Chapter 49: Unwelcome Visitors

A country invading another is surprising from any perspective. However, when everyone learned it was the Sith Empire , they felt a sense of “as expected” deep in their hearts.

This goes back to the history of the Sith Empire .

Historically, Sith was not a great nation. It was the weakest among countless small countries, so much so that it could hardly be considered a country at the time. They had little population, nothing special, and their territory was only slightly larger than a city. They were a soft target that anyone could squeeze. The demise of Sith also carried a hint of dark humor typical of weak countries. Long ago, two great nations were fighting each other. One country sent an expeditionary force to invade the other, but halfway through, they were hit by a storm, causing supply problems for the entire army. After calculations, they concluded that even if they reached the enemy territory, it would be difficult to achieve victory. Yet they were unwilling to return empty-handed. Conveniently, Sith was right beside them…

Thus, Sith was erased from the map without any suspense and incorporated into that great nation. For the next hundred years, they were ruled by this great nation until internal conflicts caused it to disintegrate. Its former territories became independent one after another, and Sith finally regained independence, becoming a new country. But this time, Sith learned from its past history. It didn’t just settle for a small corner as before. Instead, Sith began large-scale invasions of its surroundings. Within a short year, it annexed five neighboring domains, expanding its territory threefold. Although Sith’s actions attracted attention from many neighboring countries at the time, the entire continent was in chaos, and they had no spare time or energy to intervene. By the time the situation gradually stabilized, Sith had developed into a powerful country that could no longer be easily manipulated as before.

Of course, even so, the other strong countries weren’t worried. Although Sith indeed occupied considerable territory, in terms of land area, it was still only a medium-sized country. Moreover, no traces of any “Source” had been found within Sith, which to some extent limited the development of the Sith Empire . So while other countries were vigilant, they didn’t believe the Sith Empire had enough power to challenge them.

However, with the appearance of the “Four Heavenly Punishment Generals”, everything changed. No one knew their true origins, but the overwhelming strength they displayed on the battlefield was enough to make anyone feel chilled. Moreover, these four generals themselves all possessed the abilities of gifted knights!

The so-called gifted knights, as the name suggests, are humans with knightly gifts. They are called Awakeners, born with abilities a notch higher than others, far surpassing ordinary people in combat and understanding and control of soul power. The knight class, almost unattainable for ordinary people, is easily achievable for these Awakeners. Among the “Four Heavenly Punishment Knights”, the youngest, “Puppeteer” Hedwig, had already entered the knight class at thirteen, while “Silver Princess” Lindilot had passed the knight’s test at ten. To ordinary people, these individuals are almost unreasonable, inhuman monsters!

The appearance of the “Four Heavenly Punishment Knights” completely changed the balance of power on the continent. On this continent, those with knight-level strength were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, with only about a dozen or so across the entire continent. Now, the Sith Empire alone possessed four knight-class existences, which couldn’t help but worry various countries. Moreover, among the “Four Heavenly Punishment Knights”, except for the lowest-ranked “King’s Embracer” Nachias who was nearly sixty, the rest were still very young, adding to the concerns of various countries. After all, although they were gifted knights, they were still mortal, with a lifespan of at most about a hundred years. For ordinary people, even with hard work, most could only cross the final barrier into the knight class in their forties or fifties. One just needed to wait patiently, endure these years, and there would eventually be a time when bitterness ends and sweetness begins. But among the “Four Heavenly Punishment Knights”, “Wind Messenger” Karan was only twenty-three, while the “Puppeteer” and “Silver Princess” were just sixteen or seventeen, at the most vibrant time of their lives. Add to that the passion of youth, could one expect them to make calm and steady decisions?

Although other countries had the advantage of “Sources” that the Sith Empire lacked, “Sources” couldn’t be moved and their coverage was quite limited, incomparable to knights who could fight freely and flexibly. Moreover, rumor had it that the Sith Emperor was also a person with great ambition. Now that he wielded such powerful force, would he be content being the king of a medium-sized country?

The answer was almost certainly negative. Everyone knew that unless the ruler of the Sith Empire was an idiot or fool, it was impossible not to use such power under one’s command. And among them, there was no existence capable of contending with gifted knights. Previously, two neighboring countries had tried to unite, attempting to nip the danger in the bud, but their combined army of 50,000 was forcibly held at the border by “Silver Princess” Lindilot of the “Four Heavenly Punishment Knights” leading just 3,000 troops. They couldn’t advance half a step and finally had to withdraw after paying the price of 15,000 corpses, while the Sith Empire only paid the price of 500 people.

This shows the terrifying nature of gifted knights. They are not only formidable in individual combat power but also far surpass ordinary people in leading troops and waging war.

Since then, all countries neighboring the Sith Empire on the continent have been vigilantly watching every move of this terrifying empire. In their hearts, there was no longer any doubt that this country would launch an attack and invade them. The only question was, when would they launch their attack?

And now, they had gotten the answer to this question.

