Proofread by Thomas F

  Proofread by Thomas F

  "Inform me if something happens," I said to Stone, before cutting the call.

  The past half an hour had been nail-biting. From the appearance of Lv. 40 assassins to a coordinated attack on the leadership of the three cities.

  We had less than ten minutes to act before the assassins attacked, and thankfully, we did.

  All those pns and drills we did helped more than I had thought. Seeing how swiftly my men reacted and dealt with the threat.

  "So, there are no more assassins?" asked Locke. "There might be more; it had been only half an hour," I replied.

  We had killed and captured assassins in three cities, with only one escaping. Our people are looking for her, and given her condition, there is a hope we might catch her.

  I really hope we do.

  Not only because she is dangerous, but also because she has an artifact, which we desperately need.

  Currently, all four cities and the baronies are on high alert. They haven't touched Lauryl and Nakar yet, but they might, and I asked them to be alert as well.

  "It happened so suddenly and unexpectedly. That, I am still having a hard time believing it," said Locke, with a shudder.

  It was sudden, yes, but not unexpected. It's how the Undead act, and it is why we have developed all those pns, where I have leveraged every strength I have from legacy, the knight, and witchcraft.

  I contacted others and talked to them for a few minutes; they are shaken but good.

  "One minute," informed Ze, and my expressions turned sombre. They have attacked us; it is only right that we respond. Otherwise, the next time they will do something even bigger.

  "Connect me to him," I said, and she nodded.

  …

  Knight Liorian

  "We should be receiving good news any minute now," said Elmid, barely able to contain the smile on his face.

  "You are absolutely right, General," replied Lomos, fawningly.

  He had been doing that a lot. Likely to get out of here and return to the isnd. Elmid has powerful connections, and his office wields significant influence in the kingdom.

  Still, it is irritating to hear this fawning nonstop—especially from a person of such power, such as Lomos.

  I pushed those thoughts and focused.

  It had been nearly forty minutes since the mission began, and it should have been completed by now, with our people returning to the designated spots to send the message.

  Many of them will be chased and could be tracked through the messages.

  So, we need to be careful.

  "I wonder whether all three teams had succeeded?" asked Lomos. "I would say yes, but I would be more than happy. If we just succeeded in Greltheaven," replied Elmid, with a grin.

  They talked, while I only listened. I am not going to say anything unless I get a confirmed response.

  I don't want to hope too much, but I believe we will succeed. The order may have come from the isnd, but I would have deyed it as I didn't have confidence in its success.

  They were talking when a slight surprise appeared on Lomos's face, before it turned into a big smile.

  "Silver wants to talk to you, Knight Marshal," said Lomos. I am surprised; I thought he would be busy dealing with the aftermath.

  "He might be calling you to curse us," said Elmid, and they ughed.

  This boldness did not make me feel good. Silver doesn't talk, especially in times like this, when he should be focusing on his cities.

  "Ok," I replied and connected to him with my aura. Elmid did the same.

  A moment passed, and the call clicked.

  'You have attacked my cities. I did not expect that from you, Knight Marshal Liorian,' said the man from the other side, with a calm voice that was simmering with anger.

  Elmid ughed, and so did Lomos, hearing the man compin in deep anger.

  "We are at war, Lord Silver, and in the war, it is fair to use every weapon we have at our arsenal," I replied calmly, and expected a reply.

  Instead, I heard a ugh: angry but also triumphant, which gave me a sinking feeling.

  'Good. Then you won't bme me for killing three of your assassins and capturing the rest.' He replied, and his words were like a hammer to my guts.

  "You lie!" screamed Elmid, and the man ughed again. 'A little one was able to escape, but we will find her,' Silver corrected.

  "You are lying, you little bastard. My pn was perfect," screamed Elmid, not daring to believe what Silver had said. I wanted to curse at the man for losing his composure, but I focused on the call; that is what is important.

  'Since you attacked us, Knight Marshal. It is only fair that I respond,' he said, ignoring Elmid.

  I opened my mouth to reply when I heard the loud explosions rocking the office.

  It shocked all three of us, and I quickly appeared by the window to see a scene I had not expected to see in my city.

