"It's okay, you can come out now." Mary softly uttered as soon as she saw Nina entered the tent.
Liam swiftly hid himself when he heard the footsteps nearing the tent. But when Mary saw it was Nina, she called Liam out. "W-who are you?" The young lady gasped in dread when she saw a uniformed man inside Mary's tent. Will he torture Mary again?
"Calm down. He's a friend." Mary butted in. "Friend?" She creased her brow confused. "Diana's friend." Mary smiled. "Remember the man she kept bragging about?" "Liam? The knight in shining armor?" "That's too much of a description, miss." Liam chuckled lightly as he walked towards Mary and continued applying the medicine on her wounds. "And where is miss Diana?" Nina sat beside him and helped the man applied the ointment. "She's safe for now. Sorry, as much as I want to get everyone out of here… But I need more time. So please bear a little longer."
"Take your time, Mister." Mary replied. "But please save Mr. Daniel. They took him along with the others to train them for battle. He's old and he never, not even once, lifted his finger to hurt anyone before. I doubt he'll survive the battle field!" "Don't worry, I'll be searching for him tonight as soon as I finished tending you." "Thank you mister. Diana was right about you."
Liam partly smiled at the thought of Diana. However, knowing how she raised the people's hope by making him a hero gave extra pressure on him. After treating Mary's injuries, he left the medicine under Nina's care. He also instructed her to watch and take good care of the old woman until he comes back. Then he climbed out the fence and searched for Daniel at the training camp.
He discreetly penetrated every tent. When he came to the last place, he saw some old men inside a prison bar. The others were already sleeping but a particular old man was sitting leaning his back on the bars. He seemed to be in deep thought. Exhaustion and distress was also painted all over his face.
"Daniel!" The old man heard a whisper. "Mister Daniel!" He turned on his side and found a man wearing a uniform like the other guards. "What do you need from me?" He lazily uttered thinking that the man was one of the wicked men. Liam removed the covering of his head and laid it on the side. "I'm Liam. I need to talk to you for a second." "Liam? Diana's friend?" He creased his brow and crawled towards the man. "Are you here to rescue me?" His eyes twinkled in delight. "Yes, but I cannot take you right away because your fellow men might suffer the same cruelty like your maidservant."
"Y-you know that too? What happened? Why did they hurt her?" He lowered his head in guilt. "Diana. They were searching for her." "I saw her the other day. She met with the leader, did she escape?" "Yes, I helped her. They can't find her so they tried to torture Mary thinking that she would spill her whereabouts. I'm sorry I couldn't save her that time. Though I gave her some medicine to aid her wounds. She will survive, that's for sure." "Thank you." The old man was sincere. "But where is Diana?" "She's safe for now. I want to take you to her but I'm afraid they might kill everyone in this cell." "Then what's your plan now?" Daniel understood his point and he was not selfish to risk other's life in order to save his ass. Liam discussed his plans and asked Daniel for his cooperation. He will be needing his help to ensure the safety of the other slaves during the said battle. "I understand. I will let these fellow know about it." Daniel replied positively.
Liam made sure that the plan was clear to him before he left the cell. Then he went to his secret hideout and called for his messenger to send a letter to Asher.
Unknown to Kira, Liam started to stir the young men's heart regarding the battle against the other towns of Tubal. He was able to convince some but most of them feared Kira the most so they chose to be in Kira's side.
Dang it! He cursed beneath his breath. He didn't expect it to be easy but the number of the young men he gathered wasn't enough to go against Kira and his strong men. Looked like he doesn't have a choice but to push for the second option.
********* "How are the troops?" Asher asked Korah, the town chief who was overseeing the situation at the Valley of Shiloh. "They are all set now. One unit was guarding the east side, one in the west and one at the town's entrance." "How about the archers?" "Don't worry about them, the group divided themselves so they could watch the tower night and day." "That's a smart move. The trumpet will be blown anytime tomorrow as per Liam so make sure to notify all the units."
"They already know it." Korah took a deep breath. It would be their first time to engage in an all-out war against their raiders. However, knowing that they have strong men backing them up relieved him from his anxiety.
The heavens must have sent the shadow group to save them since the king was not responding to their requests. The governor of the region as well as its officials had turned deaf ears to their long time petitions. They felt abandon and was ready to be subdued by the raiders anytime soon.
Nevertheless, seeing the families of the land, Korah decided to fight for their land's freedom. They should not give up without giving a fight. Therefore, he summoned the representatives of the towns left that was not invaded by the raiders and created a plan to defend their territories.
Although the towns gathered all their strong men, the fact that they are not experienced fighters shook their already wearied hearts. But then, when Asher showed up, hope rose up in the land.
The Shadow knights! They heard a lot of good things about them. The recent heroic deeds were that in Marseille when the people of Keilah was saved from their invaders.
"I will come to the base later on. I just need to wait for some men. They should be here in an hour." "Not a problem."
Korah left the young man and went back to their base near the Valley of Shiloh. As for Asher, he waited for his teammates who were on their way. They set out to the main town as soon as they learnt about their situation. Ah! as expected from the team! He sighed in relief.
Meanwhile….She's been pacing back and forth while looking at the secret passage. And yes, she was waiting for Liam.
She had been waiting for the man for two days now but she didn't even saw his shadow. She was worried something bad might have happened to him. Did Kira possibly caught him? No! She shook her head and prayed sincerely from her heart. 'Liam, if I won't see you tonight, I swear I'll come find you tomorrow morning!' She promised as she gritted her teeth.
The other day, when she woke up, Danda said Liam went back to the town. Although she was sad at the fact that Liam didn't bid farewell, the thought of seeing him later that night encouraged her. However, two days in a row, the man never showed up. And she was completely worried! He should at least show himself for once to ease her anxiousness.
"Miss Diana, let's go back to the house now." The woman didn't even notice the old man when he came and stood beside her. "I know you are worried about him but you yourself told me that you trust him, right?" "I know mister Danda, but he never showed up for the past two days now. I'm… what if…" Danda tapped her shoulder and looked at her with sympathy. "You need rest. Who knows he'll come tomorrow morning?"
The woman lowered her head and sighed. "Ehm." She uttered softly. "But Mister Danda, if I won't see him tomorrow, I'm sorry but I have to go back to the town to see what's happening there now." The old man nodded in response. Seeing her strong resolve, he knew that he won't be able to stop her unless she sees Liam with her own two eyes.