The 24th Earl's Blue Magpie Castle

Southeast of the Korniko Pass sits the Dragon Kingdom's largest frontier fortress, Blue Magpie Castle.

The castle is situated upon a delta formed by the intersection of two rivers.

The fortress consists of a main keep and three auxiliary forts, forming a defensive complex. From the castle's watchtower, one can gaze out toward the Rothe Territory in the west.

At noon on October 12th, Count Kempins Bristle-Wolf stood on the castle's watchtower, his hands resting on the railing as he peered at the lines of barbarian cavalry on the other side of the boundary river, over ten kilometers away.

"You said you saw at least 100 cavalrymen at the time; I fear the number is far greater now.

The total number of barbarians we have spotted outside our various watchtowers and noble territories exceeds 300. Never before have so many barbarians invaded the Dragon Kingdom." Kepins spoke with a grave expression.

"My Lord, the number I reported to you was what we saw about a month ago. With the fall of Rothe, there are surely even more barbarians moving south." The one speaking was Hark Gallop, Landen's father.

Hark, Ryan, and Obert had spent over ten days trekking after escaping from the barbarian tribe twelve days ago. They had disguised themselves as straggling barbarian cavalry to slip through the Konik Valley.

After exiting the valley to the south, they immediately headed east into the southeastern foothills of the Korniko Pass. By the time they neared Blue Magpie Castle, they happened to arrive just as the knight order led by the Count Bristle-Wolf was moving in.

When the knights saw two "savages" suddenly appear, they immediately went on alert. Fortunately, the deputy commander of the knight order, Cronie Red-Dragon—a well-known socialite of Bristle-Wolf City—noticed the anomaly.

Under immense pressure, he stepped forward to identify Hark and his two sons, finally allowing the Count to piece together the truth of the barbarian occupation of the two territories in the southern Korniko region.

Through his own intelligence network, Count Bristle-Wolf had long known that although both Hark and Bob did business with the barbarians, Hark clearly had more of a bottom line. He had sensed the barbarians' unusual movements this winter and had prepared to warn other nobles at the first opportunity.

Bob, on the other hand, had known of the movements as well but chose without hesitation to betray Hark to save himself, only to be outplayed by the barbarians, resulting in his entire family's demise.

Now that Hark had returned from the Gallop Plains, confirming the Count's earlier suspicions, the Count naturally offered him much consolation. "Hark, do not worry too much. I have received reliable information.

The commoners in your territory followed Albert and the others into the Great Forest; this is common knowledge throughout the Rothe Territory.

As long as the commoners are safe, your Gallop Family's title will never be revoked."

"Thank you, Count. My current concern is the situation this winter. The fall of the Rothe Territory will only attract more barbarians, and the other nobles have yet to realize the severity of this invasion."

"You are quite right. These lords have lived in comfort for too long." The Count joked about his subordinates, yet he himself had also underestimated the situation due to the long years of peace.

"My Lord, Count, we have the latest battle report!"

Baron Jeor Mormont of Wild Bear Ridge was the first to receive the Count's mobilization order and had prepared 10 knights to depart for Blue Magpie Castle. However, for several days after completing his preparations, Baron Jeor had been unable to leave his ridge.

The reason was simple: a camp of over 25 barbarian cavalrymen had suddenly entrenched themselves outside Wild Bear Ridge.

The barbarians' intent was clear: to pin them down, or rather, to sever the connection between Bristle-Wolf City and its southern vassals, preventing the forces of the various viscounts and barons from providing timely support to Blue Magpie Castle.

Wild Bear Ridge had a small area, producing only some magic herbs and Magic Beasts in its mountains and forests.

Many of these precious resources had to be traded with other territories for ironware, salt, grain, and other daily necessities, while a portion had to be supplied to the family knights to improve their strength. Consequently, the resources available to trade for weapons and warhorses were extremely limited.

Jeor could not equip every one of his knights with Black-Scaled Horses and iron armor. The most effective way to kill the barbarian cavalry was for the Baron, as an intermediate knight, to engage them in one-on-one combat.

The other knights were in a difficult spot; they could not catch the barbarians on horseback, and they would be entangled if they tried to retreat. Unless they were highly experienced junior knights, ordinary junior knights and squire knights could not harm the armored barbarian cavalry.

