In the field south of Noel's city, there were two garrisons facing each other. The first one had a white carriage wearing the symbol of two swords and a shield. This was the official symbol of the Muivell Kingdom.
The carriage was guarded by at least a hundred men and their strength wasn't that low either.
On the opposite side was another garrison. They didn't have any carriages, and most of them were cavalries. The one leading them was none other than Howard.
"Is this how the Earl family treated their guests?" A shout coming from the carriage broke the tension between the two parties.
The knights behind Howard looked annoyed, but Howard waved his hand, stopping them.
As expected, an old man came out of the carriage while bringing out a big scroll from his hand. "Is this the stance of Earl Ardagan?"
"I am sorry, but from this point on, this is the forbidden area as imposed by Earl Ardagan. We can't allow you to go any further." Howard shook his head. It was clear what the royal envoy planned to do here. By using this as an excuse, they would observe their city and find out about all kinds of new technology. Hence, Noel sent Howard to stop them.
"I am bearing the royal decree for Earl Ardagan. Are you going to stop me?!"
Anyone who stopped the royal decree would be branded as traitors, so Howard had no choice but to let him in, except for the fact that Noel had prepared for this.
The only reason he sent Howard first was to block them, and the moment they brought out the imperial decree, it was time for Noel to appear.
"I have seen the royal decree and shall serve the kingdom." Noel's voice echoed in everyone's ears.
In that instant, all the knights from the Ardagan family, including Howard, jumped off their horses and kneeled on one knee, revealing a single person behind them.
Noel was walking forward and finally stopped in front of the old man. He recognized this old man. If his memory served him right, the person before him had the title of aEarl. It was the same as him, but he was the follower of the royal family.
"!!!" The Earl didn't expect that Noel was among them. At the same time, he was wearing a formal white cilitary uniform, the same uniform that was given to him the moment he became a noble. This was to show that his title came from his original affiliation, which was the Demon Banner Army. Since the Demon Banner Army's uniform was black, this white color symbolized that he had switched sides.
The Earl didn't know why, but he felt the immeasurable pressure coming from Noel. Even though he wasn't doing anything, it felt like his neck was being choked by an invisible hand.
Once he stood before him, Noel gracefully lowered his body and knelt down like a knight.
The knights before the Earl were looking at Noel carefully. Their instincts were telling him that even when Noel looked this harmless, the moment they made a move, they would die.
The Earl opened the scroll, but before he could say anything, Noel said, "Please wait."
"Are you going to defy the royal decree?"
"I am not, but it seems that some people are challenging the kingdom." Noel's eyes were locked on the knights that the Earl had brought.
"!!!" The Earl widened his eyes in shock and turned around. Before the royal decree, everyone except the royal envoy had to kneel down. Even Howard had followed the law.
"You…" The Earl didn't know what to say. He didn't realize that Noel was simply exerting a bit of pressure to make them think that they would die if they made a move.
"What are you doing?" The Earl roared, making the knights panic. They immediately jumped off their horses and knelt down.
"I have saved your knights from execution, isn't it, Earl Silmer?" Noel smiled.
Howard and the others wanted to laugh because of the display, but they couldn't really do it in this situation. So, they tried their best to hold it in even though their actions looked apparent.
The Earl was fuming in embarrassment. The only way to hide that embarrassment was none other than to open his mouth. "Earl Noel Ardagan. This is the imperial order. For your contribution in dealing with the demons as well as the Supreme Devil Organization, you are to head off to the royal palace immediately to receive your award."
"I humbly accept the royal's order," said Noel calmly before standing up. "As the humble subject of the Muivell Kingdom, I shall use my fastest speed and head to the royal palace in no time."
"Wait!" The Earl gritted his teeth while pointing at his carriage. "You shall board this carriage to go to the royal capital."
"This is troubling me, Earl Silmer. I am merely obeying the imperial order by going there as quickly as possible. Or does your carriage have the speed of a spirit grandmaster?" Noel smirked.
