The advanced knights nodded and spread out, but within just 5 minutes, two of them returned with urgent expressions on their faces.
"The Dread Barony estate is on fire!" one knight exclaimed.
"There is a field of Rothnian soldiers killed by a small blade. They were killed one at a time in sneak attacks and were then dragged to the final location, most likely as a shock and awe tactic." Another reported.
The latter news was not of much importance, yet the former was. A battle between two baronies was not an issue, however, their estate being lit on fire was. A battle was just a fight between two forces and generally ended when the enemy leader was captured or killed. Their family would generally remain unharmed and would be released for a certain amount of bail by the royal family.
This was a common tactic used by the royal family to gain more loyal nobles, giving these survivors a new barony was just too easy for them, as long as the nobles showed enough potential and loyalty.
However, having the estate of a 200-year-old barony like the Dread Barony burned down was terrible. The survivors would likely harbour immense hate for their attackers as well as the royal family for not doing anything while their heritage was burned to the ground.
Furthermore, there would be countless other nobles who would use this as an opportunity to fault the royal household for being unable to protect such an established barony with a powerful external art.
"Shit! Find a scapegoat. Also, find out more about the Tulia Barony. They will have to pay. Meet up at the Dread estate!" The Mage ordered hurried to each of the two advanced knights as he activated his magic and used the movement magic he had learned to turn into a wave of water moving at almost double the speed of the advanced knights towards the Dread estate.
Upon reaching the estate, the mage realised that there was nothing left for him to save, as everything had been burned to the ground. Only the bits of the estate which had been reinforced with metals had remained standing.
Sighing, the water mage put out the fire, only to notice a group of 200 soldiers on horses arrive in his field of view.
"Who are you?" The mage questioned the knights in heavy armour.
Noticing the situation after seeing the Royal Magic Tower symbol on the mage's cloak, James immediately got down from his horse and bowed in respect before speaking. Sweat was already covering his forehead.
Initially, he knew that the royal family would not meddle in this affair as was promised by the Tulia Baron. Now, however, since the Dread Baron's manor had been burnt to the ground, the situation was completely different. He needed to shift the Mage's attention from the manor to another matter.
"Master Mage. We are the Heavy armoured cavalry personally trained by the Dread Baron. We were deployed to search for other enemies in the area, and just as we returned, the Baron and his only heir… passed."
"… The Baron and his only living heir also passed…" The Mage's expression was uncertain. However, just at this moment, two of the advanced knights returned and spoke loudly as they surrounded James and his group of 200 soldiers.
"Master Mage. We found out that all four villages in this barony have been slaughtered to the very last child. Marks left behind in all villages point to a group of around 100 trained soldiers mounted on horseback. One of the villages had had the bodies buried, but it was in a mass grave likely conducted by a small group of one or two survivors."
"Ah! A group of traitorous man-slaughtering cavalry! Oh? And you… you are an Inferior knight?! In such a remote place! Such a coincidence almost seems too perfect. Master does indeed need a knight… and one such as you who had committed such crimes… Perfect!" The Mage's eyes lit up as a smile appeared on his face.
"Capture them all. You can kill half of them. Leave the rest alive, just barely! Oh, and no one is to harm the inferior knight." The Mage continued with a smile. He found the perfect scapegoat for the situation delivering themselves to his feet. How could he not take it. He did not need to get anyone to pay for anything, and could simply throw all the blame onto these knights. Plus, his master would also be able to get his hands on the knight specimen he wanted!
James' expression turned incredibly sour as he raised his sword to protect himself, only to find himself knocked out immediately by an advanced knight.
…
Meanwhile, Kai and Pops went to sleep as the sun finally set and everyone had a good meal. The small group of 20 heavy armoured cavalry had not had much rest other than the 2 hours they had spent back at the estate, but in that time also they only got an hour of rest as the rest of the time was spent collecting all valuable items.
They had also lost most of their families in the sneak attack on the estate which had also given them an emotional blow, and they each had very little time to grieve of their losses. Therefore, all through the night, small whimpers of stifled anguish were heard within the cave.
…
Kai's clone who had now been given the name of Yu by Bob, unfortunately, did not find a suitable place to stay, and neither did they find any food, so they had to hide in the hollow of a tree to hide from possible predators and the snowy weather.
Despite being cold, Yu and Bob huddled together in the tree hollow and found warmth under Kai's fur coat.
A night of extreme tragedy had now given way to the light of a new day, a new dawn full of opportunities and possibilities, but with danger lurking around every corner.