In a trade caravan that had just set off from the docks, leaving the lower city district, one of the large crates wrapped in heavy canvas swayed with a jiggly, gelatinous wobble as the carriage bumped along.
"Damn it, Mark, d-did you see that? That crate just seemed to move on its own!" A guard on the transport team rubbed his eyes and said to his companion beside him with disbelief.
The warrior named Mark chuckled lightly, patting his companion's shoulder. "I told you not to drink so much yesterday. See? Now you're having hallucinations. If you delay the caravan's schedule, Mr. Jonathan will definitely not let you off."
The guard muttered, "I only had a little, really just a little... Oh, and don't you dare tell that miser about me drinking."
"Of course not. If I wanted to tell him, Mr. Jonathan would have known long ago that you call him a miser behind his back."
"..." The guard was instantly speechless.
Inside the canvas-wrapped crate, Arthur and the others were squeezed into the cramped space, quietly listening to the chatter of the trade team members outside, seemingly trying to identify the external environment through the sounds.
Count Bran stood on Arthur's arm, clicking his beak in wonder as he looked at this green, gooey space.
"To think His Majesty could grow this big. Those foolish fellows didn't even inspect us and just let us pass."
Galvin, however, seemed thoughtful, rubbing his temples with a headache. "It doesn't seem like they were careless. It seems trouble has come looking for us."
"Perhaps it's another group coming to seize the Crown of Ignis. Damn it, how many hands has this information passed through? How does everyone know about it?"
Arthur sat hugging his knees, quietly crouched in another corner. After listening to Galvin's complaints, he respectfully asked Chen Yu, "Your Majesty, you seem to have guessed someone would come?"
Chen Yu stated matter-of-factly, "This wasn't a guess. The auras of these two groups are different, easy to distinguish."
"One carries the smell of rust and blood, the other carries the scent of pastries. One sniff and you know they just came from a bakery."
Galvin was somewhat surprised. "Your Majesty's sense of smell is truly sharp."
"Bold!"
Count Bran immediately cried out in dissatisfaction. "How dare you steal this Count's line! Peck you!"
Saying this, he really pecked "ding" on Galvin's vambrace with his beak.
Arthur hesitated. "But generally, the one used to describe keen smell isn't..."
Before he could finish, Count Bran hastily flapped his wings, using his wingtip to cover Arthur's mouth.
"Oh, this Count understands. It's Galvin here subtly implying something about His Majesty. Peck you all the same." Count Bran immediately shifted the target to Galvin.
Galvin was thus inexplicably pecked twice. He fell silent for a moment, then decided to ignore the noisy crow and turned to the main issue. "Now that Belly's trail has gone cold, where should we go to find the Crown of Ignis?"
His tone became serious. "Moreover, if we indirectly caused her to fall into the hands of the Demon or its minions... we must find a way to rescue her."
Hearing this, Count Bran folded his wings and stopped fooling around, turning to ask Chen Yu:
"Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"
Chen Yu said, "I don't have any ideas either, but there's a guy who smells like coffee bringing a solution over."
As his words fell, the sound of horseshoes clacking on the stone-brick road came from outside, "clip-clop, clip-clop," approaching from a distance, as if someone on horseback had caught up to the caravan.
They only heard a series of muffled exchanges from outside, and then the carriage they were in abruptly came to a stop.
The sudden halt caused a jolt, making the gel disguised as cargo jiggle and wobble several more times.
Arthur: "..."
Galvin: "..."
Count Bran: "..."
Outside the carriage came the faint sound of a match striking, followed by a voice that sounded quite young.
"Come out, Knight Galvin. I know it's you."
Count Bran asked curiously, "Do you know this person?"
Galvin shook his head. "Not clear."
Count Bran's eyes widened sharply. "What do you mean, 'not clear'?"
Galvin sighed and explained, "The truth is, I haven't returned to the Kingdom for a very long time."
"Over a dozen years have passed. Even the most familiar friends from back then have become utterly unfamiliar now, let alone this voice, which I have no impression of at all."
"So, are we going out?" Count Bran whispered.
Arthur remained very calm. "I'll listen to His Majesty."
Chen Yu's voice came through. "Then let's meet him. Perhaps we can find clues about Belly."
