Chapter 9: Rewards

Apprentice knight Lance and sergeant York were ultimately ordered to stay—first because their injuries required more rest, and second to ensure an unobstructed retreat. With six extra horses, the group now had two riders per horse. Under these circumstances, Adrian ordered that the load on their main mounts be reduced, with luggage and various other items carried by the spare horses. Although he had no intention of merely conducting a reconnaissance mission, he still followed through.

Until the situation became clear, Adrian was the overall leader, and from any perspective, Neo saw no reason to rush into conflict with him. Over the years living in human society, Neo had witnessed more than once the price those who were defiant—especially those whose strength did not match their defiance—had to pay in life. Though, in a way, Neo himself was also defiant, he had at least learned to respect authority and others’ opinions.

Less than 5 kilometers outside the forest lay Tulip Town. Without any ambushes, it was a short distance that didn’t require much description. Adrian, Anchero, Sangert, and Neo easily reached the outskirts of Tulip Town and, following Neo’s guidance, hid behind a hillside with a good vantage point.

Although binoculars had been invented eight years earlier, they were still expensive devices, and only Adrian among Neo’s group owned one. After observing through the binoculars for a while, Adrian didn’t make an immediate decision but handed them to Anchero instead. As a knight, it was his duty to act as a “training instructor,” so Adrian treated Anchero differently from the sergeants—rather than giving orders without explanation, he often discussed decisions and solved problems together. Of course, Adrian still held absolute command, even if all members disagreed.

Perhaps due to his outstanding performance in the previous battle, Neo was also fortunate enough to use the binoculars. The situation was dire—the Manmoris Mansion, the tallest building in town—a structure that was half castle and half villa—was severely damaged. It seemed a fierce battle had taken place there, and the dark forces must have used siege weapons, otherwise, the damage wouldn’t have been so severe.

Adrian gave Anchero a signal, who nodded and drew an arrow with a metal shaft. This arrow had a large cone-shaped head, tail feathers far longer than those of ordinary arrows, and deployable wings—known as flying arrows. Anchero nocked the arrow and shot it diagonally into the sky. The wings unfolded, and the cone-shaped head ignited from friction with the air currents, sending a burst of flames. The entire arrow transformed into a firebird that flew toward Tulip Town. After crossing hundreds of meters, the flames suddenly turned purple before the arrow plummeted and disappeared.

Neo didn’t understand all the changes in the arrow, but he believed the color change wasn’t meaningless. Sure enough, Anchero said, “Purple means high levels of dark energy.”

Adrian nodded and said, “Let’s withdraw first. By using the flying arrow, our location has been exposed.”

The four of them mounted their mounts and left swiftly. From a distance, they saw over 20 Dark Cultists rushing out of Tulip Town. Realizing that Neo and his group were far away and riding away at top speed, they turned away in frustration.

Back at the temporary camp on the cliff in the forest, Adrian didn’t even dismount before stating directly, “Lord Manmores’ castle has been breached, and there are numerous Dark Forces entrenched in Tulip Town. The only solution is to summon the army to eliminate them.”

Anchiro and Sangert nodded in agreement. It was pointless to rely on individual bravery in such a situation. Even if there were a few survivors, with such a huge disparity in combat strength between the sides, there was no way to rescue them. Forcing an action might instead expose the survivors, turning rescue into harm.

Adrian added, “The number of Dark Forces in Tulip Town is enormous; we need to mobilize the army to deal with them. In that case, we don’t need to head south to explore other manors. We should turn back now so we can reach the camp before dark. The Dark Forces have polluted the Erdrit Lands, and the wilderness is no longer safe as it used to be. Many vile creatures might appear at night. Let’s set off immediately.”

“My lord, the army can arrive at the earliest tomorrow. Until then, please allow me to investigate Tulip Town first to prepare the way for the purge.” It was time for Neo to speak up. After years of observation, he understood that the relationships among nobles were not as close and supportive as they seemed on the surface.

In this case, even if the army received word, it would be difficult for them to act swiftly to eliminate the Dark Forces.

The Manmores family wasn’t part of those noble houses with intricate blood ties and marriages. As for Thures Manor, even ignoring the common people, it had been cultivated by the Manmores family for generations and was undoubtedly a coveted land. If the Manmores family suffered heavy losses in this disaster, or even lost all its direct members, it might be good news for some people.

Moreover, even if ranked by importance, Thures Manor would certainly not be the first target for the army’s purge. Additionally, neither the West Wind Battle Corps nor the Eagle Knights would likely simply return south to deal with the Dark Forces after the great battle at Solis City.

