Chapter 98: The Three Kingdoms Attack the Orcs

Chapter 98: The Three Kingdoms Attack the Orcs

Listening to Axi’s question, Airael locked eyes with him.

She didn’t answer him right away.

Axi didn’t rush her either, patiently waiting.

After a long silence, Airael smiled and said, “If you want the truth from me, then let me ask you: do you want to believe me?”

Without waiting for Axi’s response, she continued, “If you believe me, then what I just said is the truth. If you don’t, then anything I say is just nonsense.”

Axi fell silent.

It was indeed a logical statement.

However, the concept was far beyond his understanding.

Seeing Axi like this, Airael chose not to press on, allowing him to reflect quietly.

Time leisurely passed in the serene atmosphere.

Airael and Axi sat there quietly, avoiding any dramatic actions.

The fire crackled in front of them, the burnt branches symbolizing the passage of time.

This stillness didn’t last long as Celia and Aurora returned.

They were carrying their haul.

“Miss, we’re back!” Celia said, placing their findings down and looking at Airael.

Airael smiled gently and nodded at them.

Then her gaze shifted to Axi.

He was still lost in thought.

Seeing him like that, Airael called out, “Hey! Have you made up your mind? If not, think about it later — it’s time to cook!”

Axi snapped back to reality and looked at Airael.

“The ingredients have been brought back by Celia and Aurora,” Airael gestured towards the ingredients nearby.

Seeing the food, Axi stood up to start preparing their dinner.

Some thoughts would just have to wait.

After contemplating for so long, he realized that merely relying on his own thoughts or listening to others wouldn’t cut it.

He needed to verify things for himself.

After dinner, the group settled down for the night.

Thanks to Celia and Aurora’s presence, Airael didn’t have to take the night watch; they and Axi took turns.

The next morning, after packing up, they continued on their journey toward their destination, Machia Republic.

Before they knew it, two days had swiftly passed.

In that span, they rode briskly out of Nick Kingdom’s territory and into Machia Republic.

Just like Nick Kingdom, the northern part of Machia Republic wasn’t very prosperous due to the presence of orcs.

Barren lands were seen everywhere.

However, Airael didn’t sigh about it any longer.

Even the best land required people to cultivate it!

It was incredibly easy for orcs to plunder this area.

Their next target was Mils Fortress.

Nick Kingdom had Mark Fortress to fend off invading orcs from the north.

Naturally, Machia Republic also had similar military fortifications.

Mils Fortress was one such stronghold.

And the family stationed at Mils Fortress was the Mils family.

This family had been stationed there for a long time, tasked with defending against orcs from the south.

So yes, calling it Mils Fortress was entirely accurate!

Just as Mils Fortress came into view, a sizable army shadow also appeared in the distance.

Though they tread different paths, they both were nearing Mils Fortress.

They were to the southwest, and the army was approaching from the south.

Airael and Axi paused to observe the army marching north toward Mils Fortress.

“That army isn’t from Mils Fortress, right?” Airael asked, her intuition kicking in despite not having clear views.

The soldiers at Mils Fortress primarily guarded against orcs descending from the north.

Considering the orcs had just retreated, it was clear that the fortress’s soldiers wouldn’t be taking a jaunt south before returning.

This also confirmed a suspicion in Airael’s mind.

More than just Nick Kingdom was moving; many nations were in action.

Perhaps the further eastern nation, the Horseman Kingdom — Poshia Kingdom — had also begun to make moves.

If she was correct, these three nations bordering the orc territories would soon launch an offensive together.

Airael absolutely didn’t believe this was unplanned.

As for their reasons behind such actions, Airael could only guess a couple.

One was for reputation; although it could be said to be both significant and insignificant, it remained a rather abstract matter.

Orcs frequently raided human lands and clashed in the north; regardless of outcome, this endeavor could accumulate quite a reputation.

The second reason was for the tranquility of the north.

Clearly, these human nations would be up to something bigger, and to avoid disturbances from orcs, they’d have to deliver a serious punishment to keep them from stirring up trouble for a while.

Better yet, to become too weak to act.

This way, the northern territories of these human nations would settle into peace.

They could then divert more energy towards other matters.

Hearing this, Axi nodded, saying, “It indeed shouldn’t be Mils Fortress’s; we’ll find out its origin as we get closer.”

He squinted in the direction, but unfortunately, the distance was too great to see clearly—just a dark mass, quite impressive.

Keep in mind even the three elves nearby with sharp eyesight could only make out the blur.

“Yeah!” Airael nodded in agreement.

Then they continued galloping toward Mils Fortress at a quick pace.

After riding a distance, they halted again to observe the advancing army.

At that moment, a few horses came galloping toward them.

Like Mark Fortress, the defenses around Mils Fortress were also quite tight during such special times.

However, Airael had Axi with them.

Axi’s identity served as their pass.

Some may not have recognized Axi, but they had definitely heard of his infamous name.

As the fast horses approached and learned of Axi’s identity, they became much more polite.

They were scouts from Machia Republic.

Given the circumstances, Airael and the others certainly appeared suspicious, leading the scouts to question them closely.

From the scouts, Airael gathered the information they sought.

This army was also coming from the southern part of Machia Republic, heading north to provide support.

Upon receiving this information, Airael and her group ceased their observations of the army and made their way into the city.

Naturally, their movements were reported back to the scouts.