A few days ago, Baron Jeor had attempted to organize a sortie, but he was nearly surrounded. His eldest son was severely wounded in the fighting, and it was only because Jeor himself covered the retreat for the knights that the entire family was not wiped out on the road to Blue Magpie Castle.

Since then, unable to launch a sortie, Jeor could only hide in the mountains. Fortunately, the barbarians were not skilled in mountain warfare and had no interest in entering the forests; they only wanted to hold the key positions and block human reinforcements.

Gazing at the barbarian camp on the plains north of the ridge, Baron Jeor let out a long sigh. "This barbarian invasion is too abnormal. What on earth happened in the Rothe Territory?"

"What happened in the Rothe Territory is no longer important," said the Wild Bear Ridge scholar. "Yake's injuries will not allow us to consider such things now. We must send him to Bristle-Wolf City immediately to seek treatment from the temple priests."

"Indeed, but how can we break through this group of cavalry?"

"I have a suggestion..."

An hour later, the knights of Wild Bear Ridge appeared once again at the edge of the mountain, and the barbarian cavalry immediately assembled.

The knights wandered along the edge of the forest, occasionally venturing out onto the plains before immediately returning to the woods.

The knights' movements made the barbarian cavalry very hesitant. The barbarians disliked forests and disliked mountains even more; therefore, they never entered the woods of Wild Bear Ridge to pursue the knights, usually stopping at the forest edge.

Now, the Wild Bear Ridge knights were at the forest edge, seemingly wanting to detour toward Bristle-Wolf City, or perhaps intentionally luring the barbarians into the forest to be picked off one by one.

The barbarians were unsure of the knights' true purpose, but previous battles had proven that the barbarian cavalry could not gain the upper hand against the Wild Bear Ridge knights in the forest.

Finally, seeing the knights venture more than 2 kilometers out of the forest, the barbarian leader decided to lead his troops to intercept them. He no longer sought to kill these knights, only to drive them back into the forest.

Watching his knights charge toward the barbarian cavalry, even knowing they would return to the woods shortly, Jeor still felt the shame of a deserter for using his men as bait to cover his own departure from the territory.

At this moment, the only thing he could do was reach Bristle-Wolf City as quickly as possible, inform the Count of the situation in the south, and get his son treated.

Viscount Elk, located east of Bristle-Wolf City, faced the same predicament. For the first time in his life, he had a direct confrontation with barbarian cavalry.

The Viscount and his 20 knights encountered a force of 25 barbarian cavalrymen.

The Viscount, his two intermediate knights, and five junior knights were all equipped with iron armor and Black-Scaled Horses, but the squires had only ordinary warhorses and leather armor.

After the engagement began, Viscount Elk immediately realized the gap in combat effectiveness. He and the two intermediate knights could rely on their battle qi to handle the entanglement of three barbarians, and the junior knights could rely on their Black-Scaled Horses to retreat if they found they were losing. However, the 12 squires fell into a total disadvantage: they could not pierce the barbarians' armor, could not defend against their attacks, could not catch them, and could not run away.

The barbarians neither cared for the knightly code of one-on-one combat nor showed any mercy to the weak; they hacked away as soon as they engaged, and they would never fight alone if they could gang up on an opponent.

The 21-man cavalry unit immediately suffered casualties, and only by having the intermediate knights cover the rear were they able to retreat back to the castle. Even so, two reserve knights were killed and four were wounded; it was the first time Elk Castle had been reached at its very doorstep by the barbarians.

The Viscount stood atop the castle gate, watching the barbarians circling in the distance.

"This is barbarian warfare. How on earth did that fellow Bob survive at Korniko Pass for so many years?" The Viscount of Elk looked at his battered troops and began to doubt himself.

"My Lord Viscount, those barbarians... they are heading toward Doren's knight territory," a knight shouted.

"What!" The Viscount realized that these barbarians were now intent on raiding every individual knight's territory, and having just been defeated, he was completely powerless to stop them.

Similar situations were playing out constantly. The leader of the Gray Goose detached 100 barbarians, splitting them into four groups to head into the heart of Count Bristle-Wolf's territory to harass, loot, and obstruct, preventing the Count from concentrating his forces.

The Gray Goose leader set up his main camp outside Blue Magpie Castle, blocking the path of the Bristle-Wolf Knights.

Having received the battle reports, the Count finally understood that the situation he faced was even worse than he had imagined.

His own troops could not leave, and his subordinates' forces could not reach him.

