Turning Enemies into Friends

Just as Brando had predicted, Count Gene and his army had entered the region a night early. They had seen no meteors or burning flames in the sky, let alone any reaction from an Artifact Resonance. What he saw was no different from what Brando and Nemesis had witnessed the previous night: only the Milky Way stretching across the heavens and the star-filled winter sky.

Why had the count been abandoned here all alone? It seemed everything had become clear. Whether it was Count Orcons, the Moore Family, Walker, or the Cooper Family, the Cruz nobles gathered here had clearly reacted the moment they saw the artifact descend. Compared with an artifact, what did a mere Eluin count amount to? Thus, they had rushed north at once, hoping to be the first to reach the meteor's landing site. Even if they could not claim the artifact for themselves, they could be the first to offer it to the supreme existence of the Empire—or to the Temple of Flames. Then they and their families would share unimaginable glory. Rising to the heavens in a single step might not be impossible.

The Imperial Knights belonging to the royal family naturally could not be an exception. As the Watchers of the Floating Cloud Hills, they could not ignore something so major happening in their territory. In fact, Rogers understood the weight of an artifact very well, so he had brought every Imperial Knight from Shirat Mountain Villa, lest those nobles do something irrational.

But there was a problem—

Count Gene had not seen it. He had no idea what was happening in Valgas and the Leafy Avenue area less than twenty li away. That night, he had happened to be scouting the battlefield with his men, taking up advantageous terrain under cover of