Chapter 176

When Luke arrived at Avignon with the reinforcements, the king along with his nobles welcomed him very warmly . The people of the capital gave them a very grand welcome .

The imperial forces which entered the city felt like a triumphant army and stopped their march in front of the palace .

In front of the palace, a dozen high-ranking nobles, including the king, were waiting for Luke .

“Marquis Luke de Rakan . ”

At the introduction from Philip, they all seemed surprised .

The first thing was, they were surprised to see that the reinforcement commander was a young man, and the second thing was, the title that he held was marquis .

Last but not least, they were the most surprised to know that he was the descendant of the famous warrior Rakan .

‘Didn’t he have a bad relationship with Baroque Imperial?’

Henry III thought to himself .

“You must have had a hard time coming here . ”

“Not at all . ” Replied Luke .

Once the two were done greeting, the nobles standing behind greeted Luke .

“Ha ha ha, we have arranged a small banquet for you and your knights . ”

“Though we couldn’t have outdone the Baroque Empire, we have tried the very best . ”

“It doesn’t matter . The banquet, I might…”

Luke stopped himself from refusing the offer . Behind him were Philip and the other knights with gleaming eyes .

Their gleaming eyes were hot and full of passion .

Their passion was so intense that it might turn into a grudge if he didn’t comply to their wishes .

‘What is this?’ Luke thought .

At first, he was bewildered, he looked over at Anna and the other female knights who mumbled under their breath .

“Uh, there men…”

“Since this is a very beautiful country, I am very obliged . ” Luke answered .

The grudges weren’t much different from a normal man . But for the sake of his soldiers, Luke accepted their hospitality .

In fact, Navarre wasn’t famous for its specialties, it was Rhodesia which was very famous .

‘I, It seems like I don’t have other options . ’

Luke, who didn’t have the heart to dismiss his subordinates, decided to attend the banquet .

Laughing to themselves, the knights followed the nobles of Navarre duchy .

Colorful decorations and expensive food .

The banquet was very colorful that it didn’t seem like it was the Navarre duchy which was undergoing a monster wave .

But it was a different case for Luke .

Unlike his subordinates who eagerly visited the banquet hall like bees searching for flowers, and getting caught by the old princes or nobles .

After listening to the brilliant diplomatic matters and the news about the empire and the imperial army for two long hours, Luke escaped with an excuse to get some air .

“Phew! I thought I was going to die . ”

Out of the royal garden, he moved to a unique place .

And at that place, a fluffy cat with fluffy hair and a black bat appeared .

It was Sebastian and Belfair .

In fact, it was because he had to meet those guys that Luke had made an excuse for wanting some fresh air .

“Is the information clear?”

“Yes! Definitely, master . ”

Sebastian began to report first . He had been gathering the information for the past five days .

“… and, of the duchy they are gathered at the Akbar Fortress, three days to the west . ”

“Akbar fortress?” Luke asked .

“Yes, it is named after the lord of the region, but it is a very large and sturdy castle . ”

The Akbar Fortress had about 50,000 troops and 120 Gigants .

“Isn’t it lesser than what we thought?”

At the question from Luke, Sebastian answered immediately .

“They have had a few head-to-head fights since the monster wave, and they have lost some power . ”

The nobles who saw the monsters arriving early moved ahead and faced near destruction .

The representative of the region was Count Cork .

He had scrambled to the west region and put 20,000 troops, 60 Gigants, and 300 knights into the monster’s lair .

As a result, the duchy which had fewer troops and Gigants turned much more inferior .

Luke asked once again as he was getting irritated, “What is the movement of the fortified forces?”

“As if scared, not even taking one step . ”

It seemed like the people were relying on the high walls to stop the monster legion .

It wasn’t a bad choice, but it wasn’t such a great choice either . And the path to getting to the capital wasn’t just one .

It might take some time, but there were other routes to get to the capital .

“What about the western grasslands?”

Luke turned towards Belfair and asked . Belfair, bowing down reported immediately .

“There were a lot of monsters out there . However, not all of the monsters had joined it, and when the monsters decide to join in, the duchy will be at a higher stake . ”

“Uhm, it won’t be easy . ”

If Luke didn’t always search for other options, then he would have seen their loss rather than their victory .

Their situation wasn’t so good .

But Luke never thought that he would lose .

“By any chance, have you seen the Orc Hero?”

At the question from Luke, Belfair with an awkward expression answered .

“On my way back here, I saw him from afar . He was the most ornately dressed among the orcs, certainly not an ordinary orc . I was so nervous that I wasn’t able to approach him anymore . ”

“Oh, till that level?” Luke spoke to himself .

Although a lower demon, Belfair’s sword skills were close to a Sword Master .

But if Belfair instinctively felt threatened, then the Orc hero might be of a good level .

“With such force, they even have the ability to fool the human army… was there anything else that you have noticed?”

“That was all, more than that…”

“Understood . There’s still time, so we’ll keep a closer look and see what happens . Keep investigating until I step in the frontlines . ”