The Knight of Light plants the sun in the eternal night.

Chapter 152 Marching North

In the Eternal Night Continent, even though the sun has disappeared, humanity has managed to return to the top of the food chain after thousands of years of development.

Only the Shadow Monsters can threaten humanity.

It was precisely the threat of the Shadow Monsters that prevented humanity from effectively expanding, leaving vast areas of wilderness even within their territories. Therefore, the struggle for territory was not the primary cause of war; the struggle for resources was.

Therefore, killing does not maximize benefits in war.

Murder only breeds resentment.

Captured prisoners is the best policy.

A knight prisoner can be exchanged for at least dozens or even hundreds of gold coins worth of supplies; a nobleman, such as a knight, can be exchanged for hundreds of gold coins worth of supplies; and a baron, at the very top, can be exchanged for tens of thousands of gold coins worth of supplies.

Not to mention prisoners like the Earl.

Of course, war always produces a lot of bloodshed, especially after the lord is killed, the knights under his command have no choice but to fight to the death to be loyal.

On the contrary, it is only when the lord is captured that there is room for negotiation.

"Prepare all supplies tonight. Tomorrow morning, all knightly orders will set off, following the established eastern, central, and western routes, to march into the border kingdoms!" Prince Hendler emphasized in conclusion. "All knightly orders, obey the commands of my Royal Flying Cavalry!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The Glowing Mushroom Knights were assigned to the eastern front to attack Baron Rowan Black Truffle's territory, along with two other knightly orders.

On the way back to camp, Baron Lenard lamented, "It's a pity I didn't get to be closer to His Highness the Prince, and I wasn't assigned to the center line. The center line faces Count Sebastian Elderwood directly. If only I could capture him alive—"

Leo, however, remained clear-headed: "Father, you should be grateful."

Why?

"It's obvious that Earl Elderwood is a prey that Prince Hendler has reserved for himself," Leo analyzed. "Even if you join the middle line, Father, you won't get this opportunity. You should focus on winning over Baron Black Truffle."

That being said.

The baron was still unwilling to give up: "What if? What if I'm in the middle, taking advantage of the Prince and Earl of Elderwood being weakened—as long as I get the credit, what can the Prince do to me? And once I'm promoted to earl, he won't dare to act recklessly!"

Looking at the Baron in his fantasies.

Leo sighed and said dismissively, "Father, you should think carefully about how to cooperate with Baron Chazi and Baron Coughwood to conquer Baron Black Truffle. Achieve the strategic objective first, and then consider the distribution of war merits."

Taking a deep breath, the Baron suppressed his agitated emotions and chuckled, "That's right, Leo, you're absolutely right. Now is not the time to think about military achievements—I didn't expect my father to be less calm than you."

"Concern leads to confusion; Father, you place too much importance on this victory."

"This is a once-in-a-century opportunity for our family, how could I not care?" The Baron confessed. "During these ten days of marching, I haven't slept well every night, thinking about how generations of our family's hard work is finally about to bear fruit—"

The Baron was filled with anticipation for this war.

Leo opened his mouth, wanting to tell him Earl Hayden's warning: the ten earls all rose to power during times of crisis, and now that the world is at peace, it's just a minor border skirmish, and the king originally didn't want to start a war.

How could they possibly be willing to bestow upon someone the title of Earl?

Even if it's difficult, they would prioritize their own family members, ensuring that Prince Hendler has a hereditary title.

However, he didn't say it aloud.

Firstly, they didn't want to dampen the baron's enthusiasm, and besides, they might not even be able to; secondly, every little bit counts, and even the smallest military achievement is still an accumulation. If this generation fails, the next generation can continue to work hard, and eventually, they will achieve their goal.

The following day, October 13th.

-

Thirteen knightly orders departed from the city that never sleeps, Hill City, and marched into the darkness.

Leo followed the Swamp Manor Knights squad, each with two horses: one as a mount and the other as a packhorse. The packhorse could also serve as a mount if necessary, as both horses had been groomed with battle aura and fed with shadow stone powder.

Captain Pluto, with a sunflower mouse perched on his shoulder, would occasionally possess the light and shadow warhorse along the way.

This is cultivation.

In order to improve his strength as quickly as possible, Pluto even used his travel time for training.

Leo was also training, but mostly through meditation, contemplating how to fuse the secret technique—Sharp Light Slash—with the secret art—Crescent Moon Slash, creating a new profound art. This was the lesson Count Hayden had left him.

He had no clue before.

But after grasping the essence of unyielding will, he gained many inspirations on how to integrate secret techniques and methods.

"The Sharp Light Slash is a slash, and the Crescent Moon Slash is also a slash, but one is driven by holy light battle aura and the other by holy light elements—if combined, could a dual-drive hybrid mode be adopted, one architecture with two systems?"

During the thinking process.

He would also occasionally unleash a secret technique—the Sharp Light Slash—towards the sky, or chant for a moment and then unleash a secret technique—the Crescent Moon Slash—towards the sky, sensing the similarities and differences between the two slashes.

The knights were already used to this.

Secret techniques and methods of inheritance are not something ordinary knights can covet; they are the means by which nobles monopolize high-end combat power. Without these inherited methods, how can a noble knight suppress a commoner knight?

"I have a lot of inspiration, but I can't connect it all —"

Leo grew tired of thinking, so he decisively put the idea aside and focused on riding his horse to catch up with the knight ahead.

They were on a forced march the whole way.

The road becomes increasingly rugged towards the border, and only the light and shadow warhorse, combined with the rider's superb riding skills, can make it feel like flat ground.

Hill City is not far from the border.

Therefore, after two days of forced march, they successfully arrived at the border between the two countries. There was a small town called Kuahe Town, which was separated by the border line. The border line was a small river that meandered through the center of the town.

South of Cross River Town lies the Kingdom of White Roses, and to the north lies the Border Kingdom.

The arrival of the three knightly orders—the Glowing Mushroom, the Tea Seed, and the Rough Silk Wood—brought excitement to the town of Crossing River.

The knights forcibly crossed the bridge over the town and then blocked the north side of the town. Under the pretext of war, they forcibly requisitioned all the town's civilians' supplies to replenish the knights' food reserves.

"My lord, spare my life!"

"Don't kill me! I'll donate! I'll donate all the food in my house!"

"Jili wala jili wala————" This is the language of the border kingdom. Theoretically, the entire Eternal Night Continent belongs to the same language family, but the vast geographical barriers have led each country to develop its own language.

It's similar, but I can't understand it.

Fortunately, the Knights had guides who could translate for them.

"Block all exits and forbid anyone from leaving Cross River Town. Anyone found doing so will be killed on sight!" the Baron ordered.

Leo's Swamp Manor Knights squad was assigned to guard the roads. They only needed to protect a few faintly lit paths. The wilderness in the dark was not easy to traverse, especially when crossing alone, as the danger increased significantly.

The Knights rested for half a day in Cross River Town.

The soldiers awaiting the governor's summons arrived here in droves.

They then received orders from the Royal Flying Cavalry, and the three knightly orders set off north overnight to officially penetrate deep into the border kingdom's territory for combat.

On the way.

The three barons met and held a short meeting on horseback.

"As ordered by His Highness the Prince, we need to traverse 500 kilometers of wilderness within three days to reach the Black Truffle Baron's castle. We must then conquer the castle within two days and continue northward to advance on the Elderwood Earl's territory."

>