Jamie and Princess Emily spent less than an hour at Castle Faircone. Turning down dinner was more difficult than convincing the Lord the help them. Lord Faircone was decisive. He had begun preparing his knights and mages before they even left the castle.

There was no time to stick around and watch as Darien would reach Alicia in a short bit of time. They moved on to the next location. Jamie carried Princess Emily as she wasn't able to keep up with the knights and soldiers, but at this point, she was used to being carried.

"Let's hurry, Princess." Jamie was worried, so she could only nod her head as they made their way through the forest.

Jamie's brow had been furrowed for more than an hour. His instincts were notifying him of a dangerous predator or natural disaster ahead. He wasn't sure if the threat was in Ayes or if it would be here soon, but he didn't question the feeling. He never questioned his instincts. All he could do was move quickly. The more people they got on their side the better.

The Red Tower was in complete disarray. Joseph didn't want to inform Darien of the situation as it could ruin the entire operation. He decided to send a team to covertly check on the Attack team in hopes of catching Darius.

Joseph didn't hold much hope in finding the boy. He could only pray that the brat wasn't stupid enough to sneak in one of the wagons or somehow follow the caravan on foot. A three-year-old child sneaking past a heavily guarded Attack team didn't make any sense to Joseph. Neither did following them the whole way on foot. Both seemed asinine for a child to do. It was much more probable that he was either still in the tower or somewhere in Renee, but Joseph couldn't focus on Darius any longer.

The mission was already in motion, and Darius acting up couldn't stop it. "The stupid brat! Of all the times to play hide and seek. He had to choose now!"

He didn't have any more time to look for him. "That brat's too important to lose. Lindt!"

"Yes, Lord!"

"Use any of the remaining personnel to continue looking for Darius. This is an unofficial 5 Star mission. You are to find the Young Master by any means necessary."

Lindt clenched his fists as he replied, "Understood, Vice Tower Master!"

Oblivious to the level of stress he was causing: Darius was peaking his head out from the back of a supply wagon. There were Herals and soldiers spread out in every direction.

Darius thought that the troop was doing a terrible job of disguising themselves. All of them were wearing matching, brand-new brown mantles while walking in unison.

A thousand well-built men and women marched down a dirt road; how could that not draw attention?

Their disguise wouldn't get past a cursory glance, but Darius thought they just might not have cared. It was possible they were intending to bulldoze their way through regardless. As long as Darius kept a wide berth away from his father, it would be unlikely that he'd be caught any time soon.

"I'll be patient. A hunter always watches for his chance to strike." Darius slunk back into the shadows behind a wooden crate as he waited for something to happen. Closing his eyes Darius chose to cultivate his Qi while resting. Whatever was to come he needed to be ready for it.

Cole sat alone in Duke Shay's study silently sipping tea. The Black Tower Master thought there was no greater joy than to feast on an enemy's food and to sleep in their beds. Perhaps only torture could beat the joys of being a usurper.

He took a deep breath enjoying the smell of burning flesh and fresh blood that saturated the halls of the castle.

"Ahhhh. How refreshing! I must say, if nothing else, at least the hardship of battle comes with a pleasant aroma!" Cole slowly sipped on tea as he stared up at the ceiling. The silence grew deafening as the room slowly grew darker and darker as he sat alone.

He sat until no light remained and was greeted by absolute darkness. A soft velvety voice gently breathed into his ear, "My Lord. Tissss only a matter of time before you ssit in even higher placess. The thronesss of thiss world will rightfully be yourss one by one."

"Sasha, you always know the perfect things to say. You sing a lullaby that could make a grown man weep."

The voice continued slowly and calmly, "Tower Masster, you sshould know ssomething dangerous iss on its way. It hass already crosssed the border and iss heading to Alicia asss we ssspeak." The undiscernible features of the woman seemed to smile as she placed her hands on Cole's face.

Cole frowned as he thought about who it could be. "Sasha, can you give me a description of what they look like?"

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"A man with brown hair, glassssesss, and a ssmell of ash."

A new sense of urgency came over Cole as he thought about who was coming. The Ayer Castle was a physical reminder of who the Red Tower Master was and what he could do. "Shit! The Salamander? How much time do I have?"

"Enough time to recover, my Lord. Do not fret and ressst well."

"Did you say he was headed to Alicia?"

"Yess, Tower Masster. He'ss headed in that direction."

"That's a strange place to siege. It will make his attack much easier, but the defense... he's made sure it's not existent in his last attack."

"With no place to defend himsself, he iss vulnerable. You can kill the one who sssmells of ash. That iss if you ssstrike first." Her voice dripped with enticement as she said, "Hiss blood will be like nothing you've ever had before."

Cole's mind danced with possibilities. A smile bloomed on his face as he drew inspiration. "I guess I'll be heading to Alicia soon. Thank you, you've never led me astray, Sasha. I don't know what I could possibly do without you."

"I would never let you missss your chance, Tower Massster!" The shadowy figure seemed to wrap itself around Cole as though a mother swaddling her child. The shadow smiled.

Darien was half expecting a fight to break out the moment he crossed the border, but there was no one in sight. A foreign sense of anxiety seemed to flood him.

"What's wrong, Tower Master?" Tobias was leading the front carriage past the border and noticed Darien's frown. Things were far too quiet to be natural.

"If they don't have any men guarding the border, I fear where they might be." Darien looked at the purple-hazed afternoon sky. His frown deepened when he noticed the underlying sickly green which accompanied it. "Let's keep up the pace. Whatever they have in store we need only burn our way past it." Tobias nodded.

