The black background with white patterns of the Allied flag was carried by Gray. This flag didn't look like a military flag at all; instead, it resembled a punk CD album cover.

Everyone was marching on foot, and it would take us five days to reach our destination at this rate. Even if we all rode on horses, with werewolves on all fours and orcs sprinting, the cannons being pulled by horses won't be able to run.

We first arrived at the front line, but the cannons were not in position yet, causing the troops to become disjointed. It would be better to march together with the cannons.

It was necessary to show off the highly successful modification I made to the 97 infantry cannons. In the Kingdom's artillery unit, known as Thunder Caller, three people operate one cannon. However, it was apparent that we couldn't adopt this approach due to our small numbers. The 97 cannons would require nearly three hundred of our manpower, which was a bit wasteful. So I had Park dismantle all the gun barrels and grouped them in sets of five, creating a battery. This way, the 97 cannons were consolidated into nineteen groups.

Although the firepower was greatly reduced in terms of duration, we would not engage in long-range artillery duels with the Kingdom's army. Furthermore, we had limited ammunition, and these cumbersome cannons were specifically designed to deal with grouped targets.

Park's semi-automatic rifles ultimately only produced three. The innovation in scientific technology cannot be accomplished solely by the ideas of a pioneer and the efforts of a genius craftsman. People were still using flintlock guns that required the ramrod to be pushed up and down after each shot.

The five-day journey was faster than expected; it only took us four days. Along the way, everyone remained vigilant, and we even captured three adventurers. Nowadays, adventurers, without exception, are all runaways from the Kingdom. The Kingdom had long issued a ban, prohibiting anyone from leaving the city without permission. Like the previous boy, this adventurer had also sneaked out. My head could now be exchanged for status, not money. In the Kingdom, the only way for an ordinary person to become a noble of the royal family is through marriage, unless they give my head to the Magic Council.

These three adventurers were quite funny. After they told me about my value, I couldn't help but question them.

"If the three of you kill me, will the Kingdom turn all three of you into nobles? What will you do if only one of you can receive a reward?"

They had run away from the Kingdom, defying the ban. They were undoubtedly characterized by extreme poverty and a lack of any skill, except for their own lives. People like this tend to be selfish and distorted in some way. Soon, the three of them started arguing, which then escalated into insults and physically hitting each other, despite being bound.

I chuckled and left with Sasa. In the end, we left the three adventurers deep in the forest to fend for themselves.

The deployment of the Allied forces was well-organized. This time, I chose not to dig trenches but instead build makeshift cover. Werewolves and orcs were still on the left and right flanks, while the cannons were concentrated in the middle, operated by humans.

"Raul, aren't we supposed to attack?"

"Yes."

"Then why did we build so many mounds, just like last time?"

"Attacking can be different too. Although our preparations appear defensive, in the eyes of the Kingdom, it is like we already have a dagger at their throat."

Orc Lord and Wart didn't quite understand what I meant, so I took out a map and explained it to them. The Allied forces' frontline was fully deployed, and we could already see the edges of the Kingdom's third-level territory through binoculars. This clearly indicated our intention to fight. Although we were preparing for a defensive battle, this kind of behavior was a display of an offensive stance.

They seemed to understand the cunningness of constructing defensive lines on someone else's doorstep and admired my cleverness. However, I knew that they were only willing to believe that my strange tactics could bring victory to everyone.

It will take several days to complete all the defense works. Additionally, I still need a lookout tower. However, if I directly build a wooden tower that is seven to eight meters high on flat ground, it would be too conspicuous and become the target of attack instantly. So, I came up with the idea of using my house's rooftop. By relying on the roof and the mountain rocks, I can construct a lookout tower. The orcs are especially skilled in building pathways on rocky cliffs.

After arranging everyone's tasks, I sat in the main tent and closed my eyes, lost in thought. Sasa could tell that I was facing a crisis this time. Now, I couldn't see any signs of rain from the sky, and I didn't have any brilliant ideas like the last time when I used magic to detonate grenades. I had no idea about the strength of our opponents, especially after the battle against the Catherine siblings.

I asked the orcs if they had catapults, and Urum shook his head vigorously.

I asked the werewolves if they had wolf cavalry, and Wirt thought I was talking nonsense again.

Then, I asked everyone a strange question - does Mountain Dotch have a monster called the Black Dragon?

There was silence among the crowd, followed by various opinions.

The residents of Night Fall Town had a complex attitude towards the legend of the Black Dragon. Some insisted that it didn't exist, while others said it used to exist but had disappeared. Some claimed that the Black Dragon was currently in a deep sleep on the western cliffs of Mountain Dotch. And more people held the view of "believing it exists rather than believing it doesn't." Topics like this would never yield results when asked to humans due to the diversity and complexity of human civilization and culture.

