A few hours later, Lux and his comrades arrived at another city with its gates shut tight.
Several archers were manning the ramparts, but fortunately, none of them opened fire because Lux made sure that they wouldn't be attacked by his former comrades.
Before he left the Gate of Conquest, he had asked Great General Sherlock to give him several banners of the Yelan Kingdom.
The Half-Elf had thought of the possibility that they might meet the two Great Generals again if they challenged the Gate of Famine.
Because of this, he wanted to have their banners just in case they would be forced to march onto a battlefield where the Yelan Kingdom was fighting against their mortal enemy, the Ammarian Kingdom.
Since Lux's entourage had the banners, the defenders of the city didn't attack them, but didn't let them enter the city either. Clearly, they were still wary of a bunch of teenagers carrying the banner of their Kingdom, especially in these troubled times.
"My name is Lux Von Kaizer," Lux shouted. "I serve under Great General Sherlock and Great General Watson. Please, let me talk to your commanding officer. We just came upon a ruined city earlier that was attacked by monsters. I have every reason to believe that your city might be their next target."
The Guard Captain who defended the city narrowed his eyes as he looked at the red-headed teeanger that declared himself a subordinate of Great General Sherlock and Great General Watson.
Currently, the two Great Generals were away, leading their army to fend off a Monster Outbreak in the Eastern Region of their Kingdom. The place was a good distance away from where they were, so it was impossible to confirm whether or not the teenage boy was telling the truth.
"Let them in," a voice that was filled with authority said, making the Guard Captain turn his head to look at the General who had been stationed to defend their city.
"General Fahad, you know him?" the Guard Captain asked.
"Of course we know him," General Fahad's second son, Leo, replied. "Have you forgotten the name of one of the War Heroes of the previous campaign? That Half-Elf down there is the one responsible for helping us win. So, what are you waiting for? Let him in!"
Currently, Leo was acting as his Father's second in command, which gave him the authority to order the soldiers guarding the city.
Because of this, the Guard Captain hurriedly told his men to open the gates.
Now that he had been reminded of who the Half-Elf was, the Guard Captain found it quite silly for him to forget the name of the person responsible for helping them win the previous war against the Ammarian Kingdom.
Lux was very famous among the members of the militaries of the Yelan and Ammarian Kingdoms, and they even gave him the nickname of Death God of the Battlefield.
Ever since then, the Ammarian Kingdom had not launched any campaigns against the smaller Kingdom, which they had long wanted to annex, in fear that their next attempt would also end in failure.
When the gates opened, Lux and his entourage were immediately greeted with cheers from the soldiers, as well as the populace.
Clearly, the Half-Elf was being treated as a War Hero, making the latter have a hard time keeping a straight face due to embarrassment.
"It's nice to see you again, Lux," General Fahad said as soon as the Half-Elf and his entourage had all entered the city. "Seeing you here makes me a little more confident about defending this city."
"General Fahad." Lux smiled as he reached out his hand for a handshake. "It's good to see that you are doing well. Can you tell me about the current situation of the Yelan Kingdom?"
"Of course, please follow me," General Fahad led Lux and his entourage to the make-shift barracks inside the city.
Due to the threat of the Monster Outbreak, all able-bodied men had been conscripted to defend their Kingdom.
Currently, they were being trained in the barracks in order to help the veteran soldiers fight off the Monsters that threatened to destroy their homes.
Since the number of people that Lux brought with him didn't surpass fifty, all of them were taken to the conference room to be briefed of the current situation.
"It started around two weeks ago," General Fahad said as he pointed at the map that was plastered on the wall. "The border guards sighted several powerful Monsters that were Argonaut-Ranked and below, leading countless low-ranking Monsters, heading deeper within the Ammarian Kingdom.
"Back then, we were quite happy with this development because we thought those bastards would finally receive the retribution they deserved. Just like we expected, the Monster Army destroyed several cities before they clashed against the Ammarian Army.
"The battle was fierce, and even though they sacrificed countless lives, they were able to repel the Monsters. However, something unexpected happened, which made their victory short-lived."
A grim expression appeared on General Fahad's face, which made the Half-Elf frown.
"A day after the battle ended, three Dreadnaught-Ranked World Bosses made their appearance, and all of them were leading Monster Armies that were at least ten times larger than the Monster Army that the Ammarian Kingdom defeated.
"Seeing that there was no chance of victory, the General ordered a full retreat, ordering their soldiers to go all the way back to their Capital City, preparing for a last stand. However, these Monsters didn't head directly to the Ammarian Capital City.
"The three Dreadnaught-Ranked World Bosses split their forces. Two of them remained in the territory of the Ammarian Kingdom, taking their sweet time to destroy the outer cities, leaving nothing behind but destruction. It was as if they didn't plan on letting even a single village, town, city, or person live, going for a full extermination, leaving the Capital City for last."
The Yelan General sighed. He didn't ever think that there would come a time when he would pity their enemies.
But, their current situation was indeed truly pitiful that even though the Yelan General hated them, he wished that the innocents were spared from such tragedy.