“Sir Ivan has called in 20 Imperial Guards and 50 Capital Guards. If there are only five observers, as the elf said, it’s not going to be difficult to subdue them.”

Berenus Kyle said. His voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone gathered inside the barracks.

Among them were Sylvia and Siadin, in addition to Raymond’s men and the two tower masters.

“Thank you, Your Highness the Fifth.”

Sylvia bowed her head and thanked him. She was rather quick-witted. She knew how to read the mood and say the right lines.

“The rescue is not over yet, and I haven’t even started purifying the world tree’s spring water. So, it’s too early to give your thanks.”

Although he spoke calmly, Raymond could feel his composure shake for a short moment at the sight of Sylvia with bright clear green eyes filled with gratitude.

“But I wanted to say thank you.”

Raymond could only shook his head when he saw Sylvia emitting her unique charm as the High Elf lineage.

“Fifth Prince, do you really want to go directly to the elven forest?”

It was Lisefield Dior, the blue tower master.

“The has already been made.”

Raymond said firmly.

“I was told Desia and Lord Gesteine would be part of the escort.”

Sylvia and Siadin were included in their party, but the two elves did not appear to have entered the escort classification by Lisefield’s standard since the beginning.

Lisefield’s eyes narrowed as Raymond nodded calmly.

“I’d rather have your highness be accompanied by me or the red tower master, or your Highness will remain here to command the Imperial army.”

It was a perfectly normal suggestion, but Raymond shook his head.

“No, there’s a high chance of friction with the elves if you or Berenus goes with me to the Elven forest.”

Elves have a “hate” for the Red tower that specialize in fire magic. In addition, they were threatened by the Second Prince’s minions, so their hatred will become deeper if the Red Tower master of the Pilias Empire came in their territory.

There is an option of going with the Blue tower Master, that specialized in water and ice magic, but only 2 escorts can go with him.

“Anyone knows only two escorts are allowed to the Elven Forest.”

“I’m going because I know that.”

Raymond’s eyes glowed coldly.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Despite declaring that he was going in a dangerous place, Raymond did not lose his signature composure. Lisefield was both respectful and frustrated having Raymond act like this.

“Fifth Prince….”

“They can’t afford to spill the blood of the Emperor Pilias yet.”

* * *

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***

After the assassination attempt, Raymond ordered Casillas, the commander of the Imperial Army, to step back. The Fifth Prince’s troops, consisting of a hundred imperial soldiers and dozens of battle mages from the two Towers. At the order of the Fifth Prince they all retreated towards the rear of the border.

The reason was they needed to reorganize in a relatively safe place because there might be a second attack in the near future.

“This is a message from Sir Ivan Lowes, Captain of the Imperial Guard. They’re said that the elves are now safe.”

Raymond, who was briefed by Berenus Kyle, acted immediately. The preparation was now complete.

“We’re moving.”

When Raymond spoke in a serious voice, Desia, Gesteine, and the two Elves appeared, each of them were carrying a small magic backpack.

Five shadows went aways from the border in the dark, while, the Imperial Army was preparing to camp. Casillas’ prepared warhorses and Raymond’s party used that as a mode of transportation.

Sylvia, who was taking the lead, turned her head and look back.

“From now on, I will use the protection of the wind spirit.”

The protection of spirits was power that only a few elves could wield. Wind protection, which lightens the body and reduces wind resistance, was very useful if they needed to travel somewhere.

“Wind…”

As Sylvia whispered, many winds gathered.

Raymond knew about her power from the novel, but this was his first time seeing it in personally. Raymond’s eyes glistened with curiosity as he watched the wind gathering.

When the wind fully covered their party, the warhorses running speed became faster. So they ran nonstop toward the elven forest.

They arrive in front of the Elven Forest within 3 days.

“Ahh, ahh…”

The owner the breathless person was Sylvia. Her face was now pale.

During the three days after their departure, she maintained the protection of the wind. As a result, her Mana’s consumption was squeezed dry.

Raymond, who was riding right behind Sylvia, saw her shaky back and offered to rest several times.

“The clan is in danger, we need to hurry.”

Sylvia repeated this sentence over and over.

It wasn’t that Raymond couldn’t understand how she was feeling. The Second Prince wasn’t a fool.

Sylvia’s sister, Arya, should have been reported to have been rescued by now, and it was highly likely that he sent his men to the elven forest for retaliation.

“Should we pray that the elders of the Platier Elven clan will quickly notice it?”

The boundaries to the world tree’s spring waters was surrounded by the village of the Elves. It seems that the Second Prince was weakening the boundaries to make it easier for his men to come and go as he began to pressure them. Raymond hoped that the elves could realized this and take action to strengthen the boundaries.

“Wait a minute.”

Sylvia stopped the warhorse at the same time as she raised her hand to signal them to  stop.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s someone a kilometer ahead.”

“Still, the Mana is…”

“He cleverly erasing his traces. It’s going to be hard to detect with mana.”

