"Bang bang bang..."

On the morning of the second day, as a blush of red just emerged from the mountains outside Ashfurnace City, the sound of salutes could already be heard for a long time within the city.

"Waaaaah..."

The deep, resonant sound of horns was interspersed among the cannon salutes, urging the city of Ashfurnace, which had been quiet all night, to wake up from its slumber.

"Knock knock knock!"

At that moment, there was a knock on Joey's door, but the knocking was very soft and was soon drowned out by the sound of the cannons.

"Joey! Are you up yet?"

It was the bearded man's voice.

"What time is it? Aren't you sleeping?"

Joey's head was buried in the soft pillow, but her eyes were still closed, and her speech was slurred.

"Knock knock knock!"

The knocking continued.

Who is it?

Joey rolled over and shouted toward the door.

"It's me, Big Beard!"

The bearded man raised his voice and shouted again.

"Why!"

Joey sighed and slowly got out of bed.

He walked sleepily to the door and opened it.

"Hey bearded man, what are you doing here so early? And what's with that damn cannon fire?"

Joey braced his right hand against the doorframe, blocking the entrance and showing no intention of letting the bearded man in.

"Are they still there?"

The bearded man peeked behind Joey and deliberately lowered his voice.

"they?"

Joey frowned and thought for a moment. The bearded man must be referring to the three female elves.

Joey shook his head, and the events of last night became clearer.

After meeting the city lord and Archmage Meld yesterday, he came straight back. After dinner, he planned to get a good night's sleep, but he was immediately dominated by the three female elves.

They were shouting that tomorrow would be an inevitable battle, and tonight they had to be on guard against enemy attacks. Someone had to stay alert and keep watch. Unfortunately, the four of them voted unanimously to let him keep watch. As for why it was a unanimous vote, Joey, based on the principle that since he couldn't change the outcome, might as well put on a good face, cast his own vote.

This caused him to not sleep at all last night, and he didn't climb into the still warm, soft bed until half an hour ago.

"They've already gotten up and left!"

Joey spoke in a languid tone.

"They've left?"

Upon hearing this, the bearded man felt much more relaxed.

"Aren't you dwarves immune to their magic?"

Seeing the bearded man's cowardly appearance, Joey looked at him with disdain.

"I'm not afraid of magic, but they're so tall! I always have to look up!"

That's it?

"Isn't that enough?"

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard! But whatever, why did you come to me?"

Joey was already woken up anyway, so she didn't bother with the excuse.

"Isn't today Catherine's birthday?"

The bearded man's expression became tense as he spoke.

"Hmm, and then what?"

Joey was somewhat nonchalant; if the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up.

The three female elves have already left. There are still powerful figures like Meld and Karp in the city. Since I'm not in the center, there's no need for me to rush to show my face.

In layman's terms, he's not some kind of technical expert. If they really encounter an attack, someone else will naturally take the first hit. He's just a reserve force, and he'll just show his face when they're in the middle of a fierce battle. As for what he promised the city lord yesterday, he had no choice. Things had come to this point, and besides, he wasn't really hiding. He was just waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

"Shouldn't we hurry up and go to the city wall to keep an eye on what's happening inside and outside the city?"

The bearded man was very serious; it seemed he was quite concerned about protecting Catherine.

"Come on, bearded man, don't take it so seriously. We're just here to have fun, don't put so much pressure on yourselves!"

Joey couldn't stand it anymore; this honest-looking bearded man hadn't changed at all.

"Then...then we..."

"Don't worry, we'll act when the time is right. But we need to choose our opponents carefully; we can't afford to give them away for nothing!"

Joey still adheres to his principle of self-preservation; this is something he cannot abandon.

"Alright, alright, let me change my clothes first, then we'll go out together!"

Seeing the bearded man's serious face suddenly turn uneasy, Joey could only offer words of comfort.

"good!"

Joey's words cheered the bearded man up again.

...

"Medes!"

As soon as he reached a lookout point on the castle, the bearded man saw Sergeant Medes standing there, holding a telescope and observing the movements below.

"Sam!"

Sergeant Medes put down his binoculars and waved to the bearded man.

"Captain Joey!"

Then he saw Joey walking behind the bearded man, so he walked straight over to him.

"You're still up early!"

Joey tilted his head, looked at Sergeant Medes, and tapped his right fist against the plate armor on his chest.

"Sergeant Karp told me to take your orders, but he also said that in your absence I should temporarily follow Captain Pouf's instructions!"

Medes straightened his back, trying to look energetic.

"It's all over, Medes, you've fallen. A sergeant from Seban, you're actually being commanded by a captain from Ashfurnace City. You're really going downhill!"

Joey recalled the scene of Puff making things difficult for him that day, and became somewhat critical of Medes as well.

"Captain Joey, it's because you're not here, and with this special situation, everyone's been exceptionally busy today!"

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