"There was a barbarian settlement here indeed. Although it's almost been a year, I remembered seeing them devouring raw flesh like madmen; it's not a sight I can't forget." A female voice rang.
Should one look at the ten, they would not be able to recognize the owner of that voice due to the special kind of armor they wore.
They were well clad to resist both the cold and protect their bodies, and in turn, it hid their shapes, especially that of a woman. Unless they removed their hats and the clothes covering their noses and mouths, no one could differentiate any of them.
"It must have been destroyed by another tribe; it's not like a tribe like that could have any allies, considering their… tastes." Another spoke. It was a male this time.
Geriant, their leader dismounted, walked into the tribe, and burrowed an ice shard from the thick snow.
He said it with a twinkle in his eyes.
Mythical beasts were ancient creatures that once roamed the lands before the war of the races 500 years ago. These beasts possess a deep connection to mana, causing them to awaken magical elemental abilities and dreadful powers.
Amongst them, the dragons were the most powerful, but they were also a terror to other races. During their reign, only mages could protect towns and cities from becoming the hunting grounds of a dragon.
Those proud beasts garnered hatred, but there was nothing other races could do until the racial war—a war that drove all the races into madness as they sought the supremacy of Tenaria.
Ever since that war that lasted a hundred years, almost all the races except humans, who could reproduce abundantly, slowly went extinct. Fairies that brought abundant flourishing to the land, dwarves and halflings that built great castles, cities, magnificent palaces, and highways that stood the test of time, elves, the most beautiful and magical race that stood at the peak of magic.
"It's a fresh battle. Not more than two months." Geriant said and looked into the forest. "They were also not small that left."
"We've spent a year searching for a mythical beast only to find traces of it at the exit of the mountains. This is absurd!" The woman grinded her teeth and rode after the others as they began tracking.
Deep into the night, they found the desolate wolf tribe and found it also abandoned.
A bronze-ranked Ashbourne soldier fell on his knees. With his blurry vision, he scanned his comrades who were unconscious and spat a mouthful of blood.
It was high noon, and the sun was beyond the clouds, illuminating the forest. It cast the shadows of the trees toward the small mining village that had about 600 workers. A few minutes before now, ten horseriders came and defeated all the soldiers who tried to defend the town.
This soldier was the last man, and it was only a punch that put him in his current state.
"You're quite strong, aren't you? Well, tell me. Who is your leader?"
The soldier lifted his head and stared at the pale-skinned brown-haired woman, who, though good-looking, had a cruel smirk on her lips.
She alone defeated 10 bronze-ranked shieldmen without drawing her sword! It was then the man realised she had to be a gold-ranked knight!
Not even a silver-ranked warrior could defeat 10 bronze-ranked shieldmen clad in full-body bronze-ranked armor.
"Each of you is wearing bronze-ranked equipment from head to toe, so your leader must be very rich. Haha, he even has lots of people mining for him, so there's a big possibility that he is a lord."
"If you know that I serve a noble, then why did you still attack us?!" The man spat.
"Why should we fear barons in this wretched wasteland? Your lord might be rich, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have enough power to frighten us or this place would have been well guarded."
Upon hearing this, the soldier's eyes trembled.
His heart sank as the woman lifted her leg and slammed his face.
Walking past the unconscious soldier, the woman looked at the trembling barbarians under watch by her fellow mercenaries and entered a house.
Inside the house sat two men and a white-haired man on his knees. One was huge, and the other had an athletic build. The huge man's skin had a tint of silver, and he was at this moment, casually chewing an iron ore!
The woman looked around and saw two boxes of iron ore had been consumed already!
"Will you stop eating and gather enough for us to leave?" She spat.
The slim man who had blonde hair turned toward her. "We're not leaving."
The blonde pointed at Ark White. The white haired man.
"He said their Lord is coming today. Apparently, he's late."
The woman raised an eyebrow and sat on the cold forge. This building was a forge, and Ark White was the only blacksmith in Silverleaf village and also the head of the village.
Geriant hummed deeply.
"Who is your Lord? Baron Flame heart? Baron Tyre?"
"He's Baron Ashbourne."
"Pft! Isn't that the name of the lord who died on top of a whore?" The female mercenary chortled.
The blonde, however, frowned.
Geriant furrowed his eyebrows.
"How can your lord hire this many miners? You don't have the resources for that." The blonde asked, but Ark remained silent.
The door burst open, and a mercenary walked in with a woman in his grasp.
"Sir Geriant, look what I found in the woman's restaurant."
He lifted his hand, revealing a Hexakad Queen egg.
Upon seeing the design of the egg, Geriant stood up. The woman and the blonde were stunned.
Geriant took the egg. "It's the real one." He said it with disbelief.
"Where did a mere commoner get the egg of a diamond-ranked beast?" The blonde frowned deeply.
There were too many oddities that made him feel apprehensive.
"She got it from a stronghold called Nineveh. The chickens are there!"
Everyone's expressions changed. Ark looked at the woman's face and saw bruises and swellings. Her clothes were almost ripped apart, and she was sobbing silently.
Her husband was none other than the second man given charge over the chickens in Nineveh.
"My Lord won't forgive you for this." He ground his teeth.
"What did you say?" Geriant turned to face him.
"I said Lord Asher will hang you for raiding, beating, and humiliating his citizens!" Ark roared with red eyes.
"Execute this one in public. I don't believe any baron in the wasteland has a force powerful enough to subdue us. I mean, which wretched baron, apart from Baron Flameheart, can pay more than two gold-ranked knights?"