《Ironclad》


 Volume 01 Prologue

    Sunset at the horizon, smell of flesh and blood, corpses covering the tall grasses and groaning of those dying, waiting for the reaper whom would soon ease their pain. This became an everyday sight for her. Only now she got the meaning of the words-


    ¡°Honor, loyalty, duty were just spices for the Feast of Crows¡­ huh.¡± she says as she looked at the red sunset.


    Crows and wild dogs were already started their feast on the dead and the dying. Unable to even swat the black birds, she saw a man groaning in pain nearby as two crows fought after plucking out his eyes.


    Many of them died fighting for different reasons, for family, for money, for the gods, for honor, for their lord, for wanderlust, for the country and for power. But she knew that all is equal in the eyes of Death, no matter the cause of your end.


    But maybe, Death will become irritated in seeing an increased number of souls he had to gather. Her country had become a hotbed for death and violence.


    Yamato once was a land of peace and prosperity; all enjoyed such luxury under the reign of the emperors. Trade flourish, population grew into millions, roads became safe to travel, starvation and famine became absent in several centuries.


    But as history kept on telling, too much peace becomes a poison to the minds of men. And as thus as always, the death of a peaceful overlord becomes the spark for the greedy and their desires. Powerful aristocrats and people that vied for power slowly appears on the stage.


    The emperor died without a strong heir to carry the burden of ruling the vast empire. As such it began the series of conflicts between the powerful families and lords to take seat of the emperor. Some claimed to be a distant relatives and blood of the emperor, some claimed to be his illegitimate children, but all were the same, hungry for the crown with the great powers that comes with it.


    Warlords soon ruled the empire, dividing the once, united country. Slowly the regional lords declared their independence and fought to dominate others. Anarchy erupted as the innocents and the powerless became the subject of abuse and maltreatment. Villages were plundered and raided, farms were burned, and families were raped or butchered. Then sickles and hoes were replaced with blades and swords. The green rich lands of the continent became saturated with blood and flesh.


    Order had already crumbled. The former millions of people who lived in the country were reduced almost to half of its former numbers. Then it came to the point where the warlords had been desperate to increase their armies that they forced women and children to fight.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    One of them was Mizuki, a daughter of the current head of Izuchirikuzen Clan and one of the powerful warlords of the Eastern part of the empire. Her father ruled the vast lands of Hakazen. But their peaceful lands were also not spared from the wars that are raging on the mainland. Their strong neighbors and former allies turned against them as new head replaced the former peaceful lords.


    Her father still wanted to remain neutral in all this war. He refused to take part in any sides. As thus some greedy lords, took it as a form of weakness. Their lands were scorched, their men were killed on the spot, children dying of hunger were thrown into the sea and some were enslaved along with women were raped and violated, elderly were buried alive. Raids continued for several years while the lord still tried to control the fires.


    But finally, her father was forced to take a side on the war.


    Her father mobilized his entire standing army, all fifteen thousand and marched towards the territory of his nearest enemy. And it should¡¯ve been a male heir who would¡¯ve been with her father on the battlefield but Mizuki is no normal girl. Ever since she was discovered with extremely high skill and talent in art of war and martial might, her father taught her the way of the blade.


    Thus her exceptional talents with the blade made her father decide to let her take part in the battles. And in the very first battle and at such a young age of 15, she showed both her allies and enemies of how she is one of the deadliest assets in the battlefield.


    In every victory her father had gained, so is her reputation increased.


    Soon, her reputation soared that she was feared by the enemies and allies alike. Then she became famously known as the ¡°Onikiri¡±, the famous trump card of the Izuchirikuzen Clan.


    And right now, they have won another decisive battle against the powerful Kuzumori Clan. The final enemy which blocked her clan¡¯s overall dominance in their region and this victory put the nail on the coffins of their enemies.


    ¡®Still no interesting opponent¡­¡¯ she mused.


    Almost twenty thousand corpses littered the battlefield, casualties from both sides combined. In her bloody right hand was the heads of three enemy commanders, including the head of the son of the current head of Kuzumori Clan.


    The smell of blood took back her senses.


    ¡°I should get back and give these to father.¡± She whistled to call her horse, Roukomi.


    While waiting for her horse, only now she realized that her entire upper body was covered in blood and pieces of flesh. Unlike the rumors of her, she doesn¡¯t like to be covered by blood, it stinks and sticky. And was hard to remove from her favorite armor.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s unavoidable to be showered in blood after beheading four people.¡± She tied the heads on the saddle of her horse before mounting.


    Then she suddenly heard a familiar sound of a horn, it was a signal to regroup at the main camp.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Roukomi.¡± she took one last look to the sunset before galloping towards the hill.

 Volume 01 Chapter One - Thy Kingdom Come

    Western Vadraldia Continent, formerly united under the might of the Gothicryn Empire were now fractured and was divided into seven kingdoms; The Rhodlin Confederacy, Kingdom of Swazbia, Dukedom of Urst, Kingdom of Mords, Principality of Kaegrs, Pharassid Sultanate, and Khattar Khanate. And these seven countries were also threatened by the expanding Reginus Empire from the East.


    Wars between these countries were frequent, vying for the dominance over this part of the continent. Blood spilled, both from the soldiers, nobles and the innocents amidst the chaos. Slavery and crime became rampant. Order is slowly disintegrating.


    The Kingdom of Swazbia was no different. They were once the largest kingdom in Western Vadraldia. But now their southern lands fell to the Rhodlin armies, their former duchy at their north was conquered by the Mords and the western territories were being ravaged by Khattar raiders.


    After the downfall of the Gothicryn Empire, Rhodlin lands were once ruled by the Swazbian Kings, until the rebellion led by Grunwaldr the Unbroken. It was A very small rebellion that turned into a massive civil war which divided the once great kingdom.


    And at year 876 Vadraldia Divided, under the 56<sup>th</sup> Swazbian King, Desmond IV, a peace was signed between his kingdom and the rebels. All southern territories beyond the Tyford River will be under the new Rhodlin Kingdoms. And guaranteed that the Kingdom of Swazbia have acknowledged the right to rule of the Rhodlin Kings. Then at the same year, Grunwaldr was declared as the High King of the 10 Kingdoms of Rhodlin, forming the Rhodlin Confederacy.


    Hundred years of peace between the two had passed, but the Swazbian rulers consider the existence of Rhodlin a threat to their sovereignty. It was their lifelong dream to reclaim the lands which their forefathers had lost.


    And in year 1032, a large army of Swazbian riders led by Archynfeld, the 67<sup>th</sup> King of Swazbia, attacked the village of Sarimish. Every man, woman, child and elderly was put to death. This massacre acted as a spark for beginning the conflicts between the two kingdoms which would later be known as the Two Hundred Years War. But unlike the Rhodlin who have their lands protected by natural barriers such as mountains and steep hills, the Swazbian lands were open to constant raids resulting in the degradation of the trade, economy and manpower in the vast lands of the kingdom.


    War continued for almost a century. The nobles and lords of Swazbia were quite supportive of invading Rhodlin lands, for profit, prestige and more lands. And they were consistently sending men and armies to the lands of Rhodlin. But the lesser nobles and peasantry have a different stance.


    One of them is Baron Gregory Bauhnmont, lord of Tervynberg. His lands were on the western part of Swazbia, which was rich in farmlands and a major fishing port. But due to the wars against Rhodlin, his lands were left unguarded against the Mord raiders from the northern seas.


    Tervynberg, it is one of the most largest barony in Swazbia but the prospects of its development was badly mismanaged by its lord and his predecessors and became much worse because of constant raids and plundering of pirates, slavers and bandits, becoming poor and an unprofitable land.


    Baron Gregory was the son of the late Arr Bauhnmont. The central nobles don¡¯t even consider them a part of the nobles as they were famously too poor to afford a bride¡¯s pay with other noble families that instead he was married to the daughter of the village-town mayor of Balanli, Mylene. As thus degrading the family¡¯s reputation even more.


    But what save their reputation is his wife¡¯s beauty and prestige that she was once a trusted handmaiden of the former Queen Regent. She was a highly sought out bride to be after her retirement due to her connections with the royal family. And Arr Bauhnmont had luck on his side as Mylene was the daughter of his town mayor.


    Gregory and Mylene later had six children, Frederick the eldest child and heir, Redodgey the second son, Arlene the first daughter, Pierre the third son, Vanessa the second daughter and Peterson the youngest son and child. They had already 4 children before the current baron inherited his title from his father who died from the battle against the Rhodlin.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Frequent raids and looting destroyed the rich lands he had inherited from his father and later became a barren and inhabitable. Farms were left untended for years and fishing on the seas became far more dangerous due to the presence of pirates and slavers.


    The only refuge against these raids where the fortified village-town of Balanli and Tevarin Castle. Most of the fishing villages and farms were pretty much looted, burnt to the ground and destroyed already.


    ¡°Milord, I have another letter from the marshal himself.¡± Kevan, one of the baron¡¯s trusted aides delivered another call for arms. The baron have been ignoring the call of the king and the marshal of over 3 years, making excuses that he is sick and his lands were being attacked by Mord raiders. And this is the 46<sup>th</sup> letter, calling him to muster his men and join the army.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to call this kingdom anymore. Last year I called it, kingdom of buffoons. Last month I call it kingdom of idiots, last week I called it kingdom of failures¡­ now? I may be running out of words to use in describing this kingdom¡­¡± Gregory himself didn¡¯t even mind the letter; he is just absently drinking his ale, at the walls of his castle.


    ¡°Milord, the lette-¡±


    ¡°Ignore it and just send a reply that I am- *sigh¡­ it seems I will also run out of excuses to use before this kingdom gets destroyed. Anyway just tell them that we have been recently attacked by Mord raiders and by the way, where were my sons?¡± Gregory asked.


    ¡°Frederick is at his training sessions with Askell, Redodgey is at the stables bathing his horse, Arlene and Vanessa were at the embroidery room with Lady Mylene. Hmmm, Pierre may be at Balanli, as I saw him with his friends riding towards the town. And Pet-¡±


    ¡°Winter is coming, do we have enough in our storage?¡± Gregory interrupted.


    ¡°We may have some shortages of vegetables, meat and most especially salt, milord. More and more people gets attack by bandits in the woods and roads. I already increased the number of patrols. Do I send a caravan to buy from the capital to get the supply we need?¡± Kevan asked.


    In the past, salt and food were not really a problem for the barony as they have massive number of farms and several prospering fishing villages and small ports. Right now, they can¡¯t even harvest salt safely without the danger of being attacked by raiders and bandits.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we make do by getting it from the town instead?¡± Gregory knew that the prices of food right now within the kingdom are increasing due to war and last year¡¯s famine. As thus he hoped if by buying it from Balanli¡¯s market instead could lessen the burden of the treasury.


    ¡°No milord, the town¡¯s market may not be able to handle our needs.¡± But Kevan denied the possibility of it on solving their problems, as he knew that even though the baron can use his influence to buy the food cheaply, the supply of goods in Balanli is not enough.


    ¡°When it rains, it pours huh¡­*sigh, very well whom do I send to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Lemarc can do the job better milord. He is skilled in haggling especially when buying in bulk volumes.¡± Kevan replied.


    ¡°Okay, give him 40 guards. The road to the capital is more dangerous than ever after most of the local levies near the capital have joined the main army.¡± Gregory explained.


    ¡°Yes milord. But about the king¡¯s call of ¨C¡±


    ¡°Tsk, just ignore that letter and send that I am busy in the affairs of my territory after being attacked by a scouting party of Rhodlin soldiers¡± Gregory interrupted.


    ¡°Yes milord.¡±


    After that Kevan left the room, leaving him able to enjoy his ale once again.


    ¡°Ahhhh¡­ I don¡¯t care anymore about this kingdom. If only the Rhodlin army comes sooner, the better.¡± He mused. He tried to feel something on his pocket, just to know that he had not lost it.


    In his pocket is a letter he received from a Rhodlin messenger three months ago. In this letter, it asks the total submission of Gregory and his lands to the sovereignty of the Confederacy once the main Rhodlin armies arrived at the capital city of Swazbia. It also tells him to send help if they ever besiege the city. In exchange Gregory will be given the lands beyond Balanli and the rank of an Earl.


    But the main army of Swazbia was able to repel the Rhodlin forces just the other day at the banks of River Tyford. Thus making this deal much riskier than it is. He is already willing to submit to Rhodlin¡¯s rule but the present circumstances were making it impossible for the Rhodlin to land a foothold on the central territories of Swazbia.


    This is also one of the reasons why he refused to mobilize his levies to avoid any aggression against Rhodlin and to disallow the increase of strength for the Swazbian armies. He also manipulated his fellow barons to refuse the call of arms by the king and the marshal. He was able to persuade them using the great losses the barons had suffered because of the incompetency of the previous king five years ago at the Battle of Marshtoads.


    ¡°Well, all good things come to those who waits.¡± He said as he raised his cup, grinning.

 Volume 01 Chapter Two - Voices of the Unheard

    ¡°Nessi! Stop spacing out and quickly finish those baskets! Mittler¡¯s family ordered five baskets, so you still need two more!¡± her mother suddenly forced her to return back to her senses.


    ¡°Ah! Sorry mother, I wasn¡¯t able to get a good night sleep.¡± She replied.


    Although their life is getting harder by day, the people of Balanli are still trying to survive in these harsh times. Hoping to make the best of everything on each day of their lives. The Mordic raids were becoming frequent and increasingly hard to repel. They were thankful that their previous lord had built massive and thick wooden walls that surround the entire town. Thus the place was able to weather countless attacks that tried to assault the town for the past months.


    But still, they were not able to avoid bloodshed and loss of life on their side. Many of the casualties were the three members of her family, which took a job as town militias. Nessi¡¯s father and younger brother both died from sword wounds after an attack. And days later, her older brother died also from infection on his wounds. Then a month after that, both her younger sister and baby sister died from cold. Terrible grief had visited them that year.


    But life must go on, all that is left with her is her mother.


    They were formerly farmers on the southeast of Balanli. But when Nessi was still six years old, she saw her beloved farm burn after being attacked by Mordic raiders. Her family narrowly avoided death and capture because of the quick response from the patrolling Tervynberg soldiers who were then able repel the Mordic raiding party. And afterwards, the increasing attacks and raids on their farmlands forced their family to abandon their land and take refuge on the Balanli.


    They were renting a house that costs 7 silver Rumptole every month. It is smaller than their previous house in the farm but it is good enough for the two of them. Nessi and her mother were one of the few crafters of baskets and sandals in the town, thus giving them enough money for their daily food and monthly expenses. But as a growing girl, it is not enough for her.


    Each large basket is worth 30 copper Rumptole while the smaller baskets that can be carried by one hand is worth 10 copper Rumptole and every day, they can only sell 3 large baskets and 4 small baskets per day at most. Nessi was the one in charge of making large baskets as her mother isn¡¯t capable anymore to craft such large product. This type of basket was usually bought by fishermen, traders and farmers nearby as it can carry large quantity of fish, goods, or wheat without any danger of breaking down.


    This is one of the main strong points of their products, the durability of their baskets. But it is also very hard to craft that she can only make four to five large baskets in a day. And currently she is yet to finish her fourth large basket.


    Her mother is currently cooking their breakfast. She knows how their family needed money but still, she wanted to take the risk of being scolded if it will help her get what she wanted. She stopped weaving and went towards her mother who was still busy cooking.


    ¡°Mother¡­ c-can I buy new set of clothes? Most of my dresses is actually about to be outgrown by me.¡± she asked.


    ¡°¡­¡±her mother just silently stared at her then at her clothes then went back to her cooking.


    Poor people which her family is now part of, could only afford small amount of fabric. Although she doesn¡¯t really want the ¡°new¡± set of clothes but was referring to what was sold in the stores and stalls in the harbor that sold used clothes. Usually they were cheap or were former clothes of noble children or from wealthy families.


    Used clothes were usually better than self-made ones as they were mostly dependent on the creativity of the weaver. Better maker means better clothes for herself. Used clothes can also be repurposed and looked like new set of clothing.


    ¡°M-mother?¡± she asked again, afraid that she will be scolded.


    Her mother used the ladle to get some soup to sample its taste. She made several sip then took a hanging fruit and vine herb on the window, chopped it to pieces and threw them all into the boiling pot. Then she turned towards Nessi.


    ¡°No. We can¡¯t waste money for anything right now other than on our food and supplies for the winter. We have to save every coin that we earn. Can your new set of clothes be eaten in the cold nights and months during a snowstorm? ¡±her mother asked.


    ¡°No¡­¡±she timidly replied.


    Her mother is actually right. Just last winter, they weren¡¯t able to store enough firewood and candles that they had to buy from the market at a very high price while trekking through the knee-deep snow during the storm. They can¡¯t rely on the mercy of their neighbors also as they also needed the candles and firewood for themselves. They also have to stock up more meat and spices.


    They were only able to buy a small number, which made their previous winter a very cold one. But the real reason why she wanted new clothes is not insecurity though but for a certain reason.


    ¡°So don¡¯t think of anything right now. You are still too young to think about your appearance young lady. What we need to buy is meat, fruits, candles, dried fish, herbs, spices, thick coats and firewood. Ignore those sneering girls in town; their parents have money to spare for their clothes while we don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± with drooping shoulders, she went back to weaving baskets.


    She missed their farm life. Back in those days, they would have the time and money to buy good food and clothes from the passing peddlers. Her family even has the luxury to celebrate their birthdays. But nowadays, all of those were gone. Her mother just bought her a set of thread and needles on her 17<sup>th</sup> birthday last month. Telling her that she can now finally use this to fix her clothes and make embroideries to sell.


    She used to be very good in using her hands to weave good quality clothes and blankets that their neighbors would exclusively buy one for her. It was her most productive hobby. Peddlers would But after a certain event in the past, she lost her entire interest and even the weaving skills she was so proud of. Everytime she tries, her body would not even move or remember her how to use a needle and thread. Although she didn¡¯t have any problem in weaving straws baskets and sandals, much to her mother¡¯s confusion.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    All of the peace and happiness she experienced when she was still a child is now replaced by chaos, fear and violence. The ongoing war in their kingdom have erased and burned the former paradise she enjoyed.


    ¡°Why do people liked war?¡± she muttered quietly as she weaves.


    She always wondered about the reason, she sees war as something like fighting your rivals or your enemies. She knew about fighting, she had fought with several girls in the past inside the town due to some argument and being insulted. She would grab her opponent¡¯s hair and make her scream in pain until she asked to stop. That is all for her, nothing more.


    She fought because she wanted to defend herself and to make the other girls avoid getting on her bad side in the future. She may hate someone but she can¡¯t imagine herself hating a person to the point of killing her.


    That¡¯s why she would always wonder the reason of this constant warfare in their country.


    ¡°War doesn¡¯t give money or food. War doesn¡¯t give anyone a good night sleep. War makes everyone poor. War makes people die a lot. So¡­ why?¡± she asks herself, trying to figure out the reason of this current state of her world.


    And while thinking about it, she suddenly remembered what she had heard from one of the passing traders in the market yesterday.


    ¡°Mother, yesterday I have heard that the village that we visited before have been raided and looted. Don¡¯t we have¡­ you know¡­ relatives living in that village?¡± she asked.


    ¡°¡­your¡­your distant aunt and her family lives there. Let¡¯s just hoped that they were able to get away in time before the raiders arrived.¡± Her mother replied as she prepared the plates and spoons for their breakfast.


    ¡°The current King, the previous one and even the ones before him were all downright inept.¡± She suddenly continues while scooping the soup into a bowl.


    ¡°M-mother¡­ lower your voice. We don¡¯t know who will hear it.¡± Nessi tried to persuade her mother.


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth, most of the people in the tavern and the drunks in this town were talking about how bad our king is anyway. His entire family had the guts to start a war but they don¡¯t have the head to win it. Now, the entire kingdom is paying the toll of what our kings did to its neighbors.¡± Her mother continued as she hands the bowl to Nessi.


    Nessi actually heard the same complaint from various people who lived in this town. The wives she met at the market, the fishermen she traded baskets with, the sentries guarding the gates and the elderly sitting on the benches. Even the passing traders also hated how the past kings and the current one were poorly managing the kingdom while letting his people suffer.


    ¡°Thankfully our lord was never cut from the safe cloth with those greedy nobles of the central lands. He never mobilized or answered the call to join the war. Instead he stayed here to protect his lands and his people.¡± It seemed that all of the frustrations inside her mother had gushed out. So Nessi just silently listened to her as she helped preparing the food.


    ¡°If only that king of oafs would die and get replaced by someone better this time.¡±


    ¡°L-let¡¯s just eat for now okay? The soup will get cold and bad if we keep talking about the king.¡± The talk is slowly getting dangerous as such she had to interrupt and stop her mother from saying anymore.


    In their table were vegetable soup, bread, a pitch of water and a bowl of sausage. Their breakfast was not better than they previously had but at least it can help them live through the day. But knowing that her mother may continue her insults towards the king, Nessi tried to get another topic.


    ¡°By the way mother, does that strange foreign woman still live in those caves?¡±


    Nessi is talking about the peculiar foreigner that lived in the caves at the end of the beach. She got to know about this woman 3 years ago after a massive storm that almost destroyed the town. Walls were battered by fallen trees, houses collapsed and huge ocean waves hammered and destroyed much of the wooden port of the town. Then days later, a young woman in a strange black armor suddenly visited the town, speaking in a strange unknown language.


    The woman appears to be on her teenage years with long, straight black hair that looks like the night sky and with black eyes. This is quite strange as there are no people living here that have black hair or black eyes. The most common features were brown hair and brown eyes. And she has a pearly white skin with a good figure.


    Their lord had to intervene in order to know if she is a spy, a deserter or a wandering criminal. At first the lord invited the woman to his castle but it later dissolved into chaos and arrest after she beat up the soldier who tried to confiscate her weapon. It was quickly getting more and more violent as she threatened to unsheathe her strange blade but thanks to the town elder¡¯s efforts and actions, bloodshed were avoided. Instead she was guided to the main house on the town, where the elder lived.


    There they were able to deduce that she was actually a shipwreck survivor and was washed out on the beach after the storm. Then story goes by. She later refused the offer to live in the town and instead took residence in the caves on the beach where she had taken refuge after the storm. In the past, some impertinent men tried to shadow her back to her cave with degenerate goals but on the next day, they returned to the town as bloodied heads instead. As such it then became an unwritten rule not to enter the caves, follow her or get on her bad side.


    But she kept on trading stuff and supplies with the town, sometimes she would sell wolf, bear and fox pelts or sometimes even medicine. This is actually one of the reasons why most people on the town and even the lord respected her privacy and her existence. Medicines were quite rare and expensive, but one day she brought strange concoctions on bamboo-like tubes. The first one who tried her medicines was the soldiers and the elder but because of them, the effectiveness of her self-made medicines became known.


    ¡°Yeah, just yesterday she brought a shark which she just caught. It got sold at your Old Mart¡¯s fishing store. It is much bigger than any other shark I have seen that it seems it could swallow a man whole. I get the shivers just seeing those hundreds of fangs.¡±


    ¡°Eh??! Why didn¡¯t you tell me? I wanted to see it too! What does it look like?¡± she got curious after she was told that someone actually caught a much bigger shark. A creature that were told to eat and ravage any man swimming in the cold waters and is also one of her main reasons why she feared going out at sea.


    ¡°Just like other sharks you have seen but this one is much, much larger.¡± Her mother replied.


    ¡°I think she is one of the few that were brave enough to go out to the sea to get large catch. I am starting to miss the taste of seashells and shrimps. The fragrance of the soup on her spoon made her remember the taste of the sea.


    ¡°I am beginning to pity her. Just imagine, being alone in an unknown place where no one can understand you or even know which is the way back to your home.¡±


    ¡°She still can¡¯t speak our language?¡±


    ¡°It seems she is starting to know as she can already speak a few words when she sold that shark. Maybe someone is actually teaching her or she just found a way to slowly speak and understand our language.¡± Her mother explained.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Finish up your breakfast quickly. You still haven¡¯t made your fourth basket.¡± Her mother reminded her again.


    ¡°Y-yes!¡± she quickly ate up her share of food and went back to finish weaving her final two basket of the day.

 Volume 01 Chapter Three - Incoming Tremors

    At the Tevarin barracks, hundreds of men have arrived with a sergeant leading their column. Their lord, Baron Gregory Bauhnmont never sent a single soldier to join the current war with the Rhodlin Confederacy, yet he still keeps recruiting more men, increasing the size of his standing army.


    These men who entered the castle gates were the new recruits for his army. He gave the responsibility of training these newly arrived future soldiers to his trusted military advisor, a knight named Gendry Aerithsmud. Currently, the standing army of the barony is about 3,462 soldiers, which includes the men at arms and recruits in training.


    Ser Gendry was on top of the castle gate, overlooking the mass droves of new recruits. Then when he saw that the sergeant have dismounted on the stables, he climbs down to meet him.


    The man he is about to greet is his friend and fellow knight, Ferra Blattislau.


    ¡°Ser Ferra!¡± he opened his arms to welcome his friend.


    ¡°Oh, Ser Gendry! I didn¡¯t notice you that you were actually here. So¡­ what do you think?¡± Ferra hugged him back and showed off the marching recruits to the grounds.


    ¡°Hehehe, they are passable at best if I consider the current situation of most villages and towns nearby. You are the one who carefully selected and accepted them so I have no worries about the quality of these recruits.¡±


    Ferra actually spent almost four weeks in scouring the countryside for abled men to recruit. Although most of them were not fit when he first met them, he still considers their future potential once they were fed and trained.


    ¡°By the way, this may be rude to our lord but do we have funds to continue the recruitment every week?¡± Ferra asked. Their barony is not as wealthy as the central nobles which bothered him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our lord actually have gained enough financial assistance from the Merchant¡¯s Guild. Letting the treasury become capable enough of handling the increasing upkeep. But I don¡¯t know the details of the deal he struck with the guild.¡± Gendry replied.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ and most of all, with his aggressive stance in recruiting more soldiers¡­ does he intends to join the war soon or in the future?¡± Ferra actually wondered this many times when he is travelling through the villages with the recruits. Their lord had refused to answer the Call to Arms from the marshal but he still keeps on increasing the number of his standing army.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know about that. I asked the baron himself on where will he aim the swords of his army, but he never answered.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ does he intend on¡­¡± Ferra tried to guess the intent of the baron but was interrupted by Gendry.


    ¡°Our lord will not do such a thing without reason... or insurance.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. I was merely jesting. Anyway, it is not part of my job to think about such things. Hahaha! So good luck about that my friend.¡± Ferra already knew that it is not his responsibility to think about these matters as he is not the Military Advisor of the baron. He is only in charge for recruitments and training.


    ¡°Speaking of armies, did you receive any information or news from the front while you were travelling?¡± Gendry asked.


    ¡°I thought you are far better informed about that than me.¡± Ferra was shocked to know that the Military Advisor was asking such question. Gendry should have agents and spies scattered throughout the kingdom and its neighbors to feel the political atmosphere and movements of armies that may affect the safety and security of their barony.


    ¡°The scouts and spies I sent didn¡¯t get any significant details on what is happening right now on the frontlines. We are blind as a bat and deaf as a rock right now. Most especially, when the king himself is starting to get suspicious over our lord¡¯s adamant refusals to mobilize of our army. So sending more spies and agents may gather negative misconception or fatal misunderstanding from our beloved¡­ sovereign.¡±


    ¡°Well, you may have to reorganize again your spy network. And instead of training agents, make friends with every merchant you meet. Unlike your agents, skilled traders and merchants have easier access or ability to penetrate border security and patrols, using their own connection or briberies. Old man Vann is just too stubborn to use such cards.¡± Ferra explained as he mentioned the former spymaster.


    ¡°Hmmm ¡­¡±


    ¡°For now, just try creating two information networks if you still have doubts. One for your agents and another with the merchants. You may compare the efficiency and quality of their work as spies later.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I will try that.¡±


    ¡°And back to the topic about the frontlines, the latest detailed news I got were how the Swazbian main army, led by Duke Cornelius had defeated the Rhodlin forces at River Tyford but...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°But it was not the main army. The forces he repelled were under the command of Earl Chevassar. And it was not even 80,000 strong, but more like 7,000 only¡± Ferra slowly climb the stairs on the wall to drink the wine he saw earlier as he passed below.


    ¡°Hoooeh, they were able to outsmart the duke. So where is the main army of Rhodlin?¡± Gendry inquired as he climbs also.


    ¡°They were able to enter Swazbian lands by building pontoon bridges at the River Twins. What I couldn¡¯t fathom is how they were able to build the bridge and finish the crossing in a single night without being detected.¡± Ferra poured a cup of wine from the pitcher and drank.


    ¡°Maybe they got help from one of the nobles or Swazbian lords nearby?¡± Gendry told Ferra what he had guessed. But it was denied.


    ¡°That is what I was thinking also but my guts are telling me it¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°How many soldiers did this main army had?¡± Gendry asked.


    ¡°According to one of the agents I sent; the numbers of campfires, stoves, and the size of the camp he had seen, I can safely assume that they are at most 60,000 strong. Much larger than the 7,000 soldiers that were defeated at Tyford, of course.¡±


    ¡°So they were able to enter deep into Swazbian lands without any resistance?¡±


    ¡°No, they had one. That is the Vigarya Fortress. If they don¡¯t make any beachhead or forward frontline base after crossing, their supply lines would be endangered and cut off. Unless they are planning to bring their own supplies and make do with what they can plunder and loot from the villages and farms they pass.¡± Ferra told him the additional information.


