Arid wind swept past Kuahel’s face as he and twelve other paladins traversed the dark forest. Abruptly, he pulled on the reins, bringing his horse to a halt. An unsettling scent hung in the air — a scent he knew all too well. It was the smell of fumes, ashes, and death.
“Prepare for battle.”
The knights unsheathed their weapons and readied themselves for an attack. After carefully scanning their surroundings, Kuahel spurred his mount forward once again. Sensing danger in the air, his well-trained warhorse tensed up like a strained bowstring. Kuahel tightened his grip on the reins, maintaining firm control as they galloped through the stark trees.
The earthshaking pounding of hooves filled the damp, early morning air. After riding for about ten minutes, they reached the edge of Edkina Forest. Kuahel’s gaze immediately snapped up to the column of black smoke rising above the hill.
He rode up the steep slope to look down at the ravaged village. Flames still burned like the red eyes of a beast in the shadows of dawn, and thick fumes rose from the charred palisade and devastated buildings.
Harman rode up behind him, muttering grimly, “We arrived a moment too late.”
“The fires are still burning,” Kuahel intoned. “They could not have gotten far. Go after them at once.”
The paladins promptly obeyed, setting off at a gallop down the hill. Kuahel watched them disappear before turning his head east toward the sun rising from behind the dark silhouette of the Lexos Mountains.
Suddenly, a flicker of premonition flashed through his mind. Danger — grave danger — was looming over them.
Kuahel furrowed his brow. While the coalition army had been fighting in the Pamela Plateau, a small group of elite Temple Knights had been scouring the Seven Kingdoms, hunting down the fallen mages.
However, the heretics had managed to keep themselves completely hidden. It puzzled him why they were taking action now after maintaining a low profile even with most of the continent’s army concentrated in the north. Lost in thought, he stared up at the dark sky, only to swiftly turn his head.
A sinister energy mingled in the air. Kuahel immediately steered his horse around and galloped down to the razed village. The others must have also sensed the danger, for they had already drawn their weapons.
Dismounting, Kuahel brandished his sword and cleaved through the ghoul rising from the ground. He conjured a fire in his free hand, burning the carcass, then vigilantly glanced around. Charred bodies rose from the ground one after another — an unmistakable sign of a nearby necromancer.
Kuahel summoned his divine power to heighten his senses. There was a web of mana in the air, tangled together like a skein of black thread. It seemed more tightly woven at a certain point. Just as he was about to head to the location, he halted and leaped into the air. The ground shook violently as a massive undead monster erupted from the exact spot he had been standing on.
“Commander!”
Ripping the hook off his belt, Kuahel coiled the chain around the monster’s neck. He landed nimbly on the ground and yanked on the steel, sending the eight-kevette giant crashing onto a pile of rubble. Before the monster could rise, Kuahel recited a short prayer and drove his sword into the ground. Cracks formed in the earth. Soon, blue flames erupted all around them, incinerating the monster to ashes in an instant.
Unsatisfied, Kuahel intensified his divine power to maximum capacity. The raging blue flames fanned out, engulfing the dozens of staggering ghouls around them in a matter of seconds.
Finally, with the path clear, Kuahel resumed the task of tracking the heretics’ mana. Unfortunately, the flow had already shifted.
“Darn rats,” Kuahel muttered with a surprising degree of viciousness.
He signaled to the knights battling the remaining ghouls. Though protocol dictated purifying the entire village to prevent the ghouls from spawning again, hunting down the dark mages took precedence.
Kuahel mounted his horse and followed the faint, thread-like trail of mana. However, he was soon forced to a standstill.
“How…?” a knight muttered in shock behind him.
Clutching his reins, Kuahel fixed his eyes on the large forest at the foot of the mountain. Undead monsters emerged from the misty woods, their white bones rattling with every step. There were thousands of them.
Kuahel swiftly turned his horse around. “Send word to the nearest fief at once!”
“But His Holiness has explicitly instructed us to move in secrecy,” Harman objected.
Kuahel’s eyes glinted dangerously. “Did 1 ask for your opinion?”
