Imperial Throne

Chapter 114: The Enemy

Yam arrived at the border between the White Mountain Territory and the Eastern Mountain Territory with a group of Bloodline Knights, travel-worn and weary.

He looked at the borderline, his expression hard to read.

Back then, it was Baron Ster and his father who, driven to desperation by the enemy, had no choice but to fight their way out from here. They had fled across the Eastern Mountain Territory for over half a month. Only after that did they return to the White Mountain Territory through the Eaglehead Mountains, but out of more than two hundred accompanying soldiers, only thirteen returned alive. Not only did Baron Ster fall in that battle, but even his father had lost an arm.

Though, from the outside, this war appeared to be a glorious victory for the White Mountain Territory — two Third-Tier Bloodline Users from the Western Wind Territory had died, one of whom was the actual commander of the Western Wind Cavalry Regiment; the entire Abres Family of the Eastern Mountain Territory was wiped out, and now a new family governed that land.

Yet only those who had fought on both sides knew the blood and tears that had been shed.

“Sir Yam.” Hatch came trotting over to Yam and reported, “We’ve already done a full sweep. No traces found.”

“Are you certain?” Yam turned his head.

Hatch was one of the thirteen surviving veteran soldiers. Though the Bloodline he had awakened was only First-Tier 【Swiftwind Falcon】, and his current Bloodline Ability was the defensive 【Wind Wall】, he was actually the sharpest among the thirteen veterans, with the best tracking skills.

Yam remembered well — his father had placed the greatest hopes on Hatch, Sien, and Lane — the latter two had both awakened Second-Tier Bloodlines.

“Though this is technically the border, in practice, there are only three roads that lead to the Eastern Mountain Territory.” In response to Yam’s inquiry, Hatch spoke seriously, “I’ve carefully examined all three routes. No signs of recent passage. So if those people’s destination is the Eastern Mountain Territory, then they should still be within our territory.”

The border between the Eastern Mountain Territory and the White Mountain Territory was, in fact, a mountainous path of complex terrain.

There were two relatively safe routes, both on level ground, with no dangerous environments. Because of this, either the Eastern Mountain Territory or the White Mountain Territory could monitor border crossings simply by guarding both ends of these routes.

The third, however, was far more perilous.

It was a rugged mountain path through the Eaglehead Mountains, high and steep, making it extremely difficult to monitor.

This was the route usually chosen by smugglers.

Yam and his group were currently at this treacherous path.

Because the White Mountain Territory did not yet have enough military strength to scatter like seeds across the region, only an observation post had been set up here to monitor for military movements from the Eastern Mountain Territory. Therefore, if the mysterious individual who had hired Aliman to stir up trouble was colluding with the Eastern Mountain Territory, they could easily return there via the two main roads. But if Yam and his group did the same, it would amount to a declaration of war.

Hence, they had made preparations for a "stealth entry": if it was confirmed that the mysterious party had entered the Eastern Mountain Territory via these paths, then Yam and his team would follow suit through this narrow route.

The news Hatch brought, though, could be considered half-good.

“Seems we don’t need to risk entering the Eastern Mountain Territory.”

Yam let out a faint chuckle, then looked back in the direction of the Eastern Mountain Territory.

But beside him, Hatch noticed that Yam’s eyes revealed a complex mixture of regret, sorrow, and relief.

...

Five middle-aged men clad in leather armor and wielding weapons darted swiftly through the forest.

They all moved in silence, but their swift, precise motions clearly indicated they were highly trained soldiers, not ordinary men.

Strangely, though, each man wore a bizarre mask, and their hair was an unusually grassy green.

Citizens of the Tyrella Kingdom generally had hair in shades of gold or red, with differences only in depth of hue. However, due to the branching out of the six ducal families and ongoing expansion and conquest, since three hundred years ago, the people of Tyrella Kingdom had begun to display a greater variety of hair colors. This was influenced by the introduction of other races and the manifestation of Bloodline Power.

But green — that had never appeared.

Clearly, they were not people of the Tyrella Kingdom.

The five of them moved quickly and silently, as if some terrifying beast was chasing them from behind.

Just as they stepped onto the rugged smuggler’s path of the Eastern Mountain Territory, the leading man suddenly came to a halt.

His face, obscured by a mask, gave away no emotion, but his eyes, visible through the mask’s eyeholes, were chillingly cold.

“Come out. I ‘saw’ you.”

