Chapter 462
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The protracted night was over, while the rain had stopped . The small duke called Bifano invited everyone for breakfast, but Saleen simply rejected it . By then, Saleen was used to consuming his own prepared food . Usually, when he was traveling, he would not touch other people's food .
There were too many types of magic medicine which could kill a person silently and leave no clues whatsoever . The Detection Magic was not one-hundred percent accurate either . Lex had the God's Ring, which could prevent any danger, but Saleen did not own any premium godly equipment .
Since Saleen did not go, Sika naturally abstained from it too . The both of them had already prepared breakfast, while Nailisi accompanied Lex to meet Bifano .
Identical to the exterior of the castle, the dining hall was also simple and spacious, while its windows were narrow . The crystal chandelier which suspended from the ceiling only had six lights, causing the dining hall to appear dim .
"Bluefox, meet Her Highness Lex," Bifano told a swordsman who was standing behind him .
This swordsman was clad in soft armor, with a longsword hung around his waist . With one knee on the ground, he bowed deeply at Lex .
"This is Bluefox, the captain of my trusted soldiers . For the trip down south this time around, my team will be commanded by him . "
Lex nodded . Bluefox was about thirty years old . He had a calm demeanor, and every action he took was as sturdy as a mountain . Lex was too familiar with such a vibe, a Black Metal Grand Swordmaster .
Lex was not astonished . Even though it was difficult to become a grand swordmaster, there were still many more grand swordmasters as compared to sorcerers . Titan Duchy had a population of almost ten-million, almost one-tenth of the Cloudflow Empire . It would be very normal for a duke to have several grand swordmasters serving him though .
Northern Titan was inclined to prudence, it was very different from Cloudflow . Breakfast only consisted of corn porridge and white bread . Meat options only included two pieces of smoked meat, topped with twenty grams of cheese which was barely sufficient . Fortunately, the vegetables were fresh . They were coupled with some mushrooms and sauce, and a small bowl of soup . These items summed up breakfast .
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Habitually, Narnia prepared tea for Lex, and Bifano could not help but roll his eyes . Currently, Narnia was already a grade-4 mage, a grand mage . Bifano could not bear to see that she was using magic to brew tea .
Another female mage helped Lex change her cutlery into a set of silver ones . Afterwards, she used the Detection Magic to check each and every food item, before giving it to Lex with peace of mind .
They were used to doing such tasks . Even though the mages serving Lex lacked experience, their safety awareness was extremely high, it would be extremely difficult to assassinate them .
Bifano felt utterly embarrassed . He could not berate a the mages, those mages were not his subordinates after all .
"Bifano, please don't mind, they are used to doing such things . " Lex smiled gently as she consoled Bifano . She did not mean to do it either . There were many practices she did not wish for her subordinates to alter . It was good that these mages were serving her . If the lifestyle mages did not inculcate a similar habit, they could possibly lose their lives over trivial matters .
Bifano was rendered speechless . Luckily, this was only breakfast, there were no multiple rounds of dishes . The Detection Magic was only employed once . It was normal for Bifano to feel upset as the integrity of his food was questioned right in front of him .
Nailisi began eating the food, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings . She was not interested in the food . At the moment, she was more interested in learning the etiquette of humans . As for any poison that might be present, it could be disregarded as long as it did not enter her heart . Everything in the demonic plane was poisonous . To Nailisi, the Myers mainland was a little too pure already .
The swordmasters brought by Lex were arranged to have their meals in the small dining hall, while the few grand mages had not left their magic war chariot yet . Just like that, breakfast was over without any fuss or frills .
Bifano and Lex began discussing the situation down south as they drank some tea .
"Lex, the Pink Army will definitely attempt an assault during the journey . Please allow your swordsmen to be led by Bluefox for the time being, it will be helpful for the battle . "
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Lex broke into a smile, and said, "No, the dozens of people have been following me since the Holy Rock City . They can only converse in the Qin language . If they were to operate with your men, you would have even more trouble . I will deploy them to protect my chariots . "
Lex's words left no room for Bifano to rebut, but he did not have the intention to kill Lex and her men yet . He simply laughed it off and did not continue making any further requests .
"Out of my five-hundred soldiers, there are two-hundred cavalrymen, one-hundred shield infantrymen, one-hundred heavy swordsmen, and one-hundred archers . The cavalry will have three horses, while the rest of the men will have two horses . Their speed will not be too slow . You have seen the map too, the road conditions are pretty good . We will be able to cover at least two-hundred miles each day . By the end of the month, we should arrive at Fire Dance City . "
"That is very commendable to me . How are the preparations going on in Fire Dance City?"
"Other than the lack of mages, the rest of the problems have been settled . Lex, what is Saleen's background?" Bifano could tell that even though Saleen belonged to the Bitter Water Prefecture on the surface, he was actually extremely independent . He was almost free from Lex's control . Bifano had never done an investigation into him, and it would be too late to do so now, so Bifano decided to get information from Lex .
"Mage Saleen is a great man . What do you want to know?" Lex smiled . She would not reveal anything to Bifano . She would never disclose the secret between the both of them to anyone else .
"I heard that all mages have an inheritance . Do you know anything about Mage Saleen's inheritance?"
"His teacher is from the Alchemy City . " Lex gave a murky answer . In Alchemy City, there were tens of thousands of mages and hundreds of grand mages . By giving such an answer, Lex did not reveal anything to Bifano .