However, this wasn’t something Julian needed to worry about, because he had more important things to do.

“Hello, respected Lord,” Standing before Julian, the tall, thin man wearing full leather armor took off his hat and bowed slightly to Julian.

“I am Caster, captain of the Third Guard Squad of Bur City. In the name of Viscount Euwen Bird, from today on, we will be under your jurisdiction, responsible for the security and order of Twilight Forest.”

After saying this, Caster straightened up and silently looked at the young lord before him. In his view, there was nothing worth noting about this young lord. In fact, before meeting Julian, Caster had no good impression of this new lord of Twilight Forest. In his opinion, this new lord must be a spineless man living off others, otherwise, how could a lord of a fief make such a request to nobles of other territories? And now, after seeing Julian, Caster was even more convinced of his thoughts. This young man didn’t have that high and mighty feeling of other nobles, but this instead made Caster somewhat disdainful.

“Welcome,” Julian smiled and nodded to them. He had already carefully observed these warriors. They were indeed well-trained and powerful… but…

Julian’s gaze lingered briefly on the soldiers behind Caster, then withdrew.

“Well then, from tomorrow on, the security of Twilight Town will be in your hands. As for the specific matters, I will have this lady explain to you.”

Saying this, he nodded slightly towards Ophariel, who was standing quietly beside him. Upon hearing Julian’s words, she stepped forward, looking at the soldiers before her.

“The area you need to be responsible for guarding is the entire Twilight Town, as well as the passage connecting to the Golden Trade Route. I have already arranged the patrol routes, times, and itineraries based on your numbers. What you need to do is obey the lord’s orders and report to me and the lord in a timely manner… Now, are there any questions?”

“Of course, miss,” As soon as Ophariel finished speaking, an old soldier from the guard squad spoke up. He looked at the young woman before him with a teasing gaze and asked with a grin.

“I’d like to ask, if an emergency occurs, can we report to you at any time?”

“Of course.”

“Then… what if something happens at night?”

Saying this, the old soldier paused for a moment, then continued with a snicker.

“You see, this place is pitch dark, it wouldn’t be strange if something happened. So… if something happens at night, disturbing you and the lord… hehe, that wouldn’t be good, would it…”

“No problem,” Ophariel didn’t fly into a rage at the other’s veiled teasing. Instead, she just slightly raised her eyebrows, looking indifferently at the old soldier who had asked the question.

“If you’re sure the issue is serious enough to warrant disturbing the lord and me during our rest, we certainly won’t mind. But I also hope you all understand your responsibilities… I hear you’re all experienced veteran guards. I think you should have enough judgment about the severity of situations without needing others to teach you hand by hand, right? Mr. Ayton?”

Hearing the other party actually say his name, the old soldier’s face changed slightly. He looked around at his companions somewhat awkwardly, then shrugged and said no more.

“Let’s end it here for today,” Julian stepped forward timely, smiling as he interrupted the confrontation between the two sides.

“I’ve prepared rooms for you all. I hope you like them… Oh, if possible, I hope you can take the opportunity during your rest to go around Twilight Town. Getting familiar with the environment is necessary, isn’t it?”

“Of course, my lord. We’ll obey your orders.”

Caster bowed again, then turned around and led his subordinates, guided by Martha, towards their lodgings.

“What a group of passionate children, aren’t they?” Watching their retreating figures, Julian revealed a somewhat playful smile and said to Ophariel beside him.

“I can be certain that the Bird family’s purpose in sending these people is not pure, my lord. You know this too,” Ophariel raised her head, looking directly into Julian’s eyes.

“So, I presume you already have a countermeasure?”

“Of course, Miss Ophariel,” Faced with Ophariel’s inquiry, Julian showed a self-satisfied smile.

“I wonder if you’ve heard of a phrase called ‘killing the chicken to scare the monkey’.”

“Killing the chicken to scare the monkey?” Ophariel frowned, carefully recalling for a moment, then shook her head. However, although she hadn’t heard this phrase before, it didn’t prevent her from understanding its meaning. “I think I understand your meaning, my lord…”

“Go inform our poor old town mayor that if these fellows cause any trouble in Twilight Town… they can report to me.”

“I’ll go right away, my lord.”

Hearing Julian’s words, Ophariel quickly nodded, then turned and left. Only after Ophariel’s figure disappeared did Julian speak again.

“Charlotte.”

“I’m here, master.”

The blonde, green-eyed maid appeared again behind Julian. Like Judy, she had vaguely become the person in charge among the wraith maids.

“If those guys dare to lay hands on you, I allow you to engage in self-defense. Facing a bunch of wastes at merely the lower intermediate level, you shouldn’t have any problems, right?”

Hearing this, Charlotte revealed a brilliant smile, then quickly replied.

“Of course… master, please rest assured, we won’t leave any flaws. After all, they’re just children.”

“That’s good,” Hearing the maid’s answer, Julian’s lips curled slightly.

“Let’s see what kind of entertainment these fellows can bring us.”