CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP~
"Hm? Is that... Isaac? What is that thing? A flying pumpkin?"
Caesar, Remington, and Cheryl had already arrived on the fortress wall. All three stared in astonishment as Isaac flew toward them, driving a pumpkin carriage.
Cheryl, the most worldly of the three, narrowed her eyes. "It must be the pumpkin carriage from that story of his," she said. "It's a Legend he holds, or perhaps an extension of one."
"The pumpkin carriage can fly?" Caesar turned to Cheryl in surprise. He had read the story, and it was quite good, but he didn't recall the pumpkin carriage in it being this magical.
"There's always a gap between the Legend and the reality." Cheryl shook her head. "The pumpkin carriage in the story is merely a facade. The essence of the tale is that Cinderella must attend the Prince's ball on time. To achieve that goal, forget a mere carriage—Spatial Movement or even time travel would be possible."
"It's that powerful?!" Remington's eyes widened.
"Of course. Why else do you think Legendary Mages leave so many incredible tales in their wake?" Cheryl retorted.
As the core power of a Legendary Mage, a Legend was naturally not so simple.
While they were talking, Isaac had already landed the pumpkin carriage on the wall. As the purple smoke dissipated, he strode out, carrying a small pumpkin.
"Brother, what's going on? Why are the Black Orcs launching a surprise attack?"
"We're not sure yet, but don't worry. It's just a small squad of Black Orcs—a little over a hundred riders. They must be a vanguard."
Isaac breathed a sigh of relief at Caesar's words. 'Just over a hundred... That's not so bad.'
Isaac first cast an Arcane Shield on himself, then took a few steps forward to get a look at the approaching Black Orcs.
Orcs were not like the beast-girls from the anime Isaac had watched in his past life, who only had a few animalistic features. These Orcs were more like bipedal beasts, though most of them did have five-fingered hands.
Black Orcs were even more savage than regular Orcs. They lived in the Barbaric Wilderness and produced nothing, spending most of their time living like Demons—devouring raw flesh and drinking blood. When they failed to hunt Demons, they would resort to stolen bread to sate their hunger.
In the Barbaric Wilderness, Black Orcs were organized into tribes, with different tribes being of different stocks.
Most of the time, the various Black Orc tribes fought among themselves. Only on rare occasions would they temporarily unite for a common cause.
Such as their winter raids.
The ones who had now arrived at the foot of Solomon Fortress were Black Orcs from the Black Lizard Tribe. They resembled bipedal lizards with pointed heads, wielding spears. Some of their commanders even wore tattered Leather Armor and had Iron Swords hanging at their waists.
Their combat strength was impressive; the weakest among them were at the level of a Quasi-Knight, and they had over a dozen full-fledged Knights.
They rode Gale Wolves, the most common Demon in the Wilderness. A Gale Wolf's potential capped out at Tier One, making them quite ordinary. Among this group of over a hundred, not a single wolf had even reached Tier One.
With a lineup like that, calling them cannon fodder would be a compliment.
At least, that was the case from the perspective of Solomon Fortress, which was manned entirely by elites.
"A force of this level... how did they even get here?" Isaac asked, pulling his head back from the parapet.
"I was wondering the same thing. But it doesn't matter. They won't be going back," Caesar said with a nonchalant shrug.
"Mm," Isaac nodded noncommittally. Then, he spoke eagerly, "Why not let me have a go? I've been studying Magic for so long, but I've never been in a proper fight."
"Maybe next time." Caesar ruffled Isaac's hair, his gaze flicking almost imperceptibly toward Remington. He smiled and said, "Leave these to me. They've seen the fortress walls, so we can't let them escape with that information."
With that, Caesar turned. A golden aura, so dense it was almost tangible, ignited around him. With a sharp cry, he transformed into a streak of golden light and leaped from the twenty-meter-high wall, charging alone with his sword toward the hundred-strong formation of the Black Lizard Tribe!
"Hiss!" Isaac gasped as he saw the golden aura enveloping Caesar. "Divine Power?! Brother's become a High-level Knight?!"
"Not quite," Cheryl said, shaking her head. "He's still hesitating over his choice of Authority, but he's very close."
"Hiss!" Isaac gasped again. A question immediately surfaced in his mind. 'If that's the case, why is he in such a hurry to reveal his power?'
'With a great war on the horizon, wouldn't it be better to keep such a trump card hidden?'
But soon, a sideways glance caught the dark expression on his second brother's face. In that instant, Isaac understood everything...
...why his brother was revealing his power now, why these Black Orcs had reached the fortress so easily...
It all became clear.
'However...'
Isaac glanced at his second brother's grim face. 'He knows this isn't over,' Isaac thought. 'Colluding with the Black Orcs... that's no small crime. Even for a member of the Nobility, even for a Great Knight, the consequences would be severe.'
'If it's proven, his life is over!'
'That's why Caesar was so quick to act. He's going to personally erase any possible evidence. If you erase the mistake before it's discovered, it's as if it never happened.'
'Of course, he didn't need to reveal his Knight Divine Power just for that. Caesar's other objective was to make Remington abandon all hope.'
'Once the Knight Divine Power was revealed, it meant no one in the domain could challenge him for that position.'
There were two paths for a High-level Knight. One was the path of absorbing the Power of Faith, just like Deities and Legendary Mages. Only a very small number of land-owning Nobility could walk this path. After all, a Viscount's Domain only produced enough Power of Faith to support a single High-level Knight, meaning only the Lord of the territory could take this route.
And while Solomon's Domain was still just a Viscount's Domain, its actual area was already approaching that of an Earl's Domain. In theory, it could support three High-level Knights on the path of Faith. However, if any of them hoped to advance further, the domain could in reality only support two.
Their father, the current Viscount Solomon, already occupied one of those slots. The remaining one, naturally, was reserved for the future Lord.
And watching Caesar down below, wrapped in a golden aura as he wreaked havoc, it was obvious he had embarked upon this path long ago.
In other words, the matter of the succession had been decided long ago...
Looking at his second brother's dark expression, Isaac sighed inwardly. 'Honestly, why be so stubborn about competing with Caesar?'
'Frankly, my brother Caesar is truly exceptional, a natural-born leader. As a transmigrator, even I had felt the urge to bow in allegiance when I was younger. His charisma is just that potent.'
'So, even if my own body were perfectly fine, I likely would never have chosen to oppose my eldest brother. That would have been foolish.'