The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 133: A shocking link

Chapter 133: A shocking link

When the three of them reached the gathering place, there was already a line of horses and carts gathered. Hex silently did a head count.

’Five Knights, ten Squires, and five regular humans.’

Hex wasn’t surprised by the number of Blessed in Lasttown. Grindeston had even more Knights; shame most were killed by the baron on one side and the Dawnbringers on the other.

"There you are," Grint waved at them and called them ahead. Beside him stood Rose, his daughter.

’If we add those two, they will have seven Knights on this trip. Ten, if you add us too.’

Hex sensed their power levels at the dinner last night. But even without the monolith, he would have suspected the mayor of a town to be at least at the Knight stage.

"I am glad you guys decided to tag along. Let me do a quick introduction," Grint said warmly to Hex. The mayor was an experienced man. The way both ladies had awaited for Hex to make the decision made it clear who the leader of their little team was.

He brought Hex in front of the five Knights, all of whom were male. Hex guessed three of them to be above sixty and two to be between forty and fifty.

"These are my uncles, Grim, Grey, and Grump. The younger ones are my cousins, Grimjoy and Greyjoy."

All five gave them a polite nod. They seemed composed men, not easily swayed by the two beauties beside Hex. Neither did they seem to mind their age.

The Squires weren’t introduced one by one. They were supposed to do the menial tasks and gain experience in the outside world. The regular humans were ignored.

’If they knew that one regular human nearly fucked Heaven up, they might stop looking down on them,’ Hex mused but remained silent.

"As you can see, we have five carts filled with gifts for the new Governor. The payment will be in coins or items of equivalent value. The amount will be based on the frequency of battles we will face."

Hex nodded. These were terms they had already agreed on. With all the preparations out of the way, Grint gave the signal to start moving.

Hex and the two ladies were in the middle of the group. This way they could adjust easily, reinforcing where required. Hex also suspected Grint to have done so he could mitigate any risk if Hex or the ladies had bad intentions.

A figure wrapped in a flowery robe stood on a roof, looking at the moving group. No one saw her. Not even Hex. Strangely, even his enhanced senses failed to detect her.

The person’s gaze was on Grint.

"Strange. Just a day ago, the strings of his fate were close to being broken. But today I can’t perceive them. It’s like they are concealed behind something...," she muttered, looking at Grint and the team. When she saw Hex, her eyes narrowed and she mumbled, "Or are they concealed behind someone?"

Hex remained unaware of the person. He did sense, however, others as they exited the town. Some were obvious ones. People gathered to wave to their townsmen and wondered about the strangers between them. But there were some he didn’t see. These people were observing them while remaining hidden.

Hex chose to observe and remain alert to his surroundings.

Despite the carts, the group progressed steadily at a decent speed. Hex rode beside Rose, with Althea on her other side. As they were of similar age, she opened up to them very quickly.

"Three more towns will join us underway to Notreluna, the city where the Governor resides. It became the biggest city in the north after the fall of Notresol.

Together with the other three, we are known as the last quarter of the north."

Hex scrunched his brow when he heard Rose leave it Grindeston. Althea, however, seemed to have expected it. She didn’t show any reaction.

"What about the town in the mountains? I heard some merchants talk about it. They seem pretty open to doing business with them."

Instead of asking Althea later, Hex tried to get the information from Rose whilst gauging the reaction of the others.

Sure enough, Rose’s eyes shot toward the back of her father, who was at the front. Seemingly relieved that he was out of earshot, she signaled them to lean in.

"Don’t mention that town casually. That place was created to keep unwanted elements out of our society but still under the Kingdom’s control."

Hex looked at Althea, who looked pensive. Hestia, who was behind them and listened in, shrugged her shoulders, indicating it was her first time hearing it.

"Are you sure?" Hex asked, showing an appropriate amount of interest. "The merchants never said anything like that."

Rose gave him a proud look and continued. "This was a long time ago. Through the years, combat units, merchants, and wandering Knights went up to them. I heard they had plenty of demon and Fiend crystals."

She looked once more in the direction of her father and uncles, making sure no one was paying attention to her.

"Even we did business with them. Their Knights are strong and help us clear beasts of the forests. But everyone pretends they are wandering Knights doing random missions."

Hex didn’t know how to react to this information. The irony of being considered an outsider by a town that was considered an outsider by the rest of the kingdom wasn’t lost on him.

"Have you ever visited or met anyone from there?" Hex asked.

"No, I have never been there. But I know people there. My grandfather’s little sister married a man from there. My distant cousin came to visit us a few months ago. He was trying to convince my father to openly trade with them."

Hex had a bad premonition but he still asked. "Is he someone in power to try such a thing?"

"Oh yes. They are considered the elite of the elite there. He is of our age and perhaps a Knight now too. His name is Clannad Glaciaborn."