Chapter 329 - Islefield Fortress ( 2 )

Stella was unable to immediately find Diether since she hadn't seen him before.

Aside from that, many Sun Fire Knights are wearing the same black and red armors… 

There are about 50 of them and another two higher rank officers leading them. 

It's easy to guess that the two have different Knight ranks since they are also wearing a flashy golden cape as if they are afraid that the people wouldn't notice their majestic presence. 

"Who's Diether there?" She asked as she squinted her eyes.

But before someone could answer her, she already recognized Diether because of his semblance with Aria!

They both have black hair and gray-blue eyes! He's indeed the leader of this group.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to notice their carriage as they continued heading towards the gate.

"Are we going to call him... but we might disturb him, right?" Yasmin asked not knowing what to do.

The Knights appear to have an important mission as the crowd watches them leaving the gate. Though they aren't cheering for the Knights loudly, they can hear that they are praying and hoping for their safe return.

"I'll ask someone, wait for me…" Aria said as she left the carriage. She approached one of the peddlers on the street and asked about the situation of the marching Knights.

"Oh… Did you just arrive? They're here to subjugate a group of Dark Elves… They're probably the vanguard to test the strength of this fortress."

"What? With only fifty of them? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"Well… They do not have any choice. If they didn't move now, the Dark Elves will be able to intercept the incoming supplies and maybe refugees from other small villages."

"But still… Ugh… how about the Army? Why aren't they sending their battalion?"

"Uhmm... I'm not sure young miss. Maybe if you buy my bracelet here, I can remember." The man answered with a pleading voice.

"Ugh…" Aria then checked her pocket and handed a couple of silver coins to the elder without taking the wooden bracelet in his hands. 

"Just tell me what you know." She said with a sigh.

"Ehem…  Though I can't guarantee the information, I heard that General Julian's elite army have encountered some kind of curse from the Dark Elves. It's difficult to remove them so they are waiting for the cure. Aside from that, you can't underestimate that team of Knights. Though they have a young leader, their team is mostly composed of Arcanists… I'm sure that they could fight even against the 300 Dark Elves…"

The man proudly said as if he had seen the group fight before. 

"Three hundred Dark Elves? I guess you have just heard it from a drunk man." Aria shook her head after hearing him boast for the Knights. She already heard from Lyrei how strong these Dark Elves are. 

Lyrei even said that aside from the Dark Elves' ability to control Evil Beasts, they are also physically stronger than the Forest Elves. She then imagined the Knights fighting against 300 Lyreis and she could only smile bitterly. 

There's no way they could win against that.

"No, no… It's not something I would say without getting enough information. Their small group was the one who helped the General to retreat from the powerful leader of the Dark Elves. I also heard that 20 of those knights have Unique-Rank Arcana and the remaining 30 have Normal-Rank Arcana… As for the leaders, I couldn't even tell how many Arcana they possess! They are the elite of the elites of the Sun Fire Knights!"

As soon as Aria heard this, she was immediately shocked by the number of Arcanists in this Knight Platoon. Well, all of them are Arcanists!

'Perhaps he's right… This must be the Sun Fire Knights secret weapon?'

She then imagined the 50 Sun Fire Knights pulling out 50 Arcana and using Hazy Flash Steps to surprise the enemy… That might actually work!

'I guess that they aren't just relying on their Knight Champion. They also have these young elites....'

After confirming all the details, Aria returned to the carriage as she glanced at the Knights that has just left the Fortress. 

Anyway, they don't seem to be going on a suicide mission so she can still wait. Maybe they can even observe their group from afar.

She then shared everything she heard from the old man as they decided on what to do next.

"They are on a mission… I don't think it's appropriate to interrupt them." Stella commented after hearing Aria's explanation.

"Hmm… How about we follow them for now? Then, Lyrei and Yasmin can continue with the mission."

"Alright… Let's do that. As for our meeting place, let's just rent a room for a week here."

As soon as they made up their minds, they immediately found a tavern to settle their things and for their carriage to be taken care of. 

After this, Aria and Stella followed Diether's platoon while Yasmin and Lyrei decided to visit the Hunter Association to move together with other Hunters. 

After all, they aren't familiar with this place and they might need some guidance from the Association.

"Aria… You look so serious… Are you worried about your brother? He looks dashing with his full armor… I think that those elves wouldn't be able to even touch him."

Stella suddenly said as they followed the group from afar. The two are even using some kind of concealing Arcane Magic to avoid being noticed by Diether's group.

Anyway, Stella said such words since her Arcane Sensitivity told her that Diether has 5 Arcana with him!

Aside from that, his vice leader was also wearing 4 Arcana! 

They are definitely people that shouldn't be messed with.

"Haa~ I'm just worried since the Dark Elves are good at curses. There's also that Reiji. What if that strongest Dark Elf Warrior participated?" Aria replied with a hint of concern in her voice.

Stella nodded at this as she understands her worry. 

However, Diether should know that Dark Elves are good with curses and had made preparations. As for Reiji, that Dark Elf should be staying in Isengard Fortress right now instead of leading a vanguard with a small group of Dark Elves.

Stella felt a bit complicated about this… She hopes that the Reiji of the Dark Elves wasn't her master but she also somehow felt that if that was truly her master, there must be a reason and she had to hear everything from him first.