

"It’s said that according to the artisans’ calculations at the time, if not for the noble Mages joining the construction, a project of this scale would have taken nearly a thousand years to complete."

"But then again, only a wall this magnificent could withstand the bombardment of Magic and a Giant Dragon’s Breath."

"How could you even begin to take down a wall like this," Zat said, staring dumbfounded.

He had thought the Kolon City Wall in the south was massive enough, but he never imagined Gonda’s would be nearly three times taller.

"They say Gonda has never been taken by force, only breached from within. That means only someone on the inside can open the city gates." As soon as Leiden finished speaking, he realized his mistake and apologized to Mier beside him.

He knew Mier was a descendant of the former Feder Kingdom, so discussing this so openly was like rubbing salt in the wound.

Mier waved his hand, not minding at all, and instead listened with considerable interest.

In any case, the Feder Kingdom had fallen hundreds of years ago. Washed away by the tides of time, hearing about it felt no different from hearing about the history of any other country. It had nothing to do with him anymore.