The Last Keen Duchy

In early May, a Sky Ship flew through the heavens. Ten Griffin Knights guarded it on either side, while three hundred knights in full Magic Armor rode their warhorses in orderly formation below.

The ten knights at the very front of the three-hundred-man formation were all Grand Knight Commander-level knights. Each carried one of two kinds of heraldic banners: the Unicorn Crest banner of the Hari Family of Harvest City, and a dragon-crest banner.

Any noble familiar with heraldry would recognize these as the two crests belonging to Grandmaster Abel of the Duchy of Camai.

This procession showed that a powerful king was traveling. It was Abel's first journey as a king, and for the dignity of the Duchy of Camai, its valor and strength had to be displayed on important occasions.

The Sky Ship and the Griffin Knights were both symbols of the Duchy of Camai's strength. Together with the three hundred knights in Magic Armor, this escort was already beyond the ability of any duchy on the Holy Continent to resist.

For this journey, the Duchy of Camai had forcibly demanded that the Duchy of Laka and the Duchy of Korol each withdraw fifty li from their borders along the route between Camai and the Keen Duchy.

Although the Duchy of Laka and the Duchy of Korol complained bitterly, they could only swallow their anger and retreat fifty li from the border, creating a sufficiently wide passage between Camai and the Keen Duchy.

Abel's escorting army advanced through this passage toward the Keen Duchy. The duchies that had originally planned to make a move against the weak Keen Duchy now had to change their plans because of Abel's visit.

Abel was sitting aboard Sky Ship No. 1. The other two Sky Ships had remained around Harvest City in