"What a massive army, and all of them elites..."
Huluofu's heart sank as he gazed with a solemn expression at the forces stationed on the bridge at the edge of Limgrave. However, he quickly felt a surge of relief; for now, these people were not their enemies. In fact, they might even become allies.
But for the Mohgwyn Dynasty to make contact with them at this stage was unrealistic. The disparity in strength was simply too great. At that point, it would be hard to say whether they would be treated as allies or mere vassals.
Still, his mission was largely complete. He had scouted the movements in Limgrave and discovered a hidden path leading from the Lake District to the Limgrave region.
Although Stormveil had stationed some troops to guard and patrol that trail, they weren't paying it much attention. The primary reason was that the path was too narrow for a large army to traverse; it only allowed small, elite squads to slip through into Limgrave.
If anything went wrong there, he would know immediately. Thus, there was no need to focus too much energy on it; it was better to keep his eyes on the main battlefield.
"Is there still no reply from the Carian Royal Family?"
Engrill, the Storm King, sat high upon his throne. He looked down at a tall knight clad in ornate armor standing before him.
"A reply has arrived, my King," Oleg answered, his eyes half-closed as he knelt on one knee. "They have declined our assistance. They do not wish for us to enter the Lake District or interfere in their grievances with the Erdtree."
Engrill let out a cold snort but said nothing more. He slowly turned his head toward the Ancient Stormhawk King perched quietly on his shoulder.
In an instant, his eyes transformed, taking on the piercing quality of a hawk's gaze.
"Oleg, notify Engwall. Tell him to remain stationed at the border. You are to lead a small team through the mountain path into the Lake District. Scout the area and bring me clear intelligence."
"By your command, my King!"
"The Stormhawk clan will assist you. Do not be overly concerned; the Carian Royal Family will not risk a falling out with us at such a critical juncture."
The Ancient Stormhawk King on Engrill's shoulder let out a sharp, resonant cry, as if echoing the King's words.
Only after Oleg had departed did a trace of fatigue surface in Engrill's eyes.
If their deity had not vanished without a trace, failing to give any response—and if the Dragonlord of the Ancient Dragons hadn't also gone silent at the same time—why would they ever need to fear the threat of the Golden Lineage?
Stormveil actually shared a deep connection with the Ancient Dragons. They were fellow believers from that era, masters of spiritual culture and power.
Storm and Lightning were the powers Engrill commanded, but his true trump card was Spirit Descent!
"This is our war. We have no path of retreat... behind us is our home. We need more allies. Ancient Stormhawk King, my old friend... I must trouble you."
"Sigh."
"I can't believe you actually joined the Carian Royal Family."
Obol looked at the mage he had personally brought in with a complex expression, letting out a long sigh.
"Plans change. If you were in my shoes, you wouldn't have had a choice either," Mohg replied, catching the look in Obol's eyes.
Obol sighed again. When the two had met just now, Mohg had briefly explained the situation. Who could have imagined that the grand Princess of Caria would personally descend to recruit someone? And when bribery failed, she had gone straight to martial coercion...
Faced with that, forget a newcomer—even an Academy professor probably wouldn't have had a way out.
As for expecting the Academy to stand up for a newly joined mage—especially an apprentice of unknown origin—it was out of the question. Unless that apprentice could offer a bargaining chip enticing enough to move them.
Obol felt that was impossible. So...
"Good luck, Brother Gwyn."
"It's not as bad as you think. It's just a different place to study. I was just 'forced' to join the Lazuli Classroom, that's all."
Mohg tugged at the robes unique to the Lazuli Classroom.
"It's never that simple... The Carian Royal Family and the Golden Lineage are about to go to war. The Academy won't be able to stay out of it this time. Many professors will have to participate, and no one from the Lazuli Classroom will be able to escape."
Obol cast a look of pity toward Mohg. He, on the other hand, wasn't worried about himself. As a veteran Academy mage with a prestigious teacher, he didn't have to worry about being deployed to the front lines.
"Alright, I won't keep you. I need to go find Professor Reruss to study magic."
Mohg shook his head at Obol and headed toward the Lazuli Classroom's training grounds.
Watching Mohg leave, Obol kept shaking his head. He hadn't expected his first "investment" to end in such failure. It was truly... a shame.
As for why Mohg hadn't headed to Carian territory yet... it was because Rellana wasn't finished here. She had to wait until the Academy officially selected its personnel and finalized the supplies before she would leave.
In the meantime, under Rellana's arrangement, he had been placed in the Lazuli Classroom to study.
He didn't mind. The Lazuli Classroom possessed certain magics that other classrooms didn't—mainly because the other factions didn't recognize Lazuli's sorceries and thus hadn't recorded them.
It was then that he received a communication from Huluofu.
After learning about the situation in Limgrave, Mohg signaled the Blood Bat he had previously tamed, along with several other personnel. He ordered them to lead a group to fly into the Limgrave region ahead of time to select a site and establish a Blood Pool.
He had a premonition: the formal establishment of the Dynasty was not far off!
He just wondered when that "Old Gentleman" he admired would finally make an appearance.
Receiving Mohg's instructions, Huluofu slowly opened his blood-red eyes.
"The Sovereign has ordered me to establish a foothold here first. We await reinforcements and will assist our arriving allies in setting up a Blood Pool in Limgrave. Before that, we must maintain absolute secrecy. Is that clear?"
"Understood!"
"Excellent. Then scatter and find a suitable location. Everything for the Sovereign!"
"Everything for the Sovereign!"
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