Lord: I can see loyalty.

Outside the capital, the night wind howled.

Vio and Alec emerged from the side gate of the Emerald Palace and moved swiftly along the shadows of the city wall.

Noisy voices could be heard from the palace behind them—the battle had been brief but had caused quite a stir, and guards would arrive soon.

Instead of going through the main gate, they climbed over a low wall, passed through a deserted garden, and finally emerged from the city wall through a hidden drain.

Under the moonlight, the outer city of the capital was silent.

In the distance, a few houses still had lights on, and the faint sounds of babies crying and women soothing them could be heard.

Vio stood at the foot of the city wall and glanced back at the magnificent palace—candlelight flickered in the windows, casting long shadows, like a pot of water about to boil.

"Let's go," he said softly, turning and walking towards the city gates.

The two walked quickly along a dry riverbed, their boots making a soft crunching sound as they stepped on the gravel.

Alec walked ahead, his gray eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, his hand always resting on the hilt of his sword.

Vio followed behind him, his breathing technique slowly circulating, expanding his perception to its maximum range. He could sense that there were no pursuers behind him.

At least, not yet.

After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at an abandoned hunter's hut.

The wooden walls of the cabin were rotten, and half of the roof had collapsed, but the stone fireplace was still intact. In the open space in front of the door, several dark figures were waiting quietly.

"Your Excellency." The leading figure in black stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

Under the moonlight, a young and capable face was revealed. It belonged to one of the Brotherhood's informants in the North, named Sloan, a capable henchman of Cohen.

"Get up," Vio helped him up. "How are you?"

Sloan stood up, took a folded parchment from his pocket, and presented it with both hands.

"This is the latest intelligence we've gathered in the North. Cedric is already mobilizing troops, and the Golden Gryphon family's army is gathering in the Blackwood region... Their target is likely the South."

Vio took the parchment, unfolded it, and quickly scanned it.

The paper was covered with the unit numbers, numbers, equipment, and movement directions of each unit, along with several hand-drawn maps marking marching routes and supply points.

His brows furrowed even more deeply.

"So fast?" Alec's voice was a little hoarse.

"Cedric can't wait any longer." Vio put the parchment into his pocket. "He's afraid I'll go back to prepare, so he wants to make his move while I'm still in the capital. Even if he can't kill me, he wants to catch the Southern Territory off guard."

"What about the gray hyenas?" Alec asked.

Sloan nodded.

"The Gray Hyena Mercenary Group has also noticed something amiss. Commander William asked me to tell the Earl that many strangers have recently appeared in the Black Forest area. They are pretending to be Gray Hyenas and are acting suspiciously on the border. Commander William has already sent people to keep an eye on them, but he dares not make any rash moves."

Vio was silent for a moment, then raised his head and looked towards the southern horizon.

There, in the direction of the Black Forest, a few faint lights could be seen—not campfires, but beacon fires.

"Let's go back," he said. "Get ready immediately."

……

The southern border, the Blackwood region.

The night was just as deep, but the nights in the Black Forest were colder than those in the capital.

The wind howled through the bare tree trunks, whipping up the withered leaves on the ground and swirling them in the air.

The forest path winds and twists, with thick layers of fallen leaves on both sides. It makes no sound when you step on it, except for the occasional crisp cracking sound when you break a dead branch.

Xavier, who had come specifically for this purpose, was crouching on the branch of an old oak tree, holding a crossbow in his hand, his eyes fixed on the clearing in front of him.

He was wearing dark brown leather armor, his face was covered in mud, and he almost blended into the tree trunk.

He had been squatting there for two whole hours, his legs were numb and his back was sore, but he dared not move an inch.

"Commander," a young militiaman beside him whispered, "what if they're not coming?"

"Shut up." Xavier's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable authority. "They will come."

He received the message from the Gray Hyena Mercenary Group in the evening.

Commander William sent someone to say that many strangers had appeared in the Black Forest area. They were wearing gray hyena uniforms, but their behavior was strange.