    ¡°So they took the fortress?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, after a three day siege, they were able to capture the Vigarya Fortress and fortified it as their current base of operation here in Swazbia. Right now, the duke is busy chasing this army. But in order to put pressure on Rhodlin supply lines, the duke had to divide his army into two: one is to harass the outskirts of the Vigarya Fortress and the other is to chase the main Rhodlin army.¡± Ferra added.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the army that will keep watch on Vigarya?¡±


    ¡°The duke left 37,000 Swazbian soldiers to Count Wittsvein to guard the crossing on River Tyford, well according to my sources most of them were infantry as the duke took the rest of the mounted troops and rushed towards the Vigarya Fortress. And he arrived at the Fortress with no Rhodlin army to meet him. He was already four days late as the Rhodlin¡¯s forces had already left. Those were the only information I got. The rest were merely skeptical reports.¡±


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°Rhodlin¡¯s main army is marching through the Gentle Road. So anyone can see that they are not planning to have a decisive clash with the Duke¡¯s forces. Their objective seemed to be on the central lands.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ they will have to use one of the passes.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the Golden Boulders or the Silver Boulders.¡±


    The two were the only southern mountain pass that acts as the entrance towards the central lands. They were named after the old mines that formerly operated to dig out the rich gold and silver ores on these passes respectively.


    ¡°It is becoming hectic now eh¡­ by the way who leads the Rhodlin forces?¡± Gendry asked.


    ¡°According to my sources, High King Steffanford is commanding their main army.¡±


    ¡°The lord of Veleusca.¡± Gendry murmured.


    High King Steffanford is the current overlord of the Rhodlin Confederacy. He rules over Veleusca City, an impenetrable fortress-city built during the reign of the Gothicryn Empire and the current capital of the confederacy. It was protected by steep hills and mountains which disabled any siege engines to be deployed. And it is also surrounded with swamps and marshes that disallow any camps to be built or any attempts to assault its high walls. Thus the city never actually suffered any sieges or attack since it was built.


    And its current lord is also famous for defeating the 20,000 Pharassid Mamlukes with just 3,000 soldiers at the Battle of Sardinnes when he was still 16 years old. And he is also the first ruler in Vadraldia to ever land a decisive victory against the seemingly invincible 50,000 Khattar mounted troops on the Battle of Tessenched which halted their invasion and became a turning point for the rest of Vadraldia kings to take back what was taken by the nomadic hordes.


    ¡°Yeah and by the way, no one knows the real target of the Rhodlin army in the central lands so be extra careful nowadays. The people in this town and its lord must expect party of Rhodlin forces patrolling or scouting the region by now.¡±


    ¡°Mords from the North, Rhodlin from the South, Khattars from the East¡­ and a dumb King at the center, what an awful time to be born and live in this kingdom.¡± Gendry sighed.


    ¡°Well, for me it will be just a matter of time before all of us will become Rhodlin citizens. Our king isn¡¯t even helping. I heard that he barred the entrance to his keep and refuses to give audience to his vassals. I pity his brother Duke Cornelius.¡± Ferra can only give sympathy towards the duke who is making most of the effort to defend the realm from its invaders.


    ¡°Yeah, how about your merchants? Aren¡¯t they afraid of trading in these chaotic lands? I am actually quite surprised that they still kept trading openly to sell their wares.¡± Gendry asked.


    ¡°Well, I am using my connection to move my eyes between the armies of both sides. For these merchants, the current chaos in this country is a profitable venture. Thus I was able to bait these merchants by persuading them that they can move with the armies without worrying of being attacked by bandits. This way they will get the protection they needed as they travel and also the chance to sell their products on each army and most of all¡­¡±


    ¡°Information right? Are you sure they wouldn¡¯t get caught?¡± Gendry asked again as he was actually curious on how do these merchants gets away in getting information from their respective armies without expecting any danger of being caught as a spy.


    ¡°Just like what they do to me, sell information.¡± Ferra answered.


    ¡°So all of them were actually playing as a double agent huh.¡±


    Gendry remembered the phrase, ¡°Knowledge is power.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I will have to go back and change my armor. I am getting sweaty under these.¡± Ferra showed his wet armpits as a proof.


    ¡°Of course, see you at the grounds.¡±


    Ferra went down after another drink. He went straight to the Barracks. This was actually Gendry¡¯s first attempt to manage a spy network as a Military Advisor. And he has no experience or cunning wits to know how to run it. Previously this job was given to the Spymaster. But the former spymaster had resigned and retired with no capable successor. As such he had to take the reins of the spy network built by the spymaster, temporarily until they found a replacement.


    ¡°Ser Gendry! A platoon will be going to the town to replace its sentries! Do you have additional orders for them?¡± a soldier called him below.


    ¡°Send 40 more men with them. I have received information that there is a possibility where several Rhodlin scouts or patrols may visit us in this region.¡± He must now take measures against any possible attacks to the town and the castle.


    ¡°Yes ser!¡±


    ¡°And tell them to stay vigilant. One of these days, Rhodlin forces will enter the Central Lands.¡± He added.


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?


    It was already afternoon after lunch when they finally sold out their baskets. Nessi was already preparing to close their stall when the surrounding soldiers have lined up out in the open and marched towards the gate.


    ¡°Is it time for that already?¡± she asked. After living in this town for years, she already knew the ways and schedules of every people that lived her, including the soldiers. Thus she also knew on what time the patrols and soldiers usually swap with their replacement. But currently, she felt it was strange as it was too early for them yet to be replaced.


    Although their stall was far from the gate, she can still see what goes inside as the marketplace is actually overlooking the gate entrance. Then Nessi noticed that a large group of soldiers had entered the gates. Unlike the previous ones, this group seemed to be larger in number than the previous groups.


    ¡®Maybe the lord decided to strengthen the defense of this town. Well, this is actually welcomed as there is now more soldiers that guards the town.¡¯ She thought.


    But she can only wish that they were enough to defend their lands against any assaults once again.


    ¡°Nessi! You can now get back home. I will just visit the Herbs store to buy some spices.¡± Her mother yelled from the distance.


    ¡°Y-yes mother!¡±


    ¡°I almost forgot, can you please gather some fratberries outside? We need those for our dinner later.¡± Her mother added.


    She already finished closing the stall, so she grabbed her personal basket and went towards the gate of the town.


    It took her almost half an hour to finally exit the walls as a lot of people were trying to enter the gate that it became crowded and slowed her down.


    ¡°On which part of the woods did those fratberries grew? I think I forgot their place of growth.¡± she tries to remember the locations of the fratberries scattered around near the town.


    Then she suddenly heard someone calling her behind.


    ¡°Hey! Pssst! Nessi! Over here.¡±


    When she turned, she noticed someone hiding behind the bushes. It was a voice from someone she knew.


    ¡°Master Pierre? What are you doing here? Shouldn¡¯t you be on your riding lessons today?¡±


    It was one of the sons of their lord. Then she realized that there is also something bigger hiding in the other bushes.


    ¡°Yeah, I already finished that one much earlier. I actually brought Willheim with me. Didn¡¯t¡¯ you told me that you wanted to ride a horse?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ wait? Is that Willheim?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, hehe. I actually learned how to make him crouch. Come with me, let¡¯s ride him together. Do you still have errands?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I actually have to gather some fratberries so¨C¡±


    ¡°Then come, we can find better and tasty ones on the far end of the river.¡± He interrupted.


    ¡°But won¡¯t the guards scold us if we don¡¯t enter the walls in time later? Not to mention, my mother may get worried if we stay too long outside.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡¯ worry, we still have time to play. We can just ride Willheim back into town later. They wouldn¡¯t dare scold you if I am with you.¡± he tried to persuade her.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    She then grabbed the hand that was offered by Pierre and along with the horse he brought, they vanished into the thick bushes.

 Volume 01 Chapter Four - Sacrificial Lambs

    River Mildrawn, one of the main rivers that give life to the Barony of Tervynberg. It is the very living blood of the farms, forest, villages, and cities of the western Swazbia. It carries rich blessings from the inland to the sea. Every speck of land it passes becomes bountiful. Its banks were always rich with earth¡¯s blessings. And it is also the favorite location for fruit-bearing plants and trees to grow. In competition, they twisted their trunks and stems to cover the flowing river, which in turn attracts birds from above and fishes below.


    Most of the river were covered with large trees that small plants don¡¯t have the chance to grow. So Pierre and Nessi went further downriver to find an open spot where small plants were growing in numbers.


    ¡°I-is this really a good idea? I heard some rumors in town that there are bandits and monsters in this part of the forest.¡± Nessi murmured her concern. She is currently riding saddle side with Pierre as they galloped through the plains, following the river on top of Willheim. The open grass plains made it easier for them to reach this part of the barony.


    ¡°It is alright. And if they ever appear, I will defeat them all. I was better than my older brothers in using the sword.¡± Pierre patted the short sword on his right side.


    They slowed down once they reached and entered the deep woods.


    ¡°Did¡­ you¡­ fought some bandits in the past?¡± Nessi asked.


    ¡°Ah¡­ N-not yet but my teacher already told me that with my skills, I could handle two or three of them.¡± Pierre replied.


    ¡°I was the first one to ever receive a real sword. My brothers have yet to get one.¡± Pierre gleefully unsheathed his sword and hoisted it.


    ¡°My, my¡­ ¡± Nessi pretended to giggle then smiled weakly as she looked at the sky.


    She knew the life of a woman in this kind of world. She would have to marry, give birth and take care of the house. But she doesn¡¯t know if her future husband will be dependable or not. She witnessed many couples in town that mostly fight after marriage due to knowing the real and true personality of their partner.


    So she cannot depend on her mother in selecting a husband for her. She knew the limits of being a farmer¡¯s daughter but she also knew that her beauty and feminine wiles is one of her main weapons in attracting good men with status. This is also the reason why she really took great care with her appearance and body. And why she wanted new set of clothes in the first place.


    ¡®I do not intend to remain crafting baskets in my entire life.¡¯ She always swore to use everything she had to change her life.


    Luckily, she was not born with any defects or even freckles like the other town girls. She has a long curly red hair with brown eyes. Her face was even praised by the guards and men of the town to be one of the fairest, second only to the baron¡¯s wife. But this is also the source of trouble for her among the circle of women in the town. Jealousy and envy from other girls were her daily thorns.


    And not only that, her family is also the only remaining relative of the baron¡¯s wife. Mylene is her distant cousin by blood from her father¡¯s side. Making her the only known aunt of the baron¡¯s children. But her age does not impede the grown adolescent boys to be infatuated with her.


    And one of the fishes she caught was the baron¡¯s son, Pierre whom made his advances towards her aggressively. He is a year younger than her but that doesn¡¯t stop the boy from trying to earn her heart. Although she still doesn¡¯t know if Pierre knew that they are distant relatives.


    ¡°How was your week by the way? Any problems?¡±


    ¡°Well, mother and I were busy preparing for the incoming winter. We are preoccupied in earning every coin possible.¡±


    ¡°How about I gave you and your family meat during the cold season? I am sure father wouldn¡¯t mind if I send a barrel of mutton.¡±


    ¡°Really? Thank you Master Pierre.¡±


    Pierre smiled at her gratitude. He is the third son of Baron Gregory but that doesn¡¯t make him inferior than his older brothers and siblings. In truth, Pierre is the best candidate as the baron¡¯s heir than the eldest. He is the only one among his brothers to be exempted from the daily classes. At the young age of four, he can already read books. Then at age 7, he is the first to be able to ride a horse. And when he was 11 years old, he was already assisting his father in managing the barony. Many of the servants even consider him the rightful heir of the barony.


    Obviously, this made his older brothers jealous of him, especially Frederick. His achievements and growing favoritism of their father on Pierre made him the worst enemy of the eldest. But they cannot bully or punctuate their rants and anger on him.


    Last time they did so, Pierre was able to defend himself and beat up his two brothers. To avoid any more chaos and growing of resentment, their father stopped depending on Pierre.


    Then with his father¡¯s permission, he started his martial lessons much early with Ser Gendry, the military advisor of the barony. Since then, he was influence by his teacher and later got a dream of becoming a knight. He still fantasizes about the stories of knights vanquishing monsters, bandits, thieves, defeating evil and saving the kingdom. Remembering his childhood dreams brought smile to his face.


    They now headed down the damp, mossy and heavily wooded area of the forest. Then Nessi heard the sound of flowing water.


    After several minutes of trekking in the woods, they finally reached the banks of the river.


    ¡°Well, here we are.¡± Pierre showed off the place. They stopped at the edge of the water and watched its clear serene surface being flowed by leaves and fishes. It was so clear that they could see all the way to the white sand at the very bottom of the river. And they could also judge by their eyes on how deep the furthest part is.


    ¡°Wow! I have never seen much fratberries growing on a single place!¡± Nessi was quite amazed to see the long lines of shrubs of fratberries on the open banks.


    ¡°I found this place last month when I was taking Willheim on a ride.¡±


    They stopped at the river bank to let Willheim drink and rest. Pierre got down first and tied the reins on a nearby branch of a tree.


    ¡°Can you help me get down by the way?¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah, I almost forgot that this is your first time to ride a horse.¡±


    Nessi proceeded to gather berries on her basket. She hummed as she picked every good berry she could find while also chewing on some of them. She also found other types of berries growing on the banks.


    ¡®It¡¯s such a waste that I only brought a basket. Some of the berries here were sought out by merchants and traders.¡¯ She saw other wild species of the rare Nautberries and Vivid berries that is a luxury spice for the wealthy.


    ¡°Ahh!! The water here just feels great! The sea really cannot beat the fresh water. Hahaha! Hey! Let¡¯s take a dip later!¡± Pierre started playing with the river. He already took off most of his clothes, leaving him only with his pants on.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He is still a 16 years old boy but his muscles and body was already chiseled from obvious training and hardwork. He has few scars on his arms which he got from his sparring lessons.


    ¡°Yeah, but let me fill these baskets first before that.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ fine.¡±


    She could already feel and know what Pierre really intended for inviting her here. He is a growing boy and at the age where he would obviously start thinking things about it. But she still has to put some distance between them or else she will be considered a woman that is easy to get. Teasing the boy and getting pursued increases the charms and worth of a woman.


    ¡°By the way, can you even swim?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I usually swim on the sea once a week with my friends.¡±


    She also found mushrooms and herbs growing on the area. But knowing that her basket cannot carry them all, she gathered tall grass leaves and crafted a large pouch then filled the pouches with all mushrooms, herbs and wild plants she could sell and eat.


    ¡°Master Pierre, can you help me carry this to Willheim? Just tie the pouches to his saddle.¡±


    ¡°Ah, y-yeah.¡±


    Seeing how Pierre¡¯s reaction is, she motivated him with a reward.


    ¡°Once we finish packing these up, we can take a dip together.¡±


    ¡°Ohh! Okay!¡±


    He quickly got out of the water and grabbed the pouches from her. He went towards the tree where he tied his horse¡¯s reins. The saddle has small hooks for this purpose so he was able to quickly tie the pouches.


    ¡®Maybe it¡¯s time for Willheim to wear armor¡­ just to get used in preparation for the future when he becomes my steed in every battle. I wonder if there are blacksmith in Balanli who knows how to craft one¡­ and will it be expensive?¡¯


    He was mulling about his future plans when Willheim suddenly neighed in pain and fell to the ground with a thud.


    He froze after seeing the arrow that is lodged deeply in his horse¡¯s eye.


    It took several seconds before Pierre returned to his senses.


    ¡°N-Nessi! G-get back!¡± he immediately went back to Nessi.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°S-s-someone¡­ just shot an¡­ a-arrow and killed Willheim. It may have been a bandit.¡± He unsheathes his short sword and dragged Nessi to hide behind a tree. Then several more arrows landed on the horse¡¯s body.


    ¡°W-we should run Pierre!¡±


    ¡°W-wait, we must first see and know on where did the arrows came from. Don¡¯t come out from this tree.¡± Pierre crept to another tree near his horse. He grabbed the basket from Nessi and poured the contents to the ground. Then he used it to shield his head as he crept.


    ¡®Judging from the positions of the arrows, the archer may have come from that overgrown hill¡­ wait¡­ *sniff *sniff¡­ herbs?¡¯ He concluded after checking the corpse. Then both of them suddenly heard footsteps.


    ¡°P-Pierre! We must go!¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah! Come!¡± he ran back towards Nessi and grabbed her hand as they run.


    Pierre led the way. They continued running until he was stopped by a scream of pain behind him and lost the hand he was grabbing. He turned only to see Nessi crouching as she held her leg.


    ¡°AHHH!!!!¡±


    There is an arrow that was buried deep on her flesh, causing lots of blood to flow. Nessi was shot on her upper thigh.


    ¡®Shit! There are multiple archers?!¡¯


    Both of them went to the direction that can cover them from any attacker on the hill but this time ¨C from the position of the arrow ¨C someone shot it from the woods on their far side.


    ¡°M-my leg! It hurts!!!¡± She fell on the ground with tears on her eyes. The extreme pain she felt is delivered thoroughly on her face.


    ¡°P-P-Pierre! H-help me!¡±


    Pierre tried to help her stand but her body didn¡¯t listen. She tried to take out the arrow by herself but was stopped by the piercing pain she received when she touched it.


    ¡°Huwaaa!¡±


    An arrow wound is no simple matter. Especially if he also don¡¯t know if the arrowhead is coated with poison or paralytic coating. And from her large wound, he surmised that the arrowhead¡¯s shape is purposely crafted to bleed out its targets.


    ¡®S-she will lose a lot of blood if I don¡¯t treat this immediately! B-but I don¡¯t know how to treat this! I-I am not knowledgeable in this type of situation! W-what should I do?! I heard that if I forcibly took out the a-arrow, she will just bleed out. W-what should I do damn it?!¡¯ Pierre was already sweating in buckets.


    Then the footsteps of several people drew nearer with every crunching of dried leaves. Judging by the sound, Pierre could tell that there are more than ten people, Because of the howling wind in the woods, both of them don¡¯t know in which direction they will be coming from and it terrified them.


    Running away without knowing which way they should go would be very foolish. Getting impaled by a sword or spear, hidden from the shrubs is just one of his main reasons why he didn¡¯t do so. And also getting shot down by arrows and dying slowly from bleeding is the last thing he wanted.


    But awaiting the arrival of these unknown people and getting surrounded is also foolish, so Pierre had to decide on what to do immediately. They couldn¡¯t head back the way they came as that path can get them spotted so easily.


    They would¡¯ve been able to get away in time if Willheim was not shot down. But their chance of getting away is getting smaller as every second passes.


    His confusion and indecisiveness transformed into fear. He is slowly getting consumed by fear and panic that he is already considering to leave the wounded Nessi lying on the ground.


    ¡®I-I can¡¯t let myself get captured here! I-if I get captured, there is no guarantee that father will even pay for the ransom. T-then I would be more likely be s-sold as a slave. S-so I should-¡¯


    ¡°Oho, what do we have here...¡± a voice interrupted his thoughts.


    Several men with leather armors, armed with spears, swords and axes revealed themselves one by one from the woods. Their dirty appearance and variety of looted weapons obviously screams that they are bandits.


    ¡°S-Stay back!¡± Pierre tried to intimidate them with his sword.


    ¡°Hehehe¡­ Boss, looks like we bagged a couple in the middle of their tryst.¡± One of the men grinned as he spotted Nessi on the ground, shivering.


    ¡®F-fuck! Fuck!! Damn patrols! Their incompetence had let this forest get infested with bandits! Fuck! W-what should I do?! Shit! Shit! Think! Think!¡¯ he keeps on thrashing on his mind.


    ¡®C-can I run even if I wanted to? But there is still that concern of the archers. These bandits must have been watching us for some quite a time before deciding to ambush us.¡¯


    And one of the reasons he cannot run immediately is because their back is on the river. He can swim, but that doesn¡¯t guarantee his safety from being shot down by an arrow or impaled by a javelin while swimming.


    ¡®What would teacher do in this situation? Would I try to talk this out? No, these men would not risk having their quarry run away. And even if I did manage to get my own safety through words, they would still exchange me for a ransom. Then should I fight? But could I even handle all of them? I don¡¯t want to die just yet! What should-¡¯


    Then he saw the engraved name on the handle of his sword.


    [ Aurstag ]


    The name of his favorite hero.


    He suddenly remembered the fantasy bedtime stories. Then he slowly got back his senses. In this situation ¨C surrounded but defeating the bandits then saving a helpless maiden ¨C he can finally become the knight he always dreamed of.


    ¡®Can I beat them? No! I must! I am a noble. It is my duty to protect the honor and dignity of my family!¡¯


    Power and strength replaced his fear and panic that crawled on his body previously.


    With experience from sparring many times with the Ser Gendry, he forced his body to awaken his inner self that was considered a prodigy by his teacher. Blood pounded heavily on his chest, muscles, eyes and ears. Making him narrow everything down in his surroundings.


    ¡°Fuuu¡­ ha¡­. Fuuu¡­ Haa¡­¡± Pierre controls his panicking breathing into a calm state. He was taught that panic breathing will make him tire out faster and easily. And he is surrounded by bandits so he don¡¯t have the luxury to waste a single breathe for a single mistake.


    Then after finally calming himself, he analyzes his situation. He observed his surroundings, viewing their equipment, weapons and body height. Then counted every bandit.


    ¡®One, two, three, four¡­ hmm, about fifteen to sixteen road thugs¡­ but no one among them is carrying a bow¡­ so no, seventeen or more if I count the archers that took down Willheim.¡¯


    Most of bandits were just farmers or road beggars who looted some weapons and armors on a battlefield. Their large numbers mostly takes up what they lack in skills and experience.


    Before they could fully surround him, he must take the initiative and attack first.


    ¡®Saint Georgia, bless me with the blood of my enemies!¡¯

 Volume 01 Chapter Five - Theres Always a Bigger Monster

    Back in the castle grounds and training yards, Pierre would only spar with the soldiers and his teacher. He would sometimes be pitted with multiple opponents. But the highest number he sparred against was five. And they were soldiers of his family so he still understands that they weren¡¯t really serious in fighting against him.


    But now he will be facing multiple enemies with the possibility of being killed. And most of all, Pierre have no experience in killing a fellow human being yet. His teacher would always tell him that the in taking his first life will tell if he is ready to take his second. He still doesn¡¯t understand those words but now, he feels that he will be soon enough.


    The instant most of the bandits he counted were on full view outside the trees; Pierre rushed with his sword drawn.


    ¡°Shit! The kid is armed!¡± the nearest bandit noticed the glistening sword on Pierre¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Gurt, don¡¯t kill him! I heard this guy is a noble!¡±


    ¡°We could get rich from his ransom!¡±


    Pierre wondered on where and how they knew that he is a noble. But pushes such thought out of his mind and decided to focus first on resolving his current situation.


    He grabbed the very first spear he reached and used it to pull one of the bandits. Then struck him in the chest, but it seems it was not deep enough as it only cut the armor and his blade is not stained with blood.


    ¡°You fucking bastard!¡± the one he attacked was also shocked at what happened and may have thought that he have taken a fatal injury.


    A man wielding the axe rushed towards him with an overhead attack aiming at Pierre. But Pierre used that opening to kick his feet, causing him to fall to the ground, face first.


    He was about to stab the man when he sense an incoming attack from behind and dodged to the side. It was a spear thrust. Then Pierre kicked the spear and jumped towards the wielder. He aimed at the man¡¯s neck but missed when the man leaped backwards to avoid his slash.


    ¡°Shit! He is quick!¡±


    ¡°Why you little bastard!¡±


    ¡°No you idiots! Use blunt weapons! We can¡¯t have him die! His worth would reduce on every limb he lost!¡±


    Pierre then used the butt of his sword to knock another bandit who jumped behind him. It didn¡¯t go too well for that man as his left eye was struck instead.


    ¡°AAH!! M-m-my eye!! AAHH!!¡±


    The bandit used his other hand to cover his bleeding eye then glared with infernal hatred on Pierre.


    ¡°Y-you will fucking pay for that!¡±


    Thankfully none of the bandits were carrying or using any shield or helmet. Their assumed leader is the only one who has better equipment as he is wearing chainmail on his upper body and had breastplate to protect his chest.


    But that doesn¡¯t also change Pierre¡¯s situation, as he himself isn¡¯t wearing armor for protection. He left his own chainmail shirt at the castle. However in exchange, he is much faster and quicker than his opponents.


    Then Pierre dodges several strikes from an axe and sword that came on his sides. His advantage is that he is a small target. But that didn¡¯t help him avoid a getting several scratches on his arms.


    ¡®Shit shit! Don¡¯t stop! Don¡¯t think! Let the sword do the killing!¡¯ he kept on repeating the same sentences within his mind to ignore the pain and exhaustion he is slowly getting.


    ¡°You fools! You can¡¯t fucking handle a single brat?¡±


    ¡°B-but he is quick on his feet boss!¡±


    ¡°Box him in using your spears and disable him!¡± their leader is also slowly getting irritated.


    ¡®Good, Nessi lost their attention.¡¯ Pierre heaved a small relief.


    ¡®But this just means that they know how valuable I am than a village girl. And from what I have heard earlier, they knew who I am in the first place. Did someone sell me out?¡¯


    ¡®The number one suspect for this are my brothers¡­ fucking assholes!¡¯ his angry thoughts nearly caused him to get skewered by a spear when he made a wrong turn.


    Thankfully, he was able to parry the pointy end and struck the wielder on his chest. But he felt something hard instead of a soft flesh. When he drew away his sword, he realized that the bandit is wearing a thick wooden board as his chest protector.


    He clicked his tongue in irritation, as he still hasn¡¯t reduced their numbers. He moved from shrub to shrub, trunk to trunk to confuse his opponents.


    Using a rock, he vaulted in and thrust his sword into the back of the unsuspecting bandit. But once again, his attack was stopped by a thick wooden board that they wore beneath their thick ragged clothes.


    ¡°Tsk! Fucking brat!¡± the bandit he struck found out that he just missed a reaper¡¯s visit and countered with his own one handed axe to Pierre¡¯s side. Luckily, his quick reflexes allowed him to leap out of its reach.


    ¡®Wait¡­ where are their archers?¡¯ Pierre noticed that the bandits present aren¡¯t carrying any bows.


    ¡®Are they still hiding from a distance?¡¯


    Pierre rushed again in the shrubs and used it to disturb their senses. But all of the sudden he stumbled and fell to his knees.


    ¡°W-wha¡­ what is¡­¡±


    He was able to stop falling completely with the help of his trembling hands and knees. But dizziness and nausea was slowly felt by his body, causing him to vomit what he had eaten this morning. Putrid smell of digested food and wine soon invaded his nose.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong kid? Lost your footing or something? You cannot handle us all alone you brat. What were you thinking? You dreaming something as if you were a knight, eh? Bwahahahaha!¡± As the bandit¡¯s voice reached him, Pierre slowly found out that a dagger has been buried in his right thigh.


    ¡°AAAAHHH!!!¡± In the midst of piercing pain, Pierre had unconsciously let go of his sword to grab his leg.


    Then his beloved sword was picked by one of the bandits.


    ¡°Heh¡­ he really is a noble, no sword have such excellent craftsmanship on this and with an engraved name to boot! This can be sold for a very high price.¡±


    ¡°It may not even be a name but could also be a mark of a smith!¡±


    ¡°Give that back! That is not for the likes of you!!¡± Pierre demanded in the middle of pain and dizziness.


    That sword is the only hope left for him to escape this situation, his very own lifeline¡­ but more than that, it is also his pride.


    As if to answer his half-mad shout, the man spat on the blade of his sword and tapped its wet blade surface on Pierre¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°¡­boss, stop bullying the kid.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s face twisted in rage. He writhed on the ground, struggling against the pain and bleeding on his injured thigh. He tried to stand but fell when one of his legs refuse to give strength. So Pierre crawled instead.


    The man who was blinded by Pierre went towards him, took his dagger and drove it hard into his other thigh.


    ¡°How is it boy?¡± the man grinned with his bleeding left eye.


    ¡°AAHHHHH!!!¡± he gave another agonized cry as the blade pierced his flesh and reached a bone.


    ¡°Let me give him a bruise in the face also! He fucking ruined my armor.¡± the thug whom received his first strike wanted to join in beating him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill him you idiots!! He is one of the baron¡¯s sons. We will get a lot from his ransom!¡± one of his fellows stopped the man with a flick of his spear on the back of his head.


    ¡°Hey hey, no one wanted to buy a corpse you know.¡± another bandit added.


    ¡°Bordus, that is enough! We can¡¯t have him die just yet.¡± The leader commanded.


    ¡°I just want him to feel even just a little bit of my pain when he took out one of my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that okay? Karli, treat Bordus wounds.¡±


    ¡°Aye boss.¡±


    Pierre now understood what his teacher told him that overconfidence of a skilled warrior will result to his death or worse.


    Yes, the bandits could be considered weak. They were mostly farm boys or men that left their homes and couldn¡¯t even use spear or sword effectively. In front of a skilled swordsman, they are as strong as a child individually. But if these bandits took up weapons, traveled in bands ten to fifteen people, they can definitely take down the skilled swordsman.


    And every human is capable of gaining experience. So maybe, some of these bandits have grown and became experienced in fighting after years on this kind of work.


    Even though he will not admit it, he had lost without taking out even just one of them.


    And even if he wanted to, Pierre couldn¡¯t yell or ask for help as the patrol routes didn¡¯t reach this far. He also didn¡¯t bring any money as a bribe for the bandits. But even if he did, he is not entirely sure if he can get away with just paying the ¡°toll¡±.


    ¡°No¡­ it cannot be!¡± Nessi was watching the entire fight when Pierre was finally knocked down by the butt of the spear.


    Then they all switched their attention to her.


    ¡°What do we have here¡­¡± one of the bandits removed his leather headgear and revealed a face full of scars and bald head.


    ¡°*sniff *sniff¡­ her pure smell¡­ Mmmmm¡­ Hehehehe, so you are still a virgin¡­ too bad your lover here wouldn¡¯t be able to taste your fresh bud, mwehehehehehehe. I will be first. Cover her mouth and restrain her hands and feet. I don¡¯t want her biting me while I cum. That isn¡¯t my taste.¡± The largest of the group commanded.


    They all rushed towards her and restrained her, to avoid killing herself.


    ¡°Sure boss. But please don¡¯t abuse her too much okay? I still want her to resist while I fuck her later.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wouldn¡¯t want to waste such good quarry. We still need her alive to be sold to the slavers later. Be sure to gag her well, I don¡¯t want her to accidentally bite her tongue and fuck a corpse as a result. Hehehehe.¡± The bandit leader said.