His subordinate promptly closed his mouth. Kuahel shot Harman a look of warning before steering his mount around once again.
“Did you not hear me?” he bellowed in a tone that commanded absolute obedience.
The Temple Knights promptly complied. Kuahel cast one final glance at the field before galloping off.
***
Riftan stepped into the room.
“How nice of you to finally join us,” Ursuline Ricaydo remarked sarcastically from behind a desk.
Without bothering to reply, Riftan strode over and took the seat opposite his subordinate. He picked up a stack of reports and began leafing through them. Observing him with a discontented expression, Ursuline let out a small sigh and handed Riftan the parchment he held.
“It is a report from the East. The Temple Knights have traveled through Arex and are currently headed toward the northeastern region of Wedon.”
“What’s the situation in the North?”
“We managed to free Anatol’s merchants, but our vessels are still detained. According to our spies, the northerners have already emptied the cargo from our ships.” Gritting his teeth, Ursuline continued, “It appears ours are not the first to be looted in this manner.”
“I assume the goods are now filling Balto’s royal coffers?”
“We have no proof yet,” Ursuline replied cautiously. With a sigh, he added, “But likely so.”
Riftan skimmed through the report with a pensive expression. The Roviden Continent was currently a keg of black powder on the verge of exploding, and adding fuel to the fire were bloodthirsty northerners, the tensions between the Orthodox and Reformed Churches, the dark mages roaming the continent like ghosts, and the Temple Knights pursuing them with their own secret agenda.
After parsing through the reports with a wooden expression, Riftan raked back his hair. “What about Richard Breston’s movements?”
“He has yet to make any. By all appearances, he is simply a man enjoying a good—”
Ursuline’s sentence was cut off by loud footsteps, followed by a booming voice.
“Well, look who it is.”
Riftan furrowed his brow as the last person he wanted to see at present sauntered into the room.
“Haven’t seen you in a while, Commander.” Smirking, Hebaron Nirtha plopped down on the seat next to him. “I must admit, I’m astounded by your virility. I was beginning to think we’d need to dispatch a rescue team for her ladyship.” “You’d better hold that tongue before I snap your neck,” Riftan snarled, tossing the reports onto the desk.
Hebaron shook with laughter. “Seeing as you’re blushing like a new bride, things must have gone well. You should never have shown restraint in the first place.”
Riftan kicked Hebaron, promptly shutting him up. He glared at the burly knight, who was clutching his shin in mock agony, before springing to his feet.
Though there was still much to confirm, he was in no mood to listen to the man’s vulgar teasing.
Ignoring Hebaron, he told Ursuline, “Keep a close eye on the northerners at all times, and try to bribe any cleric who can provide us information on the activities within the church.”
He then walked out of the study before Ursuline could complain. To his great annoyance, however, Hebaron chose to follow.
“No need to be so cold. Who do you think took over your duties while you were preoccupied?”
“Do you take me for a fool? Even a passing dog knows you’ve been intoxicated most of the time.”
“But i had my ears out,” Hebaron grumbled, sounding aggrieved.
Riftan halted and studied his subordinate’s face through narrowed eyes. “Do you have something?”
“I heard a few interesting tidbits. I don’t know how credible the rumors are, but the Orthodox Church is apparently planning on holding a hearing about the pope soon.”
Riftan’s brow creased. “A hearing?”
While he knew the new pope’s authority was shaky, he did not think it was weak enough for the high priests to be able to make such a bold move against him.
“What is their—”
Riftan abruptly stopped speaking as he glanced down from the railing and spotted his wife hurrying across the garden, making a beeline for the building. Her joyful skips indicated some sort of good news.
Following his gaze, Hebaron remarked with a wry smile, “She must be here to see you. We can continue this discussion later.”
The knight patted Riftan on the shoulder with a thick hand. Riftan immediately leaped over the railing and ran to her. Maximilian’s eyes widened in surprise at his sudden appearance, but her face soon lit up with a lovely smile.
“R-Riftan!”
Riftan caught her in his arms as she threw herself at him. Standing on her toes, she planted a kiss on his chin..
