< a month and a half passed >
After a long time had passed, Ethan who had immersed himself in his cultivation was disturbed by good news- the Caravella had returned. Without much delay he walked to the throne room to see his generals gathered and an unexpected group of guests- Princess Luna and 2 knights.
This time Princess Luna was donning exquisite white, grey armor with the emblem of a snow-white wolf in front of a throne – the emblem of the Frostfall kingdom.
"Princess Luna, if I had known you were paying us a visit, I would have prepared a meal and would have welcomed you myself." Ethan said with a charming smile.
"Forgive us for coming unannounced, but my father has urged that I had to visit on business." Luna bowed and greeted. "Haha, it is fine Princess you are welcome into my kingdom." Ethan responded with a laugh.
"You and your knights are welcome to explore my city but if you would please excuse me, duty calls" Ethan said. "Then I must beg my leave Your Majesty" Luna bowed and left.
When they were alone Ethan asked Asher," Uncle, I could feel the one is a stage 8 knight but the other one I could not feel any aura from him. But I felt an extreme sense of danger which should not belong to a stage 9 is it possible-"
"Yes, my Lord, the old man accompanying her is a Peak stage Apprentice Knight." Asher responded with a curious glint in his eyes. "Will he be a problem Uncle if you should fight him?"
"It is unknown my Lord, without a proper fight it would be hard to judge." Asher answered shaking his head." Mhmm... very well it seems this Frostfall Kingdom is quite strong."
"Forgive me your Majesty but If I may interrupt. The kingdom of Frostfall is extremely strong for a Tier 5 Kingdom. When we were there, I sensed a few strong auras, some even I found extremely threatening."
"Oh, how strong is this kingdom??" Ethan asked curiosly " I sensed 7 at the Knight level, 6 in the Knight Lieutenant level, 4 in the Knight Captain level and I met 2 Peak Lord Commanders. This man that accompanied Princess Luna is not one of the two, and the palace was too well defended for me to infiltrate so I think there must be more hiding." Rowan said somewhat fearfully. In summary:
3 Peak Apprentice Knights
4 Late-stage Apprentice Knights
6 Middle-stage Apprentice Knights
7 Early-stage Apprentice Knights
"It seems that the Kingdom of Frostfall is extremely strong, we should be careful Your Highness" Magnus urged. "Indeed" Ethan nodded," Now Rowan tell me the details about the trade."
As Ethan and his generals were discussing the trade and its journey. Three people could be seen walking in the bustling streets, they were exactly Princess Luna and her two knights.
"Grandfather Cedric, it seems this kingdom has a few secrets. Just look at these streets and when we were outside it was so beautiful. When we were here last time it was bustling but nothing could compare to back home yet now even Frostfall falls short compared to this kingdom in some respects." Luna said to the old knight walking beside her.
"Little Luna, you said that this kingdom is only a newly advanced Tier 5 kingdom?" he asked. "Yes Grandfather" she replied," I found out from the people, and it seems they advanced to Tier 5 less than five months ago."
"Little Luna, if what you say is true, I suggest we refrain from having any conflict with them and instead we must become friends." the man said. "Why so, grandfather?" she asked.
"Because I sensed that they have quite a few apprentice knights almost rivalling our own, and if they are a newly advanced Tier 5 on at that they could grow to become stronger than even us." He replied slowly. "Really, are they that strong??" Luna asked intrigued.
"Yes, up until now I have sensed, 8 early-stage knights, 6 middle-stage knights, 5 late-stage knights and even one that has the same strength as me. Not to mention I thought it was all the kingdom had until the young man called Ethan showed up. That young man has the strength of a stage 8 apprentice."
'' That strong!!, I would never have thought they would grow that fast" Luna muttered under her breath.
< Throne room >
While the young maiden was shocked by her newfound revelation Ethan concluded the meeting. He thought that the trade was a major success and that they would still trade with the Frostfall kingdom. He did not fear the Frostfall kingdom as he had learned from Rowan that they did not have any transportation across the sea, and it would take too long to march on foot.
All things considered; he made a pitfall. The new ores were sent to the smithy to construct new armor for his soldiers and when they were finished, they would have stronger armor which could save his men's life in battle.
Ethan had broken the news to Asher and the group of the newly advanved men. He was expecting the knight from the Ravens order to advance to stage 7 when they returned, but what he did not expect was the Knight Lieutenant from Dragons Fang to advance to stage 7. When they heard the news Rowan was absolutely jubilant as he mocked Magnus, Asher on the other hand was calm but if one studied him close enough you would see a hint of pride in his eyes betraying his calm exterior.