"What is the scale of the bandits? Can it be estimated?"
Alia lifted the carriage curtain and asked the knights outside.
"It’s hard to determine. The number of bandits is not small, and with the many obstacles on the mountain, it’s impossible to see the full picture," replied the subordinate.
Hearing this, Alia couldn’t help but ponder.
Carlotta then said, "They might not be bandits. In such tis, it’s inevitable that so would take advantage of the chaos. Or perhaps, people from the Velmoria Empire are posing as bandits to stir up trouble."
Her words were not without basis. As she spoke, she glanced at a piece of intelligence she had seen upon waking up this morning.
[ 1: Velmoria Empire cavalry squad leader Aalto Willy was ordered to create chaos in the Duchy of Francis. He chose to beco a bandit, committing arson and plunder everywhere. Over ti, he lived quite comfortably, even attracting other squads with the sa mission. Now, seven squads have gathered, becoming a hidden danger in the Duchy of Francis.]
In the Velmoria Empire, one squad consists of 100 people.
This ans that the so-called "bandits" number 700 in total, far fewer than the Carnation Knights. But numbers don’t tell the whole story, as the military proficiency of most in the Carnation Knights is questionable, with only 500 being true elites.
But as the elite of the Fenwick family, they are certainly not weaker than the 700 soldiers from the Velmoria Empire.
Actually, when Carlotta first saw this intelligence, she was sowhat surprised because she had never had contact with these Velmoria Empire soldiers. How did she get this information?
Was it because she was destined to be involved in the war, so she would receive war-related information?
Or was she destined to encounter these people, and the intelligence arrived a bit early?
In any case, knowing so intelligence early wasn’t a bad thing for her.
"Miss White, do you think there’s sothing wrong with these guys’ identities?" Alia asked.
Carlotta nodded, "Exactly. This is the border between the Empire and the Duchy. Usually, there’s a lot of traffic here, and neither side would allow a group of bandits to exist. This can only an that the bandits are newly ford, and for newly ford bandits to have such a large number is unreasonable. It suggests there’s sothing wrong with their identities."
Calla couldn’t help but glance at Carlotta a few more tis. She hadn’t expected Carlotta to deduce so much from just a simple exchange. Could this girl be so kind of genius?
She naturally wouldn’t know that Carlotta was deducing the process from the result.
Alia pondered and said, "So, Miss White, do you think we should confront these ’bandits’?"
Carlotta smiled slightly, "I think it’s fine. The Carnation Knights are more than a match for these guys."
"And the Swan Knights," Calla added.
"Then let’s take action," Alia decided.
Under her orders, the 3000 mbers of the Carnation Knights, led by their squad leaders, charged towards the bandits, the knights who had escorted the Sunset Roses to the capital had also returned after completing their mission.
Calla quickly ordered her 100 Swan Knights to join the charge.
For a mont, the mountains and fields were filled with the sounds of battle, the clash of weapons echoing through the heavens.
Carlotta’s hands itched for action. Having been in the carriage for so long, she hadn’t had many opportunities to practice her elven knight path. She pulled the Cross Rose from her necklace and, with a swing of her sword, plunged into the crowd.
"Miss White..."
Alia instinctively called out, then smiled helplessly and didn’t stop her.
These Velmoria soldiers disguised as bandits were mostly at the first or second apprentice tier, with very few at the third tier. Naturally, Carlotta handled them with ease, moving through the crowd without eting a worthy opponent.
In no ti, all 700 bandits were captured. Of the seven squad leaders, four were killed in battle, and only three were brought before Alia.
At this mont, Aalto was also in a daze. Disguised as a bandit, he had road the Duchy of Francis, committing all the evils he dared not do in the Velmoria Empire, feeling as if he had entered paradise. But he hadn’t expected that falling from paradise to hell could happen in an instant.
He never anticipated encountering such an unstoppable force this ti!
"Tell your true identity," Alia stood on the carriage, looking down at Aalto with a commanding presence.
Aalto, already scared out of his wits, obediently revealed his origins.
Alia hadn’t expected Carlotta to be right, these guys were indeed soldiers sent by the Velmoria Empire to stir up trouble.
She didn’t continue the interrogation herself but had the Carnation Knights interrogate all the captives.
With Aalto too scared to hide anything, the rest were even worse. In no ti, the identities and actions of these people after infiltrating the Duchy of Francis were all revealed.
Alia hadn’t expected these guys to have committed many atrocities in the duchy. Their numbers were insufficient to enter large cities, so they targeted weaker towns and villages, oppressing innocent people, their hands stained with blood.
After understanding the situation, Alia showed no rcy and ordered all of them to be executed on the spot, only collecting the badges that represented them as Velmoria Empire soldiers, which would serve as proof of military rit.
After dealing with this group, the Carnation Knights continued towards Silverleaf Castle.
Carlotta, sitting in the carriage and looking outside, noticed the high morale of the knights. After all, they had just experienced a victory, which undoubtedly had a great boosting effect.
However, in war, no one can guarantee eternal victory. Maintaining morale in the face of adversity is what’s truly valuable.
For the 2500 non-elite mbers, Carlotta only hoped they wouldn’t drag the team down, having learned about the knights’ nature through intelligence, she had little confidence in them.
The rest of the journey passed without incident. Since Silverleaf Castle was located in the southern part of the duchy, it only took two days for Carlotta and her companions to arrive.
It was a massive city surrounded by lakes on three sides and plains on one. As the capital of the Duchy of Francis, it was extrely prosperous.
The architectural style of Silverleaf Castle is identical to that of the imperial capital, Ovelia. The pointed arch buildings scattered throughout the area exude a fashionable flair.
