Chapter 235 – The Assassins Go to War!
Hugo Riverclimb:
"Fuck!" Margaery shouted. "He's gone!"
We had searched everywhere, and the young master had vanished in the blink of an eye.
What kind of power was that? Could it be connected to him being a transmitter of the thunder element? Over all these years of training, I've witnessed the speed he gained using the Thunder Mantle, but what I saw in the throne room was different. Nathan simply vanished.
I sighed.
Kids these days…
We had turned the castle upside down, but Nathan had already left. When Katherine checked his room, she found only Cylla.
"My son..." Katherine murmured, her guilt evident.
"We can't waste any more time!" Margaery barked, pacing back and forth in the throne room. "Nathan might be a skilled mage, but he's just one person. There's an army camped in front of that fortress, and another inside it. I know he's angry—hell, I'm angry too—but we had a plan for a reason!"
The Legacies were assembled. With me were my wife, my two daughters, Katherine, Margaery, Yusuf, Lionel, Samantha, and Bonnie. Sifu was absent, busy preparing the army.
"What do we do? Does anyone know what he's planning?" Bonnie asked, gripping her twin cleavers. Her weapons, connected by wires, were wielded with precision thanks to her affinity with the wind element. Samantha, on the other hand, used fans to manipulate wind and fire. Lionel, a fighter wielding a massive claymore, controlled the water element, while Yusuf was a skilled marksman specializing in earth manipulation.
"I don't know, but I'm done waiting. Fuck it!" Margaery decided, her expression resolute. "We're leaving now. Forget about setting out at dawn—we'll be walking for days anyway. I won't let my nephew pull off this madness alone!"
She stormed out of the throne room, leaving us behind.
"Wait!" I called after her, noticing the others following in her wake. "Where are you going?"
"What's your plan, Margie?" Katherine asked.
"I'm calling reinforcements! The future of our family is at stake. The entire family is going to war!" Margaery declared with conviction. At that moment, a shadow leapt from the wall toward us.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, startled.
"ROOOAR!" A gray panther materialized before us, roaring ferociously.
"There you are. You're coming too," Margaery said to Carnellian, who nodded in agreement.
"Carnellian, you've never left this castle. Are you sure about this?" my wife, Martha, asked. "I thought you were a recluse."
The panther gave a predatory grin, rising to its full height and revealing sharp claws.
"AAARGH!" Carnellian roared again, pointing to its own mouth.
"I see… You're Nathan and Chloe's guardian," Martha said, understanding its intent. "It looks like you're planning to deliver judgment for those who harmed your charges—by devouring the enemies alive."
Margaery continued down the hall, and we all followed, Carnellian by our side.
"Where are you going?" I asked as we moved through the corridors, but she ignored me.
After some time, Margaery stopped in front of a familiar door and opened it. Inside, we heard the soft sound of crying.
On the bed was a panther cub.
Don't tell me she's planning to bring that thing too.
I hadn't spoken much about it over the years, but the truth was, I was afraid of that phoenix, especially after seeing the size she reached in her dragon form.
Damn...
I glanced at the giant panther beside me, towering over me, and then at Nathan's room.
Fuck… good thing I'm not on the other side of this war, I thought.
"And you? Are you staying here?" Margaery asked, sitting on the bed next to Cylla.
Cylla was still crying and only nodded, confirming silently.
Margaery sighed. "I take it he forbade you from leaving..."
The panther cub lowered her head, looking dejected.
"I'm that boy's second mother. I watched him grow up in these halls—stealing sweets, studying books—and I taught him many things myself. I taught him to read in other languages, about politics, culture, and even how to kill someone with a quill. That boy is my pride. But he also listens to me, because I'm his aunt—his second mother."
Margaery leaned in closer to Cylla. "I'm overturning his order. You're an Evenhart. You're coming with me to avenge what was done to our family."
Cylla looked at her, surprised.
"If he gives you a hard time about it, let me know. I'll have Katherine pull his ears," Margaery added, standing up. "Now let's go! I need a warrior, not a crybaby!"
She left the room, walking past us.
***
We were walking outside the castle, where the small army was almost ready to depart. Everywhere I looked, men were adjusting their weapons, fastening belts, and checking equipment on their horses. The maids moved in perfect synchronization, some focused on wrapping metal wires around their wrists with the precision that only years of training could bring. The air buzzed with preparation, a calm before the storm.
I approached Katherine, who was busy adjusting her armor. It had been a while since I'd seen her in that gear—the dark, reinforced metal contrasting sharply with the vibrant colors of her hair.