    They forcefully put something on her mouth and blocked it with a ragged smelly cloth.


    ¡°Ohhh¡­ she smells actually nice boss! Can I lick her while you fuck her? Her tears and sweat as she feels your dick would be quite a taste.¡± A thin man with buck teeth held her right arm in place.


    ¡°You degenerate bastard! Ahahaha! I want to lick her ears too.¡± They all started laughing at each other.


    The bandits started undressing their bottom after they bound her hands to a root. Then they hastily ripped out her clothes using their daggers.


    She thinks she can handle two to three men toying with her body but more than a dozen could get her insane just from imagining it. Nessi can already feel her beating heart in fear and desperation for a miracle. Her muffled cries only fueled the lust of the men who bound her.


    ¡®Why! Why does people like exist?! Why?! Why?!! Why is this happening to me?!¡¯ Nessi screamed in her mind as her mouth was gagged tightly.


    Nessi knew most of the cruel fate of women and children who were not able to get into safety from pirate raids, village attacks and enslavement.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    But in reality, she didn¡¯t even care or think deeply enough about it. She mostly felt sorry about the victims but that¡¯s about it.


    And most of all, she didn¡¯t expect to be the receiving end of the same fate.


    ¡®Father¡­ Atli¡­ Badi¡­ Joam!¡¯ Nessi she cried for the names of her departed family.


    Before she lost most of her family and when they were still living back in the farms, they would always make time to attend Sunday mass on the nearest church. Praying together as a family.


    The holy circle¡¯s teaching also reached their lives as they would still pray five times per day. First, when they wake up in the morning, Second is before they take their breakfast, third is on their lunch, fourth is before dinner then the last prayer is before they sleep. All in gratitude for the blessings they received.


    But that faith was shaken when they lost their farm and had to take refuge on the town, then when they slowly lost their family to the raids and the last nail to take down their faith is when their mother cursed god after burying Nessi¡¯s baby sister. Her mother stopped praying and attending the mass since then. Praying even became a taboo inside their house. Still, she kept her faith secretly. She considers everything that happened to her family to be a test of their faith. And even if her mother already lost hers, she decided to be the last anchor of her family¡¯s faith to their god.


    ¡®God! Help me! Oh God please!¡¯


    And now she is asking desperately, begging for a miracle. Even asking for death just to escape the pain and suffering she will receive on being violated. She expected a lightning bolt to fall from the heavens or a sudden appearance of angels to slay the evil that surrounds her. But none of these appeared as the bandits already showed their manhood near her face.


    ¡°MMMPPHHHH!!!¡± More tears flowed in her eyes as her undergarment was taken from her legs.


    In her desperate attempt, she was able to free her other hand from its binds and struck the man who was restraining her upper body. Her hand was able to scratch the face of the thug but in response he used the hard end of his hammer to hit Nessi on her face.


    ¡°You fucking bitch!¡± he struck her so hard that it severely injured Nessi¡¯s left face. The force caused her head to bounce on the hard ground and resulted to dizziness and pain. The beating left a large wound from her left eye brow to her jaw that the muscles and flesh were showing its red insides, bleeding without stop. It looked like they skinned her on this part of her face.


    ¡°You idiot! Now look what you have done!¡± his fellow bandit berated him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it! She fucking scratched me that almost took out my eye!¡±


    ¡°Quick! We can¡¯t sell her with this injury anyway. So get on with the fucking boss! I will be next! She may still have several hours before she dies from the loss of blood.¡±


    Nessi fainted after not being able to bear the pain from another wound and the incoming attempt of violating her body.


    Then one of the bandits noticed her bleeding leg. Nessi herself forgot her previous injury due to the fear of getting violated.


    ¡°Hey can¨C Wait¡­ an arrow?¡±


    Her leg is still bleeding from the arrow she received.


    ¡°H-hey, did one of you shot an arrow?¡± the one who noticed her injury and asked his fellows.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Hey, all of you! Stop what you are doing for now!¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    They all stopped and turned towards him.


    ¡°Someone shot an arrow on her. There is someone other than us here!¡±


    After realizing the meaning of his words and the arrow lodged on Nessi, they scrambled to put on their pants and weapons. Getting ambushed while playing around is the last thing they want.


    None of them was using a bow but someone shot an arrow on the woman. This could only mean that they were lured in a trap by someone or some other group of bandits.


    A common practice for the rival groups of bandits in this area.


    They used the trees as cover and scanned their surroundings, waiting for an ambush. They kept on hiding for several minutes before one of them stood from a cover of bush.


    ¡°Maybe there isn¡¯t a third party here?¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± their leader commanded.


    What responded was rustling of the surrounding shrubs.


    They immediately prepared in their combat stance.


    ¡°I-is it a b-bear?¡± one of them asked as this time around, bears were usually aggressive and rowdy to find food for their hibernation period during winter.


    They turned towards the direction of the rustling sounds and prepared their weapons.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?! Come out!¡±


    Then something large leaped out and attacked the group.


    What appeared were the dreaded horrors of the forests, oversize grey wolves.


    ¡°D-direwolves!¡±


    ¡°T-this can¡¯t be! F-fuck! Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±


    ¡°W-wait! S-stick together!¡±


    ¡°W-why are there direwolves in this part of the forest!¡±


    ¡°AAAH!!!¡±


    ¡°Hiii!!¡±


    All of them panicked after seeing the increasing number of direwolves that appeared from the darkness of the woods. Their response is only natural as direwolves were taller than an average adult man. A single bite could swallow their head whole.


    By the time, the direwolves finished surrounding them; they found out that there are almost twenty large wolves circling around them. There are actually only fifteen of them, contrary to Pierre¡¯s previous conclusion of their numbers.


    Before their leader could finish ordering a formation, one of the beasts pounced on him and bit his arm that carried a weapon. He didn¡¯t even have the time to respond before the beast¡¯s great weight slammed him to the ground.


    ¡°Argghhh!!!¡± his leather helmet were thrown from his head and swallowed by the shrubs, leaving him defenseless from another direwolf that also came and bit his entire head then thrashed violently together with the previous direwolf. It could have been much better if he died from this but he was still alive when all of this was happening on his body. He cannot even scream the pain as his head was inside the jaw of the direwolf. He was finally given the death he wanted, minutes later after his head was ripped from his body.


    His fellow bandits didn¡¯t even have the chance to help him as the direwolves attacked all of them simultaneously, as if to avoid having them cooperate effectively. As thus chaos and panic rose in their party.


    One of the bandits that wielded a spear was faced with two direwolves, as if the beasts knew the danger of the spears. They growled as they waited for him to strike his spear, maybe so that one of them will attack as soon as the spear targets the other. The bandit also knew this so he is hesitant to aim his spear on one of the direwolves. He instead used the spear to swat the beasts away from him. Spear is one of the effective mid-range weapons that have long reach; it can both protect the wielder and attack his enemy.


    But he forgot that humans are not the only one capable of cooperation. A third direwolf pounced on him from behind which got his right shoulder in a single bite. He tried to use the back of his spear to separate him from the beast but as soon as the spear was not aimed towards them anymore, the previous two direwolves rushed at the same time. The leather armor he looted from a patrol they killed last week didn¡¯t protect him from the fangs and claws which ripped his body apart.


    Another one who also wielded a spear was ganged up by another two direwolves, the first one were able to plucked the spear out of his hands and the other immediately pounced towards him, leaving only cries of pain from the bandit.


    Then a bandit with the sword panicked after seeing most of his fellows get ripped to pieces. With tears in his eyes and wet pants, he waved his sword about with his arms, trying to chase the incoming direwolves away. Some of his fellow bandits were better and skilled than him. He was just among the newly recruited members. And his days with the band got him to know the veteran members that boast good deal of physical strength and experience in battle or fights. But after seeing how all of those skills went useless in front of savage beasts, he despaired.


    The way he was frantically swinging his sword, he wouldn¡¯t hit anything anyway. Each time his blade made a panicking slash, it made a howling noise which made the direwolves step back a little as they growled towards him. He thought that maybe he can continue doing so and escape with his life. But just like the previous bandit, he forgot to guard his rear. Two direwolves leaped on his back then ripped his shoulder and neck. His blade fell to the ground and was later smeared with his own blood that spurted from his neck.


    Then several others were shredded with fangs and claws as they tried to run away. They didn¡¯t even put up a decent fight after seeing the dismemberment of the largest of them.


    Nessi woke up in the middle in all of this, still frozen from shock and fear. Shock from seeing the sudden turn of events that just happened and fear that death may not come easily for her. She tried to move slowly away while the direwolves¡¯ attentions were still on the bandits. But an arrow was still buried on the flesh of her leg, showing a cruel tear that revealed the muscles, veins and spurting blood.


    And then her body remembered the bleeding wound on her face which she had to force herself from stopping the scream of pain. Instead her breathes came with strained squeaks with every slow movement she makes.


    ¡°God, please¡­ someone¡­ help¡­ help me¡­.¡± she wished desperately for another miracle.


    This time, to fight against the possibility of getting eaten alive by beasts.


    Unfortunately for her, a direwolf noticed her moving towards the tall grass.


    She grabbed the spear that was left behind by a bandit and tried to use it as a way to intimidate the beast. But instead it only angered the direwolf. She already have no strength to even thrust the spear so when the beast used its mouth to take the spear from her, she didn¡¯t even have the chance to resist it. With white fangs that are smeared with blood, the beast growled as it prepared to rush towards her.


    And she suddenly heard a piercing sound.


    It struck the direwolf on its back that it twisted and whimper in pain. The beast then changes its attention to the unknown attacker. But as soon as it turned, an arrow landed on its head which quickly killed it without a sound.


    A nearby direwolf noticed the death of its companion and saw Nessi. Thinking that she is the one responsible, the direwolf pounced at her with feral rage. But before it could even land, an arrow struck its head that penetrated through the other side. Then it fell as a corpse near Nessi.


    The biggest one of them, the alpha direwolf had finally sensed what was going on with the other members of his pack and came flying through to help fight this new attacker. He saw Nessi near the two dead direwolves. Growling at her, he sniffed the bodies to know what killed them then also sniffed the arrows lodged in their heads.


    Then he heard a whistling sound that he was able to jump to the side, just in time to dodge the incoming arrow. He howled as if signaling his entire pack about the new enemy. In response, the rest of the direwolves stopped what they are doing and regrouped. Then they all tried to sense out the attacker.


    Several arrows landed on the direwolves and it successfully fell three of them while the rest just missed vital organs to disable them. Then as if they were able to finally sense where the arrows came from, the alpha howled and several direwolves rushed towards the mysterious attacker.


    This person was actually on the high ground which overlooks the location. And he realized that his location had been compromised. But instead of running away, he strapped his bow on his back and unsheathed his blade. Then he rushed towards the incoming direwolves with lowered blade.


    The first direwolf to reach leapt towards him. But unlike what happened to the bandits, the attacker threw something that hit its eye. It shrieked in agony making it miss its target as it landed. Then the attacker gripped his blade firmly in both hands, giving a fatal thrust that pierced the throat of the blinded direwolf with precision. It ripped the neck of the beast after he withdrew his blade from its flesh.


    The rest of the pursuing direwolves finally arrived only to see that one of them had already died. They growled in anger as they rushed towards this attacker.


    Seeing the new batch of direwolves coming for him, he prepared for them in an overhead stance where the point of his blade is aimed to the incoming threat. The moment they reached a significant distance where his blade can reach them, he immediately jumps forward. He made a downward slash towards the first direwolf which struck the head of the beast. Then he caught the second one on his left as he turned with another slash, slicing through the belly of the direwolf. And with a quick forward thrust, he struck the chest of the leaping beast on his right, penetrating through the rib and straight to its heart.


    The rest of the direwolves had trouble in keeping up with their prey. As it kept on moving without rest, carrying deadly strikes that continually killed those who tried to attack it. Three more direwolves fell during their pursuit on him.


    Then as if sensing it, he crouched just in time to dodge the surprise attack on his rear. This kind of attack previously killed most of the bandits. And knowing the blindspot of the direwolf as it lands, he went straight with his blade which surprised the beast when it landed and turned, only to face the point of his blade. His heavy horizontal slash tore the beast apart, cutting through from its head to the right leg.


    He kept on moving using the woods and large roots to his advantage, taking the large size of the direwolves against them. The last two direwolves pursued. Intending to corner their prey, they separated; the first chose the right and other went to the left. But just seconds after chasing, both of them lost track of their prey. The large shrubs and protruding tree roots from the ground truly did slowed them down. They tried to sniff him out to track him back.


    Little did they know that their prey is on top of a tree branch, peering from above. He jumped as soon as he judged that the two direwolves were just a small distance to each other. He used his fall to strike the head of the first direwolf, killing it instantly and then made another heavy downward slash which cleanly beheaded the second one.


    Through a geyser of direwolf¡¯s blood, he shook the blood from his blade and put it back in its sheathe.


    In just mere minutes, he was able to cut off all of his attackers. Although he already returned his blade back to its scabbard, he is still drunk with bloodlust. He ran back towards the location where the bandits fell.


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?


    The alpha direwolf realized that his howls were not receiving a single reply. As such he decided to retreat with just the prey they can carry.


    Then he remembered the surviving human, Nessi. The alpha direwolf just silently looked at Nessi, as if trying to see or judge whether to kill her or not. The gaze took several seconds but it was more than enough to induce panic and greater fear on the girl. She started shivering along with her crumpled crying face and snot from the nose. Finally, as if the smell of her pee had helped persuade the alpha direwolf, it decided to leave her instead.


    The rest of the pack dragged and grabbed several bodies of bandits with their jaws. They disappeared with their prize in the thick woods and shrubs.


    The brutal fight was finally over. All that was left is the bodies of four bandits, few corpses of direwolves, the unconscious Pierre and the crying Nessi.


    Then someone broke the silence when Nessi noticed a figure of a person coming towards her. He was wearing some kind of black armor but the stains of blood dyed his entire body to crimson. Two small rectangular curved boards seemed to have been fastened on both of his shoulders and had two blades on the left part of his waist.


    As if he didn¡¯t see her, he stopped at the body of the dead direwolf. He crouched and reached towards the arrow that was lodged deeply with his hand and casually withdrew it from its skull; flesh and blood spurted out as a result. The arrow head was drenched with bits of red flesh, eye matter and blood.


    Lying on the ground because she cannot even stand even if she wanted to, Nessi¡¯s thin frame shook nervously. Her face that attracted even the baron¡¯s son was scrunched up into a mess of tears, snot and sweat. Her arms and feet, the gorgeous body that was lusted by Pierre and the bandits earlier was covered with torn clothes that failed to hide her ample chest and bottom.


    ¡°W-who¡­ who are¡­you?¡± still whimpering in tears, she gathered all of her courage to ask the identity of this person who just casually gathers the arrows from the corpses. She feared that this person is just another bandit or looter as she didn¡¯t even recognize the armor. But it seems that this person either didn¡¯t hear her or just plainly ignored her because he never replied to her question.


    ¡°W-wh-who are you?¡± she asked again with louder voice, pushing down her terror and throbbing pain.


    Then after hearing her second question, the person finally noticed her. He went towards her and offered a hand. Only then she realized that the person in front of her have long black hair that is as dark as the night sky, tied on the back. And she is being reflected on his black eyes. Half of his face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only the two eyes.


    As if everything has finally taken a toll to her body and the sudden arrival of a savior, she slowly felt sleepy.


    Before losing consciousness from the loss of blood, Nessi heard an answer.


    ¡°Mizuki.¡±

 Map of Tervynberg

    Tevarin Castle


    <ul>


    <li>Seat of House Bauhnmont</li>


    <li>One of the well built and well designed stone castles in the kingdom.</li>


    <li>Equipped with two catapults and two ballistas deployed on its ramparts.</li>


    <li>Surrounded by deep moat</li>


    <li>(This castle and even its location are inspired from my favorite Tevarin Castle in the game, Mount&Blade Warband Vanilla Ver.)</li>


    </ul>


    BalanliIf you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    <ul>


    <li>It was formerly just a small village in the coastal area, but after the increasing number of refugees that took residence due to the war, it is slowly becoming a large town.</li>


    <li>It is now fortified with wooden walls and moat.</li>


    <li>(This village-town is also inspired from the same village of Balanli under Tevarin Castle in the game, Mount&Blade Warband Vanilla Ver.)</li>


    </ul>


    Glaring Caves


    A cave system where Mizuki took residence.

 Map of Western Vadraldia Continent

    Kingdom of Swazbia


    Sovereign:


    King Georgel Karlaus Isyn Stoph Edking Zacbuttard


    Capital City:


    City of Othrys


    Currencies:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Lopues Coin


    Juile Coin


    Rossan Coin


    Socults Coin


    Othrys Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Church of the Holy Circle


    Recorded Population:


    6,793,954 (As of year 1232)


    Kingdom of Mords


    Sovereign:


    King Varalda Vadragnar


    Capital City:


    City of Breidablik


    Currency:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Juile Coin


    Estella Coin


    Gurdrid Coin


    Rossan Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Old Mordic Paganism


    Recorded Population:


    2,547,458 (As of year 1232)


    Dukedom of Urst


    Sovereign:


    Archduke Otto van Urstlagd


    Capital City:


    City of Cimmeria


    Currency:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Lopues Coin


    Juile Coin


    Rossan Coin


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.??????Haul Coin


    Tropits Coin


    Messila Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Church of the Holy Circle


    Recorded Population:


    3,168,521 (As of year 1232)


    Rhodlin Confederacy


    Sovereign:


    High King Steffanford Kraug Nus Waldr Friedland


    Capital City:


    City of Veleusca


    Currency:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Lopues Coin


    Juile Coin


    Rossan Coin


    Pagenli Coin


    Oswald Coin


    Mulburr Coin


    Stepid Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Church of the Holy Circle


    Recorded Population:


    5,864,697 (As of year 1232)


    Khattar Khanate


    Sovereign:


    Suchenge Khan Hamuka


    (Supreme Khan Hamuka)


    Capital City:


    Mongke Hulagway


    *Nomadic = No permanent location for the city.


    Currencies:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Juile Coin


    Togul Coin


    Mayali Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Shigentoism


    Church of the Holy Circle


    Katari Faith


    Dunni Qamish


    Old Mordic Paganism


    (Allowed any religion to flourish freely)


    Recorded Population:


    6,353,296 (As of year 1232)


    Principality of Kaegrs


    Sovereign:


    Prince Vladimir Los Norveddin


    Capital City:


    City of Creusa


    Currencies:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Lopues Coin


    Juile Coin


    Rossan Coin


    Golders Coin


    Rizal Coin


    Trollym Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Church of the Holy Circle


    Recorded Population:


    2,769,437 (As of year 1232)


    Reginus Empire


    Sovereign:


    Emperor Yscandar Gallic Dienether Disclay Ascenti Mariannus Mobus Hallach Favareed Sethdread Varis Barrada Crownborn


    Capital City:


    City of Aquila


    Currencies:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Lopues Coin


    Juile Coin


    Phynix Coin


    Adaman Coin


    Regis Coin


    Dovis Coin


    Roiteri Coin


    Almayne Coin


    King Xander Coin


    Stagus Coin


    Toryelli Coin


    Builders Coin


    Tarsson Coin


    Polantibra Coin


    Entra Coin


    Shivalen Coin


    Vaulted Coin


    Rose Coin


    Brest Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Church of the Holy Circle


    Recorded Population:


    15,672,663 (As of year 1232)


    Pharassid Sultanate


    Sovereign:


    Sultan Sayif Aldid Alqatuz Alhakim


    Capital City:


    City of Pharsillia


    Currencies:


    Rumptole Coin


    Fremian Coin


    Juile Coin


    Tolkieyeni Coin


    Brenni Coin


    Vadslau Coin


    *NOTE: (May get new additions or replacements in the future due to the unstable economy and effects of war)


    Religion:


    Dunni Qamish


    Recorded Population:


    6,683,152 (As of year 1232)

 Volume 01 Chapter Six - A Stranger in the Strange Lands

    Blood had smeared on her armor once again.


    ¡°Ha¡­ I hate washing clothes and this is what happens. Nevermind, I will wash this later.¡± She left her bloodied armor on her makeshift mat and went to a tanning rack.


    Mizuki was intending to hunt a bear and after two days of tracking, she finally found some trail, but instead, what she found were several bandits trying to rape a girl. Then she noticed another¡¯s presence who was also interested in these bandits, Direwolves.


    There are no direwolves back in her homeland.


    Only smaller ones but still bigger than a dog. Same with the animals she found in this land, the bears she finds in the forest were always two to three times bigger than what she had seen previously. There were also other animals she had never encountered before; such as the bird type animal but have a human torso, a giant long necked chicken, giant spiders, a stag with golden horns, horse-sized horned hounds and man eating horned snakes. It made her very interested in wandering the forests of the new lands she had found.


    ¡®Hmmm¡­ it¡¯s a clear sky tonight but¡­ there will be rain tomorrow huh.¡¯ she checked the weather using the clouds on the sky and wind.


    The sound of crickets and early flapping of bats were already signaling the coming night. She made a small campfire near the river. On the makeshift tent she made, were the unconscious couple. Both of them were sleeping soundly after she was able to immediately treat their grievous wounds and injuries using her self-made medicinal salves. But she had a hard time in treating the girl¡¯s wound as she had lost a large amount of blood. If she didn¡¯t have any knowledge on caring such deep wounds, the girl would¡¯ve died already.


    She is currently skinning the direwolves at the river bank, while constantly watching their surroundings.


    Mizuki already wanted to return to Balanli to sell her acquired loot and unexpected game but-


    ¡®I can¡¯t leave this two, especially this guy. But the problem is I can¡¯t carry both of them and I don¡¯t have any pack animals or horses to carry them. My cart can only carry small number of baggage and it is already full.¡¯ Mizuki mulled over on what she would do to the two.


    She already looted everything that can be sold from the dead bandits. And put them all on her small sled, including the weapons and the spilled contents from Nessi¡¯s basket. On the campfire, were the skewered fishes she caught from the river.


    ¡®Maybe I should make a drag sled...¡¯


    Mizuki was already on her last direwolf when she felt something rustling in the camp.


    Upon feeling enough warm from the campfire burning near her body, Nessi woke up.


    She slightly opened her eyes while supporting her body with her two elbows to rise from a sleeping posture. The brightness of the fire makes it hard for her eyes to see after just waking up so she tried to use one of her palm as a shade.


    She heard the flowing water nearby so she assumed that she is sleeping somewhere near the river although her exact location is still unknown to her. Above her were large leaves and branches that make up a small shelter enough for a single person. Then her hands felt the soft warm pelt under her that is spread out over the same large leaves on the ground that made up her bedding.


    The campfire is built like a large stove by stacking up the small stones together. It has a large opening that acts as the entrance for the firewood. Then it is covered with an unknown metal that resulted on having the smoke and heat spread further on its surroundings.


    ¡°¡­¡± Nessi suddenly felt the cold. She slowly went and sat on a stone by the fire, trying to warm her hands and body.


    ¡®So¡­ I am¡­ still alive¡­¡¯ she felt the increasing warmth and the slow beating of her heart as the signs of a living body.


    ¡®Uhh¡­ w-where¨C ¡¯she was about to survey her surroundings when a voice with strange accent stopped her.


    ¡°Oh, I am impressed. You lost a lot of blood but still you are the first one to wake up.¡±


    Mizuki went back to skinning after she found that it was Nessi who woke up.


    At first, Nessi¡¯s face frowned in confusion then she finally remembered the person who saved her life. Then she heard a loud growl that came from her.


    ¡°Well, now that you are awake. Let us eat.¡± Mizuki smiled


    Nessi then noticed that Mizuki seemed to be working on something that it is piling up beside her. Mizuki adds firewood unto the stove then lines up a dozen of fishes and thick meat on top of the hot metal then went back to her work.


    Sizzling sounds and fragrant aroma of roasted meat and fish filled the air which soon invaded Nessi¡¯s nose causing another growl from her stomach. She can only cower in embarrassment.


    Mizuki placed a well-cooked meat and fish on a large thick leaf which served as a plate and held it at arm¡¯s reach of Nessi.


    ¡°I know that you have things you wanted to ask about but fill up your stomach first. It is uncomfortable to hear a growling stomach while we talk. It is still hot so use this stick to help you eat.¡±


    ¡°S-sorry¡­.¡± Nessi timidly accepted the leaf and took a bite.


    ¡®Hmm, it¡¯s good!¡¯ she quietly exclaimed.


    Both the flavor and hunger made the food in her hands very tasty for her tongue. Her nose smelled some herbs and spice she is not familiar with. The delicious flavor spreads in her entire mouth. Such taste suddenly made her remember something in the past.


    ¡®Ah yes¡­ it was home¡­ ¡¯


    The life they had when they were still living in the farm.


    ¡®Mother must be quite worried right now.¡¯


    Some of the meat she got from the metal plate has different texture and aroma. It also released varying peculiar sweetness and sourness. Mizuki grins after seeing her devouring the food readily.


    ¡°Eat your fill. Your body needs it.¡±


    Mizuki also began to eat her own share. Nessi quietly observed her as she consumes a fish. Nessi could see that they have the same height even if both of them are sitting. She noticed that Mizuki is not wearing the black armor. Right now, she is wearing something similar to a green shirt with long sleeves that has beautiful embroideries of flowers. And because of this, she was able to see that the chest area of Mizuki is bulging, making it obvious to her that Mizuki really is a female.


    Mizuki wore some kind of dark colored baggy pants that had a small leather belt with few empty pouches and two daggers. Then she also found herself staring at Mizuki¡¯s pale-like skin of her back and shoulders. Her long black hair was tied on the back of her head like a standing tail of a horse.


    ¡®She really is a foreigner¡­¡¯ Nessi thought as she also saw how the shape of Mizuki¡¯s eyes was very different than of that of the people in this country.


    ¡®Mother told me that she can only speak in few words of our language but she seems to be fluent enough for me. ¡¯


    Mizuki then tossed something towards her, it was a fully filled waterskin.


    ¡°You need also to drink. Your body needs water after sweating and crying that much.¡±


    Nessi felt a sudden thirst after she took the first gulp of water. Then after satiating her thirst, she felt a pleasant surge of energy from the inside of her body.


    She was about to stand up when she was stop by piercing pain in her leg and head. Only now she realized that half of her head is wrapped in rags used as a bandage. And her injury on the leg was covered with leaves wrapped also with torn clothes.


    ¡°¡­ t¡­ k¡­ uo¡­¡± she muttered something in a soft voice but was still heard by Mizuki.


    ¡°Hm?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°¡­ thank¡­ you¡­¡±


    Contrary to her sincere gratitude, Mizuki only blinked in confusion on her words.


    ¡°Thank you? For what?¡±


    ¡°ummm¡­ for¡­ saving me?¡±


    Mizuki showed a confused face. She mulled for several seconds, trying to think what Nessi meant then when it seemed that she realized something, her response was something Nessi did not expect.


    ¡°¡­Pffft¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahahaha!¡±


    Now it was Nessi¡¯s turn to be confused. She doesn¡¯t know if what she said is funny to her but she knew that Mizuki is laughing at her gratitude.


    ¡°No, I am sorry for that. Yeah¡­ *snicker, speaking of which¡­ you are right, I did save you.¡±


    ¡°umm?¡±


    ¡°Anyways, you¡¯re welcome.¡± Mizuki returned to her work.


    Nessi was about to ask more but decided not to as she doesn¡¯t want to bother her savior. Then she noticed a pile of something besides Mizuki then she saw the skinned direwolves. The beasts which ripped apart the bandits who had beaten Pierre and almost violated her were being skinned for their fur by a single woman.


    She suddenly remembered what transpired previously in front of her. And she also remembered the feeling of being so weak that she cannot even resist the licking tongue of Death. It made her remember a certain past that she is trying to escape and forget.


    ¡°You still can¡¯t walk right?¡± Mizuki asked, noticing a sudden change in Nessi¡¯s face.


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Unlike yours, that boy¡¯s injury is not that deep. He may be able to walk after a day of rest but I doubt he can carry you or put you together in my cart so we will be make a new one here. Help me with it after you finish eating.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes!¡±


    After several talks over the fire and food, they were able to finish eating and started tying some wood to make a sled. Mizuki cut large tree branches that could hold human weight and used it as their material. Fortunately, Nessi¡¯s weaving skills made it easy for them to finish the skeletal part of their work.


    It was this time when Nessi finally got a closer look to Mizuki. She was quite curious on the weapons that Mizuki used during her fight with the direwolves. It looked like a very long knife or sabre but much thinner and less curve.


    ¡°Is that¡­ a long knife?¡± Nessi asked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Your weapon...I mean.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course¡­ these weapons must be a strange sight to the people of this country.¡±


    Mizuki then showed two shorter blades and a longer blade.


    ¡°These two are called wakizashi and this one is called katana.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ wake¡­sasey and¡­ kata¡­na¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I never actually wanted to use them against such beasts because just like swords or any bladed weapons of this land, they were easy to get chipped if they struck a thick bone. And I don¡¯t know if I can find a skilled blacksmith who can fix them if these need some maintenance. By the way, where do you live? From what I know, only Balanli is the nearest town in here.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, I lived there.¡±


    ¡°And this guy?¡±


    ¡°He is¡­ someone who also lived there.¡± Nessi decided to hide Pierre¡¯s identity for now without lying or telling the truth. This way, she will still be safe if Pierre decides to introduce himself later if he wakes up.


    Although Mizuki is her savior, she still doesn¡¯t know if Mizuki will be taken by greed and ransom Pierre which would later come back to her. It may be rude for her benefactor but she had enough trouble already.


    But Mizuki already knew the boy.


    ¡°Heh¡­ the son of a local lord is with you? Are you his lover?¡±


    ¡°Eh? You knew him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I met him along with his older brother when I first met their father after I accidentally slew some of his town guards.¡±


    Nessi heard such account. But this only made her uncomfortable. So she had to ask.


    ¡°You are¡­ a girl¡­ but you were able¡­ defeat the monsters that killed those¡­ those men¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°But then¡­ how are you¡­ so strong than those men? Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡±


    For Nessi, such things were only for men and depended on men. Although she heard that Mords allowed their women to take part in raids and battles, they were minorities. She cannot even imagine herself taking up a sword.


