Chapter 200: The Vice Principal Arrives
The streets of Armstrong Duchy were overflowing with hundreds of people from all over the western region, causing traffic on the road. This was because the tournament would be held in Armstrong Duchy, as per Duke Felix's wish.
Since they didn't find anything wrong with this decision, the other barons hadn't opposed it. Besides, it was only right for the tournament to be held in Armstrong Duchy because it was not only vast in size but also much more developed compared to the other towns.
At the moment, the carriages belonging to the Cromwell baron were moving along the wide cobblestone streets. There were still three days left before the tournament officially kicked off, so their main agenda was to find an inn for everyone.
Of course, above their heads, Doombringer was soaring in the air, earning looks from the citizens of Armstrong Duchy and the neighboring towns.
They were all pointing at the menacing wyvern, coming up with wild theories about who it belonged to. "This never gets old, huh?" Nathan thought as he stroked Doombringer's head. "How rare is your kind to get these people excited every time?"
Growl!
Doombringer only growled in response, a lost expression appearing on his face. Unlike Nox, Nathan couldn't communicate with beasts, but he figured that the wyvern was probably stating that its kind was very rare.
Down below, a green-haired boy with a carrot in his mouth watched the familiar wyvern fly past from the window of his carriage.
"She's not up there..." he thought with a frown on his face, then looked below at the carriages. Because the wyvern's shadow covered the carriages, it was easy to tell that the beast with the menacing presence was overlooking them as if daring anyone to attack.
"Perhaps she's inside there," Jared thought, his eyes shining. "Coach, follow those carriages," he quickly ordered the driver.
"Young master, are you sure? Your father personally instructed me to take you all to an inn to spend the night." Because the lord of Landon Barony was busy with some issues back in town, the children, under the lead of some Awakened and Jared, were made the temporary leaders of Landon Barony.
"I'm very certain that we'll find an inn if we follow them," Jared claimed, pushing the last bit of carrot into his mouth. After chomping on the carrot, he said in a slightly wiser tone, "Also, we've no idea about this city...from the looks of things, those guys seem to know their way around...I say we stick to them."
"Indeed, the young master is right. That flag actually belongs to the Cromwell barony...last I checked, we don't have any bad blood with them. They're the best people to follow." The coachman agreed as he steered the horse, controlling the carriage to follow behind the Cromwell carriages.
"Nice try, I saw what you did there," Jared's friend whispered in his ear, causing the latter's ears to burn with embarrassment.
***
It didn't take long for Hans and Aina to find a two-story inn. Because of the crowd they'd brought with them, they had no choice but to rent half of the hotel's total space, which wasn't a problem, considering the barony was no longer poor as before.
In total, over a hundred citizens had accompanied the fighters to provide support, and they paired up in groups of two to share one room each. Still, despite this arrangement, half of the inn was almost filled.
Outside Armstrong Duchy, more and more people were slowly entering the town. These people were no ordinary figures—they were powerful Awakened who had come to witness the tournament, each with their own motivation.
"Good thing I arrived early." Inside one of the carriages, a purple-haired woman with eyes of the same color thought as she slowly entered Armstrong Duchy. Because she had announced her presence beforehand, someone from the duke himself had personally come out to accompany her.
"Welcome, Vice Principal." Kron, the right-hand man of the duke, bowed slightly when he saw the woman who was said to be one of the strongest in the kingdom step out gracefully from her carriage. His gaze lingered on her well-sculpted face down to her bountiful build. She was simply too beautiful and could stun any man.
A cold light flashed in Bridget's purple eyes as she saw Kron blatantly ogling at her.
"I'm sorry, miss." Kron hurriedly apologized, his ears burning red as he added, hoping to salvage the situation, "It's just that the mistress is just too beautiful."
Bridget had already heard this countless times, hence it barely had any effect on her. She swept her gaze over Kron before starting to walk away.
"Ah, mistress!" Kron was confused when he saw her action. He was instructed by the duke to take her to his villa personally, so where was she heading? Thinking about this, he hurriedly called out, but she was already long gone.
Kron was slightly shocked, as he hadn't even seen when the purple-haired woman had disappeared from his side.
At that moment, he saw the giant wyvern flying past overhead. Kron glanced up, his black eyes meeting the fierce blood-red eyes of the wyvern, and a shiver passed through his spine. "Right." His expression darkened slightly. "That man is also here."
Alone, Bridget looked around the vast town that was no different from a city. "Now, which road would lead me to the Heavenly Palace Inn?" she thought with a soft frown on her beautiful yet fierce face, capable of striking fear into the hearts of men.
***
Elsewhere, a woman with beautiful ruby-like eyes was watching the figure of a young man who was currently sparring with a white-haired girl of a similar age. The dark-haired boy, with a strand of red in his hair, was wielding a dagger, while his opponent wielded a longsword. However, it was easy to detect that the girl with the longsword was on the losing end.
"Mm, it seems his dagger arts have improved once again," Eve thought, a subtle smile on her face.