When Alia arrived with her knights, it imdiately caught the attention of Silverleaf Castle. Soon after, Delphine Francis, the daughter of Duke Francis, personally led a group of knights to et them outside the fortress.
"We et again, Alia."
Delphine was no stranger to Alia; the two had crossed paths in their childhood.
She was tall, with erald-green hair tied into a high ponytail. Clad in silver armor, she was full of vigor, resembling a valkyrie.
"Delphine, we are here at the Emperor’s request to support the front lines," Alia said as she stepped out of the carriage.
"Bring so people with you and follow into Silverleaf Castle to await my father’s arrangents. The rest can go to the military camp."
"No problem."
Alia quickly made the arrangents.
The majority of the Carnation and Swan Knights went to the military camp, leaving only about ten people surrounding the carriage, following Delphine into Silverleaf Castle.
Alia did not return to the carriage but instead rode a white horse, walking side by side with Delphine, discussing matters of the front lines.
Inside the carriage, Carlotta and Calla lifted the curtain to look outside.
"Is this the legendary Erald Light, Delphine Francis?" Calla’s gaze fell on Delphine’s back, and she couldn’t help but sigh.
"Legendary?" Carlotta looked over curiously; she hadn’t heard anything about this person.
Seeing this, Calla enthusiastically explained: "Delphine beca famous early on because her fighting style was always very direct and brutal, full of violent beauty, making it hard to forget after just one glance. Especially during this period of war, she has participated in many battles, promoting her valor to the fullest."
"Is she on the knight’s path? What knight path does she practice?" Carlotta asked.
"No, she’s on the magic path."
"Wait, the magic path?" Carlotta asked, puzzled. "From what you just said, this duke’s daughter should be a close-combat fighter, right? There aren’t many magic paths suitable for close combat."
Calla smiled and said, "You didn’t know? Delphine practices Armant Magic. It’s said to be a magic path from Sky Island. Once, the Sky Island passed over Silverleaf Castle, and Duke Francis ascended it and obtained this magic, which he then taught to Delphine."
This statent contains a lot of information, and Carlotta took a mont to process it.
Sky Island is an island that appears randomly around the world. Its origins are difficult to trace. So say it’s a relic of the gods, others say it’s the pinnacle of alchemy, and so claim it’s the origin of the transcendent... But there’s no denying that the appearance of Sky Island represents a great opportunity.
"Armant Magic path is very powerful. This path allows one to change their equipnt at any ti, with different equipnt representing different effects. I don’t know how many types of equipnt Delphine has mastered, but I know that this silver-white set she’s wearing is famous for its defensive capabilities. She usually maintains a defensive stance."
Calla spoke with great enthusiasm.
She was clearly very interested in this unique magic path.
Carlotta couldn’t help but exclaim, "What a great magic path."
As they spoke, the group followed Delphine into Silverleaf Castle. The streets of the city were quite wide, enough to accommodate large carriages.
As the carriages approached, pedestrians on the street stepped aside to let them pass. Many people couldn’t hide their admiration and respect when their eyes fell on Delphine.
The people of Silverleaf Castle had heard too many legends about this crimson rose. She was the pride of Silverleaf Castle and the pride of the Duchy of Francis.
In no ti, they arrived at a castle. Before receiving Duke Francis’s arrangents, this will be their residence in Silverleaf Castle.
Carlotta looked at the castle square with a slightly subtle expression: "There really are an unusual number of carriages here."
A large number of carriages and horses were parked everywhere, almost filling the castle square.
Calla changed around and said, "Besides us, many nobles have co, so of whom are our classmates. For example, Doris O’Connor, who once almost interfered between you and Alia as a third party..."
"That’s not true," Carlotta quickly interrupted Calla.
"Oh, right, she used the excuse of learning the elven knight path to invite you to the O’Connor Viscount’s residence," Calla continued. "Anyway, after learning about your relationship with Alia, she should know to keep a certain distance."
Carlotta didn’t know what to say.
Calla then ntioned other people. Although only carriages remained here, the family crests were enough for her to identify the owners of the different carriages.
"That Beatrice, who once challenged Alia to a duel, is also here," Calla said, looking at a carriage with a more serious expression.
The Morholt family, to which Beatrice belonged, was a count’s family, and her father held real power with a very high status, definitely not soone to be trifled with.
Carlotta certainly rembers the person who had once challenged Alia to a duel, because it was on that day that Calla had challenged her, and the Cross Rose she had lost to her was still hanging around her neck.
She couldn’t help but touch the Cross Rose.
After introducing a few more people, Calla turned back to look at Carlotta and happened to see her action, her expression imdiately darkened.
After a mont of silence, Calla said, "Our relationship has beco quite good now. Would you consider returning that Cross Rose to ?"
"Then what would I use?" Carlotta asked in surprise.
"Don’t you still have a rapier? And with your financial resources, you could easily buy many alchemical items, right?"
Calla also knew that Carlotta’s wallet was quite full. She had once inspired so ladies in elven knight path and had made a decent profit.
She pointed this out, which made Carlotta sowhat puzzled.
"Why do you know about this? This isn’t public information, is it?"
"Lady Austin ntioned it at a banquet."
"...Alright."
"In any case, you’re not short on money. Can you return the Cross Rose to ?" Calla said seriously.
"Does this alchemical item have special aning to you?" Carlotta asked, touching the Cross Rose.
"No."
"Then why are you saying all this?"
Carlotta rolled her eyes and directly got out of the carriage, following the others towards the castle.
Calla quickly chased after her, "But losing an alchemical item to you is really embarrassing."
Carlotta didn’t look back, "You’ll understand in the future that losing to is also an honor."
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