Chapter 131: Mage?

Complete silence fell inside the tent.

Nobody, not even the arrogant Three-Seal Knight, dared utter a word.

Aldric let go of Margaret and slowly straightened himself.

As he turned back to the table, he nearly stumbled but managed to catch himself in time.

For several seconds, everything remained silent.

Suddenly, a dense aura wrapped itself around Aldric’s fist.

BOOOOM!!!

He shattered the table, crushing it into tiny wooden pieces.

’’RODERIC WHITEMANE!’’ he roared loudly.

His head snapped towards Reynold in an instant, pure fury and madness in his eyes.

’’REYNOLD!’’ he shouted. ’’GATHER THE ARMY! WE ARE MARCHING IMMEDIATELY!’’

Baldwin quickly stood up and raised his arms.

’’Baron Aldric, please reconsider,’’ he said, his voice calm and soothing. ’’It’s the middle of the night, and the men are exhausted—’’

’’I DON’T CARE!’’ he interrupted. ’’WE MOVE, NOW!’’

Reynold looked up with hesitation.

Just as he gathered his courage to object, a loud scoff rang out from the opposite side.

’’You’re not really going to believe that crazy bitch, are you?’’ Baressa asked loudly.

Aldric turned towards him, his eyes wide and his face livid.

Baressa didn’t care one bit and simply gestured towards Margaret.

’’Look at her! She’s completely lost her mind,’’ he said jokingly. ’’For all we know, she’s imagining the entire thing.’’

SHING!

Aldric’s sword suddenly left its sheath.

Before Baressa could react, the blade was pointed directly at his throat.

The surrounding officers froze.

Even Baldwin took an involuntary step backward.

’’This is the last time I’ll tolerate your disrespect,’’ Aldric warned coldly. ’’One more word about my family, and I won’t care whose banner you serve under.’’

Baressa’s expression hardened.

For several seconds, the two Three-Seal Knights stared at one another.

Then Baldwin stepped between them.

’’Enough!’’ he said, his hand on his blade. ’’We have better things to do than this!’’

For a moment, silence fell inside the room.

Finally, Aldric slowly lowered his weapon.

Without another word, he sheathed it.

’’Reynold,’’ he said, his voice cold. ’’Gather the army.’’

With that, Aldric turned and left the command tent.

...

The order spread throughout the encampment.

And the soldiers were anything but pleased.

After two days of clearing traps, recovering the wounded, and burying their companions, they had finally expected a proper night’s rest.

Instead, they were being ordered to pack their belongings and march into the darkness.

Complaints rapidly spread between tents.

Some cursed under their breath, with resentment clear on their faces.

Others simply obeyed with utterly exhausted expressions.

Whatever little morale still remained was disappearing rapidly.

Watching the preparations from outside the command tent, Baldwin sighed.

’’This isn’t good,’’ he muttered.

Several Ironhart officers stood beside him, each sharing his opinion.

’’At this rate, our numbers will be even with theirs by the time we reach Whitemane City,’’ one said solemnly. ’’Alas... the Baron has lost all reason at the mention of his son.’’

Baldwin nodded slowly.

Then his gaze shifted towards a hooded individual standing slightly behind the others.

’’May I ask for a favor?’’ Baldwin asked respectfully. ’’Is there something you could do to restore their hope?’’

For a moment, the figure remained silent.

Then a wide grin appeared beneath his hood.

’’Of course I can,’’ he replied, his tone almost sweet. ’’The Second Prince assigned me here for a reason.’’

Nearly an hour later, the Deres army finally began to move.

Thousands of exhausted soldiers slowly marched along the newly cleared road.

Nobody spoke much as they passed the bloodstained ground.

But as the army approached the pile of corpses, a hooded figure suddenly stepped to the front.

Several soldiers glanced at him curiously.

’’What’s he doing?’’

’’Isn’t that one of the Ironhart representatives?’’

Before anyone could answer, the figure raised his staff.

A dense aura-like energy appeared around him... except the energy quickly floated into the sky.

WHOOSH!

Several large fireballs suddenly appeared in the night sky.

The soldiers immediately came to a stop.

’’W-What?!’’

’’A mage!’’

The fireballs hovered above the road, illuminating the surrounding buildings.

Then, with a single movement of his staff, the mage sent them flying forward.

WHOOSH!

BOOOOM!

The mountain of corpses burst into flames.

A brilliant orange fire spread across the bodies, illuminating the outskirts of Riverwood.

Thousands of soldiers watched on in stunned silence.

The mage slowly turned towards them.

’’These men fought bravely for their lord and their homeland,’’ he declared, his voice carrying across the road.

’’Though their enemies have denied them a proper burial, their sacrifice shall not be forgotten!’’

Faces began regaining color left and right.

Their exhaustion seemed to burn away with the flames as new hope was ignited inside.

’’May these flames guide their souls to peace, and may their honor live on through those who remain!’’ the mage continued loudly.

’’And may the gods grant us the strength to punish those who have disgraced our fallen brothers!’’

Several soldiers immediately raised their swords.

’’FOR OUR FALLEN BROTHERS!’’ they shouted.

Soon, dozens of voices joined them.

Baldwin watched the scene with a satisfied expression.

’This was exactly what we needed,’ he thought. ’As expected from a mage.’

Unfortunately for them, someone else had witnessed everything.

...

On a nearby hill, a lone figure lay in the tall grass.

He had been watching the Deres army for the past two days.

And tonight had proven particularly interesting.

’’To think they’d have a mage,’’ he muttered. ’’I wonder how the young lord will take care of that one.’’

He reached into his clothing and retrieved a small notebook.

After carefully recording several observations, he nodded in satisfaction.

Two days of delays, hundreds of casualties, and an army whose morale had nearly collapsed.

And now, they were being forced to march through the night.

All without the Whitemane army having to fight a single battle.

’’Heh, the young lord is going to be very pleased with this,’’ he muttered with a small smile.

He closed the notebook and tucked it back into his clothing.

Then he quietly crawled away from the hilltop, making sure he remained hidden from the soldiers below.

A short distance away, his horse stood waiting amongst the trees.

Climbing into the saddle, he cast one final glance towards the distant flames.

’’Though I suppose I should hurry. That mage could complicate things quite a bit.’’

With that, he urged his horse forward, disappearing into the darkness as he hurried back towards Whitemane City.