Chapter 964: Chapter 342 Hammerfall Fortress (Two-in-One Chapter)_2

“By the way, we’ve already got three Official Wizards on our side, plus a pretty strong mercenary group from Cornes.”

“I think, if you two join us, we should be ready to set off.” The chubby Yannis said with a broad smile, finally revealing his intentions.

Rein nodded, while glancing at the group of people behind Yannis with the corner of his eye.

He saw a dozen burly men dressed as mercenaries, who should be the Cornes Mercenary Group Yannis mentioned.

And the three wizards, two men and one woman, seemed unfamiliar with each other, each standing separately. The female wizard wore a white robe, had a good figure and a fair complexion.

As for their strength, they all seemed to deliberately conceal their spiritual power fluctuations, and for a moment, Rein couldn’t discern their strengths or weaknesses.

After thinking for a moment, Rein shook his head and said, “Thanks, but no need.”

“My lord, are you planning to ride your flying mount around?”

“But if you do that, it will take at least two extra days, whereas we can reach the other end of the tunnel in just four hours by going through directly.” Yannis continued to persuade, unwilling to give up.

Rein naturally knew this.

Olena had specifically marked on the map she gave him why they should take the Hammerfall Tunnel. If he chose to bypass it, he would have to fly a big loop around the towering Hammerfall Mountains.

But the problem was, Rein did not plan to bypass it.

Because if the Molten Lava Snake was only at the Official Knight level, no matter how many there were, they wouldn’t pose a threat to him, so passing directly was enough, and joining the others wasn’t necessary either.

Seeing Rein disagree, Yannis returned to his group with a rather dejected expression.

“Alas~ It seems this lord isn’t interested in the reward I offered. Lord Merita, looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

“Makes sense, if I had a flying mount, I wouldn’t accept your invitation either.” The white-robed witch looked enviously at Rein’s Blood Feathered Horned Eagle and said.

“This flying mount seems to be some kind of Horned Owl Beast, it’s truly beautiful.”

“Huh? They didn’t leave, is this…?” Suddenly, the witch’s gaze paused.

“Hmm?” Yannis followed Merita’s line of sight and noticed that the two hadn’t left on the Horned Owl Beast but instead headed towards the fortress gate.

“Looks like they’re in a hurry; otherwise, they would have flown away like the others before.” The witch smiled upon seeing this scene.

“My lord, our caravan is quite familiar with the garrison at the Stone Hammer Fortress, although you’re powerful, they won’t open the gate for you.” Yannis seemed a bit unwilling, shouting from behind.

But Rein acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing to walk towards the Stone Hammer Fortress.

“Don’t worry, Yannis, once they hit a wall, they should come back soon.”

“Meanwhile, you can negotiate the price down, isn’t that a good thing?” The witch named Merita teased.

“Uh…”

…

As Rein approached the Stone Hammer Fortress, the entire fortress came into view.

Stone Hammer Fortress perched above the tunnel gate, over ten meters high. It appeared as though a small section of the mountain had been hollowed out, exposing what looked like a second-floor balcony.

Meanwhile, dozens of elite guards in chain armor, armed with bows and arrows, stood guard, looking down over this important passageway.

“Please stop, both of you, the Stone Hammer Tunnel is closed and will reopen in a few days.” A guard in chain armor with a bow and arrow called out.

It seemed they recognized the Blood Feather and knew these two must have some status, hence the guards’ polite wording.

“I have an official document and need to pass through.” Rein said with a calm expression.

This is the advantage of having an official document.

As long as it’s within the reach of the Empire’s official forces, Rein could enjoy convenience.

As for the Sword Holder’s Emblem, it was more known within the Swordman’s system internally. Many in other departments or lower-level official organizations weren’t familiar with Sword Bearers.

“Official document?” The guard’s face changed slightly.

The guard quickly spoke to a nearby colleague and then called out to Rein: “Please wait, sirs, kindly show us your official document.”

Soon, a basket was lowered, and Rein placed the official document inside.

A minute later, a middle-aged man dressed as a Knight came out to inspect Rein’s document.

“Oh, it really is an official document. Diamond Star Swordman Rein… signed by Imperial General Edward…”

“Hiss~”

Quickly, the Knight captain, with two guards, descended from the fortress and approached Rein, saying:

“Lord Rein, greetings, I am the garrison captain, Leman of Hammerfall Fortress.”

“We naturally wouldn’t dare stop you from passing through the Hammerfall Tunnel. However, there have been outbreaks of molten creatures inside, so your safety…” The Knight captain hesitated, then still reminded him.

“Rest assured, Captain Leman, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

“Alright, wait a moment, I’ll open the gate. If you find anything amiss, you can return at any time by knocking on the gate three times.”

“Thank you.” Rein smiled.

“Rumble!”

As the ten-meter-high stone gate creaked open a crack, Rein immediately stepped through with Anna and Blood Feather.

From a distance, in the caravan, Yannis’s small eyes suddenly widened, exclaiming: “Huh? How is this possible? The garrison of Stone Hammer Fortress actually opened the gate for him?”