"Where's Cylla?" I asked, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt.
"She'll take a bit longer," Katherine replied, not lifting her eyes from the buckles of her armor. "She needs to switch to her beast form and stabilize her mana reserves before we leave. But since she can fly, she'll catch up with us easily. She'll probably leave in a few days but arrive slightly late."
"Did anyone throw her some meat yet?" I asked.
Katherine paused and looked at me, one eyebrow raised. "No. She'll feed during the war."
I swallowed hard.
Damn… I think I'm the only normal one here.
As she finished strapping on her armor, my eyes drifted to her weapon: a massive pair of gardening shears made of a greenish metal that seemed to pulse with its own energy.
"Are you going to summon that thing?" I asked, trying to mask my nervousness with curiosity.
"I am," she said, referring to her Soul Golem, her tone calm but heavy with intensity. "It's been a while since my girl and I went out for a stroll."
I knew exactly what she was talking about. Katherine was the only summoner mage in our army—a rarity among mages, one that made the kingdom go to great lengths to keep such individuals on their side.
"Looks like I'll be seeing the Head Cutter in action again," I commented, attempting to ease the tension with a laugh.
She shot me a firm look, her eyes blazing with determination. "They hurt my son… his body and his heart. I won't let a single one of them leave alive."
As she adjusted her boots, the ground around her began to respond. Roots emerged, twisting and turning into plant serpents that seemed to move in rhythm with her breath.
"I'm going to put these princesses inside every one of their stomachs!" Katherine declared, her fury palpable. Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away.
I stood there, watching the plant serpents vanish into the ground, her words echoing in my mind.
Damn… I really thought I'd gotten over my plant trauma…
***
We were on the move. Some of our companions had already gone ahead, led by Lionel and Yusuf. The maids had vanished into the trees, likely under my wife's command, as she took the lead to finalize the details of the attack strategy.
"Sifu, what did he mean by something called a 'Trojan Horse'?" I asked, my curiosity breaking the silence of our march.
Margaery, Katherine, and I walked alongside the monk, leaving the castle behind. Ahead of us, men held the reins of their horses, preparing to face the treacherous trails of the forbidden forests.
"He actually said 'Trojan Horse'?" the monk asked, raising an eyebrow in intrigue.
"Yes, exactly that," Margaery replied firmly.
Sifu grew thoughtful, his eyes taking on a distant gleam as he tried to recall something. "He mentioned a story by that name once," he murmured, almost to himself. "I found it fascinating."
Katherine, ever curious, leaned slightly toward him. "And what was the story about?"
"All I can remember is that it spoke of a legendary city called Troy, known as the most fortified in the world. Its walls were so impenetrable that the Greek army, their enemies, spent years trying to conquer it without success. Then, a Greek general named Odysseus had a brilliant idea. He ordered his army to completely withdraw from the city's front, disappearing from the Trojans' sight. But before leaving, they built a massive wooden horse, hollow on the inside, and left it at the city's gates."
Could it have been an army of elves manipulating the wood? Or is it just a tale? I thought but kept my silence.
"The Greek army, Troy's enemies, vanished overnight. By morning, the Trojans found a giant wooden horse in front of their walls. To them, it seemed like an offering of peace—a gift left by the Greeks in recognition of their defeat, as the army had disappeared without a trace. Convinced the war was over, the Trojans brought the horse into their city, a trophy symbolizing their invincibility. They placed it in the city's center, a testament that Troy would never fall. After all, if even the mighty Greeks surrendered... no one would dare oppose Troy. But, under the cover of night, the unexpected happened. The impenetrable city, so proud of its fortress, fell," Sifu continued, his expression pensive.
We stared at him, engrossed, waiting for him to reveal the conclusion.
"And then? How did Troy, with its unbreakable walls, fall?" I asked, the curiosity evident in my voice.
The monk offered a faint smile, clearly savoring our anticipation.
"The certainty of victory was their downfall. Hidden inside the massive wooden horse that General Odysseus built was an elite troop. When night fell and the Trojans slept, content with their supposed victory, the Greek soldiers emerged from their hiding place. They opened the city gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had been waiting outside. In a single night, the years-long war ended—all thanks to the intelligence and strategy of a single general," Sifu concluded, his voice imbued with a near-poetic reverence.
We exchanged glances, each of us reflecting on the tale.
"I don't see how this could be a plan…" Margaery said, struggling to connect the dots.
"I believe, in some way, he plans to be the Trojan Horse himself and enter Nikolaus Wolves' fortress alone," the monk concluded.