Chapter 12
-----
Captain Sergia shouted:
"Wait, didn't I tell you clearly not to go there before we gather more reliable information about this alleged cave? Maybe those rumors are just lies!"
Guard Keldor panicked and stammered, trying to justify their reckless behavior:
"C-Captain... I heard from some villagers that a group of mercenaries will be making their way there soon in search of treasure, and we just wanted to explore the place ourselves before those mercenaries arrived."
Captain Sergia touched his forehead in distress and said in a calm tone that hid his anger:
"Now that many of my knights have been wounded because of your recklessness, how am I going to explain this to Mr. Blaska? Am I going to tell him that my knights ran after a ridiculous rumor about a treasure buried in an unknown place?"
The guard Keldor waved his hand nervously, trying to remedy the situation:
"No, no, no, Captain Sergia. In fact, after Mr. Blaska himself heard the rumors about a valuable treasure near the village, he sent his trusted personal guard with us to monitor the situation! If it weren't for Mr. Blaska's personal guard among us, we wouldn't have been able to resist the monsters for so long!"
Captain Sergia was surprised by this new information and said in astonishment:
"Well... that changes things. Young Mr. Ruthvien, I truly apologize for this inconvenience. We will definitely continue our training later. Also, please thank your skilled guard on my behalf for saving the lives of my knights."
I smiled falsely and raised my hand:
"It's okay, Captain Sergia. After all, they are your brothers. I will gladly convey your thanks to her!"
Then Captain Sergia rushed out of the room accompanied by the terrified guard Keldor, leaving me alone in the small room with anger rising inside me like a volcano about to erupt.
After the captain and the guard left, the anger inside me erupted like a fire in dry grass, and I began to break everything in the room that I could get my hands on.
"You stupid, small-breasted whore!"
I shouted in blind rage, overturned the wooden bed, and began to cut everything in the room with my sharp sword, even the pillows were not spared from my anger.
" I swear on my name that I will make your life hell!"
….
After a few minutes, my anger gradually subsided and I regained my composure. I stood silently for a moment and thought deeply:
'First, I need to confirm Sergia's true position before I start with the more complicated plan (B). I didn't want to use this plan because it would take a lot of time, but maybe I have no other choice! '
After thinking it over carefully, I tidied up my clothes, wrapped the sword in the black cloth again, and quietly left the room. After leaving, I looked back and thought for a moment, then decided to send one of the maids later to tidy up the mess I had left behind in Sergia's room...
*********
At the foot of the mountain... In the afternoon
The group sat on the ground bandaging their wounds when Captain Sergia arrived at the scene and saw that they had not suffered heavy losses, that his knights were only wounded and none of them had lost their lives. He sighed with deep relief.
"Captain!"
One of them noticed Captain Sergia's arrival and shouted weakly.
After the wounded knight's cry, the other exhausted knights noticed Captain Sergia's arrival, accompanied by the guard Keldor, who looked extremely exhausted.
Sergia stepped forward and sat down on a tree stump, looking at them with cold eyes, with Keldor standing beside him.
The knights raised their heads and looked at Captain Sergia hesitantly. None of them could justify their actions. They had been hasty and had rushed to search for an unknown treasure based on rumors from a small village.
When Captain Sergia was about to speak, he saw Mr. Blaska approaching him, looking unhappy.
Mr. Blaska shouted:
"Sergia, your men are wounded, and it looks like you won't be able to complete your mission of escorting the caravan!"
Captain Sergia replied hastily:
"Mr. Blaska, the men were wounded in previous battles and in the great battle when we crossed the Sea of Emptiness. We will definitely complete the mission, sir, but we must forget about this treasure because it will cost us many lives. It may just be a rumor circulating in the village, like many other rumors everywhere."
Mr. Blaska's face turned pale and he said coldly:
"Hmm! I don't really care about this treasure. My guard wanted to find out about it and left with the knights. I will punish him later for this!"
'Your guard is acting according to your orders. Your greed got the better of you and caused this! ' Captain Sergia sneered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged.
Captain Sergia said calmly:
"Don't worry, Mr. Blaska, the men will recover in a few days at most, and we will continue our journey!"
Mr. Blaska looked at the captain for a moment and said coldly:
"If your men do not recover within a few days, I will report you to the council!"
Captain Sergia raised his eyebrows but did not speak...
The Council was extremely powerful in the northern continent and known for its strength and status. Despite the strength of Captain Sergia's guards and their status in the northern continent, they were subordinate to the Council and had been assigned this escort mission by the Council.
After Mr. Blaska left, Keldor asked in a tone full of suspicion.
"What was the young Mr. Ruthvien doing with you in that closed room, Captain? It seemed very suspicious, sir."
Sergia hesitated for a moment before replying in an uncertain tone:
"He was... he was asking me for some advice on how to defend himself in dangerous situations."
Kildor slowly raised his right eyebrow and looked at his commander in surprise.
"Self-defense with a sharp sword pointed directly at his throat, Captain?"
Sergia sighed heavily and said, trying to end the discussion:
"He's an eccentric boy, Kildor. He's very mature for his age.
Don't read too much into it. The most important thing now is to focus on finding out more about this sudden attack by the monsters.
…..
After the exhausted knights had rested, Sergia led a small group of knights, including Keldor, on a reconnaissance mission to the mysterious cave near where the monsters had attacked them.
The knights advanced cautiously into the dark cave, their torches illuminating the damp walls. Soon they found strange marks on the dusty ground that did not resemble anything they had seen before.
"These marks are not those of ordinary monsters we know," Sergia said, examining one of the marks carefully.
"They look much bigger and more ferocious. Could there be something else living in this cursed cave? Something more dangerous than the monsters we encountered earlier?" added Keldor in a worried tone.
Keldor added in a worried tone:
"Could there be something else living in this cursed cave? Something more dangerous than we can imagine?"
As they ventured deeper into the cave, the knights discovered clear signs that someone had been there recently, perhaps just a few days ago.
At that moment, a girl approached them without uttering a word, her gray eyes scanning the cave as if reading its hidden secrets.
After a heavy silence, Keldor looked at the young girl with admiration mixed with curiosity and said:
" You saved us from death earlier, young lady. If it weren't for your speed and fighting skills, we would all have met a terrible fate. How did you know about those monsters?"
The girl looked at him with a steady, cold gaze, like the eyes of a wild cat, and replied in a similarly cold tone:
"My mission is to protect the young master Ruthvien from any danger, and that includes the monsters near him. I sensed the danger threatening you from afar.
Sergia intervened, trying to change the awkward and mysterious subject:
"Well, the important thing is that we are all safe now thanks to the young lady's courage. We must plan to return to the village as soon as possible before nightfall.
....
From a distance, Ruthvien watched the small group from the shadow of a huge oak tree, his small eyes narrowing in intense concentration.
He listened intently to their conversation. He felt a deadly curiosity about the girl who had saved the knights' lives, wondering what real motives she was hiding behind her cold gaze.
"You were worried about me?"
she whispered bitterly.
"What a blatant lie. There's definitely something else going on here, something deeper and more complicated than these fools can imagine."