Chapter 1011: Act 182 – The Battle of the White Lion V
The bells of Fatan Port rang out incessantly, and Romaine watched as priests and devotees clad in golden or red robes poured out into the streets, hurrying in one direction—that direction was Fu Sha Square, home to the largest temple in Fatan Port. She stood among the diverse crowd without feeling out of place, but Haruz behind her appeared somewhat uneasy.
Suddenly, Romaine spotted a familiar figure in the crowd and excitedly waved her delicate hand in the air:
“Mr. Almof—”
The middle-aged man, dressed in priestly robes, paused momentarily before turning around, looking surprised: “Miss Romaine?”
At that moment, the long toll of the bell from Fatan Port was not simply a bell toll. The sound came from the direction of Fu Sha Square and was clearly a call to the faithful from the temple. As the most senior believer in this district, doubling as a district priest, Almof Shadur had put on his holy robe and left his home the moment he heard the bell. However, the clergy was only a part-time role for him; his other identity was Vice President of the Silver Shark Chamber of Commerce in Fatan Port. With the empire’s commercial prosperity, merchants within the empire and commercial families were often tightly connected through marriages or other means. Therefore, he had long been aware of and even met the representative of the burgeoning southern commercial force in Erluin—this beautiful lady—who was said to be the fiancée of that young lord.
In the eyes of merchants or trade organizations within the empire, the name of this emerging southern force far surpassed its reputation among the empire’s traditional nobility. The revival and development of the Toniger territory had brought substantial trade revenues to the empire. The empire’s handmade goods, weapons, even labor and slaves were continuously shipped to that unremarkable territory in the far south of Erluin, in exchange for precious minerals and raw materials transported from the Black Forest, which, after passing through these imperial merchants, could yield astonishing profits. So who wouldn’t be courteous to the owner of this territory and its future mistress, the one who made all this possible?
After all, for most people in this world, ideals and beliefs are too distant; only profit is real and intimate.
Almof had met Romaine a few days ago at a banquet hosted by the Crown Prince, where many nobles and dignitaries from the surrounding areas, mostly local families and merchants with intricate connections to military nobility, had been invited, and the intent was self-evident.
Hearing Romaine’s call, he stopped and politely asked, “What is it? Is there something I can help you with, Miss Romaine?”
“Nothing much,” Romaine chuckled, “I just wanted to ask what’s happening. Why are there so many people? Mr. Almof, where are you all going?”
Just because of this? Almof was taken aback. He pointed towards the spire of the temple in the direction of Fu Sha Square and replied, “Did you hear the bell, Miss Romaine? It’s the bell for calling the faithful; something must have happened at the temple. These people are all nearby believers or clergy eager to see what has happened.”
“Is it really the temple’s bell, Mr. Almof? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Romaine’s dark eyes darted slightly. The Chancellor’s Daughter had such influence over the temple, yet Brendel had never mentioned it; wasn’t it said that the relationship between the temple and the Chancellor wasn’t very good?
“Of course, I’m not joking with you, Miss Romaine. This bell is not something just anyone can use; it should be an indication that high-ranking officials from the Temple of Fire have arrived. If someone else were to misuse this bell to call the faithful, I’m afraid the responsibility would be too great for them to bear.” As he spoke, Almof himself furrowed his brow; Fatan Port had been closed for several days, so how could high-ranking officials from the temple arrive now?
Moreover, this port was currently under the Crown Prince’s control; what could it possibly mean for high-ranking temple officials to arrive at this moment?
“High-ranking officials from the temple?”
“The high-ranking officials here should refer specifically to those who are not sent by the Temple of Fire, Miss Romaine.” Almof felt some doubts arise in his heart but still answered reflexively.
“I see, thank you for telling me this, Mr. Almof.” Romaine smiled brightly.
Almof nodded. He was not sure why this future mistress of the Toniger territory was asking him these questions or whether it was merely to satisfy her curiosity, for it did not contradict the impression she had left during the banquet; everyone thought of this lady as charming, curious, and extremely sensitive to commerce.
Romaine did not press further and simply bid farewell to the part-time priest, watching his hurried figure disappear into the crowd.
“High-ranking officials from the temple, Your Highness, Prince Younger.”
“Miss Romaine?”
“Don’t you have any thoughts on this, Your Highness? After all, such a complicated matter is not my forte.” She turned back to ask.
“It is indeed strange… Normally, how could there be high-ranking officials from the temple arriving in Fatan Port at this time? I heard that the headquarters of the Temple of Fire is under the control of the Queen, so how could the Crown Prince allow the Queen’s people into the city?” Although Haruz was somewhat timid, he was not foolish; he quickly connected these simple facts.
“So you also find it strange—?”
“Wait a minute, Miss Romaine, what are you planning to do?”
“If it’s strange, then of course we should go see what the problem is. Brendel entrusted the rear to me; I must fulfill my duty.” Romaine replied seriously.
“Wait, but…” Haruz was dragged forward by the Merchant Miss, suddenly panic-stricken as he called out, “But shouldn’t we notify Lady Juliette and Lady Nemeses?”
“Do you think they need us to notify them?”
“Well… it does seem that way, but…”
“No ‘buts.’ How can you, a grown man, be so fussy? You should learn more from your teacher; Brendel is nothing like you—”
“I—I’m nothing like my teacher…” Haruz’s face turned red with frustration.
…
Under the reddish-purple canopy of the sky, silver ships were leaving Fatan Port, sailing towards the Sublime Inner Sea, gradually disappearing into the sea mist enveloping the bay.
