37. Rushing to the Aid of the Elven Royal City

On this day, as Mo Fei and his companions were preparing to bid farewell to Cain and the others, the alarm bell suddenly rang out sharply. From the watchtower atop the mountain came the warning of an enemy attack. Instantly, the city guards took their positions. In a flash, the gates closed, and the giant crossbows atop the walls were aimed outward.

Mo Fei and his group hurried up to the battlements, eager to see who dared provoke the City of Death in these times. The plains beyond were perfect for heavy cavalry charges—otherwise Mo Fei would never have bothered to build such a formidable cavalry force.

At that moment, the armored beast cavalry lined up behind the city gates, ready to surge forth like a tide should the gates open.

“What’s going on? Their numbers are only a few hundred at most,” Mo Fei remarked, puzzled as he watched the approaching cavalry.

“They don’t seem to be troublemakers, but why are they in such a rush?” Cain was equally perplexed.

“They’re elves, Lord,” Cain said, having recognized the riders.

“Elves?” Mo Fei mused. Could something have happened to the elves? He hadn’t forgotten the alliance treaty he’d made with them.

“Order ten thousand heavy cavalry to go out and receive them,” Mo Fei commanded.

The city gates creaked open at his order. The summoned heavy cavalry poured out like a black torrent to meet the few hundred riders.

Stopping at a distance just beyond arrow range, the ten thousand heavy cavalry parted, leaving a central passage.

When the elven cavalry finally reached the heavy cavalry lines, their beasts collapsed with exhaustion.

“Take me to your Lord at once! I am Princess Eileen of the Elven Kingdom!” a female elven archer shouted, scrambling to her feet.

“You’re Eileen?” Mo Fei stepped outside the gates.

“Brother, please save my mother!” Eileen threw herself into Mo Fei’s arms, sobbing. When they first met in Mist City, she had been a little girl; now, two or three years later, she had grown taller and more beautiful. Then, as now, she called Mo Fei “big brother.”

“Eileen, tell me slowly. Don’t worry, I will help you,” Mo Fei soothed her.

After drinking some water, Eileen wept, “The Third Prince of the Goldstone Empire brought his men to surround our kingdom, demanding my mother hand me over, or he’ll destroy the Elven Kingdom.”

“What happened?” Mo Fei couldn’t make sense of it.

“Three months ago, I visited the Goldstone Empire. Not long after my return, the Third Prince sent word to my mother that he wanted to make me his consort. My mother asked if I was willing, but I didn’t like him at all and refused. Mother declined him, so he brought his troops to attack us. Normally, he couldn’t breach our kingdom, but a traitor among us elves guided them. They broke into our sacred grounds, catching us off guard. Now my mother is trapped in the royal city, and I fought my way out with these riders to find you, Brother.”

At this, the elven princess broke into sobs, “Brother, please hurry and help my mother, quickly!”

“I’ll go at once, but your people…” Mo Fei glanced at the exhausted elves.

“Lord, we’re fine. Just give us new mounts and we’ll still be warriors of the Elven Kingdom.”

“Very well.” Mo Fei turned to Cain. “Cain, I’ll take ten thousand heavy cavalry to aid the Elven Kingdom. Get these warriors fresh mounts—we leave immediately.”

“Lord, shouldn’t we first ask the princess? I believe their royal city is deep in the forest. Can our heavy cavalry enter?” Cain asked.

“We can, as long as elves lead the way. Otherwise, we’d never get in,” Eileen interjected.

With arrangements made, Mo Fei cast an apologetic glance at Vivian. This sudden mission to aid the Elven Kingdom was fraught with danger; he couldn’t bring Vivian along.

Eileen, observing Mo Fei’s gentle manner with Vivian, inquired with Cain and learned that this beautiful woman was a princess of the Dragonrock Empire and Mo Fei’s wife. For reasons she couldn’t explain, Eileen felt a pang of loss, though worry for her mother and her kingdom soon overshadowed it.

Once mounted, the elven cavalry led the way, and Eileen insisted on riding with Mo Fei. Unable to refuse, Mo Fei held her in his arms under Vivian’s curious gaze.

The saddle was meant for one, but Eileen remarked, “I rode a beast for a day and a half just to see you sooner, Brother. I would have collapsed otherwise, so I can’t sit by myself now.” Mo Fei had no choice but to cradle her on the beast’s back.

