"Lord Kazim, what is your intention behind keeping that woman alive?"
Faide asked as he finished binding and locking Solius away, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Faide, as one of the men hand-picked by Lord Holuf, you cannot rely on martial prowess alone," Kazim remarked calmly before continuing.
"Sometimes, small people have their uses. They have their own ways of surviving. Our Sovereign has always been willing to show mercy to the weak and harmless. There is no need for senseless slaughter; instead, we must consider how they can serve us—much like the soldiers here."
Faide fell into silent contemplation. Along the way, they hadn't killed many of the common soldiers, opting instead to knock them unconscious. They had only executed the middle and high-ranking officers.
In other words, aside from the rank-and-file, the only high-ranking survivor left was Solius. The highest-ranking soldiers remaining were mere squad leaders.
"The soldiers won't wake until dawn. We must seize Fort Gael under the cover of night to avoid any complications."
"Understood."
Faide nodded, pulling himself from his thoughts. He stepped out to gather his men, preparing for the next phase of the assault on Fort Gael.
Kazim assigned two men to watch over the woman before following the main force toward the fortress.
In the ensuing operation, Kazim and his men stopped holding back. They were now at the fortress's doorstep; if they were discovered, they would have to face the brunt of the castle's heavy siege weaponry. That was no laughing matter.
He had no desire to test the power of those massive ballistae with his own flesh and blood. He was no juggernaut specializing in physical resilience.
However, the ease of the operation far exceeded Kazim's expectations. He had anticipated some resistance or at least a chance encounter with an alert sentry.
Instead, they had vastly overestimated the quality of the generals and soldiers here.
They met almost no resistance, moving through the gates and into the inner sanctum of Fort Gael without a hitch.
It was only once they reached the inner courtyard that a complication arose.
Locked within the fortress square was a massive, leonine beast. Heavy chains bound its body, and wickedly sharp blades were attached to its forepaws. One look was enough to tell anyone that this creature was a literal engine of slaughter.
It was also the first to notice their presence.
"ROAR!!!"
A deafening bellow shattered the silence surrounding Fort Gael. Inside the keep, Milu—who had been sound asleep—jolted awake in a panic.
He scrambled off his ornate bed and rushed toward the door.
"What's happening? Why is the War Lion roaring?!"
"W-we don't know, Lord Milu..." the guards at the door stammered, equally bewildered.
Just then, the alarm bells began to toll. Countless soldiers poured out of their quarters, many of them failing to even don their tunics or armor properly. The scene was one of total chaos.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"
Milu's eyes widened. He scrambled back into his room and began frantically pulling on his armor.
"Quick! Notify the others to pack my things! If it's the Storm Dynasty, take my valuables and head straight for the secret passage!!"
"Yes, my lord!"
As his two attendants rushed off to notify his personal guard, Milu hurriedly threw on a suit of padded under-armor and a light breastplate. He grabbed an ornate longsword and bolted toward the secret passage.
Valuables were replaceable; his life was not.
Naturally, he would let those commoners serve as a distraction while he, a man of noble standing, took the chance to escape.
"What a nuisance..."
Kazim muttered, looking at the War Lion that was currently staring him down with murderous intent.
"Faide, take the men and secure the interior. Capture the lord of this place!"
"Understood!"
Faide flickered away, leading a detachment into the keep.
Meanwhile, the Mohgwyn warriors waiting outside the walls heard the commotion and ceased their waiting. They launched grappling hooks, scaling the battlements with the speed of bats.
The garrison atop the walls watched in stunned silence as the invaders swarmed over the parapets. By the time they regained their senses, the Mohgwyn warriors were already upon them, and a massacre began.
"Everyone, rally to me!"
Suddenly, a knight in heavy plate stepped forward, wielding a massive partisan in one hand and a heavy tower shield in the other. He was the Knight Captain of Fort Gael—and its strongest warrior.
Seeing him organizing a resistance, several Blood Warriors immediately formed a squad and charged him.
Facing a multi-pronged assault, the Knight Captain showed no fear. He raised his heavy tower shield and stepped forward with powerful, measured strides.
CRASH!
The first Blood Warrior to strike the shield was sent flying by the sheer force of the impact. A ring of white shockwaves rippled through the air.
Before the others could react, the Knight Captain lunged forward. A simple thrust of his partisan shattered the stonework behind a Blood Warrior who had barely managed to dodge. Despite his heavy armor and cumbersome weapons, the Knight Captain was deceptively fast.
After this initial exchange, the Blood Warriors traded glances, instantly gauging his strength. This was a true Knight-level combatant, perhaps even stronger than the average Cuckoo Knight. His only weakness compared to knights of other factions was perhaps a lack of diverse combat techniques.
Not intending to give them time to think, the Knight Captain charged again.
Phantom Slash!
His spear became a white blur, thrusting toward the lead Blood Warrior.
Splat!
A hole appeared in the warrior's chest.
