RE - Ascension

Six days later, Gareth and his team finally reached the border which separated both Genosia and Eternal Fragrance.

They quickly crossed the border without any hindrance and made their way into a town called, Florent, just a few kilometers north of the border.

Florent was basically a huge border town, with a relatively large population. Because this town served as the entry point to Eternal Fragrance from the rest of Lampero, many merchants, caravan, and travelers were gathering here before continuing their journey elsewhere.

Most of them were camping just outside the town's wall as there weren't enough available space that could accommodate them inside the town.

And since the town's authority put enormous importance on those people's security, they were safe under the protection of the town's soldiers, even though they were placed outside the wall.

Overall, Florent was more or less orderly, lively and energetic.

Based on Gareth's observation, the kingdom of Eternal Fragrance was certainly unique compared to the rest of Lampero Coast. The kingdom's social structure and its people's way of life were vastly different.

Eternal Fragrance's government system was a monarchy, and only a female ruler dubbed as the queen could rule as head of the state.

Throughout the kingdom, the status of women was significantly higher than anywhere else. Women of Eternal Fragrance were able to enjoyed a high degree of freedom and able to contribute more to society. They could hold and inherited properties without gender restriction or discrimination, and many professions or jobs were available to them.

Due to these factors, women nearly dominated much of the kingdom's social structure. For example, according to Siri's intel, almost 70% of Eternal Fragrance's government position was occupied by women. Even in their military, women also occupied most of the important posts.

However, this doesn't mean the men did not have any status or they were being discriminated at all. There were still lots of men who held the kingdom's government or military positions. It just that the society here slightly favored women over men, but not too overly.

Eternal Fragrance has a deeper foundation than its two neighbors. The kingdom was founded almost 600 years ago by a powerful female Martial Saint named, Milena.

Not many people knew her history. Most of the stories about Saint Milena only told that she suddenly appeared from out of the blue, and started gathering followers before waging a campaign to conquer all of Lampero.

In the end, Saint Milena merely succeeded conquering half of the region. But she was able to create a kingdom, which has become the most powerful kingdom in the region.

However, from Siri's intelligence, Gareth knew that Milena was, in fact, a disciple of Evergreen Diamond Sect, a sect originating from Mandala region, before she became a ruler.

The sect was one of the powerhouses in the Eastern Profound Continent. Even to this day, they were still very much exist and their strength remained strong.

Currently, Eternal Fragrance maintained a very strong and tight connection with Evergreen Diamond Sect. This was a well-known fact amongst the continent's major powers.

Eternal Fragrance's wealth and abundant resources filled the hearts of most of its neighbors with envy and jealousy. But due to the relationship they have with Evergreen Diamond Sect, none of those countries dare to conceive any evil ambition.

Unfortunately, that connection still couldn't help Eternal Fragrance much while they were facing their current precarious situation.

Hearing from hearsay, the coalition of cultivators, who demanded access to the newly discovered ancient Martial Sage's ruin, was instigated by several powerhouses from Mandala region.

Each of these powerhouses possessed the strength and influence comparable to the Evergreen Diamond Sect!

The puny Eternal Fragrance won't stand a chance against the might of even one of those powerhouses, not to mention the combined strength of several.

As a result, the Queen of Eternal Fragrance had no choice but to lower her head under the coalition's pressure and promised to open up the ruin. Otherwise, her kingdom would face terrible consequences even with the support of Evergreen Diamond Sect.

The anxious mood could be felt by common people throughout the kingdom. Eternal Fragrance's military has been ordered to maintain the highest level of readiness, in case of urgency. While Florent was also under assault by the same rigid atmosphere, even though the town's location was far from the main stage in the north.

Gareth and his team did not plan to stay for long in Florent. The reason they were in the town was to find the branch of Tulip's Embrace Chamber of Commerce, so that they could redeem the friendship token that Gareth had received from Marco.

The plump baron had said before, Gareth would be able to request a single help from the chamber if he brought the token to one of their branches.

He had learned about this particular chamber of commerce from Siri's detailed intelligence.

On the surface, Tulip's Embrace was supposed to be the wealthiest and the largest chamber of commerce in Eternal Fragrance. Their headquarter was located at the kingdom's capital, White Rose, and their branch existed in every corner of the kingdom.

There was another anecdote about this chamber of commerce mentioned within Siri's intel. It seems their power wasn't as simple as they look.

They appear to have an extensive connection with another albeit more powerful chamber of commerce, based on Mandala region. If this was true, then Tulip's Embrace possessed even more influence than Eternal Fragrance itself!

Gareth wanted to see if the token in his hand could get him an invitation to the ruin's exploration or not. If Tulip's Embrace was really powerful like it was mentioned in the intel, then it will be easy for them to get the invitation.

Unlucky for the team, once they have found the branch and shown the token to the branch's manager, Gareth was informed that only the chamber's upper-echelon who has the power to accept and process the token, according to the protocol. And none of them currently presented within the branch. Gareth had no choice but to leave the building empty-handed.

However, since the branch's manager thought that Gareth was someone with a friendly connection with the chamber as he possessed one of their tokens, the manager gave him a piece of information about one of the chamber's upper echelon.

That person supposed to be in the middle of traveling from the chamber's headquarter in White Rose to the city of Peach Lotus in the north, and Gareth could try his luck with this person.

Coincidently, Peach Lotus City was the closest settlement to the Martial Sage's ruin. Basically, the ruin was located near Forest of Evil's outer edge, over 20 kilometers north of the city.

This stroke of coincidence should be a blessing in disguise. With this information, Gareth did not have to go around in a circle trying to check every Tulip's Embrace's branch, in order to meet the chamber's upper echelon.

