As the carriage I was in moved with unbelievable smoothness, Ellysa sat across me, and looked outside of the window. She wore a bright red dress, decorated with many jewelry befitting a monarch of a great nation.

I paled in comparison with my Cahalotian sorcerer robe, but that was fine for me since Cahalotians tend to keep their robes as practical and simple as they could. Even high ranking sorcerers from Cahalot tend to keep their decorations and medals to a minimum, so as to keep practicality while maintaining the dignity of Cahalot.

Ellysa and I went straight to the fortress-city closest to Angolia after we agreed to help each other. Afterwards, using Ellysa’s royal carriage escorted by her vampire thralls, we began our journey into Angolia.

The carriage moved as fast as it could, only slowing down when we cross paths with travelers. Why? Because of the thralls. They were moving unbelievably fast along with the carriage, since Ellysa was in a hurry to get to Angolia lest the scent of the undeath would grow thinner.

After all, my journey was mostly delayed because I was hindered at Aon and the dwarven capital.

As we passed by an old inn, Ellysa turned to me and asked, “Have you been to Angolia before?”

“No, I never had any reason to visit Angolia except… maybe to meet the Angolian dungeon spirit,” I answered.

“It’s a lovely place. It could be certainly compared to the United Fortresses… had it not been for the fact that it’s aboveground. The only way a true civilization would survive is by going underground,” Ellysa boasted.

Sometimes, I would forget Ellysa was a dwarf, only to be reminded by the dwarven queen herself.

“I do like those flying beasts they have,” Ellysa pointed at the sky through the window.

I followed her direction, and noticed large flying beasts, neither bird nor wyvern, in the sky. They flew in a V formation, seemingly migrating to another place.

“Skylords. What the humans lack, they make up for other things. Dwarves do not have an airforce of sorts, not that we needed them in the first place,” Ellysa explained.

I observed the skylords, and realized there were people riding on top of them. They wore a huge metal backpack, with a tubed mask. Armed with Angolian-pattern magic staves, they looked the part of an elite mage force.

“The Angolian skylord knights are some of the fiercest warriors in the Western Continent, but I doubt that guy would care. He probably calls them flying pancakes, or something similar.” Ellysa sighed, then shrugged.

I tilted my head in confusion.

Ellysa smiled, then placed two fingers against her cheeks. “What I’m saying is that if these elite troops are so insignificant to him that he calls them flying pancake riders, do you really think he’s just a normal being with an abnormal essence of undeath? I really doubt any ancient lich would be as carefree as he is.”

“Evil or not, I must find him, then I will decide what to do,” I replied.

“Do as you wish. But the fact that he could act so carefree means that he has attained innumerable power. Power that I want.” Ellysa looked out of the window. Though she looked at the forest outside, her distant look was probably aimed somewhere else.

“Hath thou found thy limit, or thou do not have one?” Ellysa muttered to herself and chuckled.

I nervously fixed my hair, feeling anxious about this whole ordeal. What should I do once I meet him? How should I fix my problem?

Being a spirit is such a burden…

“In a few hours, we would reach a town called Mierra. But we’ll quickly pass it and go straight for the capital,” Ellysa explained about our plans in Angolia.

“Will the Angolians simply allow us to pass?” I asked.

“Of course. I’ve already sent word ahead that I’m visiting to meet with the monarch,” Ellysa answered.

“King Argo?” I guessed.

“Wrong. Princess Asha. She’ll be the one who would point us to the right direction, or at least, that is what I think.” Ellysa grinned as she put her full confidence in her guess. If she’s correct, it would save us a lot of time.

In a way, Ellysa had already saved me a lot of precious time in my pursuit of the mysterious undead being. If she wasn’t here to help me, I would’ve been stuck in the United Fortresses.

I looked through the front glass, then called Ellysa, “Your Majesty, there’s a town ahead, and an army of humans.”

“Ah, good. It must be our escort,” Ellysa assured.

Once the queen’s carriage reached the front of the town, it was greeted by the leader of the escort. Ellysa and I got out of the carriage to meet them.

The leader was a man of advanced age, though still young enough to be confident that he would be able to protect another mighty nation’s monarch. Soon, his last remaining strands of blonde hair would all eventually turn gray in a few years.

The man respectfully bowed to Queen Ellysa, then introduced himself, “I am Duke Lancel, a close aide of King Argo. I have received the great honor of escorting you to the capital city, Your Royal Highness.”

Ellysa nodded, then flipped her hand. “Good. Then let us begin our journey now.”

“But Your Royal Highness, do you feel tired from your journey to here? Would you like to rest in my town for now?” Duke Lancel asked.

“Do not worry much, noble duke. Dwarves are resilient people. Also, I would like to meet with the king as fast as possible,” Ellysa replied.

“Yes, of course, Your Royal Highness.” Duke Lancel bowed once more, then turned to order his men to begin the escort.

On the other hand, I followed Ellysa back into the carriage. Just as she planned, we quickly passed through Mierra, and immediately went back onto the country road. Though, we moved with a slower pace than before.

Oh well. We’ll soon get to the capital in a few days, so all is well!