A dense green forest surrounded the capital city of Vendora; it was called the 'The Great Forest of Bulario'. Many known and unknown monsters and beasts were rumored to live inside the forest such that the appearance of a beast or an attack from monsters was a common thing to the people living in the capital. The Adventurer's Guild had a hard time dealing with the subjugation requests from the farmers and nobles alike. Lower level monsters and beasts were not much of a threat to them but it was the higher level beings that were dangerous.
The forest granted protection to said beasts and monsters and total subjugation was not possible given the size of the forest. For a total subjugation, a huge mass of adventurers and military forces were required which the upper nobles and of course the Royal Family did not deem a necessity for their ultimate vision.
That was why there was a custom, not a legal rule but a custom among nobles of the capital, any noble can inherit the part of the land that he orders to subjugate.
This led to fierce competition among the nobles in the capital and the forest was divided among different nobles who dared to subjugate the land and got successful.
Among such nobles, the Family of Cohauks was able to achieve a piece of land and they had turned it into a beautiful farmhouse that was used for hosting organized meetings, dinner parties, and major events.
But the main purpose of this farmhouse was to hold a very secret meeting between Falgunis and Cohauks to strategize their schemes in an attempt to prevent unfair and unequal treatment of the commoners of the outer sections of the city.
The head of the Falgunis, Damara, and the head of the Cohauks, Argos, were childhood friends and shared the same ideology on an equal society, but this ideology was condemned by the other influential families and more than that it was completely ignored by the Royal Family. This situation was distressing to both Damara and Argos, so they at least tried to help the commoners through careful schemes, bribes, and political tactics.
But today, Damara was not meeting Argos to discuss these issues. About five days ago, Argos had suddenly communicated with him via the secret messaging link which was not his usual style. Argos normally sent his men to deliver a personal invitation to Damara whenever he wanted to meet, and besides, it was a mutual understanding between them that if they got a message through this link, it meant only one thing that the other party was in trouble.
But Argos was not clear in his message; he gave a vague explanation and asked Damara to meet him here in his farmhouse and to send him his SoulStone immediately.
A Soulstone is something you should never take lightly; it is a very important, invaluable heritage that each impure soul possesses, so for Argos to ask for it hastily confused Damara.
Argos was a man of impeccable judgment and had an in-depth understanding of the working of human nature. So, Damara had never doubted his sworn friend's ability to make the right decisions.
'Shishou, are you sure about this?'
A black armored knight had a worried expression on his face. His name was Amara, the strongest knight in Damara's military squad and his most trusted and loyal subordinate.
Seeing him, the strongest knight, getting worried for his sake, Damara was slightly embarrassed.
Is my face showing signs of fear or doubt?
He asked himself.
Being the head of one of the most influential noble family was no easy task. Only a powerful deserving candidate is chosen to lead the family so showing signs of worry, fear and doubt are equivalent to admitting defeat in a war for a noble head.
Moreover, his subordinate dared to doubt his judgment and his trust in his sworn friend. This act alone was punishable by death if it were for a different noble lord other than Damara.
But Damara was of humble and polite nature, he treated everyone around him as his equal which was one of the prime reasons for his popularity among his subordinates and commoners. A blend of power and humbleness was his trait, so he was not respected because he was feared but because he was loved.
'No it's fine, I trust that man with my life,'
Damara replied and gave a simple smile.
Yes, he had not a shroud of doubt that he would be betrayed by his sworn friend.
The farmhouse was located in a secluded location and thanks to the subjugation order carried out by Argos's adventurer squad; this place was protected against any surprise monster or beast attack. Damara had gained exclusive access to this farmhouse and was permitted to use it by Argos, so it was easier for him to visit this place even without Argos's permission.
While Damara sat on a velvet couch waiting for his friend, a red armored lady knight name Michelle went out to check up on the situation outside the house.
Michelle was the acting captain of the Red Squad of Falgunis military and was here as Damara's guard. She had personally never met or seen the head of the Cohauks family but she knew that he was her master's sworn friend.
Outside about ten grey armored soldiers were guarding the entrance of the farmhouse. They believed that if Argos's party arrived it would sure be big enough to be seen from a distance, so they had sent a Blue Squad, a military faction that was skilled in the espionage to scout the location.
The military factions in Falgunis were differentiated by the color of armor they wore. For instance, Blue Squad's member was skilled in information gathering while Red Squad was skilled in long-range battles and the Black squad was the main frontal fighting force. Aside from these squads, there were White Squad which was skilled in healing and defensive magic, but the members of the white squad were not present in the farmhouse. Only a limited number of people were chosen as convoys for this visit and Michelle just happened to be the only Red member from the Red Squad. Soldiers wearing ordinary grey-colored armors were common foot-soldiers of lower rank.
As soon as Michelle stepped out of the door, suddenly a large translucent reddish barrier covered the whole area.
Looking at the barrier, Michelle's eyes widened with fear, this was a large area spell under which all movements were stopped. Every individual who was under the barrier froze in their spot. Fear and panic reflected in their eyes as they anticipated that worst that was about to come.
