"I am Knight Hibel Theodore." Finally, the Royal Gryphon Knight spoke first. "Who are you? Why does your troop include so many Swamp Werewolves, and why have you captured so many humans?"
Hibel looked at this peculiar troop. Although her full-helmet concealed her face, there was a hint of surprise in her voice.
Why was the Swamp Werewolves’ equipment so high-quality? Steel half-plate armor and steel flails... Human Sixth Order guards, by contrast, only used iron armor and low-grade steel swords. Even the small shovels hanging from their backpacks were made entirely of steel. Hibel could not fathom the uses of the other items hanging from the Werewolf Warriors’ shoulder straps, belts, and backpacks. However, the items she could identify were already a great shock to her. These Werewolves were also pushing a strange device with two wheels. Hibel had seen them riding these devices while she was flying earlier. With the wheels arranged one after the other... wouldn’t they fall over when moving? In any case, these Werewolf Warriors’ equipment was extremely fine. No! It should be described as luxurious. Ordinary Werewolf Warriors are merely First Order, and Great Werewolves are only Second Order. Who would arm First or Second Order troops with such quality steel armor and weapons? Probably only a fool would do so. And a wealthy fool at that.
Hibel had announced her identity to the troop’s leader precisely because he was human; this was why she hadn’t ordered an attack on these Werewolves.
And this human was the source of Hibel’s many questions.
First of all... His... armor... How could it be so aesthetically pleasing! Magic overflowing? Aura unleashed? His warhorse appeared so majestic and beautiful! Although its lineage was unclear, it was undoubtedly of noble descent. It seemed to have undergone demonization into a magical beast. Mysterious! Mysterious!
Hibel awaited Yan Xing’s response.
Yan Xing, on the other hand, was startled by Hibel’s voice.
A woman! But what on earth are you wearing?
In Yan Xing’s eyes, the knight riding atop the Royal Griffon wore a suit of full-body armor that seemed quite sophisticated. Although the armor was not as shiny as his own polished set, it was smooth and clean. Though it lacked the atmospheric lights of his own, it did have some embossed decorations. And even though the exposed lining strips couldn’t float like his, at least there was some ornamentation.
But the style of this armor... it really didn’t reveal the woman beneath. In movies, TV shows, and games, the armor worn by female knights wasn’t at all. Those... with open chests and backs, with pale, smooth stomachs and thighs, required very few pieces of metal. Then look at what this female knight was wearing. The chest plate didn’t even have two bulges at the front, and she still dared to wear it. Sigh... So behind the times!
Since the other party had taken the initiative to ask, Yan Xing quietly turned on the built-in speaker inside his armor. This was a small flaw he had discovered during his last confrontation with Gustav. With both armies standing so far apart, shouting was a strain on the vocal cords. If his voice couldn’t reach a high pitch when it mattered, it greatly compromised his majestic image as a Lord.
The sound from external speakers could be loud, but this was battle. One couldn’t exactly ride a horse wielding a lance in one hand and holding a large speaker in the other, could they?
So, Yan Xing had taken his armor back to his original world to have this "patch" applied. It now featured six-channel surround sound. The ambient lights would automatically produce color gradients based on pitch, volume, and tone. Oh, and the store had even thrown in a Cybertron Optimus Prime voice changer sound pack. His words now carried a heavy, metallic, magnetic resonance.
"I am Yan Xing, the Lord of Eternal Domain..." Damn it! I feel like I’m about to transform! Yan Xing continued with the Cybertron audio pack on, saying, "My domain is on the plains north of Nuta City. Three days ago, these human mercenaries colluded with the Orc Malevolent Wolf Cavalry to ambush my territory. But they were all exterminated by me and my army. I have come to Nuta City to hand over these human traitors to the City Lord, to allow the City Lord to give them the fairest judgment."
After Yan Xing finished speaking, silence fell upon the scene once more, broken only by the occasional screeches of the Griffons in the sky.
After a while, Knight Hibel spoke up, her voice tense, "Respected Lord, you... what did you just say? I’m sorry, your voice was somewhat mesmerizing. Please forgive my rudeness."
It wasn’t that Hibel couldn’t understand Yan Xing’s words; rather, his processed voice had been utterly overwhelming. The pitch wasn’t high, yet the voice was extremely resonant, seeming to enter her ears from all directions.
And that voice... Brave, kind, responsible, and filled with a sense of justice. Hibel felt as though she was facing a true knight, a great leader embodying all virtues and integrity. So much so that she had completely missed the content of his words.
When Hibel inquired again, she addressed Yan Xing with honorifics, lowered her stance, and finally offered a knightly salute as an apology.
"Alright... I’d better speak normally." Feeling that his act had been a bit much, Yan Xing turned off the speakers, took off his helmet, and repeated to Hibel what he had just said.
Yan Xing spoke in a normal tone. His approachable, colloquial manner of speaking—plain, yet it felt like being bathed in Chun Feng—made Hibel even more flustered.
Hibel also immediately took off her helmet and again offered Yan Xing a knightly salute.
"Respected Lord, welcome to Nuta City. Your visit will surely add legendary tales to this city, to be recorded in its history," Hibel said with a flattering welcome, but she did not forget her duty. "You said your domain is north of Nuta City... Although I’m unaware of when a domain appeared on that plain, how could Orcs possibly be there? You must understand, in the central Wildwind Highlands, we have built numerous fortresses to keep the Orcs confined to the western fringe of the highlands. You mention these human mercenaries you’ve captured are colluding with Orcs. Do you have any evidence?"
"Of course, I have evidence!"
At Yan Xing’s gesture, Olaf had four Light Armored Werewolf Warriors set down their bicycles and retrieve a large wooden chest from the last carriage.
The large wooden chest was carried before Hibel’s mount. Once opened, it revealed layers of neatly stacked heads of Big-eared monsters.
Seeing so many Orc heads, Hibel was profoundly shocked. Although stationed in Nuta City, far to the rear, Hibel had indeed heard rumors of humans colluding with Orcs and leading the Malevolent Wolf Cavalry to wreak havoc in areas controlled by the human army. Now, a chest full of invading Orc heads lay before her, alongside so many disheveled human mercenaries.
It was almost certain that Lord Yan Xing spoke the truth. This also proved the rumors were true! She had to inform her father about this as soon as possible...