Chapter195

Northeast border of Plumera.

Damon led a group moving quickly through the dense forest toward the border.

The area north of Plumera City belonged to the territory of Regent Martin.

His relationship with the Plumera royal family was complicated. No one knew why he suddenly left the court to go north. His attitude toward Elara and Benedict, the last remaining heirs of the royal bloodline, was unclear.

Damon remembered Elara's words before he left. He avoided the main route to the north border and went straight to the northeast border Elara pointed out.

"Boss! The princess is amazing! We found traces of Gregory and his group! They are by the big river behind the mountain, about to board a boat! That river is the border between Plumera and Periwinkle. If they cross, they'll enter Periwinkle territory and it will be hard to catch them."

"Boss, there are also people from other nations supporting Gregory across the river!"

The other nations were a third-rate country outside Plumera's northeast border. Their power was not small. More importantly, they had a suzerain country.

That suzerain was a second-rate nation, much stronger than the old Belladonna Edelweiss Kingdom used to be.

Damon frowned and increased his speed, rushing like a shadow over the mountain.

...

By the river behind the mountain

Gregory and his wives and children, guarded by over ten experts, reached the boat waiting early by the riverbank.

Once aboard, Gregory finally breathed out, a mocking, proud look flashing in his narrow eyes.

He had not brought the fools from the Zhu, Yan, and Lin families. Using a small trick, he tricked them into tunnels to keep Elara busy, buying time to escape here.

The large amounts of money and supplies he sent here over the years were not given for free.

He secretly engraved many of Plumera's totems. Those wanting to take Plumera's remaining totems must rescue him well.

To guarantee the deal was honored, Gregory memorized all the remaining totems in his mind without any physical record.

This prevented anyone from betraying him after getting what they wanted.

The totems in Gregory's mind were his last card and capital.

In this continent, any secret involving totems could not be refused, even by great nations.

Gregory stepped on the boat's bow, seeing the general of the other nations leading troops to meet him. The rushing river water made him laugh wildly toward the sky.

He admitted he had underestimated Elara badly, leading to this crushing defeat.

But so what?

As long as he had the totems, and could enter the other nations, he could use private assets and their power to rise again.

Just then, the pounding of horse hooves came from the mountain top they crossed.

Gregory turned and saw the cavalry rushing down like a dragon.

His wild smile disappeared instantly as he fixed his gaze on Damon leading the troops.

He remembered this man under Elara was skilled with the bow, killing many of his soldiers.

Gregory and his family quickly hid in the cabin. He ordered the guards rowing the boat:

"Quick, move!"

Elara was far better than he expected. Despite all his cover and delay tactics, she found this place so fast.

His face darkened, but seeing the Periwinkle border only half a river away, a twisted smile appeared.

Gregory's family also hid inside the boat.

Behind Damon, his men slipped down the mountain while drawing their crossbows. When they entered range, they fired.

However, they barely reached shooting range, the boat was too far, and everyone inside hid in the cabin. All arrows were blocked outside.

By the time they reached the riverbank, the boat was almost at the opposite shore.

The wide border river was several hundred meters across.

The general from the other nations waiting across saw Damon and his group chasing and scoffed, not lifting his hand. He used his internal power to send a wave across the river.

"Plumera soldiers, Dayu River now belongs to our nations. Stop here, or it will be an invasion causing big trouble for Plumera."

The general spoke proudly, clearly not taking Damon's group seriously.

Periwinkle, though considered a major among third-tier countries, was far weaker in all aspects than the true third-tier great power, Bluebell. Because it relied on the support of a second-tier country, Periwinkle rarely paid attention to the other surrounding third-tier countries. Especially the Plumera Kingdom, a weak and independent small country without a suzerain to rely on.

Damon stood by the river. Behind him, a few history- and geography-savvy subordinates began angrily cursing.

"Shameless! The Petunia River is clearly the boundary between our Plumera Kingdom and the surrounding countries. It doesn't belong to any one country. Periwinkle is bullying us by claiming the Petunia River as theirs!"

"Exactly! How damn shameless!"

Amid the crowd's cursing, Damon took two steps forward, stepped onto a large rock by the roaring river, and fixed his sharp eyes on the boats already docked on the opposite bank. His inner strength transmitted his voice across the water.

"Periwinkle generals, Gregory and the others on those boats are serious criminals from my Plumera Kingdom. I will capture them and make them face justice."

The Periwinkle generals laughed loudly.

