As the caravan entered the deep forest, the wind rustled softly through the trees, upon crossing into Ravengarde.
Jen rose and said.
"You may be from Eladoria or Thalmar,"
"seeking safety and unsure of your future. But listen to me, Under my lord's leadership, we trust that improve living won't be fantasy anymore."
The craftsman family exchanged glances
"I know it's hard to believe. But You can live a stable life there, and more send your children to school."
A middle-aged man scoffed. He looked around. "Don't get me wrong — for us mud-legs, school's a luxury. The idea they'd build schools for us? That's like the sun rising in the west. I'm sorry."
Jen met the man's conflicted gaze, not just in Ravengarde, but in him. The rest of the caravan wore similar expressions
"It's not easy for you to trust. But think about it — at least my lord promises. He's from the Count's family — an ancient family, respected, with esteemed great knight as a patron. Even if you don't trust me, maybe trust the family reputation."
One woman leaned forward, her voice sharp: "Is it true, That the lord promises jobs? School for our children?"
Jen chuckled. "Yes, my lord keeps his word."
"That's wonderful," a glare from her husband brought her back to silence.
---
"Is there something ahead?"
The voice pulled the young knight out of his thoughts. His gaze swept across the rolling hills and towering, shadowed trees. He felt it clearly: as if something, was spying.
he laughed, blaming his suspicion on fatigue. "thinking... wondering when I'll finally become an enviable junior knight like the captain."
Meanwhile, Faelan rode up beside the knight captain. This was their fourth crossing through the forest. Strange to think he was now a department chief, playing merchant.
Almost laughable.
"Thank the gods," Faelan muttered.
"We left that cursed place just in time. The situation there... tragic. I never imagined the concentration of Aetherion could be so destructive."
knight captain replied. "That's why Aetherics are respected... and feared. I'm no politician like you but I can tell you this: the Aetherics in that region won't last. Even my own fighting spirit nearly out of control."
Faelan fell silent, and glanced at the caravan, where voices rose — Jen passionately arguing about my lord's new policies.
---
All of sudden, captain's tensed. His eyes narrowed,
Faelan chest tightened.
Could it be—?…
"Is something wrong?"
Captain masked himself, and give a smile. "Nothing."
"All right. Let's keep moving."
The caravan rolling again.
Faelan's nerves refused to settle. The air grew heavier. Silence pressed in.
Too quiet.
At that moment—
"No!" the captain barked. "Turn back! We've been set up"
Faelan froze. There's nothing ahead...
"No time for questions!" the captain shouted. "Move! I'll kill anyone who slows us down!"
Panic exploded.
Woosh!
An arrow struck a wagon. Horses screamed.
"Haha! Want to escape? Ask your father first if he'll allow it!"
Faelan's face went pale. Damn it... the worst has happened.
One carried a sword the weight of a child across his back; the other gripped a crooked staff, both dressed in filthy, torn rags. And they were surrounded. On all sides.
"Can we... talk? We're ready to hand over our goods. At most... spare us."
They were utterly outnumbered. The junior knight captain might stand a chance, but the others—mere apprentices…
The bandit leader spat. "Hah! You think Father's in a good mood today? Surrender — or..."
Vice, the mage, let his greedy eyes drift over the caravan. They settled on the craftsman families — their children, their wives.
he sneered, "why waste time talking? At most take them all. Slaves fetch a good prices."
Faelan swallowed hard. Negotiation was simply a fantasy.
Rowan Dalmere, the sharp-eyed young knight, "Sir, give the order. These filth dare trample knightly honor... and mock aetherics."
The rest of knights noted.
While captain didn't speak.
Faelan cursed. If the knights fall, my lord will hang me...
Laughter broke out.
"Oh-ho! Look, boys — a bloated elephant thinks he's fierce!"
Rowan's fists tightened. "You'll regret mocking an aetheric, you mud-legged filth!"
"For my Lord! And Almighty Dues…"
SWISH—
Rowan's blade carved through a bandit's ribs.
The captain's aura erupted—light flaring from armor and sword. He lunged, slamming the bandit leader backward.
