Once again, a scheming grin appeared on Sylvester's face, sending shivers down the Arch Wizard's spine. It was a fact now that if Sylvester dies, the Viscount's name would appear somewhere. Therefore, it was beneficial to this noble that Sylvester lived.
Sylvester put his hands on the man's shoulder and made him stand up. "Viscount Willington... by the holy powers bestowed upon me by the lord. I command you to aide me. Your liege, the Duke, has been compromised as a part of a greater conspiracy. If we lose today... the entire Duchy shall fall."
"What do you need me to do, my lord?" Viscount asked firmly. He already knew there was a conspiracy going on. But he only cared for Count Jartel's lands before.
Sylvester solemnly ordered. "Be the shield that guards the light. You must ensure that I reach that hill over there... or else... if I die here, then..."
The Viscount blurted quickly. "I will Fight! Even if the toll is my life... I shall stand by the light!"
Sylvester, out of the instinct of being an old man, patted the man's bald head. "Good lad. Let's move now... You walk before me and be my shield... as so desires the lord."
"..."
The Viscount was forced to make way for Sylvester this time. As the battlefield was full of madness at that stage, many knights came to kill the man too. But, an Archwizard is too strong for any such attempt.
It appeared that man's mastery was over air and earth elements. He'd use runes to make blades of air fly around and cut knights in half. He'd create spikes that come out of the ground and impale the soldiers. The man showed why high-ranking wizards are usually countered by the opposition side's high-ranking wizards. And if there is no opposition, then the battle is typically one-sided.
'No wonder the minor lords fear the lords above them. They can never launch a coup or anything similar.' Sylvester thought while walking behind the Viscount in safety.
All Sylvester had to do was be mindful of the back, and that's it.
"Max! Help here!"
Just then, Sylvester heard a loud call for help from Felix. He noticed that one of the horses carrying them had died from a spear strike. So they all had to slow down, which allowed the soldiers to surround them.
"Viscount Willington... we must ensure that those two counts reach safety! Otherwise, the wrath of the Holy Land shall fall upon all." Sylvester again reminded the man. It was a clear hostage and blackmailing situation. But, what could the man even do? He needed to ensure that Sylvester did not hold any grudges against him.
"I can't believe I need to protect my enemies."
"Did you say something, Viscount?" Sylvester heard the man mumbling.
"N-No! Lord is great! His light is the brightest..." He quickly used large-scale spells.
Viscount Willington created large runes on the ground itself using the earth element, all around Felix and the rest. He appeared to be using double runes as he then overlapped them with more runes.
Woosh!
Once he was done. The runes created spikes of Earth and killed all the soldiers that were trying to encircle Felix and the Counts. Most of these soldiers belonged to Duke Grimton himself, so he was killing his own side.
"These runes won't attack us, Lord Bard!"
Sylvester nodded and walked to help his friends. "Let's go. We're not too far. We can cover this part on foot. Viscount! Come forward and provide cover. I will guard the back!"
He was using the pawn to the fullest, not caring if the man died or not. He just ensured that nobody harmed them from behind.
Slowly, they made progress and ploughed through the army of soldiers slowly, leaving behind a bloody trail of dead bodies in their path. But soon enough, they came out on the other side of the battlefield, in the open.
The risk decreased by a lot at that stage, and they made their way towards the small hill in the distance.
"Just a little more, Count Jartel!" Sylvester dragged the fat Count by his chest plate.
Eventually, they climbed the hill and fell to their knees to rest. Everyone was tired from the bloody mess. Felix had a few cuts here and there but nothing serious. Only Archbishop Raymond was heavily injured.
"Good job, you three." Lady Aurora also arrived just then. Behind her was a small group of men in beautiful heavy armour, and a few in intricate silk wizard robes.
In the middle of the group was one man in the most glorious armour, with gold plating and too many magic crystals to count. The delicate carvings on it that appeared like designs were, in fact, engravings of runes.
Sylvester guessed this was likely the Duke of Zon, Zephyr Vas Zon. The man appeared to be a good warrior as his body showed muscles with a height of probably more than six feet. The face also seemed like one belonging to a battle-hardened warrior.
The supposed Duke got off his horse, along with his guards, and walked closer to Sylvester. "You must be the Lord's Bard, Sylvester Maximilian. Other Bards love to sing about you; even my court Jester dares not make jokes about you, and only tells mighty stories of your adventures."
'That's news to me.' Sylvester thought. But he also felt this was a blessing, as this created soft power for him to exploit.
Sylvester shook the red-headed, pale-skinned, black-eyed man's hand firmly. "You embellish me with words too mighty for my lowly stature, your grace. I am but a servant of the lord... embroiled in what appears to be an elaborate conspiracy here."
"Haha, you humble me with your humility." The Duke laughed heartily, as if genuinely excited about meeting Sylvester.
