Pioneer Lord: I Have Conquering System

Chapter 333: Chapter 244: The Twin Wings Fall, the Truth Is Revealed

A stack of paper documents sat on the room’s lone mahogany table, which was covered by a red cloth.

A man in his fifties with salt-and-pepper hair rested with his eyes closed, resembling a dozing lion.

The nobleman, who had arrived looking excited to deliver news, instinctively slowed his pace, afraid to disturb the formidable old man.

"Pasa, what is it? Go on," Cross said, opening his eyes. The exhaustion in them was impossible to hide, but he forced himself to be alert.

"My lord, forgive my intrusion, but this news is simply too astonishing," said Pasa, a Baron in charge of the Communication Magic Stone. "A message just came through."

No matter how he’d cursed it in the past, the Communication Magic Stone had been as responsive as a common rock. Yet now, it had delivered a message at this crucial time.

That was why he couldn’t afford any delay, even if it meant disturbing his lord’s rest.

"Let me guess. This must be good news."

Even Cross, so exhausted he could barely lift his eyelids, couldn’t resist a joke. A rare smile touched his lips. "Our Marshal Damon isn’t on his way back already, is he?"

Pasa looked awkward, afraid to disappoint the old man. He said quickly, "The message is from the main army. It tells us to hold the city, that a turning point will come soon."

"It ended with a message—’Chaos and evil shroud the land. When twin wings fall, the truth shall be known. The Firefly’s light is faint, unable to pierce the dark night. The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.’"

Honestly, the words were just a bunch of cryptic nonsense, but any news was better than no news.

He hoped it would offer the old man some comfort.

"That damned Mudehan. This message must have come from that pig of a Minstrel. He’s the only one in charge of the other Communication Magic Stone." The usually calm old man finally broke, cursing, "If I live to see him again, I’ll sew his goddamn mouth shut with the hair from his own crotch!"

Cross was about to explode with rage. What he hated most were these Minstrels who thought themselves so clever, twisting simple messages into incomprehensible riddles.

"`My lord, you... no, *we* will definitely live to see Mudehan again,`" Pasa said comfortingly, waiting until the old man’s anger had subsided a little.

"Pasa, the moment I chose to use wildfire, I sealed my fate. It was always going to be a court-martial or the gallows."

Cross leaned back in his chair, his eyelids drooping. For a moment, he looked like any other old man. "That’s life. A series of endless choices, each with its own consequences. The only difference between me and an ordinary man is that I know exactly what those consequences are, and I am willing to face them."

He thought back to his youth.

Because he’d chosen to attend the military academy, the title that should have been his went to his younger brother. His only path was to earn renown in the army.

And while he had once complained of his father’s favoritism, his current achievements were a direct result of that very choice.

Hearing this, Pasa couldn’t bear to look at the old man any longer.

For their sake, this old man, who should have been immortalized in the history books for a lifetime of glorious achievements, had now sullied his legacy in his twilight years.

It was like a drop of ink on a pure white page—small, yet its impact on the whole was immense.

It was shameful, leaving all the burden on the shoulders of one old man.

"’Chaos... evil... twin wings...’" Cross massaged his chest, trying to distill some vital information from the words. He tried to force a connection to the rebellious Lizardmen, but it was a stretch. In the end, he gave up, cursing that damned Minstrel once more in his mind.

"My lord, there’s one more piece of news. Someone has broken through the city walls and is heading for the Inner Castle."

Pasa bowed slightly as he continued.

"Who is their commander?" Cross asked, his mind already running through the preparations he had set in place.

"If the banners are correct, it should be the Knight from the banquet at Kolon. The one named Levi," Pasa said, choosing his words carefully. He deliberately avoided calling him the Lion Hunter Knight, as the title’s implications were all too clear.

"Oh? I know of him." Cross couldn’t help but sit bolt upright.

Honestly, in the past, a mere Baron of Exploration wouldn’t have even been worthy of his notice, but this newly-appointed Knight’s accomplishments in just half a year were nothing short of miraculous.

One could even say his story was more Legendary than his own.

He single-handedly rescued Miss Liya from Kolon and saw her to the safety of the Northern Territory. To others, it might have seemed like the work of a loyal and exceptionally lucky Knight.

But by peeling back the layers and analyzing the available intelligence, Cross had immediately seen the truth: it had nothing to do with luck. It was pure skill.

Later, all sorts of reports came from the Northern Territory. Far from fading into obscurity or failing in the Wilderness, he had only grown stronger.

In Cross’s eyes, Levi had faced one challenge after another that no ordinary person could have overcome. Yet not only did he solve each problem, he turned every crisis into an advantage.

From a minor Baron of Exploration, he had grown to his current stature.

As a result, Cross had come to regard him with great importance, classifying him as a military talent of exceptional ability.

He possessed a Charm so powerful it had drawn a host of mighty Half-Beastmen to his side. It was said that even when facing financial hardship, he could still support his massive military expenditures. And the discipline of his troops was beyond question. Based on his studies of their past engagements, Cross considered the army of High Cliff Castle to be an elite force among elite forces.

Though small in number, they were not to be underestimated.

This made Cross take the situation more seriously. Previously, he’d thought that even if he deliberately left the gates open, most of the enemy forces would be too afraid to make a rash move.

Now, however, he had to consider whether his plans would even work on this particular Knight.

’I’ll have to make some adjustments,’ he thought.