The sun faded from the horizon, and the edge of the gray canopy was dyed with a magnificent red glow, as if something was burning silently—

Pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages quickly thinned out on the winding trade routes to Karsus, and in those days most people were not in the habit of traveling at night except in the case of a particularly urgent situation such as a military order.

The sound of horses' hooves was like raindrops, and the road was dusty.

Shadows stretched long, long under the slanting sun.

"Samantha, don't worry, we're going to have Karthas soon."

Wiping the dust and sweat from his face, Baron Fred Wolfe, the eldest son of Wolf and the heir to the earl's title, comforted his fiancée, Princess Samantha—

Beside him, a tranquil white face rose from the dark gray cloak, and clear turquoise eyes looked into the distance. Samantha didn't speak, she just nodded slightly, her eyes showing determination and determination.

Perhaps, when they arrived in Karthas, they would face a darkness shrouded in fog.

Time passes.

The dark blue night sky gradually appeared the shadow of a full moon, the starlight was very faint, and on the towering and majestic city walls, the soldiers on patrol wore iron swords, they held torches, and from time to time anxiously looked into the distance beyond the city walls.

A burly, tower-like figure stood in front of the battlements of the city wall, and as if he had heard something, he suddenly took the torch from the soldier beside him, and then stared at a pair of gray eyes like brass bells.

Andrew Collins, the eldest son of Earl Mardock Collins, Lord of Karthus, and Alpha Collins, the son of his younger brother, Princess Lena Edwin, are heirs to the earldom.

To be precise, both are one of the de jure heirs, but compared to the other candidates of the Collins family, the two of them are undoubtedly in an absolute position.

His younger brother Alpha has half royal blood and has a noble status. And Andrew, twenty-nine years old this year, broke through the power level of the first order of awakening a year ago-

In contrast to his rugged appearance, this tall man had a calm and meticulous mind, and although his mother was only a concubine of the old lord Maddock in his youth, his achievements have made his lord father more and more important to him.

As a nobleman, it is not a bad thing to have strong strength in his own right.

And since the end of the "Fog Pine War", the former martial traditions among the nobles of the Northland seem to have begun to gradually return-

Under the deliberate arrangement of the old Earl Maddock, Andrew Collins became the commander of the Karthas City Guard at this time last year, and he can be regarded as having a real team of his own.

Ever since he received the news from Tarun a few days ago, he had waited every day at the wall of Karthas, as his father had told him, for the arrival of Her Royal Highness the Princess.

Karthas and Tarun are in good faith.

This is the common perception within the Collins family about Princess Samantha and Fred's northward journey to Karthas - a marriage contract on the surface could not hide the eyes of these old nobles, and after several trade-offs, the old lord Maddock Collins finally made up his mind.

Treat Princess Samantha and Fred and her party well, and if there are things that aren't bad for the Collins family, you might as well say yes - in fact, it's also a strategic consideration for Andrew.

He was given carte blanche to take on the task of this reception.

The cycling team was like a nimble snake, and the light of the torches on the city wall shone far away, and soon faint shadows appeared.

"Sauron, let's go, go meet Her Royal Highness."

Andrew said to his adjutant, a young man with a serious face and a tall build.

He could already hear the sound of horses' hooves, and he was almost certain that it was a group of lightly armed rangers, and that most of the Northland Nogo Rangers belonged to the Fortress of Talen, and these things had already made him certain of a reality-

Counting the time, Princess Samantha should also rush to Karthas.

He didn't know what was going on along the way.

The gates of Karthas were brightly lit, and the arm-thick steel cables on the huge winches creaked up, and the gates, which had to be closed after six o'clock at night, were opened, and Andrew led his cavalry through the gates, neatly lined up outside the city walls.

The welcome in the middle of the road, although there is no special preparation, is not too grand.

The evening breeze blew through the fields and the trees on both sides of the road, and the figures of the two groups of cavalry approached quickly.

"Is it Her Royal Highness Princess Samantha and Baron Fred Wolfe?"

In the shadow of the night, several horsemen drove their horses to meet them, and Sauron, who was in the lead, slowed down his horses and shouted loudly to the marching procession.

"Exactly."

The Ranger, who looked like a captain at the front, replied, and he looked at the gray woolen uniform and armband on the other man's body, and suddenly affirmed in his heart, and quickly replied:

"Her Royal Highness Princess Samantha and Her Majesty the Baron are in the procession."

"Baron Andrew Collins is waiting ahead."

"Thank you."

"It is Karthas's honor to welcome Her Royal Highness the Princess and Baron Wolfe."

……

The bell tower of the Cathedral of Karthas rang six long bells in a row, and at this moment the capital of Kartassas, the capital of Nogo, officially entered the night.

Places like taverns quickly became lively, the lights in the windows lit up, and the whole city was filled with a kind of bustle at night.

In the streets and alleys, the chimneys of houses also rose with curling smoke.

At the end of the day, local residents return home to reunite with their families, and the sounds of laughter, children's screams, or husbands and wives complaining and arguing with each other can be heard.

In the year 553 of the continental calendar, since the "Fog Pine War", there was one of the few peaceful periods in Northland Nuogo.

Although the arrival of Princess Samantha and her party has caused a lot of impact among the nobles in the city, for most of the residents, their lives are still on the same path.

The two converging groups of cavalry crossed the passage of the city gate, and Andrew Collins, the owner of the place, drove the horse at the head of the road, and he and Fred were slightly behind Princess Samantha by half a position, as a sign of respect for the royal family of Edwin.

The horse's hooves stepped on the stone slabs of the streets of the city, and the crisp sound of "da-da" echoed far away.

The night wind was cold, and Samantha couldn't help but tighten her cloak.

The two men behind him exchanged pleasantries.

Fred and Andrew didn't have much of a deep friendship in the past. However, the nobles at their level were not unfamiliar with each other, and after a short while, the two were as close as a pair of old friends who had not seen each other for many years.

Of course, the topic of conversation was only superficial, and there was no in-depth discussion - the conversation between the two sides did not depart from "the weather is good today." "Have you eaten?" The essence of such meaningless words.