Inside the farmhouse, Amara stood frozen beside Damara. They both were confused about what was happening.
Two shady figures appeared on the entrance gate of the farmhouse, one was a blue armored guy, a member of a Blue Squad, who had an evil sneer and the other was a thin and tall blond man with blue eyes, Argos Cohauk!
Watching the two figures walk calmly in this area effective spell, Michelle quickly understood that they had defended themselves against its effect, which meant that they were responsible for this spell.
The farmhouse was protected by all types of barriers against fire, intrusion, water, wind, or light magic but they forgot to protect against an area type dark spell. This negligence in their part had brought them to this situation.
The two people quietly and confidently made their way through the compound and entered the farmhouse passing through Michelle on the way. While passing her, the blue-armored guy gave a malicious look when he glanced at her, but a much more fun matter was yet to be dealt with, so perhaps he decided to hold up on his ambitions with Michelle for now.
Once inside, Argos looked at his frozen friend and smiled, sadly, while the blue-armored guy stood at the door.
'Alas, my friend you were too naïve,'
Argos said, sitting down beside Damara and pouring himself some wine that was on the small coffee table.
He took a sip and then calmly placed the glass on the table.
'Forgive me my brother, but you are someone who I have to kill, you must not live,'
Argos' voice was steady and calm, which suggested that he had no sense of remorse or guilt.
He took out a dagger with a silver handle from his coat and placed it in front of Damara's neck.
Damara was shocked beyond belief, his face had lost all its color; his sworn friend was about to kill him with his own hands. He was betrayed. His heart ached and it hurt. It hurt so, so bad.
Amara looked as if he was about to cry, his face was red as he struggled to speak. But he could not even move a muscle. He had mixed emotions, he was angry at the same time he wanted to ask Argos to take his life instead of his master's.
But there was no hint of mercy in Argos's eyes.
The sharp edge of the dagger came in contact with the skin in Damara's neck. He could feel the cold sharp blade, he struggled to move, to budge his head, to get away from the blade but no matter what he tried, the blade stayed put on his neck. He wished it to be a joke played by his friend, perhaps, he will break into a smile and give him a hug. But looking at the coldness in Argos's eyes, all his hopes were shattered.
A cold sweat broke down Damara's forehead. Amara felt hopeless, he had to watch his master die in front of his eyes. He wanted to kill himself. Never had he felt so helpless.
Then Damara felt a sharp pressure from the edge of the dagger and with a slow cold, merciless motion, he felt intense pain.
Argos's face was cold, he had no guilt but instead, he slowly sliced open his childhood friend's neck like a hen being killed before dinner.
Amara's eyes widened with shock as he saw blood gushing out of his master's neck, he was heart-broken, his courage disappeared, he only felt remorse and rage.
As he was watching a comedy show the blue-armored guy gave a happy clap as he watched Damara's throat being slit.
A pool of blood oozed out from the throat as Damara slowly lost his consciousness, his whole body grew weak, and slowly everything went black.
Argos, watched cruelly as the light went out of Damara's eyes. He then turned to the blue-armored guy. The blue-armored guy knew what he meant, so he activated his cargon, a green-colored amulet that he wore on his right hand and cast a spell.
Under this barrier that prevented the movement of its targets, the newly cast spell would instantly make them faint.
Soon, Amara, felt his consciousness fading away and he along with the rest of the immobilized and paralyzed people fainted.
'Nice work, Master,'
The blue-armored guy happily praised.
'A clean work indeed,'
He smiled happily.
Argos only gave a firm nod.
'Master, with your permission can I get that girl,'
Blue-armored guy lustfully looked at the unconsiousness, Michelle.
'She's yours'
Argos said with no hint of emotion in his voice.
'Master is great!'
'Let's go before we are exposed,'
Argos, or what looked like Argos, said cautiously surveying the surroundings as they got out of the farmhouse. The blue-armored guy, cast another spell on Michelle, a spherical barrier surrounded her and her body lifted up slightly from the ground. It was a floating barrier spell and it was controlled by the blue-armored guy.
That guy had done too much for this specific mission. He had killed all his members who had come with him to scout and had to cast a movement prohibition barrier spell. He deserved a little reward, thinking so, Argos or what looked like Argos had accepted the blue-armored guy's request.
'You did well today,'
Argos honestly acknowledged him.
'You are the too kind master; a lowly worm like me is not qualified to receive such praise from you,'
A green magic circle appeared on the ground, a transportation spell cast by Argos, and the three of them disappeared.
About a few miles away from the farmhouse, few horses and a coach was traveling as fast as they could to reach the location. They had just seen a huge barrier appear and vanish from the forest.
This incident troubled Argos, who was sitting inside the coach. He was deep in thought.
Has something happened to Damara?
He worried.
He could not afford to be late, this meeting was crucial for his plan and if anything was to disrupt the meeting today his whole world will come crashing down.
At that time, Argos was not aware that a small scratch had appeared on his neck.