  Around the city, I saw the familiar green-blue fire. It is in the inner city, where one of the undead caches is, in the northern borough, and at the port.

  "Alchfire," breathed Lomos with shuddering breath.

  He was there in the battle when he destroyed the Great Horde with this fire, and now, this fire is burning in my city.

  "There is a message from Norke, reporting alchfire explosions," informed Lomos, and I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them.

  'This is considered a warning, Knight Liorian. If you attack us like that again, it won't be just a few bsts,' said Silver.

  'Oh, and thank you for the artifact, I really appreciate it. Let's hope we will get the second one as well,' the smug man added.

  "You bastard!" Elmid cursed, but Silver already cut the call.

  There was a silence of nearly a minute. Each may have been silent for their own reasons, while I was directing the men to deal with the fire and assess the damage it had caused.

  Most importantly, preserve the proof to find out how he was able to do it.

  The entrances and exits to the city are very tightly guarded. Every person is carefully inspected. Most importantly, the alchfire is unstable and has a high magical signature.

  How was he able to bring it without us noticing, and were no skills triggered at all?

  "Do you think he is telling the truth about our assassins?" asked Lomos as he sat down for support. "Ask our scouts and retrieval squads to move deeper into Silver's territory," I ordered.

  I don't know whether it is true or not.

  This might very well be a ploy from Silver. So, I have to be careful and do everything to save my people.

  …

  "The scouts had confirmed that they could see the alchfire in the Ashton Harbor and Norke," informed Ze, and I slumped on the chair in relief.

  "The fortune, I had paid for that," I said and sighed.

  It cost a fortune to make and pce those bombs in the undead cities. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of our friends on the isnd.

  I had prepared this as a response to any covert attack from the undead, and now, I had used it. We had pnned more, but I could pce only small numbers in their cities.

  Now that we have used it all, and doing it next time would be much harder.

  The undead are strict with their security, and now they will be even more stringent. It will be much harder to do something like this; that is why I hope the threat works.

  Not only against the undead, but also against any others.

  "Any progress?" I asked a few minutes ter. "No, they are still searching for her," she replied.

  Bva Moor is a threat; she is a very talented assassin of the Night Manor, and she personally hates Greltheaven and Velvet Garden. We cannot let such a threat fester; we have to nip it in the butt before it becomes a greater threat than it is.

  "Are you sure about not returning to the city?" asked Locke.

  "I think it would be better if you do. It will help calm things," he added, to which I shook my head. "Valentina is more than capable of dealing with things," I replied.

  Of course, I want to return to the Greltheaven and take control of things.

  It is painful to watch the carriage moving away from the city every second, but I can't return to the city. I need to be in the baronies, more now than ever.

  I need to show myself, let them see the confidence I have in protecting them.

  My cities have dealt with a powerful threat without me being there. It made me really proud of the people and the preparations we have made for such incidents.

  So, despite wanting to, I will not return until I finish my business with the baronies.

  My cities are safe and in capable hands. I do not have to worry about them; the thing I need to worry about is baronies and the work I have to do there.

  I took a deep breath and looked out of the carriage, and could see that every soldier was on alert.

  They were alert before, but now they are being reactive to the slightest things. They have created a bigger circle of protection and are stopping every carriage that passes by.

  Yes, even at this time of night, the carriages are moving.

  As I had said before, this route is becoming busier by the day, which is good news for the dominion.

  I turned back to Ze to inquire about things, including reviewing the drafts for tomorrow's newspaper. The attack is a big thing, and people are going to know it.

  It could have a considerable impact, and it is up to us whether the effect is positive or negative.

  We have managed the perception and information. Show it in such a light that it will increase the confidence in dominion, not scare the people away.

  That is the st thing I want to happen.

  "Lord of Owlspring wants to talk to you," said Ze, surprising me.

  I am sure he knows about the attack; the merchants have many spies in the city, but I didn't think he would want to talk to me at this time.

  I thought the calls would be coming tomorrow.

  "Ok," I replied.

  Well, it's good. There are a few things I want to discuss with him. One in particur would help me a lot.

  An.

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