"He is really from Alchemy City," Bifano became guarded .
"He is indeed impressive . Saleen might be the youngest grade-5 mage ever at the moment . " Bifano was unlike what he had described himself to be, having zero knowledge in magic . In fact, Bifano had been continuously learning magic . He was only exposed to the theoretical knowledge of magic, so he could only be considered as a high grade magic disciple at the moment .
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"Not true . When I became a grade-5 mage, I was younger than him . " Once again, Lex put a stop to Bifano's probing . Bifano did not realize anything, he only felt that Lex was being egoistic . She had the right to be .
"You are the publicly-acclaimed magic prodigy, Lex, he will never match up to you . " As Bifano spoke, he was carrying out some analysis in his mind . "I heard that Lex had gone to the Alchemy City for a period of time . The Alchemy City should be supporting her land development in the north . In that case, Saleen is really not a person to be trifled with . Teacher is right . I should deploy some people to collect information from Alchemy City first . If Saleen is an unimportant figure, then everything will be a piece of cake . If Saleen is the crux in the cooperation between Lex and the Alchemy City, then I will have no choice but to think of another solution . "
"Hypocrite!" Nailisi sagged her eyelids as she drank her tea . "Master shouldn't worry about a person like that . "
As usual, Lex smiled like how a noble should, refusing to comment on Bifano's flattery . Bifano got slightly disappointed . Ever since Lex arrived at the princess' castle, her attitude towards him seemed to have changed .
"Lex, I will send fifty shield infantrymen to defend your chariots . " Realizing that he could not extract any useful information about Saleen's background, Bifano reverted to the previous topic .
"That won't be necessary, you should let them protect the archers . I have two Black Metal Grand Swordmasters with me . It will be difficult for the enemy to get close to my chariot . "
Bifano felt his muscles cramping once more . Those two people were actually Black Metal Grand Swordmasters . They had not left the chariot, remaining onboard to protect the mages . Even though Bitter Water Prefecture was dozens of times smaller than Titan, its military prowess were not much weaker . At first, Bifano thought that it relied on its population of mages, but it seemed like its army was really powerful too .
"If this army was mine, it will be fantastic . The damn Cloudflow keeps restraining Titan's military power . I can only deploy my troops privately . Other than the trusted soldiers, I cannot even form a camp . I can barely form five emblem groups, a total of five-thousand people . All of them have been positioned in Fire Dance City . Even if this plan succeeds, only less than half of these five-thousand men will remain . "
As Bifano cursed in his heart, a smile of nobility remained pasted on his face .
"Lex, your horses will not make it . Before the journey starts, I will give each one of you two warhorses . "
"The ones pulling the chariots too, sorry to trouble you . " Lex did not stand on ceremony with Bifano . In order to rush here, all her horses had gotten injured . Lex also did not wish to use the skeletal warhorses in the mission with Bifano .
As there were no death mages in the team, the skeletal warhorses were stored inside Saleen's Green Spirit . If they got killed by the enemy, they could not be summoned anymore .
"Of course, but the warhorses Mage Saleen was asking for…"
"Send them straight to Bitter Water Prefecture . " Regarding this matter, Lex made it very clear . Saleen requested for five-hundred warhorses which could mate, and she would get some benefits in the future as well . The population of warhorses in Qin had been insufficient for a long time . The quality warhorses had been controlled by Holy Rock City . Even in Lex's swordsmen's camp, the cavalry regiment had been vexing over the warhorses .
These warhorses would be ameliorated in Bitter Water Prefecture with help from the mages . In at most three to five years, warhorses suitable for the northern region could be cultivated . A skeletal warhorse had its flaws too . Against the priests from the Holy See, they would be restrained by their divine spells . Furthermore, it was impossible for the three kings to accompany the army for wars . There were also too little death mages in the Bitter Water Army and none of them was a grand mage yet . It would be impossible to use the skeletal warhorses to supplement the insufficiency of the cavalrymen .
As for the magic wolf cavalrymen? There were too few of them, and Lex did not want to be indebted to Sika .
"Rest assured, once we arrive at the Fire Dance City, warhorses will have reached Bitter Water Prefecture . " Even though Bifano agreed generously, he was extremely reluctant . The combined value of five-hundred warhorses was enough to produce a colossal main battleship already .
The discussions went on smoothly . Other than the abrupt request for the warhorses, Bifano had prepared everything else already . By noontime, the five-hundred trusted soldiers stood guard around the new convoy as it set off on its journey .
Within the new convoy, the two chariots which Lex brought along were left behind . The supplies on those two chariots would be disposed of by Bifano . As for task of procuring winemakers, it was left to the people in the princess' castle .
Besides the two magic war chariots, the convoy had an additional ten huge chariots which were actually filled with military equipment and tents . When the convoy was setting off, Bifano noticed Lex and Saleen going aboard the same carriage, and he could no longer maintain his composure . Suppressing the rage in his heart, he steered his warhorse to the front of the convoy . His trusted soldiers immediately followed, not knowing why their small duke was seething .
The more terrible someone felt, the worse the events would be . Less than one-hundred miles after leaving the princess' castle, the rain started again . Since the next town was still more than one-hundred miles away, Bifano had no choice but to order his troops to select a piece of highland which would not flood and set up camp there .