    There was a long silence but Nessi waited patiently for Mizuki¡¯s answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing special.¡±


    Mizuki threw another piece of wood on the fire.


    ¡°¡­ years in the battlefield must have made me numb of such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Battlefield? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°My first kill was when I was eight years old and battlefield became my home after that. ¡±


    ¡®Wait, eight years old? What in the world is her country?¡¯ Nessi thought.


    Mizuki actually got the idea why Nessi is asking her such question. Back in her homeland, women were usually regarded in low status or just used for bearing heirs and children. Her clan was one of the few exceptions who openly trained women and men in arts of war and martial arts on equal terms. Their practice, traditions and culture were already rooted in their way of life also due to their deep connection with several Shinobi Clans. Most of the top and effective shinobi assassins and spies she knew were mostly young girls and women.


    ¡°And monsters don¡¯t feel fear¡­ or sometimes, even pain.¡±


    Crackling burnt wood on the campfire made Nessi huddle back her expose legs.


    Another silence covered the two of them before it was broken by a sound of deep long howl of wolves.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they will not come.¡± Mizuki assured her.


    While she is busy mulling about Mizuki¡¯s words, the foreigner suddenly remembered something strange.


    ¡°By the way, did you notice or saw some bandits carrying any bows and arrows?¡± Mizuki asked.


    ¡°I am not really sure¡­ but I haven¡¯t seen any one of them using such weapons. Why?¡±


    ¡°Strange¡­ there is a very peculiar arrow mixed in the corpses¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t you the one¡­ who was shooting them down?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ when I also found you, I never sensed or saw any archer other than me¡­ but look at this¡­¡± Mizuki showed her a quiver full of arrows.


    ¡°This is my arrow, it is made from Senetil Wood and these are Grimhawk¡¯s feathers.¡± Mizuki took one from the quiver and explained its parts for Nessi then she got another arrow which is obviously different.


    ¡°And this is the arrow I found from your horse.¡±


    ¡°Horse¡­ Wait, are you saying¡­ that the one who shot down Willheim is not one of the bandits?¡±


    ¡°Willheim? Ah, that¡¯s the name of your horse¡­ as far as I remember, I only aimed at the wolves and no horse. So someone else, must have shot it down.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean¡­ that someone from their group¡­ had escaped? Arent we in danger¡­ what if he called for his other fellow bandits?¡±


    ¡°No, that would be impossible. I can guarantee that all bandits were wiped out completely during the direwolves¡¯ attack. But the real point of this arrow is that¡­ someone wanted both you and that boy to get caught.¡±


    Such revelation only caused confusion for Nessi.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Me too¡­ maybe you just got caught from a plot that involves that boy. It is very common among the children of nobles.¡±


    Conflict with his brothers about the inheriting the barony is one of the major things that come into Nessi¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Nevermind, let us finish this sled so that we can go back to Balanli tomorrow morning.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?


    It was a very cold morning that woke up Nessi, the campfire seemed to have doused by the cold wet wind. The sound of her getting up also woke up Mizuki.


    Thanks to Mizuki¡¯s medicinal, Nessi¡¯s wounds were able to heal faster than it would have on normal concoctions. This abnormal regenerative effect is the reason why it is highly sought out by merchants and traders. But she still can¡¯t walk well so she had to use a walking stick made up of a tree branch as a support.


    ¡®I am sure Chidori wouldn¡¯t mind me selling and using one of her clan¡¯s secrets.¡¯ Mizuki mischievously thought. The mixtures and concoctions she made were actually highly guarded secrets of a shinobi clan which she learned after ¡°borrowing¡± several scrolls.


    ¡°Well, they would only kill me if they knew what I was doing to their treasured medicines.¡± Mizuki only laughed at the thought of being hunted down by thousands of shinobi elite.


    They didn¡¯t have to take any breakfast, as the night before they already packed some smoked meat and salted fish to be eaten as they walk. The man whom Mizuki is planning to depend on however, Pierre, still haven¡¯t woke up so she have to pull the sled along with her loot while Nessi helped carry the lighter goods.


    It was already noon when met up with a Balanli patrol that was quite shocked and surprised to see their young lord unconscious and wounded. Nessi had to explain what happened to them and the party leader, a man named Osleu, decided to send Pierre on a horseback to Tevarin Castle while Nessi and Mizuki are to be escorted back to the town. They have separated with Pierre who was still unconscious due to his wounds. Mizuki told them to remind their lord that she will collect her ¡°payment¡± personally later.


    It was another three hour stroll through the woods and dirt road. But due to riding on a horseback, they were able to reach the town much easier and faster. Mizuki fastened the sled on her own horse while Nessi rode with another rider.


    When they were finally at the gates, they were met with soldiers trying to disperse the crowds of people at the gate.


    ¡°What is this? Why is this not taken down yet?¡± an angry soldier with better armor on a horseback just arrived and instantly berated his underlings who were trying to control the situation.


    ¡°We deeply apologize!¡±


    ¡°Nessi¡­ you are finally back! Where were you? How-¡± a woman seemingly recognized Nessi from top of the horse. But she didn¡¯t even take a glimpse nor even greet the woman.


    Her eyes were stuck on the same thing that attracted the attention of the crowd. She quickly got down from the horse, forgetting even her wounds and inability to walk. Then she forcibly inserted herself on the crowd until she is at the base of the stake.


    In full display at the gate, was a long wooden stake with a corpse hanging on its pointy end. It was skewered from its bottom and all the way to its mouth.


    As she came near, she realized that it was an old woman.


    Then her eyes told her that she knew this person.


    It was someone whom Nessi was quite familiar with.


    ¡°Why¡­?¡±


    She asked a question at no one.


    ¡°Why is¡­ mother up there?¡±

 Volume 01 Chapter Seven- In the Market’s Garden

    Due to the crowding at the gate, it took a long time before the peddlers, travellers and merchants including Mizuki were able to enter the town. The horse she borrowed was returned to the escorts. And Mizuki seemed to have lost sight of Nessi after she rushed towards the crowd.


    She decided to leave Nessi as it is as she is already at the town where she lived. Nessi shouldn¡¯t have any problem in entering without her.


    To avoid increasing the numbers of the people gathering at the stake, they forbid the people inside the town to exit the game without any good reason. The opening of the gate was also limited to a single file and the guards have issued strict checkups.


    Normally, Mizuki would always enter the town early in the morning. Gates were usually barred at that time but the postern gate can be opened if someone wanted to enter.


    It is a small single door gate. It is much smaller than the main gate but it is well hidden that it looked like to be part of the wall from afar. And on the event of an attack, the defenders can just immediately wall it back from the inside.


    But now, it seemed that the postern gate was closed temporarily.


    She was able to buy a two wheeled cart last year which helped her carry the loot and the products she will sell to the town. And right now, she is pulling the cart that carries the large pelts of the direwolves she killed yesterday, a large basket that she previously bought from town which was full of dried fish, herbs, mushrooms, berries, the looted equipment she got from the dead bandits and animal furs such as rabbits, foxes, and two bears.


    It was finally her turn after almost an hour of waiting. They asked her identity and purpose. She realized that there is an increase in the number of guards above the walls. Before there were only ten to fifteen soldiers manning the gates but now, she saw that there are about forty to fifty above. The current incident that happened outside the walls must have spooked the concerns for the security.


    ¡°State your name and your reason of entering the town.¡± A sentry asked her.


    Thanks to the help of the town¡¯s traders, she was able to learn the local language, although not fluently yet as she still sometimes get minor confusions about the context or meanings of some words.


    ¡°I am Mizuki. I am planning to sell these inside the town¡± She answered.


    She also intentionally always wore her black armor to let them identify that it was her. After knowing that they already knew about her existence as she is the only one that wears this unique set of armor, they immediately allowed her to get inside the gate to be checked.


    Mizuki entered as she dragged the small cart with her.


    Although she is strong enough to pull her baggage, she still finds it quite a hassle.


    The cave and the town have quite a distance for a walk that she had to take countless stops to rest on the road everytime she wanted to buy supplies and sell her medicines.


    ¡®I should buy or get a horse later.¡¯ Mizuki took a mental note, before entering the gate.


    What greeted her when she got inside is looks of fear and suspicions from the guards.


    She also took glimpse to the armor quality of the guard captain.


    No matter how many times she sees it, it actually impresses and amaze her how different and wide the world is. Back in her country, irons and metals were quite rare that no army in Yamato have full body plate armor like the people they called ¡°knights¡± in this kingdom. All metals were put into the production of blades and a certain new weapon that was invented.


    She would have a hard time with her katana, wakizashi, nagitana or even her odachi in penetrating such armor. Not to mention that beneath their plate armors, they still have a layer of chainmail that is almost virtually invincible against slashing attacks. And adding another layer of thick cloth, they are a very hard target and enemy even for her.


    But she still has ways in defeating such opponent.


    She walked towards the guard waiting at the long table. His main duty is to check every baggage, cargo and products that goes in and out of the town and apply appropriate tax.


    She let her cart get inspected as her body was thoroughly checked by a female guard who was armed with a bow and arrow.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ wait, is this direwolves¡¯ pelt? This is a lot¡­ this will get you a lot of Rumptole or even Fremian silver coins at Fatil¡¯s shop. And especially now that winter¡¯s coming, this can be sold at a higher price under a skilled trader.¡± The guard was impressed at the large number of her pelts.


    Direwolves¡¯ pelts were highly sought out by the wealthy and nobles. They give warmer cover than any other animal pelts and they were also considered the top animal trophies so they were also bought, either as an accessory for luxurious clothes or aesthetic purposes by collectors.


    ¡°¡­¡± she only nods in response.


    ¡°For your tax, do you want to pay in coins or goods?¡± the guard asked.


    ¡°Coins.¡± She replied. After trading with the town for years, she was able to procure and save lots of coins especially from the profit she made from her medicines, herbal teas and various concoctions.


    ¡°In what currency?¡±


    ¡°Romtore ¨C I mean Rumptole.¡± she still has difficulties in pronouncing some words of this country¡¯s language.


    ¡°Okay, you will have to pay 17 Rumptole silver coins as tax.¡± the guard told her after inspecting her goods. The tax is always the assumed ten percent of the potential profit of the goods and products.


    She got the required coins from her hidden coin pursed on her clothes and paid the amount.


    Due to some past harassment of a guard that tried to feel her up, Mizuki now refused to get one from a male. And it happened three times. She gave them summary judgment on the spot, the first two guards lost their two arms while the third was spared after explaining and proving that it was just a misunderstanding.


    When she mutilated the guards, the town officials decided to ban her from getting inside the town and have her sell outside the walls. However when they tried to do that, she didn¡¯t come for weeks. Then they heard that she instead went to other village-town on the neighboring barony.


    The citizens and traders who were waiting inside for her highly sought medicines and products later complained at how the mayor pushed away their only valuable source of cheap medicine. As such they decided to open their gates for her. She still didn¡¯t return however, until they personally visited her in the caves and offered several gifts as an apology.


    The mayor also had no choice then but to hire female guards on their gates for the convenience of female traders and travellers.


    ¡°Thank you, I have received your payment. Please enjoy your stay.¡±


    After passing through the curious and suspicious eyes in the entrance, she went straight to the port market where ship traders and merchants mingle with the town.


    This part of the town was actually walled off as a coastal defense for any naval attacks or enemy attempts on landing at the port. So she still has to enter another gate entrance to get to the port. Since she came from inside the town, she didn¡¯t have to be inspected again.


    This wall also helps in repelling the massive number of beggars that lived on the town after taking refuge from the consistent raids. Most of them were farmers who were reduced to beggary after abandoning their lands for safety. So many of them just beg on the streets towards the marketplace and port which gave a massive headaches for the guards. This wall helped also on avoiding the entry of thieves and pickpockets among the refugees.


    But they avoid begging on Mizuki as they feared a foreigner like her. What she did in the past is still fresh to their eyes and ears.


    It is still early in the morning but the port was already crowded with people who patiently await the catch of the only fishing galleys of the barony and the traders who wanted to make a bulk purchase for the fishes. She previously sold the shark she caught here at a very good price. It seems shark¡¯s oil, meat and its bones were highly sought by merchants.


    It is one of the liveliest parts of the town. At the same time, stalls were already on business; selling and buying products. Loud shouts rose from anyone and everyone¡ªas businesses and trading were all running at full speed as if chasing time at full speed.


    ¡°Fresh vegetables! Come and get your freshly harvested vegetables here!¡±


    ¡°Hey, get outta the way!¡±


    ¡°Nets! Fish nets for sale!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too cheap! I will have to take it on another shop then.¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? I can¡¯t sell such thing on someone like you!¡±


    ¡°Winter is approaching! Buy your high quality but affordable spices here!¡±


    ¡°Give me ten pouches of salt!¡±


    ¡°How much for the pigs?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want that one. I like the one under that box.¡±


    ¡°Stop trying to deceive me! These goods of yours were from the Kingdom of Mords and not from the Dukedom!¡±


    ¡°Meat! Meat! Fresh Meat! Pork, Beef, Mutton! Take your pick!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry madam but I cannot sell this to you at such price.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm! That really hits the spot! Give me barrel of this.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell put these crates here?!¡±


    Loud noise of the port makes it obvious how the trade of the town is flourishing even at the face of ravages of war. This would be even more chaotic by the time the fishing vessels return from the sea.


    The two stores that she got to know and became a patron seem to be very crowded so she decided to make one herself.


    She wanted to sell everything she got immediately so she went on the corner with a vacant space where set up her mat and her products on the ground. She arranged them carefully to let her customers see everything clearly.


    When people slowly realize that it was her, they rushed towards her. Especially those traders who knew actively competed to buy her medicines after realizing how effective they were. And as a result it is always on demand when sold to other villages and town. And previously, she would only exchange her medicines with products and supplies but thanks to their increasing value, she was able to gain a lot of coins and thus came to know their true worth.


    ¡°Mesoke, do you have medicines with you right now? I will buy everything on 250 Fremian silver coins.¡±


    Mizuki pointed at the small basket which was full of leather pouches.


    ¡°His offer is too low Mesoke, but I am willing to buy them all for 285 Fremian silver coins!¡±


    ¡°My offer is even better at 300 Fremian silver coins!¡±


    ¡°I will buy them at 15 Juile silver coins!¡±


    ¡°No! I will buy them at 20 Juile silver coins!¡±


    Wealthy merchants started competing by yelling their prices. Of course she knew that Juile coins have better value than Fremian coins so started her price on the 20 Juile silver coins that was offered. Then at that base price, the merchants started their competition once again. And the one who offered 28 Juile gold coins got the entire basket of medicine.


    Then other merchants switched their focus on her pelts.


    ¡°By the way, is this a direwolf¡¯s pelt?¡± one of them noticed the large pelt.


    She nodded in response.


    Several of them then took a look and feel the pelt to ascertain the quality of the tan.


    ¡°This is well tanned, same as with your bear and fox pelts.¡±


    ¡°How much for them? Especially for the direwolves?¡± a plump merchant asked her price.


    She replied with four fingers and a Fremian silver coin.


    ¡°Four Fremian silver coins?¡±


    ¡°No you idiot, she meant 40 Fremian silver coins. Who the hell would sell it at just four Fremian silver coins?¡± one of the traders corrected.


    ¡°That¡¯s a no go for me then.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you lower your price? I know that this direwolf pelt may get expensive as winter is approaching but I will be purchasing your bear also ¨C ¡±


    ¡°I will take all of these pelts then at 15 Fremian gold coins.¡± The plump merchant offered a good price that immediately lost the motivation of other traders.


    ¡°H-hey are you sure? Isn¡¯t that too costly for just the pelts?¡± a fellow merchant got concerned about his price.


    ¡°Yes it is besides I have a good client who will purchase them from me. Most especially these bear and direwolf pelts.¡± the plump merchant replied.


    ¡°Deal.¡± she accepted his price by offering a handshake which the merchant also took.


    He yelled at his servants that were standing behind him to collect the pelts.


    ¡°By the way, I am quite interested in your medicines so if you will be selling your next batch in the future, I will be happy to take them at 50 Juile gold coins. My name is Kirk Dewgood, a humble merchant of the Grass Corn Company.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The plump merchant may have wanted to buy her medicines but didn¡¯t get in time, so he is making a private order for the next batch. His generous price earlier must be his way to start a deal.


    ¡®¡­Grass Corn Company, so it seems I attracted the eyes of the merchants from the central that mostly deals in medicines and rare medicinal herbs.¡¯ Mizuki thought.


    ¡°Mizuki of Izuchirikuzen Clan. For your order, same size and one basket?¡± Mizuki introduced herself then asked the number of his request.


    ¡°If possible I would like it even more if there are three or four baskets of them. I wouldn¡¯t even mind paying for ten baskets of your medicines. So when will you return to sell your medicines?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Two weeks from now, same day as today.¡± Mizuki replied.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I will be here at that day then.¡± They shook hands again to close the deal.


    She was able to sell everything at a good price by the time the fishing galleys were spotted on the horizon.


    The loot she got from the bandits was intended to be sold at a local weapon store she knew, but several teen boys seemed to have seen this on the back of her cart and asked to sell it to them. Although all of them were already washed thoroughly from blood and flesh, she cannot fix the rip and tear that was caused by the direwolves.


    Wanting to get free of them, she decided to sell them all at a lower price than she had planned. The buyers seemed to like the price already as they didn¡¯t try even to bargain. They were actually planning to answer the baron¡¯s call to arms and


    With empty cart, she folded out her mat and put everything back on the cart as she prepared again to buy her needed supplies.


    The people were flocking the port in getting and buying the catch from the galleys. But she didn¡¯t come here to buy fish but to get what she ordered from one of the local blacksmiths.


    When she arrived at the store, she saw the blacksmith working at her forge.


    The smith was a woman in her mid-20s with brown hair and eyes. But the bulging muscles on her arms and great built of her body could give anyone an impression of a warrior. She seems to be working on a sword when Mizuki interrupted her.


    ¡°Luren-san, good morning¡± she greeted.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s you Mesoki and it is ¡°Lorraine¡± not Lorensan.¡± The smith corrected her then stopped what she was doing. She left her tools on the table beside her then went to the large pail of water and washed her face.


    ¡°You came here to get your order right?¡± Lorraine asked.


    ¡°Yes, is it done?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, come inside.¡± Lorraine invited her.


    Inside the store was riddled and decorated with weapons, armors and helmets. There are also several long tables which were used to display a single weapon each. Mizuki understood that it may be the high quality works Lorraine made. She also tried to feel the full plate armor that was displayed on one of the wooden pillars.


    ¡®It really is a full body metal armor. If this is worn with chainmail, thick padded clothes and with a shield, the wearer will be slow but it will save his life from arrows and blades.¡¯ She quietly thought.


    ¡®If I meet one on a fight, the only way for me to defeat him is by using blunt damage¡­ target his back thin plates¡­ through the eye slits on his helmet or slowly tire him out using the weight of his own armor against him. But I may get in trouble if I encounter an army of them on the battlefield. I may have to buy one set of this armor with chainmail and all to practice with, back at the caves later.¡¯ Mizuki quietly added as she thoroughly checked every ridges of the armor.


    ¡°Oh what¡¯s this? Are you interested in wearing one? That armor is one of my well-crafted set. I can throw in a full body chainmail also if you¡¯d like.¡± Lorraine caught Mizuki¡¯s curious attention to the armor.


    ¡°I want to check my order first.¡± Mizuki said.


    ¡°Hmm... By the way, it took me almost eight whole months to finish your order with lots of trial and error as this was my first time on working on these kinds of weapons. Each part was very intricate, complicated and also needed precise measurements as you have requested that it gave me headache when I worked on it.¡± she scratched her head in annoyance.


    ¡°But I am not old man Charon or Troyes that would neglect a private order. I would always prioritize a commission that was given to me but in doing so I wasn¡¯t able to get many customers as I didn¡¯t accept any more orders. So this will be very, very expensive and I will not let you haggle yourself out of this one.¡± She added.


    ¡°Yeah, I am sorry about that. But don¡¯t worry I will pay. So how much for it and for all the trouble?¡± Mizuki asked.


    ¡°250 Juile gold coins.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡± Mizuki immediately replied.


    ¡°Eh? Eh? Ehh? Ehhh? W-w-wait¡­ wait¡­ what? Y-you have that much?¡± Lorraine was quite surprised to know that Mizuki can pay the amount. This is already the cost of medium quality full plate armor.


    She is willing to accept her precious medicines or other products if Mizuki didn¡¯t have enough coins but it seems her concern is unnecessary.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mizuki smiled showing a large leather coin pouch.


    ¡°Ah¡­ yeah¡­ I almost forgot how much you are getting from selling your medicines. Haaaa¡­ Maybe I should¡¯ve put 300 Juile gold coins instead¡­¡± Lorraine murmured.


    Mizuki gave the payment to Lorraine by putting it at the counter.


    ¡°You should pay only after you see and confirmed the quality of your order. Or else you will be scammed a lot by others.¡± Lorraine said.


    ¡°I trust you and your skill.¡± Mizuki replied.


    ¡°Hahahaha! Well thanks for the compliments.¡±


    Lorraine was also the one who was able to fix her blades after getting shipwrecked. Most smiths in the town failed to work on her blades with much quality as Lorraine did, although not better than the blacksmith who made her blades. As such Mizuki then became her loyal patron.


    ¡°I actually got interested and curious on this weapon of yours. Can you show me on how you will use it?¡± Lorraine went inside a room behind the counter and exited carrying something that was covered in cloth. She placed it on top of the counter in front of Mizuki.


    Then Mizuki unwrap it on the table and checked the quality.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ this is very¡­ good...¡± She was quite impressed at the work. Checked every crevices, joints and mechanisms. Mizuki only drew the plans of her order, gave the exact measurements and left everything to Lorraine. But she didn¡¯t expect that Lorraine will get all of it correctly.


    ¡°Do you have straw or wooden targets for me to test this?¡± Mizuki asked after finished inspecting.


    ¡°Well we have one at the back.¡±


    ¡°For now, I don¡¯t want any people to see this.¡± Mizuki requested.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It is also my secret testing area for my weapons. No one passes it as it is enclosed by my shop and the cliff.¡±


    Both of them went to the far back of the shop where it is under the shadow of a cliff. There are several straw targets with wooden wheels attached. Few arrows were already embedded on them after the series of tests by Lorraine for her arrows. One of the targets was wearing plate armor full of dents and bolts.


    ¡°So¡­ show me how you will use your weapons. I would be very frustrated if they do not work as you have intended. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to give you this.¡± Lorraine tossed a quiver full of bolts on Mizuki¡¯s feet.


    ¡°You are going to need bolts for it right? I somehow knew that this weapon of yours operates similarly to a crossbow so I made fifteen bolts that can be inserted at the pipe. But I am still curious on how you will shoot it without any string.¡±


    But Mizuki just ignored the quiver on the ground then prepared the weapon, crouched and pulled out a small red pouch from her clothes. Then took something small from the pouch, pulled and strangely loaded it and aimed at the straw target with plate armor.


    ¡°W-wait. You forgot to load a bolt¨C¡±


    Lorraine thought that Mizuki forgot to load a bolt to her ¡°weapon¡± but she was interrupted by a loud thundering sound.


    She reflexively closed her eyes and covered her ears. It kept on ringing her ears that she got confused on what just happened.


    The end of the pipe seemed to be smoking. She looked at Mizuki and found a smiling face from her while gazing at her target. She followed that gaze and realized that there is a smoking hole on the armor.


    ¡°Whew¡­ this is good... really good¡­ Luren-san, you have just earned my sincere full respect. You really are the second most skilled smith I ever know.¡± Mizuki¡¯s compliment put her back to her senses.


    ¡°¡­M-Mesoki¡­¡± she is still dumb struck at what just happened that she didn¡¯t even mind the compliment given.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°W-what just happened? W-w-what did you just do?¡± she asked excitedly and worriedly.


    She ran to the plate armored straw target, touched and checked both the front and the back parts.


    There is a small hole on the thick steel armor then also realized that what penetrated the armor had gone through the back part also after seeing another hole on the back plate.


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s a secret.¡± Mizuki just smiled as she wrapped the weapon again with the cloth.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t tell me like that! H-h-how did you penetrate this plate armor?¡± When she followed the straight path of the hole, Lorraine found the small disfigured lump of metal stuck on the rock. She winced when she tried to touch it after not knowing that it is still hot.


    The armor wasn¡¯t some kind of trash armor which she would use as a target practice. But it was one of her best armors to test the effectiveness of her arrowheads and lances. And in seeing how it easily penetrated through the combined armor, chainmail, thick cloth and wood made this very weapon, deadly than anything she had ever seen.


    ¡°Mmm, let us just leave it at that.¡± Mizuki went towards it and used her leather gloves to take it out from the rock then returned it on her red pouch.


    ¡°¡­¡± Lorraine looked at Mizuki then at the smoking hole on the target.


    She shivered after she realized that she may have just made a very, very dangerous weapon.


    But if her client doesn¡¯t want to spill the beans then she can¡¯t force her.


    Even if she is still curious, her job was only to create and make what was commissioned and ask no questions further, she remembered that she was the one who requested to see how the weapon worked.


    ¡°Haa¡­ well¡­ nevermind¡­ as long as it worked.¡± Lorraine decided to give up for now.


    Both of them went back inside the shop to finish the transaction. But Lorraine got confuse when she weighed the pouch as it is much lighter than she had expected.


    She decided to check and count the coins and she found out that there are only 15 coins inside.


    The problem is that they were not silver or simple gold.


    ¡°Wait¡­ these are 15 Law gold coins here in your payment!¡±


    A single Law gold coin is worth 20 Juile gold coins, it is the currency of the powerful and prosperous Reginus Empire of the East. A far away country, but its influence is already creeping the economy of the western kingdoms. And at the hands of a skilled trader or merchant, its value can be increased up to 50 Juile gold coins.


    ¡°That is an additional payment to keep this weapon secret. Luren-san, don¡¯t tell anyone. Don¡¯t make copy. And burn what I drew.¡± Mizuki said.


    Lorraine knew that Mizuki is serious after seeing her eyes.


    ¡°Oh so this is hush money eh. Fine! I don¡¯t want to get involved in any nasty business anyway. I know what will happen to me if someone else got to know about the capability of that weapon. But I want you to tell me how it did, one day. I made that thing so I still have the right to know how it worked.¡± Lorraine replied.


    She then took something that is hidden on a secret compartment under the counter and went towards the burning fireplace. She tossed it through the fire and watched it slowly being eaten by the flames.


    ¡°Thank you Luren-san.¡± Mizuki bowed in gratitude towards her.


    ¡°Well, just don¡¯t hesitate to visit me in fixing your equipment and gears. It is always great when there¡¯s a rich loyal patron of the store.¡±


    Mizuki nodded then went to the front door but stopped as if she remembered something.


    ¡°Mmm. By the way, do you know where can I buy a horse?¡± Mizuki asked.


    ¡°Horse? Hmmm¡­ At the port gate, there is a horse trader on the left side. Or was it on the right side? I don¡¯t remember but Rodis¡¯ stable is near the port entrance, still inside the vicinity of the port. Just follow the smell of horse poop when you are near the gate.¡± Lorraine said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ You are going back to the caves after this? Why not stay here in town instead? I have an extra room here and this shop is spacious enough for you and me. My husband isn¡¯t mostly at home as he is usually working on the field as the only recruiter of the baron.¡± Lorraine offered.


    ¡°Thanks, next time maybe.¡±


    ¡°Well, just remember that you are welcome in my shop anytime just in case you wanted to take residence here. Just don¡¯t forget to bring your delicious tea also.¡± Lorraine added.


    ¡°Yeah thanks, I had to go back to the forest tomorrow and continue the hunt.¡±


    ¡°Hunt? Hmmm¡­ I almost forgot, be careful on the forest by the way, I have heard that a band of bandits and a beast were lurking on the woods. Several patrols of soldiers were already attacked this week alone.¡± Lorraine warned.


    ¡°Monsters? Are they referring to the direwolves?¡± Mizuki asked after realizing on the yesterday attacks that there is a massive increase in the population of direwolves.


    ¡°No, but I heard from the rumors that the beast looked like a large goblin that preys on any unwary traveller. There are several travellers that were already found dead on the forest roads by the patrols. Their necks were ripped and their bodies were dismembered or disfigured.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ a monster strolling the woods... I don¡¯t remember seeing something like that. But don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I worship Death and him only. And I will gladly leap into his arms.¡± Mizuki left the shop on these words.


    Mizuki followed Lorraine¡¯s directions and went to the gate. She is now having a hard time in walking through as the streets were crowded that everyone is already shoulder to shoulder. On the way, she saw a coal black horse being rode by a soldier. It reminds her of her favorite horse. She is thankful that she left her cart on the corner where she made her stall.


    Unable to endure the heat and crowds, she went on an alley hidden by two wooden buildings. After tying the new weapon she got on her back, she jumped upward with agile movements while using the protruding bricks and wood on the two walls as her foothold in keeping her momentum. Then she finally reached the roof.


    ¡®It¡¯s been a long time since I did this with Chidori and Shiro.¡¯ She remembered the shinobi acquaintances when they were tasked in assassinating enemy lords.


    Then she continued walking on top of the roofs, jumping on each house while trying to find the horse trader.


    ¡®¡­ haaa¡­ I miss Roukomi¡­¡¯ she quietly thought until she smelled the horse poop nearby.


    She was about to drop down when she heard someone talking below.


    ¡°Damn bastards. They only gave me a headache.¡± The soldier on top of the horse stopped nearby and was heard talking to someone.


    ¡°Yeah, such thing was taken as your responsibility, isn¡¯t it?¡± a man who seemed to be wearing wealthy clothes was drinking a bottle of wine.


    ¡°Yeah, the baron scolded me for incompetence after letting such thing happen just under our noses. How could I know, the bastards at the gate were sleeping when it all happened and I was on the other side doing my duty also. I can¡¯t be at two locations at once!¡± he got down from his horse and tied its reins on a fence.


