Chapter 26 : Black Cavalry

Black Cavalry

Two hours after Serea set out, a heavily armored cavalry unit of fifty knights clad in black armor and bearing knightly lances arrived at the site where the caravan had been attacked.

From the crossed black sword and shield emblem on their armor, it could be identified that they were a heavy cavalry unit under the Ailera Empire.

The leader of the unit was named 'Wood Trace'. He had been ordered by the King of the Ailera Empire to receive and escort the marriage delegation at Yeton Territory.

As the marriage delegation had not arrived for a long time and fearing that something had happened, General Wood had no choice but to personally lead his troops to search all the way along the route, finally arriving here.

Seeing the thoroughly looted caravan, Wood remained quite composed. He swept his gaze across the entire scene, as if searching for something.

"Reporting, General, there are traces of battle and magic here, but no corpses have been found—not even any traces of blood."

A knight reported the results of their search to Wood. Upon hearing this, Wood's brows furrowed deeply.

"Not even a drop of blood?"

"My men have searched thoroughly, not a trace of blood was found."

After confirming, Wood let out a long breath, but the tight furrow on his brow did not relax.

The most valuable treasures of the caravan were all looted, yet costly ores and large amounts of herbs were left behind. There were signs of battle, yet not a single corpse, not even a drop of blood.

He couldn't figure it out—the events before his eyes simply couldn't be explained by common sense.

"Report, General, we've captured several sneaky characters."

"Oh? Bring them over."

"Yes, sir."

The soldiers went off and soon returned, bringing with them several mercenaries who had been tightly bound.

Seeing that it was the army of the Ailera Empire, the three mercenaries trembled with fear, their legs shaking uncontrollably.

"General, the men have been brought."

Having spoken, the soldier stood aside.

Looking at the trembling trio, Wood asked directly:

"Speak! Who are you?"

Hearing Wood's question, the three mercenaries covertly glanced around at the army. After confirming that they really were the Ailera Empire's troops, of course they didn't dare tell the truth.

"We...we're woodcutters from the nearby village, here in the forest to...to chop wood."

"Chop wood?"

Seeing the man's shifty gaze, Wood immediately signaled a nearby soldier with a look.

*Thud!*

The nearby cavalryman swung his saber, and with a rolling sound, a head fell to the ground.

Seeing their companion killed, the other two were so scared they couldn't even breathe.

"He lied, so he died. Now I'm asking the same question to you. You answer."

Wood pointed at the second man.

As he realized Wood had picked him, the man trembled violently and then collapsed to his knees.

"I'll talk, I'll say everything! We're mercenaries from Yeton Territory, hired by imperial capital mages to ambush a foreign nobles' caravan, we—"

But before he could finish, Wood personally drew his blade and slashed the man's throat.

As blood flooded into his trachea, the mercenary stared wide-eyed, full of unwillingness, not understanding why, after telling the truth, he still couldn't escape death.

Witnessing this, the only remaining mercenary's body spasmed several times, and then his pants went wet—he had pissed himself from fright.

Wood wasn't in a hurry to continue his questioning. Calmly, he used a cloth to wipe his longsword, then placed it on the last man's neck.

Feeling the cold blade at his neck, the man became dizzy and simply collapsed.

A soldier stepped forward, propped him upright, then *slap slap* delivered two resounding slaps that woke him up.

Regaining consciousness, the mercenary's body trembled uncontrollably as he knelt on the ground, looking at Wood with a pleading gaze.

"M-milord..."

"Don't be so hasty to speak. Do you know why I killed them?"

"N-no, I don't..."

The last mercenary was so terrified he could barely speak.

"I'll tell you then. The first one lied, and the second not only lied but also tried to frame the Empire's mages. Understand?"

"Y-yes, understood..."

"Good. Now you answer that same question. If you answer well, you won't die."

Wood smiled, and hearing this, the mercenary stammered,

"We...we..."

He realized that if he lied, he'd die; if he told the truth, he'd die too, and didn't dare continue.

"What, you don't dare answer? Then let me ask, and you answer—let's see if my guess is correct."

Without waiting for the mercenary to respond, Wood asked directly:

"You're bandits in this area, specialized in robbing passing caravans, aren't you?"

Hearing this, the mercenary glanced at the two dead companions, and suddenly everything clicked in his mind.

"Yes, yes, that's right, milord."

"Very good."

Wood smiled with satisfaction. The mercenary seemed to see hope for survival.

"Then you just robbed a caravan and killed all its members, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes!"

The mercenary nodded repeatedly.

"And then we arrived, and you tried to run away; we gave chase and executed all of you on the spot, didn't we?"

"Yes, yes, milord, you are absolutely right!"

The mercenary shouted excitedly, even feeling lucky for his quick thinking.

"Very good, very good. I like your cooperation."

"Then, milord, I..."

"Executed on the spot!"

*Thud!*

The blade stabbed into the mercenary's lower back and ran out through his belly.

Looking down at the blood-soaked blade, the mercenary looked at Wood in disbelief.

"You—!"

Leaving behind a final, unwilling cry, the mercenary collapsed to the ground. After his death, Wood turned to his soldiers.

"Got all that recorded?"

"Yes, General."

"Excellent."

A smile played at the corners of Wood's mouth, and then he shouted loudly:

"Mount up, everyone!"

*Clang clang clang!*

The fully equipped heavy cavalry mounted their second-tier magic beasts—Wind Demon Warhorses.

"Listen up, all of you. Audacious bandits outside the Ailera Empire have attacked the beloved wife of our Third Prince. In his grief, the prince has ordered us to wipe out the bandits within three days. Is that clear?!"

"Understood!" xN

The soldiers shouted in unison, and Wood nodded at this.

"Most of the bandits have already been killed by us, but their leader is still at large. We must pursue them at once!"

"General, please give the order!" xN

"Excellent. I now order you to set out immediately with me to pursue the bandits. If you encounter any suspicious person along the way—execute first, report later!"

"Yes, sir!" xN

As all the soldiers shouted, Wood's mission was now half complete; the rest was to hunt down the 'bandits'.

"Alright, now we split into three groups: one to search the forest on the west side, one on the east, and one to pursue toward Otto Kingdom. Move out!"

With the final order given, Wood led a portion of the men to follow the main road, while the rest scattered to both sides to search the forests.

Gazing towards the distant road leading straight to Otto Kingdom, a flash of ruthless intent shone in Wood's eyes.

"Don't blame us for being ruthless. If you want to blame someone, blame that fool Audra—I have no choice in this matter."

Wood silently muttered in his heart, as everyone sped up their search toward the distance.

(To be continued.)