"Damn it, Vice! Where are you? Kill him"
A fireball streaked through the canopy — so hot the leaves evaporated from view.
He twisted, narrowly dodging—
BOOM!
"Argh!"
staggering. His arm burned — scorched raw — his core nearly destabilized.
The bandit leader grinned, his veins bulging with overclocked life force. Slamming a brutal blow into his shoulder.
***grunted***
With a roar, the captain smashed his shield into the bandit's gut, yet another fireball...
BOOM—!
He stumbled back, coughing blood, barely staying on his feet.
---
Back at the caravan, Rowan shouted, "Hold the line, guys!"
"We're trying!" a knight yelled, cutting down an attacker. "They keep coming!"
Faelan clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm until blood dripped from his knuckles.
Damn it... we're losing ground.
"Jen, protect the families,"
He reached his satchel and drew a sword hilt. The others staring at him in disbelief.
Jen gasped and persuade him to cool down.
Faelan smiled. "What? You think your master came here to die? Don't underestimate me. I'm not that weak."
A scream split the air. Another knight down.
Faelan's expression hardened. He rushed, slashing a bandit aside. Nearby, a knight—pale, shaking—fought desperately, his aura flickering.
"You– leave all these to me"
The knight hesitated, then nodded.
Turning back. The knights were losing ground. Even the captain looked overwhelmed — a lone wolf beset by a pack.
We can't lose. Not now.
He sliced through another attacker. He made his decision.
No mage ring—only one choice: burn his life energy.
He didn't hesitate.
He forced his mana to surge unnaturally, channeling it through sheer will. Sweat poured down his brow. The air around him crackled.
Invisible to naked eyes, Lightning bloomed — wild, unstable — forming an electric arc around his body.
"Master! No!" Jen screamed. His face went pale. " he's burning his life!"
---
Faelan's lips curled. "Go."
*CRACK*
Lightning split the sky, striking like judgment.
Numerous Bandits exploded into ash. Some were directly turned into dust. Others clawed at their heads, driven mad by the energy surge.
The battlefield froze.
"D-demon!"
"He's a demon!"
The knights staggered back, their cores rattled by the shockwave. Captain gritted his teeth.
Faelan stood at the center of it all, trembling. His sword had long fallen from his hand. His right arm glowed faintly, threads of light unraveling down his skin — like glass shattering in slow motion.
Unexpected, Faelan heard a scream — sharp, desperate.
His face drained of color.
"Damn those bastards..."
The bandits had surrounded Jen and others.
gripping a woman, and pressing a blade against her neck. His mouth curl into a disgusted grin.
"Take the rest! I want them screaming"
They surged forward, eyes gleaming with visible lust.
The man's pleaded faelan, desperation raw in every syllable. Faelan was a god...
Faelan bitterly realized—his strength was spent. Saving anyone now? Impossible.
Across the field, the bandit leader gloat. His eyes locked on the captain.
Captain's expression darkened. His eyes flickered with conflict.
yet disappointment.
---
Meanwhile, Faelan found himself surrounded. He gripped his fallen sword once more.
Madness danced in his eyes.
His blade sang deep into flesh and bone.
The screams of the families dug deep into his heart.
I can't let this go on...
My lord... I'm sorry I won't be there to serve you longer.
but fate had more in store for him.
---
At the same time, the knight captain reached his final decision.
He glanced at Faelan. If he falls, my lord will skin me alive. What good is my oath?
Clang!
The captain forced pure Aetherion into raw fighting spirit.
His aura explode, distorting the very light around him.
"Fall back!"
Too late.
The captain slammed the leader into a tree—CRACK! The trunk split.
Before he could move, captain knelt on his chest, his blade glowing blue, vibrating with energy.
"AHHH—!"
The bandit leader shrieked as the captain's sword cleaved through his shoulder. He nearly fainted from the pain — if the captain had taken his time, he might've finished now.
As the captain ripped his sword free—
BOOM!
A fireball stroke him from the side. He tumbled, hitting the ground hard. His fighting spirit shield held — barely.
