94 A Visitor (1/2)

”Three, two, one, Heave!”

Elisar lifted the corpse of a horse with Jop and several other soldiers into a wagon. The animal was heavy and he ran out of air.

It took them three tries to load the animal and he was panting after the effort. He sat on a nearby rock. Jop also sat beside him.

”Haaaa!” Jop let out an annoyingly long sigh. ”We went here to ask around, but we are helping them clean their camp instead.”

”Don't complain. You know this is the easiest and safest way to gather information.”

”But I'm tired.” Jop complained ”I have the urge to ask them directly and be done with it.”

”And how are you going to talk to them huh? 'Hi I'm Jop, do you know where Erik Connel's prison is?' ” Elisar imitated Jop's voice in an exaggerated way. ”Patience is important Jop. Although His Majesty said that we need to hurry, I think he knows that spying takes time.”

”Well, you're right. I did find some other useful information on my own though.” Jop revealed a smile. ”They say that Prince Ivan had ordered a retreat to Nirvana. Our attack last night shook the Prince.”

Elisar felt delighted. When he first heard that Prince Ivan was coming to Solon with an army of twenty thousand, he thought that thousands of Castonian lives would be needed to stop the aggression. But if Jop's information was correct, then that means the number of casualties will be lower.

Elisar hated fighting against fellow Castonians. Their current enemies were their past friends. Even though his loyalty to King Timothy was still absolute, swinging his sword towards old friends was hard.

The retreat of Prince Ivan would not mean the end of the Civil War, but at least they will have a respite from the fighting. How he wished for the end of the civil war to come soon. He hoped for the day King Timothy enters Nirvana as the King of all Castonia.

”And what about the men? What are their reactions?” Elisar asked.

”Most of them are afraid of King Timothy. Just like us, they regret gossiping about King Timothy's birthright. Most of them don't believe the gossip now. They say that if King Timothy was indeed a bastard, then how in the world did he turn into a lion last night?”

Elisar laughed. He was familiar with the habit of the soldiers to exaggerate things. The rumors about King Timothy having the ability to turn into a lion must have resurfaced after the attack last night.

”And what about their morale?”

Jop went closer to him. ”Many of them wanted to switch sides. They say that Prince Ivan is incompetent and this war was King Leopold's fault in the first place.”

Of all the news and rumors they've heard today, this was the best. Elisar hoped that many of the Castonians would switch sides. He hoped that his brothers will see that King Timothy is a better leader compared to King Leopold or Prince Ivan.

”Let's go back Jop. Although we haven't discovered the location of Erik Connel's prison, we need to report our findings to His Majesty. It's almost dark anyway.”

Jop agreed and the two of them stood up. They were about to go back to their camp when a woman approached them.

The appearance of a woman in a military camp was strange enough. What really was strange was the fact the woman looked like a noble.

She had a long black hair tied into a braid. Her clothes were plain but the way she wore them gives off an aura unique to the nobility. If Elisar was to guess, she looked like a Vanadian. She was pretty despite the scar on her face.

”What can we do for you milady?” Elisar bowed his head a little. Jop looked at him and imitated his actions.

”You are King Timothy's spies” she said without batting an eye.

Elisar's heart almost stopped. She knew? How? Thousands of thoughts entered his mind. He perceived danger. They had been discovered.

Beside him, Jop had also realized the danger. He was looking around and had one hand on the hilt of his sword.

Elisar was about to run with Jop when the woman reached out her hand. ”I am Sylvie”

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”No, I don't trust her. I can't trust her and never in a million years will I trust her.” Timothy said after hearing Elisar and Jops's report.