Chapter 288: What a Coincidence!

"That guy wasn't he saying he'd investigate the attack on Parker Castle by dark creatures? Then let the dark creatures deal with him—by the time, let him ask them face-to-face!"

"Uh! Dark creatures? But isn't it too late to lure them from the Chaos Wastes now, given they're about to leave?"

Last time, thousands of dark creatures had wandered near Stormhold by sheer coincidence.

And because Parker Castle lacked sufficient strength, it was overrun by those thousands of dark creatures.

But this time, Prince Two's envoy group is no weakling force, and if we wait until nightfall, they'll already be long gone.

"Wood, I say it's doable because Yueyue this morning detected a group of dark creatures appearing at Stormhold's border—and these dark creatures are unlike any others!"

"Really? More dark creatures wandering into Stormhold? What are the odds?!" Wood froze in shock.

"Exactly! What perfect timing!"

In truth, Gervas also found it suspiciously convenient—that these dark creatures, which might have become a scourge to Stormhold, were now helping him eliminate another problem.

As if sensing the urgency, Old John hurried back in, "My lord, Japas's group has been sent off. Also, Captain Evlan has returned and says she has urgent news to report immediately!"

"Excellent! Bring Evlan to the reception hall!"

Soon, Evlan was brought into the reception hall.

Her urgent news, of course, was the discovery of the dark creature group.

"Well, Evlan?"

"My lord, when our scouts reached the iron ore site, we truly found dark creatures at the border!"

"And though this group is small in number, their ranks may be high—especially the leaders. Even Magic Swift Hawks dare not approach too closely!"

"R-Really? They've actually come?!" Wood stared, dumbfounded—this felt too orchestrated.

If he didn't know dark creatures couldn't be controlled, he'd suspect Gervas could command those things.

"Excellent! Evlan, I need your flight team to install ropes and stand by immediately!"

"Also, Old John, notify Knight Captain Lei Meng and Knight Mi Gen right away!"

Gervas could read seven or eight tenths of Wood's expression, but with time running short, he had no patience to care.

The longer we wait, the farther Japas and his crew will have gone—and luring the dark creatures won't go as smoothly.

This time, he was racing against time.

But as the saying goes, when luck comes, nothing can stop it.

While Gervas was urgently arranging to lure the dark creatures, Japas's group, having left Stormhold and returned to the Royal Highway, had halted their advance.

Instead, they found an open riverside patch beside a forest and began lighting a bonfire.

"Damn country bumpkins—so poor and stingy! At this hour, they still don't offer us a meal!"

Earlier, Japas's group had planned to eat when they learned Mi Kesi's party had departed.

So they skipped lunch entirely and rushed straight to Stormhold.

They'd assumed Gervas, a minor noble, would welcome them with fine wine and roasted meats upon their arrival.

Instead, after barely two minutes of talk, the meeting collapsed.

They left immediately—and of course, no fine food or drink awaited them.

Now, every last one of them was starving, stomachs pressed against their backs.

"Chief, that Gervas is utterly disrespectful—he dared refuse the Prince's goodwill! We must punish him severely!"

Japas's face turned icy. "That brat will pay. I'll make him beg on his knees for mercy!"

Of course, Japas didn't know that while he fantasized about punishing Gervas in two days,

high above, a Magic Swift Hawk had been watching them nonstop.

The hawk riders above were using monocular telescopes to observe every move they made.

"Really? Cooking lunch?" The report reached Gervas immediately.

"My lord, this is a perfect opportunity!"

"Exactly, Lord Gervas! Rare chance—let's act now!"

Mi Gen, Wood, and others all wore excited expressions—clearly more eager than Gervas himself.

Gervas wasted no time. He nodded and turned to the reporting Magic Swift Hawk member.

"Tell Evlan to accelerate the lure—draw the dark creatures closer!"

"Mi Gen, Lei Meng—can your two little ones handle it?"

"My lord, absolutely. We're just asking them to drag carcasses near the area—not to fight those Silver Knights!"

"Excellent! Then let's begin!"

With Gervas's order relayed, Evlan's group immediately sped up, dragging the pursuing dark creatures northward.

But for safety and to avoid alerting the enemy, Gervas had no intention of using Magic Swift Hawks to directly lure the dark creatures right to Japas's group.

After all, it was still daytime—such a move would be far too obvious.

So when they were still over two miles from Japas's group, the Magic Swift Hawks descended, unloaded the animal carcasses, and strapped them all onto the iron-armored fire lizards waiting nearby.

"Go! When you reach the area, bite through the ropes, then circle back!"

Lei Meng and Mi Gen patted the two juvenile iron-armored fire lizards, giving them their final instructions.

Though iron-armored fire lizards couldn't understand human speech, the master-servant bond allowed simple telepathic communication.

Roar! Roar!

The two fire lizards growled twice in acknowledgment.

"Lei Meng, Mi Gen—they're coming!"

At that moment, the dark creatures from behind were drawing near.

Seeing this, the two didn't linger—they sprinted toward a nearby hill.

The iron-armored fire lizards began dragging a long chain of bloody animal carcasses straight toward Japas's group.

"Wait—if I'm not mistaken, those four are third-rank dark creatures, right?"

Soon, the dark creatures were lured past the small hill where Gervas's group hid.

Seeing the group—only a hundred or so in number, yet terrifyingly high-ranked—Mi Gen and the knights stared in shock.

Even the well-traveled wizard Wood was stunned, finally understanding why Gervas had said they were "unlike any others!"

"No wonder Captain Evlan said Magic Swift Hawks dared not approach—so many third-rank dark creatures!"

"By the way, Knight Mi Gen, it's not four third-rank dark creatures—it's five. That small, jet-black panther is also third-rank!"

"And its strength surpasses the others—it's incredibly fast. Its name is the Dark Bloodthirsty Panther!"

"Together, those five third-rank dark creatures equal at least three or more third-rank beasts. No wonder first-rank Magic Swift Hawks dare not come near!"

"Also, over thirty of these dark creatures are second-rank. My god—how did this happen? Only a hundred or so, yet five third-rank and over thirty second-rank?!"

"If all dark creatures on the Glory Continent were this concentrated, the continent would already be half overrun!"

"Of course, the more powerful these dark creatures are, the worse off Japas and his crew will be. Ha! The show's about to begin!"

With that, everyone looked up eagerly toward the distant riverside.

Though they appeared as mere black dots to the naked eye, the monocular telescopes still let them see clearly.