At this sight, the remaining Blood Warriors changed their tactics. They instantly retreated, putting distance between themselves and the captain, and drew daggers stained with dark red blood.
Simultaneously, they gripped the blades with their bare hands and slashed forward.
Bloodblade!
Several crimson arcs of energy tore through the air, bypassing the heavy plate and striking the Knight Captain. The power of Cursed Blood ignited instantly, and blood began to seep uncontrollably from the gaps in his armor.
Though he managed to block a few strikes with his shield, the cumulative damage of the round left him severely wounded.
Seeing his state, one of the warriors dragged their injured comrade back for treatment.
"The... Mohgwyn Dynasty... Why...?"
The Knight Captain gasped for air, looking at them with confusion and disbelief.
The Blood Warriors had no intention of answering. They closed in on him slowly.
"Keep him alive. He might still be of use."
With that, one of them struck him, knocking him unconscious.
BOOM!
While the keep and the walls were being secured with relative ease, Kazim's situation was slightly more demanding.
The War Lion's massive frame granted it immense strength, while its powerful limbs provided the explosive speed needed for terrifying mobility.
With a roar, the lion leaped into the air, adjusting its wrist-blades as it descended. The resulting impact sent stones flying, the roar of the collision attesting to the attack's lethality.
Kazim dodged the strike with ease, but his furrowed brow showed his annoyance. It wasn't that he couldn't kill the beast.
The War Lion's skeletal structure and size made certain movements stiff and predictable. Had he wanted to, he could have already slipped into its blind spot several times to deliver a fatal blow.
But he wanted to capture it alive. No one in the Dynasty had ever brought back such a specimen. To him, this beast—whether converted by blood or used as a sacrifice—was a magnificent gift for the Sovereign.
"I'll have to be careful, then..."
Kazim murmured as he drew a curved sword with an exceptionally thick spine from his waist.
In the next moment, a flash of bloody light erupted beneath his feet, and he blurred toward the beast.
"ROAR!!!"
Enraged by the "insect" dancing before it, the War Lion reared up and slammed its claws down with all its might.
BANG!
Kazim seized the opening. He pushed off the ground, soaring into the air as his curved blade traced a bloody arc through the air.
"AWOOOO!!!"
A pained howl echoed through Fort Gael as a massive weight crashed to the ground. Blood spurted from the War Lion's foreleg joint; the limb hung uselessly at its side. This only served to drive the beast into a frenzy.
It lunged again, its massive body charging like a juggernaut toward Kazim, jaws wide to swallow him whole.
Kazim didn't retreat. He dashed straight at the beast, planted a foot on its snout, and used the momentum to vault over its head.
With its right foreleg disabled, the lion struggled to pivot. Its already lumbering movements became even more awkward. Kazim seized the opportunity, his blade flashing again to sever the Achilles tendon of its left hind leg.
THUD!
The beast lost its balance and collapsed. The rage in its eyes was gone, replaced by a flickering shadow of fear.
Seeing that the creature's combat capacity was neutralized, Kazim sheathed his sword and headed into the keep. He trusted his men to handle the rest.
Indeed, shortly after the beast fell, the remaining Blood Warriors swarmed it with grappling hooks, chains, nets, and iron stakes, pinning the War Lion firmly to the ground.
Inside the keep, the battle was already drawing to a close.
The common soldiers, caught without their armor, were utterly routed by the Blood Warriors. Most surrendered almost immediately. While some of the Blood Warriors looked down on those who yielded so easily, they had no interest in torturing them. After a few choice insults, they moved on to find stronger opponents to test their blades.
Thus, as Kazim walked through the halls, he saw only corpses or soldiers crouching with their hands over their heads, guarded by Blood Warriors.
The men saluted as he passed. "Lord Kazim."
"Mhm. Where is Faide?"
"Lord Faide is in the chambers ahead."
Kazim nodded and entered. He frowned as he took in the opulent decorations. Even the Sovereign's quarters back at the Dynasty's seat were Spartan compared to this luxury. And this was merely a fortress belonging to a fading dynasty in Caelid.
"Where is the lord of this place?" Kazim asked, seeing only Faide in the room.
"At the secret passage. I was waiting for you to arrive, my Lord."
"I see." Kazim glanced around the room. Noticing that only the wardrobes, armor racks, and weapon stands had been disturbed, he easily guessed the lord's intent.
"A coward who fears for his own skin."
Faide blinked, then realized who Kazim was referring to.
"Indeed. He is a total hack. From what I've gathered, he has no value to the Kouler Dynasty beyond a single high-ranking connection. Everything of worth here has already been seized. Had I not been worried you might have a use for him, I would have had him executed already."
"Is that so? Then it seems he only has one use left."
Kazim turned a cold, calm gaze toward Faide.
"And that is?"
"There are still many servants and common soldiers here... His final purpose is to be an example... to establish our authority!"
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