Corren and his group rode with great haste. Dust trailed behind their horses like smoke from a battlefield. “…And after that, the explosion happened, and all I saw was the head of Mancer flying toward me. I knew it would be chaos, so I ran ahead while shooting arrows to make it seem that I was being chased. Vallenhal would be able to see it and follow me,” Vem explained breathlessly. “So that’s why you are making us shoot at the ground,” Corren replied, his voice flat but curious. “Yes. We have to hurry. The Dukedom will panic if Estelle arrives with the news. We must make preparations. I did not know the Dovan family was one of us! And truth be told, my actions would enrage them. But I still work for the Earl on the secret mission of acquiring the staff. The Duke himself wants this matter resolved. They will protect me for my mission’s success,” Vem answered quickly. The rest of the riders kept silent, uneasy with his confidence. The sound of hooves and the hiss of wind through th

The doors opened, and the nobles who had just remained to argue against the Duke stepped out with angry faces and loud voices.“This is madness! The Duke has finally lost himself in his pride!”“He thinks that because he holds the Southern Fort, he can command all our lives like pieces on a board!”“If the Princess comes here and witnesses the poor state of our lands, what then?! Will the Duke have us shout praises while villages burn?!”The nobles complained as loudly as they could, and the guards who stood outside could only keep their heads lowered as the lords and ladies of the South began to curse and argue as they walked away from the Duke’s council chamber.Some of the other nobles who had already left earlier glanced back and rolled their eyes. To them, this was nothing new. There had always been a faction among the southern nobility that hated the Duke’s decisions. These nobles always stayed behind to complain, always shouted about his flaws, and always made themselves appear

“A Counter-Counter Plot?” Flay echoed back as he shot another arrow.FWIP!The arrow was not fired with great strength, and any proper archer would have sneered at how pitifully weak it was. But Flay was not shooting to kill. He was shooting with the precision of someone who could hear the muscles of the beasts tense, watch their ugly limbs prepare to leap, and strike the very moment when a paw, claw, or twisted limb pressed against the ground and needed only a small interruption to ruin the beast’s movement.CRASH!Another Anomalous Beast tripped forward and rolled across the field, causing several beasts behind it to stumble and roar in anger.Of all the plots that Flay thought the Duke would throw at them, this was one of the worst possibilities. Anomalous Beasts appearing in the South at the same time that Princess Estelle’s party arrived was not just a monster attack, it was a political trap that would place blame on anyone who could be linked to strange beasts, dark beasts, fore