After defeating the third epic and the remaining elite soldiers, the enemy army retreated and disappeared. Our victory was celebrated as we returned to the campsite while the king sent a few dozen soldiers to find them.

I had used so much of my ice power that I could no longer produce ice to put on my head. Hiroshi and Shou were also wounded, but their injuries were not major. We won the battle with mostly minor scratches and scrapes, but also with severe back pain.

When we got back to the camp, a dozen horses approached from the south. I could tell they were ours by the kingly armor on the horses. As they approached, it was clear that they had succeeded because almost everyone was unharmed.

Hiroshi, who was standing next to me with his cigar in his mouth, said "Looks like they made it."

"Did you have any doubts?" I asked.

"Not as much as you," he replied. "But ı must admit I was surprised."

"Speaking of surprise, what you did back there was pretty smart. You saved our lives. You're pretty good for an ordinary person. And I never thought I'd say this, but thanks." I said with a smile.

"You're not bad yourself, mate," he said. "You and Shou gave him a hard time. But I'm glad we made it."

"Yeah, me too," I said.

"When you've spoken to the others," he continued, "you'll come to the king's tent. I and Shou will be there. It seems the king has more to say."

Hiroshi and Shou made their way to the king's tent while I waited for Mila and the others to arrive. When the horses entered the campsite, I went to meet them.

Mila got off her horse with excitement and ran straight to me, hugging me tightly. I didn't understand what was happening, but I liked the feeling.

"If I had known you missed me so much, I would have come with you," I said.

"Thank you," she replied. "The bow you gave me was very useful."

"I'm glad to hear it," I said.

As we continued to talk, Babu and Lezlie approached us.

"Lezlie and I had a hard time," Mila said. "But we managed to defeat the winged one.

"And I defeated the first elite soldier by myself," Babu added.

"Sounds like it went pretty well," I said. "Were you injured?"

Babu was pleased with the praise, but his stomach growled. "I'm fine," he said. "But if there's anything to eat, I'll eat it."

Lezlie grabbed Babu from behind and pushed him forwards. "Come on, big bear," she said. "Let's find something to eat."

When they left, Mila and I were alone. I could see that the wound on her hand was hurting her. When I grabbed her hand to take a closer look, Mila blushed and asked me, "Wait, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking at the wound on your hand," I replied.

Mila pulled her hand back. "It's nothing," she said. "Just a scratch."

"Come on," I said. "Let's dress your hand."

Mila was hesitant to go to the infirmary, but she knew the pain wouldn't go away easily. So she followed me as I led the way. When we arrived at the infirmary, I applied a medicinal herb to her hand and began wrapping the wound with a bandage. As I worked, we talked.

"Tell me," I said. "How was your war?"

"It was very tiring and difficult," she replied. "But as you can see, we're still alive."

"Following your advice," she continued. "I attacked Winged from behind. That's how we defeated him."

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"War is not won by strength," I said. "It's won by strategy. Especially after what we've been through today. And I'm sure you understand that."

Mila understood what I meant because she had seen what her friends could do before.

"Yes," she said. "I understand you very well."

"I'm glad we get along well," I said. "Otherwise how could we be lovers…"

Mila looked at me, surprised. "Lovers?"

She knew I was joking and tapped me on the shoulder. I pretended to be hurt. "That hurt," I said. "But you don't do that to your future husband."

Mila laughed and replied, "You're so mean."

I was teasing her out of spite, but I enjoyed it as much as she did.

"You're beautiful too," I said.

Mila and I were having a good time until a knight came up to us. "The king is waiting for you in his tent," Knight said. "He's called an urgent meeting."

I had completely forgotten that the king was waiting for us. So we quickly finished bandaging Mila's hand and headed towards the king's tent.

As we made our way to the tent, we saw the soldiers gathering around. For some reason, despite their victory, they were in a hurry. Apparently, the battle was not over yet.

It was difficult to make a guess until I entered the tent, but I could guess what the soldiers were preparing for.

