"Your Grace," the knight replied awkwardly, "the last report came from the scouts of the Southern Legion's Second Column, which had stopped north of Emden to rest. We had fifty light cavalrymen stationed there in total. They had completed their mission to scout the direction of Shafrund and returned to rest near Mintai Fortress."
"Good. Tell me what they discovered?"
"The last message they sent back was that the army was advancing in the direction of Paris."
"The direction of Paris?" Grand Duke Golan-Elson sucked in a cold breath. "They're attacking Weilan Ferry? What are they trying to do? What are they trying to do!? Are they trying to come after me?"
His hair and beard bristled with rage. He nearly repeated those words several times. The poor knight saw every vein on the forehead of his usually elegant and composed lord standing out clearly. He looked ready to devour someone, and the knight could not help trembling.
Duke Golan-Elson took several deep, hurried breaths. The Alder River cut through Mintai Fortress before bending east of the fortress and flowing south into Shafrund. Weilan Ferry stood on the southern riverbank near the East Mintai Forest. The Tonigellians' attack in that direction clearly could not be intended to support Mintai Fortress, much less threaten Taigen farther north—for it was completely the opposite direction.
The enemy clearly had only one objective: to attack the Noble Private Soldiers' main camp between Paris and Mintai. This was unbelievably audacious. They had completely disregarded His Grace the Duke.
Yet after Duke Golan-Elson finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and stopped to ask, "You said that was the last message the scouts sent back?"
"Yes. The Buga wizards saw from the sky that those poor scouts had already been wiped out. In fact, not a single