Besides, both armies rushed to Solis in a hurry, so they surely didn’t bring much supplies. Solis had been plundered, leaving the city short of resources—there wasn’t enough to support even its own people, let alone the army. With such terrible weather—wet, cold—and the Erdrit Lands left undefended along its eastern and western routes due to the deployment of the two armies, especially with the foreign tribes in the west likely to take advantage of the situation, it was highly unlikely that the army would arrive at Tulip Town within 5 days. If that happened, it would be a stroke of luck.

Neo could estimate this situation, but Adrian understood it even better. After exchanging determined glances with Neo, Adrian ordered his subordinates, “Anchiro, Sangert, help Lance and York get ready. Try to leave no traces. We’ll set off as soon as possible.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Adrian waved at Neo. “Come with me.”

Nio rode on his wolf, half a horse’s length behind, on Adrian’s side.
On that gloomy afternoon, the wind grew stronger. Even as they moved through the forest, it carried snowflakes that fluttered like grass fluff. These snowflakes were aimless, pure white but not crystal clear, carrying a faint sadness and dressing the world in a cold haze—a scene just like the future Nio would face.
“Kara is the beloved daughter of Baron Kluliu -> willow,” Adrian said in a low voice.
“Please rest assured, my lord. If we survive this ordeal, I will try my best to stay out of Miss Kara’s sight.”
Adrian nodded, a hint of hesitation crossing his face, before saying, “If Lord Manmores has already met his end, the other direct relatives of the Manmores family may not see dawn, not even those servants who are close to them.”
“…” Nio said sincerely, “I am extremely grateful to you, Lord Adrian. You didn’t have to go to such lengths.”
Adrian nodded. “Now, we owe each other nothing.”
Nio bowed in respect. “Wish you long success in battle!”
Adrian’s lips curled slightly. Without saying more, he urged his mount back to the temporary camp. Using his sheathed knight’s sword, he dropped supplies such as rations, military blankets, and ropes from the horse. Then he shouted, “The traitor Nio, while we were fighting against the Dark Claws, stole some supplies and fled alone—truly despicable. Fortunately, blessed by the gods, our team wiped out many Dark Claws and won the battle. Half of our team was killed in this fight. Now, I order us to return to the camp!”
“Huh!” The three apprentice knights shouted in unison. Only Sergeant York looked utterly confused. But Adrian had already set off, so York had no choice but to urge his mount to follow. In a hurry, he glanced back and saw, in the distance, a rider in the snowy forest, staring at them as if seeing them off…
Having left in such a rush, Nio had only brought some food for his wolf. Now that he had the most basic necessities, if it were just him, he wouldn’t have to worry about food or drink for a week. This meant a great deal to Nio, as neither the current situation nor the season allowed him to add hunting to his tasks.
After hanging the supplies on his wolf’s back, Nio set up a few traps near the temporary camp at the fastest speed possible. Then he led his wolf away from the forest, heading in the same direction as Adrian’s group.
It wasn’t long before three advanced Dark Cultists who could easily transform and recover led over forty transformed undead into the forest. They found Jingguan and then the temporary camp. But three of the undead fell into the series of traps due to carelessness. One was barely injured, another broke a leg, and the worst-off was pierced in the chest by sharp wood. After struggling and screaming for a while, it died in the trap.
The leading advanced Dark Cultist paid no attention to the deaths and injuries of the undead. Standing on a cliff, he asked his two subordinates, “What do you think?”
One of them replied, “It’s obvious. They’re feigning retreat while staying behind. These traps are the best proof. Maybe any moment, those guys will emerge from some corner.”

Another said, “My opinion is exactly the opposite. Those people have already left. These traps were left behind on purpose to make us think they’re still lurking nearby.”
The leader chuckled and said, “If they stayed here, they’d be lucky enough to attend the Ghost Dance tonight. If they choose to return to Thors, they might just make it in time for the grand climax of the Blood Feast. The only pity is that there aren’t many of them; we had to make a rather large effort to get here.”
One of the lieutenants said, “Though we can’t enjoy the pleasure of killing, we can at least watch a farce—setting an ambush with ten times more troops than the enemy, only to have them all wiped out. Lord Thomas’s face will surely be ruined…”
The leader patted his leg, somewhat smugly, and said, “Exactly. Let’s see how arrogant those ‘whiners’ (casters) can still be this time!”
The Dark Cultists came and went, doing nothing, as if they had completely given up on this forest barrier. Meanwhile, Nio was at the outer edge of Linsi—steep cliffs to the west, and dense wilderness to the south. Yet there was actually a secret path through the forest leading to the other side; once the initial obstacles were bypassed, it was possible to ride through alone.
Nio had come here to check whether this passage had been used or discovered by outsiders, and the results left him uneasy. The traps he had set himself hadn’t been triggered, indicating that the secret path hadn’t been used. It also meant that the person he cared about was trapped in Thures, unable to escape…