First day of Winter.
The third day of the hunting competition.
Colorful tents, both big and small, were set up at the foot of Wesnar mountain.
At its center was a tower of burning wood which enveloped the field in a warm embrace and chased away the chilly winter breeze.
Knights from different noble houses stood guard from outside the tents, while servants busily ran about, carrying plates of food and setting up tables.
All high-ranking nobles and members of the royal family had gathered for the awarding ceremony and closing banquet.
Ladies in gorgeous dresses and thick fur coats sat around tables, sipping hot tea and enjoying confectionaries as they relished the picturesque sight of the mountain.
Noblemen stood on one side of the bonfire, discussing politics and boasting about their wealth and power.
"Today, I shall scout the best combat Almagi." One of them proudly announced.
"Hah! Baron, don't you know that combat Almagi are expensive to hire? You'd need thousands of gold to raise one to an appropriate Tier. I'm afraid the baron's house may go bankrupt so why don't you scout a commoner mercenary instead?" another teased.
"Hoho. Count, my newly established business is doing well these days. I surely can afford a decent Almagi." the Baron countered.
"Is that so?" the Count mischievously smiled as he twirled his mustache.
Conversations like this sparked competition between noblemen, further amplifying their excitement for the coming awarding ceremony.
Everyone, but the members of the Third Knight's Order, was thrilled to start the celebration.
The junior knights of the Order anxiously eyed their senior.
There was only an hour left of the competition yet only forty-seven participants have arrived.
This meant that over two hundred participants were missing-- Such a thing had never happened in all the past competitions!
The junior knights could only gulp in nervousness as they imagined the king's wrath after knowing the situation.
But what could they do?
They never asked for backup to save their pride.
They thought everything would be alright.
Yet for the past three days, the knights ran like headless chickens toward the locations of signal flares only to come back empty-handed.
Somehow, the participants vanished like ghosts, leaving only parts of their bodies and a smoking flare.
"Sir, what do we do?" a junior knight carefully asked, unable to stand the tension.
"Let's just wait. Maybe they'll come back on their own before the time is up." The senior knight responded,
"After all, there isn't anything more that we can do."—Or so he assured his juniors, but the senior knight knew it was an impossible wish. He prepared himself for the coming harsh punishment.
As the commanding officer, he will take the blame for this failure.
All their thoughts circled back to the root of this mystery— 'Where are the killer ants?'
They were convinced that the Killer ants were the problem, but they never encountered any during their patrols. They tried to trace the tracks left by the participants but at some point, they all came to a dead end.
As the knights were immersed in their thoughts, praying to goddess Kariyah for a miracle, an hour has passed like a blur.
"Let's go." The senior knight said.
The forty-seven participants proudly walked out of the tent. Their game had already been counted by the organizers and their names were listed in parchment to be passed on to the king who will be personally awarding them.
For the first time in the competition history, no killer ant was brought. Only E-class Giant Ermine Moths, D-class Huntsman spiders, and a few C-class monsters had been hunted.
As the last participant exited, the attending nobles gasped!
'Where are the others?'
'So few…'
'I heard less than fifty made it back.'
'Oh my… what happened?'
Agitated murmurs broke out, but none could give an explanation.
"Your Majesty…" the Queen tapped her husband's arm, a worried look plastered on her face.
The king eyed the list of participants and with every passing name, his dread grew.
His son, the third prince, was missing!
The king crumpled the parchment, "Sir Edmund, call for the commanding officer of the third knights' order! NOW!"
Edmund hurriedly left.
The queen could not hold back her tears. She returned to the tent for the royal family and wept, "I shouldn't have let him go… Oh, my poor child!"
Meanwhile, the two princes, Avery and Cail, stood behind their father with unreadable expressions.
"Father, did you not assign anyone to tail Deon?" the crown prince, Avery, asked the king.
"No. I was so sure that he will give up and come back within the first day…" the king regretfully replied, "Ahh… I thought he finally manned up when he stayed in the competition. To think that he's missing…. How will I ever appease your mother?"
"Your majesty, I have brought Sir Nicholas of the Third Order." Sir Edmund said, behind him was the burly senior knight whose mien was peppered with beads of cold sweat.
He did not expect the king to call for him in the middle of the ceremony nor did he expect the grave look on his majesty's face.
"What happened here?" the king's deep voice sent shivers down the knight's spine.
"Y-your majesty…"
But contrary to Nicholas' chaotic mind, his lips clamped shut, unable to utter another word.
What will he say?
Those Killer ants who are supposed to be the weakest miraculously preyed on hundreds of participants?
That they didn't find a single corpse?
That they were too prideful to ask for back-up?
No matter what he said, the middle-aged knight knew they were terrible excuses.
"I apologize, your majesty." Nicholas deeply bowed in full view of all the attending nobles.
"Sir Nicholas, I don't want an apology! I need an explanation!" the King's voice thundered, making everyone flinch in fright!
All the guests were confused.
'Why is the king so mad?' they all thought.
After all, deaths in the competition were a common occurrence. It just so happened that this year had the highest death toll.
Still, they did not think it was an issue that warranted such a reaction from the king.
It was only after hearing their monarch's next words that the people understood his reason.
"My son, the third prince, joined the competition. Mobilize all available Knights to find him! Before it's too late!"
--Chapter end--