His voice was hoarse and dark, like an animal sharpening its claws — harsh and grating to the ears.

But after his voice fell, the surroundings remained eerily silent.

It seemed as if the man was cautiously attempting some kind of deceptive bluff.

Seeing no movement around them, the group should have logically continued forward. However, they remained completely still — not advancing a single step, nor retreating — maintaining a deadlock, as though testing their opponent's patience.

After a while, a sigh finally broke the silence.

Yam realized that their position had indeed been discovered, not merely guessed.

Half an hour earlier, he had already received a report from Hatch stating that a group of five was approaching from their direction. Though they appeared to be ordinary people, they gave off an extremely strange feeling. Therefore, they had refrained from acting rashly and had instead laid a simple trap: as soon as the group took another step onto the steep mountain path, Yam and his team would strike immediately. They would begin by destroying parts of the trail to limit the enemy’s movement, eliminate two or three by surprise, then proceed to take down the rest in one sweep.

But the enemy, merely a few steps away from that trap, refused to fall for it, leaving Yam and the others with no chance to initiate their plan.

Still, the fact that the group had not chosen the official road into the Eastern Mountain Territory and instead taken this small path indirectly confirmed they had no connection with the Lord of the Eastern Mountain Territory — although the possibility of a staged performance couldn’t be entirely ruled out.

Yam chose to step out from his hiding place.

The five of them simultaneously turned their heads in unison, casting their ghostly eyes on Yam.

In that moment, Yam instantly understood why Hatch had called them strange.

“Great Sin!”

The leader suddenly cried out, pointing directly at Yam.

The next instant, before Yam could speak, the five of them charged with weapons drawn.

There was no trace of Bloodline Aura on them, yet their speed and reflexes were unnaturally sharp, and their physical prowess was just as extraordinary. Although the two sides were over ten meters apart, these five bridged the distance in a single explosive burst, as if the space between them had never existed.

Hatch had already been standing beside Yam.

Seeing their swift and bizarre movement, Hatch charged forward instinctively to shield him. The air currents around him quickly condensed into a barrier of wind.

【Wind Wall】!

Immediately afterward, 【Wind Blade】 burst forth from the 【Wind Wall】 and shot toward the five intruders.

Two Bloodline Users of the 【Flame Hound】 also activated their Bloodline Abilities at once, guarding Yam and Hatch with swords drawn.

All five were veterans in coordinated combat.

【Fire Bomb】 and 【Wind Blade】 were long-range attacks, used to weaken enemies from a distance. Although 【Wind Wall】 wasn’t particularly effective against close-quarters combat, it performed well against ranged attacks such as 【Fire Bomb】, 【Wind Bomb】, 【Wind Blade】, and even regular physical arrows.

If enemies managed to break through the 【Wind Wall】 and engage in close combat, the two 【Flame Hound】 Bloodline Knights would engage them directly.

In short, the five formed a balanced tactic of both ranged and melee capabilities with no real weaknesses — unless one counted their insufficient strength as a flaw.

Yam had great confidence in the coordination of his team.

But that confidence did not last long.

He saw the five attackers effortlessly shatter the 【Wind Blade】 with their weapons alone, dispersing it into harmless gusts of wind.

While three of them deflected the incoming 【Wind Blade】, the remaining two charged at the 【Wind Wall】 with machetes, swinging down hard.

Their powerful strikes generated strong wind currents that clashed directly with the wind barrier of the 【Wind Wall】. Rather than causing a violent collision, the opposing flows neutralized each other, rendering the barrier completely ineffective.

The three who had shattered the 【Wind Blade】 crossed through the dissipated 【Wind Wall】 and slashed their blades at Hatch.

Quick to react, Yam grabbed Hatch’s collar and yanked him back while stepping forward without hesitation, drawing his sword in an instant.

The two 【Flame Hound】 Bloodline Knights moved in unison.

Three swords and three blades clashed for the first true engagement.

A dull, metallic crash rang out.

But the ones whose expressions changed were Yam and his two companions.

The two 【Flame Hound】 Bloodline Knights were completely overpowered in the exchange of strength and had to retreat several steps just to regain balance.

Although Yam blocked the leading attacker’s strike, the force transmitted through the longsword left his right hand slightly numb — a clear indication that his opponent’s strength was on par with, or even slightly above, his own.

Worse still, with his two allies forced to fall back, Yam had now fallen into the three-pronged attack formation of the enemy.