Chapter 121: 73

Chapter 73: Return Journey

Erwin hadn't left this transcription on Professor Hawk's tombstone because he felt like Professor Hawk was both a teacher and a friend to him. Instead, it was because he had a feeling that Professor Hawk had some ties with his own parents.

As a result of this, countless theories had begun to pop up in his mind pertaining to where that copy of "Laws of Time and Space" had come from, and why it had been given to him by Professor Hawk.

After Onean bade farewell to Master Piro, the trio descended from the mountain.

Kaiba immediately pulled Erwin to the side, and it was clear that he had something to ask Erwin.

"What are you planning to do?" Kaiba asked as he took a glance at Onean.

"What else can we do aside from return to Sarus? As long as Her Highness is with us, I'm sure there will be a lot of people from the royal court who'll side with us. In addition to that, Sarus is a city with very tall and sturdy walls and gates. Even if Lazaar tries to conquer the city by force, he won't be able to do so in a short time. As long as we can delay him for a certain period of time, we'll have a chance to turn the tables. Lazaar is a traitor to the kingdom. If he can't take down Sarus in a short time, then he'll have to face the armies loyal to the royal family that'll gather from all directions to avenge His Majesty," Erwin replied.

"But doesn't Lazaar have a bunch of flying dragons under his control? Surely those things will allow him to conquer Sarus with ease," Kaiba said in a concerned voice.

"I don't think Lazaar is going to be so demented as to use flying dragons to attack the city. After all, I'm sure he still cares about his own reputation. If he razes the capital city to the ground and turns all of the citizens of Sarus into roast meat, do you think he'll receive any support even if he seizes the throne by force?" Erwin countered.

"I certainly hope you're right," Kaiba sighed. "I just feel like you're too optimistic about this. If you ask me, I don't think there are going to be many people siding with Her Highness."

"Is there something that you have to tell me?" Erwin asked as he turned to look at Kaiba.

"N, no," Kaiba replied, but for some reason, he stuttered slightly.

"I don't recall seeing your father on the battlefield earlier in the day," Erwin said as he closely scrutinized Kaiba.

"I don't recall seeing him, either," Kaiba replied while avoiding Erwin's gaze.

"You didn't see Chase's father on the battlefield, either, did you?" Erwin asked.

"Are you kidding me? The two armies had a total of over 200,000 troops! How am I supposed to pick out everyone's family members one by one when there are so many people?" Kaiba snapped. "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. I just feel like you seem a little too relaxed and unfazed by all of this," Erwin replied in an indifferent voice.

"What are you trying to say?" Kaiba repeated, and he was starting to get a little angry at this point.

"Nothing," Erwin replied once again. "Regardless of what happens, I have to thank you for risking your life and going into battle with me."

Kaiba was momentarily rooted to the spot after hearing what Erwin had to say, and he didn't know how to respond.

Meanwhile, Erwin cast a subtle gaze toward Gwen, who was still quietly weeping to herself.

"What are you planning to do with her? Her father was Lazaar's main political rival," Erwin said.

"I don't know. She's been unconscious this entire time, so I haven't had a chance to ask her yet."

Erwin patted Kaiba on the shoulder as he heaved a faint sigh. "Looks like you have a tough road ahead as well."

Kaiba cast a perplexed gaze toward Erwin upon hearing this.

"Let's go. We'll travel to Xeto before taking a longer rest," Erwin said as he began to make his way toward his own horse.

Kaiba looked on at Erwin's departing figure, and he felt as if Erwin had aged significantly over the course of just a single night.

Thankfully, all of the roads and bridges along the way had already been repaired by them a few days ago, so the return trip was very smooth. However, most of the people who had repaired these bridges and roads had already perished in battle. Perhaps this could be another iteration of bridges and roads being built upon bodies.

...

By the time first light arose the next day, Erwin and his group had already arrived at Xeto.

Looking at the city from afar, it appeared to be no different from when they had left it. The city gate was wide open, and it was only being guarded by two rows of soldiers. However, the mountain path leading from the foot of the mountain to the city had already been mostly repaired. In Erwin's mind, it was most likely the case that news of the outcome of the battle on the front lines still hadn't been delivered to Xeto yet. After all, they had been traveling virtually non-stop at a breakneck pace, so surely the report from Illingburn Fort wouldn't have gotten here before them.

Even so, he still decided to instruct everyone to stay at the foot of the mountain, while he and Kaiba entered the city together. After all, he had no way of knowing to whom the mayor of Xeto owed his allegiance, and he could only prepare for the worst. However, Onean was unwilling to let him and Kaiba go on their own, and she insisted on coming along. In the end, Erwin was unable to dissuade her, so he was forced to take her with them. He was beginning to worry that if the mayor of Xeto were to turn on them, they wouldn't be able to escape. After all, neither of them had rested very well after the battle from the day before. In particular, Erwin could feel that his own magic power and stamina reserves had barely recovered at all.

As for why he had decided to pay Xeto a visit, it was because he wanted to get an answer from those two close friends of his, even though he already knew the answer.

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Furthermore, there was another reason for this visit to Xeto, and that was Gwen.