After knowing that, he didn't waste any more time, Gareth and his team immediately depart from Florent on the same day.

***

Three days after Gareth and his companion left Florent, they were still halfway towards their destination, Peach Lotus City.

Since they have been riding non-stop, they had decided to have a rest just outside a small rural village, near the kingdom's main road.

Different from Genosia and Martial Glory, Eternal Fragrance possessed an extensive road system, which connected all parts of the kingdom's territories. Even in rural areas, these roads were perfectly maintained.

No wonder Eternal Fragrance's prosperity was number one in this region. Even comparing them to other countries in neighboring regions, they would still take the first place.

Gareth and his team were not alone, other people were having a shortstop in the village too, ranging from merchants, travelers, mercenaries and even cultivators, who were perhaps heading for the ruin as well.

All of them were grouping together to make a large encampement, since it would be much safer than to make each camp far from one another. Although the kingdom's rural areas were relatively safe from the scourge of bandits and demon beasts, it's always wise to remain cautious.

In the evening, an uproar broke as a group of impressive convoy, consisting of a squadron of heavily armed cavalry, armored soldiers and several luxurious carriages were making their entrance to the camp.

"Whoa! Who the hell are they?"

"Don't know... But such a grand entrance, probably someone important."

"Hey! Those cavalries are mostly women. Are they Eternal Fragrance's soldiers?"

"Are you dumb?! Look at their banners and crest stupid! It's obvious they are the kingdom's soldiers."

The uproar did not stop as more and more people were looking at the scene with great curiosity.

This impressive group finally stopped when they arrived at a wide space inside the encampment and starting to erect their own camps.

"Shit! Look at those women..." One mercenary exclaimed after he saw the cavalries have taken off their helmets and revealed each of their appearances.

Those cavalries seem to be members of Eternal Fragrance's knight order, judging from the emblem on their armors, and almost all of them were beautiful women.

"Holy! They're all hotties."

"Those curvy bodies... Dammit!"

One vulgar comment after another escaped from the mouths of the nearby mercenaries. Even their eyes were filled with indecent gazes.

"Are you all nuts?!! Don't say things like that! Look, all of those ladies are Martial Masters! You'll be dead if they hear you." The mercenary leader warned his men as he could felt the strength emanated by the knights.

"What?!"

"Real... Really?"

Most of the mercenary and people who throw the vulgar comments earlier were shocked and became afraid after they heard the leader's warning.

They were all foreigners that came from abroad, so they're not familiar with the local customs and of course, they didn't know that women can become a soldier in this country. Thus, their impoliteness.

However, the more knowledgable mercenary leader knew those knights were not just some decoration troops. They were all genuine warriors that have been trained and baptized in the field of war. Thus, even though they were all women, they couldn't be underestimated at all.

That's why he had to stop his men from being impolite to those female knights. Besides, the mercenary group merely had the leader himself as their only Martial Master warrior, while those ladies were all Martial Masters. Hence, they absolutely cannot provoke the knights.

"Disperse all of you! Don't lollygagging in here any longer." The leader immediately dismissed his men, to prevent them from provoking the knights.

The mercenaries along with the crowds hastily dispersed.

Then, the leader turned his sight toward a stunning female knight in glorious-looking armor, which appears to be the one who leads those knights. She looks brave and heroic.

That female knight also staring at him.

Sweats begin to drench the leader's back as he was being stared. Her sharp gaze seemingly could suck every bit of life force he has.

'F.u.c.k! a Grandmaster!' The leader cursed inside his mind.

The other party was able to greatly suffocated him with merely a gaze. This was a certain proof of the gap between their strength. The leader's sure that the female knight was a true Martial Grandmaster powerhouse.

He quickly bowed to her and run away to his camp.

Following that, the female knight retracted her gaze. Earlier, she only wanted to scare away those vulgar men and since they were already gone, there's no need for her to bother with the matter anymore.

However, just as she was about to proceed to her business, her attention was attracted by a small camp, positioned just below a lush tree near the edge of the encampment.

This camp precisely belonged to Gareth and his team.

Both Diandra and Zeke were busy preparing dinner, while Arda was having a spar with Heinz on the field behind their camp. As for Gareth, he peacefully reading a book while sitting below the tree and with a tranquil expression on his face.

The earlier commotion didn't have any impact on them at all, they still perform their activities without much care for other things.

When the female knight's gaze landed on Gareth, she was amazed, 'What a handsome man!' She thought.

Gareth did not wear his hood right now, it's really uncomfortable wearing it all the time. Thus, his peerless appearance was revealed for others to see.

Not only the female knight, some of her subordinates and lots of women around the encampment were also peering into him.

Most of the men around here were either rough mercenaries or fat oily merchants, there was no enjoyment in watching them. Although the knight group has several good looking men, their appearances couldn't be compared to Gareth at all.

To those women, Gareth was truly a sight for sore eyes.

"Tsk! A bunch of harlots!" Diandra complains in low voice. She was irked because of those women staring at her young master.

"What's wrong miss?" Zeke beside her asked in confusion.

Diandra shook her head in response and said flatly, "Nothing."

Since it was nothing, Zeke shrugged and continue to cook.

The female knight keeps looking at Gareth until...

"Dame Svetlana." One of her subordinates called her.

"Yes!" Svetlana the female knight, jolted as she awoke from her dazed state.

Her subordinate looked at her weirdly.

"Ehem." In response, Svetlana coughed and recollected her mind, "What is it?"

"Emm... The lady wanted to see you for a discussion."

Svetlana holds her chin while nodding, "Alright, let's go then."

Before she goes, Svetlana threw one last look toward Gareth.