At this moment, the Count truly wanted to lead his knights in a frontal assault on the Gray Goose camp, but there were no clerics within Blue Magpie Castle, and he feared the casualties would be too heavy.

Inside the main tent of the Gray Goose, the leader met with the mysterious young man once again.

"Congratulations to the leader for successfully taking Rothe Territory and pressing right up to the walls of Blue Magpie Castle," the young man said.

"Hahahaha, you're too kind. In the end, I have to thank you for your plan." The Gray Goose leader looked very pleased.

"With the wealth of Rothe Castle, you will surely unify the entire Gallop Plains. In the future, we will rely on you, leader, for the salt mine and Black-Scaled Horse trade."

"Haha, well said. I have a long-standing friendship with your Palace Front Department, after all."

"I... Leader, I am from the Imperial Salt and Iron Department." The young man felt somewhat awkward; he had always claimed to be from the Salt and Iron Department, yet the barbarian leader before him had identified him as being from the Palace Front Department in a single breath.

"Hey, why hide it from me? In the Gallop Plains, the Salt and Iron Department is represented by the Blue Dragon Family of the Dragon Kingdom.

Those people from the Salt and Iron Department only ever talk about salt prices and salt permits; they wouldn't tell me which territory has weak defenses or which Count is at odds with the royal capital. That is the sort of thing your Palace Front Department concerns itself with, isn't it?"

"This..."

"You aren't the first imperial official I've met, nor are you the first representative from the Palace Front Department I've encountered. You humans only care about your own little affairs, so it's very easy to tell where you're from."

"...Then... then you must also know that the Archmages and Legends of the Dragon Kingdom are very concerned about the... your activities in the Northwest Territory. They will not sit idly by while you penetrate deep into the Northwest," the young man said, seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, and decided to simply urge the Gray Goose to withdraw.

"Of course. We warriors of the grasslands have no intention of living behind stone walls, and I won't be staying under the walls of Blue Magpie Castle for too long."

"Then you..."

"Our salt mines are in desperate need of slaves right now. I will leave once I have gathered some slaves here."

"But you are at Blue Magpie Castle... you... you didn't send out small cavalry detachments just to raid the human magic-users in each territory, did you?"

"Of course. If I didn't send troops, would you expect me to just ask the Count for them directly?"

"This, you didn't tell me about this at the time. You said you would head north once you obtained the wealth of Rothe Territory." The young man realized the situation was spiraling out of control, and he was furious at the Gray Goose leader's treachery.

"Plans change, don't they?" The Gray Goose leader cared nothing for the promises the humans valued so highly.

"Are you... are you not afraid that if things escalate, the powerhouses of the Dragon Kingdom and the human empire will intervene?"

"Oh, how could that be? Isn't your Imperial Palace Front Department covering for me the whole time?

Aren't you all busy misleading the powerhouses of the dragons while simultaneously misleading that old Bristle Wolf?

Since I have your cover, how could I possibly pass up such a golden opportunity?"

"You..."

"Didn't you receive a letter from your Palace Front Department before you came? Telling you to ensure the plan proceeds at all costs."

"..." The young man had not expected that his actions had been monitored by the barbarian leader all along, but how could they have known?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The Gray Goose leader could no longer hold back his laughter. "Oh, you want to know why I'm so clear about your movements, right?

It's very simple. Do you remember the Palace Front Department representative who was at the salt mine before you?

I suppose you wouldn't know, but he was killed during a tribal skirmish. However, as an intermediate mage, he had set up a surveillance magic array in the previous salt mine leader's room.

Guess who is living in that room now?"

As he spoke, the leader took out a small mirror. It was a specially crafted magic mirror that operated on magic crystals, allowing one to see the situation in a specific room thousands of miles away.

"You... you actually dared to use the methods of the Palace Front Department to monitor a Palace Front Department representative!" The young man was incensed. His words were sharp, but his hands were crossed, reaching into his wide sleeves.

Hidden in the secret pockets of his sleeves were several terrifying scrolls, enough to kill this reckless barbarian before him.

However, before the young man could reach the scrolls, his own body suddenly appeared in his field of vision, and his neck was already empty.

A tall barbarian stood behind the Palace Front Department representative, having drawn his blade and decapitated him in the blink of an eye.

"The edge of a blade can not only kill others, but it can also hurt yourself," the Gray Goose leader said coldly. "If you use others as a blade, you'll eventually end up stabbing yourself!"