Chapter 318 - Reiji's Clues ( 2 )

"Have you heard about the incident at the Isengard Fortress?"

"Ugh… I just read the newspapers. It was said that it was already taken down by the Beast Wave or something."

"No, it's the Dark Elves! They have been facing the beast waves yearly and there was never a problem before. Even though it wasn't clearly stated, it was definitely done by those cursed Elves!"

"Right… It's quite baffling… There's no way that General Julian and his Night Brigade would be defeated just like that. The Dark Elves might've used some kind of curse to win their battle."

"But it could also because of some powerful Evil Beasts… I heard there are even dangerous Imps and Minotaurs living there. That place was also infested with evil creatures and powerful beasts."

Stella and the others heard the rumors going around the city. The citizens were sensitive to these kinds of news as it affects the security of their kingdom. 

Now that the Isengard Fortress has fallen, there are only remaining three Fortresses and two cities defending the Northern part of their kingdom.

"Hmm… That news was quite fast to arrive." Stella muttered after hearing the people in the market gossiping.

"Well, I heard from Chrisome that there were a lot of new Magic Items developed in the Arcanist Tower during the past few years…"

"New Magic Items?" Stella asked curiously.

She then recalled the referee named Chrisome in their mansion. He was indeed wearing the uniform of the Tower that time they'd met.

Anyway, although she's an Arcanist, she hasn't learned how to make Magic Items as they needed to study it in the Academy or perhaps some organizations willing to share such important knowledge like the Arcanist Tower. So she felt quite curious hearing about their creation.

"That's right… Several years ago, the Tower managed to train some impressive students… These students created many useful items like Sight Recorder that could instantly paint or record the image that was seen by the device… There is also a Messenger Magic Item made by Rufus… I heard that it could send a message to anywhere using that device."***

"Whoa~ So those impressive Magic Items were from the Arcanist Tower's students?" 

Yasmin became a bit excited as she heard about them before. Unfortunately, the Messenger Device is not being sold to the public yet while the Sight Recorder can only be afforded by wealthy commoners.

"Alright… Let's first have a drink at the tavern and have our horses get taken care of." Lyrei interrupted them for a moment to remind them of their current plans.

"Well, that's right. I also want to hear more about the situation of the fortress. There might be a large-scale movement of our Army and the Sun Fire Knights might actually be involved."

Aria muttered reminding everyone that Diether might be included in the reinforcements to be sent to the northern region.

They have just arrived at Clover City located in the central part of the kingdom. They have been traveling for about five days together at this time and this is the first city they stop by.

Nevertheless, they previously heard the news about the situation of the Isengard Fortress getting serious but they have never thought that it would be occupied by another race only after a few days had passed!

That Fortress has never been defeated ever since it was built!

Now, it was taken by the Dark Elves which wasn't really considered as a threat by the Kingdom before!

Although most of their forces are now deployed in the western and southern parts of the kingdom due to various reasons, General Julian shouldn't be defeated so easily.

"Let's take a rest first… I want to sleep in a comfortable bed!"

"Right… We deserve that. It hasn't been easy. There are too many Wild Beasts on the road these days. I think the Hunters around here has become quite lazy."

"That's true. They should be subjugating them in a fixed period." 

Lyrei, Yasmin, and Aria voiced their complaints as they headed towards a huge tavern.

They let one of the servants there take care of their carriage as they rented two rooms in the place. Luckily, they have plenty of available rooms so they didn't have to worry. 

Lyrei decided to have a rest first while the other three ladies decided to drink and listen to gossips and other rumors within the tavern.

"I guess the effects of the previous events weakened the defense of the Isengard Fortress."

A man that was drinking alcohol with his friends said in a serious tone. He's wearing his guard uniform so the three could tell that he might know some news that only the security forces were aware of.

Nevertheless, the three of them already know these events that he was trying to mention.

After all, there is a new border between the Chodoro Kingdom and the Erliente Dukedom. It must be maintained properly to avoid any more invasion. Aside from that, the Orc Tribes in the south were also causing a lot of troubles lately. 

This means that the forces at the North are actually at their weakest. A single general would surely not be able to handle everything no matter how good he is. 

Anyway, they of course thought the General's defeat still happened way too fast.

"I guess the Night Brigade isn't that powerful at all..." Yasmin muttered after recalling the stories she heard about the mysterious group formed by the powerful general.

"Well… We don't really know what truly happened. There must be a reason. We still can't be sure if they were even dead or have just retreated for tactical reasons."

Aria replied. The Dark Elves uses means that are quite different from Arcanists. They use curses, poisons, or other evil things to win a war. 

If the Dark Elves decided to attack a heavily defended fortress, it only means that they have sufficiently prepared for months or even several years!

"That's true… I guess that the royal family is already planning to retake the fortress. Do you think that Diether will participate in this?" Stella asked.

"Well, I guess so. The last time he wrote a letter was when he was working at an Earl's request and it's located in the northern region. He must still be there with his group." Aria said…

Then, she noticed that her companion was quite silent so she looked at Stella only to see her looking stunned. 

Yasmin also noticed Stella's behavior but she was also confused. 

Stella was only looking at the group of drunk men talking about the events at the Isengard Fortress.

"I'm telling you! The name of the strongest Elf Warrior is Reiji! I can't be wrong! I heard it correctly!" The drunk man said aloud in front of his friends.