四库影院永久国产精品

Cheverton Duchy

April 20th

Year 1052;

"Just how many soldiers have been assembled?"

"So far, they are already numbering over twelve thousand strong. And this is without the inclusion of the forces of the Churches and the adventurer\'s guilds."

Duke Charles Cheverton replied to Evan\'s question as the both of them rode on horseback at the front of the procession back towards Bultom.

Evan was looking at the large military camp that surrounded all of Bultom city, covering an area of dozens of kilometre squares, with the soldiers and knights who were moving around busily, momentarily stopping to salute the Duke before going back to their duties.

As the only person who was riding next to the Duke while everyone else trailed behind, Evan received more than just a few curious gazes from those who saw him.

Before they left the town that was attacked by the flesh golem, the boy and his companions had freshened up and changed outfits so the current Evan was wearing something less casual than he normally did.

His adventurer card hung from his neck, with the badge of the Eris Dukedom he possessed pinned to his shirt right beside it.

Sheathed and hanging from his waist was his trusted sword, the Unforged Vanquisher.

"Your main forces are not part of this, are they?"

"They are not.

Most of my men are stationed at the other smaller satellite towns. As with the some of the Churches\' forces.

The military personnel under my command are in separate locations too."

"I see.

So, the capital has already sent over ten thousand men, huh?"

"With more on the way."

"More? That\'s good."

Evan murmured to himself as he silently activated his intimidation skill at its lowest level while thinking about a few things that he needed to handle within the next few days.

\'We need our forces to be closer to each other, we can never tell when that guy is gonna make his move after all.

What\'s more, Vazgan is most likely on the loose.

The fact that the Duke hasn\'t spoken about the results of the search in Bultom\'s dungeons is only serving to confirm this.\'

The boy looked up at the thousands of soldiers around him, before noticing a group of tents with a familiar crest printed on them.

"Those are some of the men that Roger sent over."

Perhaps noticing the direction that he was gazing at; Duke Charles spoke while slowing down his horse.

"Some? You mean that there are more?"

Evan had already noticed close to a hundred large tents having this same crest, being unable to hide his surprise as he was told that this wasn\'t all of them.

\'True, they are pretty much surrounding Bultom, and there are the other satellite towns too.\'

He was broken out of his thoughts when he felt a powerful presence closing in on their location rapidly.

By the time he could turn in the direction of said presence, the person had already arrived in front of him and Duke Charles.

"Congratulations on the expedition\'s success, Your Grace."

The man who spoke was a middle-aged-looking man with a small scar on the side of his face. He wore a uniform that was a bit similar to that of the normal army soldiers but with a few differences in the flags printed on it as he had the Eris Dukedom\'s flag alongside the Great Western Empire\'s flag on it.

After greeting the Duke, the man turned towards Evan and spoke with a light bow.

"Greetings Young Lord Evan.

Good to see you\'re in good health."

"Greetings to you too, Lieutenant Colonel."

Evan responded to the man\'s greeting before glancing around at all the other soldiers around them and asking.

"How many did \'father\' send?"

"A single battalion of 1500 troops."

He then flicked his fingers and used magic to prevent any sounds within a two-metre radius around them from escaping before continuing.

"Sir Thompson also arrived with a separate larger force; however, this was not made public knowledge and this separate force is mixed in with the soldiers under the Cheverton Duchy.

I do not know their exact numbers but at the very least, there should be a few brigades."

"That so?

Where is Ralphie then?"

"He should have arrived at the Bultom Lord\'s estate when the Duke was out."

Evan nodded after receiving his reply and dismissed the man. With a light bow, the Lieutenant Colonel deactivated his magic and said a few more words before taking his leave.

After this short meeting, the procession into Bultom Dungeon city continued, with them arriving at the city\'s main gates within a matter of minutes.

The crowd of civilians and soldiers who were in front of the gates cleared up for them to pass easily, with them receiving cheers from the citizens as word of their success in protecting another town from the undead had already spread.

Once again, Evan got his own fair share of attention as he was the only person in the forefront riding beside the Duke.

The slight aura of intimidation and the B rank adventurer guild card hanging from his neck gave people an idea of how strong he was, with a few others who were closer to the streets recognizing the crest of the Prime Minister\'s family and that information spread rapidly, allowing more people to recognize Evan as the Duke\'s son who had been in the rumours lately.

The Knights and adventurers were dismissed, with Duke Charles sending for the adventurer\'s guild master to come over to the Lord\'s Estate to discuss a few things.

Upon arriving at the City Lord\'s castle, they were welcomed by the Count himself, who had his eyes widen in shock upon seeing Evan.

\'I didn\'t understand why Sir Thompson came over earlier, but now it makes sense.\'

The Count quickly ordered the head maid and head butler to make preparations for Evan and his companions to stay, along with Evan\'s odd request of having Faerora placed in a guest room and not a dungeon.

Even the elf in question, couldn\'t help but stare at Evan with a strange gaze, however, the young hero only gave her a light smile that didn\'t reveal his thoughts.

"Ralphie!!"

The young hero acted like a fan meeting his idol as he ran towards the Ice Knight who walked out of the drawing room upon sensing their approaching presence.

"It has been a while! Good to see you!!"

He slung a hand over the blonde-haired man\'s shoulder and patted his back multiple times, bursting into laughter as he saw the man\'s eyebrows twitch. It was a sight that made the Count of Bultom feel a different kind of awe towards Evan.

"Come to think of it, what level are you now?"

Right after he heard those words, Ralphie sensed a skill\'s activation turning to meet Evan\'s slightly glowing eyes that widened ever so slightly.

"Level 403 now, huh?

As expected of our Empire\'s Fourth Sword."

Evan\'s words had the two Deadly Sin Siblings frowning slightly as they alternated their gazes between Ralphie, Charles and the Duke\'s Brigade Captain who they recently discovered held the military rank of Brigadier General.

\'Too many Grandmaster-level existences around us.\'

Just as Pride was considering what would happen if any of them was to become hostile, she sensed another Grandmaster-level Presence enter the building, with Evan turning towards the Duke and asking.

"The adventurer\'s guild master?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

♧♧♧

Note;

Concerning the levels of certain existences that would be mentioned throughout this arc.

Whenever an A rank adventurer is mentioned; the level of the A rank adventurer is within the range of 300-320 unless stated otherwise.

Whenever Grandmaster level undead are mentioned; the level of the undead in question is within the range of 300-310 unless stated otherwise.

Whenever Grandmaster level Military officers (Colonels or higher), Mages, Knights and Paladins are mentioned; their levels are within the ranges of 300-310 unless stated otherwise

Thanks for your understanding