The Herb King



Meanwhile, in the Barden Territory. 

Aethelwolf stood in front of the main army with a serious look on his face. These soldiers had undergone strict training and they were also allocated numerous resources, making their leveling extremely fast. The weakest foot soldier was a peak stage Level 1 Esper. The main army already has more than three hundred thousand soldiers and all of them were Espers! Each soldier was equipped with the latest custom-made armor and weapons. They also had life-saving runes and recovery pills which they could use during dire circumstances. 

"Everyone, the time has come for us to make a move! The Underworlders have already occupied the Northern Region and it won't be long before those creatures would march to our lands. To prevent them from attacking our lands, the leaders of the various empires decided to form an alliance! We will be sending half of our forces to the Northern Region to stop the Underworlder army from advancing! This time, I will lead you guys in battle!" Aethelwolf's voice echoed in all directions. 

"We obey the King!" 

"We obey the King!"

The soldiers shouted in unison as they stared at the dignified Aethelwolf who was hovering in midair. 

Most of these soldiers were commoners and some of them were even slaves. It was only because of Aethelwolf that they managed to turn their lives around. If not for him, they would still be starving in the streets with no place to go. They were willing to offer their lives for him! 

"Good!" Aethelwolf smiled in gratification. He then turned his gaze to Ramiel and nodded his head.

Upon seeing Aethelwolf's signal, Ramiel raised his hand and shouted in a booming voice. "Open the gates!" 

The huge gates of the territory slowly opened, making everyone see a vast expanse of uncultivated land. 

Ramiel jumped on top of his mount and shouted. "March forward!" 

The cavalry units led the main army and they were followed by the infantry units. The army marched under the admiring gazes of the civilians. Because of the bountiful benefits of the Barden Territory's soldiers, everyone wanted to enlist in the army. Even the women are interested to become a soldier. However, because of the strict requirements and training, only those with strong willpower were able to join. 

The army marched for over an hour before they halted. Ahead of them was the army of the Leone Empire. There were over a hundred thousand soldiers under the leadership of Prince Renz and Duke Baron. Although their soldiers were fully equipped, they were just a ragtag bunch compared to Aethelwolf's main army. 

Not long later, the two armies merged and they moved together towards the Northern Region. The soldiers of the Leone Empire were intimidated by the auras of the main army's soldiers. Furthermore, all of them were Espers and even the weakest infantry soldier was as strong as their captains and commanders! This filled them with shock and they couldn't help but turn their gazes at Aethelwolf. This man managed to train so many elite soldiers in just a short amount of time. The Leone Empire's accumulated strength of over a century couldn't compare to it anymore. 

"Sigh! Sir Aethelwolf, your soldiers are like tigers and lions! How did you even train them?" Prince Renz sighed as he looked at the stern-looking soldiers of the main army. They stood straight like swords and their eyes were filled with indomitable spirit. 

Duke Baron was also looking at them with a serious gaze. 'The normal infantrymen are actually comparable to our Imperial Guards. Even my Black Lion Army is nothing compared to these guys...' 

Aethelwolf merely chuckled at the prince's words. 

"Sir Aethelwolf, can you tell us more about what's happening in the Northern Region?" Prince Renz already heard the report about the Northern Region, but he noticed that some key information was not stated. 

Aethelwolf stood on top of the Golden Horned Gryphon without turning his head as he replied in a calm voice. "According to the information I received from our scouts, the Underworlder army has already gathered roughly more than seven million soldiers. Although they didn't show any signs of movement, the soldiers of the allied army of the Regalis Continent are on standby in key areas. However, I believe that the Underworlders are not attacking any time soon."

"What?! Seven million soldiers!" Prince Renz' face turned grave upon hearing this. 

"Don't worry. They won't attack us for the time being. We'll take this chance to accumulate our strength in the borders of the Northern Region. I just hope that all the empires would send their forces to support the allied army." Aethelwolf muttered. 

Prince Renz nodded his head. He could only place his trust in the allied army. With the combined strength of the entire Regalis Continent, they should be able to defeat the Underworlder army.

***

Inside a cave somewhere in the Savage Alberrio Island, Alec and the others were searching for Keys. They were already inside the cave for over six hours. In these six hours, they managed to find another Golden Key and more than ten Silver Keys! There were also over fifty Bronze Keys in their possession now. 

"This is the dead end of the cave. We can't pass through here. The other side is already the ocean. If we dig this part, this cave will be submerged in water." Alec said while touching the surface of the wall. He could hear the smashing of the waves from the other side. 

"It looks like we have to go back to the surface and look for more Keys. I wonder how the other groups are doing..." Michael muttered as he patted his clothes. 

"Eh? I found a Bronze Key here! Hehe." The young prince, Christopher, laughed joyfully as he showed the Bronze Key to everyone.

Janrose gave him a thumbs-up while the others praised him. 

"Good job, Christopher!" 

"Good job!"

Christopher kept the Bronze Key inside his storage ring. "Let's go back." He said with a big smile. 

The group left marks along the way since the Navigation Rune isn't working properly inside the cave. There seemed to be a mysterious force that caused the Navigation Rune to malfunction. While following the marks they left behind, they soon heard the voices of another group and from the sound of their footsteps, there seemed to be more than ten of them. 

Alec and the others furrowed their eyebrows. 

Alec then gave a signal and they all hid in various corners, concealing their presence from the incoming group.