Standing on the crosswalk of the air port, Delphine’s long purple hair danced wildly in the wind. From the perspective of her silhouette and her flowing hair, one could believe she was a stunning beauty. However, beneath the scattered strands of hair lurked a fearsome visage marked by burns and scars crisscrossing her face, with one eye sunken and lifeless in its socket, while the other retained a glimmer that hinted at the beauty she once possessed.
She remained seated in her wheelchair, but Lady Silver Dragon had already vanished; now, it was Marjory pushing her wheelchair, while Oni stood at a distance, seemingly uninterested in the Chancellor’s Daughter, even fairly irate at the fact that she had Marjory push her wheelchair.
However, Delphine showed no concern. She stared ahead at the enormous fleet, her brow furrowed. Earlier, Brendel had surprisingly issued orders for this fleet to set sail—there must have been some opportunity he found. This fleet was evidently heading towards the White Legion, and the young lord from Erluin seemed ready to reveal his claws to the Queen.
“Six o’clock.”
“What?” Oni, not far away, was puzzled by this abrupt comment: “What are you saying?”
“The time is wrong,” Delphine replied, staring at the sky. “The last group of ships left port at seven in the morning, but the light now does not look like it’s approaching eight o’clock.”
“Isn’t that dawn…?”
“Dawn is in that direction; that’s the evening glow,” Delphine replied firmly.
“This is impossible; it has only been an hour since dawn!” The Duchess was startled, suddenly thinking of something. She blurted out, “Could it be another solar eclipse?”
Delphine did not respond. At that moment, the distant chimes of the clock finally wafted through the city. She raised her brow slightly and turned to ask, “What is that bell?”
Oni seemed not to care much about the bell, still staring skeptically at the golden line on the horizon, casually replying, “It seems like the temple’s bell…”
“No,” Delphine shook her head, frowning. “That bell means… someone from the headquarters of the temple has arrived.”
“Headquarters of the temple?” Oni paused, puzzled. “What does that mean? How could someone from the temple headquarters come here?”
Marjory had heard about the statue of the Lion Saint from Sidney from Charles. He was just about to say something, but the Chancellor’s Daughter interrupted him: “Marjory, go inform Charles; there’s a problem. The one coming isn’t Lady Sidney. Tell him to be careful and prepare for battle.”
Marjory was momentarily taken aback, thinking about how the Chancellor’s Daughter knew that the person wasn’t Lady Sidney. Nevertheless, as a professional soldier, he chose to obey orders without hesitation: “Understood, Miss Delphine!”
…
Juliette felt the carriage’s jolt and awoke from her unconscious state. The surroundings were dim, reminiscent of the light at six or seven in the evening. The cramped space looked like some large covered wagon’s compartment, with dim orange sunlight filtering in from outside; it was already dusk—or dawn.
She frowned slightly, feeling pain respond throughout her limbs, recalling the earlier battle. She had thought she was doomed, but Brendel had arrived as promised.
“Awake, big sister?” Cruz’s voice came from the side. She turned her head to see him sitting cross-legged beside her, a thick tome of magic resting on his knees. Nearby, close to the wagon entrance, sat Mel and several other young people; instinctively, she counted and realized that at least half of them were missing.
Upon hearing Cruz’s voice, Mel turned around and noticed the situation; seeing Juliette’s glum face, he understood her thoughts: “It’s not bad that the lord arrived in time; otherwise, the losses would have been even greater. You might have died there as well.”
Juliette furrowed her brow. The heavy losses reminded her of the battle in Cold Fir Territory.
“My lord, you shouldn’t blame yourself. What I learned at the Royal Knight Academy is that war inevitably involves bloodshed, whether it’s us or the enemy,” Mel seemed to sense what the superior was thinking and advised, “All we can do is make the enemy bleed more than we do—”
“But you are all so young…”
“My lord, every moment in Erluin, adventurers and mercenaries die. Some of them are much younger than us. You were once a mercenary captain; you must have become accustomed to these realities long ago.”
Listening to Mel’s words, not just Juliette but even Cruz fell silent. Indeed, during their time in the Southlands, they had already grown accustomed to life and death. Whether in Erluin, Cruz, or even further in the ten cities, the living conditions of adventurers and mercenaries were far worse than theirs. As members of the White Lion Guard, they at least had enough to eat, but in the southern border of Erluin, many adventurers and mercenaries lived like outlaws, struggling on the brink of hunger and death.
At that time, they seemed unconcerned; parting with life and death was just that, much like the companions hung by Grudin at Cold Fir Fort, it could only make them feel anger at most.
They had become surprisingly sentimental, despite their lives hanging by a thread.
“Mel, what drives you all to give everything?” she suddenly whispered.
“Ambition,” the young man replied flatly. “My lord, you don’t understand, someone like me, a bastard, has no right to inherit a title; the best path is to become a knight under a powerful figure’s command, from which we will rise or fall together. The structure of the kingdom hasn’t changed for many years; whoever I follow, the end result will be aging or injury and then gaining a small fief, marrying and having children. Perhaps one of my offspring might encounter an opportunity someday and rise to prominence, but that’s not the life I want. The lord is the only one who might overturn the entire structure of Erluin. Only by following him and participating firsthand in all of this can I achieve extraordinary merit and change my own destiny. I want to prove to everyone that I am the best—”
Cruz was somewhat surprised, mulling over Mel’s long-term ideals, which he hadn’t expected from this unassuming companion. By contrast, his greatest aspiration was to become a real wizard, or more extravagantly, to reach the level of Mentor Charles, so that he could probably wake up smiling in his sleep.
