P.S. 4 – Chapter 44.7

I had felt annoyed by the skill level of the knights of our own kingdom. That their masters dared make demands even if their own secrecy meant their knights had far too few techniques at hand. It was unreasonable, I was simply spoiled by my own personal guard and the current knight training in both Verglas and Iceheart territories.

But while infiltrating Eisenfild's fortified camps, having most of my troops remain at a safe distance, the ability of our enemy annoyed me even more. Not one of their knights had the skill level to detect us. Out of their four so-called butchers, the first three had already failed to notice us before meeting their demise. Now I did know that my senses were hard to discover, with Eirwen the only one that had ever caught me before I started training people to be able to discover me and others like me. But this was us sneaking in person, me causing a constant flow of ambient mana to mess with their senses, while then hiding all mana detection near us. Even before the war, half the nobles of Verglas and Flameheart would have discovered us once near.

Yet even the distraction went unnoticed, meaning that nobody here had the skill level to pose a proper threat. Numbers and vicious leaders, that was all they had. For Mǣdweburh, they posed a threat due to various reasons. But their defences were abhorrent, both in skill and in focus. Even now, when news must have already reached them of the assassination of at least one other butcher, we still managed to sneak through their camp undetected.

Manpower, brute force, no proper skill or training. Armies that only knew how to prey on the weak. Yet with these pathetic forces, Eisenfild sought to invade us. Even my father would have scoffed at their foolishness. My temper flared but I suppressed it, emotional instability the biggest threat I had faced so far.

Of course the commander had the biggest tent, and of course it didn't even have any guards securing it. Inside, the butcher was feasting. Food and wine, him and several of his direct subordinates. Still better than the one that had been busy entertaining other physical urges when I had reached him. But this man that prided himself on executing those that dared oppose him, was still defenceless in his arrogance. Pathetic. My contempt might originate from my excessive usage of flame mana, but it was still justified.

Eight members of my personal guard remained outside to surround and secure the tent, sticking to moon-cast shadows to hide from physical detection. The other four entered with me, silently but in clear sight. They didn't notice until it was too late, their eyes glued to their feast. "Wait, who-" We lunged forward and our blades flashed, cutting off their heads before they truly understood. A despicable act normally, but men who prided themselves on a legacy of violent murder deserved no better fate.

As I took hold of the butcher's head to put it in a bag, I sensed a messenger coming through the main gate. This somehow felt bad. Following my instincts, we cut through the back of the tent to leave quietly and quickly. Sure enough, while we were still carefully making it through the camp, traversing from shadow to shadow, behind I felt a small group enter the main tent. Only two counts later did one bellow with amplified voice. "ASSASSINS! SEAL THE CAMP!" A shout accompanied by active senses that managed to find us almost immediately. Finally some competence.

We could have made a run for it, but they had cavalry at the ready and our horses and reinforcements were still at a significant distance. Had this been the first camp we raided, I think we could have managed. But it was the fourth camp in a single day and we were nearing exhaustion. It wasn't a risk I was willing to take right now. A direct confrontation held less danger.

There were campfires in many places, letting them heat their food. Liabilities, really, in this summer weather. I made use of them, reaching out and amplifying them, flaring them up. While people jumped back in confusion and fright, we made it from the tents to the palisades, allowing us to form half a circle with cover for our backs. Not a heartbeat too soon, as already the chasing forces reached us.

I kept a playful smile on my face, an act I had been working on just in case, as I faced them and stopped hiding our mana. Identified the man that had taken charge for now, judging his mana. He'd have made for a decent knight on our side. A blood oath enhanced his abilities, his eyes glowing yellow as telltale sign. He barked out orders, making sure none were foolish enough to rush at us.

As for me, I was drawing in mana, not yet at the point where Darragh and the others needed to shield their own, but enough for all to notice. Anyone even remotely competent in the camp should be able to tell the ambient mana was beginning to flow my way. No doubt so did our reinforcements. I gave out my instructions to my guard, making sure those near us heard as well.

Nearly fifty ready to fight. In a few moments that number will triple. If we fight, focus on defence and cover my flanks. I can handle the rest.