After waking up the night before, Gwen had insisted on riding a horse on her own. However, there were no spare horses for her to ride, so in the end, she could only ride the same horse with Kaiba.

She was already injured, and even though Gilgen hadn't stabbed her with the intent to kill, she had still been completely impaled by his sword. After that night of travel, her injuries had most likely worsened significantly. At the moment, she was in an unconscious state, draped over the horse's back with her face completely devoid of color. If it weren't for Kaiba supporting her by the waist from behind, she would've already fallen off the horse long ago.

Looking at Kaiba's concerned expression, Erwin knew that he had made the right decision. If they had continued traveling past Xeto without making a stop, then Gwen would've most likely perished after another day or two of travel. Even if they were going to leave her at Xeto to be treated, they had to hide her identity. Otherwise, there was a chance that she would be killed anyway.

"I'll go and see if Christine has left the city yet. If she's still around, then I'll ask her to take Gwen back to Sarus," Erwin said as he turned to Kaiba. If it weren't for the fact that they were in a hurry to return to Sarus, he would've wanted to travel by airship as well. He desperately wanted to lie down onto a soft bed and fall asleep, but he knew that in his current state, he was already past the point of exhaustion. His brain was operating in a state of extreme excitement, so even though he was extremely tired, he wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

Right as the three of them reached the city gate, they were greeted by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Your Highness!"

As it turned out, it was the mayor, Francis Hugh. He leaped down from the top of the city wall, and such was his excitement that tears had even welled up in his eyes. Never did he think that the princess would be able to return to Xeto alive, and even now, he was still wondering if his own eyes were playing tricks on him. Looking at the approaching silver-haired figure, he had to fight to stop his own tears from flowing down his face. Even if Onean did survive, he had thought that she would go directly to Newen, so it had never occurred to him as a possibility that she would pay Xeto another visit.

Onean remained completely unmoved, and it was clear that she was feeling quite defensive toward Francis, who was a subordinate to Lazaar.

Upon seeing Onean's expression, Francis knew that Prince Lazaar had followed through with his plan to betray the kingdom, after all.

With that in mind, he cast a genuine gaze toward Onean as he said, "Rest assured, Your Highness, I bear no ill will toward you."

Onean offered no reply.

Instead, it was Erwin who spoke to Francis in her stead. "Mayor Hugh, may I ask where Duke Nandoon and Duke Shreesan are? Are they still in Xeto?"

"The two dukes set off for Newen on the day after you left," Francis replied, and even though his voice was quite placid, one could tell that he held no respect for the two old dukes.

"Did my two friends go with them as well?" Erwin asked.

"That's right," Francis replied with a nod.

Even though Erwin had already suspected that this would be the case, he was still overcome by a sense of disappointment. "Looks like they were very eager to go and celebrate."

Onean stood by him, continuing to look on with an indifferent expression.

"Then what about that airship of ours? Is it still in the city?" Erwin asked.

Francis thought about this for a moment before replying, "It's still here. I recall it's been undergoing some modification during the past couple of days."

"Then please take us to the airship, Mayor Hugh," Erwin said. "Oh, also, I'll have to trouble you to prepare some dry rations and hay for our horses. Once you have those things prepared, please take them to the foot of the mountain."

"Why aren't your people coming into the city with you? Do you not trust me?" Francis asked with a resigned expression, then turned to cast his gaze toward Onean.

"Prince Lazaar has already publicly betrayed the kingdom, and there are still so many Burmen soldiers in this city. Truth be told, even right now, I'm still worried that you'll kill us all in exchange for a reward," Erwin said with a wry smile. "Of course, Her Highness's head will be worth far more money than mine."

"Your Highness, regardless of what everyone else does, I will forever remember what you did to save our city of Xeto on that day," Francis said as he suddenly fell to one knee, and tears began to flow down his face as he spoke.

Erwin and Kaiba were both very much taken aback to see this.

"No need for formalities. I was only performing my duty by saving Xeto," Onean replied in an indifferent voice.

Francis could tell from Onean's cold expression that nothing he could say would change her mind, so he could only heave a forlorn sigh before leading the group toward the site where the airship was situated.

Before they even arrived at the airship, they could already hear Christine's clear and crisp voice. "Hurry up! We don't have all day! Stop wasting time! Do you want to get paid today or not?"

At this moment, Christine had one hand on her hip, while using her other hand to instruct a group of workers who were four or five times her age to remove the armor plating on the airship.

"Hello, Christine," Erwin said as he waved toward the airship.

Christine could barely believe her own ears upon hearing Erwin's voice, and as she turned around to face her, there were already tears shimmering in her eyes. She was greeted by the sight of a man on horseback who was looking very much worse for wear. Even though they had only been apart for a few days, he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. There was a smile playing on his lips, but his face was extremely pale, and she had never seen him look so exhausted. Furthermore, she could sense that this wasn't just a simple case of exhaustion. Instead, it was also intermingled with emotions of despair and intense sorrow. In her memory, Erwin had a perpetual sly grin and was always making jokes. She couldn't imagine what could've happened within the span of just a few days to make him undergo such a drastic transformation.

Even though she was still very young, she was very sharp and intelligent, and the outcome of the battle on the front lines was already clear to her upon seeing this.

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