They were unfamiliar with the terrain, the routes, and even the secret codes used by the gray hyenas.

The Grey Hyenas are now a large mercenary group, and even Commander William couldn't recognize them all, so he suspected they were imposters. However, he didn't dare to confirm, so he had to notify Xavier.

Xavier led a squad of elite militia to the Black Forest overnight and set up an ambush at the spot where the gray hyena patrol had discovered the anomaly.

They waited a long time, until the moon rose above the treetops, until the dew soaked their clothes, until the young militiamen were almost asleep.

But soon, they finally heard footsteps.

It wasn't the sound of one person's footsteps, but that of a group of people. They were treading on the fallen leaves, making a soft rustling sound, as if they were deliberately lightening their pace. However, they were not very familiar with this terrain, and every now and then they would break dry branches, making a crisp cracking sound.

Xavier's eyes narrowed slightly.

Through the gaps in the leaves, he saw several figures walking along the forest path.

They wore gray hyena uniforms and carried short swords at their waists, but their gait was off—gray hyenas, who frequented this forest year-round, walked with a light, silent gait, like cats.

These people walked with heavy steps, as if they were deliberately imitating, but they couldn't quite get it right.

"Ready," Xavier said in a low voice, slowly raising the crossbow in his hand.

The militiamen beside them raised their weapons, drew their bows taut, and aimed their arrows at the figures.

The footsteps grew closer.

Under the moonlight, the outlines of those figures gradually became clear—there were five people in total, all wearing gray hyena uniforms, but one of them had his hat askew, revealing the face of the Northern capital beneath.

They were well aware of this: the Grey Hyenas all came from the southern or other border regions of the northern border, and never from the capital.

Xavier's lips curled up slightly.

"Let's do it."

The crossbow bolts were fired simultaneously, five arrows shooting out at the same time, drawing sharp whistles through the night sky.

Before the figures could react, three were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, while the other two turned and ran.

"Chase them!" Xavier leaped down from the tree branch, drew his longsword, and chased after the two men.

The militiamen followed closely behind, launching a pursuit along the forest trails.

The two men ran very fast, but they were clearly unfamiliar with the terrain and nearly tripped over tree roots several times. Xavier was faster; he moved like a cheetah through the bushes, closing the distance between them.

Finally, the two men stopped in front of a precipice. Ahead lay a bottomless canyon, and behind them were their pursuers. They had nowhere to escape.

"Surrender." Xavier raised his longsword, the tip pointing at them. "You can't escape."

The two men exchanged a glance, and one of them suddenly drew his short sword and lunged at Xavier!

Xavier simply sidestepped and stabbed him in the shoulder with a backhand.

The man screamed, his short sword slipped from his hand, and he fell to the ground. Upon seeing this, the other man quickly threw down his weapon and knelt down to beg for mercy.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I surrender!"

Xavier sheathed his sword and signaled the militia to tie up the two men. He walked up to the man who had surrendered, knelt down, and looked at him.

"Speak, who sent you?"

The man trembled all over, his lips quivering, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a few words: "It's...it's the Golden Saddle Horse family..."

Xavier frowned. "Golden Saddle Horses? What are you doing in the Southern Territory?"

"Gathering intelligence... and... and sabotage..." The man swallowed hard. "We were ordered to infiltrate the Gray Hyenas and find opportunities to disrupt their patrol routes, in preparation for... for the army's attack..."

Xavier's expression changed.

He stood up and said to the militiamen beside him, "Take these two men back and keep them under strict guard. Also, send someone on horseback to the capital to inform the Earl."

"Yes!" The militiamen obeyed and left.

Xavier stood there, gazing at the southern horizon, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

The large-scale attack—it certainly couldn't refer to the Golden Saddle Horse family, as they couldn't possibly be attacking the Southern Territory alone. In other words, the Golden Mane Griffin family must be behind it all!

He knew very well that the peace in the south would probably not last much longer.