Badge in Azure
Badge in Azure - Chapter 96: Entering the Imperial Capital Part 1

The viscountess’ convoy consisted of over ten carriages. With Faerun around, the rations did not need to be stored in the carriages, and the carriages were all carrying the items for the tents. The structure of the carriages were delicate. Their speed was only slightly slower than the horses on the roads of the Qin Empire.

Trackers from Hadisai City tracked the convoy for two hours, but could not find even a single trace of the Bitter Water Army.

All forty of these trackers, who were all light cavalry soldiers, grew demoralized and started to return to Hadisai City. They crossed a bend and saw three men standing in the middle of the road blocking their way. These forty soldiers might have been lacking in actual combat experience, but even their lousiest warrior was a high-level swordsman. The soldiers immediately spread out and drew their swords, surrounding the three men.

The three men wore linen shirts of the same color and did not wield any weapons, only wearing metallic boxing gloves. The leader of the trackers sneered and began to charge towards them on horseback. Judging by the clothing of the three men, it was obvious that they were from the western region and that they harbored ill intentions in trying to block the trackers.

The three men all had short hair, high noses, and deepset eyes. When they realized that someone was charging towards them on horseback, they slightly shifted their positions. Then, two of the men punched him from sides. The man on the left punched his sword directly. There was a crisp sound as the one-finger-thick sword broke. On the other side, the man on the right punched the thigh of the light cavalry soldier. The sound of shattering bones filled the air. The war horse also could not withstand the power from that punch and fell onto its side.

The war horse fell down and blood began to flow out of its mouth. Then, one of the men stomped on the soldier. With a bursting sound, the brain matter from the soldier’s skull shot out of his orifices, but his skull remained undamaged.

The other light cavalry soldiers immediately drew their cavalry swords and rushed forward when they saw their leader had been killed. The length of a cavalry sword was suitable for fighting on horseback. As long as there was sufficient strength it was easier to wield than a sword, and the cavalry sword could penetrate armor when it was pierced straight into it. The three men had no armor on, so techniques used for beheadings would be adequate to kill them.

The three men were not anxious at all. They stood back to back against each other. When three cavalry swords were slashed against their heads, the three men each took one step away and used both of their hands to grab the swords and pull the soldiers off their war horses. The three war horses blocked off the soldiers who were trying to attack from the rear. At that moment, more than ten arrows shot out from the forest and knocked all of the soldiers off of their horses

The three men then exploded with a tremendous amount of power, and their bodies gave off a white glow. Their silhouettes became blurry while their metallic gloves projected holy prose. The holy prose floated in midair.

Then, the sound of metal being struck filled the air. The three cavalry soldiers had not even been able to see what had happened and had already been punched in their ribs. The three men then jumped vertically into the air and killed the other ten soldiers in the blink of an eye.

The remaining light cavalry soldiers realized that the odds were not in their favor and began to turn around and escape. The situation had been completely reversed. The three men were now the attackers while the soldiers were the defenders. The three men in linen shirts quickly grabbed the cavalry swords lying around, hopped onto the abandoned war horses, and gave chase.

The three men gave chase for about ten miles and managed to execute the remaining cavalry soldiers. Then, they rode the horses towards the north.

About an hour later, more than a hundred cavalry soldiers had arrived from the main road leading to the west. All of them saw the corpses lying about. A few soldiers jumped off of their horses and inspected the bodies, and said to their commander, "It’s Gaia and his team."

This commander saw that the heads of his companions had been chopped off and had rolled off to the sides of the road. He became very depressed and heartbroken.

"Bitter Water Army, I shall see how you will answer to His Majesty. Clean this place and bring all the bodies back. There’s no need to give chase anymore." The commander knew that if he continued chasing them, he and his team would also be killed. The Bitter Water Army was much too powerful. His own team of cavalry soldiers would not be able to defeat them.

As that team of cavalry soldiers slowly advanced, they came to the vicinity of the forest where they saw the rest of the bodies and the numerous arrows, and became more certain that these had been the actions of the Bitter Water Army. These arrows were the standard-issue equipment of the empire’s army. They were all razor sharp stainless steel arrows which could penetrate armor. The feathers on these arrows were also of a higher quality.

Mercenaries and private armies of noble families were not allowed to use the green feathered arrows. Only the main army of the empire had access to these arrows.

The Bitter Water Army did not know that they had been framed. They had only doubled their movement speed. To the east of Hadisai City there were not any high mountains, so it was easy for the cavalry to traverse that area.

Viscountess Lex had intentionally gone around the cities in order to avoid interaction with any members of the noble families. In less than ten days, she had arrived at the Holy Rock City.

The convoy came to a small town fifty miles outside of the capital. The empire’s troops were using the small town. In that area, the Bitter Water Army could no longer travel on horseback. With the exception of the cavalry soldiers protecting the viscountess’ carriage, the rest of them had to dismount from their horses and walk on foot.

Most of the people inside the viscountess’ carriage were mages. They did not need to dismount either and simply sat inside of the carriage as it made its way into the small town.

There were no civilians in the small town, as only the empire’s troops lived there. Once Saleen entered the town, he felt that something was off about the town’s atmosphere. When he traveled with the Bitter Water Army, he felt as though he were being protected by thick layers of metal, and he felt safe and assured. However, in this small town, even though there was no murderous atmosphere, he felt a kind of pressure that was directed at anyone who entered.

