The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 65

When they were stuck at the Koemong River, it was Poliana who found the solution that led them to victory. It was partly luck too, but her idea was essential.

The knights in the tent remained quiet, not knowing what to say. Then finally, Sir Ainno offered, “Your highness, I will ride to the enemy base myself.”

“Suicide isn’t the answer I was looking for.”

Sir Ainno wasn’t stupid but sometimes, he said the oddest thing. Lucius the First and the other knights ignored his comment, but Sir Ainno refused to give up.

“Your highness, Sir Bentier and I will ride out to the enemy base and behead their highest-ranking knight. This will end this situation.”

“Now you are saying you want Sir Bentier to commit suicide too, Inno?” Lucius the First became frustrated as he added, “If you say something so stupid one more time, I will kick you out right now.”

Sir Bentier, who glared at Sir Ainno, murmured, “Your highness…”

Everyone turned towards him as he continued, “We don’t know anything about the Msmel forest, which means that we need to explore it.”

“Don’t you think that is too dangerous?”

No Acreians have gone into the forest to study it. All they knew came from the information provided by the people of Bikpa. They were strongly warned not to go into the forest.

There were many rumors going around concerning the forest. Some claimed that a woodcutter went in only to disappear. Only his ax was found. One Oz citizen got lost and was found dead six months later in Mongsheim. His corpse was apparently left in horrible shape.

The funniest rumor Lucius the First heard was about a dragon. Some people in the mid-continent believed that a dragon lived in the forest. It was ridiculous.

But one thing was certain; the forest was undoubtedly dangerous. Even the soldiers of the confederation didn’t venture too deep into Msmel. Sir Bentier then answered, “As you know, your highness, we, the Acreians, are hunters. For generations, our people have been good friends of the forest.”

“But Msmel forest isn’t familiar to any of us. I wouldn’t call it a friend.”

“I will make it my friend very soon.”

The other knights smiled secretly. They knew Sir Bentier was too serious to have many friends at all. Poliana was the only one who didn’t smirk.

Lucius the First murmured, “Hmm… But just simply exploring it wouldn’t be fun…”

After discussing with Sir Baufallo, Lucius the First announced that hunting was now allowed. The best hunters were selected to go out hunting and explore the forest at the same time.

The first time they went inside the forest, they were lost and returned very late. Afterward, there were days when a search party had to be sent to find the hunters, but overall, the exploration went smoothly. Unfortunately, they walked into their enemies a few times, but they still returned safely.

In the end, the exploration team’s findings were unhelpful. Inside the Msmel forest, there were various marshes and wetlands. The Acreian soldiers were so sick of the Koemong River that they flinched when they saw the wetlands.

These swamps were different from the riverbanks, however. The marshes were made of rotten tree branches, dirt, and leaves over a very long time. A fine yet thick moss-covered these areas, and more trees grew on top of them. Adding to the fact that it was darker in the forest, it was very hard to tell which areas were swamps and which were firm lands.

The forest was also thick with old trees. Without a compass, it was impossible to tell the directions. The scary thing was that there were places within the forest where the compass didn’t work. It must’ve been like this because certain areas had high metal contents in the soil.

But the scout team did find out one thing for certain. They found the identity of the supposed dragon.

An alligator.

It was an alligator living in one of the swamps. The Acreian soldiers, who have never seen an alligator before, ran away screaming. But eventually, the soldiers were able to catch it alive and bring it back to Lucius the First, who looked shocked.

“So it looks like a dragon, but it’s not?”

“It’s called an alligator, your highness.”

“Hmm… What horrible teeth. I can see that it could probably kill all of us very easily if given a chance. And you found this in the forest just crawling around? Well, I guess we better give up on crossing the Msmel forest then.”

The alligator was given to the supply division to be studied. Sir Baufallo ordered his men to find out if the alligator was edible. The men asked the locals and it turned out that once the skin was removed, its meat could be eaten. Still suspicious and ever-so careful, Sir Baufallo ordered to throw away the blood and make sure to cook the meat thoroughly.

The soldiers became excited at the prospect of trying a type of meat they’ve never tasted before. The alligator hide was given to Lucius the First, but he wasn’t interested.

“I like the bear and tiger hides, but reptile skin…. I’m not into it.”

In fact, Lucius the First disliked any kind of reptiles, but he was curious about what it would taste like. He tried a small piece just to see and Poliana did the same. She thought it was ok, but she wouldn’t want to eat it again.

The Acreians were skilled at hunting bears, but certainly not alligators. It took them a very long time to hunt the alligator and they realized it was a huge waste of time. They certainly had better things to do.

The attempt to cross Msmel forest as a military strategy was no longer viable. At least, Lucius the First didn’t have high expectations regarding this plan, so he wasn’t overly disappointed. At least, they found out the identity of the dragon.

The alligator hide eventually ended up in Sir Rabi’s hands. Sir Rabi sewed it up into a dog coat and made his dog wear it. When the mutt ran around the base in the alligator hide, the unsuspecting soldiers jumped in fear, making Sir Rabi laugh.

The soldiers were ordered to stop exploring the forest, but hunting was still allowed. It became an enjoyable activity for the men while the battles continued. The animals they hunted weren’t enough for everyone to eat, but the soldiers still enjoyed it.

Then one day, Sir Rabi captured a live fawn. When Poliana found out, she began to salivate.

“Let’s roast it!”

“Sis! You are such a barbarian!”

“What? What are you talking about, Donau? It was you who introduced me to deer meat!”

The other soldiers also glared at her angrily. How dare they! These Acreian men were notorious for roasting and eating anything they could find! Feeling annoyed, Poliana went to Sir Rabi himself. She was going to convince him that a roasted fawn would be a great meal for a drinking party.

Only

But when she found him, Poliana learned that Sir Rabi was in love with the fawn. He was a father of young children, who lived in Acreia, and the fawn apparently reminded him of his own children.

“Oh, Sir Pol, did you come to see my fawn? Look at her! She is so adorable!”

“But… Sir Rabi, it’s just a deer.”

“Yes, and she is so different and cute!”

‘Well… because it’s a southern deer…’

In the northern region, the winter deers were huge with large horns. The deer in the middle and the southern continent was much more delicate. The fawn did look cute as it trembled. It must’ve been cold.

“It looks delicious,” Poliana replied honestly.

What Sir Rabi said to her next was very unexpected.