"What they did in your Plumera Kingdom is your business. They committed no crimes here. What does it have to do with us? No, considering Lord Gregory's contributions to Periwinkle over the years, he is our honored guest. As an honored guest, I will personally ensure his protection from any harm."

With that, the Periwinkle general waved his hand carelessly at Damon and the others, with a dismissive gesture like shooing away common street cats and dogs.

"You Plumera generals should return to your own territory. Since Lord Gregory has stepped onto our land, he is one of us. No one may take his life here."

The faces behind Damon showed anger. Damon himself showed no obvious change in expression. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, drew his bowstring, and aimed across the roaring river at the boats several hundred meters away, barely visible to the naked eye.

Gregory was about to come out of the cabin to shore.

The Periwinkle generals watched Damon draw his bow across the river and laughed again, this time with mockery.

"Plumera general, this river is over one and a half li wide. I have never seen anyone shoot an arrow that far. Even if you are unhappy, there is no need for such a pointless display. What's the difference between this and showing off for the crowd?"

In this world, bow technology was not advanced. Even those with great arm strength, skilled in archery, could shoot only about three or four hundred meters. The farther the arrow traveled, the weaker its power.

Now Damon wanted to shoot across more than seven hundred meters of river to kill Gregory. The Periwinkle generals did not believe it. They thought Damon was desperate and about to embarrass himself. They did not even bother to order guards to protect Gregory. They just wanted to watch the joke unfold.

Normally, Damon's archery was top-notch, known for shooting precisely even at a hundred steps. His greatest effective range was only around four to five hundred meters.

But this bow and arrow he carried had been specially redesigned by the eldest princess herself.

Damon ignored the Periwinkle generals' sneers. At the moment Gregory's head appeared from the cabin, Damon released the string with full force. The sharp arrow, carrying the mission order given by Elara and years of accumulated hatred, tore through the air and flew straight toward Gregory.

"Danger! Take cover!"

Damon's arrow flew faster than usual. The Periwinkle generals immediately sensed the deadly power in that shot.

The arrow crossed the river in the blink of an eye.

The Periwinkle generals summoned their inner strength, moving with the speed of a battlefield death match. They barely managed to block the arrow before it hit Gregory's head.

But before they could rejoice, their eyes widened as a second arrow followed immediately behind.

Damon truly had shot two arrows in succession across the entire river.

Such strength was terrifying. Such archery skill was terrifying.

"Stop them!"

The Periwinkle generals no longer mocked but stared at the second arrow with wide eyes.

Gregory carried secrets crucial to their ruler and could not die.

Because they had underestimated the situation, they had not ordered protection early enough. Now the other Periwinkle soldiers around had no time to dodge.

Gregory, used to high status and others' protection, was a weak fighter himself.

In just half a second, the proud Gregory watched the sharp arrow shoot straight toward his forehead. He could not dodge.

Crack—

The sound of bone breaking came with a spray of blood.

In front of all the Periwinkle soldiers, Gregory was pierced through the head by the arrow.

This old villain, who had done evil for many years in the Plumera Kingdom and had just imagined a future using the power he gained by betraying Plumera, died at the moment he thought he had escaped.

Gregory's eyes widened in death, unwilling to accept his fate.

The surrounding Periwinkle generals were shocked by the fatal arrow.

Before they could react, the sound of arrows tearing through the air came again. Several more arrows followed, each shot in pairs.

Gregory's eldest and second sons, shocked by their father's sudden death, also froze as arrows pierced their necks and skulls.

"Cover! Cover!"

Within seconds, the Periwinkle soldiers' key targets died right before their eyes.

The Periwinkle generals were furious.

Only Gregory was the most important, but now he was dead. This meant their mission had completely failed and they would be punished when they returned.

After killing Gregory and his two vile sons who came out of the cabin, the other frightened family members inside did not come out. Damon withdrew his bow and arrows.

"Damon! So powerful!"

"Damon! So mighty!"

The Plumera soldiers, just angered by the Periwinkle generals, now felt relief and loudly praised Damon's name by the river. They wanted to infuriate the enemy even more.

The Periwinkle generals were indeed furious.

They looked at the three bodies blocking the way and felt anger surge through their chest.

"Plumera Kingdom!"

The Periwinkle generals gritted their teeth. After a long moment, they calmed down and stood by the river, staring coldly at the excited Plumera soldiers across the water.

"Plumera! You dare kill our honored guest! We have noted this hatred. When our ruler is free, we will settle this score with you Plumera Kingdom, a hundredfold!"

After speaking, the Periwinkle generals turned with grim faces and led their troops away.

"Take the remaining Gregory family members back to the city!"