As the dawn arrived, the knights moved in different directions and started gathering woods for camping. Some moved to prepare foods while others moved to clean the nearby areas for sleeping. Then, they evenly distributed the cooked food and had their dinner before the night came.
After that, the elite knights moved towards the cleaned place and slept on the hard ground. Although it was difficult to sleep in the opened space filled with mosquitoes and dangers, most of the knights had long been accustomed to these kinds of environments.
The next day, the group again continued their journey, entered the Demi-Valley, and started marching deep into the land filled with wild animals and reptiles.
Although some wild wolves tried to attack them as they ventured into the valley, they didn't pose too much trouble for the elite knights. After three hours of travel, the group left the Demi-Valley and soon reached Count Pierce's territory. Unlike Duke Michael's territory, Count Pierce's land was filled with paddy fields, maize fields, sugarcane, and vegetable plants. It was a place filled with full of greenery. Alas, the surrounding environment appeared tense and hostile towards them. The farmers, patrol soldiers, and the citizens showed open hostility towards Charles's group.
Charles also knew why they showed hostility but didn't mind it.
'There was a regional fight that happened between Duke's and Count territories over the Citrus river water. Unfortunately, Count Pierces refused to yield and even built a dam to stop the river water from entering Duke Michael's territory. Demi-Valley was once a place that connected two distant lands, but now it became a dangerous place.' Charles shook his head as he thought of the nobles' dispute and continued to walk.
The army soon reached an earthen path and continued to walk deep into the territory. Along the way, they saw many farmhouses, villages, and even some poultry, but they didn't stop anywhere and continued their journey.
By the time it was around 2 P.M, they even crossed Count Pierce's city called 'Ironhaven' and entered the Soundless Plains. As they moved further, the greenery disappeared slowly and was soon replaced with small hills and rocky areas. Soon, the land was filled mostly with thorn plants, cactus, vinca, Gasteria, etc. Although some green trees also appeared along the way, they were very few.
If not for the earthen route, Charles's army would've found it hard to even walk through the thorn-filled land.
It was around 3.30 P.M,
At that moment, Charles sat inside the luxurious castle and was in the middle of reading a book called 'Mother Nature's Child.' It was one of the books he picked up from the pioneer knight's ancestral ground. While he was in the middle of reading about a young girl's journey, his heart raced all of a sudden.
Upon sensing the strangeness, he closed the book, stored it inside his space ring, and then opened the blue curtain to peek outside. The only thing that appeared in his vision was dry grasslands and a few palm trees.
Alas, the uneasiness in his heart didn't disappear for a single moment. Instead, it increased as the army marched further.
'A forewarning?' He thought inwardly.
He hurriedly released his wisdom power and scanned the whole surrounding area. To his surprise, nothing abnormal appeared in his scan.
'Someone is targeting me? Still, why am I feeling threatened?' He couldn't help but pause in surprise.
There was only a handful of people who could pose some serious threat to his life, and they were Awakens.
'There is no way an Awaken is coming after my head-' He abruptly froze for a second.
'An Awaken Rank Assassin is after my head? The royal family's doing?' He felt that was the possible explanation.
First, he turned his gaze towards Melody and ordered.
"Melody, go and tell Commander Corey to stop moving further. We are-" Before he could finish his words, his [Forewarning] skill triggered all of a sudden and warned him about the future.
Tens of blurry images appeared in the form of visions and engraved in the depth of his soul. Although the vision images looked very vague and foggy, he felt a sense of urgency upon seeing those images.
He abruptly paused what he was about to say, touched Melody and Irzoch using both hands, and then cast [Flame Teleportation] spell.
The trio soon enveloped in a crimson flame a second later and disappeared from there.
Just as they disappeared from the carriage, a loud sonic boom came from the sky, followed by a monstrous golden pillar of light!
Simultaneously, the whole 1000+ elite knights felt holy light bathed on their bodies and got paralyzed. They tried to get away before the light pillar fell from the sky but couldn't.
Meanwhile, the monstrous golden light pillar fell from the sky like a judgment of God, landed on the luxurious carriage, and incinerated everything in its path. In a blink, the luxurious carriage, the coachman, and even the nearby knights got disappeared from everyone's sight. Not even a bone was left behind.
The horses got scared by the sudden golden light pillar and started going berserk one by one while the knights tried their best to get everything under control.
Just when everyone thought that this was over, the high-ranked knights felt a strange sense of prying sensation. It was as if someone was looking at them from afar and watching their every move like some hawk!
On the other hand, Charles, Melody, and Irzoch appeared near Commander Corey's horse and looked up at the sky in unison.
At that moment, Charles found nothing appeared in the sky.
'What was that?' He then looked at the place where the golden pillar of light fell earlier and frowned.
'An assassin?' A grim look appeared on his face. Before he could even blink, he sensed a spatial disturbance in the surrounding air. A moment later, a spatial crack appeared behind his back, and soon a sharp metallic spear came out of it. Simultaneously, an invisible force appeared out of nowhere and completely bound him on the ground!
Not only that, but the enemy even used a mind-related skill on Charles and interfered with his thinking process!
'No… Someone… is… interfering… with… my… thought… process…'
He cast [Accelerate Thoughts] skill on himself in a hurry and soon returned to his former state.
Alas, the enemy had already made his move and plunged his spear from behind!
A sharp pain appeared from his chest area as he regained his sense, looked downward, and soon saw a golden light enveloped spear tip that had already pierced through his chest from behind.
