Enemy Attack

'As expected...'

Makai's eyes were cold when he opened the chat on his dashboard and sent a message for Lionel and the others to find a resting place.

As Lionel galloped on his mighty warhorse, he watched the dense green forests intently, ready to tackle any creature that sprang. Although this is a small forest just 30 kilometers northeast of Crimson Fort and its danger level doesn't compare to the threat level of the Wandering Mountains, there were still some wild beasts that could bring a nuisance when attacking in groups. Therefore, Lionel did not let his guard down and was vigilant, as this is one of the main lessons every Apprentice Knight has during his years of training.

Suddenly, Lionel was surprised by the cold voice of the system echoing in his mind abruptly, and he quickly opened the group room that Makai had created just for him and his brothers who are on this trip.

Upon seeing Makai's message, Lionel found it a bit strange as horses need a rest every two hours and there were still 30 minutes left for the second rest, but he didn't question and followed his young lord's arrangements.

After about 15 minutes, they finally found a suitable open space to rest.

Makai got out of his chariot dressed in his black armor, he closely observed his surroundings and had his right hand on the hilt of his sword that was sheathed at his right waist while his left hand gripped his black helmet. He had to admit he was a little nervous, after all, he was a librarian on Earth and only his predecessor was a sword maniac, which still gave him some confidence as although he never practiced swordsmanship, his predecessor's skills were embedded in their bones.

They were still surrounded by forests and some of the trees were up to tens of meters tall, but the space Lionel found was an open field with some grass and the horses had already started to eat. There was also a small source from which the water flowed and Salazar was already leading some horses to drink water.

"Very good. This place is much better than the last one."

Makai nodded in satisfaction at Lionel as he looked around as if sizing him up, but in truth, he was looking for any suspicious traces of the enemy.

After seeing that everything seemed normal, Makai asked his butler Jonathan to arrange the space and get everyone out of their carriages as they would be resting here longer than their previous rest.

Soon, all the family members of the 7 youths got out of their carriages and started stretching while breathing in the fresh air. Spending hours traveling in carriages are not comfortable after all.

Lampard was the first out of the carriage, followed by his wife, Vivian.

When Lampard woke up with dark circles under his eyes this morning, upon leaving his room, he was startled thinking that soldiers of the Black Dragon Empire had invaded his small home, as only the dragon men of the Black Dragon Empire wore similar black armor sets to what your child was using, a black armor with sharp spikes on his shoulder pads, and only the holes in the helmet revealed his eyes and a slit in his nose revealed the white skin.

When he heard his son's voice, he was surprised and at the same time jealous of his child, as he could see that this set of equipment had at least 2 stars, but thinking it was his child, he was happy and proud while his expectations of a better future have only increased.

So when he saw Makai and the other young men with the same set of armor, spears, and swords reminiscent of the majestic black dragon he had seen in the skies the day before, Lampard was no fool, he quickly associated the fact that Makai had accepted many Sworn Knights and that the silhouette of the black dragon had disappeared among the pavilions of the military barracks. So he came to the shocking conclusion that Makai is quite possibly the Child of Fate and that these sets of equipment are the work of the finest blacksmiths in the Collins family.

While Lampard seemed distracted to look at his child and the other sworn knights of Makai, the butler Jonathan had already returned to Makai's side while the only ones who spoke at that moment were Rayane's family and the others.

"Ah... My back is so sore..."

"Honey, that's why I always say, we need to exercise more, or we'll get old quickly..."

"Hump! You only think about this kind of exercise?"

As the couple argued, many others began to laugh in ways they understood.

"Hahaha... Rayane, your parents are funny." A childish voice echoed low enough that only the two girls next to her could hear.

Rayane blushed, "Dahlia, you're too young. What do you know?"

Alexia didn't say anything, but she had small dimples with the hint of a smile.

The atmosphere is cheerful and carefree, the commoners had wide smiles on their faces, and everyone was proud of their children and full of expectations for the future.

Makai had already become acquainted with all of them when they boarded the Crimson Fort. When he met Lionel's mother Jana before they boarded, he didn't know how to face her as she was like a mother to him who nursed him and raised him from a baby until he was 5 years old.

Although Makai has not lived these memories personally, they are not erased just because he is a reincarnated and, in his subconscious, the memories of the past are now his and his emotions are not much different from his predecessor.

Fortunately, Jana is a kind woman and she happily chatted with him saying that everything was fine as she already hoped he would one day leave.

However, Makai still sensed that Jana wasn't being completely honest and she seemed to harbor some grudges, but she would never admit it. Makai understood the reason, after all, for a mother who breastfeeds two babies and suddenly one of them leaves after 5 years, this is a sad feeling of separation and loss that only a mother can feel.

...

While the atmosphere is cheerful and relaxed where Makai and the others rest not far away, the mood is heavy and somewhat solemn as a group of twenty Knights in silver armor mounted on their great horses are blocking the narrow path through the forests. Of those twenty knights, the ten that are at the front are holding large silver metal spears, while the rest hold swords.

Facing these twenty Riders is an even larger and more muscular white horse being ridden by a Rider with his sword sheathed in his right waist while both hands rest on his thighs as he grips his horse's reins. He wears a set of silver armor with a green cloak covering his back.

They seemed to have been waiting in this position for some time and one of the twenty Knights was impatient when he led his horse to his leader's side, "Captain, by our calculations, they should have crossed our path 10 minutes ago..."

"I suggest that we march towards you to fulfill the task given by the general quickly, after all, a group of Apprentice Knights and some commoners are just a nuisance. Waiting for them here is a waste of our time..."

"Even though there are some commoners who are in a Bronze Knight realm among them, how can these malnourished ones who don't even have ordinary equipment compare to our well-equipped Knights with 1-star rune equipment?"

Hearing his deputy captain, the captain thought for a moment and nodded, "You're right. We don't need to stay here waiting for some commoners..."

"It's likely they've been attacked by forest wolves and so haven't arrived yet... Although the little bastard and his Apprentice Knights are wearing a supposed 2-star set, they're still kids."

"Also, hehe..."

The captain didn't finish his words, but everyone knew their meaning and nodded. Soon, this small Cavalry of 21 Knights marched leaving dust behind.

...

In the middle of this green forest where if could hear the wind blow and the leaves rustle, Makai and the others had just eaten dry bread with water while many were just lying on the grass feeling the cool breeze when it seemed to feel a roar of thunder, but the sky was clear and there were no signs of rain.

With suspicious eyes, they began to look at their surroundings trying to understand where this noise was coming from.

"That's a cavalry approaching." A solemn voice echoed among the commoners.

Although Makai already knew, he was silent as if he didn't know anything and was surprised to see that someone had noticed even though the sound produced by the horses' hooves running was still far away.

Curious, Makai looked at whoever had spoken and saw that it was Skar's father, Lampard, who was solemn at that moment as he looked to the northeast.

Soon, Lionel and the 6 youths fully covered in their black armor took their swords and spears and quickly grouped themselves into two lines, four behind and three in front.

Makai took the lead and led them to block the narrow path. All had serious expressions as they waited for the cavalry that approached aggressively.

'You finally got tired of waiting...'

Makai had cold eyes through the visor of his helmet.