Chapter 468: The Orion Troupe’s Arrival

Several hours before Otto, Astravor, and Gundar attacked the Aurelion Army’s camp...

Leone, his vassals, and Oisin went to check the caravan headed for Grimjaw Mountain.

Although the caravan was still far away, one could spot them from a distance. They were painted brightly, as if to make sure people would see them easily.

"It really is them," Oisin said with a smile, looking at them from the back of a Pteranodon in the air. "That’s the Orion Troupe."

Leone, whose mount hovered right next to Oisin’s, glanced at the caravan with great expectations.

Last month, his great grandfather said that he would be sending capable people to him. However, the old man didn’t mention what kind of people they were.

According to Oisin, the Orion Troupe was composed of minstrels who traveled across the different kingdoms, performing in front of various crowds and other important people.

They were so famous in the Radiant Empire that whenever a festival was about to take place in a territory within that domain, the Orion Troupe would almost always be there.

The nobles would immediately send an invitation to the Orion Troupe, offering a good sum of money in order to see a performance that would become the highlight of that festival.

However, according to Oisin, they weren’t just a bunch of performers.

They were also part of his great-grandfather’s secret forces.

"I’ll go on ahead, Leone," Oisin said. "It is better that I meet them first, lest they think we’re some kind of bandit group hunting them down."

"Very well," Leone replied.

Although he didn’t know if there were any bandits on the continent that actually rode on flying monsters to raid merchant groups, he decided to let Oisin handle the greetings to avoid any misunderstandings.

Slowing their flight speed, Leone and his people landed five minutes after Oisin had made contact with the group.

"Greetings, Sir Leone." A man wearing a colorful dress bowed respectfully. "My name is Hyacinthe. I am the leader of the Orion Troupe. It is my great pleasure to meet you, My Lord."

The minstrel made an exaggerated bow toward the young man, making Leone like him in an instant.

Even Blitz decided to mimic it, finding it quite amusing.

"I see a mountain over there," Hyacinthe pointed in the direction of Grimjaw Mountain. "Is that perhaps your domain, My Lord?"

"Yes. It is my domain." Leone nodded. "We have come to escort you back to our city."

"Oh, splendid." Hyacinthe patted his chest. "We’ve been traveling for a month. Since there are no paved roads in these lands, the travel has been simply terrible. My people are exhausted. If I am not being too presumptuous, is it possible for you, My Lord, to give us some decent accommodations?"

"Worry not, Sir Hyachinthe," Leone answered. "There are plenty of places where you and your troupe can rest comfortably within Aslan City."

"I am truly grateful for your hospitality, My Lord." Hyacinthe smiled politely.

Frankly, the leader of the minstrels didn’t have too high an expectation of the accommodations that they would receive from the barbarians.

They had been in the territory of the Barbarian King of the West before. And frankly, their infrastructure was too simple and rugged in Hyacinthe’s eyes.

As a group that traveled across the Radiant Empire, he was already dreading the thought of seeing a rugged barbarian city filled with infrastructure made from mud, bones, and monster hide.

Still, he didn’t let his disappointment show on his face as he followed behind Leone’s group with a smile.

He wasn’t too impressed by the Pteranodons. After all, in the Radiant Empire, their elite knights rode on Pegasi.

Actually, when he saw Leone riding on a Pegasus, Hyacinthe believed that his Master, Lugh, had sent his great-grandson a gift.

And upon close inspection, he had to admit that the Pegasus looked well cared for.

Hyacinthe wasn’t the only one who had very low expectations of what they would see in Leone’s city.

Some of them even felt disappointed at the thought of their Master sending them on a mission out in the sticks, far away from "civilized" society.

Just like everyone else, they referred to the barbarians as savages, people who only wore clothes made from monster hides and used bones as accessories.

However, an hour later, when they saw the towering city walls appear in the distance, a look of confusion appeared on their faces.

