CG Chapter 50: Wails, Screams, and Lost Hearts
Running at his maximum speed, Tom darted through bushes and trees like lightning, attempting to keep pace with Violet without being noticed.
Fortunately for him, even though they were using steed-sprint horses, their speed wasn't much faster than his. The soldiers were afraid that the carriage shaking would cause Violet to lose her temper.
Although Tom could launch an attack at any moment, he understood that to make the scene of a bandit attack as believable as possible, he needed to wait until Violet left the territory of Flameheart.
After all, what bandit group would be so foolish as to attack the wife of the fire baron in his own backyard?
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After a chase that lasted for hours, Tom began to breathe heavily; exhaustion filled him. However, he didn't let that stop him; he was determined to achieve his goal, no matter what.
Violet stood in his way, so she needed to die. It was as simple as that.
Tom noticed the group slowing down near a river stream, and a smile filled his face. He knew that the moment to attack was near, but before striking, he decided to rest for a while to have enough energy to deal with the soldiers.
According to Alfred's intel, the group consisted of Cedric, an advanced apprentice knight, and two middle apprentice knights, Benedict and Gareth.
If he faced them head-on, then he would be simply throwing his life away; whether he could kill them first or die by their hands wasn't certain.
However, using both strategy and tactics, he could surprise them, striking them suddenly, like a wolf attack.
'From what I can tell, the information Alfred provided was correct. I have been observing them for a while, and I think I have understood their dynamics quite well,' Tom thought, watching from a distance.
Breathing in, Tom felt that his body had gathered enough energy to strike. "May you rest in peace," Tom smiled as the joy of a new battle filled him.
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He grabbed the spider-string bow from his back and walked slowly near the group. He needed to keep enough distance to kill the soldiers without revealing his position. Once he took out the high apprentice, he planned to fight the others using his sword.
At first, he considered taking them all out using the bow. However, he realized that his advantage of experience would only get him so far. He needed to get used to the use of various arcane abilities, and the vitality of a knight was only the start on that list.
With his thoughts clear, Tom aimed for the head of the strongest soldier, Cedric.
Tom's muscles tightened, and his pupils widened. An arrow, carrying his full strength and experience, flew towards Cedric's head.
'Whoosh.'
On the other side, Cedric's instincts screamed at him to move, to dodge; it begged him to do anything. A sense of fear overwhelmed him; however, he didn't know where the danger was coming from. So, he tried the first thing that came to his mind, which was falling back.
Unfortunately, he was, but an apprentice and he didn't have enough time to dodge the arrow coming from an experienced middle-rank apprentice. 'If I reached the level of a formal knight, then I would have been able to dodge this.' This was the last thought on his mind as his body succumbed to the impact of Tom's arrow. A tear fell from his eye and mixed with what was left of his head.
Witnessing the scene of their leader's lifeless corpse, the two remaining knights couldn't help but shudder; fear mixed with an immense amount of anger overwhelmed them.
"Cedric!" they screamed, calling out their leader and brother's name.
In these harsh lands, the two of them had joined Flameheart shortly after Cedric did. Seeing them lost, he decided to take them under his wing.
As the years passed, their connection grew stronger and stronger. While blood is thicker than water, the weight of life's hardships often surpasses even the strongest bonds of brotherhood.
They ran toward him as they scouted around for the enemy.
Amidst the chaos and despite the danger to his life, Gareth carried the body of his brother, fearing that it would be defiled even further. While Benedict held his shaking sword firmly, giving his all to protect Gareth.
The two brothers' hearts were overwhelmed by a desire for vengeance, but at the moment, the loud commands coming toward them directed their anger in another direction.
"What are you doing? Your job is to protect me. Quickly move this carriage. If anything happens to me, then your families won't be safe," Violet screamed at them, ordering them in a commanding tone to protect her. Yet, she couldn't hide her true feelings, as the tone of her voice revealed the fear she felt at that moment.
With their eyes bloodshot, Benedict and Gareth spoke as one, "You, it's all because of you. If you weren't such a stupid bitch, then we wouldn't have been in this situation. You made us slow down for your comfort, disregarding our warning."
"Oh, no one would dare to attack the carriage of the Marshal family. Oh, my family is the greatest. And look now, you will die here because of your stupidity."
"You know what? Since you are going to die anyway, you might as well let us vent our anger on you first."
Gareth and Benedict looked at each other with a malicious smile, "Without him, everything in this life is tasteless; might as well make her feel our pain."
Wails, screams, and lost hearts filled the place.
While the eyes of the person who caused this tragedy watched from afar with amusement, it was as if they had forgotten about him. He wasn't certain whether to enjoy this show for longer or interfere for the sake of his battle.
'If things went as they are, then the death of Violet would be assured, and the two brothers would probably bring back the news of a bandit group that attacked them.' At that moment, Tom remembered something, 'Right, I need to steal valuables from the carriage, or it would be obvious that this wasn't a bandit attack.'
The fate of the brothers and everything they held dear was but a small game, a chess move, and a part of the act for Tom.