As his words ended, the gel constituting the crate made a soft "pop" sound as it dispersed, rapidly contracting back into a round, plump Slime, landing on Arthur's shoulder.
With the disguise removed, Arthur and Galvin immediately pushed aside the canvas and jumped down from the carriage, finally seeing their surroundings clearly.
They had already left the noisy city district. The carriage had been left alone by a low wall.
On the wide road leading out of the city, a young man with blond hair, dressed in casual hunting attire, was leisurely sitting atop a tall chestnut steed. He held a cigar between his fingers and was looking at them with keen interest.
When his gaze fell upon Galvin's weathered face, a smile instantly appeared on his face.
He nimbly dismounted, walked forward, and performed a noble salute towards Galvin.
"I have seen the famous Gray Eagle Knight Galvin. Your reputation is quite resounding even in the Dark Realm."
He straightened up and introduced himself. "I am Glen Bailey. Hmm... from that Snow Jackal family up north, which has some reputation in the field of intelligence."
"Of course, with your status and fame, you naturally don't need to pay attention to minor families like ours."
"Please rest assured, gentlemen, I bear no ill will, nor have I hijacked this carriage. I merely exerted the power of money a little to make it pause here briefly."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the silent Arthur beside him, lingering especially on the Chubby One and Count Bran on his shoulder, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"I presume this Slime gentleman must hail from that distant and mysterious swamp of the Undead."
Glen bowed slightly towards the Chubby One. "Glen Bailey, extending my most sincere greetings to you, and to that Undead Lord."
Has the fame of the Slime Kingdom spread here already?
Chen Yu was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected that in the heartland of the White Horse Kingdom, in a major city like Allen Bridge Fort, someone would know news from the remote border swamps.
But he still innocently blinked his round eyes, pretending not to understand.
Secretly, he communicated to Galvin, "You handle this guy. It's not suitable for me to expose my identity yet."
Count Bran talks nonsense, and Arthur doesn't even have a brain left. Leaving it to the only living person among them was appropriate.
Galvin gave an almost imperceptible nod, stepped forward, and his aura instantly turned cold, stern, and powerful, firmly seizing back the initiative.
He spoke coolly, his tone carrying pressure. "Mr. Glen, do you think we are here for pleasant small talk?"
His terrifying will, tempered through cruel trials, seemed to materialize, causing the smile on Glen's face to stiffen momentarily.
Glen instinctively removed the cigar from his hand, crushed it under his boot heel, then spread his hands, trying to maintain his smile as he said:
"As I said from the beginning, I bear no ill will and have no intention of offending a powerful knight such as yourself."
"On the contrary, I can probably guess the purpose of your journey, and I know how to help you."
Galvin remained with that indifferent expression. "Speak plainly. You have one more sentence to keep your head."
The corner of Glen's mouth twitched. He hurriedly said, "You're looking for the Crown of Ignis, right? I know where it is..."
Galvin just remained silent, not replying, his gaze still fixed on him.
Seeing Galvin growing increasingly disinterested, beads of cold sweat gradually formed on Glen's forehead. He shouted, "To be precise, I know where the girl is!"
Hearing the name "Belly," Galvin closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.
"Are you testing my temperament?" Galvin's voice was flat, yet carried intangible pressure.
Even though Galvin hadn't even drawn his sword, that terrifying will honed through countless life-and-death battles and harsh trials had already overflowed like an invisible heavy hammer, pressing down hard on Glen's spirit.
"Uh... uh... Ga... Gal..."
Glen felt like he couldn't breathe, his vision darkening, as if the whole world was twisting. He wanted to speak, but the words were stuck in his throat, unable to utter a single syllable.
Just as Glen thought he was about to black out and faint on the spot, the pressure on him suddenly receded like a tide. The twisted world before his eyes gradually returned to normal.
Then, Galvin's voice came again.
"Whom do you represent, or rather, what force stands behind you?"
Glen coughed violently, gasping for air in big gulps. His eyes, however, showed not fear but grew even brighter.
"Gray Eagle Knight, this is the true Gray Eagle Knight. Those I saw in the training grounds were merely counterfeits bearing the family name."
Moreover, judging from Galvin's sudden softening attitude, he cared deeply about that little girl, which clearly didn't match the portrait of the knight rumored to be cold-blooded, arrogant, and a traitor.
