A Magnificent Stronghold

When the wolf lifted its head and looked at them, Claude took several steps backward. His men struggled to fight back their fears as they held their weapons tightly, ready to fight for their lord if that beast attacked.

"If that beast enters our domain, we will record losses in thousands." Nicolas said to Claude.

He unsheathed his longsword.

Their imposing determination and will to fight vanished like a puff of smoke when Sirius stood up. It was lying on all fours before, and yet they were stunned at its size, but the moment it stood up, fear took hold of Claude's soldiers.

"That's not a gold-ranked beast. It's a diamond-ranked beast knight!"

Someone from the troop bellowed in fright.

Nicolas tensed up. His plan was to escape with his lord, and that was only by sacrificing his men. At least they would be able to delay the beast for some minutes.

Grr!

Sirius, who was 300 meters away, growled. It stomped the ground lightly, and small ice spikes erupted from the ground, causing Claude's soul to almost leave his body.

A mythical beast!

In Boundless, beasts that could control elements were called mythical beasts, and mythical beasts were about 10 times stronger than other beasts of the same rank.

This meant that Sirius could handle 10 diamond-ranked knights with unremarkable talents and come out with little or no damage.

Such a beast would certainly annihilate them all.

Forget their small convoy; all the domains in the wasteland, except the county, would be in danger if they did not unite on time, gather all their troops, and even hire mercenaries.

'Sirius, you have but a little time to appear before me!'

Sirius's eyes widened, and it howled toward the sky before running off. In a blink of an eye, it had disappeared into the horizon, leaving the convoy frozen in deep fear.

"It's heading toward the Ashbourne domain."

Nicolas sighed in relief.

"We're also going there. Maintain a safe distance and watch out for that beast."

His men couldn't believe the words of their lord.

Didn't he see that beast?

Although they would never have followed the wolf out of their own accord, they were servants of their lord.

"Move!"

Nicolas said with a loud voice and kicked the belly of his mount.

After some time when the sun was at its peak, Nicolas saw a tall, blurry wall at the horizon, causing him to squint.

The closer they went, the clearer the image. At a certain point, he was sure that a mighty wall was ahead of them, but that thought changed when he discovered it was a huge fortress!

A fortress made of white stones!

When was such an expensive and massive fortress built in the depths of the wastelands?

He spotted farmers outside the walls, examining their crops. It baffled him that corn was growing so well in winter!

And these corns were eye-catching. They were deliciously golden colored and fat!

By the look of things, the corn would soon be ripe for harvest.

By the time they were just 200 yards away, the reflective surfaces at the top of the wall caught his attention.

"What in the world? Are all those men wearing plate armor?"

A soldier gasped.

Nicolas was more shocked than his men because he discovered that these men weren't just wearing plate armor. They wore silver-ranked armor.

All of them!

"Where in the world are we? Where is the beast?"

Claude's men began to ask themselves questions.

Knock! Knock!

"My Lord!"

Nicolas knocked on the carriage door so hard that Claude swiftly opened it, thinking they were in grave danger.

"Have you seen the beast?"

He asked hastily but received a greater shock as the sight of the magnificent stronghold ahead of him graced his sight.

"When did this happen?"

He gasped.

Claude came down and looked at the solid structure with slightly parted lips. Such magnificent walls could not be built without alerting other nobles, and this was because whitestones were mostly located in the high plains.

Transporting such an amount would definitely alert others.

"My Lord!"

Nicolas pointed at the gate while holding his sword's hilt tightly. Claude saw about 11 riders on horses heading toward them. Their cloaks billowed in the wind caused by their speed, and the hooves of the horses kicked up snow.

The farmers were looking at Claude and his men with myriad thoughts.

"Get ready to meet them." Claude cleared his throat and put on an amicable smile.

He could see dozens of sharpshooters on the towers aiming at them. No doubt they would release the arrows once he made a wrong move.

When the 11 riders arrived, Claude and his men were shocked to see the individual that led the 10. The figure wasn't like that of a man.

The moment she removed her hood, their eyes narrowed.

Naturally, with the upgrade, Eritrea's Elvin bloodline traits became more prominent, and one of the eye-catching traits was her looks. She was a beauty worthy of more than just a second glance.

Clad in her military attire, she looked even more heroic and appealing.

"Are you lost?"

Eritrea tilted her head.

Nicolas was offended at her words, so he glared at her, but Claude smiled softly.

"Perhaps. We were on our way to the domain of the Ashbournes. I thought it would be here, but I was wrong. Could you please point us in the right direction?"

"You want to see Lord Asher with a troop of a hundred? That's an interesting visit."

Claude chuckled softly.

"It's winter; the beasts beyond the mountains are a threat to a fat man like me. And to prove that we saw a mighty beast head toward this direction."

Eritrea raised an eyebrow.

"So you hired a hundred mercenaries and clothed them in the same armor with the crest?"

"The man you speak to is His Lordship, Baron Claude Flameheart, lord of the great Hebron City!"

Nicolas interrupted with a fierce tone.

The bladebreakers behind Eritrea revealed a glimpse of their gold-ranked blazing force causing blood to drain from Nicolas' face.

"They're all…"

"Knights." Claude completed it with his heart pounding against his ribcage.