Looked up, he initiated — the knight's signature move.
The vice-captain's eyes widened in horror.
A ripple pulsed outward, scattering leaves. The shield cracked under the pressure.
The captain grinned, teeth bared.
He kicked the mage off balance, raising his blade for the kill.
He stepped over the dying vice-captain and spat.
"Next time... don't let a knight get this close."
The bandit leader was staggering to his feet.
---
Faelan, watching from a distance, So this is the strength of a knight trained by the Count's family, Arrogant... but trustworthy.
Nearby, they pinned the screaming woman, grinning as her husband watched—helpless, broken.
Jen and the others stood frozen. Their morale was crumbling like a fractured glass.
Then—a blade severed the bandit's arm just before he could rip the woman's clothing.
"Your opponent is me."
The bandit leader's face twisted with fury.
The other bandits, stimulated by their leader's rage.
A suffocating gloom settled over the battlefield, like invisible needles pricking Faelan's skin.
The captain grit his teeth. His core was nearly hollow— with one final burst, his blade carved deep into the bandit leader's shoulder. The man roared in agony.
The tide turned.
In a whirlwind of strikes, the captain cut down the remaining resistance. Severed limbs and broken bodies littered the clearing. A place once lush with green now reeked of death — the scent of blood and burnt flesh hung heavy in the air.
Women sobbed into their husbands' arms. Children stared, wide-eyed and silent.
The remaining knights, seeing their captain's stand, rallied. With renewed fury, they repelled the last bandit wave.
Faelan, however, could barely lift his blade. His vision blurred. His arms trembled.
The knight captain was no better—his body a roadmap of wounds, some cut deep to the bone. He'd already accepted death. If he could take the bandit leader with him, that would be enough.
The final clash seemed inevitable.
The bandit leader's eyes darted to the side. He saw it — death.
This man is insane. I won't die with him.
He barked the order.
"Retreat!"
The remaining bandits turned and fled in disgrace.
The leader spat behind him. "You're lucky today. Next time, you won't be."
Captain didn't refute. Only once the last figure disappeared did his lips curl into a weary smile.
Faelan stumbled, bloodied and barely upright.
"Are they... really gone?"
"Mmm."
Faelan exhaled, dropping to his knees, blood smeared across his lips.
"What about the goods? Did we lose anything?"
Jen said, "No, Master. Everything's intact. Not a single grain missing."
It was worth it.
The supplies were safe — essential for Ravengarde's recovery.
"What about the craftsmen's families?"
Jen hesitated. "No one died, Master. But... some of the women almost..."
"If not for the knight captain, I don't think I could've convinced the craftsmen to stay."
Faelan exhaled deeply.
"It's enough,"
"They'll recover. They're strong. Not strangers to hardship."
Jen nodded. He glanced at Faelan's pallid skin. His master looked... aged. Drained. Like a man whose soul had been partially peeled away.
The books of magic clear said: life energy is…
"Master... your health."
"What?"
"No need to fuss. I know my limits."
"But your potion—"
"Alright, alright. Maren, Jen — I'll be fine. If your hands are itching, go help the others. The craftsmen need comfort more than I do."
Pulling a glass vial from his cloak.
An expensive potion — rare, stabilizing. It wouldn't restore life energy, but it would keep him standing. The taste was bitter. I can't continue with the caravan. The leylines ahead are unstable. If I keep pushing... I'll die for nothing.
The knight captain lay on the grass, being bandaged.
"Are you alright, Captain?"
The man gave a faint smile. "hmm"
Faelan stepped forward, his voice still heavy with fatigue.
"This victory is yours," his gaze move across the bloodied knights. "Especially you, Captain. Without your final stand, we wouldn't be standing here at all."
"And… Not a single item lost. Not a single life taken. Ravengarde lives on—because of these knights."
The crowd clapped, some tearfully. Faelan raised a hand.
"This is loyalty. Sacrifice. It must be remembered."
The captain gave a weary smile.
Faelan's voice firm. "All credit will be sent to my lord. You have my deepest gratitude."