The air in the tent was tense, as talks of war involved at least thousands of knights' lives and possibly more. These were knights loyal to the Empire, which had spent countless resources to raise them and every single one of them was valued by it. But all of this was just a passing thought to an outsider who didn't belong to this reality.

Nova smirked inwardly, thinking, 'This isn't just great news. This is the best news I could've gotten from him.'

He cleared his throat and solemnly asked, "How long do we have before the two armies meet up with Blackridge's, and how large are they?"

Although he knew Westoria and Lotra were hurrying to deal with Blackridge, Nova had no idea how many knights the two kingdoms had decided to send. He needed that information to finalize the plan that could leave him as the ultimate victor.

The Commander nodded and said, "A quick count of the two armies came back at around twenty thousand elites, mostly second and third stage knights, with a few fourth stage. At their current pace, they will reach Blackridge in five days. What are your thoughts?"

'Twenty thousand only? No, I forgot, they are their elites. The bulk of the army left behind can't even begin to compare to those twenty thousand. It's a pity several of Lotra's elites will have to die, but I promise I'll make the best out of it.' Nova finished his thoughts and said, "Even though they are knights of the kingdoms, and thus weaker than us, we can't underestimate them, or we'll pay the price for it."

Senna looked pleasantly surprised. "To think you'd have such a calm mind even in this situation makes me slightly regret not giving you such a chance earlier." He sighed. "It's good that you didn't let your pride as a knight of the Empire cloud your judgment, and that you aren't underestimating the enemy. But, Tairo, don't underestimate the Empire either." By the end of his words, Senna's aura turned colder for an instant before reverting back to normal but that instant was enough for Nova to jolt. "So, how will you proceed?"

"Thank you for your praise, Commander," Nova said, subconsciously clenching his hands. "My plan is to quickly attack Blackridge with several thousand elites and conquer it before its allies arrive. Once we have subdued the king and brought his army under control, we can welcome the other two kingdoms at the border and wipe them out. If we wait until the three armies meet, we would need more knights, or the fight will cost us far more."

"Then why don't you just take more knights and wait for the three to gather in the same place before attacking?" Senna asked.

Nova scoffed inwardly. 'If I do that, everyone will see that Lotra and Westoria aren't coming to aid an ally but to invade a kingdom. At that point, will the Empire's knights even bother to fight them? For all I know they might even watch Blackridge being destroyed.'

Smiling, he said, "If we were to face all three armies together, we'd need a lot more knights. I've judged that, when the citizens learn of the situation, and of the large number of knights it took us to subdue a single kingdom, our image would be tarnished. Thus, going with fewer knights and conquering a kingdom before using its army to our advantage is the best course of action if we want to maintain an invincible image."

A clap rang out in the tent.

"Good, good, good," Senna said with a bright smile on his face. "You took into consideration the feelings of our people and the pride of our nation, that's something not many do even amongst the upper ranks. Exactly as you said, if we can't even swiftly deal with our vassals today, then tomorrow a new group might rise up with strange ideas and try to take Vireah over. I approve of your plan. Use my token and take ten thousand men of the second, third, and fourth stages to resolve this hiccup. Depending on your results, you may soon be promoted, Tairo."

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A smile broke across Nova's face as he said, "Yes, Commander." He turned around, his expression returning to normal as he stepped out of the tent, thinking, 'Ten thousand of the Empire's elites under my control… They should be enough to take the three kingdoms. Then, only the Empire will be left.'

One day passed.

Ten thousand knights stood straight and in silence on the army camp's training grounds. Nova had decided to wait a day before departing for Blackridge for a single reason.

'I need them to feel the pressure of two incoming armies approaching and make mistakes,' he thought as his gaze swept over them.

Nova said, "You've already been briefed on the situation, so I won't waste time with that. But there's something else I want to know. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" A roar echoed across the training grounds, stirring up clouds of dust.

Nova nodded. 'Gotta rile them up a bit.' He grabbed Senna's token, raised it up in the air and shouted, "For the Empire!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE!"

The earth trembled and the wind whistled as Nova and his army of ten thousand charged toward Blackridge at high speed, alerting everyone to their departure. The knights left behind in the camp briefly closed their eyes before resuming their duties.

It took Nova and his force a full day to reach Blackridge, partly because of the long distance from the Empire's elite army camp and partly because they had to rest along the way.

As soon as they crossed into Blackridge's borders, Nova turned to one of the fourth-stage knights marching close behind him and said, "You, take three thousand knights and seize control of the towns and cities. Cuff every knight you encounter and bring them along. Once you're finished, regroup with us at the capital."

"Yes, sir," the knight replied, and soon three thousand elites split from the main army.

'With three thousand of the Empire's elites, they shouldn't take long to round up Blackridge's scattered forces,' Nova thought.

He glanced back at the army behind him and shouted, "To the capital!"

With a thunderous roar, the remaining seven thousand knights surged forward, ignoring every city along the road until the capital finally came into view.

The gate guards of the capital city spotted a massive cloud of dust rolling toward them along with a thunderous sound. Panic spread among them as one shouted, "Beasts! They must be beasts! Prepare to fight!"

The atmosphere shifted as every guard's eyes turned cold. The air grew heavier as the will to defend their city ignited in their hearts.

Weapons in hand, they stood ready, waiting for the cloud of dust to disperse. But when it did, instead of a beasts' charge, what emerged was an army of thousands of knights clad in pristine armor.

"W-What… who are they?" one of the squires stammered.

The squires were new and inexperienced thus didn't recognize the armors these knights wore. But the knights did.

"KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE! THE KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE ARE HERE!"

So many knights were standing right outside their capital, they, for sure, weren't here to sightsee. Only one question reverberated in the Blackridge's guards. To stand against the Empire? None of them wished for such worthless deaths. In an instant, the guards' will to fight evaporated.

Nova looked over the trembling soldiers and shook his head. "Where's the captain? Step forward."

A guard rushed forward, bowing his head. "Sir, I'm the current captain here. What are your orders?"

"Go tell your king to come meet us outside the city and to be quick. We're here on important business," Nova said and waved his hand.

The captain didn't question the orders, he simply bowed again before hurrying away.

Turning back to his army, Nova commanded, "We'll set our camp here."

The guard captain quickly rushed to the royal palace, beads of sweat running down his forehead as he muttered, "This is serious, I can't waste any time." On the way, the other guards and knights recognized him and gave way due to how frantic the captain looked, and soon he was jittery standing in front of Avaro and Rollyet.

Contrary to how the captain felt, the atmosphere in the hall was relaxed as the two were comfortably sitting on sofas, sipping wine while having some talk.

Rollyet noticed the King's shift in mood at being disturbed and his sharp eyes landed on the captain. Without the need for Avaro to say anything, the First Knight said, "What's the fuss?"

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