    ¡°So, what was the punishment for those incompetent watchmen?¡±


    ¡°I had them whipped and imprisoned for a month.¡±


    ¡°Well, that should be enough for their stupidity. It can also be a lesson for others. And? Do you already have any idea on who could have done it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know a thing. There are neither traces nor any tracks left for us to investigate. Maybe they were covered by the criminals after the deed. Nothing but bandits and thugs comes into my mind but they would never taunt us something like this or they will be hunted down as retaliation. After all, their number one priority is to survive also.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    They seemed to be talking about the displayed flayed corpse at the gate.


    Mizuki also saw the skewered corpse of a woman on the stake.


    This kind of barbarism can only mean two things; to become an object of fear or to taunt the hearts of these people. Although she doesn¡¯t know the political climate of this country, she still knew that the entire kingdom is at war at multiple fronts.


    And the soldier is right, Mizuki knew that bandits would never proactively provoke someone powerful than them or risked being hunted down to the last man.


    ¡°This is getting interesting.¡±


    Animals would only kill or take life to survive. So such brutality is only possible at human hands.


    This sight made her remember something in the past.


    When she was six years old, she once had a pet puppy given to her by her mother before she died. A gift from a dying person.


    She loves it so much that she would sleep by its side always, feed it with good food, and play with it almost every day.


    She becomes so attached to it that she would sometimes get scolded for not being able to do her errands because of it.


    Then one day, in her father¡¯s right hand, she saw the bloody and headless body of her beloved puppy.


    And in her father¡¯s eyes was the reflected image of her with a bloody wakizashi at one hand, raising it against him.


    But her father was quicker; with only his left hand he was able to disarm her. He struck her in the face which caused her small body to fly on a short distance. Her rough landing caused the wooden table to be toppled over after colliding with her body.


    She slowly used her two small arms to stand and then she wiped her bleeding nose. Her father slowly walked towards her with raised fist. And she also felt the pure rage in his eyes.


    She can still remember the real words uttered by him as he struck her again on the other check. She didn¡¯t even try to defend herself. So she flew again, this time towards the walls of their house. She bounced with great force that it left a mark.


    ¡°Mizuki¡­ I have told you already many times, many times¡­ to obey our laws¡­ obey our ways¡­ obey my words¡­¡±


    She used her elbows to stand and wipe the blood from her lip.


    ¡°Although it may have been my fault that you became this way¡­ but¡­ there are still things¡­ you can do¡­ and must never do¡­¡±


    Her father crouched, letting him see her at the same level of her height. Then he grabbed the wakizashi that she dropped nearby, wiped the blood using his sleeve and put it back on its sheathe.


    Then he looked again directly to her eyes.


    ¡°Mizuki, if you continue down this path-¡±


    The rage and anger she sensed earlier have now subsided.


    But now she sensed another two emotions¡­


    Pity¡­


    ¡­and fear.


    ¡°-you will never ever return as a normal human again¡­ you will live alone¡­ and die in solitude¡­ as a monster.¡±


    She smiled.


    ¡°Then father, all I have to do is find a fellow monster, right?¡±


    Her right hand is still gripping the bloodied head of her puppy.

 Volume 01 Chapter Eight- The Blood Trail to a Puppy

    Mizuki left the caves after she decided to return to the place of the fight on the other day. Her objective is to track and hunt these direwolves. She wanted to get as many of their pelts as she could before winter comes.


    But she always made sure to check her supplies and weapons before heading out. Antidote for poisons, a tanto, ready-to-use bandages, wraps, splints, dried meat and water. And also the gray colored courser which she bought from Balanli yesterday.


    She chose a female from its male counterparts. For her, they were not that good in terms of their personality. And it was the healthiest and fit enough to traverse on rough terrains. She also bought a saddle that could help her carry things she may get from the forest. Although it was quite expensive as female horses were very costly.


    At the crossroads on the way to the forests, she saw a party of soldiers talking to several travellers and caravan who took the forest trail.


    ¡°- bodies were brutally dismembered. Only a monster could do such a thing!¡± A caravan master was heard explaining a tale.


    ¡°Where did you find the bodies?¡±


    ¡°Just on the Bagsworth Creek. We made a camp there on the other day until my guards saw several bodies on the other side of the creek.¡± The master pointed towards the forest.


    ¡°Thank you, you can now continue.¡±


    Mizuki decided to stop and dismount her horse. As she walks near the soldiers she heard their exchanges with another batch of men being interrogated.


    ¡°Is there any distinct marks or bites that got your attention?¡± another soldier asked several hunters.


    ¡°Hmm, now that I think about it¡­ large chunks of their flesh seemed to be missing and the bites felt to be from a very large beast. Definitely not a bear but maybe a direwolf but with much bigger mouth and powerful jaws. We know because we also hunt direwolves in the past. And the claw marks on the bodies were too big for the paws of any direwolf.¡± one of the hunters replied.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it some kind of aberrant or new variant of bear or direwolf?¡±


    ¡°If there is then its tracks wouldn¡¯t tell that it is walking upright.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you for your time.¡±


    ¡°Becareful. As you can see from us, we only caught some rabbits and squirrels but never a deer or even a bear. That means that the number of animals on the forest is slowly decreasing. Then it would only be just a matter of time before this beast takes its sights on villages and towns with people.¡±


    ¡°We will take your words into consideration.¡±


    The hunters went their way and Mizuki asked the soldiers.


    ¡°Can I ask on what is happening?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh it¡¯s you Mizuki!¡± one of them seemed to recognize Mizuki.


    ¡°Fatima? Why are you here? Aren¡¯t you the town¡¯s herbalist?¡± a soldier took off her hood and revealed a browned haired woman at her twenties. She was both an acquaintance and competition of Mizuki in selling herbal remedies and medicines.


    ¡°I was also a huntress and my father was a former army surgeon, as such investigating dead bodies is my field. The town mayor asked for my help and expertise in knowing who and what were behind these attacks on the road. They wanted to know if these were related to the old woman at the stake.¡±


    ¡°And what did you find out?¡± Mizuki asked.


    ¡°We were able to rescue two people who survived the attack of the beast. They formerly travelled as a band of peddlers, walking from town to town. They made camp at the Queen¡¯s Pond. Then at midnight, they were all attacked by a hulking creature. Killing most of them.¡±


    ¡°How did they survive?¡±


    ¡°It seems our beast either cannot swim or hates getting soaked by water. The two jumped into the deepest part of the pond and stayed there until sunrise. The patrolling soldiers were the first to find them. At first they thought that the travellers were just attacked by the direwolves but the two kept on repeating how only one creature was involved and the tracks it left behind also tells the same.¡± Fatima shrugged.


    ¡°And speaking about direwolves, they were becoming more aggressive and unnaturally targeting some nearby hamlets. Although they were animals, direwolves were smarter than humans. They will never attack a hamlet that doesn¡¯t guarantee the success of their hunt or risk losing some of their pack.¡± She added.


    Mizuki also noticed their intelligence during her encounter with the beasts as they immediately retreated when she took out a few of them.


    ¡°Maybe they are widening their territory?¡±


    ¡°No, I told you. They are smarter than us. They don¡¯t have the urge or need to widen their territory especially if they are the only ones who ruled the woods.¡± Fatima shook her head.


    ¡°Then-¡±


    ¡°Yes, someone or something¡­ either provoked them.¡±


    ¡°Is it becoming a disturbance?¡±


    ¡°A very destructive disturbance, not only it threatens the already decreasing quality of trade in the barony but it is also threatening the security of our people.¡±


    ¡°So what did you find? Is it related?¡±


    ¡°No, we still lack information to say anything. And I doubt that the direwolves knew how to impale humans. We have to check the bodies ourselves and see what we can find. Then we may have to enter their hunting grounds and try to track its trail.¡±


    ¡°Do you believe the words of those people and the hunters?¡± Mizuki frowned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the beasts and creatures on your country Mizuki and I doubt living for a few years in this country would make you knowledgeable enough of every being that lived on this continent. But I know every monster that may exist or stray on our backyard.¡± Fatima attended to the saddle of her horse, preparing it.


    ¡°So you do have an idea on what is this beast?¡±


    ¡°It is still a guess but all signs were telling me one thing. And that¡¯s why we are going to the locations of these corpses. All of you, we are moving out.¡± Fatima mounted her horse and the other soldiers followed suit.


    Mizuki realized that these soldiers were not simple peasant soldiers or levies but trained men at arms after seeing their high quality leather armor with few iron plates and how all of them were mounted, armed with lances.


    ¡°And what is the creature, Fatima?¡±


    The soldiers galloped towards the forest trail along with Fatima, after leaving some words.


    ¡°A werewolf.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?


    When Mizuki arrived at the place, wild dogs and crows were feasting on the dead bodies of two bandits. She searched for the blood traces of the direwolves dragging of the bodies yesterday and she found it on the same spot where she last saw the direwolves.


    ¡®Good, thankfully it didn¡¯t rain yesterday as thus the blood is still present in the grass. Not yet covered or ruined by the weather.¡¯ She thought.


    The earlier exchange with Fatima still floats in her mind.


    ¡®Werewolf¡­ I heard stories from the people in town but I have yet to see one so I cannot just believe such a thing exist¡­ although it would be very interesting to meet and see what kind of creature it is.¡¯


    ¡°Come Shinobu.¡± The name she gave her horse was from her fellow comrade back on her homeland, a kunoichi.


    She dismounted her horse and took the reins as she walked, following the blood stains.


    But after several minutes of walking, she lost the blood trail.


    Instead she found two dismembered bodies that were left behind. One of the bodies got its arm stuck under the root and another had its leg tangled on the vines of the ground.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She checked the bodies and found out several things.


    ¡®It seems the direwolves had given up dragging the bodies after failing to get them off and instead dismembered them. Then took off with the body parts they can carry.¡¯ she concluded after seeing that the respective lower and upper body parts of the two were missing. Claw and fang marks were also present.


    ¡®But they wouldn¡¯t just leave the bodies uneaten. They would usually come back for these after they finished carrying the first batch of the meat to the den.¡¯ She had come to know the direwolves¡¯ habits in hunting as she had lived on this land for years already. Enough time to know also that they would never leave any leftover in their hunts. May it be bears, large boars or even humans.


    ¡®Something must have happened.¡¯ She added.


    Then she saw droplets of blood in the bushes.


    ¡®The direwolves must have passed through here as they carry their prize back to their den¡­ but it¡¯s not enough to track them down¡­¡¯ she found the droplets cut off at a distance which lost again the red trail.


    ¡®I should find their tracks instead¡­ but these grass and leaves made it hard to read¡­¡¯ Despite their size, direwolves don¡¯t leave any tracks because of the thickness of the dead leaves and grasses. She tried to search for left furs or even disturbed shrubs but to no avail.


    Then she suddenly smelled something unnatural in the deep woods.


    ¡®¡­ burnt wood¡­ a campfire?¡¯ she led her horse by the reins as she followed the smell.


    And after maneuvering through the high roots and thick vines of the forest that impeded her many times, she found what she was looking for.


    At the shade of the large root of Saiahkoya Tree, she found a campsite.


    She saw a basket of fruits, a pack of grass covered with clothe that seemed to be the bed. And a small makeshift roof made of large leaves enough to be a shelter for the night. She tied her horse¡¯s reins to protruding branch of the nearby tree.


    She investigated the scene as she rummage through the things that were left behind.


    ¡®Two half eaten apples, recently bitten. Someone was here, eating his or her breakfast then suddenly stopped¡­¡¯


    She went to the makeshift shelter and searched the sack and things under it.


    ¡®No weapons or even arrows, definitely not a bandit camp. And seeing a single bed, there must be only one person who had set up this. The grass on the bedroll is still freshly cut but the weight of someone is still obvious from the cloth. This camp was just made yesterday.¡¯


    Then she crouched to touch the ashes on the campfire.


    ¡®It is already damp but the warmth is still present¡­this campfire was just recently put out.¡¯


    After searching the camp for more clues, she saw foot prints leading out of the camp.


    ¡®Footprints¡­ but they don¡¯t seem to be heavy or large enough to be from an adult man or woman¡­ a child? But what could a child be doing out here camping alone in the forest?¡¯ she silently wondered.


    She decided to follow these strange footprints. Then she found a torn piece of cloth hanging on the shrub. She surmises that it got torn off after its wearer got stuck.


    Then she found the tracks turning towards the edge of the forest.


    ¡®He or she must have turned off here.¡¯


    Almost an hour had passed in tracking the owner of the footprints and it took her to a rocky side of the forest, a place she never had been to yet. And she also found another¡¯s tracks joining the footprints she was following. The very same tracks that she lost earlier in the forest, she recognize that it is the same as there are several blood drags going inside.


    The blood that is still a day old.


    ¡®Blood with direwolves tracks¡­not fresh but recently, along with its much older tracks¡­ and what is interesting is that instead of being caught and dragged by a direwolf, this child seem to have intentionally gone straight after them.¡¯


    And at the nearest tree stump, she smelled strong odor similar to a dog¡¯s pee.


    A typical familiar feature to mark a wolf¡¯s territory. She presses on but now with heightened senses as she knew that entering wolf¡¯s territory is not as simple as a bear¡¯s, much less a direwolf¡¯s. She prepared her blades and Yumi bow just in case.


    She slowly and stealthily creeps deeper, trying to sniff and hear any strange sound or even just a slight disturbance to the wind, to avoid getting ambushed by the beasts.


    ¡®The grounds on this area have much less grass with almost no tree as such the tracks were now easier to read and see.¡¯


    But then she realized something after following the tracks inside.


    ¡®The new direwolves¡¯ tracks are a day older than that of the child¡¯s¡­ so it really did mean that the child went inside chasing them?¡¯


    Then she found herself seeing a large opening of rocky area and a large cave at the center and a sight of¨C


    ¡°¡­dead direwolves.¡±


    There were about thirteen to fifteen dead bodies of direwolves on the ground.


    Large enough to be considered on adult size.


    ¡®What in the world happened here?¡¯ she decided to walk openly as she didn¡¯t sense any beasts lurking nearby.


    She slowly went to the nearest body, picked a stone and threw it with force towards the body just to make sure it isn¡¯t sleeping or playing dead. She accurately hit the head but she got no response. Seeing this, she didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and touched the body. Trying to know what killed it.


    ¡®It really is dead¡­ there is a fatal injury on the left side of its head, the hole is too large to be from an arrowhead or bolt. It isn¡¯t even a spear, axe or a sword as the wound isn¡¯t deep¡­ a dagger maybe? Hmm¡­ so a single strike from a dagger put it down?¡¯ she also went to investigate other bodies then found out that they all fell on the same kind of weapon and with one to three strikes on the same fatal region.


    ¡®If this is their den, it is too quiet¡­ shouldn¡¯t there be pups wailing?¡¯


    She went inside the cave and found dead bodies of the pups.


    ¡®This is strange¡­ a child or someone with the body of a child entered this den but with no human corpse, does this mean that he or she had wiped out the entire pack of direwolves?¡¯ she got confused by the current situation.


    Hunting wolves is not a joking matter and that is much worse for hunting a wolf in much bigger size. Numbers of hunters, range or long reaching weapons and coordination is the only way to hunt these beasts.


    Although she was able to handle a pack of direwolves, she will get a hard time in fighting a pack of them at their own grounds. The only reason why she was able to successfully escape with her life and wipe them out is because of skillfully using the terrain to her advantage and using the large size of the beasts against them.


    But for a child to do this alone is unbelievable. Especially after seeing the precise fatal strikes he or she gave the direwolves.


    Then she suddenly heard a voice.


    ¡°Have you come to hunt the rumored werewolf?¡± And when she searched for the source of the voice, she found a boy in ragged torn clothes looking down at her from the rock above the cave.


    ¡°Too bad, but it seems it is not here.¡±


    ¡°Are you the one who did this?¡± she still have doubts about the child being able to wipe out these beasts but still she had to ask the question.


    ¡°Hupp!¡± the boy jumped down towards her.


    She realized that he is really a child, about 11-13 years old. And she cannot even see the color of his hair as he was literally dripping in blood all over his body.


    ¡°Well, I only wanted to investigate at first but I accidentally slipped into the very entrance of their den ¨C¡±


    The boy suddenly stopped talking and instead focused his eyes towards her.


    ¡°Wait¡­ strange woman with black hair¡­ and black armor¡­ with peculiar blades and a long bow¡­ you must be the rumored shipwrecked¡­ foreigner.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And you must be quite a strong boy, if you were able to do all this.¡± Mizuki confirmed.


    ¡°Strong? Why is that?¡± The boy grinned in reply.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I came to know them after my frequent contacts with them.¡± her sight playfully followed the flowing blood from one of the dead direwolves. Then she slowly walked around the boy.


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± she quietly observed him.


    Even back in her homeland, it is almost impossible to see a child soldier in the battlefield. And she was an exception. However in here, she got to know a different culture where even children as young as 11 years old were part of the levy. But not to the point of bathing in the blood of the beasts he had slain.


    And even if she disregards his achievement in wiping out the entire den, she knew that this child is definitely not normal. He will be the second person she met here that she sensed to be one.


    But she didn¡¯t find it annoying or creepy, instead she relish such abnormality and pursues it. Her way of life has always been an abnormality. She had come to enjoy it as the dreaded ¡°Onikiri¡± of the battlefield became an Oni herself.


    In other words, she wanted to know.


    She wanted to see.


    She wanted to feel.


    She wanted to do something bad right now. And only blood with steel will do the trick. But first she must test him.


    Then her right hand rested on the scabbard of the right blade on her hip. The boy noticed this action and what this may imply.


    All of the sudden, her eyes throbbed and turned black. Then it sent a full unfiltered wave from the abyss.


    And as she had expected, the boy received all of it. Just like the men who saw her dark eyes, he became paralyzed. Shivering from cold fear, their body organs failed, lost control on their limbs, silent screams and choking for air. It¡¯s as if their body already acknowledges that it is dead.


    It is a direct visit from the Reaper himself.


    Then he fell lifelessly on the ground.


    ¡­or what should have been.


    Much to her surprise, the boy just smiled. He never even closed his eyes or diverted his gaze. He just simply looked at her eyes and received them all. And she felt that he sensed what she just did but he chose to embrace it in order to see its effects.


    For the first time in her life, she met someone who is not afraid of death. She already met a skilled warrior monk that fought to the death because of faith, an infamous ronin that died to protect his family, a loyal samurai that welcomed death for his lord and a daimyo who died standing for his belief of peace.


    But the boy in front of her just seemed to embrace it because of¡­ curiosity. His eyes told her that.


    ¡°Impressive and magnificent.¡± She is now showing a toothy grin.


    ¡°Hehhh? I never saw something like that before. What was that?¡± just like her, the eyes of the boy are with great interest.


    ¡°Well, nevermind.¡± then he released a full blown bloodlust at her as if taunting her.


    In her experienced from the war and countless deathmatch, the bloodlust that is emanating from the boy told her senses that he will become hostile at any moment.


    She also saw two glints on the back of his hands and something protruding on his clothes. She can only guess that they must be the weapons he used to fight and slay the direwolves.


    ¡°My turn to ask, now tell me¡­ are you strong?¡± he tilted his head.


    In preparation, she unlocked the wakizashi on her right side with her thumb and took a draw stance.


    ¡®Please don¡¯t disappoint me.¡¯ she quietly mused.


    Then knowing that it will start something she also liked, she replied.


    ¡°The only one stronger than me is¡­ Death.¡±


    In response, the boy disappeared from her sight with two daggers flying towards her.

 Volume 01 Chapter Nine- The Demon and the Demon Slayer

    Werewolves, the beasts of the full moon. They are creatures of the night that preys on anything that have flesh. Feared by many. It was just a week ago when he heard of rumors that a werewolf have taken control of the forests.


    But for Peterson, they were just an object for his curiosity. He wanted to see with his own eyes and if possible touch its dreaded furs. He left his home first thing in the morning and started tracking this beast on the forest where it was speculated to be its hunting grounds. And on the next day, he found tracks. It led him into a rocky den full of direwolves.


    Thinking that the beast is inside the cave, he provoked the pack by attacking. It took him almost an hour to completely wipe them out. But much to his disappointment, he only found traces of the beast. It only told him that the werewolf was indeed there but it was already two to three days old.


    He was about to return back in disappointment when he sensed someone¡¯s presence entering the den. And it was not a direwolf or the werewolf but a human. The smell told him that it¡¯s a woman.


    She started inspecting the corpses he left behind and he decided to reveal himself. Then to his surprise it was the foreign woman he had heard so much about. She was on her strange black armor, peculiar blades and a long bow. After a small dialogue, he felt a great ravenous aura coming from her.


    He also noticed immediately the implication of the sudden hostilities between the two of them.


    Suddenly, her eyes seemed to throb and turned black. Then, he felt that he is swimming on the black sea. And a large dark whirlpool is steadily closing towards him. Grinning from ear to ear, he swam towards the swirling darkness, excited to see what will happen. It swallowed him whole and he sunk quickly to its depths.


    Then he returned in front of the shocked and surprised eyes.


    ¡°Impressive¡­ magnificent.¡± The woman in front of him is now showing a toothy grin.


    ¡°Hehhh? I never saw something like that before. What was that?¡± his heart is now beating loudly, full of anticipation and excitement.


    ¡°Well, nevermind.¡± He replied in respect with bloodlust.


    He secretly nimbly flexes his fingers and limbs in preparing his weapons under his clothes.


    ¡°My turn to ask, now tell me¡­ are you strong?¡± he tilted his head.


    She took a stance that seemed to let her draw her sword. He still saw her same anticipating grin and then she replied.


    ¡°The only one stronger than me is¡­ Death.¡±


    These words caused something inside him to burst.


    Using his flexible legs, he disappeared from her sight and left two daggers flying towards her.


    ???????????????????????????


    As soon as he got the confirmation of words, he immediately jumped to the side. And using the Sun¡¯s reflection from his daggers, he tried to blind his enemy as it flies towards her. But as he have also expected, instead of dodging it, the woman used her peculiar short blade to parry the knives away.


    Taking that as an opportunity to attack while her blade was out of position to counter, he rushed towards her blindspot on her left side. Knowing that there is a height difference between them, he decided to strike on her unguarded lower body. He also knew that his strength may not be enough to penetrate deeply if he hits an armor or bone so his left hand is supporting the right hand for pushing the weapon into the flesh.


    But as soon as he reached the lethal distance for his knife, he reflexively used his weapon to block something. And he did receive a slash that pushed him away with great force. When he landed he saw that her right hand has unsheathed another peculiar short blade.


    ¡®Wait, isn¡¯t she carrying just two blades which was a short and longer one? Where did she get another short blade?¡¯ he got confused. When he saw her earlier, she was just carrying two blades on her waist.


    Then after careful look, he realized that there are four scabbards which is obviously for a knife size blade, two short blades and a single longer blade.


    Maybe a blind spot from standing above earlier that he was foolishly deceived by what he saw.


    And while he was still contemplating for a second, it was Mizuki¡¯s turn to dash towards him which immediately eliminated the distance between them. She kicked the ground to gain tremendous distance and speed that helped her drew near Peterson.


    With a white flash of her blade, she struck Peterson on his right shoulder which cut his body to half.


    ¡­Or what should have happened.


    She was not the only one hiding the number of her blades.


    Peterson had unsheathed one of his daggers from his back and used both of his weapons to block Mizuki¡¯s sudden strike. It was so fast that Mizuki was surprised to see such quick response from him. The instant their weapons clash together, the great force of her strike and his lighter weight caused him again to fly a distance.


    ¡®Nice. He doesn¡¯t use wide swings. And my past opponents who used knives and daggers would usually mistake to always jump, making them very easy targets and got them killed. But he knew that keeping his feet on the ground makes him much deadlier and harder target.  He is not your inexperience or average dagger user. He knows how to use his weapon of choice.¡¯ She mused.


    He also used this momentum of getting pushed away to create a good distance from her by using his right leg to kick the ground. Just enough for him to counterattack once again with the same advantage for his daggers.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!¡±


    Even if she felt that the fight is just beginning, she can¡¯t find to contain her excitement. She started laughing as soon as their weapons got into contact for the first time.


    ¡®She¡¯s laughing? She really is a strange woman. Well, I can¡¯t blame her. I am also greatly enjoying this!¡¯


    Peterson thought as he again took the initiative by chasing after her, intending not to give her a chance to breathe or a second to rest.


    She gave another flash of steel, this time with two of her blades. Peterson seeing the direction of her blades, he met her blades head on with his two daggers.


    Mizuki kept on swinging her two short blades this time without stopping.


    ¡®She is strong! Stronger than what I have expected! Stronger than anyone I have met!! And most of all, she is much, much, much stronger than me!!!¡¯


    Peterson excitement is flooding his thoughts even so it didn¡¯t hamper his skills and movement to face his opponent. He also knew that he didn¡¯t have the strength to parry away her every blade strikes so he has to reduce his defensive actions and be aggressive.


    Dodging from the left, countering from the right, parrying the thrusts, sidestep from the right and blocking another strike.


    Lightly and quickly, Peterson used his entire body in keeping his own life while trying to take another¡¯s life. He was even forced to use his fur boots that had thick iron plates in diverting the blades away.


    ¡®A-another parry from his feet?! He really can see my movements! What an incredible boy! This is the fifth time he parried my blades. Then how about this?!¡¯


    Mizuki¡¯s right blade strikes on the low to have him occupied for an instant if he successfully dodges. Then her other blade prepared to strike as she turns her body to the left as a response to dodge his quick thrusts and use it to attack.


    ¡®That was close! She is quite good in using her two blades effectively. One fatal misinterpretation and I¡¯ll lose. I cannot defeat her with those two blades guarding and countering from every blindspot she had. I must disable one of them first!¡¯


    Peterson knew that a strike from below is coming so he jumped to the side in split second the moment her blade reached where he was. And he used his dagger on the right to thrust at her shoulder the moment she twist her body, intending to disable her left arm completely. While his left dagger prepared for any counter.


    ¡®I cannot even feel that he is losing in terms of strength after parrying most of my attacks. And his small body makes it easier for him to respond and move quicker than me. And I hate to admit it but I am inferior in the resolve to meet Death head on. It seems I made a mistake in rushing earlier. I must create a distance from him.¡¯


    But Mizuki also realize that she had severely underestimated the child.


    So after failing to land a blow from her low strike, she swung her blade from her left to parry the dagger and intending to kick his body.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡®A kick? It¡¯s already too late to twist my body!¡¯


    In an instant after his thrust was parried, Peterson noticed a slight movement from her left hip.


    But he knew that he cannot dodge the incoming kick as his feet still haven¡¯t touched the ground. So the dagger on his left hand that was preparing for the counter earlier will be used to pierce her incoming feet.


    ¡®He still saw through my intent? What a heightened senses with quick reflexes and eagle eyes! I have to misdirect him somehow!¡¯


    And also in split second, Mizuki noticed the small change of angle on his head. She feel that he just realized her intention but still goes through with her plan to kick him away. But with an additional thrust from her free right blade.


    ¡®I forgot her other blade!¡¯ Peterson suddenly remembered that he is vulnerable the moment he used his left dagger so he instead decided to use it to guard his body from the incoming thrust which he just noticed. And with his quick flexible fingers, he twisted the dagger on his right in reverse grip to stab her leg as soon as her kick lands on his body.


    ¡®This child really impressed me to no end! Sorry little puppy, but I equally treat my opponents!¡¯


    He was able to guard his body from her right blade but Mizuki is quicker in responding to his changes.


    ¡®It¡¯s light¡­ eh?¡¯ Peterson¡¯s right dagger stabbed an empty air. He didn¡¯t notice in the last second that Mizuki actually made a feint kick.


    Then with his mistake, Mizuki used it as a chance to precede planting her leg on his unguarded left and kicked him to the side. It was so strong that he didn¡¯t even have the chance to contain his bodily response in vomiting saliva.


    ¡°AACKK!¡±


    His small body flew quite a distance away from her. But this time he took heavy body damage from the harsh landing he got on the ground and the powerful kick he received. Waves of pain surged on the right side of his body and on his back.


    Although both of them felt that everything were already hours long, in reality what they did had just happened in several minutes only. So if there are onlookers present, all they can see clearly were the sparks from every contact of their weapons.


    ¡°Aacck! *Cough *Cough *Cough *Cough¡­*Cough haa¡­¡±


    ¡®Previously she was the one taking the initiative but all of the sudden she tried to put a distance between us. *cough¡­ Either she deemed me dangerous at close combat which in reality is not true, *cough *cough as she had the advantage in terms of pure skill, reach and range of her weapons. Or¡­ she needs a temporary breather because of her limited stamina.¡¯ he was able to guess correctly her intent.


    ¡°Haaa¡­ fuuu¡­ haa¡­ fuuu¡­ haaa¡­ fuuuu¡­haaa¡­ fuuu¡­¡± Mizuki took deep breathes to regain her lost stamina and air back to her body.


    Unlike him, Mizuki¡¯s blade arts were based on the combined aspects of timing every breath she takes with her movement and also in consideration to every beat of her heart.


    But his swings were no different than a wild beast with outstanding mind of a human being. It doesn¡¯t follow any pattern or technique, it simply adapts to anything that she throws at him.


    And most of all, this is the longest fight Mizuki ever had. Her previous one was against an assassin whom only took her ten breathes to take him down. But this boy was able to survive long enough for Mizuki to lose most of her stamina, also the first time to ever happen to her.


    Peterson planted his right foot down, forcibly to support his still wobbling body. He wiped the dripping saliva from his lips.


    ¡°It¡¯s just as I have hoped from you¡­ or rather, you are more than what everyone have said or thought about you¡­ *cough *cough¡­ the rumors seemed to have done you injustice¡­ I only hope that I was not a boring opponent for you.¡±


    ¡°Hehehehe¡­ Don¡¯t worry. I can assure you that you have now my attention and eyes. You were so dreadfully skilled that I have to disperse the thoughts of you being a child. Who trained you?¡±


    ¡°Trained? *cough¡­ *cough¡­ haaa¡­ no one for I have no luxury of getting one.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then that just made you even more interesting.¡±


    Mizuki smiled. She finally got enough air in her body to continue once again.