The soldiers patrolling the streets wore heavy armor and wielded short spears. They even had golden crossbows hanging on their waists. This town was responsible for defending the empire so security was especially tight. The commanders in this town were swordmasters at minimum.

The person who received the viscountess was a young member of a noble family. He had a clan badge etched onto the chest region of his armor. He should have been the heir to one of the clans, but instead he was working here receiving other people.

This young man was handsome and capable. He calmly instructed his subordinates to arrange for the Bitter Water Army to stay in one of their army camps.

Saleen and the others followed the viscountess as she alighted from the carriage. Saleen realized that when the viscountess had entered the town, her demeanor had changed. In the Bitter Water Prefecture, the viscountess was reserved and elegant. She could joke and chat with other mages, and there was no sense of dominance about her.

But now, the viscountess possessed an air of dominance and supremacy even though she was still the same person.

"It has been tough for you, Baron." The viscountess’ voice when she spoke had changed. Her tone was no longer as blunt as it had been in the Bitter Water Prefecture. Her voice was now clearer, and she tended to drag her words. It was a little dreary and ethereal. Her voice was soothing to the ears, but it had become much more formal.

"Your Highness, this is my job." The young man had not even inherited the title of "baron", but the viscountess had addressed him that out of habit. He did not dare to be informal, and also called the viscountess "Your Highness" to build a good relationship with her. The empire’s army was solely controlled by the emperor. Everyone knew that there was a conflict between the viscountess and the prince, but the prince held no authority over this place. So, the young man only needed to fulfill his responsibilities, or else he could even face problems trying to inherit the title of "baron".

"I am tired. Arrange for these people to stay with me." Viscountess Lex pointed at Faerun and the rest of the people who sat with her in the carriage. That young heir took a glance and bowed respectfully, without saying any unnecessary words. He would not have wanted to offend that group of mages even if a sorcerer like Faerun had not been around. A few of the mages who followed the viscountess around were going to be promoted soon. A mage master by themselves possessed such strong power. And in addition to grand swordmasters, the army needed the advantages they provided in order to secure victory.

Aside from guarding the empire, the town was also responsible for receiving any noble family members who were entering the imperial capital from the east. But a person like the viscountess who brought along thousands of soldiers was rare. The Bitter Water Army needed slightly more than half an hour to settle in.

Art was appreciated in the empire, but in this military town, toughness and durability took priority over anything else. The viscountess’ lodging was only a two storied small building. Granite formed the foundation of the building, and the green bricks were almost two feet wide. The building had a simple and solid style to it.

Once everything was settled down, the viscountess called out to the young heir who was about to leave and asked, "Is your father Earl Kant?"

"Yes," the young heir answered with no change to his expression and no intentions of flattery.

"What is your name?"

"Scott. Scott Frio, Your Highness."

"How long have you been in this town?"

"Just two years," Scott replied respectfully. He was a little happy. If the viscountess asked for his name, it meant that she would try to give him opportunities to shine. Even though it was not a problem for the young heir to be conferred the title of baron, he still had a younger brother. And, according to the laws of the empire, it would be difficult for him to become an aristocrat by inheritance. At most, he would be an average baron.

"I met Earl Kant many times when I was a child. How is he now?"

"He is still fine. It is just that he doesn’t lead troops into battle anymore. The emperor has let him handle the affairs in the imperial court, and in a few years time, he will enter the upper house."

"Mm, I understand. Come over when I enter the capital tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes, Your Highness." By this point, Scott had a grin on his face. The viscountess had asked him over to learn more about the happenings in the imperial capital. It was obvious that he had built a good relationship with the viscountess, because the viscountess did not necessarily need to learn about the imperial capital through him.

"You are dismissed," Viscountess Lex said, and yawned. Scott bowed and stepped out of the room. He nearly could not hold back his laughter. Yawning in front of someone was a very rude thing to do, and the viscountess had done that intentionally to show Scott that they were friends.

In Saleen’s room, Nailisi had already lied down because she was extremely exhausted. She had eaten the flesh of the silver grand swordmaster and absorbed the power from his soul, so she needed to digest all the nutrients.

Saleen said to Sika, "Tomorrow we are entering Holy Rock City, and I need to remind you of certain things. That place is the imperial capital of the Qin Empire, and there are many highly skilled people there. If anything happens, don’t act impulsively. We have the backing of the viscountess."

"But what if you are harassed by someone else?" Sika asked seriously.

"Nobody will be rude to a mage in the imperial capital of the Qin Empire. The weapon you have may create some problems. You can keep the boomerang, but give me your cudgel."

The law in the imperial capital was that a sword could not be longer than three feet. The sword in the context of the law did not just refer to blade-type weapons, but included any weapon that was elongated. They could not be carried around unless the person had received special authorization by the imperial capital.

Sika nodded and handed her cudgel over to Saleen. Saleen stored it into the Ring of Gifts.

"Go and get some rest. The viscountess will brief us on certain things tomorrow."

"Ok, be careful." Then, Sika left reluctantly. Saleen tapped on Nailisi, whose eyes were closed, and said, "Sleep on the floor."

"Master? The floor is freezing," Nailisi replied as she struggled to lift her heavy eyelids. She had removed her jacket and was in her original clothes. She lied on the bed and projected a pitiful image.

Saleen looked down at the frigid stone floor, then laid down helplessly beside Nailisi. Even though Saleen knew she was a demon, he was not so heartless as to force Nailisi to sleep on the stone floor.

"Master…"

"Yes?"

Woo…

Saleen waited for Nailisi’s response, but all he heard were her snores.