Twilight Initiator, Zed, Son of Shadows, Shadow
Imperial Calendar: Year 1596, Month 3, Day 24
Outside the city of Valenwood, to the north of the Imperial Territory.
I don't know where I went wrong… I was sure everything would turn out fine, I literally thought it out in seconds… throughout my life I had never been wrong, this is my first time feeling this emotion… damn it… I was sure I applied just enough force to only break his hand, but everything went wrong…
-What happened?
In front of me was the nobleman… around him were what seemed to be his main guard… they all had armor around their bodies… they were totally different from the crazy bastards I've been traveling with in the cart… these soldiers travel on horses, which by the way were gigantic, they could literally reach almost 5 meters in height… though I must admit they are lovely… their armor was silver or steel, I wasn't sure, on their breastplates they had a symbol… I suppose it's the house emblem, it was black roses with blood-red thorns, it was pleasant to the eye.
Lowering my head, I was kneeling, with a sword pointed at my neck, this is bad, damn it… I'm furious… even dead that lunatic was useless… I could feel the blade's edge on my throat, it was cold, very cold, in fact, it was the worst cold I've ever felt in my life, the soldier behind me was ready to kill me at the slightest order from the nobleman.
Breathing deeply.
-Sir… this humble commoner was just trying to defend himself…
It was literally true, it was in self-defense…
-By killing him?
I couldn't imagine the bastard's body being as soft as a jelly pudding, seriously it was just a punch and I literally broke not only his arm, the force was such that my fist pierced through his chest… not to mention that I got covered in blood… right now the strong smell of blood is ingrained in my already worn-out clothes… How annoying…
-Sir… I didn't think he would die so easily… I just wanted to break his hand… so he'd stop bothering me.
The nobleman was sitting at what seemed to be a desk, his gaze was extremely cold… his blue eyes were deep and penetrating, it gave a very different expression from all the people in this place, in fact, he is a nobleman in every sense of the word, his words, though cold and emotionless, had a supernatural elegance… his armor was also different from the others… it had a bluish color, on the desk was a beautiful sword, I couldn't see the blade but its scabbard… decorated with precious blue stones… and some gold.
The noble's gaze grew colder… and so did the pressure of the blade on my neck… if this continues, I'm going to die…
-You say you killed someone by mistake? What's your name?
-Yes sir, as I said, I didn't think a single blow would kill him, my name is Zed.
-Do you have parents?
-No sir.
-You're an orphan… eh, you know that killing one of my men is punishable by death.
With my head down, I felt an invisible force pressing on my body… it was hard to breathe… I had some idea that the nobleman's daughter is seriously ill… something happened, the expedition was supposed to take place in two weeks, but it was moved up to the next day… the only reason for such a drastic decision is that his daughter's condition worsened… this is an opportunity… I can feel the desperation in the nobleman's heart.. losing a man (trash)… is a big loss for him and his forces… but there's something very strange here, there are a total of 25 soldiers… all of them armed to the teeth, so why does he need ordinary people… Why? Why? The answer is as clear as water.
Cannon fodder
Yes, that was our only real mission… during the trip, I couldn't understand why I couldn't see outside… it was totally enclosed… it's like they were hiding something from us… the cart is way behind the soldiers… similarly, when night fell, our camp was separate from the nobleman's…
It's a good move… in fact, the nobleman is very ruthless, all those crazy bastards in the cart will die in such a miserable way… the 40 silver coins were a lie… a bait, the real objective of the feudal lord was to use us, I suppose while the monster tears us apart one by one, his soldiers will take advantage to steal the plant… a good game… it's brilliant… it's almost perfect… this lord is ruthless but at the same time very intelligent. I acknowledge that…
Now I'm left to make a bet… the only way I can survive… the only path… he let me see all his soldiers, from the beginning he intended to kill me… only someone so stupid would forgive my life right now, if he spares me, he runs the risk that I will inform all the lunatics in the cart that there are actually many soldiers better prepared than us outside… even the stupidest person in the world would think something is wrong…
But there's something else… he hasn't killed me yet… Why? The answer is also very simple… he knows I'm not an ordinary person.. that a 15-year-old kid killed a man much bigger than me, with twice my size and double my body weight, in a single blow… it's something to think about.. right? He's judging me if I'm a tool he can use… good, that's fine… this is my bet.
-Sir, with all due respect… I'm the only one who can steal the plant from the interior of the Riberland mountains.
I threw my chip on the board…
-I don't know if you're so desperate that you're starting to ramble… Kid, I'm not joking if you don't give me a good reason… I will cut off your head.
-I'm not rambling, sir… I'm very sure that without my help, you won't be able to cure your daughter's illness and she will eventually die.
-Urgg!!!
A kick right in the face, it hurts, of course it does, blood started to flow from my nose, good that's fine, a man desperate for his daughter is an easy man to convince, just give him a glimmer of hope and he will gladly accept it… it's basic manipulation.
-If you kill me right now, you'll regret it, sir…