Charles arrived just a few hundred meters above the castle, passed through the strange chaotic black barrier, and soon froze.
At that moment, he saw a completely different scene!
Thousands of armored knights stood on the top of the walls and were carrying different types of weapons. A few people also stood at the center of the garden and looked at the sky solemnly.
It was as if the whole army were waiting for his arrival!
'How did they know that I would invade the castle from the sky?' Instead of descending towards the castle garden, he controlled the rebirth flame and moved towards the wall.
A few seconds later, he landed on the castle wall, dismissed the rebirth flame, and looked at the surrounding knights.
Just as he looked at the other armored knights, a blonde-haired knight held his sword tighter, glanced at the nearby knight, and asked.
"What are we waiting for actually?"
Upon hearing those words, the other knight also shook his head and responded.
"How would I know? But this is definitely not some drill mission."
While speaking, he also looked up at the dark sky and showed a solemn look on his face.
In the meantime, Charles walked towards the right side and, at the same time, listened to the nearby knights' conversations.
After two minutes, he confirmed that not even the elite members, or the army commanders, knew why there were assembling in the castle!
'It seems I need to see for myself.' Muttering inwardly, he turned his gaze towards the mansion garden and looked at a particular middle-aged man.
His long silver hair fluttered in the air as he stood next to a Bush Daisy plant and held his long black sword. His eyes were pure white, and he looked around 190 to 194 cm tall. Currently, he wore a trench coat, brown boots, and a grey hat over his head.
He was none other than Duke Michael!
Charles's eyes glinted in cold light as he took a step forward, appeared at the edge of the castle wall, and jumped down like a feather.
He descended towards the ground slowly and landed on the grassy garden.
Then, he took a step forward and walked towards Duke.
He arrived in front of Duke Michael in a few seconds, sized him up and down, and then sat down on the nearby garden bench.
Then, he leaned his back on the wood, placed both of his hands on the top rail, and watched him patiently.
Minutes passed, but no intruder appeared from the sky.
As Michael saw this, he couldn't help but take a deep look at the southern direction.
At that moment, a young woman in her twenties came from the mansion building, arrived next to him, and bowed her head.
She had long emerald hair, green eyes, a square face, and pure olive skin. She had a perfect body shape with round melons, big booty, and a sexy brown embroidered dress.
It was a beautiful, one-piece medieval-style dress made from brown taffeta and looked fascinating. It was fastened via laces on the back and front of the dress, making it very adjustable. Because of taffeta, this dress behaved in a way that's quite similar to silk. It was soft, luxurious, and shimmers slightly even in the surrounding torchlight.
Although she appeared more like a harmless woman in the stunning dress, Charles knew she was a powerful sorcerer.
'No, she looks more like an enchantress. Hmm, if I'm not wrong, she must be the Druid who is working for Duke Michael.' He looked at her sexy figure and soon recalled her name.
'Melody.'
While he was analyzing her, that young woman named Melody passed the unsealed letter to Duke Michael and spoke with a soft voice.
"We found no clue about the sender, My Lord. When we tried to track down his origin with the help of Sorcerer Colson's artifact, it led us to multiple locations. This letter came here after passing through more than 30 main cities and towns."
In the meantime, Duke Michael glanced at her pretty face and responded while waving his hand.
"Hmm, that guy seems to know every secret about us. No, he actually knew about your secret and origin. Then, he also knew about our alliance with the demon sorcerers, about His Highness's secret affairs, my ties with the Ammar Dynasty, about our family heilroom 'Shadow Cloak' artifact and even about the pioneer knight's legacy. This guy must be a real prophet of Our Goddess or a terrifying spy of the enemy nation."
He deliberated for a moment and then added coldly.
"At least, he seemed to be helping us this time. But who would've thought that Baron is actually a powerful sorcerer? That brat must've gotten the legacy gift from the Pioneer Knight."
Melody also nodded her head upon hearing those words, then looked up at the sky and asked.
"What do you think, My Lord? Will Baron Daniel attack our castle alone? Isn't he too reckless?"
"It's not reckless. He has the confidence to kill everyone here. At least, he is powerful enough to kill a Radiant Knight in a second." Duke Michael paused for a moment and then added.
"I heard from our moles that he left the Darkwell Town more than 2 hours ago. What's more surprising thing is that he left his mansion in a blink. It's like he was hiding in the mansion all this time but suddenly, he disappeared."
"Teleportation? But why didn't that anonymous informer mention this ability?" Melody asked in surprise.
"That's why I'm more concerned about this mysterious guy. Did he know nothing about this ability? Or, is he testing us? I don't really know." Duke Michael shook his head and then continued.
"Anyway, I already made some preparation and used my Shadow Cloak artifact's ability to lock the space. One he walks in, there is no way for him to escape. Humph, even an Awaken would find it difficult to break the Death Cage spell."
In the meantime, Charles patiently listened to their conversation and turned dead serious.
'H-How the hell did they know everything about me?' At that moment, he knew that he had made the right decision to come here.
While he was racking his brain, Duke Michael turned his gaze towards a particular black-robed young man and asked.
"Do you sense his presence nearby, Miles?"
Among all people in the castle, he had unique black hair and appeared shorter than the rest.
He was a Rank-4 Demon Sorcerer!
Upon hearing his question, the Sorcerer named Miles shook his head and answered.
"No, My Lord. My spell works only around one km radius. As long as that Baron arrives near to our castle, I'll sense his blood scent and lock on to his exact location. If my guess isn't wrong, he should be arrived here by now."
'Blood scent? They are tracking my location using Daniel's blood? So, there is also another Demonic Sorcerer hiding in the Darkwell Town, huh. No wonder they manage to pinpoint my location and monitor me all those time.' A solemn look appeared on Charles's face.
On the other hand, Melody took out an old pocket watch from her pocket and looked at the time.
Upon seeing her action, Duke Michael let out a fake cough and asked with a smile.
"Is it time for you to serve His Highness?"
A blush appeared on Melody's cheeks as she heard those words and soon nodded her head.
"His Highness told me to come back faster, My Lord."
On the other hand, the corner of Duke Michael's lips twitched uncontrollably.
"I wonder if any of the royal family members actually has some control over their sexual desires. Haa, go on. I also don't want you to distract my knights' attention." Saying so, he turned his gaze towards the castle wall, glared at the drooling knights, and sighed.
"Instead of honored knights, all of them in my army are a bunch of h*rny bastards!" He cursed loudly and shooed Melody away.
Meanwhile, she bowed her head and hurriedly ran off.