On the early morning of the third day, Lina donned a suit of armor that didn’t quite match her usual appearance and stood at the front gate of the Auckland Family residence, watching as the Holy Knights arrived one after another.
“Is everyone here?” Facing the crowd, Lina seemed like a completely different person—cold and fearsome, nothing like her previous self.
“Reporting, Sir Holy Knight, all members are assembled,” a young man clad in golden armor stepped forward, giving a proper knight’s salute with a steady voice.
He was Murray, the vice-captain of the Third Knight Order. In terms of combat strength, he was second only to Lina here.
“Then prepare to depart.” Lina’s gaze swept over everyone.
“Even though this is just a reconnaissance mission, you must not relax for a moment. There are many Dragonkin hiding in the Northern Border—one careless move and things could go wrong. Keep your guard up at all times!”
“Yes!” The response below was uniform, carrying the knights’ unique air of solemnity.
Don’t be fooled by how nonchalant Lina had been these past few days. When it was time to get serious, she never allowed her subordinates to slack off.
Elsewhere, Anya was also ready. She still wore the velvet outfit Iris had first seen her in, the heavy sword strapped to her back. She pushed open the door, about to step outside.
As soon as she left her room, she saw her father, Karen, standing at the doorway, holding a spherical Magic Device.
“Father? Shouldn’t you be working at the fortress today?” Anya was stunned, her voice full of surprise.
“You’re heading somewhere so dangerous. Shouldn’t I see my daughter off?” Karen handed the Magic Device to Anya. “This can withstand a few magical attacks. Use it as you see fit.”
Anya took the Magic Device and tucked it into her clothes, smiling at him. “Don’t worry, Father. I’ll be fine.”
Seeing his daughter’s smile, Karen suddenly spaced out. For some reason, another hazy figure flashed through his mind.
His fingers twitched, wanting to hug her, but in the end he restrained himself, simply nodding slowly before turning and leaving without a word.
Iris, watching from the side, remarked, “Your father really doesn’t know how to talk to you. It was obvious he still had more to say just now.”
“He’s always like this. Actually, it’s enough for me if he keeps me in his heart, don’t you think?” Anya smiled calmly.
This girl—she’s a lot more open-minded than before. Iris thought to herself, though she wondered if Anya could use that “open-mindedness” a bit less on herself.
Just then, Yisha hurried over to see them off. After a few words of farewell, Anya headed toward Lina’s side.
When Lina saw her coming, she only gave a slight nod. Perhaps out of concern for her subordinates’ dignity, she didn’t address Anya as casually as before, instead sounding more formal.
“Miss Anya, we’ll be relying on you as our guide for this journey. Are we ready to depart?” Lina walked forward and extended her gauntleted hand.
“Of course, Sir Holy Knight.” Anya gazed into her rather cold eyes, fully understanding Lina’s need to maintain authority in front of her subordinates, and grasped the cold armored hand with a smile.
Then Lina formally introduced Anya to the group, but most of the knights had serious minds, and few paid much attention to her.
After a quick regroup, the team set off.
“The weather’s been quite nice these days. Not like when I first met you—it was snowing nonstop back then.” Iris basked lazily in the sun, speaking offhandedly.
“It’s hard to say,” Anya looked at the road ahead. “The weather in the Northern Border can change in an instant. Who knows, we might run into a blizzard soon.”
Anya and Lina walked at the front, followed by a large group of knights in neat formation.
The procession was quite impressive, naturally attracting the attention of many passersby.
Many people speculated about the Holy Knights’ purpose in the Northern Border, and some even noticed Anya at the front, sparking discussions.
“Isn’t that General Karen’s daughter? Why is she with the Holy Knights?”
“I think her name’s Anya Auckland, right? Judging by this, they’re leaving the city. Maybe the Dragonkin have been too rampant lately, so the higher-ups sent Holy Knights to deal with them?”
“I remember not long ago, Miss Auckland was almost captured by Dragonkin, wasn’t she? Maybe that’s why they’re investigating now?”
The crowd’s speculations naturally reached the ears of Iris and Anya.
“These people sure have vivid imaginations,” Iris muttered quietly from the side.
Thanks to Karen’s arrangements, the group left the city smoothly.
Lina pulled out the Map of Northland, her finger pointing to a mountain range circled in red. “Miss Anya, this is our destination. Can you recognize where this is?”
If that mountain range still had obvious Magic Power Leakage, they wouldn’t have needed Anya as a guide, but unfortunately, that phenomenon had vanished long ago.
“Let me take a look.” Anya took the map and compared it carefully for a moment before settling on a direction. “Follow me—I’ll take you on a shortcut.”
“Seems like Miss Anya is quite familiar with the area,” Murray, who’d overheard their conversation, walked up to make small talk.
“You flatter me, Sir Murray. I trained here since childhood, so I know the place fairly well. But I wouldn’t say I’m an expert.” Anya replied modestly.
“There are so many Dragonkin around the Northern Border. How did Miss Anya avoid their attention?” Murray asked with genuine curiosity.
“Maybe the Dragonkin weren’t as active around here back then,” Anya answered uncertainly. She really hadn’t seen any Dragonkin when she was young.
“Murray.” Lina glanced at him, her tone warning. “General Karen said we might run into Dragonkin on this route. Don’t you have anything better to do?”
At once, Murray lowered his head. “Sorry, Knight Commander, I spoke out of turn.”
Watching him retreat, Lina leaned closer to Anya and whispered, “He’s just a gossip. No need to mind him, Anya.”
“It’s all right, let’s keep moving,” Anya said with a smile.
It had to be said, Anya was indeed reliable as a guide. She led the group around several winding mountain paths, and after several hours, they reached a mountain summit.
“That should be the mountain, right?” Anya pointed at a snow-capped peak encircled by other mountains in the distance. The spot was so well hidden it would be impossible to spot without looking carefully.
“Hard to say. I can’t sense any magic fluctuations.” Lina shook her head.
Anya looked down at the foot of the mountain and added, “If we head down from here, we might run into quite a few Magic Beasts. This area is their habitat.”
“All right, I’ll warn everyone.” Lina turned around and called out in a clear voice, “Everyone, attention! There may be Magic Beasts ahead. Stay alert and don’t let your guard down!”
Iris’s eyes lit up at the sight of the snow mountain and she said, “Little Anya, don’t doubt your instincts. That’s definitely the mountain—we can already smell treasure from here.”