Upon hearing Aurelion's words, neither of them spoke. Instead, they quickly changed the subject.
After three rounds of wine and five courses of dishes,
the banquet ended early after Count Mori announced that he was feeling unwell. As everyone departed,
Havent also planned to return to his bedroom for some rest. The leader of the Dawn Guard seemed sick in the head.
His father and Count Mori had clearly returned, yet he had still kept rambling on and on with him.
Surprisingly, though, this self-proclaimed enforcer of the Eternal Fire possessed an impressive depth of knowledge.
Even when Havent casually brought up certain policies and methods from his previous life,
after giving them some thought, he could offer remarks that were both insightful and profound.
Haaah~~~~
He let out a huge yawn, wiped away the tears that had welled up, and headed for his bedroom.
*That charlatan~
He was seriously annoying, babbling about all sorts of nonsense. Didn't he know that if you wanted to solve a problem, you had to find the right person?
I'm just a nobody. What was the point of telling me all that?*
"Young Master Havent~ Young Master Havent~ Please wait!"
Hearing someone call for him, he turned around and saw one of his father's personal guards hurrying over from behind.
"What is it, Jess?"
"His Lordship the Count asked you to go to the study."
"Hm? Now?"
Jess nodded in response.
"Did he say what it was about? Wasn't Count Mori unwell just now? Father went with Count Mori to rest."
"This subordinate does not know. His Lordship the Count merely ordered me to find you and inform you to go to the study."
"Alright, I understand."
Outside Baiman City—Dawn Guard Encampment
After returning from the banquet hall, Aurelion was in an excellent mood.
He even hummed a little hymn along the way, in stark contrast to the several templar knights following behind him with grim faces throughout.
When they reached the entrance of the camp, a knight clad in Sade mithril armor came forward to greet him.
"Lord Aurelion, the Light Sentinels sent out to scout have returned."
"Good, Vandersa~ You've worked hard. Gather all the captains in the central command tent. I have an announcement to make."
He turned to look at the enormous Baiman City beneath the night sky and waved toward the banquet hall, as though greeting someone.
More than ten minutes later,
the squad captains stood silently in the tent, watching Aurelion. He held the intelligence brought back by the sentinels and had fallen into thought.
Several more minutes passed before Aurelion rose and walked toward the map hanging nearby.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone. I'll announce our next itinerary.
We will break camp before dawn tomorrow and head for Ugalamar."
Upon hearing that Aurelion had decided to leave Baiman City the next day, the templar knight standing to the left hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him.
"My lord, Bishop Kanra's intention was for us to take advantage of this opportunity to station ourselves in two or three territories within the Northern Frontier...
If we leave tomorrow for Ugalamar, then by the time we finish our investigation, those lords may already have recovered some of their strength.
Please, my lord..."
Before the templar knight could finish, Aurelion patted him on the shoulder.
"I know, Salen~ Just do as I say. Insisting on remaining here would only waste time."
Hearing that Aurelion still insisted on leaving the next morning, Great Knight Salun became anxious and spoke again.
"Please reconsider, my lord. Bishop Kanra instructed us to cherish this opportunity at all costs. The Northern Frontier is at its weakest now..."
"Enough!"
With Aurelion's furious shout, his amber eyes immediately blazed with dazzling light. A phantom of a human-faced sun appeared behind him.
Everyone present dropped to one knee. Great Knight Salun, who bore the full force of Aurelion's gaze, was forced onto all fours.
"Since Lord Salen has such firm ideas, how about this? I'll place this Dawn Guard under your command. What do you think?"
Salun lay on the ground under the immense pressure, sweat falling rapidly from his forehead like raindrops.
"My lord! Lord Aurelion!
This subordinate... this subordinate would not dare~
Please forgive this subordinate's foolishness just now~"
As the phantom of the human-faced sun behind him vanished, so did the oppressive aura that had left everyone gasping for breath.
Aurelion once again wore that smile which made anyone feel at ease.
He reached out to help Great Knight Salun from the ground and warmly patted him on the shoulder.
"Then go make your preparations, everyone. We will leave Baiman City at daybreak tomorrow.
As for our goal of spreading the faith through the Northern Frontier, we will achieve it eventually. An interesting little friend told me today
that appropriately avoiding the obstacles before you, then striking later and arriving first, was also one way to achieve your goal.
Oh, right~ He seemed to call it 'Tai Chi.'"
"Yes, sir!"
After his subordinates left, only Aurelion remained in the enormous tent. Leaning back in his chair, he fell into thought once more.
Haaah~~~~
Havent yawned repeatedly as he pushed open the door to the study.
Besides Count Havent and Count Mori, there were another seven or eight nobles from the banquet.
Seeing that his son had arrived, Count Havent waved at Havent, signaling for him to sit closer.
After sitting down, Havent looked over the people around him.
Viscount Fortmalin of Xinlun Territory, Viscount Hammel of Heridarans, Baron Zeli of Kudeyma...
There were also several soldiers covered in blood. What was going on here?
"Soldier, you may now repeat what you saw."
"Yes, my lord!"
The soldier standing on the left stepped forward.
"Reporting to all my lords.
I am Aishang, captain of the Twenty-Seventh Cavalry Reconnaissance Squad under the Eighth Regiment of Hailan Territory.
Yesterday, I was ordered to scout the Kudeyma region. When my squad passed through Samia Village, we discovered a small number of ghouls.
The squad chose to detour toward Cooper Ya Fortress, but numerous ghouls were wandering around the outskirts five kilometers from the fortress.
After suffering a number of casualties, the squad successfully drew close.
However, when we were only five hundred meters from the fortress, we were driven back by a large number of ghouls pouring out from within the castle.
After a bloody battle, only this subordinate and three other soldiers managed to escape and return."
As they listened to the soldier's account, gasps rose from among the nobles seated to one side.
Immediately afterward, the second soldier stepped forward to explain his intelligence, then the third, then the fourth.
After the final soldier finished speaking, the entire study fell silent. At Count Havent's gesture, the soldiers left the study.
Once the soldiers had left, the meeting room instantly turned into a noisy marketplace.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Following several loud slaps against the table, the nobles who had been arguing endlessly quieted down.
They turned to look at Count Mori, who had risen to his feet.
"What result can you possibly get by arguing like this?"
Seeing Count Mori's anger, the nobles sat back down.
"Lord Mori, what should we do now~
We had originally planned to return to our respective territories tomorrow to rebuild our homes, but now..."
Before you continue