But seeing Galvin's expression beginning to gradually turn "impatient" again, Glen cleared his throat and answered seriously, "Although our Snow Jackal family was born in the bitter cold lands of the north, we have always preferred sticking together for warmth, operating an intelligence network. Almost all major organizations and important towns in the Kingdom have members or informants from our family."
He straightened his back slightly, a hint of pride in his tone. "It's just that my background is a bit more special. I come from the royal family and am currently working for a certain distinguished lord whose name cannot be disclosed."
He looked at Galvin and Arthur, his tone sincere. "Gentlemen knights, the following conversation involves many secrets. Please accompany me to the farmhouse nearby for a detailed discussion. It's relatively safe there, and I will try my best to answer all your questions."
Galvin stared at him for a few seconds, as if weighing the truth in his words, before finally giving a slight nod.
"Lead the way."
He took the lead, striding towards a relatively tidy-looking farmhouse not far from the roadside. Arthur followed silently.
Glen let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly led his horse, following at the rear.
Just as Arthur stepped forward, about to speak with the somewhat anxious farmer standing at the farmhouse door about renting the place, Glen immediately cut in.
"I'll pay, I'll pay for it." His tone was relaxed. He then pulled out a gleaming gold coin from his pocket and, without even looking, directly stuffed it into the farmer's hand.
"We're renting this farmhouse for a day."
"This... this is too much, sir." The farmer looked at the gold coin in his hand, flustered.
"Keep it. The extra is compensation." Glen waved his hand, appearing completely unconcerned.
This scene immediately made Count Bran's eyes widen. If it weren't for the need to pretend to be a dumb, speechless crow in front of Glen, he would have long been unable to resist speaking up, trying to coax this foolish guy with too much money into giving him some cash too.
That was a gold coin! A shiny gold coin!
It could buy so many, many shiny things!
And it was just given away so casually.
This blond kid was even more wasteful than that big block of ice, Galvin.
A sudden sense of vigilance arose within him. No, absolutely must not let Galvin talk too much with this guy, lest he brings this bad habit of extravagance back to the Slime Kingdom.
Of course, if this guy was willing to proactively offer him a few gold coins, that would be a different matter... ahem.
Inside the dim farmhouse, Arthur used his Soulfire to light the stone firepit in the center of the room. The faint flames dispelled some of the gloom, illuminating the simple furniture and dust-filled corners.
Due to the distance, the signal became intermittent again. Chen Yu just had Arthur place the Chubby One on the wooden counter in the room.
The Chubby One opened its round eyes wide, staring unblinkingly at Glen, not proactively intervening in the upcoming conversation.
Seeing this, Count Bran also jumped down from Arthur's shoulder, sneaking to crouch in the shadows behind the Chubby One, seemingly feeling that hiding behind His Majesty offered a sense of security.
After the three men sat down around the wooden table, Glen got straight to the point. "I think you should already be aware that there are traitors hidden within the Kingdom, who are resorting to any means necessary to seek the Crown of Ignis."
"The purpose of the lord behind me is the same, but he is not after the crown itself. He wishes to safely return this divinely granted crown to the Sun Church."
"As long as it doesn't fall into the hands of those dangerous individuals with ulterior motives, the crown can be anywhere. But returning it to its original owner, back to the Sun Church, is undoubtedly the most secure choice."
"You're not after the Crown of Ignis?" Galvin's voice was flat, carrying only a faint tone of questioning.
Glen spread his hands. "What else can that old crown do besides being used to complete the Trial of Kingship?"
"That ancient trial that relies on holy relics to prove legitimacy was swept into the dustbin of history long ago due to its excessive difficulty."
"Nowadays, almost any kingdom established by intelligent beings of the Prime Material Plane inherently possesses natural legitimacy and public recognition for its rule."
Glen's gaze turned sharp. "Therefore, those who still crave this crown now are precisely the outsiders."
"The outsiders I speak of, you should understand who they are."
Galvin didn't delve deeper into their purpose. Instead, he asked, "Belly, where is that child?"
Glen thought for a moment, then took out a badge from his pocket and placed it on the wooden table.
The badge had a dark red background, with two crossed, blood-dripping daggers on it.
"Blade of Vengeance. Have you heard of this organization?"