But the truth was, Sylvester could see through the guise. He could smell the scent of light worship, but there also appeared to be a doubt as the sweetness and sourness fluctuated on his tongue. 'This man... he talks like an experienced politician while being a warrior. I need to be careful.'
"I believe that Lady Aurora has revealed to you why I tried to stop your army's march?" He asked.
Duke Zephyr nodded before waving his hand at the man behind him. In no time, a table and two chairs were brought for him. "Sit, Lord Bard. I'm sure you're tired of managing the situation here. As for what Lady Aurora told me, it was not enough. I wish to hear from you--why I should not bring down my entire might to stop that foolish Duke Grimton?"
'I must stop his army at all cost... or this land will spawn Bloolings like a festival.' Sylvester reminded himself.
Sylvester could smell the anger, the rage in the man. He had stopped a warrior from continuing his battle. He understood that this reaction was typical. "Tell me, how did you assemble your whole army so fast?"
Duke looked at the old, long white-bearded, blue-eyed wizard that stood to his left. "Show it to him, Count Leopold."
The old man, who turned out to be a Count, took out a parchment from a bag and put it on the table. He addressed Sylvester with respect and utmost worship. "Lord Bard, we received this letter ten nights ago. It revealed to us that Count Jartel had embezzled money from the taxes that reached Duke Grimton. The number goes as high as five million Gold Graces. The same letter revealed that the Duke would seize the whole County as compensation. Of course, we initially didn't believe it. But, after we sent our men to check things, we learnt that the war factories were working overtime--day and night.
"So, in response, we also ordered the mobilisation just in case the whole attack on Count Jartel was a farce, and the real aim was at Count Raftel. In the end, both our predictions turned out right. Both Counts were attacked."
Sylvester read the letter carefully. It appeared to be written from the left hand as the clockwise strokes implied that.
He took a long breath and put it away. "Don't you think something bigger is going on, your grace?"
"I do, and that's why I agreed to hear you. All I wish for is proof that a conspiracy is at play. Otherwise, I will be forced to attack with full might, as I wish not to go down in my family history to be the one who lost land to an incompetent Duke."
Sylvester could feel the Duke was trying to test his wits for some reason. This was most often the response when he dealt with older men, who refuse to easily believe a young boy like him could be this smart.
Sylvester looked back at Count Jartel and Raftel. "These two. Someone has been trying to make them fight for a while now. Count Jarte's wife was murdered, and her chest was chopped off. A similar case happened to the wife of Count Raftel, her chest was chopped off, but I was able to save her.
"At the same time, I have learnt that a similar case in the Duchy of Ironstone in the south. A Baron's wife was killed, and her chest was cleared-"
Duke Zephyr interrupted. "You're implying that whatever this conspiracy is... its aim is the entire Gracia Kingdom? Do you understand the gravity of your words, Lord Bard?"
Sylvester didn't reply instantly. "I do not know how far the conspiracy goes. But it's clear that this murder situation is spreading kingdom-wide. Thankfully, the wife of Count Raftel saw the attacker's face, and as we speak, Sir Dolorem of the Inquisitors is in Green City, finding the culprit, Sir Kenworth. As for what's happening here..."
Sylvester stood up and looked at the raging battlefield. "Duke Zephyr, would you consider Duke Grimton to be so foolish to attack his own County and risk making war with you?"
Sylvester pointed to Viscount Willington. "This man is a retainer of the Duke. He told me that Duke Grimton has ordered his soldiers to kill not only Count Jartel but also a certain blonde man..."
"That's so... Foolish!" Duke Zephyr stood up and walked beside Sylvester to look at the battlefield. "To harm you is one thing, but to kill you will call upon the church's wrath. No, Grimton may be a fat oaf, but he's not this dumb."
Sylvester nodded and firmly looked at the Duke. "This is why I say there is a conspiracy going on. Something or someone has forced Duke Grimton to take such an insane step. And there is only one way to find out."
"To get him here!" Lady Aurora blurted and walked forward. She had remained at the back the whole time, knowing Sylvester was better at talking than her. "I can get him here."
Sylvester looked at the men who were guarding this Duke beside him. "Are you sure? Duke Grimton is likely surrounded by strong wizards too."
"Five Arch Wizards, ten Diamond Knights, and thirteen Master Wizards--that's the main power of Duke Grimton." Duke Zephyr blurted.
"Is that it?" Lady Aurora exclaimed in a ridiculing tone. "That's like stepping on ants for me."
Sylvester did smell confidence in her and nodded. "Thank you, Lady Aurora."
"Anything for the sake of the faith, Archpriest."
Woosh!
She vanished from her position as an afterimage. Nobody knew where she disappeared to; all they knew was that they were going to see first-hand how powerful a Grand Wizard can be--one that had decided to go serious.
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