While chatting with Violet, a sudden commotion erupted outside. Guard Gry shouted orders to form a defensive formation, and the caravan halted mid-journey.
The clashing of weapons echoed from nearby.
Violet’s expression tensed like a startled kitten. I noticed her hands had unconsciously clenched into fists.
Is she scared?
“It’s okay,” I said soothingly, gently patting her head. “Violet, stay here. I’ll check what’s happening outside.”
Her expression relaxed slightly, but a trace of fear lingered. She nodded. “M-Myra sister, come back soon. Dad… Dad’s up ahead. He’ll handle it.”
“Mm, I know.”
As I stepped out of the carriage, Eunice stood nearby. Where her gaze fixed, a battle raged.
At the front, caravan guards formed three rows of six. The first row held shields and swords. The second row wielded spears. Behind them, archers stood ready, bows drawn.
Guard Gry stood to the side, his long sword still sheathed.
Other guards spread around the caravan, vigilant but not fighting. Their goal was caution, not defense.
President Bluton sat astride a horse, calm-faced.
The caravan wasn’t involved. Two groups clashed in a melee ahead.
To the right lay the calm Bluewater River.
To the left, a shady grove offered cool respite.
They blocked a wilderness road to Bluewater City.
The melee had started before our arrival. Corpses now littered the ground in blood pools, alongside broken, bloodstained weapons.
A thick, metallic stench of blood filled the air—that sickly sweet reek made me nauseous.
Fighters dwindled rapidly. Even I could see one side nearing annihilation. The chaotic brawl had turned into a slaughter of the weak.
Silence fell when only one man remained.
He sat drenched in blood, his clothes unrecognizable beneath the crimson.
Wounded and slumped, his left arm was severed. A spear pinned his right leg to the earth. Comrades’ corpses surrounded him, staining the ground red.
Before him stood a crowd of enemies. The fight was over.
The crowd parted. A sword-wielding man approached.
A young man with dark gray curls, near thirty, his face grim and cold.
“Edmund, leader of the Silver Wolf Mercenary Corps. Last time I ask!”
His voice rasped like sandpaper scraping bone.
It carried boundless rage and hatred.
He stepped through sticky blood and corpses, one slow step at a time. He raised his sword, its tip aimed at Edmund’s forehead.
“Where are the men of our Sword and Axe Mercenary Corps’ Third Branch?!”
My face froze. My heart jolted at those words.
What did he say?
Sword and Axe Mercenary Corps?!
I hadn’t misheard—it was that name!
And… the Third Branch.
The Third Branch of the Sword and Axe Mercenary Corps.
Under Archibald’s command, they’d lured the awakened dragon to Rosalynd’s patrol route.
The dragon then fought Rosalynd. Later, they schemed to draw Crown Knight Garia, while Chaos Cross Chapter kidnapped Princess Hill.
No—wait. I didn’t know if Chaos Cross Chapter’s plan succeeded. When that white light exploded deep in the forest, Archibald’s face had shown shock. Something new must’ve happened.
Afterward, the Third Branch mercenaries were all slain by the old mage of Severance Forest with wind blades. Their corpses burned to ashes.
On the battlefield, Edmund coughed crimson blood and laughed bitterly. “Carolio… you fool. We Silver Wolves never knew their whereabouts. We thought those cowards abandoned Bluewater City’s profits and fled to the empire’s heartland.”
The sword tip trembled. Its wielder’s hand shook.
The curly-haired youth twisted his face, forcing words through gritted teeth.
“Enli! Where’s my brother Enli?!”
Edmund sneered. “How should I know? Probably dead.”
Carolio swung his sword. A cold flash sliced through air. An arm thudded to the ground, spraying blood. Carolio stood over Edmund, half his body soaked red, face grim.
“Edmund, whether you know or not, the Silver Wolves end today.”
Edmund’s face contorted like knotted rope, but no cry escaped him.
“C-Carolio… you destroyed Wolf Eagle’s branch. Aren’t you afraid of revenge?”
“So what? We Sword and Axe have long awaited war with Wolf Eagle,” Carolio said dismissively.
“You Sword and Axe… dare challenge Wolf Eagle?!” Edmund realized. “Carolio, you pose as a caring brother, but Enli’s just your excuse for war!”
Carolio’s face stayed icy. “I’ll still find my brother. Meanwhile, Wolf Eagle Mercenary Corps has no place left in this empire.”
“Hah… dreaming… Your Commander Sog’s merely a Crown Rank swordsman. Wolf Eagle’s backed by that Knight—what makes you think you can oppose them?!”
“And isn’t Wolf Eagle backed only by that Knight too?” Carolio’s lip curled in disdain. He raised his sword again. “Tell Death of Wolf Eagle’s strength. That corps will join you in hell soon.”
Edmund’s weak voice rasped, fading: “Wolf Eagle… will avenge us…”
“We eagerly await them. The top ten mercenary rankings have been stagnant too long. Time for change.”
Carolio, sword dripping blood, strode to his men. He glanced at our caravan, then turned away as if we were dust. “Return to the central region.”
Only when the Sword and Axe Mercenary Corps vanished did the caravan’s tension ease.
President Bluton eyed the blood-soaked road strewn with corpses. He patted his head. “No battlefield cleanup. We’ll take a detour.”
