"My lord, please stay behind me." The fifth-grade knight might have been suspicious of his action but still took his duty of protecting Thyra, who was in the form of Feitur, seriously.
He moved his horse faster, putting him between Thyra and the so-called mercenaries.
Thyra's army, whom Thyra introduced as mercenaries, was about a kilometre west of the city.
In the darkness of the night, although one could see the outline of the city wall, it was almost impossible for the soldiers on the wall to notice what was happening at the meeting spot.
As soon as Thyra saw them, she jumped off the horse, almost tumbling like a barrel on the ground.
Thyra went on his knees before standing up as if nothing had happened. He walked towards Rika, asking, "Are you the leader of the mercenaries?"
Rika looked at him from top to bottom. As she was too sensitive to the mana, she had no problem identifying Thyra.
Still, she had never thought Thyra would look something like this. She nodded with a smile on her face and put her hand forward for a handshake.
"Step back." The fifth-grade knight had his sword drawn as he stood between Thyra and Rika, asking, "Do you have anything to prove your identity?"
Thyra looked around, confirming all the knights that had followed him had already come off their horses.
Now that they did, the chance of them escaping reduced a lot. Thyra put his hand on the fifth-grade knight's shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I know who they are."
"But, my lord…" He wanted to say something. But he felt his body was acting strangely. It was as if his mana were evaporating quickly from his body.
Thyra had already fought against Guntur, a fifth-grade knight. Although Guntur took a one-sided beating, it made Thyra realise that the most potent thing about a fifth-grade knight is their mana.
As long as he could drain it, they were nothing more than a little well-trained and well-armoured soldier.
He looked at Thyra, who was still holding his shoulder. His bulging eyes and struggle to get him free from Thyra's grip were enough for the other knights to realise that something was wrong.
Alas! It was too late. The fifth-grade knight mustered all his energy and shook Thyra's hand on his shoulder. While trying to do so, he made one mistake and showed his back to Rika.
With the amount of mana he had left, other soldiers would have trouble breaking his mana shield. However, Rika's axe, covered with red energy, was torn off the incomplete mana shield like paper, and his head was sent flying.
The rest of the knights posed no problem for them. Thyra's personal squad under Mia had no problem killing off all of them.
"Where is Ondor?"
"Leader," Ondor wasn't too far behind.
"Strip all of them and wear the armour. Mia?" Mia stepped forward as soon as Thyra asked, "You and others put on the armour and assist Ondor. Took the cavalry unit and met up with the empire's army. Your work is important."
"Report to them that the camp soldiers had gotten hold of Feitur's flag and using them to disguise as Feiture's army…" Although Thyra had said that, Thyra, too, realised there was no way the enemy would believe their simple words. "No, that won't do. We need something to prove our identity."
"Flag?" Ondor asked.
"A flag is important. But we need something that is more concrete evidence." While Thyra was contemplating, a sharp whistle shook the night air.
It paused and then again. When it sounded for the third time, all of them understood what was happening; the enemy had left their camp.
Fanger calculated that the enemies would be here within an hour. It was a race against time. Thyra didn't waste any more time. Thyra released his disguise to climb on the horse before turning into Feitur.
"Follow me, quick," Thyra ordered as he returned to the city. The cavalry was easy to follow, but the Infantry would take time.
As soon as they came forward, the door opened. Thyra asked only Ondor and Ami, who were wearing the helmet, to follow him while asking the rest of them to wait outside the wall.
By now, the news of sending more soldiers to occupy the enemy camp had reached this part of the wall, too. As a result, the security of this part was also running thin.
"My lord," The gate leader bowed as soon as he saw Thyra coming in.
"The cavalry will wait outside and will leave for the camp soon. Prepare a couple of flags for them."
"Yes, my lord." The leader was quick with his order.
"The mercenaries will come soon. Send them to my mansion as soon as they enter. And after the cavalry unit leaves, don't open the gate again."
"Yes, my lord."
The gate leader had a good head on his shoulder as he arranged a couple of horse-mounted soldiers, who continued to shout to clear the road as they rode before Thyra.
Thyra soon returned to the mansion, only to find the servants waiting outside the office. It was the first time Thyra had realised that no male servant was in the house. There was no butler. Instead, there was a head maid.
"Bring me one of my badges," Thyra ordered her as he struggled to come off the horse.
"My lord?" The head maid was shocked. She wasn't sure that she was hearing it right.
"What are you waiting for? Don't you know where they are?" Thyra's voice was oozing with impatience.
Thyra was trying to create a sense of urgency so he didn't have to go up to find the badge. After all, he had no idea where the badges were.
From his understanding of Feitur's character, Thyra was sure he was not the type who would let other people touch his stuff.
That is why the head maid was so hesitant. However, Thyra had no problem with being unreasonable, as Feitur was known to be one.
"What are you waiting for?" A couple of soldiers came forward to help Thyra come down. "Do you want me to do your work for you? Or will you be taking responsibility if those kingdom's dogs invade the city?"
"I will bring them, my lord." The headmaid bowed and left.
Thyra looked at the commander of the soldiers who were left behind, asking, "Did they leave?"
"Yes, my lord, they had left about ten minutes ago. The scout confirmed that the camp had been abandoned. They will occupy the camp soon. It will be an easy victory."
"Good." Thyra nodded, adding, "The mercenary will be here soon. Send a contingent of 20 to every grate, tighten the defence. Announce a curfew throughout the city. No one should come out of their house until I allowed them to. If anyone disobeys, send them to the dungeon."
The commander nodded. He knew it was a natural procedure when a city was under attack. However, he didn't understand why the lord, who didn't care about a single thing about the people in the city, became so conscious of it so suddenly.
And the only reason he could think of was that the city was seriously under attack. It also made him realise how serious the situation was.
The commander quickly sent the trainee soldiers to announce the curfew as the head maid brought the badge.
"You know what to do." Thyra handed the badge to Ondor, who was wearing full body armour with the helmet, and said, "Don't let a single one survive."