Sailor Pes pointed at the castle gate. "Besides guarding the border, you may also have to fight in the scorching sun country. To help you quickly familiarize yourself with the situation there, I have found a very good guide for you."
Xiao Xun followed the Empress's gaze and saw Duke Dukar of the scorching sun country.
Dukar saluted Sailor Pes. "Your Majesty."
Then he saluted Xiao Xun again. "Lord Svein, I hope for your guidance."
Xiao Xun felt as much aversion to the man in front of him as he did to Horton, but considering that the other party had also suffered a great disaster, he did not wish to dwell on it.
Xiao Xun nodded expressionlessly. "Guidance is too much to say. I am merely honored by Your Majesty's trust."
Sailor Pes told Xiao Xun that Vincent had been seriously injured and would rush to the front lines to support him as quickly as he recovered. Also, Saint Romani and the beast race were now allied, exchanging intelligence and complementing each other's resources.
Xiao Xun's black military uniform was sewn by eight of the nation's best tailors, each responsible for a part, and then pieced together. Even the buttons on the uniform were made of pure gold.
When he changed into the smart military uniform, holding the sword at his waist with his left hand, he looked sideways at the Empress. "Your Majesty, could you have your court painter paint a portrait for me?"
"Time is tight and the mission is important. You are scheduled to depart in two hours. When you return victorious, I will have Saint Romani's best painter create a portrait for you."
Xiao Xun nodded helplessly. "Alright then!"
A grand banquet was held in the evening to bid farewell to Xiao Xun, but he had no appetite.
Suddenly, he remembered a very important question and turned to ask Baiyang behind him, "Does your space magic have a distance limit? If you reach the border, can you still return to the Twelve Palaces of Time at the same speed to bring them all here?"
Baiyang shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't be that fast."
Hearing Baiyang say that, Xiao Xun directly asked Baiyang to bring the remaining eleven people over. With these twelve apostles, he could sleep soundly at night.
Before they departed, Empress Sailor Pes instructed Xiao Xun, "Send a letter every three days to Baiyang, to be given to me by him."
Xiao Xun nodded. "Understood."
It was his first time riding a dragon, and he was going to war in a faraway land. He felt both excited and nervous.
Just as Xiao Xun was commanding the army to depart, Sailor Pes called him back and, in full view of everyone, gave him a hug.
"I'll wait for your return. Win or lose, I want you to come back alive."
Xiao Xun clearly saw the Empress's eyes redden. He gently patted her back. "Don't worry, with these twelve here, I'll be fine."
In fact, this was Xiao Xun's way of reassuring her, and also a form of self-comfort. After all, the High Priest, a great archmage of space, had still died at the hands of the enemy. How could these twelve resist the advent of natural disasters?
The army officially departed. Xiao Xun rode directly on the back of the two-headed dragon. It took him quite some effort to get on, and Baiyang finally helped him up.
Xiao Xun spread the sable fur cloak beneath him like a cushion. The dragon's back was very spacious. He lay on it, legs crossed, looking up at the starry sky.
He had only seen such a sight in his childhood in his previous world. Since moving to the big city, he had never seen it again.
Sailor Pes told him that they had to reach a main city called Tjejeco before dawn. The lord there was Duke Sancho, one of Saint Romani's six dukes, and she had already informed him in advance.
The starry sky above seemed to have a hypnotic effect, and soon, Xiao Xun fell asleep.
When he woke up again, he was awakened by the cold wind.
"Achoo~"
Having already been chilled significantly yesterday, and now being blown by the cold wind, Xiao Xun felt like he had caught a cold again.
He stood up and draped the cloak over himself.
Without any preamble, he loudly asked the person beside him, "What time is it?"
Baiyang said loudly, "Four o'clock."
After speaking, he used space magic to hand a mechanical pocket watch to Xiao Xun.
Xiao Xun looked at the exquisite mechanical watch that had been teleported into his hand. He fixed the winding end of the watch to his button and put it in his inner pocket, thinking, "It would be great if this were a wristwatch; it would be more convenient to look at."
He did not know that watches existed in this world, but wearing them was not suitable for mages casting spells, and they were not aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, watches were generally worn by shopkeepers. People of status wore pocket watches.
