Within the mountain pass, silence finally returned, if only for a mont.
Murphy sheathed his sword and stood, his breathing even.
He first strode over to the unconscious Sir Ernest, knelt to examine him, and then said in a low voice to the adjutant who had followed, "His injuries are severe, but he’s still breathing. Bandage him and stop the bleeding imdiately. Move him with care."
The adjutant quickly assented.
Only then did Murphy turn and walk toward the damaged Royal Family carriage.
The carriage door had been pushed open a crack from the inside. Princess Elizabeth’s small face was as pale as paper, and the hand gripping her jewel-encrusted dagger was still trembling slightly.
But her dark eyes were fixed on the approaching Murphy, filled with utter shock and disbelief.
’It’s him...’
’It’s really him!’
The image of the Northern Governor, a man she had only t a few tis, had inexplicably flashed through her mind in that final mont at the edge of despair... and now, he had actually appeared. Like a hero from legend answering a call, he had descended from the heavens and, with an invincible might, shattered death itself!
This incredible coincidence and sudden rescue left her mind blank, montarily overwhelming even the relief of having survived.
Murphy stopped a few paces from the carriage and inclined his head slightly. "Her Highness the Princess, you’ve had a scare. I am lfield, Governor of the Monte Territory. I was on my way to Blackstone Fortress under a Cardinal Decree and was passing through the area."
His tone was calm and businesslike, as if the earth-shattering rescue he had just perford was rely sothing he did in passing.
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but a thousand words caught in her throat.
She gazed at the man who had saved her. He was widely acknowledged as the most powerful Knight in the Northern Territory. He was the open secret lover of her aunt, Eldest Princess Teris. He was the biological father of her cousin, Eleanor.
He possessed the experience and cunning of a Governor, so rational he bordered on cold, yet just monts ago he had displayed the absolute power to sunder all obstacles, along with a quiet charisma.
In the end, all her complex thoughts coalesced into a single, trembling question as her gaze locked onto the white aura that had not yet completely faded from his body:
"Lord lfield, your Life Energy... it’s white... so pure. It’s almost like... like the holy radiance of a High-tier Temple Knight?"
This was a question she’d had since first eting him at her birthday celebration four months ago, and it was the closest explanation she could conceive of.
That quality—cleansing, blazing, and dazzling—did bear so resemblance to the light of a Temple Knight purifying heresy, as described in the legends.
Hearing this, Murphy’s expression remained unchanged as he gave a slight shake of his head. "It is not Holy Power, rely a peculiarity of my own constitution and cultivation path. It has nothing to do with any holy radiance."
His answer was curt and direct, with no further explanation, as if he were stating a simple fact.
Afterward, the cleanup effort began swiftly under his command.
The cavalryn collected the bodies of their fallen comrades, administered first aid to the wounded, and carefully moved the unconscious Sir Ernest.
Elizabeth personally went to comfort the survivors, pausing for a long ti before the heavily wounded adjutant to murmur, "The Kingdom will not forget your loyalty and sacrifice."
Upon hearing her words, the adjutant was so moved his lips trembled.
Once everything was in order, Murphy took stock of their remaining manpower and supplies and decided they should depart imdiately.
Before they set out, Elizabeth walked over to Murphy. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had regained so of the composure befitting a mber of the Royal Family.
"Governor," she began, her voice grave. "You just ntioned you’re headed to Blackstone Fortress? A Cardinal Decree... what is that? My father the King ordered to co here, saying only that the situation was tense and required coordination. He never ntioned any decree."
Her tone held a hint of confusion and a faint unease. When she left the palace, the highest decree had clearly not yet been issued.
Murphy glanced at her. ’This young princess probably understands far too little of the true harshness of the situation.’
"Just yesterday, the College of Cardinals in the Holy City issued a mandatory conscription order," he explained succinctly. "It requires all secular Lords to dispatch their troops and strictly commands all warriors at the Peak of Mortality to report to the front lines imdiately. The Plane Passage at Eagle’s Beak Peak has been completely breached."
"Completely breached?" Elizabeth’s pupils constricted, and she clenched her fists. "Is... is that why those monsters we encountered are pouring out?"
"That is one of the reasons," Murphy said calmly, his gaze drifting toward the distant mountain silhouettes. "From what I know, the passage’s seal was subjected to a preditated attack. The guardian forces suffered disastrous losses, and the seal collapsed. Now, creatures from the Otherworld are pouring out in large, organized numbers. The border of the Eastern Territory is likely already locked in a bitter struggle. Blackstone Fortress is now the absolute front line."
Elizabeth gasped, her face turning even paler.
She had originally thought it was just a matter of scattered monster incursions and so instability with the Plane Passage, requiring her presence as a mber of the Royal Family to coordinate efforts and reassure the populace. She never imagined the situation had deteriorated to this extent.
The passage was completely out of control, a great war had erupted on the front lines, and even the highest Cardinal Decree had been invoked.
This was far beyond her initial expectations and preparations.
"So, you were conscripted by the decree..." She looked at Murphy, her tone complex.
’Faced with such a sudden summons, one that’s practically a death sentence, he’s so calm and composed.’
"I am rely fulfilling my duty as a vassal and a believer," Murphy replied in a level voice, as if speaking of a mundane matter. "Your Highness has now personally experienced the dangers here. You should understand that the road ahead will not be peaceful. We must get to Blackstone Fortress as quickly as possible. At least there, we’ll have high walls and an army."
Elizabeth nodded in silence.
The group set off once more, with Murphy taking the lead.
As expected, they encountered several more small groups of monsters along the way, mostly scattered Scorching Beasts or similar small creatures from the Otherworld.
They seed exceptionally sensitive to the presence of living beings, lunging out suddenly from rock crevices or shadows.
But with Murphy clearing the path ahead, these threats were swiftly eliminated.
His movents were simple and efficient. Every flash of his blazing white sword light claid the life of a monster, carving a relatively safe path for the group.
The remaining cavalryn followed behind him, and as they watched his steady, unshakeable back, the fear in their hearts was gradually replaced by an almost blind trust.
Finally, just before twilight completely swallowed the mountains, the majestic, nacing silhouette of a massive, greyish-black fortress appeared at the edge of their vision, like a great beast crouching amidst the iron-grey peaks.
The fortress walls were brightly lit, and the faint shapes of patrolling figures and defensive armants could be seen. A heavy sll of sulfur and rusted tal hung in the air.
They had arrived at Blackstone Fortress.
Having survived a life-and-death ordeal and now knowing the truth about the out-of-control passage, Elizabeth gazed at the fortress standing silently in the blood-red twilight. Gone was the mix of excitent and trepidation she had felt upon leaving the Royal Capital, mission-bound. All that remained was a heavy, cold reality.
And the dark blue figure walking ahead of her seed to grow ever clearer, yet also more unfathomable, upon this cruel and very real battlefield.
He was a powerful Great Knight, a shrewd Governor, his aunt’s lover, his cousin’s father, the hero who had saved her, and now, her only certain and solid pillar of support.
In this sudden storm of desperation, with the familiar protectors she had always known all but destroyed, what did this man—who had descended from the heavens, displaying absolute power and unnatural calm—truly represent?
Elizabeth had a faint feeling that for her, the answer was perhaps far more complicated than "powerful ally" or "vassal."
The dusk deepened, swallowing the traveling party and the silent fortress alike.
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