The Princess infiltration team was well on its way to gathering several nobles for the coming battle. Whether or not it would be enough remained to be seen, but most of the nobles were already prepared to move before she even spoke with them.

The sun had just started to set when Darien and his troops reached the Capital city of Alicia. They hadn't met any resistance from the moment they left Elion till the moment they made it to Alicia. Darien felt a sense of danger from a source he had yet to identify. The fear of the unknown he thought as he led his troops to the City gates.

He shook his head to snap out of it as he yelled, "Clear out the dogs from the city! Capture anyone who stands in your way! Make sure the citizens know to stay in their homes, we take Alicia today!"

The entire troop came to life as they cheered, "Raghhhhh!"

Darien leaped off the carriage he had perched on and walked up to the city gate before giving orders, "Line One, hit the center! Two, you take the left, and three you take the right! Support, form a perimeter around the city, and watch for any stragglers. Let's go!"

Darien chanted, "Flame Serpent!" A flaming serpent smashed directly into the city gate before exploding. Bits of pieces of shrapnel flew in every direction. Over a thousand knights and mages spread out in every direction as they stormed the city. With horrifying efficiency, they systematically captured or killed anyone who tried to stop them.

In less than two hours Darien and the Red Tower had managed to occupy the city.

There were less than 1000 enemy soldiers left in the city with only a few being mages or knights. It was the bare minimum they needed to hold the city. Darien had captured them all without a single casualty on his side. Only a few Red Tower knights were injured, but they hadn't faced any real opposition.

The overwhelming victory did not make anyone happy. In fact, it made the Red Tower's forces anxious. Tobias looked serious as he asked, "What's going on, Lord? Where is everyone? Something doesn't feel right about this. Something doesn't feel right at all."

Darien nodded, "There's no point in worrying about it now. If the situation changes, we need only adapt and be ready for it. It matters not who comes here. We must defend this place until reinforcements arrive." Darien noticed a knight running while carrying something on his back. He was running in Darien's direction, so Darien stopped and paid attention.

A knight with gray hair and amber eyes came before him in a hurry. "Tower Master, I found something!" Darien saw his knight drop an old and decrepit man on the ground in front of him.

Darien scowled as he recognized him, "Zephaias..."

The old man cursed while rolling on the ground in pain, "That fucking bastard! He left me here! I knew it! I knew he'd stab me in the back!"

It took every bit of his will to stay his hand. The old man was responsible for his wife's current condition. He found no empathy for the old wind mage as he stepped on his right leg, "Zephaias, I'm not one to give long speeches, so I'll make it brief. Tell me what's going on in Ayes, and I'll make your death quick."

The old wind mage had deep wrinkles everywhere imaginable covering his face. From his forehead to his chin, he had wrinkles sagging his face low. He had purple circles around his eyes that were almost black. Long white hair draped over his face haphazardly as he had not been in the best condition while his long pointy beard white beard was stained gray with dirt.

"Hahaha! Make what quick? My death? I don't know anything. If I did, I'd tell you if you promised me my life, but if you're going to kill me, then there is nothing to say. Haha! Do you think I'll tell you anything if you're threatening to torture or kill me afterward? Do you think I was born yesteryear?"

Darien's eyes remained steadfast without a single ripple as he said, "I'll break you if you don't talk. I'll kill you if you do. Pick your poison."

"I don't know anything! The Black Tower master left to do something a while ago and is yet to return. I didn't even know what was going on while I was recovering! How could I? Cough! I've been bedridden since your bitch of a wife hit me! You fucking bastards! I won't let you kill me for nothing!" Darien shifted his weight to the foot, pressing down on Zephaias' leg. A cracking noise resounded.

"Arghh! Bastards! I'll haunt you from the grave! I'll never rest until your all dead!"

Darien walked away from him and said, "Take him and the rest of the prisoners to the Castles dungeon. It should still be intact. We can execute him and any egregious men we find later." The gray-haired knight nodded his head before scooping up the broken old man.

Tobias whispered, "How should we proceed? My Lord, the sun is setting fast. We probably have less than twenty minutes of sunlight left. The men are tired from the long march. If a battle should happen; tonight or tomorrow, it would be best if everyone was well rested."

Darien shouted, "Line one, take the city walls! You have first watch! Every four hours, we'll alternate Line two then three! In that order! If you catch something coming or even remotely suspicious, ring the bell. Is that understood!"

Knights and mages shouted in unison, "Yes, Tower Master!"

Darien walked toward the wall before shouting, "Everyone rest up! If you aren't on guard duty, you need to eat and sleep! I want you all in tip-top shape! Sir Vin, I'll have you take charge of the Eastern wall. Knight Hans, you take the Western front, and I'll take the North and South! Alright, get to your positions!"

Tobias walked to the right of Darien before whispering, "My Lord, make sure you follow the same. Whatever is coming matters not. If you don't eat or sleep, tonight we will be in even greater danger!"

Darien nodded.

It took only a few minutes for the city; to be engulfed in darkness. If anyone were paying close attention to the wagons, they might have noticed a small red flash leaving their vicinity and darting into the shadows of Alicia.

Darius licked his fingers as he finished eating some of the jerkies he had found in the wagon he had hitchhiked in. "Nothing crazy has happened so far. I hope it stays that way." Darius sat cross-legged behind a wooden barrel as he began cultivating. He was getting close to reaching the 2nd stage of cultivation, the Foundation Establishment stage or the iron body stage. Darius couldn't help, but wish he had reached the 2nd stage sooner. However, no one can test fate. Some things just couldn't be forced. The night was especially dark and unnaturally quiet.