Noel had learned so much during the fight. How Stella precisely aimed for a certain spot, how Jonathan controlled his Spiritual Energy or how Zion managed to restrain the demon. It was something he never tried, considering he only had one partner, Anna.
During the trip, Noel kept asking question after question to Stella to the point she was overwhelmed by his drive to improve.
On the other hand, the group also learned about Anna's cooking level.
There was a weaker guy who had the desire to improve and there was a strong girl who almost had everything. They looked like a complete opposite, but they truly filled each other's weaknesses.
Anna wanted to make sure Noel didn't surpass her while Noel had the desire to surpass her. This synergy allowed them to improve tremendously and broke the record of the Demon Banner Army.
They kept finding demons on their path, but they were lucky that the demons came by themselves, not bringing an entire pack, allowing them to eliminate them quickly and continue.
Whenever Peak Level Demons came, Stella and the others would take care of it. Meanwhile, Noel and Anna had the tasks of handling the Low Level Demons to Advanced Level Demons.
Stella also gave some advice about what he did during the battle, refining Noel's swordsmanship even further. Though, she still couldn't see through Noel's Everchanging Emotion Sword Style and she didn't ask about it because it was the same as asking for his strength and weakness. If she was a bad person, she would use that information to defeat him or get some benefit.
Eventually, they reached to their destination, the Lawrence Fort.
The fort was surrounded by a 15-meter tall wall. It was pretty high, considering no demons should be able to jump over it. However, they could see fresh bloodstains on the wall, meaning there was a fight recently.
"By the way, Rose. What's the information about this fort?" Paul furrowed his eyebrows, observing all the details from the outside.
"Lawrence Fort is the pride of the Lawrence Earl Family. They have been standing for fifteen years and keep stopping the demons. The Demon Banner Army and the Lawrence Fort have a mutual relationship.
"The fort can be used as a temporary base or a checkpoint for our supply route. Earl Lawrence has also been poaching our knights to join his family to handle this fort. And the Demon Crystals are their main source of income."
Paul narrowed his eyes and said, "Since the fort is quite famous and has been standing for over fifteen years, how in the world does this fort have no basic fortification like a ditch?"
"Mhm?" Rose didn't know how to answer it as well.
Stella used those words to give some more information to Noel. "Do you know the basic fortification like a ditch?"
Noel surprisingly nodded. "Yes. Normally, you want to dig a ditch before even building the wall. You stack the extra dirt behind the ditch and build the wall on top of it. So, if you dig five meters, the ground for the wall also increases by five meters. But because the two goes different ways, they will sum up, elevating the wall for ten meters.
"There are also many benefits for using a ditch. If another kingdom wants to attack you by using a siege tower, they'll have to fill the ditch first or the tower won't be able to go near the wall. And during that time, they'll be rained by our attacks. And if you fill the ditch with water, no one will know how deep it is.
"The same applies to the demons. So, having a ditch is a must to build a fort… That's why I also don't understand why the fort who has remained for so long in the frontline doesn't have a single ditch. Well, Sir Shale kept telling a story about his friend who always complained about ditches."
Stella chuckled. "Haha, if we're talking about Captain Shale's friend, it must be the captain of the Demon Protection Squad, Captain Boris. Captain Boris is what we known as ditch brain, not muscle brain. It can't be helped, he once defeated five hundred demons just by using ditches."
"That's… kinda amazing to be honest."
"True. If you put a great effort into it, even a joke is a serious job… That's how we have comedians." Stella pointed at the fort. "Then, why do you think there is no ditch?"
"I'm not sure." Noel shook his head helplessly while pointing at the wall itself. "From what I can see, although the blood has covered the wall, I still can see some Enchantment put in there. So, I believe the Enchantment can still be activated to protect against a powerful attack.
"This means the wall itself is the primary wall. There aren't any walls behind that one. So, only fools will allow the primary walls to not have a ditch. If I can assume things, then there are two possibilities. First, the one in charge of this fort is corrupt. Or the demons are smarter than we believe because they've filled the ditch."
"…" Stella fell silent while glancing at Rose, who seemed to agree with Noel's opinion.
"Well, we won't get involved with the government, so let's ignore the first one." Rose thought for a moment. "What's about the second one? Are there any demons with that ability?"
Paul couldn't help but say, "Even if there is one, this demon must be an Advanced Level Demon or even a Peak Level Demon. It seems that we will have some trouble this time. For now, let's enter the city and get some information. I'll give you another instruction after that."
"Understood." The group nodded.
The group immediately drove their carriage to the city on high alert. They were making sure no demons suddenly coming toward them.
Two soldiers suddenly shouted at them from the top of the wall. "State your identity!"
Paul took out his badge and poured Spiritual Energy, letting it shine. "Paul, Vice Captain of the Demon Relief Squad. I request you to open the gate."