"You may all leave."

After waiting for a while, Ralph still had no other important matters to report, so Alfred told them to leave again.

"Understood."

The three of them, including Ralph, responded, then bowed slightly and exited the villa.

Just as Ralph was about to step out of the courtyard, the words "problematic, but usable" suddenly echoed in his mind, and he understood. His expression remained unchanged as he calmly walked out of the villa.

"Ralph, I'll be taking my leave first."

After the three of them had moved a little distance from the villa, the armored knight turned to Ralph and said, then quickly departed, heading towards the military camp.

After seeing the armored knight off, Ralph then said to Grover, "Mr. Evans, the war is urgent right now, so your welcoming banquet will have to be postponed. I'll take you to your temporary accommodation first."

"It's no trouble. The front-line war is more important; everything can be kept simple."

"When the troops are dispatched later, Mage Ralph, please don't forget to send someone to notify me. Not contributing properly to the kingdom would be an insult to the kingdom's generous hospitality."

Grover responded with a smile.

"Of course… with Mr. Evans's participation, our interception of the Rebel Army will surely go even more smoothly."

Ralph nodded, flattered Grover, and then said no more, quickly leading Grover to a luxuriously decorated room.

"The conditions here are not as good as in the Royal Capital; I hope Mr. Evans doesn't mind… I still have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

After speaking, Ralph smiled and nodded at Grover, then turned and left the room.

"Mage Ralph, see you later."

Grover waved in farewell. Once Ralph had completely left the room and closed the door behind him, he immediately dropped his smile, his expression turning serious in an instant.

Grover closed his eyes, carefully listening to the subtle movements in the room, his large ears twitching slightly as if receiving some sound.

This was his innate ability—"Earth Listening."

Its effect was to listen to subtle movements within a certain range, especially the slight vibrations of the earth. After he advanced to Great Knight, he could even 'hear' the whispers of the surrounding earth elements.

This talent was excellent for both reconnaissance and enhancing his affinity with earth elements.

It could be said that without this talent, he would have found it difficult to become a Great Knight. Of course, talent is innate, so there is no 'if' involved.

"It seems a bit more relaxed here, unlike the Royal Capital where magic formations are everywhere, leaving no privacy at all. It's truly not free in the slightest."

Grover opened his eyes, letting out a slight sigh of relief.

The Hartwin Kingdom was far more terrifying than he had imagined. In the Royal Capital, he could feel someone had set up a magical ritual that enveloped, or even permeated, every corner of the Royal Capital.

During his days in the Royal Capital, he used the excuse of eating, drinking, and having fun everywhere to investigate that magical ritual. Well, it wasn't entirely an excuse.

In short, after his investigation, he found no flaw in the ritual whatsoever, which prevented him from even beginning his basic work, fearing he might attract the attention of the ritual's controller.

Coming here, he even met the extremely terrifying Lord Demonbane, which made him start to wonder if his work as an 'intelligence agent' was still necessary.

"Forget it, I'll continue. It's rare to find a good deal where you earn two salaries for one job. If things really go south, I can just sell out the other side; maybe I can even make a fortune."

Grover thought for a moment, muttering to himself.

As a citizen of the Free Country, his stance was naturally 'free.' He worked for whoever paid him, and if he encountered danger, he wouldn't care about any country or nation.

Anyway, he had never received any special treatment from that country since he was young.

Thinking this, Grover took out a crystal, activated the soundproof barrier within it, then took out a conch-like item, inputting elements to unlock the long-range sound transmission magic on it.

As a faint light appeared, the 'Sound Transmission Conch' began to work, calling out to its other half in the distance.

…

"Is it about to begin?"

Liens exited his meditation, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a subtly glowing wooden Card. At the same time, Lucrezia, beside him, made a similar movement.

"It should be."

Lucrezia replied.

Then, both of them simultaneously activated the wooden Card s in their hands, and Balder's serious voice emerged: "The army is ready."

"Adihawk and I have infiltrated the eastern city wall without being detected by the enemy."

Donahue's gentle voice responded.

"West side, in position."

A cold female voice also responded, this was Sera's voice.

She was a female mage with a cold and beautiful appearance and a rather cold personality. She usually only responded with brief sentences when speaking to people, and for most of the time during meetings, she remained silent.

Through reading her emotions, Liens discovered that she was indeed not a type with a cold exterior and warm interior, but rather an introverted personality that genuinely didn't react much to the outside world.

Moreover, she herself was skilled in ice magic, which could be felt from the cold aura in her magic.

Cruz didn't respond because he was with Sera. Incidentally, they were a married couple, and their child was even roughly Liens's age.

He truly wondered how the thundering Cruz and the silent Sera came to be together?

"The assault team will be in position soon… Let's go."

Liens responded, then put away the wooden Card and turned to Lucrezia.

Upon hearing this, Lucrezia nodded solemnly, saying nothing more, and followed Liens towards Baker City to the north.

The two moved swiftly, each step covering dozens of meters, leaving behind streaks of afterimages like traces in time and space. In a short while, they stood before the tall, wide city gates.

The guards of Baker City did not detect their presence. Although they were diligently on duty, their gaze unconsciously skipped over the two conspicuous figures.

"Is this 'existence'?"

Lucrezia asked.

"No, it's just a mental suggestion, similar in principle to the mental magic of 'existence fading,' but the object of the suggestion is different, which is why you didn't notice."

Liens shook his head slightly, denying Lucrezia's guess. He knew Lucrezia was asking if he had gained control over interfering with 'existence' itself.

"Even this hasn't touched upon 'existence.' It seems this path isn't for ordinary people."

Lucrezia sighed with emotion. She could feel everything around them ignoring the two of them; even the elements automatically bypassed them, as if they were already independent of the world.

Yet, Liens, who had achieved such a level, told her that this was not considered interference with 'existence,' but merely a simple mental suggestion.

To be honest, she found it difficult to imagine what kind of existence could truly interfere with 'existence' itself.

Fortunately, the path she was to take was not this one, otherwise, whether she could even touch the rule of 'existence' in her lifetime would be a question.

"Move a little further away from me."

Liens did not dwell on the topic of 'existence,' merely quietly asking Lucrezia to move away from him.

Upon hearing this, Lucrezia nodded, her figure dissolving into a mirage and reappearing on a mound a hundred meters away. This area had long been devoid of even a single tree due to the war between the Kingdom and the Rebel Army.

After Lucrezia moved away, Liens slowly floated into the air, and an invisible pressure began to spread from around him.

The mental suggestion that had enveloped him was then dispelled, and his figure finally entered the guards' field of vision.

The moment they saw him, everyone felt as if they were facing the vast heavens, and a silent shock rose in their hearts, making their gaze slowly follow his figure.

Only a few strong-willed individuals broke free from this mental influence, and realizing something was wrong, they immediately took out their 'communication magic devices' to call their superiors.

But a voice that resonated through their minds swallowed all their words.

"Sword!"

At that instant, the poised soldiers looked up into the distance, the old man sipping tea put down his teacup, and the eccentric holding a conch opened his mouth but made no sound.