After the battle, we gathered in the king's tent to discuss our next plan. This time, Rose, one of the paladins of the Third King, joined us.

Rose had been rescued by Ryuu and the king was ready to speak. "I can't thank you enough on behalf of everyone in my kingdom for what you've done today," he said. "Not only did you save my paladin by ending the reign of the third epic, but you also saved my people. Unfortunately, we now have a big problem that could trouble an entire kingdom."

We all knew who the king was talking about but remained silent as he continued.

"As you know," he said. "The third epic has been working for the fourth epic, gathering soldiers and ammunition for him. We were sure that the fourth epic would attack us one day, but we weren't sure when. Now that he hears that the third has been defeated, which I'm sure will reach his ears soon, he will send his entire army here to my kingdom. Then he will continue his conquests and attack my brothers to prevent such a thing from happening again."

Ryuu stepped forward. "What do you suggest we do?" he asked.

"As I said before the battle," the king replied. "I suggest we bring the battle to him before he brings his fourth epic army here. Otherwise, we will suffer many casualties."

Hiroshi took a puff of smoke from his cigar and asked his own question. "Can bringing the war to his land win us the war?"

After Hiroshi's question, Shou joined the conversation. "I have seen the castle of the Fourth," he said. "He and the king rule in one castle. But it's no ordinary castle. Its walls cannot be destroyed from the inside or the outside. But it will take a few weeks."

Babu responded to Shou's words. "A few weeks?" he said. "We'll be dead before we get past the castle…"

"Besides," he continued. "His army has the most soldiers among the kingdoms. The org lineage takes orders from them. So much so that if you add the three kingdoms together, we would still be incomplete."

Lezlie spoke up, sounding uneasy. "That would be suicide."

The King rejoined the conversation and was about to share some important information with us. "I realize the situation seems impossible, but we have a plan. Some of my soldiers have contacted a group of rebels from the fourth kingdom, and they have agreed to help us in battle," he said.

"Rebel faction?" I asked.

"It's more than just a group; it's an army. The rebels come from all kinds of bloodlines and are very strong and skilled. They live in secret, so not many people know about them. However, they know a lot about the Fourth Epic and its lands. Karina's grandfather personally makes their weapons; he's a very skilled man," the King explained.

I had seen the monster before, but I still wanted to ask about it because it had the power to almost destroy a kingdom. "What about the monster of the epic?" I asked.

"The rebels say there is a way to defeat the beast, but we haven't been able to find out what it is. We haven't been able to communicate with them for almost two weeks due to natural reasons," the King replied.

"How do we get the enemy out of the fortress, which is almost impossible to destroy?" I asked.

"We don't. We wait. My nephew is very smart and strong. After his father Yores, he was the only one to control the king's power. He'll understand that we're coming and that we don't want to attack the castle. But he knows that if he wants to defeat us, he must fight back," the King explained.

"So the faster, the better," Hiroshi said.

"That's right. He knows that the best way to secure his victory is to fight back early. When he thinks like that, he'll come for us wherever the battle is," the King concluded.

Ryuu asked the King for more specific instructions. "What is our mission?" he asked.

"Before the battle begins, you will meet with the rebels. Give them the coordinates of the meeting and learn how to defeat the beast. Meanwhile, I will prepare for battle with my army and spread the word to see if we can find any other help. We'll also wait for my brothers," the King explained.

"What if they attack your brothers?" Ryuu asked.

"Don't worry. My two best paladins are with them, keeping an eye on them. I don't think the enemy will have time to catch up," the King reassured us.

"How can we reach the fourth kingdom quickly and smoothly? Our flying ship is at the very beginning of the kingdom. Who knows how long it will take to reach it," Babu said.

"My soldiers found your flying ship a week ago. It seems you didn't hide it very well. But don't worry; on my orders, they moved it to a port in the south. It's quite close to here," the King informed us.

Ryuu, as the leader of our team, conveyed our collective response to the King. "Then our goal is clear. We're going to the fourth kingdom without wasting any time."