Sylvia cut off Desia’s words. Desia was displeased by her action, but quickly recovered her expression when she realized she was in front of the Fifth Prince.

“There are a lot of strong men. You’ll notice them when you get closer. Now’s the time to make a detour.”

The elves didn’t seem to be on high alert.

Raymond don’t know how many people were 1km ahead, but given that she didn’t mention it, the number may not be not small.

“Gesteine.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Just in case, he turned to Gesteine, but he shook his head before saying anything.

Although he is an high-ranking art knight, it was not easy to accurately deduced how many people are there 1 kilometer away. Sylvia was already abnormally outstanding in this field.

‘The one who walks ahead…….’

They walk ahead of anyone, judge and warn of danger before anyone else. That was Sylvia’s role in the novel “The fallen Empire.”

“Sylvia, I trust your decision. Find a detour and guide us.”

Raymond said. According to the novel, Sylvia in this period was before she got her hands on the “Diary of the Spirit King.”

However, her guiding skills were at the highest level in the whole Pilias Empire, so who would he trust if he didn’t trust her here?

“I’ll take you to a safe road.”

Knowing that the fate of the world tree, who protects her clan rests on Raymond, Sylvia squeezed her Mana out and spread the protection of the wind around them again.

“This way.”

The detour was a success. Those people didn’t notice them.

“This is the territory of the Platier Elven tribe.”

Sylvia said, however, it sounded more like a warning. There was also some anxiety in her voice, fearing that something might happen.

“I think my people are here.”

Silvia’s good looks lingered in her face for a moment, and soon her complexion turned pale.

“Oh, no…….”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

There was no time to stop. Dozens of arrows were poured out to target Raymond and his party along with the sound of cutting the wind.

“Who dares to point their bow toward the Imperial Family? Before His highness the Fifth Prince!”

The arrowhead failed to penetrate Desia’s mana shield, but Gesteine vented his anger as if Raymond had been fatally wounded. He immediately surrounded his sword with aura and pointed toward where the arrows came from.

“You bastards! If you don’t want to deal with the wrath of the Pilias Empire, you’ll have to show yourself now!”

The tall trees in the forest were shaking as if they were frightened and agitated by his angry appearance.

Raymond smiled and shook his head as he could see the elf’s anxious eyes looking over them.

They probably didn’t know who they were attacking.

The empire, which was said to have declined and has yet to regain its ancient glory, however, it was still a large territory.

“What a stupid thing to do! Everybody come down!”

Sylvia’s scolding gave legitimacy to the elves who hesitated. They have obeyed the orders from the High Elves lineage.

A dozen elves threw themselves from the tree, and fell lightly like fluttering leaves.

Although they showed themselves obediently, the atmosphere remained tense. The elves’ eyes were anxiously rummaging from place to place. They did not pull out the sword, but they did not let go of their bows.

The same was true for Raymond’s party. Desia maintained her mana shield and Gesteine let out a pressuring killing intent.

The killing intent of a high-ranking knight who had defended the Pilias Empire in the North, was hard for the elves to bear. Some elves’ breathing became irregular.
“Gesteine, restrain yourself.”

“Yes, Lord.”

The Elf’s complexion improved when Gesteine restrained his killing intent. But Raymond’s was still uncomfortable. He spoke, showing signs of displeasure.

“Sylvia, explain why I came here personally.”

“Yes…your Highness, the Fifth.”

The explanation ended in five minutes. It was a minimal explanation, but the elves had no problem understanding Sylvia and Raymond’s situation and dealings.

“I didn’t recognize our benefactor.”

“I’m sorry!”

The elves bowed their heads. They were apologizing, but unlike Raymond, Desia and Gesteins’ eyes were still cold.

“Now, can I know the reason why you attacked me?”

One of them took a step closer. There was a badge attached to his chest, symbolizing the position of the squad leader. She lowered her head slightly and opened her mouth with her eyes facing down.

“As you may have heard from the lady about our clan, the Second Prince’s men were watching the village. But some time ago, they started acting strangely, and they tried to take some hostage.”

It happened shortly after Ivan Lowes, the captain of the Imperial Guard, rescued Arya.

“We’ve destroyed all of the princes’ men, but we received a lot of damage to the tribe. I am deeply sorry that I misunderstood you for a moment as a group of enemies.”

Desia’s expression was a little relieved by the appearance of the Elf squad leader bowing politely again, but Gesteine, who was deeply loyal to Raymond, was still stiff-faced. He didn’t let out any killing intent, but he was in a terrible mood.

“Gesteine, too much is not good.”

“I’m sorry, Lord.”

“It’s good to be loyal, but you shouldn’t be in my way.”

At Raymond’s comments, Gesteine nodded and hid his killing intent.

“I won’t care too much. One, never point a weapon at me again.”

Raymond crept up his spirits. The energy accumulated by 1,000 knights erupted.

“This is the last time I’ve shown mercy. There’s no second time, so keep that in mind.”

***

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