Chapter 132 The Wooden Lion is Too Mysterious!

At night, on the walls of Muhe Fortress, soldiers chatted and laughed, as if the brief peace of the past few days had given them the illusion of victory.

"Sir!"

"Your Majesty the Duke!"

The patrolling soldiers made way for Sith and Yuri.

The snow seemed to have stopped, but the night wind was so deadly that the soldiers were almost all huddled inside the tower to avoid the wind.

“Kalis, go and tell everyone that we’re leaving the city tonight.”

"yes!"

Sith sent his adjutant, Callis, the female scout who had been by his side, to inform the team.

If Muhe Fortress is beyond saving, their continued presence here would only be providing opportunities for the enemy to rack up kills.

“I will delay them as long as I can.” Yuri lay on the city wall, squinting as he gazed into the distance. “I hope that the Saint Yarrow Orchid will one day bloom in front of my grave.”

"Yes, after the just war is over." Sith also looked into the distance, his gaze fixed on the dark figures in a grove of trees, where a group of people were passing by.

Enemies? No! There were too few of them, and their positions were quite complex. Most of them were in mobile, assassin-like positions, while the others were clustered in the middle, as if protecting the people inside.

A caravan? But there's no caravan flag... Or maybe it's some fugitive nobleman. That's a real shame. They've fled, unless they want to take a merchant alliance ship away from their homeland.

"..." Yuri also noticed the group of people, and he suddenly smiled: "Siss, have you ever heard of Earl Ellen's daughter, Elsie?"

"I've heard a little about it," Sith lied.

“Then there’s a lot to say!” Yuri recalled with a smile, “The controversial newborn in the family was also a descendant who was found to be quite qualified.”

"What a pity. The Sanctuary's arrangements made her a tool in the family's power struggles. I heard that the knights loyal to her recently captured Shadow City? We can't even congratulate her as we would in peacetime. She must be very sad? Or perhaps..."

"No emotion..."

"After all, she's just a tool. She's almost become a puppet to be manipulated by others, isn't she?"

Yuri frowned: "This is an era that is not lacking in geniuses. Since the Demon King's second demise, this is destined to be an era that belongs to humans."

"We have developed more advanced and diverse combat skills than our ancestors Tiran, as well as more powerful equipment and even more perfect training methods."

"Even if it were to gather our forces to fight the demon king that Tilan is facing, it wouldn't be impossible, would it?"

"Times have changed. The master assassin Bernardi, the guy who witnessed the existence of the Demon King, has also grown old, and his terrifying legendary skills can only remain in legends."

"No matter how talented Elsie is, she can't escape the fate of becoming a pawn. It's so sad... She was born in the wrong era and in the wrong family."

“Of course, this is just my personal opinion!” Yuri said with a smile.

"I heard the Holy Church is after her. Perhaps her knights have already betrayed her, and perhaps she is now enduring a lonely fate in prison?"

“Duke Yuri, you don’t think much of Elsie?” Sith said with a smile. “I don’t think the Shia family would give up on such a promising offspring.”

“I have observed the Sia family, and they are very tolerant of their members.”

"Perhaps in the shadows, unbeknownst to us, they are frantically supporting this junior."

"Heh... support?" Yuri couldn't help but laugh. "Support a child who's not even two years old? She needs to be carried to walk, right? What could she possibly understand?"

Sith did not refute, but simply said, "Duke Yuri, we've talked a lot about Elsie tonight."

"Ha! You're the one who started this topic!" Yuri shook his head and said with a contented smile.

“No! Duke Yuri!” Sith’s smile vanished, and he said seriously, “You’re the one who brought this up.”

"You say Elsie is a puppet, but aren't we puppets too?"

Yuri frowned, wanting to retort, but his thoughts were jumbled, and he didn't know what to say. He pointed to himself: "A puppet?"

Sith grasped Yuri's hand, shaking his head with a smile. He pointed to the group that had already moved far from the fortress: "Guess if Elsie is among them?"

“I guess she’s there.” Sith didn’t give Yuri a chance to reply. He took off the wooden necklace around his neck, which was a winged lion statue.

The wooden necklace was placed in Yuri's hand. Yuri's furrowed brows deepened. He looked at Sith and then at the wooden necklace, as if he remembered something, or as if he had forgotten something.

“Praise the Lord, but not the angel.” Sith turned and left: “The Lord has forgotten me; I walk from the shadows into the light…”

As Sith's voice faded, Yuri abruptly raised his head. He gazed at the snow that had been falling for who knows how long, then at the Free Mercenary Group and Sith, far from the fortress...

No!

It should be...

“Sith…Sith Tiran…”

"Have we forgotten you in the cave?"

Why...do I not remember this?

Yuri looked up at the sky, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm. He snapped back to reality and stared at the blood-stained wooden carving in his hand. The wooden lion was actually gnawing at his palm!

No! It's reminding him!

"So that's how it is, you're the one who saved him..."

"Thank you, unknown Lord."

"Praise... Praise, praise the twenty-four-winged angel! Hahahaha... Hahahahaha!"

...

Location: Burton

After a peaceful journey through the Wood River Fortress, Elsie and her companions arrived at the next town.

As dawn broke, the shadow of war seemed to have no effect on this place, and the people continued to live as before.

“The role of Wood River Fortress is more significant than we imagined,” Dylan said. “They have successfully halted the advance of the Holy Sword Faction, and with the addition of the nearby Volunteer Army, many towns like Burton Town have retained their original appearance.”

Having successfully rented several rooms at a hotel, the group finally got a chance to rest and began to vent their frustrations from the journey.

Elsie moved a stool over, leaned against the window, and looked outside.

[The location here is excellent, offering beautiful views. As dawn breaks, the gentle golden light illuminates the ancient town, awakening its past glories...]

Elsie's eyes fell on the sculpture in the center of town, a stone statue that had survived from the Demon King's War, and which was still recognizable thanks to careful maintenance.

“Heavy cavalry hero Tilan, priest Hagrid, and… assassin Shia,” Edith, Tilan’s adjutant, said as she approached Elsie.

"I have a question." Elsie had actually wanted to say it for a long time.

She gazed at the stone statue, where Sia stood beside Tilan. Whether it was intentional on the sculptor's part, Sia's gaze was drawn to Tilan. What was the sculptor trying to express?

Both Tiran and Hagrid were looking straight ahead!

Edith laughed. "Is it about our ancestors?"

Elsie nodded; what she wanted to ask was...