    ¡°Same.¡±


    Peterson responded with his own grin and prepared himself also for another round.


    Two wakizashis and two serrated daggers aimed at each other.


    Both of them close their distanced to one another. Mizuki picked up a pack of dirt using the edges of her two blades and threw it towards Peterson to blind her opponent if possible.


    But Peterson was able to sense her intention and instead decided to use it as his opening to attack.


    He intentionally received what was thrown but closed his eyes just in time for the dirt to reach his face. With Mizuki¡¯s stance practically open after her initial move, he used his other senses to advance instead.


    Such skill shocked Mizuki after she realized that she fell to his trap. He has every advantage at that very moment. Her two blades were not in a position to counter or defend after throwing the dirt.


    Peterson decided to take the opportunity to end the fight and struck Mizuki on her chest with both of his daggers.


    His attack finally hit his intended target.


    The blades of his daggers penetrated through her chest armor and missed the ribs which should have protected her heart.


    Mizuki spat blood in response and lost control over her body and fell to the ground.


    ¡­that,


    ¡­should¡¯ve been the outcome.


    But Peterson also sensed at that very moment that he also made a mistake.


    What his hands felt was a metallic response which should¡¯ve been a cloth or flesh.


    He used his two daggers to rip through her chest armor.


    And it revealed the protection which stopped his two daggers; a thick layer of chainmail with a thick cloth underneath.


    ¡°Hahaha, too bad.¡± He heard her laughed. Then he tried to take a distance again by leaping away from her after realizing that he already lost the advantage. His decisive action enabled him to dodge her incoming counter.


    He landed on his feet and saw her naughty side.


    ¡°Your timing should¡¯ve been perfect there but... tsk¡­ tsk, it was truly regrettable¡­ right?¡± She blinked at him as she stuck out her tongue.


    ¡°Hehhh, it was my fault anyway. I actually forgot to think about what could possibly be under your armor.¡± He replied to her taunt.


    ¡®Yeah although his ability to ¡°see¡± even without using his eyes are truly an exceptional skill of its own, but his instantaneous decision to use it as an opening against me just made him even more dangerous. I don¡¯t have such talent so I have to admit that I am quite envious of him now.¡¯ Mizuki silently complimented him.


    Preoccupied on their duel, both of them didn¡¯t even notice that the clouds have already darkened the sky.


    Not even after droplets of water started falling on their bodies.


    Both of them didn¡¯t have the time also for deep thoughts about any matter other than the one in front of them. Thinking and trying to take the initiative.


    This time Peterson decided to change his way to get over her defenses after knowing that only precise attacks on specific parts of her body would disable her.


    Mizuki also intends of doing the same.


    Their battle has changed from going for an instant victory to waiting for the opportunity. But still both of them cannot just stand and lazily looked at their respective opponents and let time pass.


    But instead they continued to fight for the initiative by setting up feints and traps during their fight.


    Mizuki used again her wakizashis to control the distance, knowing that his dagger can only be effective at a very close range or if he throws it. She would also sometimes aim at his feet by stepping on them to break his balance but Peterson also fought back by reflexively using it against her blades.


    ¡®He really is a well-balanced opponent. But it¡¯s time.¡¯ She finally got the opportunity she was waiting for.


    Mizuki decided to use one of her deadly techniques.


    Although it is one of her techniques to accurately take out her opponents, this technique is quite easy to be seen and countered as such she had to wait for the moment where she can use it against him.


    She wanted to use this previously but after seeing his quick reflexes and heightened senses, she decided to be patient and slowly let Peterson get lured and focused on attacking without making it obvious.


    By twisting her body, she was able to misdirect him then successfully used her left foot to kick Peterson¡¯s elbow which caused him to miss his thrust. She used that chance to spring away from him using her other foot.


    She made a good distance for her plan.


    Peterson pursued with daggers drawn towards her.


    With a deep quick breathe, she made her two blade stance and jumped forward.


    In quick succession, one of her wakizashi caught the tip of the two daggers and pushes them on the other side, disallowing Peterson to use his hands to defend himself.


    Then unlike before, this time her other wakizashi reached its target, Peterson¡¯s upper body.


    Peterson doesn¡¯t have any chainmail as a protection so the tip went through his chest and out on his back. A one sided attack.


    To maximize the damage, Mizuki used one of her foot to push his body from her blade. Twisting as it withdrew from his flesh, causing massive bleeding inside his body and to any organ that was hit, particularly his heart.


    From the red mark on his clothe, Mizuki must have taken out his most important organ already.


    ¡®Thorn of the Crimson Lotus¡¯


    A technique aimed to gouge out the heart of her opponents.


    ¡°Fuuu¡­ ha¡­ that was one of the greatest fights I ever had little puppy.¡±


    She shook the blood from her wakizashi and put them back on their respective scabbards.


    However¡­ contrary to her expectations, he didn¡¯t of fall down.


    Peterson only wobbled and spat some blood from his mouth.


    He coughed many times before grinning back to her which confuses her.


    ¡°You¡­ *cough¡­ already successfully struck me two times¡­ Ack, haaa¡­ *cough *cough but you still have no scratch on your body or skin. *cough¡­ You really are the best of the best.¡±


    ¡°W-why¡­ Ehh? How?¡± she was shocked after seeing that it didn¡¯t take him out. She immediately drew her blades again, preparing herself.


    He grinned towards her as he showed her his bleeding open wound, letting her see something inhuman. The gaping hole on his chest quickly mended itself, leaving almost no trace of the injury. Not even a scar or mark was left behind.


    ¡°Tsk¡­ tsk, *cough *cough¡­ it was truly regrettable, isn¡¯t it?¡± Peterson used her previous words against her.


    Someone actually survived one of her techniques. This boy just took another first time from her.


    But instead of getting infuriated¡­


    ¡­ or feeling humiliated,


    ¡­ or feeling insulted,


    ¡­this result only increased her excitement which was already off the roof.


    And most of all, someone actually cheated Death, the only god she admired and worshipped.


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!¡± she laughed her heart out that she had to clutch her belly.


    ¡®This¡­ this country really amazes me to no end! Now thanks to you, I have neither regrets nor any complaints of being thrown out on this part of the world!¡¯ she exclaimed with delight in her thoughts.


    Heavy rain now poured down from the sky. Washing everything what they had done in the place and soaking their bodies in its cold waters.


    She licked her wet lips in pure excitement.


    ¡°This fight isn¡¯t over just yet.¡± He taunted her with a smug face.


    The heart she thought to have already been frozen started beating intensely and loudly.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh! You should take responsibility boy! I feel so hot and wet!¡±

 Volume 01 Chapter Ten- Blood Rain

    The pouring rain slowly caused a small flooding in the place. The direwolves¡¯ den is not good in draining the water out and as a result, it trapped most of the water.


    Amidst the millions sounds of droplets, the loud clashing of metal against metal can be heard.


    Water had now reached their ankles but it never even impeded their movement to kill each other. Their distance was one where they can be misunderstood to be dancing partners.


    For Mizuki she already failed many times to take the life of the young boy. She was able to rip his throat but it was quickly mended. She dislocated jaw and broke his neck with a strong kick, but his body fixed itself. She cut his spine to kill or paralyze him but it healed. She already stabbed him multiple times but he would just come back. She beheaded him two times already but he would just return his head back to its place as if nothing happened.


    And for Peterson, he failed to land a decisive blow or even just a single scratch on her skin. She would parry, dodge, counter or riposte his assaults.


    Both of them obviously knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill each other without a turning point.


    However, the difference between their bodies and skills were slowly showing.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± It was Peterson¡¯s turn to receive the brunt of losing stamina and strength at a faster rate after the countless attacks and counters from Mizuki.


    If he was a normal child, his arms and feet would have already started to show signs of fatigue.


    His daggers were not made to fight prolonged battles as such its edges were also slowly being chipped off little by little. But he cannot stop as he knew that Mizuki¡¯s body needed some quick rest or breathing space and he must not give her that luxury again.


    But still he had to keep the close distance with her. As he sensed that he will lose the moment he moves away from her.


    He had to avoid increasing the distance between them, a distance that¡¯s far from the reach of his daggers but still within the range of her blades. So there is no advantage for him in widening the distance.


    Such decision also disabled Mizuki to use her other techniques as she needed a large gulp of air to start one. The relentless advance and aggressiveness of Peterson never allowed her to breathe in ease.


    She even had to manage her breathes between every attack, parries and defense. All Mizuki needed to do is to wait for a misguided chance. And use that chance to initiate another deadly attack.


    The repetition of attacking and defending became the core of their fight.


    A battle of endurance and patience.


    The wetness of rain can¡¯t even stop their weapons from raising sparks everytime they collided. The heated state of their fight.


    Then Mizuki felt something wrong and she sensed it too late.


    Peterson was able to use the heavy sound of rain to dull her senses in realizing that she is actually being led to a corner.


    Her back was now literally touching the white wall of the rock cliff that acted as the fence of their duel ring.


    With restricted movement, she is now forced to defend only while Peterson decided to unleash his energy in putting her down.


    ¡®Very good! He was able to corner me to this extent but not yet! Not yet! This may be very bad for my blades ¨C¡¯ but Mizuki still have a way out.


    Peterson landed his thrust on another empty air then realized that Mizuki is above him, using her two blades as a support to get over him.


    Mizuki used her two wakizashis to stab the rocks behind her at armpit level then used the blades she had planted deep as a base to spring herself out of the cornered situation. Such action could actually result on chipping her blades but it was a necessary loss for her.


    She tried to use it as a chance to reverse the situation by landing behind him and corner him instead.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Peterson grinned once again, loudly complimenting her skills.


    But Peterson was able to quickly maneuver out of the corner to her side, just enough time to escape the very same situation he had almost given her.


    This change in position however, ruined the very plan Peterson was struggling to hold.


    He had now lost the close range advantage for his daggers and Mizuki is not that kind to give it back to him.


    The distance she gained is now perfect for her blades where she is safe from his daggers but still can freely attack him from all directions.


    It was her turn to be at the initiative.


    Peterson tried to take it back by suddenly leaping forward using his feet. Two short stingers sliced through the wind and rain, coming after her. They parry the attacks as his entire body pushes forward.


    But Mizuki wouldn¡¯t allow that to happen so easily for him. She jumped back, maintaining the distance between the two of them while keeping him away with her wakizashis. He was able to avoid another fatal strike by crouching just in time.


    And suddenly at such low position, Peterson disappeared in front of her again. What replaced him in place is a great splash of water. At such critical second, Mizuki used her other senses to find him. Using them is faster than turning her head to search for him as a second of delay will kill her.


    With the help of the pouring raindrops, she sensed something different with their sound just above her. And she found him as just as he was about to glide over her with the intention of slashing her head. Peterson used the same trick she did in changing locations. After he crouched earlier, he used two of his daggers to create a large splash of water as cover then jumped to his side on the rock wall. He used his speed and other dagger to run on the rocky wall, defying the rain and gravity.


    ¡®Oho, he still wanted to take it back!¡¯


    She knew that such maneuver can only be possible for a trained body. And her impression of him just kept on increasing. Mizuki did not block but she responded by dashing forward, leaning even lower just enough to dodge his slash from the above. By the time he landed back, she still maintained the same distance with him making his attempt to regain his previous advantage, wasted.


    Mizuki didn¡¯t wait for him to land. He was still in midair when she once again swung her wakizashis. His unguarded body in the open air is too delicious for her to ignore. But her blades once again felt only the metal instead of flesh.


    ¡®He did it again!¡¯


    Peterson just nimbly twisted his body and parried her blades using his daggers. He was able to land safely by the time she started pouring her relentless attacks.


    Sound of clashing metals once again echoed in the rocky opening.


    ¡®But that kind of movement and breathing will completely eat up her stamina and balance with reducing recovery counter rate like what happened earlier!¡¯ Peterson thought.


    After blocking several quick thrusts and strikes, he is slowly preparing to carry his body to the side that will expose Mizuki¡¯s flanks. Unknown to her, Peterson is actually trying to find and familiarize himself with her pattern of attacks. This is one of the concepts for every being, which he learned from fighting beasts in the forests, bandits, looters and even deserters in the past.


    And that chance had arrived. After swinging her two blades on a familiar pattern that intends to cut him on his unguarded side after a parry. Mizuki had her upper body wide open.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    On a hair¡¯s breadth, he dodged the pressured slash and thrust that passed above him when he crouched. Then he burst the strength on his legs with dagger aimed at his opponent, not letting the opportunity get wasted. The sudden decrease of distance between the two made Mizuki impossible to dodge his attack.


    But what he first saw after closing in on her was her face, as if laughing at his actions.


    ¡° ¨C!!??¡± he was hit by something heavy on his jaw which caused him to spin backward.


    With quick reflexes and trained body, he landed on his feet but with piercing pain on his mouth. By using his tongue to feel the insides, he only lost his two teeth with gums receiving most of the damage. He can already taste the flowing blood inside his mouth. He spits out the teeth and wiped his bleeding nose with his hand.


    ¡°Hehh... I did not expect that.¡± Peterson smiled amidst the pain. He tried biting again and felt the newly grown teeth.


    Mizuki used her knee to hit him.


    ¡°Haha!¡± Mizuki grinned as rest her two blades on her shoulders.


    ¡°Too bad again huh. I thought I had it.¡± Peterson said.


    ¡®Not only she predicted my attack and used that to lure me in but she also has serious inhuman reflexes. I was already struck twice while she never even gained a single scratch from me.¡¯


    ¡°I thank the gods for letting me born and live till this day.¡± Peterson prepared himself again.


    In the pouring rain, silenced followed between them for several seconds before Mizuki replied.


    ¡°Same.¡± Mizuki replied.


    ¡°Show me.¡± Peterson said.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Mizuki wondered what he is asking about.


    ¡°I now know and feel the difference between the two of us¡­ The height that you are standing right now... But still¡­ I want to know. Like what you did earlier with your eyes, I want to see that again. Show me your true strength. Even just the glimpse of the peak of where you stand. I don¡¯t mind paying the toll... with blood.¡± Peterson asked. He knew that if she was given the same inhuman ability he had, he will not be able to defeat her.


    Mizuki smiled again at his frank and pure wish so she decided to politely grant it.


    ¡®He is much to learn, he still lacks the basic knowledge of using his daggers much effectively. After losing his daggers and leaving only two in his hands, he would only slash, stab and thrust. And maybe because he learned how to fight bandits with armor that he would only strike with his arm strength alone. But¡­¡¯


    Mizuki licked her lips erotically with a look of ecstasy as she stared at Peterson.


    ¡®...he already exceeded my expectations. He is the best out of all people I have ever faced.¡¯


    She put back her two wakizashi on their scabbards and unsheathes her katana. It has been a long time since she saw its blade to take someone¡¯s life.


    ¡®Magatsukami, unleash your lust.¡¯ She silently spoke the foreign words that was etched on the blade and held it in a low stance.


    Seeing her new blade out of its sheath, Peterson held his daggers ready on both of his hands.


    His body for the first time felt severe waves of chills. If it was anyone, they would think that it was the rain that caused their body to feel cold. However, Peterson knew that the monster in front of him is the source.


    Peterson assumes that she has five more steps to take before he will be at the reach of her new blade. He can choose to take a distance again freely this time as unlike previously, she isn¡¯t pursuing him or rushing towards him.


    But he cannot ¨C no, he will not, not go. The emanating bloodlust from her meant that Mizuki have decided to grant his request.


    So it is only polite for him to receive and accept such gift.


    In his entire life, he had only been fighting misfits, rogue vagrants, bandits, deserters and soldiers. And would always end up as a one sided victory for him.


    But never a true deathmatch.


    A deathmatch is only between people who can kill each other.


    But no one could equally compete against him due to his inhuman features.


    That¡¯s why when he heard about how a strange foreign woman had defeated the proud men at arms of his father, he became obsessed with her. Stalking her in every chance he could get.


    The only thing that he didn¡¯t expect is that she would come to him.


    Mizuki also knew that he may not even have a normal body as she had witnessed his high regenerative capabilities. There is also the possibility that he may even be deathless. So she needed to defy that very advantage of his.


    ¡®He must have been quite starved for someone who could truly threaten his life.¡¯ she finally understood his fearless leaps without faith into the unknown.


    ¡°Peterson of House Bauhnmont!¡±


    Peterson introduced himself again, as he smiled in childish anticipation and admiration.


    Mizuki wondered what he is trying to do then finally got what he really meant and smiled.


    ¡°Izuchirikuzen Clan, Mizuki!¡±


    Mizuki answered with the name of her clan, with respect and same anticipation on her opponent.


    The animosity between the two made the rain and cold, shiver instead.


    Their bloodlust turned away even the insects and small creatures hiding near the rocks.


    After declaring their names, both have resolved themselves to end the battle in a single clash. The pouring rain, rocks and trees were the only witness to this part of an epic battle.


    But unlike before, her body didn¡¯t take any combat posture. She just quietly walked through the mud and rain towards him.


    The rain and flooding ground helped him sensed and hear her steps.


    And with every step she takes, time flows ever slowly.


    Four more steps.


    ¡­


    Three more.


    ¡­


    Two.


    ¡­


    One.


    -


    After Mizuki took the last step, time stood still for both of them.


    The pouring rain became silent. The wetness and the cold in their body were forgotten.


    Everything in their surrounding was frozen.


    ¡­


    And then, a sound of a raindrop meeting the ground disturbed the stillness.


    In a blinding flash, both of them unleashed everything in an instant.


    After a sharp intake of breath, with daggers in both of his hands, Peterson flew forward aiming Mizuki¡¯s neck. Unlike before, Peterson now abandoned any attempt to defend himself against any counter attack. Embracing the possibility within the impossibility of dying


    Yet Mizuki seemed defenseless without any stance or even a posture to counter. She didn¡¯t even make any preparation to defend herself nor dodge the attack.


    But in split second, Mizuki planted her left foot down on the mud with great force that the pressure it left behind created a high splash of water and deep footprint. It sent her flying towards her opponent.


    Peterson jumped towards her as he threw his dagger at her head and thrusting the other. At the same time, Mizuki swung her blade with its sharp edge ripping through the wind and rain.


    Both of their body passed one another at such close distance that their skin had just barely touched each other.


    Then time returned.


    Along with the cold rain and incoming darkness of the night.


    But sprouted blood had mixed with the falling raindrops came from an opened flesh.


    Mizuki shakes the blood of from her blade and uses her sleeve with her elbow to clean the stained edge.


    Unlike what happened previously¡­ this time, he fell.


    On her back, Peterson is lying on the pool of his own blood. His body already mended the wounds she gave by the time his face touch the ground but he is still unconscious.


    ¡®Needles of the Rakshas¡¯


    A technique she would usually use to capture valuable skilled targets but this time, Mizuki made it even more powerful.


    It attacked several flow points on Peterson¡¯s body, causing it to stop working completely, as if every organ was frozen in place. It follows same principle as acupuncture that she learned from the shinobi clans. But because it is much stronger than the usual, he or she would die instantly due to organ malfunctions if it was applied to a normal human body.


    Rain poured even harder as night time comes.


    ¡°Magatsukami, I offer you my deepest gratitude.¡± Mizuki sheathes back her blade.


    Then she turned and cooped up the unmoving body of Peterson.


    An unlikely action for someone who was known by her enemies and allies alike to behead the corpses of her opponents and take them back as her trophies.


    It was her principle and also part of her religion to bury the enemies she had found to be worthy in meeting her god with his or her whole unsullied body. But this time, it¡¯s different.


    After seeing what he had done to her, he was still showing his innocent smiling face.


    ¡°So cute~¡± she pinch his cheeks in adoration.


    Then she drew her tanto and stabbed his abdomen, ripping it apart, as if she just gutted him out. His intestines rolled outside his belly. She wanted to see how his body will react after being half dead.


    And she saw up close the inhuman aspect of his body. In his large wound, blood veins quickly protrude themselves on his skin. Then countless bloody tree-like roots crawled on the opening of the wound until it completely covered it. Making it look like a feast of large thick worms. The intestines and organs that fell outside were dragged back to his body.


    ¡®So it is not affected by the loss of body flow?¡¯ she thought.


    Seconds later, the worm-like veins contracted and burst open with blood altogether, leaving no mark or scar on the former open wound which he previously got from her blade. Just to confirm that what just happened were real, she touched and felt its new healed skin.


    ¡°An undying ¡­ fascinating¡­¡± She felt her cheeks blush and the already beating heart of hers suddenly increased their intensity that it became deafening for her ears.


    ¡°You truly really are...¡±


    She wiped the mud on his face and stroked his hair from his forehead.


    ¡°I will have you as my trophy¡­ my little monster.¡± her fervent eyes and smile was hidden by the rain.

 Volume 01 Chapter Eleven - Three Fated Meetings

    Peterson woke up at the sounds of waves crashing into the rocks. Although the sounds were not that loud, his sensitive hearing ate every echo in the cave which interrupted his sleep.


    ¡°¡­ ahhh¡­ where am¡­¡± he realized that he was lying on several direwolves¡¯ fur as a makeshift bed. The rocky walls, protruding crystals and shining stalagmites made it obvious for him that he was on a cave. But it had a lot of furniture, kitchenware, and everything that made up a normal house.


    It seemed at first to be small room but when his eyes surveyed further, the cave halls went even deeper which made him think that maybe this is a giant serpent¡¯s residence. It had a regal and expensive looking carpet on the floor. The rocky floor was covered by hundreds of animal furs and straw mats.


    ¡®Either I was taken to a witch¡¯s cave or ¨C¡¯ then he remembered his fight with Mizuki.


    ¡® ¨C this must be Mesoki¡¯s place. Oh yeah, I almost forgot that she took residence on a cave system by the cliffs¡­¡¯ the sounds of the sea only confirmed his latter guess.


    Sunlight enters the cave through the small openings on the walls which were obviously not naturally made.


    ¡°I lost then? Haaa¡­ hahahahaha¡­ she really is one of the most beautiful and rare flower I had ever seen...¡± he lay on the fur with ease and covered his joyful eyes with his arm.


    As he stood up, he tried to check his entire body if he was chained or bound but no chains or rope was found.


    ¡®¡­ I can only guess that she did not bring me here for some experiments. But why am I here then?¡¯ He is now trying to reconstruct the events after he lost his consciousness.


    ¡®And the last thing I remembered was something struck my body multiple times and I was out¡­ so was I¡­ wait, did I actually die?¡¯ he never experienced death that didn¡¯t even know the difference between a coma and death.


    ¡®If I did die, then what she just did is actually outstanding! She managed to kill me! I thought I was actually undying! So that was death, huh. Not a very interesting place.¡¯ he misunderstood something due to his half-baked knowledge.


    ¡®But¡­ seeing that I am here laying on animal furs instead under the deep earth means that she must have seen the state of my body up close. And also I am not tied up, I am not in a boiling pot of water, I am not imprisoned, I am not in ¡°several pieces¡± and hanged on a ceiling¡­ or opened up to be dissected¡­¡¯ he knew his inhuman body and already prepared his mind and body for so long in any event that he was captured. Though he didn¡¯t even notice how abnormally calm he is about it.


    ¡®Hmmm the only thing that comes to my mind is curiosity¡­ If I am on Mizuki¡¯s shoes, I would interrogate or ask the child with strange body. And speaking of which, where is she-¡¯


    As he is thinking about her, he felt something protruding on his chest. Blood spurts out from the tip that is showing off on the surface of his skin.


    ¡°Wha-¡± he realize that he was impaled from his back by a javelin. It struck him so quick and silence that his proud senses were not able to see it coming.


    He vomits out blood, dropped to the cave floor and lost consciousness once again.


    Then his flesh moved immediately to forcibly take out the javelin, leaving a hole in his back which was again covered by worm-like veins. Only the new skin on the former injury was left.


    ¡°Magnificent¡­ so you really are an immortal?¡± a clapping sound and Mizuki¡¯s enthusiastic voice echoed in the cave.


    ¡°Would you please avoid throwing a javelin at my back just after waking up?¡± Peterson complained as he stood up.


    ¡°I needed to make sure~¡± she smiled.


    ¡°Then couldn¡¯t you just do it when I was asleep?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I already did.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    Mizuki rushed towards him in quick movement, she was so excited that their face was literally breaths away as she talks.


    ¡°I tried to skin you but your body replaces a new one. I kept cutting off your limbs but your body also keeps growing another. I tried separating you from your waist and putting an obstacle for its regrowth but your body just melted the metallic plate I set and grew another waist anyway. I tried cutting your feet and burning the wounds, just to test if it will acknowledge losing a limb if the wound is healed, but your body just forcibly opened up the wounds and grew another set. I also separated you from your head¨C¡± Mizuki enjoyed the explanation that it only gave mental pain to Peterson.


    ¡°Okay, okay! Stop! I get the idea. Haaa¡­. So that¡¯s the reason of my painful nightmares earlier.¡± Peterson sighed.


    ¡°Yeah! Yeah! So little puppy, what are you?!¡± her excited eyes made him lower his guard which let her embrace him on his back.


    ¡®Little puppy? What in the world did she just name me?¡¯ he thought.


    ¡°You are not human that¡¯s for sure but I have never seen such a thing in my life!¡± she exclaimed, holding him up with her strong bear-hug, side to side.


    ¡°Anyway, because of your experiments and unpermitted dissections on my body, I got hungry. So I may have to hunt three boars just to fill myself. How long was I out anyway?¡± He inquired.


    ¡°Hmmm~ three days¡­ no wait, you were unconscious for six days if we count the other three days I took you apart! Nee~ Nee~ as I have mentioned, I found out that your heart were surrounded with more muscles than normal, they were quite elastic when I cut one down-¡± Mizuki continued telling what she discovered about his body and its innards. He had to listen to her gruesome tales for a long time until a growling sound from his stomach came out.


    ¡°Oh you¡¯re hungry, don¡¯t worry, I have prepared a deer. Come come!¡± she dragged Peterson by hand.


    ¡®She wasn¡¯t this¡­ kind of enthusiastic when she first met me.¡¯ Peterson thought as he wondered on the change on Mizuki¡¯s beaming personality.


    He was led to the upper floor of the cave which surprised him as he didn¡¯t expect such structures inside the cave. They stopped at the third floor but he noticed that the stairs were still going upwards so he can only assume that there are more upper floors. Maybe even scaling the cliffs.


    Their destination seemed to be similar to a veranda which overlooks the sea and the entrance of the cave on the side. It had a flat surface which had a long table and four wooden chairs. Along with the salty wind from the sea, he smelled a nice aroma of roasted meat.


    ¡°Just wait and sit on one of the chairs, I will just get the food. They should be ready by now.¡± Mizuki disappeared back on the veranda¡¯s opening.


    Peterson sat at a chair and as he waited, he leaked a breath of admiration seeing the good position of the floor to see the great scenery of the forests and sea below him.


    ¡°Now I am not surprised anymore on why she never left this cave after years of living here.¡± He spoke out his thoughts.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s much better to work on my herbs and medicines on a quiet place.¡± Mizuki returned with a wooden cart full of food. It was still early in the morning so they will be taking their breakfast.


    And their breakfast was quite luxurious for Peterson; meat stew, white bread, fruits, eggs, three roasted venison, salted fish and vegetables. Along with a small barrel of ale.


    He wondered about where she got all of these then he saw the array of vegetable plants, chickens and pigs just below them.


    ¡°Anyway, thank you for the food.¡± Peterson took his wooden spoon and started eating.


    ¡°Itadakimasu.¡± Mizuki clasped her two hands.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Just a phrase in my country before eating. Anyway let¡¯s start.¡±


    He devoured almost all the dishes that were prepared without a single talk between them. Mizuki also quietly continued eating as she observed Peterson.


    They were able to finish just in time when the sun was rising on the horizon. They were now standing on the cave¡¯s rocky veranda.


    ¡°So Peterson, what are you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Heh, you really are that interested to what happened to me?¡± he grinned.


    ¡°Of course! Anyone would! And I have never seen someone defy Death!¡± she raised her two arms in air as if to show her excitement.


    ¡°Defy?¡­ Hmm¡­ let¡¯s just say that¡­ I can¡¯t be killed-ah no, that shouldn¡¯t be it¡­ yeah, I just cannot die.¡± He cleared out.


    ¡°So you are immortal?¡± she asked again.


    ¡°Close but¡­ I myself don¡¯t know actually.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± his answer only made Mizuki confused.


    ¡°My body had been like this since I was born.¡± Peterson continued.


    ¡°Wait, if my thoughts are correct¡­ could it be that your family doesn¡¯t know your state?¡± Mizuki asked. She remembered that Peterson is a child of House Bauhnmont, the family that ruled this land. So he is a noble.


    Peterson shook his head.


    ¡°Who were the first to discover your ability?¡±


    Peterson just answered with a mischievous grin.


    ¡°So you can¡¯t tell me~¡± she pretended to have a puppy eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as if I cannot but I have some questions of my own first before I answer that. It¡¯s my turn now. So, how did you kill me? What did you do?¡± Peterson asked with glittering eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even bat an eye on asking someone who may have took your life and even had the interest on the way you were killed, hehehe~¡± she immediately hugged him from his back. Peterson decided to just let her be.


    ¡°Actually I never did. All I did was just a complex piercing points that stops the animation of a living body.¡± she continued.


    Peterson thinks for several seconds while she waited for his response.


    ¡°Basically, you just stopped my body from being alive. But¡­ because I am incapable of dying¡­ I just sat on the middle line, neither alive nor dead.¡± He asked for her confirmation.


    ¡°That is one way to see it. But yeah. Even if I try to explain it to you further, you will still not understand as only those who were taught knew and understand how this works.¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡± Peterson insisted.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Nope~ I know you will not understand. After seeing how you also don¡¯t know what I used against you before our fight, I finally realize how different our way of fighting. It cannot be explained in a single sentence or words. For example, do you even know the word called Shi chi?¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°See? Even if I explain it to you, you will still not understand it.¡±


    Peterson remembered such scene where he felt that he was on the mouth of the abyss itself. Seeing how he is contemplating at her words, she assured him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Seeing that we will be living together from now on, I will be able to slowly teach you how.¡±


    ¡°Wait what?¡± he raised his eyebrow at her statement.


