One minute later.
"Fenna, you can come out now." Princess Calia looked toward a room, a faint smile on her face.
Soon, the young female Paladin emerged from the room. Looking at Princess Calia, she shook her head. "Calia, was that the Elemental Necklace Jaina gave you? One copy of Tides of Darkness is nowhere near its value. Ten would be more like it! Do you really value Nicholas that much?"
Princess Calia rose, walked over to Fenna, and took her hand with a smile. "Even ten copies of Tides of Darkness couldn't compare to a necklace enchanted by Prince Kael'thas himself. Jaina didn't like it and gave it to me. I don't like it either, so I'm lending it to Nicholas for a few days. Is there a problem?"
"If you don't want to tell me, fine. Why make up an explanation? Explaining is just covering things up." Fenna shook her head. "Arthas, your brother, actually chose to slaughter an entire city! If my teacher hadn't told me himself, I wouldn't have believed it! My teacher went to ask His Majesty to order Arthas back. Who knows whether he'll listen."
The smile slowly vanished from Princess Calia's face. She frowned and shook her head. "Arthas can be extremely stubborn. Once he's set his mind on something, he won't even listen to Father. What... exactly is he trying to do?"
Fenna looked worried. "I don't know. But I do know that Lordaeron no longer belongs to your father, King Terenas. Support for Arthas keeps growing. He's practically become Lordaeron's true ruler. If he wants to do something, even King Terenas won't be able to stop him!"
Calia nodded quietly. "Yes. He began taking charge of the entire country several years ago. Even Sir Uther has gradually relinquished his authority. The soldiers all support Arthas and are willing to fight to the death for him."
The two women in their twenties fell silent, and stillness filled the hall.
After a long while, Princess Calia broke the silence first, her face brightening into a smile. "Fenna, you're an illegitimate daughter, and I'm a princess with no say in anything. These matters are beyond us. Let's think about something else. Are you really not going to acknowledge Jaina as your sister? She is your younger sister, after all."
Fenna shook her head. "Sister? She's the lofty princess of Kul Tiras, Master Antonidas's finest student, the girlfriend of Lordaeron's heir, and Lordaeron's future queen! And me? An illegitimate daughter who can't show her face in public. What right do I have to acknowledge her? And why should I?"
Fenna smiled, her eyes more resolute than ever. "I don't belong to Kul Tiras. I grew up in Lordaeron. Lordaeron is my country, the place I'll protect all my life! I'll follow in my teacher's footsteps, purge the Undead within Lordaeron, and save the people threatened by them!"
After they left the palace, the little maid chattered nonstop along the way, offering Jiang Jie a whole pile of advice. He had to bring potions, food, clean water, and a change of clothes. He had to stay alert at night and not sleep too soundly, be careful on the road, and trust no one...
Long-winded as she was, she made Jiang Jie feel incredibly warm.
Alone in a strange land, a stranger himself, it was truly wonderful to have someone care about him like this.
He didn't buy much. One rule in the rogue's code Roand had given him was very clear: travel light, and carry as little as possible, because anything unnecessary would become a burden on your movements!
Besides, if he hurried, the round trip from Lordaeron to the monastery would only take half a month. There were several towns and villages along the way where he could rest and replenish his supplies, so there was no need to worry.
Most importantly, whether he could even reach the monastery remained to be seen. Jiang Jie kept feeling that the journey wouldn't be peaceful, that something was bound to happen.
In the end, he bought a change of clothes, a little food that would keep for a long time, one minor healing potion, one lesser healing potion, several lesser mana potions, and a portion of herbs for a medicinal bath, then returned to his lodgings.
Then came the medicinal bath.
After that, he drank all the lesser mana potions in one go,
charging the gaming pod before entering it to begin training his rogue skills. Even if they were only for maintaining his cover, he still had to learn these rogue skills. Besides, according to the AI Xiao Feng, rogue skills had been honed over tens of thousands of years and truly had their own unique strengths. The Stealth Technique, for instance, was something Chinese martial arts simply couldn't achieve before breaking through to Xiantian.
Ambush!
Sap!
Mutilate!
Evasion!
Hemorrhage!
Blade Flurry!
The gaming pod had recorded, scanned, analyzed, and perfectly simulated every skill Trainer Roand had taught him. In a sense, its simulation function was an upgraded version of the Lesser Formless Art, and it worked extremely well.
An hour later, Jiang Jie ate his fill, then arrived at the city gate.
A squad of Lordaeron royal guards had already been waiting for a long time.
The royal guard was probably Lordaeron's second-most elite force, second only to the Order of the Silver Hand.
Every member of the Order of the Silver Hand was a genuine Paladin professional. Paladin apprentices weren't qualified to join and could only remain in the recruit training camp.
The royal guard wasn't quite so extravagant, but every member had mastered three to five class skills and was at the apprentice level. However, equipped with a full set of standard-issue full plate armor, a guard's longsword, and a heraldic shield worth ten gold coins altogether, their actual strength wasn't much below that of some weaker low-level professionals.
After all, they were well trained.
The guard captain was a true Warrior professional, in his thirties and in his prime. What Jiang Jie hadn't expected was that this guard captain actually knew him.
"Hello, I'm Harold Coleman, a knight of the kingdom and Ivan's father." The guard captain saluted Jiang Jie, then smiled. "My son is young and hotheaded, and he offended you. Two hours ago, he told me very excitedly that you were his idol for life. I apologize on his behalf, and I hope you can forgive him."
A knight of the kingdom wasn't a noble and ranked somewhat below a sir. But to have been personally knighted by His Majesty, Harold Coleman must have rendered considerable service. In the Huaxia military of Jiang Jie's previous life, he would at least have earned one or two third-class or second-class merits. His standing wasn't low.
In theory, Harold's status was higher than Jiang Jie's.
Moreover, he was already in his thirties and counted as an elder. His willingness to apologize to Jiang Jie showed considerable sincerity.
Harold was a true knight who followed the knightly code, completely unlike his son. Jiang Jie could even sense a faint trace of light from him.
Unless Jiang Jie's head had been caught in a door or kicked by a donkey, he wouldn't deliberately offend a knight like this.
"Sir Harold, it was just a little squabble between children. Nothing serious. It's all in the past, so let's not dwell on it." Jiang Jie hurriedly smiled. "You seem to be a Paladin as well?"
Harold laughed heartily. "A Paladin? I'm not qualified yet. I'm merely an apprentice who hopes to become one. On this trip to Tirisfal Monastery, I'll be joining The Lightbringer's recruit training camp. I hope I can still receive the Holy Light's calling in this lifetime. That would be the honor of my life!"