The werewolves believed that the Black Dragon must exist because they had a long-standing story that all monsters used to pay tribute to the Black Dragon every year, showing their respect to the strongest monster. But one day, the sun was suddenly engulfed by darkness, and the Black Dragon chose to leave Mountain Dotch on that day, flying to another place. The traditional activities for the Black Dragon were no longer carried out.

Based on the werewolves' beliefs, the Black Dragon definitely existed, but it had already flown away. Well, it was as good as not saying anything.

The orcs' beliefs were similar, but they still preserved the custom of offering tribute to the Black Dragon. I recalled their totem poles, which indeed had patterns of flames and wings.

The succubi said that apart from reading about the Black Dragon in books, they had no other information. The elder succubi hadn't even heard of the term "Black Dragon."

However, at this moment, I had a very strange idea - did the Black Dragon already leave three hundred years ago during the great war? Because the kingdom's storybook recorded the Black Dragon over two hundred years ago. An elder werewolf who participated in the war three hundred years ago told me that the tradition of offering tribute to the Black Dragon had already disappeared when his father was alive. If that was the case, then the Black Dragon should have flown away a very long time ago, and humans should no longer have any records about it. But why could the kingdom describe this non-existent monster so vividly?

The discussion that couldn't bring about a conclusion came to an end, and everyone returned to their respective positions. I followed the agreement with Sasa and walked towards the small cave.

"Honey, why did you mention the Black Dragon again just now?"

"If there is a Black Dragon, I want it to help us too."

"Hahaha..."

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm saying, are you really this scared now?"

While laughing, my wife bumped into me with her shoulder, almost tripping me over my black cape.

"What will you do if you lose this time?"

"Even if I lose, you still have me."

"But after losing, will you die, honey?"

"I will accompany you too."

"As I expected, I love you the most, Sasa."

Unconsciously, we walked back to the small cave that held our sweetest memories. Perhaps those memories were not just sweet, but also filled with the nervousness and awkwardness of our first meeting, the fear and determination when I saw her shedding her skin, and of course, the comfort we found in each other while hiding from the wind and snow. This is our home, no matter where we wander in the future, we will always remember it.

Clang, clang, Sasa picked up the dirty and dusty ankle chain.

Shuffle, shuffle, Raul flipped through the pages of the first book we bought together.

"This one."

As I opened a page, there was a picture of everyone enjoying a feast printed on it. I smiled and asked my wife.

"Vittori."

Sasa pronounced the word "dinner" with the same accent that I was familiar with.

The book was thrown aside, and the ankle chain retracted back to the ground. We rushed towards each other and embraced tightly.

There was no desire for intimacy, no thoughts of crying, just a simple embrace with only one meaning - not wanting to be apart anymore.

"If I hadn't met you back then, where would I be now?"

"If I hadn't caught you back then, where would I be now?"

"Wife, it feels like it's been ten or twenty years already."

"Yeah, so many things have happened, so much that I almost forgot."

"Forgetfulness, I'll help you remember."

"What if you forget too?"

"I won't forget."

As if to prove my good memory, I deliberately crawled on the ground to the small spring and took a drink. Halfway through, our foreheads collided. She laughed and used her fingers to tidy up a few strands of hair on my forehead.

We started doing meaningless chores and restored the cave to its original state. Then, we happily went for a walk. Our steps were quick, afraid that if we were a little late, we wouldn't be able to taste the sour red fruits and golden grapes.

"In the past, you made me eat them. Today, you eat one too." I plucked a red fruit, seemingly available all year round, and handed it to her.

"I won't eat it, it's very sour."

"Just take a bite, I've never seen your expression when you're sour."

Sasa took a small bite and immediately shivered from the sourness. She spat out the pulp in her mouth and threw the fruit that I had taken a bite of towards me. I caught the fruit, took a big bite exactly where she had bitten, and savored it bit by bit.

I still remember that the name of the red fruit is Vitality Card. It is slightly less sour than before, but still enough to make the corners of your mouth twitch.

"Not sour?"

"It turns sweet after you eat it."

"You're silly."

We went to search for the golden fruits again, but the trees only had dark green leaves on them. It was probably not the season for them to bear fruit yet. These two types of wild fruits are like life, mostly sour like the Vitality Card most of the time, and only in the season do they become the sweet and refreshing golden grapes.

Sitting under a tree, we saw a long-necked rabbit not far away, its neck still long and its body still round.

"Hungry?"

"Not hungry."

"I thought you would want to eat it as soon as you saw that rabbit."

"No, things are different now."

"Yeah."

"By the way, do you remember? You said if the Black Dragon took me away, you would save me."

"Did I say that? I don't remember... Oh well..."

"You definitely said it!"

"Hehe, just kidding. How could I not save you?"

"That would be great..."

"Why?"

"Even if just one more time, if I could see how you protect me, I would be completely satisfied."

"Is it really so appealing to see me protect you?"

"Very appealing."