    ¡°Come come~ let¡¯s take a bath together!¡± Peterson isn¡¯t sure where she didn¡¯t hear him or just plainly ignored his question. She just cheerfully dragged him down back to the cave, leaving their wooden plates unattended.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, someone will come and clean that up for us.¡± She answered what he is thinking.


    ?????????????????????????


    They went to another room inside the cave. What was waiting for them was a large wooden tub enough to fit three to four people. It was already filled with water. Peterson assumed that she may have prepared it already before he even woke up.


    Peterson, along with Mizuki, stripped themselves of their clothes and folded them at the corner, out of the reach of possible splashes of water.


    Only now that Peterson noticed the mature body and features of Mizuki. He thought that he already considered her according to her age but he realized that he never did.


    Mizuki appeared to be in her mid-twenties. And at closer look, she has youthful, shining, smooth skin and with traits in her prime at peak figure. She has both the curves of a woman and the iron-like muscles of a warrior that were obviously the result of harsh training and life in the battlefield.


    Below her weighty breasts is the bulging eight pack abs, along with the countless scars that made her body even more attractive. Her plump thighs were also a great sight that increased her sex appeal even further.


    Her entire body gave off an alluring aura to any opposite sex who would see her naked.


    Finally realized that Peterson is looking at her body, she slightly blushed and hid her embarrassment with a teasing grin. She stuck out her chest proudly as if to she wanted him to look even more.


    ¡°By the way, how old are you Mesoki?¡± Peterson noticed her intention and decided to change the topic for a moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s Mizuki. Come on, say it correctly.¡± She told him the proper pronunciation of her name.


    ¡°Me¡­soki¡± Peterson repeated.


    ¡°Mi¡­Zu¡­Ki¡­ Mi-Zu-Ki¡­ Mi-Zu-Ki. Mizuki.¡± She taught him the proper way of saying it.


    ¡°Mi¡­so, zu¡­ki. Mi¡­zuki.¡± Peterson repeated once more.


    ¡°That¡¯s it! Now back to your question¡­ Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know how you measure time in this continent but I should be 20 years old when I left on a ship that got caught in a storm. And¡­ if I add my four years of stay in your lands¡­ then I should be 24 years old by now¡­ or maybe even more. How about you? It¡¯s just¡­ Are you really a child? I admit that I was not a normal child when I was your age¡­ but you seem too mature¡­ you act and feel like an adult.¡± Mizuki trying to guess his real age.


    ¡°I will be 14 years old this year.¡± He answered.


    ¡°Ehh? I thought you were actually much older than your appearance!¡± Mizuki exclaimed.


    ¡°You are not the first one to ask that question with the very same perception of me.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, sorry sorry~ Here let me pour water on you first.¡±


    Peterson sat on one of the small wooden chairs near the tub. Then she poured a small bucket of water on his body. It was actually warmer, much to his surprise as he expected the water to be colder.


    ¡°Hehehe, its warm right?¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret. Now turn your body and let me scrub away the dirt.¡± Peterson obeyed her request.


    As she used a smooth stone to scrub out the stains on his skin, this time, it was Mizuki¡¯s turn who noticed the abnormal rigid body of Peterson. He already mentioned his real age but that doesn¡¯t tell how he got the body with pure muscles that almost had no fat. From head to his feet, it gives off the sense of strength, iron-like flesh and well-toned proportions.


    She knew that he had past experiences in fighting but there are no scars on his body. Cleaning every corners of his body took her several minutes to finish. She wanted him to be clean before letting him take a dip. She also made use of her self-made soap made from horse fat, ash and herbs.


    After that she tossed the stone to the sides and poured several buckets of warm water on him. Then she pulled him inside the tub between her legs.


    ¡°Now face your punishment from losing against me!¡± water splashed all around as Mizuki hugged him again. Peterson small stature made him fit between Mizuki¡¯s legs and hug. He just realized the size and softness of Mizuki¡¯s breasts when he let his back rest unto her chest.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t expect she was this clingy.¡¯ Peterson thought.


    ¡°You are now mine¡­ so you will need to answer some new questions I forgot to asked earlier.¡± She declared.


    His head was used by Mizuki to support her chin which caused him to feel and hear her consistent breaths.


    ¡°So everytime you die, you will just keep coming back?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Peterson confirmed.


    ¡°Fascinating! I envy you~¡± she pinched his two cheeks from side to side.


    ¡°Most people would. As this is one of the lifelong dreams of any mortal. And I am still growing as years go by.¡± He forcibly took her hands off his face. But she started playing with his wet hair instead.


    ¡°But what happens if you get older? Will you stop aging at a certain point or will you keep on¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I will find out sooner as I reach that age.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°So you also don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, by the way¡­ why am I here? I feel that you didn¡¯t carry me back to your place just to dissect or study my body.¡± Peterson changed the subject.


    ¡°You are quite perceptive aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°If I am not, then I would¡¯ve lost instantly at the first clash of our blades.¡± Peterson looked up to her with curving upward lips, under her face.


    ¡°Yeah and I still stood with my previous words, you are the deadliest and strongest opponent I ever had.¡± Mizuki beamed.


    ¡°I am flattered. And so are you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, hehehe¡­Hmmm~ Hmmm~ Hmmm~¡± Mizuki hummed happily.


    ¡°So what was the reason?¡± Peterson returned back to his question.


    ¡°Oh, I am the winner of our duel, right?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Uhuh?¡±


    ¡°So that means I have also the right to demand something to the loser.¡± She claimed.


    ¡°Although I never set up any conditions for the winner before our duel¡­ but fine, so what do you want? I don¡¯t have much coin in me so do you want me to kill someone? Help you steal? Hunt a monster? Sleep with yo-¡±


    ¡°I want you.¡± Mizuki answered by cuddling to him even closer.


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ excuse me?¡± her words have puzzled Peterson.


    ¡°Hahahaha! Sorry, that must have confused you. Let me rephrase that again. You, Peterson are my prize in winning our duel.¡±


    ¡°Uhhhuhh¡­ sorry, but I am still confused.¡±


    Although he already may have an idea on what she is talking about, he doesn¡¯t want to embarrassingly get the wrong idea so he pretended.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­. let¡¯s see¡­ In my country, we always take the heads of our defeated enemies as trophies¡­ but seeing that you cannot die. I will take the whole of you instead.¡±


    ¡°I kind¡­ of get your point. Slaves and Gold were plunders for the winners. But-¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± she tilted her head.


    ¡°Well, even I know how to respect the results of the duel. Fine, I lost anyway. Just don¡¯t dissect me whenever you want. I may be undying but I can still feel pain you know.¡± Peterson conceded.


    ¡°You dislike pain but you were not afraid of fighting someone that may possibly give you a lot of pain, if not death.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha! I can¡¯t argue with that. What I am feeling is like what moths felt when they are flying around a candle fire. The fire can burn and kill them, yet¡­ they still gather around it. Attracted by the beauty of fire.¡±


    ¡®He really is like me.¡¯ Mizuki smiled as she thought.


    ¡°So by becoming your prize, will I become your slave or something?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I am not asking that vulgar, just come to me when I call you. Your family will get worried if they think I kidnapped you. It will be very bad for me to keep up a good life here if they send an army to hunt me down in retaliation.¡± Mizuki said.


    ¡®But you already did.¡¯ Peterson answered silently.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± he assured her.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I am the youngest of child. A spare of spares to be exact. And especially now, that my eldest brother is about to reach his coming of age. So they don¡¯t really care whether I die in a ditch somewhere or get eaten by wolves. I always lived and sleep in the castle¡¯s stable anyway.¡± Peterson shrugged.


    ¡°Then you can live here with me!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I have no problem about that but can I ask something in exchange?¡± he pleaded.


    ¡°Yes what is it?¡±


    ¡°I only know how to fight with short swords, daggers and knives. But your¡­ strange weapons got my full attention and interest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they were quite strange for this country.¡±


    ¡°So teach me.¡± he requested.


    ¡°Why? You have your own-¡±


    ¡°I just like doing what¡¯s interesting for me. And your foreign sword art is one of the most beautiful and deadliest dance I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­ I don¡¯t know about that~¡±


    Then Peterson spoke the words that would really tickle her ears.


    ¡°If I learn how you fight, then wouldn¡¯t it be very, very interesting to fight an undying with your own set of skills?¡± Peterson grinned teasingly.


    Mizuki was taken aback by his statement. Then her heart started beating loudly that his back, which was stuck so close to her chest, felt the intense throbbing.


    ¡°Hehehehehe!¡± she happily hugged him from behind, clinging to him.


    ¡°We will start after this bath!¡±


    ?????????????????????????


    Peterson got out first and exited the bathroom. Then he heard an echoing yell from the outside.


    ¡°Mizuki, are you there? I already finished washing the dishes. Is someone here with you? I will be visiting the town later to buy some salt.¡±


    He wrapped his lower body with a cloth and made his way through the caverns.


    ¡°Mizuki! I will be coming inside! I will be borrowing your cart and horse!¡± the person yelled.


    Peterson realized that this person was a woman. Mizuki was still inside the room so he went to the entrance to get the dry clothes and meet this seemingly familiar visitor.


    He found the dried clothes hanging on a corner of the wall where Mizuki told him about and started dressing himself. But the person herself entered the cave already. Peterson was still naked when she saw him.


    And the person in herself wasn¡¯t just a familiar sight for Peterson but it was his close acquaintance. She was also shocked to see him there.


    ¡°Well, well¡­ I didn¡¯t know you were the aforementioned dish washer of Mizuki.¡± Peterson smirked.


    She silently walked towards him with a smile.


    ¡°Hello Peterson.¡±


    Then all of the sudden, she reached for a rock nearby and in an attempt; she tried to hit Peterson with it. But he was able to stop her by nimbly catching both of her hands. It always surprises her everytime he shows that his childish appearance and age is not consistent with his strength.


    He was able to make her slip by sweeping her feet then he pushed her towards the ground.


    ¡°What is wrong with women nowadays? Trying to kill me just after seeing me.¡± he grinned.


    ¡°Y-you!!¡±


    ¡°Good day to you too, whiteborn.¡± He only smiled towards her glaring eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that!!¡± she snapped.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t use a rock if you don¡¯t know how to use it effectively. Why not show me again your great skills with threads and needles, Nessi?¡± Peterson teased her.


    ¡°Shut up! Let go of me! You fucking monster!¡± she struggled to get out of his hold and weight but failed to do so.


    ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha! Aren¡¯t you the same?¡± He sneered.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ do the two of you actually know each other?¡± a naked Mizuki returned with two dry towels and a confused look.


    Peterson quickly released her and started putting on his clothes again. Then Nessi slowly stood up and patted her clothes of dirt from the ground.


    ¡°Nessi, did you already finish washing the dishes?¡± Mizuki asked her while drying her black hair.


    ¡°Yeah, I want to borrow your horse and cart. We will need a lot of supplies to prepare for the winter. And the prices will slowly increase as that season approaches.¡± Nessi explained.


    Mizuki helped Nessi prepare her horse and the cart along with the lists of supplies needed to be bought. And how much coins she had to bring. Peterson just silently grinned at them, watching. Nessi knew what he is doing but she decided to ignore it for now, much to her frustrations. Mizuki also noticed their peculiar and strange familiarity.


    Both of them see off Nessi leading Shinobu with a cart. She still doesn¡¯t know how to ride a horse so she just took the reins and led the horse in the trail. Nessi gave a quick glare to Peterson before she disappeared in the woods.


    ¡°Puppy~ you shouldn¡¯t do that to girls you know. What you just did is terribly rude.¡± Mizuki hugged him from his back.


    ¡°By the way do the two of you know each other?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Are you jealous?¡± he teased.


    ¡°Nope, but I am curious. After all, I was already living with Nessi when her mother died. And the boy who will be living with us is actually acquainted with her. It is obvious that she has deep grudge on you. So¡­ why is that~¡± she playfully poked his cheeks with her fingers.


    ¡°I just told her the words she doesn¡¯t want to hear in the past and that may have been the start.¡± He said.


    ¡°Hehh¡­ but you shouldn¡¯t be too hard on her for now. She actually has a potential which I wanted to see. And I don¡¯t want her to get stuck on sadness and hatred. After all, her mother was just displayed like what harpies do to their prey. I don¡¯t know much about human emotions but maybe she is still depressed about that.¡±


    ¡°Pfff¡­ hahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha!¡± Peterson laughed at her words.


    ¡°What?¡± Mizuki just smiled in confusion at his sudden laughter.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­ haa¡­ Oh come on, Mizuki. I know her much longer than you did. Nessi would never get sad over something like that!¡± Peterson replied.

 Volume 01 Chapter Twelve - Lamentations

    The early morning in the banks of River Tyford, a boundary between two great kingdoms, was rung by constant loud cries of the birds flying around. Clear blue skies were tainted by black swarms of ravens who were lured by the smell of the dead in the battlefield below.


    Thousands of Rhodlin corpses were thrown into open mass graves, intending to burn it all later. The observing scavengers however wouldn¡¯t allow the welcome feast to burn before they eat their fill. Most of these bodies were farmers, peasants and camp followers who did not carry a coat of arms or any mark of nobility. As such, they were not given good burial.


    The carrion swarm was not the only one enjoying in the wretched scene. The tempted ravens became an entertainment for the soldiers who were in charge of disposing the corpses. They would try to compete in shooting down the birds, try to capture them for their games later or put poisons on the corpses and bet how many birds will die in seconds after picking the flesh of the dead.


    It was only a day after the battle on this river between the forces of Duke Cornelius and Earl Chevassar. The duke won a decisive victory, routing the rest of the Rhodlin forces. His army captured hundreds of prisoners and later found out that the three commanders of the Rhodlin army were killed during the assault.


    But much to his surprise, he discovered that most of the Rhodlin forces were not even human. They were just standing straw men equipped with armors and helmets, intending to fool them in numbers.


    Fearing for any possible feint retreat or being lured deeper into Rhodlin territory, he didn¡¯t pursue the retreating Rhodlin armies. This action helped the latter to rally themselves and make an organized retreat under an unknown nobleman who took command back to Rhodlin lands.


    Now in his mind, he is asking the very same question most men would have; where is the real Rhodlin army?


    The sounds of clashing swords and whistling arrows were temporarily replaced by the sounds of hammers and saws were working together, putting up earthworks, walls and barricades.


    ¡°Heave ho!¡±


    ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going! Someone is working here!¡±


    ¡°Get me another log!¡±


    ¡°I need some help to uproot this!¡±


    ¡°Send eight oxen to the third section!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Could someone get me another shovel? This one just broke!¡±


    Unlike in any other army in Swazbia, the knights and noblemen were not exempted in here to work with the dirt and mud. In order to finish the installments of the defenses quickly, they had to work together as a group.


    Duke Cornelius commanded half of his army to fortify and install a defensive line that protects the other side of the river bank towards Rhodlin lands.


    ¡°We need to finish this today while the sun is still up! So quickly finish your jobs or we will all be working till midnight!¡± a leading soldier carrying an axe and pieces of wood on his back, warned his men.


    ¡°Did they already take their breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Huh?! Wh-¡±


    Someone interrupted him from behind and when he turned, he and along his men were surprised to see the man at this very early morning.


    ¡°D-Duke-I mean milord!¡±


    ¡°Milord!¡±


    ¡°M-milord!¡±


    It was Duke Cornelius himself who went to inspect the state of the constructions. He was not on his usual red plate armor but currently in his thick morning warm wooly body coat. They realized that he had just woken up. The men stopped what they are doing and bowed their heads.


    After several seconds, their captain remembered the duke¡¯s question.


    ¡°Y-yes milord, we have already taken our morning bite. Did you have a good rest milord?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will be depending on all of you to finish this today. We don¡¯t want to get caught in a possible Rhodlin raid or counterattack with hammers, nails and saws in our hands, right?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes!¡±


    ¡°Yes milord!¡±


    ¡°You heard the duke! You lot! Get back on your jobs!¡±


    He left the men on their duties as he continues walking to the camp. Thousands of tents were erected on both sides of the river.


    Currently, his army is composed of thirty thousand heavily armored knights, twenty thousand heavy infantry, five thousand crossbowmen and five thousand noncombatants such as siege engineers, carpenters, craftsmen, blacksmiths, servants and people in charge of supplies. Making his army with a number of sixty thousand ¨C one of the largest armies he ever assembled. And unlike most of his fellow overlords, none in his army was a peasant levy but was complete highly trained standing army.


    A heavy load for his treasury but a worthy investment.


    As he walked through the camp, what greets him is the sight of bathing soldiers, cooking servants, washing dishes and clothes on the river. He also passed several tents of some camp followers such as prostitutes and travelling merchants that were also preparing their breakfast.


    He went to the one of the largest tent in the camp. It was also one of the most highly guarded areas. As soon as they realize it was him, the guards immediately saluted.


    ¡°Milord! Why are you going around the camp without a guard?¡± one of the guards noticed that their lord is alone.


    ¡°I just woke up. And it doesn¡¯t matter, is Adam inside?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes milord. He just finished talking to one of the prisoners.¡±


    ¡°Good. Keep up your good work.¡± He patted the shoulder of the guard.


    When he opened the tent¡¯s heavy curtain, putrid smell of flesh, blood and death entered his nose. There he saw hundreds of prisoners in cages, shivering at the sight of the crimson center podium. And in that podium, is the duke¡¯s trusted interrogator.


    ¡°Adam, what have you got?¡± Cornelius had to cover his nose with a thick clothe just to talk with the man who has blood all over his body.


    ¡°Oh milord, good morning. Well¡­ ahem¡­ W-we finally got him to speak but he died several minutes later. I must have taken it too far.¡± Adam pointed at the naked man, bound at the chair in the podium. The latter¡¯s body have been brutally tortured that the duke cannot even recognize his face. It seems that he also lost his manhood after seeing its pieces on the floor.


    The duke could only cover his face with his palm in frustration upon hearing that another precious prisoner died but a revelation put him back to listen.


    ¡°B-but! Before he kicked the bucket, h-he revealed that this army was just a decoy. They did have a real and much bigger army. If I compare his words to other prisoners, the real army is about between 70,000 ¨C 80,000 troops. Although I wasn¡¯t able to get any leads about the location of this army¡­ most of the prisoners I interrogated only tells contradictory words. I can assume that they were all told false information with only the commanders who knew the real plan.¡±


    At the corner of Cornelius¡¯ eyes, were a heap pile of recently tortured prisoners.


    ¡°Tsk¡­ And? Is there more?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, he also repeated the words about ¡°large supplies of wood were being transported¡± and the disappearance of High King¡¯s fleet in the city of Veleusca. I am sorry but even me don¡¯t know the meaning behind these-¡±


    ¡°No, that is still very helpful information. Continue with the interrogation on other prisoners until you find new things for me to hear. And I want to hear everything today, so I will not be considering any offer of ransom¡­ if you know what I mean.¡±


    The duke is now desperate to protect his own people and lands that he would ignore the code, laws and etiquette of chivalry between nobles.


    ¡°Yes milord.¡± Adam smiled and went back to pick another prisoner from the cages.


    He started hearing screams of begging for mercy as soon as he exited the tent.


    ¡°Milord, you should bring someone with¨C ¡±


    ¡°I told you it is not needed.¡± he interrupted the insistent soldier.


    ¡°But¨C¡±


    ¡°I will be going back to my tent. Send a message to all commanders for an immediate council meeting. Wake them up if needed.¡± He commanded.


    ¡°Ah, yes milord! At once!¡± the soldier ran towards his horse and yelled at other soldiers who were sitting on the far end, waiting for orders.


    Then he went back to his tent to change. What awaited him inside were his wife and three daughters who were already preparing his armor.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Jorah, Decim and Talla, you were already awake?¡±


    His three daughters were still on their teenage years. Talla, the oldest was 17 years old, Jorah was 16 years old and Decim was 14 years old. But three of them already witnessed countless battles and wars alongside him. It is also one of the reasons why no offer of marriage was accepted as of yet. Even though they were blessed with much beauty and status as the duke¡¯s only children.


    ¡°It is our duty to help our lord in any way we can.¡± Talla replied for her younger sisters.


    ¡°Dear, you should already know how your daughters liked to see you in your armor before you got to the battle.¡± His wife, Loretta said.


    They would always accompany him wherever he went to war. At first, he would get anxious but after years of living with his family. He got used to their insistence. But he made it a requirement for his daughter to learn martial arts and use of weapons. He gave their instructors a secret command to make the training more intense than normal, as he thought that it will make them stop following him if his daughters failed. But much to his surprise, his three daughters were able to pass them in flying colors in just a short amount of time.


    ¡®If only they were born as three sons of mine.¡¯ He frown a deep furrow forms in his brow at frustration on how wasted their potential is, on a woman¡¯s body. Although he can give them preferential treatment as a father, he still cannot guarantee that it will continue after he is gone. After all, it is still not culturally accepted to have a woman leading the household if there is a capable male candidate. Even if this male candidate comes from a distant relative or branch family.


    ¡°Then could you help me again with my armor?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes milord!¡± his daughters answered in unison as they went to get his equipment.


    He stood at the center of the tent and let his wife strip him of his upper clothes then quickly wiped his skin with a wet warm towel.


    ¡°Did you find good information from the prisoners?¡± his wife asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I summoned all lords to a meeting after I got the idea of the High King¡¯s plans.¡± He replied.


    His daughters helped him put on his thick padded clothes, mail hauberk and one by one, his red platemail armor. His daughters became the regular helpers of wearing his armor. As such, they were quite used to it that they were able to quickly finish it all in minutes.


    His wife then attached his purple cloak. The incoming cold of the winter season can already be felt that he didn¡¯t felt too warm from his thick armor.


    ¡°Ahhh, as always¡­ you really look dashing on your armor my dear.¡± His wife blushed in seeing him with glittering eyes. His wife was still in her thirties so her beauty and age still appear as fresh as the time she first married him. He was five years older than her.


    ¡°It seems you were actually the real one who wanted to see me in my armor.¡± He grabbed his wife by her hip and gave her a deep long passionate kiss.


    ¡°Haa¡­¡± his wife only gave a look of longing as he cut his kiss short.


    ¡°I will finish it later as I have a meeting to finish.¡± He patted her head. Then he went to his daughters and kissed them one by one on their foreheads, thanking them before he went outside. His horse is still being prepared by the servants for its armor as such he had to get another horse for now to ride to the assembly tent.


    Five fully armored knights appeared on his side by the time he mounted the horse.


    ¡°Allow us to accompany you milord.¡± A voice came from the soldier of steel. They wore red armor plates just like him with a red griffin insignia on their right shoulder plate. A coat of arms for the Crimson Guards, his personal elite bodyguards.


    ¡°Come, they must be waiting for us.¡± He galloped through the mud and ground.


    He was already near the assembly tent when someone stopped him with waving arms.


    ¡°Milord! My apologies for stopping you! But Adam has asked for you immediately. He said it is grave information that you had to hear.¡± It was one of the soldiers who were guarding the prison tent. It seems he had dismounted his horse while waiting for him.


    ¡°Thank you. And you go tell the lords on the assembly that I will be late.¡± He said.


    ¡°Yes milord!¡±


    Cornelius immediately change direction and went straight to Adam, followed by his five loyal guards. He quickly dismounted as soon as he arrived and he didn¡¯t even reply to the saluting soldier on the entrance as he rushed inside.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked


    ¡°M-milord! This person-I mean, this noble is the son of the late Count-¡±


    ¡°I am Baron Hottokar Chevassar. First son of the late Earl Hamiel Chevassar.¡± The person interrupted.


    A proud man with curly blond hair was sitting on the bloodied chair. The duke felt that he must be on his twenties.


    ¡°Tell the duke what you told me and you will get to live.¡± Adam said.


    ¡°You must first swear it by the River of Saints and God that you will keep your word.¡± Hottokar demanded. It was the Unbroken Oath used by those who follow the Church of Holy Circle. It was believed that if this was broken, a punishment worse than death will come upon the oathbreaker. Even the Pope gave a threat of excommunication to those who will break this oath.


    ¡°I swear by the Holy River of Lethe that I will let you live if you tell me what you know. Swear it also that what you are telling me is the full unaltered truth.¡± Duke said the lines.


    He tapped his forehead with his index finger two times and made an encircling gesture with his hand that covers his head and chest. A rite with the oath.


    ¡°I also swear by the Holy River of Lethe that what I am going to tell you is the truth.¡± Hottokar replied with same movement using his free hands. It seems that only his feet were bound on the chair.


    ¡°Then? Out with it!¡± Cornelius demanded.


    ¡°A-as he had mentioned, my father is the commander of this army. And this army has the objectives of holding any Swazbian counter offensive to our land, if and only if the main army proceeds deeper to Central Lands.¡± Hottokar said.


    These words only confirmed the duke¡¯s thoughts about the plans of the High King.


    ¡°What we never expected is for you to attack immediately even after being fooled by our numbers.¡± Hottokar added. The duke knew that he was referring to the straw soldiers they planted which also caused him to misjudge the number of their army.


    ¡°Then where is the main army?¡± the duke asked.


    ¡°No one knows except the three commanders. But luckily for you, I heard my father talking with his fellow commanders the night before you attacked.¡± Hottokar replied


    ¡°And what is the plan?¡±


    ¡°I missed the part where they are talking about the High King¡¯s forces but I heard about the next goal of this army if it will ever be attacked and forced to retreat. That is to lure your forces deeper to Rhodlin lands. This will give much time for the main army to enter the Central Lands without obstruction and decent resistance. But after your attack which resulted the unexpected deaths of my father and the other commanders, that army was now lost at what to do and would more likely retreat to Winmer Castle.¡±


    Winmer Castle is the nearest fortress in the borders between Swazbia and Confederacy. It was built to withstood long heavy sieges and attacks. As such it was claimed to be as impregnable as Grunwaldr Castle. Countless failed attempts and assaults by previous Swazbian King were the real evidence and proof of that claim.


    ¡°And this may be quite important for you¡­ although I didn¡¯t know the location of the High King¡¯s army, I happen to know when it will cross the borders.¡± Hottokar grinned.


    ¡°When?¡±


    ¡°It would be, six days¡­ ago.¡± Hottokar sneered.


    The duke then realize how grave this is as he and his army already wasted enough time to let the Rhodlin army have the luxury. Then another bird came flying on his hears to pour salt on his mistake.


    ¡°Milord! Forgive me for entering without permission but we have just received a report that the Vigarya Fortress had fallen four days ago! Several scouts and messengers from the local barons have asked for help in repelling a massive army of Rhodlin. According to the messages we received, the Rhodlin forces have a number of eighty thousand!¡± the soldier said.


    Vigarya Fortress is seven days away from their current location. And even if he took only the mounted troops for quick deployment, it will still take him three to four days to arrive at the fortress. Enough time for the Rhodlin army to avoid him.


    ¡°Where are they heading? Did those messages imply or mention the direction of the Rhodlin¡¯s advance?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes milord, it is the Augrmund Passes.¡±


    And it all makes sense together for the duke. The High King¡¯s real objective is in the Central Lands, the rich heartland of Swazbia.


    ¡°Prepare the entire mounted troops immediately. Pack their horses with enough food for three days. I will lead them myself and leave first. While have the rest of the army follow suit. We head to Vigarya Fortress.¡±


    ¡°Yes milord!¡±


    ¡°Also send out fastest riders to Count Osterferd, Count Magdalag, Count Sterphen, Count Pollunsk, Viscount Hiverchord, and Viscount Clockreed to prepare and defend the Golden Boulders and Silver Boulders until I arrive.¡± Cornelius added.


    The Golden Boulders and Silver Boulders were the two famed Augrmund Passes. They were former open mines that became a valley and later the gateways to Central Lands. As their name suggest, they were formerly mined for gold and silver respectively.


    He was about to leave when Hottokar yelled at him.


    ¡°Hey! It seems that you are forgetting something milord.¡± Hottokar reminded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Adam heard our deal. And we are neither that savage nor fearless to break our oath to God.¡± he left the tent after giving a look at Adam. The interrogator nodded after getting the implication of his look and both disappeared from his sight behind the curtains.


    One of the Crimson Guards outside walked towards him and kneeled.


    ¡°Milord we could send also messengers to the lords on the possible routes of the Rhodlin army to disallow the enemy army on feeding off their lands.¡±


    ¡°You are referring to using Scorch Earth?¡± The duke asked.


    ¡°Yes. This will greatly affect the speed of the Rhodlin forces and also put a heavy load due to the massive size of their army. And also, winter is already approaching. We can use this to force them to retreat without even spilling blood.¡± The knight explained.


    ¡°But Sir Kurtloyn, which do you think is a better choice for the poor barons and nobles that you had mentioned: Living under the rule of an irresponsible mad king who never helped or even tried to defend his own subjects from an invasion and burn their own precious harvests and bounties. Or switch to the one who actually offered them better terms under a well-known just foreign king?¡± Cornelius asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t understand milord.¡±


    ¡°Haa¡­ its fine if you don¡¯t know then. You will know and understand it anyway as soon as the Rhodlin advance goes further inner Swazbia.¡± The duke said.


    ¡°They may retreat if winter comes but that is not guaranteed as we don¡¯t know if provisions and food will not be supplied to our enemy.¡± Cornelius added.


    Then at his words, the other four crimson guards on standby nearby finally got the point. The duke is implying that many low nobles would have already pledged their allegiance or promised their support to the enemy before even the Rhodlin crossed the borders.


    ¡°Well then, we will be returning back to the meeting. We have much to discuss quickly and intricately. If we make a mistake here, we will be seeing our own precious homeland burned to the ground.¡± Cornelius said.


    He was stopped from leaving by a loud crushing sound. One of the Crimson Guards, Sir Miswall crushed a crystal goblet with his hands that caused it to bleed.


    ¡°My lord! Why?!¡± The knight cried.


