For the next period of time.
After Setsuna bid farewell to her parents and tribe, Linde embarked on his journey with his Retainers.
However, the journey was quite monotonous.
It basically consisted of eating, traveling, and leveling up.
Of course, the death of the Hero of the Sword caused a huge stir in the Geolal Kingdom.
In a short time,
the Brave of Sorcery defecting, and the Hero of the Sword and Hero of Cannon falling.
Such news,
no matter how much they tried to conceal it, couldn't be kept secret.
It's worth mentioning that, according to the information gathered along the way, the Second Princess, Princess Noren Clatarlisa Geolal, who was studying abroad, had already returned.
On this day,
the Star Spirit, Setsuna, and Anna were undergoing their daily training.
The Star Spirit had volunteered for this.
In her words: "As the Retainer with the highest strength, I have a responsibility to help my companions improve."
Linde, who knew the real reason, understood this but didn't expose her.
Hmph, hmph.
Anyway, she was already his, so there was no rush.
Moreover,
as the master, he also had his own important matters to attend to.
Inside the adventurer's inn.
"Master, I've leveled up."
Freya leaned in Linde's arms, feeling her power, and a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.
She was now increasingly addicted to breaking through levels.
Linde glanced at her attribute information, nodded, and smiled, "Not bad, you're already level 42. With a little more effort, you should be able to break through very soon."
Freya looked up, staring at Linde with infatuation, "Hehe, it won't be that fast. Setsuna and the others also need Master's power to help them."
"Hmm, that's true. So you need to seize the time to improve yourself even more."
Hearing this, Freya rolled her eyes at Linde, her gaze as soft as silk.
Two blushes appeared on her rosy face.
However, she still didn't hesitate and quickly took out the Level Breakthrough Potion Creator, personally starting to make potions.
"Hmm... Oh, right, Master... my sister Norn's return is very likely because of me."
Linde nodded, looking at the serious Freya.
"Indeed, I could guess that too."
"Master... you need to be careful. Although Norn's strength is... not great, she is a military genius, especially skilled in schemes and very cruel."
Linde idly kneaded her demon tail, looking at her tear-filled eyes from worry, and smiled, "Don't worry so much."
"In the face of absolute power, any scheme is a castle in the air."
"So what you need to do now is to focus on improving your own strength."
"Mmm..."
Freya nodded, her throat moving.
The next moment,
her heart raced, her blood boiled, and a familiar power surged into her body.
The joy of increased strength made her tears flow again.
"Princess Noren, how truly exciting."
Linde stood up, speaking with high spirits.
"Let me see what tricks you can play."
On the other side,
in a luxurious study,
Princess Noren, the subject of Linde and Freya's discussion, was deep in thought.
Her pink medium-length hair fell naturally, and her pretty brows were slightly furrowed, giving her an intellectual beauty.
Before her was none other than the route map of Linde and his group.
"Interesting, truly too interesting."
"All three Heroes of the Kingdom fell into his hands, yet he strolls around openly, with no intention of concealing his whereabouts."
"This is either an idiot who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, or a strong person who is extremely confident in himself."
"However, from the current intelligence, it is clearly the latter."
"And my sister, it seems she has been completely controlled, with no room for resistance at all."
After a long while, Norn chuckled softly.
"Originally, I wanted to make an issue out of that follower named Anna, using her hometown as bait to make her fall into the trap."
"Now it seems it's completely unnecessary."
"Such an obvious trajectory of movement, he's heading straight for the Royal City."
"Then I will let you know the price of confidence."
Bral Town.
This was a necessary route to the Royal City.
Countless merchant guilds and adventurers would use this place as a transit point.
So, although the town was small, it was quite prosperous.
On this day,
Linde and his party had already appeared here.
"Master, it's almost dark. Shall we continue traveling or rest here for the night?"
Anna asked, following behind Linde.
"Let's rest. It's a good time for you and Setsuna to level up soon."
"Understood, Master."
The Star Spirit tugged at Anna's sleeve and said unnaturally, "Um, can I have a single room?"
"No, you can't."
Anna said with a smile, "Master said that when you're out, you should develop the habit of being thrifty."
"Heh... hehe."
The Star Spirit's mouth twitched slightly.
Should I go monster hunting and leveling tonight?
She hesitated for a moment, then finally deflated.
The Star Spirit had no doubt that she would be summoned back.
She sighed resignedly.
As the few of them spoke, the afterglow of the setting sun spread across the ground.
Who knows how long passed?
The surroundings seemed to become increasingly quiet.
The passersby seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
Setsuna's expression tightened, and she frowned.
"Master, something isn't right."
"Yes, it's too quiet."
Anna looked around, also finding it strange.
"It's nothing, we've just been targeted for a long time."
Linde smiled faintly, "But you two were so slow to react. You'll need to be more vigilant in the future."
Hearing this, Setsuna and Anna immediately took up defensive positions.
"Heh heh, a bit interesting."
"It seems Princess Norn's judgment was correct. Even if you discover it's a trap, due to your confidence in your own strength, you'll still step right into it."
On a rooftop, a figure with a bow and arrow had already emerged from behind a chimney.
"Master, don't be careless. He is Tristead Olgan."
Freya's pupils contracted when she saw the other party, and she immediately warned, "He is one of the Kingdom's Three Heroes, nicknamed Hawk-Eye. He can perceive the entire situation with his observation eye and see the flow of killing intent."
"Mmm."
Linde nodded, then said, "Alright, everyone else come out too."
Under his perception, all the surrounding residential houses were filled with fully armed Kingdom elites.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heavy footsteps echoed like drumbeats on the silent street.
In a short time,
the streets, walls, and houses in all directions were already covered with people.
The Kingdom's Second Princess, Norn, Freya's sister, also appeared at the end of the street.
"It really is you, Norn."
Looking at the other party, Freya bit her lip slightly.
"Haha, we meet again, my trashy sister."
Norn said with a smile, "I didn't expect that you, who were always so high and mighty, would today be reduced to this man's slave."
"Heh, hehe."
Freya rolled her eyes.
You can laugh now.
Soon it will be your turn to cry.
Through their previous deep discussions,
she knew very well that her Master would not let this sister off the hook.
"Alright, that's enough sisterly reunion for now. After all, you two will have a lot of time later."
Linde said, "You still have other tricks, right? Use them all."
"I feel like you're saying something rude."
Norn's expression turned cold, "But since you said so, I'll let you see it."
The moment her voice fell,
several rays of light shot up from various parts of the town, forming a huge Magic Circle that directly enveloped the sky.
At the same time,
a brilliant gem-like light lit up on every imperial soldier's body.