Earl Silmer gritted his teeth. It was clear that this was Noel's way to embarrass him, but he had to endure. If he, as the royal envoy, harmed or insulted him, Noel could take this chance to disobey the order while pinning the blame on him.
"The imperial order only states to go immediately. As long as you have departed, there is nothing for you to worry about."
"…" Noel looked at Earl Silmer with a solemn expression.
"What? Do you wish to disobey the imperial order, Earl Ardagan?"
Noel turned around and said to Howard, "Let Anna take over."
"Understood." Howard received the order, making Earl Silmer smile as if everything had gone according to plan.
But Noel suddenly raised his voice, stating, "And with you, the captain of the Ardagan family's garrison, as the witness. I order you to stop anyone who dares to enter the Ardagan family's forbidden territory. I will give the full right to Anna Stargaze to launch a territorial war against anyone that breaks this rule."
Howard and all the soldiers once again knelt, answering in unison. "Yes, sir."
"!!!" Earl Silmer widened his eyes in shock. Not a single noble would dare to take a step because of this. Although the nobles rarely went to territorial war, they could do it to either devour the opposing nobles or force them to submit.
And after hearing of how Noel protected his territory from all those demons, unless they had created a big coalition, it would be impossible to take down the territory.
More importantly, the moment they made a coalition that big, it could be seen as an attempt to rebel against the royal family.
Earl Silmer realized that he couldn't really take advantage of Noel Ardagan's absence to harm the territory. The young noble before him was truly the tiger of the Ardagan family.
'It seems that I can only inform the royal family about this and send out the princes or princesses. After all, only the royal family can infiltrate the Ardagan family in this situation.'
Earl Silmer didn't realize that this was Noel's plan. He just wanted to eliminate all the possibilities he didn't like and make them believe that the one he liked was actually the best course of action they could take.
Earl Silmer had no choice but to guide him to the carriage. None of the knights could do anything to Howard, so they ended up turning around.
The Earl had to sit in front of Noel for the duration of the trip. When he took another look at Noel, it looked like he was just a normal noble. His expression was cold, but he was still approachable.
Noel couldn't help but look at the carriage as if he had noticed something strange.
"Is there anything wrong, Earl Ardagan?"
"I am thinking that the carriage is a bit too bumpy. You will be hurt if you sit too long in here."
Earl Silmer knew that Noel was implying about the duration of the trip, which had been suggested to take at least a month to complete since he had asked them to drive it as slowly as possible.
Hence, he replied, "I have grown accustomed to sitting in the carriage for so long. As a noble, it's only right to visit a lot of places for negotiation and other things after all."
"I guess I am no match for Earl Silmer. If you don't mind, would you be kind enough to allow me to reduce this bumpiness?" Noel asked.
"Reducing the bumpiness?" Earl Silmer definitely couldn't allow Noel to speed things up. He had heard about his automatic carriage after all.
Noel simply snapped his fingers and formed a rune on the floor of the carriage.
"Earl Ardagan!" Earl Silmer tried to tell him off, but he suddenly noticed that the carriage had stopped shaking as if they were floating.
Noel was simply using the Floating Rune, the carriage still had to be pulled by the horse.
After noticing the change, Earl Silmer couldn't help but open the carriage's door and check their speed, which was actually the same.
"I am merely using my rune to reduce the uncomfortable sensation during our trip, Earl Silmer." Noel smiled while taking out a notebook from his coat. "After all, I want to use my time effectively. You sure don't mind if I write a few things, right?"
"…" Earl Silmer's expression darkened. Noel didn't violate anything that the royal family wanted. And this rune was also quite perfect for the journey since he would have to suffer with Noel in this carriage. So, Earl Silmer could only say, "Yes. Please make yourself comfortable."
Earl Silmer only thought that Noel used the rune just so he could write. He didn't realize that Noel's intention was something else.
With the Floating Rune, the weight that the horses pulled significantly decreased, which allowed them to cross a distance at a faster rate. But because they maintained the speed, the change wouldn't be that significant.
Noel only expected that they could reduce only about a week of their total time with this. But that was enough for the time being.
All the mechanisms Noel created had begun after all.