These intricate mechanical watches were invented and produced by the gnome race, and solely from these watches, the gnome race earned a fortune.
Tjejeco was the largest main city on the southern route, and its territory spanned a thousand miles under the rule of Duke Sancho.
The south was rich in basins, with a pleasant climate and affluent people.
Although Duke Sancho was so wealthy, he was also famously stingy. Some had even seen his pajamas with patches.
This was very rare in the prosperous Saint Romani. Even commoners no longer wore patched clothes. It was truly unfathomable for a duke to do such a thing.
Every time Sailor Pes mentioned him, she felt a headache, saying he had disgraced the Glory Family.
However, it had to be said that Duke Sancho was a competent lord. The territory under his jurisdiction was extremely fertile, with beautiful residences and tall buildings everywhere.
This was entirely at his own expense for the happiness of others, which was truly moving.
The sky gradually brightened. The vanguard officer galloped forward on his horse. "Lord Svein, Tjejeco is ahead. Duke Sancho, along with all the citizens of the city, is lined up to welcome you."
Xiao Xun thought, "This Sancho is quite sensible," and then ordered the Phoenix Army to speed up their march.
Finally, just before noon, Xiao Xun's Phoenix Army arrived outside the city of Tjejeco.
According to regulations, armies from outside a territory were not allowed to enter the city, so the Phoenix Army camped outside.
Xiao Xun dismounted from the two-headed dragon and slowly walked towards the welcoming crowd. It wasn't that he didn't want to walk faster, but his legs were numb from sitting.
Duke Sancho was very short, only reaching Xiao Xun's chest, a head shorter than Empress Sailor Pes even without her shoes on, let alone the much taller Horton.
Being short was one thing, but he was also fat. His belly was like it was holding a 'basketball'.
Xiao Xun thought, "If this person weren't from the Glory Family, let alone a duke, he'd probably have trouble marrying and having children."
Duke Sancho very enthusiastically stepped forward and shook Xiao Xun's hand, his face crinkling up as he smiled, looking like a steamed bun. "You must be Lord Svein! Your reputation as a peerless strategician has reached my ears like thunder!"
After speaking a few more words, Duke Sancho was sweating profusely, and his voice was weak, even more so than Xiao Xun's when he had a cold.
Xiao Xun smiled politely. "I often hear Your Majesty mention Duke Sancho's name as well."
Duke Sancho laughed heartily. "Hahaha, if she mentions my name, it's probably not for anything good."
This man had self-awareness, but his mind didn't seem very sharp. Even if he wanted to say something like that, he shouldn't say it in front of all the citizens, right?
The two got into a carriage and headed towards the ducal castle.
This time, Xiao Xun entered the city with only the Twelve Apostles.
Upon arriving at the castle, Duke Sancho had already instructed the butler to prepare a grand lunch.
Unlike the capital of Saint Romani, such a sumptuous lunch was only for Duke Sancho's family and Xiao Xun, the guest. No one else was present, and there were no violins.
Duke Sancho introduced his wife, his two sons, and three daughters to Xiao Xun.
The two sons had inherited Duke Sancho's height and did not appear tall, but they were a little taller than Duke Sancho and were quite robust.
The three daughters were quite tall, but they had quite a few freckles on their faces, and one even had buck teeth.
Moreover, the five children clearly resembled Duke Sancho and his wife, with very prominent features.
Duke Sancho's territory was larger than surrounding small countries, and the land was fertile with abundant grain production and heavy trade. It was rumored that beneath Duke Sancho's castle was a secret room containing a small gold mountain.
Xiao Xun had only heard of Duke Sancho's stinginess before, but seeing such a rich meal today, he felt that the rumors might not be true.
It was just that the table seemed a little unstable, always feeling shaky, as if it might tip over at any moment.
Xiao Xun began to eat without reservation. The dishes here tasted almost the same as those in the capital, and some even tasted worse.
He even wondered how Duke Sancho had managed to eat himself into his current state.
After only a few bites, Xiao Xun noticed something was wrong. The entire family was almost entirely looking at him, and apart from drinking the soup in front of them, they weren't eating the dishes on the table at all.