    ¡°Why? Why is our king not responding to the cries of his people?! This would have never happened if he is doing his duty and responsibility to protect his own subjects! He is the king! Why is he ignoring us in our dire need?¡± he added.


    Contrary to his expectations, the duke only shook his head and smiled towards him tiredly, which confuses the knight.


    ¡°No¡­ you¡¯re wrong. I know that most of you are thinking the same thing¡­ but I have to say this¡­ You are all wrong.¡± Cornelius said as he mounted his horse.


    ¡°Milord?¡± The knight became confused at his words. The soldiers and knights saw the face of their lord that it¡¯s as if he is in pain.


    ¡°It¡¯s the other way around.¡± With these words, the duke galloped with his horse.


    MAP OF THE CONFLICT:

 Ironclads Society

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    Medieval/ Feudal Society Table


    <div>


    ADDITIONAL NOTES


    *I will use/follow this table for more concrete details because in reality, this TABLE is far more complicated and confusing. In medieval Europe there are times when Knights have their own lands, but some don¡¯t and there are times when a count is far more powerful than the duke, or a baron far more powerful than a count/earl, and also even have multiple titles on their name, for example, King Henry II (1133-1189) where he was a King of England and he is also Duke of Normandy & Aquitaine, Count of Maine, Anjou & Touraine, so yeah. Their society is complicated as hell.


    *I did not put all ranks/titles that were used during medieval times in this table. So if you were knowledgeable in that field, you may notice and ask, ¡°why is the blah blah not inside the Table¡±, that is BECAUSE I only put what I am going to use for this novel to avoid confusions, I will show this table again with its updates if I decided to add or use a title that isn¡¯t on the table.


    *Any Noble Rank/title that is below the ¡°Dominus¡± row cannot be inherited. For example, a child of a Knight cannot inherit the title in the event of his/her father¡¯s / mother¡¯s death. He/she has to enter the process of Knighthood to gain this title.


    *Any rank below the Knight is not a Title but a status because of their job or livelihood or situation or from their parents.


    *Duke / Duchess were directly under the Royal family, no one is above them other than the King and Emperor. They are like personal vassals of the King or Emperor. (I searched and read some things about the society and medieval aristocracy, and it is complicated AF. The responsibilities and powers of a duke is not consistent as such I will just use this description for the sake of consistency.)


    *Marquis are the 2nd highest rank after the King but don¡¯t be confuse in thinking Marquis is equal to Duke as Marquises were outside the supervision of the Royal Family, King or Emperor, their territories is usually on the frontiers to protect that land against invaders or raiders. But they still answers to their overlord; King or Emperor (Again, this is one of the complicated parts of medieval society because sometimes/some places, Marquises were equal or even more powerful than Dukes but sometimes/some places are not. Their power and duty to the realm also varies from different countries so again for the sake of consistency, I will just use this and the table.)The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    *Serfs are different from slaves because they were allowed to live in good homes, have their own properties, have money, eat at their leisure, have families, but they ARE NOT allowed to change or even to choose their livelihood and occupation. They also don¡¯t have freedom to move around and was forbidden to escape their land. There are actually laws with punishment against those escaped serfs and those who shelters them. So those who found an escape serf must immediately capture or report them and have their lord reclaim them.


    *Serfs were practically the manpower to work on their lords¡¯ lands or farms without much freedom of choice. They are essentially the source of income of every lords and the ones toiling the fields, planting the seeds, and harvest the bounties but they don¡¯t get to eat the result of their hard work as all of it is given to their lords while serfs were given only a small share.


    *And like of that of the Slaves¡¯, the children of the serfs will also become serfs.


    *(In my Novel and table) You may wonder why peddlers and travellers have lower rank in society than normal citizens, it is because they have no permanent citizenship. Most of the people during medieval era are far more cruel and close minded that what you think or see in movies or generic novels, most especially in remote areas not usually visited by merchants or away from trading hubs. Suspicions of being a spy are unavoidable. And sometimes they were regarded as greedy lying men whose only concern is money. That is why the presence of Merchant¡¯s Guild is essential to some traders to increase their importance in the region. But it may also depend on the kingdom as some countries gave the Merchant Class a good status sometimes equal to a Knight & Lord even without the presence of a guild like those near Venice or League(s) during medieval era.


    *If you think I did a mistake in the table or in my details of explanation, please don¡¯t hesitate to send me a message in my email, patreon or Facebook. Any correction is greatly welcomed. But make sure to attach a reference also. I will ignore any corrections without any reference or proof of your explanation.


    NOTE:


    I will still naturally describe and add details about the tables above in between chapters and volumes. But I just want to make a table where people who will not be able to comprehend the information in between or just too lazy to understand the narrative details will still be able to know through these tables.


    And if you enjoyed my series, please don¡¯t forget to support me by donating. It really helps a lot (especially after my beloved computer just broke down recently and went to Valhalla, may we meet each other again as part of the Einherjar *sniff).

 Volume 01 Chapter Thirteen - To the Augrmund Passes

    ¡°Your Highness¡­ Your Highness!¡±


    His adventure on the world of dreams was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice. When his eyes opened, bright light shone outside the small window of his tent.


    Still, he was sleepy to keep them open. He tried to go back to the dream world. But uncomfortable warmth was slowly felt by his body. Morning had come.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ I wanted to sleep a little longer though¡­¡±


    ¡°I do apologize for disturbing your rest your highness but you still have much to do.¡± A young boy bowed his head.


    ¡°A little longer¡­ give me a little more¡­¡±


    ¡°Your highness, people are already waiting for you. And it is almost noon.¡± The boy said.


    ¡°Haaa¡­Mmm¡­ Edgar?¡±


    ¡°Yes your majesty?¡± another deep voice answered.


    ¡°¡­thought so¡­¡±


    Only a few people would force his servants to wake him up. One of them is Edgar Gorsthlough, the captain of his Yzaldian Guards.


    He turned his head to the other side towards the entrance of his tent. And upon opening his eyes, he saw a flustered young boy who was one of his servants and a man with red hair in full plate armor. He is carrying his helmet under his arm.


    ¡°Morning Huey¡­ and Edgar... faaaa¡­¡± he released his drowsiness by yawning their names. His long auburn hair was crumpled during his sleep. He is still on his thirties but his current occupation made his age even older.


    ¡°Again, it is already noon your majesty. Huey, help him change his clothes and have Servel and Darem prepare his bath.¡± After fully realizing he is already awake, Edgar commanded the servants to start their errands.


    ¡°Y-yes!¡±


    The boy immediately called the names of his fellow servants and hurriedly went back inside with several boys, helping their master prepare himself.


    He got out of his bed and took off his sleeping clothes. Then two boys folded his blankets and clothes. While another one placed a small wooden tub by his feet. The boy went back outside and filled it with water.


    ¡°It is very cold your majesty so we heated the water for you. Please use it. We also prepared your meal by the table. So once you finished washing, please take your breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Another boy helped wipe his back and arms with wet warm towels, cleansing his skin from sweat and smell he got after sleeping. He felt refreshed after washing his face and a body with their help. His long hair was quite a hassle for him to wash it that he had to leave it to the servants in wiping it dry. He was at last completely awake then asked if there are some letters for him to read. Another boy who was carrying something on his hands hurriedly handed him several dozen of parchments. He picked two and put others aside on top of the bed and read them one by one.


    Most of them were reports of the recon parties and scouts he sent in advance. Some were given orders to shadow the movements of the powerful nobles in the Central Lands. Half of them were daily status of his army and camp.


    While few of these parchments were ¡°love letters¡± from the lesser nobles of Swazbia that promised to defect to his side and support his advance to the capital in exchange for ¡°rewards¡±.


    However, he already sent his own letters several months ago before he even began his plans. Those letters were sent to selected nobles whom he knew will change sides if given a chance due to their known bitter relationship with the Swazbian Kings and were significant pieces for his plan to take the City of Othrys.


    He glanced at his right hand where the ring that bears his seal is located.


    He was Steffanford Kraug Nus Waldr Freedland, current head of House Coldchers and High King of Rhodlin Confederacy.


    Born as the third son of the Royal Family of the mountain kingdoms. He was just 16 years old when he took over the house and throne when their eldest brother, the former heir died from his wounds from a battle ten years ago and he were elected as the new High King. Making him the youngest Rhodlin king to ever take the throne.


    Right now they were encamped outside the Vigarya Fortress. Four days ago, it was a former defensive fortification built by the Kingdom of Swazbia to overlook the passing ships on River Rein. Now, its purpose is to watch over the pontoon bridge they made to cross the river. Their only lifeline as they advance further and deeper into Swazbian lands.


    ¡°The soldiers have already finished installing the barricades your majesty. We were able to finish building traps and blockades along the main road to slow down any pursuing armies when we leave the fortress. We also have safely established a secured supply line all the way to Earl Cluttlehank¡¯s domain.¡± Edgar enumerates every news and information that was very important for the ears of their king.


    ¡°What about Lord Chevassar and Damunn? What news of our little decoy at Tyford?¡±


    Earl Aerfyd Damunn and Earl Hamiel Chevassar were the ones he assigned to attract the attention of the main Swazbian army. A shallow part of River Tyford was a well-known location that allowed crossing to and from Rhodlin and Swazbian lands. It was used many times in the past by both armies. He gave the two earls intricate orders on when to attack, where to position his camp and so on.


    ¡°According to our scouts and spies, they were forced to retreat back to Winmer Castle.¡± Edgar said.


    ¡°Yeah several letters here told me that also but they shouldn¡¯t retreat that far yet.¡± He frowned.


    The main part of their plan for Earls¡¯ army is to lure the Swazbian forces deeper into Rhodlin lands. This will give enough distance and time for the real main Rhodlin army to enter Central Lands and if possible reach the capital city of Swazbia, Othrys.


    Additionally, the earls were given strict command not to make it obvious for the Swazbian forces that they were being lured. As such, Steffanford gave Earl Chevassar precise time and sequence in the manner of retreat. He also gave very precise ways of responses against Swazbian forces for any possible future attacks or maneuvers by the duke.


    Then just in case, the king prepared two armies in reserve behind the frontlines on River Tyford if the Swazbian army decided to attack their lands in retaliation while they were away. With orders to help and assist the two earls, he also sent Earl Kranshultz and his two thousand men to reinforce the decoy forces. Making the second army led by three earls. Unfortunately ¨C


    ¡°The only people who knew of the plans were the three earls who were unfortunately killed during the Swazbian attack. His son, Alfred succeeded his father as the new Earl Damunn and took command of the army. Although he was able to skillfully rally the army into an organized retreat, he issued the orders to retreat back to Winmer Castle. We can only assume that his son was not told of the plan.¡± Edgar replied.


    ¡°Haa¡­ I can only expect that Duke Cornelius already sniffed out our true location and was currently rushing towards us.¡±


    ¡°For that matter, I also received from our scouts that the Swazbian main army was divided into two, the first was tasked and left to guard the river crossing under Count Wittsvein. Mostly infantry, as most knights and cavalry were taken by Duke Cornelius. This only mean one thing, he means to ride down and fast to catch us.¡± Edgar added.


    ¡°How many?¡± Steffanford asked after reading the contradictory words from scouts, telling different numbers.


    ¡°About twenty to thirty thousand mounted troops your majesty.¡± Edgar replied.


    Although they are numerically superior to the incoming army, Steffanford¡¯s main objective is not to get bogged down fighting against them but to get the attention of the Swazbian King.


    ¡°Call the kings and lords for another council. And also have the men prepare to move out. We can¡¯t have our advance get impeded down in here when the duke arrives. I will follow you after I finish my bath.¡± He ordered.


    ¡°Yes your majesty.¡± Edgar bowed.


    After that, the captain left the tent. His servants finally helped him wash his whole body by wiping every part of him. Previously he had female servants to do this but after getting a wife, he chose to get male servants instead, even though his wife told him that he doesn¡¯t mind him being served by women. Most of the lesser nobles and lords were eager to send their own sons and children as pages and servants, knowing that they will be able to learn more when serving a king than a minor noble.


    ¡°Servel, can you get me my breakfast? It¡¯s in the table. I will eat here instead while reading the letters and while you are washing me.¡±


    It was one of his bad manners to finish several tasks at once if possible, he usually did this when he is in rush on doing things or on the battlefield.


    When the tray of food came, a sweet, fragrant aroma and hot steam invaded his nose. His breakfast was chicken soup with mushrooms, a juicy ham and three boiled eggs, wheat bread, and a goblet of wine.


    He quickly finished everything at the time he also finished reading the letters. After stashing the letters to his locked metal vault, he ordered his servants to clean everything and to call for other older servants. The younger ones cannot help him don his armor yet, as such he gave such duty to them.


    These servants quickly help put on his armor and equipment which consists of a breastplate over the mail hauberk, a gorget on his neck, heraldic tabard that bears his family¡¯s sigil, plated boots, bracers, heavy pauldrons on his shoulders and his gold cloak. Just beside his bed, he took his sword with its scabbard.


    ¡°Huey, have other servants assist you in packing things up. We will be leaving today.¡± He gave one last errand to the servants before he left the tent.


    ¡°Y-yes your majesty!¡±


    ????????????????????????


    Vigarya Fortress was enough to garrison three to four thousand men. It was a combination of wooden outer walls and inner stone walls. It was his privilege to sleep inside the fortress but due to the ruinous effects of the siege they took, the entire place was almost burnt to the ground. The only place they were able to salvage was the main hall of the keep. This is the only place where it could hold all of his commanders, vassals and fellow kings for a meeting.


    He entered the hall along with his guards. However, only Sir Edgar followed him inside while the rest waited outside. And inside the large hall was a large rectangular table with a wooden throne on the far end. The other lords were already talking on the corners. And on top of the table was a similar well detailed features of the region¡¯s terrain and locations. It was made of clay, stones and wood.


    ¡°Milords. Good morning.¡± He greeted and went straight to his seat on the center.


    His vassals stood altogether to salute his arrival.


    ¡°Your majesty¡±


    ¡°Good day your majesty!¡±


    ¡°Y-your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Y¡¯or majesty.¡±


    He sat on the center throne and was followed by the four kings on both sides, which accompanied him to this war. Then the rest of the lords did the same. The Confederacy was founded by combining ten former independent mountain kingdoms into one realm. The sovereign was the High King, which was elected from and by the Ten Kings. The first High King was Grunwaldr, the founder of the Rhodlin Confederacy.


    The four kings that is currently with him are King Reynaldo IX Fordsworn of Landraia, King Tormund III Ezesviel of Alten, King Edmund Seethflick of Selphyx and Queen Zenobia Daunrent of Sazoxny. They were his former childhood friends that rose with him to their respective thrones. Making them his trusted allies within the Ten Kings.


    The High King is the commander in chief of all armed forces of the realm and he has the power to dethrone other kings, confiscate, and seize titles or lands. He also has the power to declare war freely. But this position isn¡¯t permanent. It only lasts for seven to eight years and if he is popular, he can get elected three times on limit.


    It was only because of his past reputation as the most successful candidate that got him elected as one for two times. His achievements in the battlefield and past wars made him a celebrity on both the nobles and common people. Adding also to that is his connection with the Sultan of the Pharassid Sultanate who was his father-in-law, after marrying his only daughter.


    ¡°Before my concerns are laid out, do you have something that I needed to hear?¡± the high king asked.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°We finished everything that was part of the plan your majesty. We are now prepared to move out. I suggest that we pack up today as our scouts have mentioned that Duke Cornelius is riding fast towards us.¡±


    ¡°It seems the three Earls failed to contain the duke successfully.¡± Reynaldo sighed.


    ¡°We have no choice but to leave a sizable contingent to defend this fortress. We can¡¯t afford to lose it along with our bridges.¡± Zenobia added.


    ¡°We cannot lose this fortress but at the same time, we cannot leave enough garrison as we may need more men as we advance further enemy lands.¡± Earl Lecthird said.


    ¡°How about we request some help and reinforcements from the nearby Swazbian lords that already defected on our side?¡± a baron asked.


    ¡°We cannot risk it. There is still the possibility that they will switch sides if our fortunes turned out bad for them.¡±


    ¡°And there is also the threat of Duke Vincegrough. Although he is also taking up as a neutral party on this war, he may attack us from behind on a moment¡¯s notice.¡± Another baron added.


    There are currently three dukes that ruled in southern Swazbia. And two of them claimed that they will not get involved in this matter as long as no Rhodlin forces would step on the soil of their lands. Duke Vincegrough is the nearest Swazbian overlord to Vigarya Fortress, while Duke Remis were known for his honorable personality that he will not break the oath of his word. Only Duke Cornelius took up arms to resist their invasion.


    ¡°Our real problem is what we will do to Duke Cornelius. Our decoy forces have failed to contain him and he already found us out. We have the strength to meet him on the field but we don¡¯t have the time to do that. The longer we are stuck here, the more Swazbian reinforcements will come.¡± Tormund said.


    A noisy murmur slowly started among them but was interrupted by a loud clap from the high king.


    ¡°I already ordered the troops to pack up. So chop-chop everyone, if you have any suggestions or ideas to add before we leave the fortress, please mention it now.¡±


    Some lords suggested dividing their forces into two, which was rejected by Steffanford. Others volunteered to lead another decoy forces to deceive the Duke¡¯s forces but was also rejected. Another one suggested to send another force to the Silver Boulders to confuse the enemy but failed to get the acceptance of the High King.


    Steffanford was waiting for someone to volunteer themselves in guarding this fortress. Although he has the power to order a vassal lord, he still cannot risk another failure like in River Tyford. Just as he is about to force himself to choose, a lord raised his hand and spoke.


    ¡°I¡­ I volunteer myself your majesty to defend this fortress. But I am afraid that my men will not be enough so if possible¡­ I need 8,000 troops to hold it.¡± one of the lords on the right end of the table stood up.


    It was Baron Lemm Grymshade, the overlord of Grenault region that was also known as the Swamplands. Then in split second, Steffanford understood the important role of this lord in defending this fortress like a puzzle finally assembled together. But he has to make sure first. Confirming the resolve of this lord before anything else.


    ¡°Lord Grymshade, I trust you and your skills in battle, but you may face the full strength of the duke¡¯s forces, are you sure?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, I actually made a plan along with my daughter here that will let us defend this fortress without any hardship. Here are the sketches we made, if your highness wanted to see.¡± A young girl in armor bowed when the baron pointed her. She stands in the corner of the room along with other knights.


    Then the baron laid out a large map on top of the table and explained further in detail about the plans and measures he will take to hold the fortress.


    ¡°As you all have seen from the map, this fortress is actually very compatible to small size defense due to the rough terrain, wet and boggy swamps and deep woods which will make it easy for my troops to defend it. I am sure you already know what kind of land I rule. We are proud of our skills in fighting on this type of harshland-¡± It was drawn with great skills that it was visible even to those sitting from afar. He even pointed out several tactics he will use to successfully hold the fortress even if he will be encircled or outnumbered.


    ¡°This is quite¡­ impressive. Who drew this map?¡± one of the lords asked.


    ¡°It was my daughter milord.¡± The baron replied.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t you have a son?¡± one of the four kings asked.


    ¡°I have four sons your majesty, but it seems my youngest child which is my only daughter was the only one given with skills and talents in the arts of war. She had proven herself many times when we subdued the highland tribes on our lands when she was still 14 years old. Making her my trump card.¡± the baron proudly replied.


    ¡°Impressive, same as certain someone in this room.¡± Reynaldo smiled. All of those who heard his words knew who he was referring to. But Steffanford was preoccupied in the map.


    It was a very uncommon sight to see a girl or a woman in the battlefield. Mostly they were assassins, spies or scouts that could easily blend in as civilians. Never on the front lines or planning the movement of armies.


    ¡°It must be very hard now for you to let her go for marriage talks.¡± A lord sneered.


    ¡°You can only imagine. Unlike her brothers, she is truly gifted in becoming my heir. I hope I am not the only father who had a daughter like her. It always makes me wish that she was born as a boy instead. But thankfully she isn¡¯t that interested on getting married as of yet.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make a conflict between your children then?¡±


    ¡°No, her brothers were more than willing to hand over the position of the heir to her which she actually doesn¡¯t want. She even-¡± another loud clap resounded on the room. But this time, it came from King Edmund Seethflick, the army¡¯s marshal who decided to put a stop on their talk that may possibly continue all day if it was not interrupted. .


    ¡°Milords that is enough, we are not here to brag our children. Your majesty please.¡± He passed the baton to his sovereign but it seems that the high king was still caught on reading the map.


    ¡°Fascinating¡­ really¡­¡± The high king himself was actually ignoring all the talk and was completely absorbed on the map and the drawn defense plan. Such designs and intricacy to the smallest detail of the plans made him remember someone in the past.


    ¡°Your majesty?¡± the marshal¡¯s voice put him back to the meeting.


    ¡°Oh? *ahem¡­ well then. Lord Grymshade, I will give you full command of 10,000 soldiers to hold this place. I will also send one of my trusted advisors, Lord Bendiston will also assist you here. He will help you for any matters you cannot resolve without my authority.¡± The high king looked at Baronet Meser Bendiston, the vice commander of his personal guards.


    ¡°Yes thank you your majesty!¡± the baron bowed in gratitude.


    ¡°Lord Grymshade, I trust you and your word¡¯s worth. Do not disappoint me.¡± he repeated.


    ¡°Yes your majesty! We will die holding every speck of rock of this land!¡± the baron loudly spoke.


    ¡°Well then milords, I have actually other plans that I must discuss with you all. This is strictly for your ears only along with your trusted bodyguards here.¡± Steffanford then intricately explained and briefed them all about his plans and the goals he has in mind.


    He revealed some details in consideration of possible leaks. This action was intended to hit two birds in one stone. If there is a spy or traitor in this room, he will know immediately. And he has some measures already taken to catch any traces.


    And as he had expected, his words gave surprised looks, adoration and smiles from the people inside this room. The very same looks that they gave him when he gained his first achievement.


    This put a smile on Edgar that got him to speak out his thoughts.


    ¡°Now, this is the real Steffanford I know.¡±


    ?????????????????????????????


    It took them several hours to finish packing everything before the army started marching. Tens of thousands of long spears and crossbows rattled as they take their steps away from their home. Similar to their Swazbian counterpart, Steffanford¡¯s army isn¡¯t an ordinary levy but a fully trained professional army. The proof of their skills and discipline were proven when they took this Vigarya Fortress on a shortest amount of time. The Marshal bid his farewell to the High King to lead the soldiers and rode on the first column of the marching beast.


    But unlike Duke Cornelius army¡¯s composition, these men were mainly composed of foot soldiers with only fifteen thousand mounted troops, which were mostly part or escorts of the baggage train.


    Rhodlin lands were mountainous and rugged with hills, rough terrains and valleys that it was not suited for cavalry. As thus the quality of their mounted troops were not as good as the elite of the Duke¡¯s cavalry.


    These foot soldiers were equipped however with the best quality armor for a regular army. Thick padded leather armor for lighter weight and ease of movement with full body, deep wooden shield that could stop javelins and bolts at point blank range. Armed with a single short maces strapped on their hip, for possible melee fights against armored knights of Swazbia. But their main weapons were the long, serrated, steel tipped spears called Grundry Spears that were purposely made against the charging full armored knights of Swazbia.


    ¡°Your majesty, all of the Yzaldian guards have gathered. They are waiting for you.¡± Huey called for him as he entered the hall.


    They are still currently on the main hall of the keep. Steffanford was kneeling in front of an altar that has a golden emblem of a Circled Star, praying. The servant respectfully waited for his master to finish.


    After several minutes, he stood up and walked towards Huey.


    ¡°Thanks Huey, you can now go back along with your friends. I will need your assistance once again when we arrive at the passes. So get a good rest on the carriage.¡± He spoke with appreciation.


    ¡°Yes your majesty.¡± With that, his servant left the room and was replaced but Edgar who entered the same door.


    ¡°The Yzaldian have already finished preparing your majesty, they are waiting for you.¡± Edgar said.


    ¡°I know, Huey already told me.¡± He replied with a nod and went outside.


    His horse was already prepared by his servants and took the reins from them. Another one was carrying his weapons and handed it to him. Steffanford carried the two long swords over his back and mounted his horse.


    ¡°Lord Grymshade, I shall be depending on you then. May Saint Chrollus bless you with fortunes!¡± he left the bowing lord with these words. His personal guards followed behind him as he rushed towards the end of the marching column.


    As he gallops through the moving formation of his army, he was met with three armored mounted soldiers and had to stop.


    Three of them open the visors of their helmets and revealed their identities as the three kings. They were wearing same plated leather with full body chainmail that covers most of their body. They bowed towards the High King in salute.


    ¡°My king, may we accompany your party?¡± Zenobia asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡± He replied.


    Then turned towards Edgar who was riding beside him.


    ¡°Edgar, is everything prepared already?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course your highness, the equipment will be ready and easy to be built when we get to our destination. And if everything goes according to your predictions, we will be able to arrive two to three days. Maybe four at most.¡± the commander replied.


    ¡°You all have worked hard eh.¡±


    Edgar was not just the commander of his guards but also his trusted personal advisor and representative in situations he cannot command. He was 20 years older than Steffanford and has longer experience in terms of war and battle than him.


    ¡°Not as hard as you have Your Majesty. I know that the real reason of your late awakenings is that you sleep late.¡± Edgar said.


    ¡°I have to Edgar. I have to. We almost had it.¡± Steffanford said as his horse slows down to a trot beside the marching army.


    ¡°The peace that we highly sought out. But because of my incompetence, I missed and lost the chance to grab it. That¡¯s why I must do this. Being called desperate is out of my concern anymore. I wanted to end this war yesterday.¡± Steffanford spoke tiredly.


    ¡°Yeah, if this was twisted on a different, good way, you three would have been fighting on the same side.¡± Edgar looked at the sky in reminiscence.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I still remember the good old days.¡± he did the same.


    As their talk of the past subsided, a soldier on horseback caught up with the High King with bated breaths. His lighter leather armor in green robes and short sword told Steffanford that he is a scout. The soldier saluted and continued his report.


    ¡°Haaa¡­ Ha¡­ Y-your majesty! The Seven Colored Snake have been caught!¡±


    It was a coded words used by Rhodlin scout that can only be deciphered by the ears of the High King and the Marshal.


    ¡°Thank you. Did our marshal already heard it from you?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes your majesty! I already passed him the message.¡± The scout replied.


    ¡°Then get some rest before going back to your position, you earned it.¡± He said.


    ¡°Yes, thank you your majesty!¡± the soldier galloped away from his sight.


    ¡°What was that your majesty?¡± Edgar asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ our way to Othrys will be smooth sailing now.¡± Steffanford smiled.


    ???????????????????????????????


    They marched for four days straight towards Augrmund Passes before they stopped at the Barony of Legingrad. The last stop before they enter Augrmund Passes. His army was greeted by Baron Ferraris and his two thousand soldiers. A Swazbian lord who ruled over the said barony that defected to his side.


    At the same time, he received news from Baron Grymshade that Duke Cornelius have finally arrived at Vigarya Fortress and made camp just on its vicinity. No concerning matters were reported as the baron explained. The baron also put the important details of his plan on how he will try to pin the duke as long as he can. But Steffanford doubts this as the baron would not easily send a detail of his plan through a rider that could possibly be caught. He grinned as he smells something is already being cooked with this move.


    Now Steffanford¡¯s attention is the famed gateway of Central Swazbia. Augrmund Passes was actually two separate valleys. And both headed to different directions. Golden Boulders is the main highway towards the Royal Capital while the Silver Boulders is the road to eastern part of Central Lands. And he can only use one of them.


    Not only that, the Golden Boulders will be much more difficult to pass with several forts and three castles on its exit. While Silver Boulders will have less resistance, but it will take them more time, resources and men if they took this longer route.


    He only ordered a temporary camp as they will be moving once more at dawn on the next day. And he is on a makeshift tent that could be fold and unfolded at a moment¡¯s notice, sipping tea while reading several more newly arrived letters.


    What he is reading right now is the series of parchments and reports both from scouts and Swazbian lords that will be defecting to his side. All of them were bearing same news about the massing army in the Golden Boulders. He knew that the way to the Othrys will be impeded but he didn¡¯t expect such quick movement from the Swazbian lords. He expected time delays to their response.


    Especially when their own king is quite distant on the matters of the problems of his realm. Cornelius is the only thing that comes to his mind but then he remembered his old friend. And after that thought entered his head, he felt a cold shiver of unease and fear. Something that his body was familiar with but he didn¡¯t remember when. His deep thinking was suddenly interrupted by someone¡¯s voice outside.


    ¡°Your majesty, Baron Bauhnmont and Baron Chrestil sent another letter. These just arrived.¡± Edgar entered the tent.


    ¡°Thank you¡± he took the parchments from his hands. He remembered these lords as one of the lesser Swazbian nobles that promised him full support as soon as he arrives on the capital. He was able to learn the sincerity of these two nobles from the scouts and spies he had sent. Especially on how Baron Bauhnmont made a deal with the Golden Bough Trading Company, the richest mercantile organization in Western Vadraldia. The former made a massive loan to fund his military goals which is obviously to show his support for the Rhodlin advance.


    ¡®He must be expecting some kind of profitable reward after doing all of this that he didn¡¯t even take into consideration the possibility of failure.¡¯ Steffanford thought.


    ¡°Your majesty, forgive me for asking but¡­ is the letter you sent¡­ carried some kind of insult?¡± Edgar asked with a frowned look.


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°One of the three envoys I sent to deliver the message to Count Magdalag were imprisoned and the other two was¡­ badly beaten when they returned.¡± Edgar revealed.


    ¡°Then that only proves my thoughts about the count. It was a test to see his personality, Edgar. Although there is also the possibility of him faking it, so this is still a dubious action.¡± He replied.


    ¡°Sometimes I am getting concerned of your recent strange and peculiar tactics to defeat your enemies.¡± Edgar sighed.


    ¡°Unfortunately for you, what we are getting right now is already the results of what I already did and started several months ago. Just enjoy another surprise show I will be showing you.¡± He gave a playful smile.


    MAP OF THE CONFLICT (with its events)