Lionheart Knight Order

Near North Wind Fortress, in a secluded spot in the Zereya Hills.

More than twenty members of the Lionheart Knight Order Invisibility and waited quietly.

They were clad in heavy armor, with breastplates shaped like the heads of roaring lions, giving them an imposing appearance. The red cloaks on their backs were emblazoned with the Bosk Family's crest of crossed swords and lions.

One of the knights, watching the Wyvern patrolling the sky, asked somewhat uneasily, "Captain, we haven't received the signal that Grand Duke Leo mentioned. Could they have already failed?"

"Keep waiting, Jayden, we have plenty of time."

The voice was calm and steady.

The knight who spoke was different from the others; he had a black lion's mane wrapped around the back of his neck, and the lion's head on his chest was even more lifelike—he was one of the seven knight commanders of the original Lionheart Knight Order, known as the "Black Lion Knight," Freed Olber.

Now there are only six knight commanders left. Tarick, the "White Lion Knight" who grew up with him and was like a brother to him, died in that tragedy. This made him very sad and he vowed to avenge the Red Dragon. Therefore, he volunteered to take on the task of Contend Against the Embers of the Burned Kingdom.

"Tarick, the dragon is about to be beheaded, and your soul will find rest in the kingdom of God."

Freed stroked the pocket watch in his hand and made a silent vow.

—That was a pocket watch that Tarick had given him ten years ago. It was engraved with the emblem of Heronius, the God of Courage, and served as a constant reminder to him to become a brave and fearless Fighter.

Jayden was still somewhat worried because they had penetrated deep into enemy territory and their safety was not guaranteed.

"But this is near North Wind Fortress, and the Embers of the Burned Kingdom patrols very frequently. I'm worried about what might happen."

Are you afraid we'll all be wiped out here?

"So you must always be vigilant about your surroundings. Don't worry, according to the Duke's orders, if we discover any life-threatening situations, we must retreat immediately, regardless of whether the mission is completed."

Freed said calmly.

As an experienced Lionheart Knight, he was well aware of the difficulty and danger of this mission, knowing that the enemy was the "Purgatory Calamity" that had destroyed 30,000 allied troops. However, he repeatedly reminded himself to have a firm belief that he could successfully complete the mission and at least escape unscathed.

"Yes, Captain."

"Wait, look—isn't that the signal His Excellency the Duke was talking about?"

Golden ripples appeared out of thin air in the distance—clearly a signal agreed upon by Grand Duke Leo. Only Paladin with Divine Sense could see these subtle, radiant energies and react swiftly, ensuring their messages wouldn't be detected by the Embers of the Burned Kingdom's spies.

The faint roar of a dragon could be heard from afar, which had already attracted the attention of some of the Embers of the Burned Kin.

"Could they really be..."

"It worked?"

Freed's expression immediately became excited.

Even the usually composed Black Lion Knight was thrilled by this possible fact—the Red Dragon had been bound or even killed, and the huge shadow that had loomed over the the North countries had vanished!

"That's a sign of success! Go and meet those brave warriors!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Under the protection of the invisibility barrier, the Lionheart Knight followed the pre-planned route, using both terrain and magic as cover, and quickly made their way to the location where the signal was sent—the lush, dense forest.

The journey was remarkably smooth, without the expected heavy obstacles from Wyvern and Hobgoblin armies.

In just a few tens of minutes, the Lionheart Knight Order, Invisibility, quickly entered the target area.

"Captain, is this the place?"

"It should be. The area where the signal was just sent is right here. My senses are never wrong. There are still remnants of that sacred energy in the sky."

"But why?"

"It's so quiet here?"

"I'm not sure either. Let's remain vigilant and continue approaching."

In Freed's prediction, after those righteous people trapped the Red Dragon, they might engage in a fierce battle with the servants of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom, and there might be hordes of Wyvern chasing after them.

Even the rumored leaders of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom, such as "Man-Eating Mage" Lang Pu, "Slaughter Warlord" Dolo, and "Gold-Devouring Demon" Gold Tooth, would launch a frenzied hunt against them.

The other members of the Lionheart Knight Order thought the same thing; they had already gripped their silver swords and shields tightly, repeatedly recalling the Holy Oath Spell in their minds.

They were fully prepared for a tough battle, and even mentally prepared to sacrifice themselves heroically and die gloriously.

However, things did not unfold as the knights had anticipated. The place was like an ordinary forest, so quiet that they could hear the wind rustling the leaves.

Yes, it's so quiet here.

It was eerily quiet.

There was absolutely no trace of a fierce battle that had taken place.

In the eyes of the seasoned Freed, this was more like a trap, luring them in.

But only Grand Duke Leo and Schroeder understood the significance of the signal. What if the signal was real and their mission failed? Then he would become a sinner who framed a hero and put others in danger.

This immediately put him in a dilemma.

Beneath the seemingly calm and safe atmosphere, cold sweat beaded on Freed's forehead.

When the unknown dangers came, he was still afraid.

He longed to be as brave and fearless as his childhood friend Tarick, unafraid even in the face of death.

But Freed knew that even after defeating hundreds of people and becoming the renowned Lionheart Knight Order, a sense of inferiority still lingered in his heart—he had never been as radiant as Tarick, and even becoming the "Black Lion Knight" was, to some extent, due to Tarick's many years of favors.

"We should evacuate."

Ultimately, Freed chose to trust his gut feeling.

He said to his guards, "There must be something strange here. Let's retreat as soon as possible. Once we get to the safe position we just left in, I will release the teleportation portal that I prepared there. Everyone, follow me immediately."

"What about the people we're supposed to meet up with?"

"Trust my gut feeling, we don't have time to worry about that now. They may already be dead, or they may have released the signal in a panic."

"Yes, Captain."

Led by their cautious commander, the Lionheart Knight Order disregarded the completion of their mission and withdrew immediately.

An invisibility barrier, personally created by the Court Mage, surrounded the group, distorting the projected light and allowing them to conceal themselves and move about without fear of being detected by the patrolling Wyvern and Hobgoblin.

Just as the Lionheart Knight Order were advancing rapidly.

A huge shadow fell from the sky, enveloping them all—the light barrier had failed!

Freed looked up, somewhat bewildered.