Chapter 328 - Islefield Fortress ( 1 )

Stella and her group finally left the village as they headed to the Islefield Fortress.

Once they've settled down there, Yasmin would be able to start her Hunter Mission. 

Though the mission only requires her to hunt 20 Inferno Wolves and 10-Man Eating Eagles, it would still take quite some time especially when hunting those eagles. They weren't moving in groups after all. 

Then, they discussed this mission for a bit as the three wanted to help Yasmin complete the task… However, Yasmin declined as she wanted to practice her combat techniques too. 

"But still… It might be dangerous…"

"That's right… We encountered bandits on the road. There might be more trouble in the forest. You have to be careful of both humans and wild beasts."

"That's right… How about one of us will move with you?"

In the end, they decided to just allow Lyrei to accompany her so they wouldn't be worried.

Time quickly as passed as they encountered several groups of soldiers patrolling the surroundings of the Fortress. 

Luckily, the Hunter Mission on their hands allowed them to pass through many checkpoints easily. Now, they would just have to pass the last checkpoint before they could enter the fortress.

During their trip, they did not encounter any more bandits or wild beasts which is quite understandable since there are also a lot of people, Hunters or Arcanists, going in and out of the Fortress right now.

Clak! Clak! Clak!

A luxurious nobles carriage passed through their carriage and they seem to be in a hurry as they headed towards the Fortress…

"Hmm… That was Count Hedlund's carriage… I wonder what happened."

Aria softly muttered after noticing the insignia on the carriage. The county of Hedlund should be located in the eastern part of the Kingdom so Aria was quite intrigued by the situation.

However, since they are about to enter the Fortress, she decided to just forget about it. She's now quite excited to meet her little brother again.

"Hmm… The guards here have increased… Why is it quite gloomy though?"

Lyrei frowned after noticing the atmosphere from outside the fortress. 

There are quite a lot of people planning to enter and their small carriage is currently in a long line to get checked by the guards before they could enter the walls of the fortress.

As for the Count's Carriage just now, they were obviously VIPs and they no longer need to fall in line.

"That's true… Since there are a lot of Arcanists, Knights, and soldiers around, so it should appear to be safer than any other city. Normally, it would have a lively atmosphere." Stella commented after realizing this as well.

She had been on the battlefield numerous times and although she experienced such a gloomy atmosphere before, it only happens when they were in a tight spot or being pushed back by the enemies.

However, the Kingdom shouldn't be losing against the Dark Elves even if the Isengard Fortress was captured. She's actually expecting that it would be taken back in a week or two once scattered forces of the Kingdom have gathered.

"Hmm… Maybe the Dark Elves are too strong? Wait! Perhaps that legendary Elf Warrior called Reiji had shown his presence around here?" Aria suddenly recalled the terrifying legend of the warrior.

To be able to force General Julian into a retreat and kill all the members of the Night Brigade, the warrior must've been at the level of First-Class Arcanists or perhaps Five-Star Hunter!

If that was the case, it would be extremely difficult for the kingdom to fight such a monster unless they have enough time to prepare.

"This… You might actually be right, Aria."

"Ugh… I hope that it's not true."

"Well, if that Elf is truly strong as you say, the general should've requested the help of the Knight Champions at this point, right?" Lyrei calmly reminded the three girls.

That's right! Although the Kingdom lacks powerful Arcanists compared to the other nations neighboring them, they have a Knight-Champions as their pillar of support. 

First-Class Arcanists was indeed too difficult to have even after a century of the Kingdom's prosperity… However, it doesn't mean that no other talents are sprouting in the many generations that had passed.

"Hmm… I heard that the Sun Fire Knights has two Knight-Champions… One is already too old at the age of 80 the other one was a young man in his thirties if I didn't make a mistake."

Aria shared with the others. She didn't learn this in the Academy and was only mentioned to her by Chrisome.

Anyway, since Saalstein City is near, her guess shouldn't be all that wrong. After all, that is where the Sun Fire Knight's Headquarters is.

"That's good if that's true…" Yasmin smiled wryly. It would be good if the strongest Elf Warrior would be eliminated. 

Well, the Knight-Champion might've even been sent to recapture the Isengard Fortress already.

Time quickly passed as the number of people started dwindling. Soon, it was Stella's turn to enter the Fortress…

They didn't get any trouble entering since they have the mission request from the Hunter Association…

Clink!

Aria flicked a silver coin to the guard which the latter caught swiftly. 

"Is there any issues here recently? The atmosphere is a bit gloomy." Aria asked without looking at the guard. 

"Ehem… Well, it seems that the scouts sent to Isengard were ambushed not too far from the Fortress. The Dark Elves might be moving faster than we anticipated. Other than that, I know nothing else."

The guard replied as he pocketed the silver coin.

Soon, the group of ladies entered the Fortress.

"There are so many Arcanists… I can feel more than a hundred Arcana already…" Aria couldn't help but be shocked after using her Arcane Sensitivity. 

Since the other Arcanists aren't hiding the presence of their Arcana, she didn't have any problem sensing them at all. Stella had a similar reaction as she agreed with Aria.

She could sense that the battle against the Dark Elves is really getting closer.

"I guess we need to eliminate all the beasts in the nearby forest as quickly as possible. We can't let them control those creatures and use them as cannon fodder." Lyrei gravely said as she understood how cunning these Dark Elves are. 

As a Forest Elf, she had a better understanding of their counterpart. 

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As their carriage entered the Fortress, a group of Knights was marching to leave outside the gate…

"Diether!"

Aria suddenly called as the three immediately glanced in the directions she's facing at.