In no time, the massive cavalry force disappeared over the plains. The beasts trained by the City of Death’s dwarven beastmasters were far superior in size, speed, and endurance to the continent’s usual mounts. These giant beasts were rare enough, and training them as cavalry mounts was even harder.

After a day’s ride, guided by the elven warriors, Mo Fei’s ten thousand cavalry arrived behind the invading force before the Third Prince of Goldstone could break the Elven Royal City. The city was on the verge of collapse, and Goldstone’s army, focused on the siege, failed to notice Mo Fei’s cavalry closing in from the rear.

Mo Fei, holding the princess, surveyed the scene with a smile. The arrogant prince had over a hundred mages casting spells at the city walls without any guards, oblivious to the death that now shadowed their backs.

“Captain,” Mo Fei summoned the cavalry captain. “Charge straight in and wipe them out. I want none spared. We’re allied with the elven queen, and if we let them live, I’ll have a hard time facing her!”

“You mean your future mother-in-law?” the captain joked, leaving Mo Fei embarrassed. Eileen, nestled in Mo Fei’s arms, blushed. During that month in Mist City, Mo Fei’s presence had left an indelible mark on the princess’s heart. No wonder she clung to him, refusing to let go.

Mo Fei felt troubled. In the past, he might not have cared, but now, having married Vivian, how could he bring himself to let Eileen down? Mo Fei’s thinking was still quite conservative. Yet to his berserker cavalry, their lord was the finest man on the continent—what harm in marrying two princesses?

“Rest assured, Lord, we won’t spare any who dare harm our allies,” the captain said, returning to his troops. Soon, the ten thousand heavy cavalry, crossbows loaded, flowed out of the woods like water. At a sharp whistle, they surged forward like a flood. The mages, startled by the thunderous roar behind them, turned to see the black torrent only an arrow’s flight away.

Before they could react, a storm of arrows struck. The hundred-plus mages fell dead. The Third Prince had brought nearly thirty thousand soldiers, losing several thousand in the siege; without the mages, losses would have been greater. Now, as he was about to conquer the Elven Kingdom, he watched in horror as his troops were swept aside like grass by the black flood. Before his guards could respond, the cavalry were upon them. The beast-mounted riders, exuding death, unleashed their crossbows, mercilessly harvesting his soldiers.

He barely got a word out before darkness fell and a thick crossbow bolt pierced his brow.

“It’s the princess—she brought reinforcements!” the elven archers on the wall cried. Yet, the princess seemed to be in a man’s arms—was she injured? Who was he?

It didn’t matter; surely he was her beloved, or she wouldn’t let him hold her.

Despair had gripped the defending elves, but the arrival of the black cavalry made their arrows fly truer and sharper, freed from the interference of the mages, each shaft mercilessly reaping enemy lives.

“Thank you, Brother,” Eileen whispered softly in Mo Fei’s arms.

“We’re friends. Besides, our kingdoms are allied. Helping you is my duty. If the City of Death ever faces trouble, I trust the elves will come to our aid as well, won’t they?”

“Of course,” Eileen replied with a smile. “Brother, why is your city called the City of Death? It sounds awful, but it’s really intimidating.”

“That’s a story for later. Look, your mother is coming. Aren’t you going to go down?” Mo Fei pointed to a crowned, scepter-bearing elven woman ascending the battlements—the elven queen.

“I can’t walk. You have to carry me, Brother,” Eileen pouted. “Are you afraid my mother will see? I’m not!”

Since she refused to get down, Mo Fei had no choice but to keep holding her. The elven queen, though never having met Mo Fei, saw that he had saved her daughter and, honoring their alliance, had brought reinforcements to rescue the royal city. The more she looked, the more she approved of him.

“Lord,” the cavalry captain reported, “aside from those who fled into the forest, whom we can’t pursue, all others are dealt with.”

“Luther, take your men and hunt them down. Don’t let any of them leave the forest,” Eileen quickly told the elven captain beside her.

In the forest, the elves reigned supreme. Without a traitor to guide them, the prince, even with thrice as many soldiers, could never have reached the city walls. Soon, Luther led a squad off their mounts and vanished into the woods.

“Let’s enter the city. Your mother is waiting,” Mo Fei said to Eileen.

“Yes, let’s go in. You have to carry me, remember—I really can’t walk!” Eileen clung to him.

Mo Fei could only smile wryly. He ordered the cavalry captain to stand guard outside, then jumped down from the beast, still carrying Eileen in his arms as he strode toward the palace, just as he had held her atop the beast.