I included images in my command, locations of all I considered a current or pending foe, flashes of identifiable mana techniques they would be using, how quickly I expected them to fall to our blades. Many of them were close enough to a torch or campfire to let people see the shock on their faces at receiving my thoughts. My senses showed me not a single one wasn't shocked at the revelation.

"You are the Mountain Blaze." Ah, so he was a clever one indeed. "I don't know what brought you all the way here, but killing Duke Verglas would be a great honour." Oh, that actually did bring greed to their eyes. This man could be a problem.

I took a single step forward and immediately their stances tightened. "You could try. It would fail. Let's make this quick. Have your sharpest spear thrown at me." He hesitated for but two of his own heartbeats, which were surprisingly calm in this situation, before nodding at someone near him. Smart. If he had done so himself, his failure could have been used to accuse him of conspiracy.

The throw was fast. Amplified, sharp, fiery. Not at the level of a Verglassed projectile, but enough to pose a threat to even plate armour, never mind the simple leather we were wearing. Aimed straight at my heart, covered by the Verglas emblem. The javelin bounced off my chest without as much as scratching my clothing. Point made. Once more I spoke to all, to drive it home.

You can try to kill me. But you're not prepared. None of you know how to fight a flaming berserker. None of you can properly pierce our skins. Your only option is to overwhelm us with your own deaths. But our reinforcements are already nearing, you won't make it in time. At best you'll wound a few of my people. At worst, we butcher the entire camp, after setting it ablaze during the fight. So you can either throw everyone's necks into our blades, or survive to warn your superiors and force me to retreat. I can handle this camp. I cannot handle your entire army. Your call.

I held a storm within me, one that lashed out with my very thoughts. In the royal palace, I had focused it, forced people towards their demise. Here, targeting the entire camp, it was diluted enough to only shake their resolve. It sufficed. I could see their stances weaken, people looking at each other. Hesitation. Which bought me the time I needed for a safer resolution. Not many had it in them to order the death of hundreds of their own.

The approaching thundering of hooves was all they needed to understand. They had lost their chance. With a tight jaw, the man stepped back, the glow of his blood oath leaving his eyes. "Everyone stand back."

Four of my knights turned towards the wall, not even needing my explicit order to know what to do. Verglassed blades flashed out and an opening was made in the palisades. We withdrew, never letting them leave our sight until we had made it out of the fort. The man in charge was grinding his teeth in frustration. He had still made the right decision, even if he likely could never convince his superiors of it. I stopped looking at him as I mounted my horse, but my senses kept an eye on them all until we were out of reach.

We had pushed our luck too far, taking down all four butchers. It was time to retreat to our borders. Wordlessly, we pushed ourselves and our horses to our limits, dragging a storm of mana in our wake as we outran every patrol that noticed our presence.

Dawn was already approaching when we reached a fort on the edge of Comte Denmane's territory. Here everyone was on edge, countless bows aimed in our direction as I led my horse towards the gate. "Call for your Comte. Tell him that Duke Verglas wishes to deliver a gift."

They lowered their weapons a bit, recognising the banner, but they still were careful. Shortly after, the sleep still visible in his stressed eyes, Comte Denmane reached the wall, his personal knights shielding him in case of a trick. I was glad the sun was starting to crawl above the horizon, allowing him to recognise me. "Duke Verglas. What brings you here? We were told the West would send no troops, only supplies."

"That is correct. This is just my personal escort. Once we are rested, we will ride home. But first, my gift to you. You see, Comte Denmane, you are a man of honour. You do what must be done, and even in your darkest moments, you still treated me with more honour than needed. I swore to myself then that if given the chance, I would repay you. And with these, I consider my debt to you repaid. So I bring you these."

I lifted the four bags with my right hand. "You worry that the four butchers of Eisenfild will invade and massacre towns. I bring you their heads. It will not stop the empire from attacking our borders, but it will give them pause. And hopefully killing only their bloodthirsty marshals will make them realise we will not tolerate the kind of war that they so frequently employ."

I smiled at his shocked visage. "With these, I consider my debt to you repaid. But we would like to rest for now. We're fine with not entering your camp, but could we at least ask you for food and water?"

He shook his head. "No, enter please. We will loan you our tents. Open the gates for Duke Verglas!"

They obeyed quickly, competence that brought me joy. With men and women like him, I had faith once more in the East. Now we could safely leave the war to them, and focus on our own.