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Holy Knight Empire\'s northern border region, fifty-two miles east of Equinox City

A few hours after Ulrich received Death Blade\'s report on the abnormal situation in the Kingdom of Black Rose\'s Sunpeak Region, he found himself standing in front of Holsworthy City, another city ruled by another border lord.

He had immediately departed for Holsworthy City to use one of his hidden cards the moment he sensed an uneasy feeling from Death Blade\'s report.

As a Peak-level Rank 5 being, which stood at the precipice of mortal limits and just before the divine, Ulrich knew his uneasy feelings didn\'t just stem from simple paranoia.

His sixth sense told him something had gone terribly wrong, which could threaten his life and position.

As such, he acted with haste.

\'I didn\'t think I\'ll be using this hidden card so soon,\' Ulrich Salazar thought as he glanced at the fortified western entrance of Holsworthy City.

\'But who is it? Who in the Kingdom of Black Rose is making me feel such uneasiness? Transcendent Henrietta? No, it can\'t be her. She\'s only on my level at most, not stronger.\'

\'It has to be someone else… but who?\'

Ulrich didn\'t know who decimated Group A and Group B. However, he did know he had to act first on the off chance his identity was compromised.

"Halt! Identify yourselves and state your purpose for visiting!"

"How impudent! The Lord of Equinox City stands before you! I demand you to open the gate and make way for my Lord at once!"

Shortly after the sentries warned Ulrich\'s group from approaching the gate further, one of Ulrich\'s escorts stepped forward and barked back at the sentries fiercely.

"Get down from your walls and behave yourselves. Do not keep my Lord waiting!"

"Wait?"

The sentries were immediately startled.

They did not receive any advance notice of Marquis Salazar\'s visit. Thus, they didn\'t expect such an important person to show up.

Nevertheless, they scrutinized Ulrich Salazar\'s figure from the top of the wall before they confirmed the person was indeed Marquis Salazar, the Lord of Equinox City.

"Open gate!" the sentries barked.

Shortly after the city gate opened, Ulrich\'s group made a beeline to the local lord\'s castle with an additional company from some sentries.

As such, they reached the local lord\'s castle smoothly without running into trouble which could cause friction between the two neighboring territories.

When Baron Aderlard, the Lord of Holsworthy City, was notified of Ulrich\'s unannounced visit, he rushed out of his castle to receive Ulrich personally.

"Lord Salazar! What brings you to my humble city?" Baron Aderlard greeted with open smiles while clasping his hands together nervously.

"Nothing much, Sir Aderlard. I just felt stuffy, holing up in my city all the time, so I decided to pay you a visit," Ulrich replied, returning an equally friendly smile before he politely asked, "You won\'t mind if I tour your castle, right?"

However, Ulrich didn\'t wait for Baron Aderlard\'s answer before he barged into the castle grounds.

"I…"

Baron Aderlard helplessly followed right after Ulrich, wanting to stop him. However, he was at a loss, uncertain what to say without offending the marquis.

Ultimately, he failed to stop Ulrich from entering the hall.

Inside the hall, two other border lords were present, standing around a big stone table with a strategic map laid out on top of it.

They immediately became jumpy when they saw Ulrich enter.

"L-Lord Salazar," the two border lords greeted.

"Oh? So Sir Ranulf and Sir Gregory were also here. Why didn\'t you come out and receive me with Sir Aderlard?" Ulrich casually asked with a calm yet indifferent smile.

Baron Ranulf and Baron Gregory felt pressured by Marquis Ulrich\'s gaze, causing them to stutter in response.

"I… We…"

Nevertheless, Ulrich\'s focus didn\'t stay on them.

He shifted his gaze to the strategic map on the stone table, marked with multiple points of interest in the Kingdom of Black Rose and the empire forces placed near them.

"And what do we have here? Three border lords strategizing swift invasion tactics on the Kingdom of Black Rose? Is this the will of the emperor? Now I feel kind of left out for not hearing anything about this," Ulrich expressed his slight disappointment.

The three border lords immediately sweated.

"You have always been an advocate of peace, Lord Salazar. We didn\'t think you would have any interest in this matter. Thus, we chose not to include you," Baron Aderlard explained with a wry yet awkward smile.

"Even if you chose not to include, you should have sent an invitation out of courtesy, no? Or you purposely chose not to because you were afraid of this matter becoming public and reaching the emperor\'s ears, Sir Aderlard?" Ulrich replied with a half smile.

"I heard the three of you have been getting all buddy-buddy with Transcendent Sybil. I don\'t think this war you all want to start was the emperor\'s will."

"Perhaps you have all been charmed by the witch?" Ulrich casually guessed.

The border lords revealed their terror and fear when they realized Ulrich knew they had been making secret deals with the queen of the Verdant Woods Kingdom.

"Relax, I am not here to point out your faults or turn you in for the emperor to punish. You can even say I am on your side," Ulrich assure them before mentioning, "I might have seemed like an advocate of peace, but I\'ve only ever acted with the empire\'s best interests in mind."

"Now that the empire has stabilized from its warring years and consolidated its strength, it\'s time for the empire to expand again. The emperor\'s intentions on the witch kingdoms have always been vague and unclear. However, the emperor has always wished to dominate the continent. I\'m sure you all know this."

"As such, I don\'t believe you would be stupid enough to secretly work with Transcendent Sybil and plot an invasion on the Black Rose Kingdom unless you are confident the empire would benefit from it."

"So why don\'t you fill me in on the details? How will invading the Black Rose Kingdom benefit our empire? How can you be certain the other six witch kingdoms won\'t unite against our empire? And how can you guarantee this wasn\'t a trap set up by Transcendent Sybil?"

"If you can convince me, I will happily join your cause. I\'m quite confident my army would be of great help should I join," Ulrich stated.

After he said his piece and made his stance clear, the three border lords sighed with relief and thanked their lucky stars.

Fortunately, the marquis was reasonable and willing to hear them out.

"We would be overjoyed if we could have you on board, Lord Salazar," Baron Aderlard expressed his honest thoughts. "Please take a seat. We\'ll explain everything we have uncovered about the witch kingdoms in the past twenty years, including what we have learned from Transcendent Sybil."

"Alright," Ulrich nodded and took his seat around the stone table. Then, he commented, "Still, I must say I\'m surprised. You\'ve been in contact with Transcendent Sybil much longer than I anticipated."

"Transcendent Sybil was the one who reached out to us first. Thanks to that, we were able to learn a little about the hidden conflicts between the seven Transcendent Witches," Baron Aderlard replied.

Shortly after, he willingly explained everything to Ulrich, unsuspecting of any ulterior motives the person might have.

…