At first, they thought they were only imagining things. But as they drew nearer, they realized that their eyes hadn’t deceived them.

Banners fluttered along the ramparts of the city walls, and they were none other than the insignia of the Aslan Tribe.

A golden lion roaring toward the sky was embedded on a blue flag.

The massive gates slowly swung open, which made the minstrels wonder what kind of scenery they would see inside.

The gate was twenty meters tall and fifteen meters wide.

A giant could easily pass through it, making them wonder how the barbarians had managed to build such a thing.

When the caravan finally entered the city, Hyacinthe couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

"By the Goddess..." Hyacinthe looked at the majestic city in front of him.

The most striking sight was the giant statue at the center of the city, standing at least a hundred meters tall.

The leader of the Orion Troupe and his men had seen many statues of deities. However, they had never seen this statue before.

"My Lord Leone, pray tell. Who is the person depicted by that statue?" Hyacinthe asked. "Is she perhaps a deity of these lands?"

"She is the Earth Mother," Leone replied. "She is the Goddess that the barbarians worship."

"The Earth Mother..." Hyacinthe muttered these words thoughtfully.

Of course he had heard about the Earth Mother. The barbarians in the west worshiped the same goddess. However, they didn’t build a statue of her and simply made offerings on an altar dedicated to her.

As the caravan followed behind Leone, the more they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

"My Lord, how old is this city?" Hyacinthe urged his horse to move closer to Leone and asked him this question. "This must have taken many years to build. A decade, perhaps two even."

"How old?" Leone pondered a bit. "I think it’s a little over a month old."

"Pardon?" Hyacinthe blinked in confusion. "A little over a month? I didn’t know that My Lord liked to tease people."

Leone understood that Hyacinthe’s reaction was very normal.

Even with magic, the capital city of the Kingdom of Britannia took several years to build. Still, Leone didn’t plan on lying.

"Whether you believe it or not, that’s up to you," Leone said. "You’ll soon understand that I didn’t tell a single lie."

After nearly half an hour of traveling, they finally arrived at the district that belonged to the Bonegnash Tribe, which was managed by Brent.

Since there were countless unoccupied houses in this district, Leone decided to let the Orion Troupe stay here for the time being.

"You can choose any of the houses here to serve as your accommodation." Leone pointed at the houses lining up the street. "There is an open area over there, as well as a stable where you can tend your horses.

"Since all of you are tired from your journey, please rest for now. We will hold a welcoming ceremony for you tomorrow afternoon. If you need anything else, please ask the warriors I will assign here to serve as your guides. They can help you tour around the city if you wish to better understand the surroundings."

"Thank you very much, My Lord," Hyacinthe, who was still trying to understand how a city like this could be built in the Borderlands, replied with a smile.

"We will also prepare some dinner for all of you, so please, look forward to it," Leone added before bidding his goodbye.

A moment later, Arion took off to fly toward the mountain. He still had to organize the information Daedalus had prepared for him.

Earlier, the grimoire had used its powers to check all the status pages of the members of the Orion Troupe.

Leone had yet to see it, as he had been too busy chatting with Hyacinthe earlier.

The young man already looked forward to seeing what kind of people his great-grandfather had sent him. Would they really be useful in the war against the Aurelion Army?

Five minutes after Leone had left, Hyacinthe looked around at the house he had picked for himself.

While it wasn’t as luxurious as the noble houses in the Radiant Empire, it was clean, spacious, and very comfortable.

In fact, Hyacinthe believed that if he wanted to retire from his job, a house like this would be perfect for him.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door.

The moment he opened it, he saw Oisin right away.

Without even saying anything in reply, Hyacinthe opened the door wide, allowing the bard to enter without any resistance.

The two of them had many things to talk about, mainly about Leone, whom Hyacinthe was very curious about.

And since the two of them both worked for the young man’s great-grandfather, there were pieces of information that were privy to the two of them.