Cleo rode out first with elite members of Revenant to Indran just as Madame requested. They reached by the night time so they approached the village stealthily from the desert. The village was as quiet as a graveyard; no sound of celebration from soldiers or the wailing screams from tortured. It was dead silence.

"There are no signs of enemies," Gura reported to Cleo, "maybe they are hiding to ambush us."

"Maybe. Let's spread out so we won't get trapped. You take some shields and go through the middle. Ethan, go with them. Head to the inn. I will go from the right. Our target is the inn. Sir Jonah, your team should wait here with Signard. You are to break us out when we are trapped. Don't come until we signalled."

After planning out the strategy, they entered the village.

More than half of the village was burnt down. Dark brittle chars had replaced the homes where happy families were once homed. At some plots, a lone desolate blacked pole was left standing in the corner. The houses that could still be called home were robbed of valuables.

Cleo stepped into a house at the far most right, readying her swords to fight the moment an enemy stepped out from hiding. The walls and floor of the houses were painted red by the splash of blood from its owners. As soon as she entered, she felt that she stepped on a squishy thing. A trap!? Her heart skipped. She turned to the wall where an enemy might hide with her blades up but she saw no one. She recollected herself and checked the thing earlier. It happened to be an eyeball. Her guts were repulsed by the sight. An uncontrollable urge made her run out of the house to get some fresh air. She felt wrong for stepping on a remain of a victim.

Dovos took the lead instead of Cleo. He confidently stepped forward. He barged into the house and growled like a beast to intimidate his imaginary enemies. It was as quiet as silence. He cleared his throat and returned outside, "this house is clear." Before he left the house, he misstepped on some splatters of remains and slipped on it. His heavy ass fell on the floor with his hands spread, soiling himself. Just like Cleo, he ran out of the house and emptied his stomach.

They moved on to another house after marking the house. Just like earlier, they didn't find any enemies so they moved toward the inn quickly. Cleo found Ethan and Gura's team had already reached the square. They seem to be in a daze, staring at something in a circle. When Cleo asked, Gura shook his head and gave her his spot. Cleo noticed his eyes were unfocused, or rather petrified so she looked at what they were watching. She was terrified and unbelieve of what she saw. She unconsciously stepped back from it and turned away.

It was a pile of bodies stacked over each other like they were cattle. Some bodies didn't have clothes. Flies were roaming around the pile; some flew out from the orifices. A big black fly was walking on the white of an eye of a young boy.

The horrible scene sent a chill down the spine of all those seasonal warriors who had seen many horrible scenes. They had been to places aftermath of the fight with the monsters and they had seen similar scenes. But this was the first time someone they knew, the faces they were acquainted with were so lifeless. The looks on bodies looked so horrified as if they had met a Devil before their very lives were sucked out of them.

Dovos bit his lips and stepped forward. He shushed away the big fly and shut a boy's eyes. He remembered how he asked that boy to take care of his mount whenever he reached the inn. He would throw a gamber in the air and the boy would catch it with his big wide forehead. Dovos hit his Warhammer to the ground and swore that he would avenge the death of the boys.

"So they aren't here. Where are they?" Cleo muttered to herself while ruffling her hair. She was annoyed that the bastards might get away after the inhumane crime. "They can't possibly be returning to their base, so did they go inside the desert? Did we miss them in the dark?" She asked Gura. Gura shook his head. Ethan pointed Cleo toward the inn, "No. We need you to see this." He took her inside the inn.

As soon as she flipped the curtain at the door, Cleo saw a group of men in armour lying their faces on the plates, tables and floors with jars of booze in their hands. They were motionless. The banners bearing the sigil of the Temple were dropped in the dirt mixed with green pukes and blackened blood.

"What happened? Are they?"

"Yes. Dead. Poisoned I assume." Ethan answered. "I see. Madame must have prepared a backup plan in case the Temple didn't respect the terms. She prepared a step ahead except she didn't expect the Temple to start butchering the villagers immediately." Cleo lightly kicked a body that seemed to be a Templer as she spoke.

"Let's call Jonah and Signard now. Madame left a note for Signard. It seems important." Cleo told Gura but Ethan stopped them. Ethan didn't want Signard and the villagers to see the bodies of their families, friends and relatives be disrespected. He wanted to properly prepare for cremation first before he called them. They all agreed so Cleo returned to Jonah and asked them to check the forest if there were any survivors. "Some survivors may run to the forest and hide there. You guys are better trackers than us so do that for us. And be careful. There may be some enemies there."

After midnight, Jonah and Signard's team returned. Although they did find some traces of blood and footprints in the forest, they didn't find any survivors. When they saw the bodies of their families and friends on the cremation stage, they got the closure they deserved. With colourful flowers and wreaths, they sent them off.

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Signard entered his mother's room to fulfil his mother's last request given through the blood note. He breathed in deeply as he stood in front of the door. He could sense his mother's scent. He didn't know she had a unique scent until then. His hand unconsciously reached to knock then he remembered he didn't need to anymore. He opened the drawers of his mother's work desk. He took the second box outside and searched for the keys just as his mother instructed in the note. But he found nothing alike except a stack of papers which were secret accounts of officials they had bribed. He pulled out the papers and moved the wooden blocks of the box floor. He formed a pattern of 'I' with the darker blocks and the floor was finally lifted, revealing another compartment with four keys.

"What are those keys for?" Cleo asked curiously. Signard answered with determination, "For revenge."

It turned out that Madame had four secret vaults hidden in four villages of Midlake, each filled with weapons and armour enough to build a small army. One was at Indran and the rest at three other sister villages. If one village was threatened beyond repair by the Temple, the head would send the keys to the other three. It meant 'it is time to rise and fight together'. It was a defensive pact between the four villages. They vowed to rise from four separate regions to divert the forces of the Temple.

"So they are here all along. I have been searching them everywhere and they were right under my nose." Signard shook his head in regret. Since the day they decided to side with Revenant, Signard wanted to open the vaults and make armies to train together with Revenant, but Madame didn't allow him. He wished he had gone against her then she might still be alive.

He gave a key to Sincyll who was his cousin and the daughter of a village head. She sent the key to her village with her personally trained pigeon while he sent the other two to their respective destinations with the carriers. He called the rally.

"I did my part," Signard said as he handed over the key of the vault of Indran to Cleo. "This is the last gift for you from my mother. Use it well and avenge for the deaths," asked Signard for the promise to bring down the Temple for good. Cleo put the key back in his hand and closed it tightly. "How about you do it yourself? In my ranks that is. We shall march to Gambit together." She offered him a spot in her army.

For instance, Signard imagined himself in the front of an army. There was another army on the opposite side glaring at him and licking their blades. Their target was him. Signard shook his head to make the frightening idea out of his mind. He believed it didn't suit him. He was boastful and all but he understood his limit. He was a coward who left his cousin behind to die when his life was in danger.

"No. Wearing huge armour and standing glamorously in front of an army doesn't suit me. I will stay here and rebuild the village so that I can form a supply line to your army."

"Well, that works too. I am sure you will do better at that. ... This must be hard for you with everything that happened to you yet you didn't leave our side. You are more than what you believe, Signard. Then, let us do the honour of opening the vault together."

The vault was built under the ground. The only accessible entry was through the hideout Madame hid. When a wall of the hideout was removed from the earth, a steel door appeared with a huge iron lock. The lock was so strong even the most powerful warrior would take days to destroy it. Yet an iron key as small as the size of a finger easily opened the lock.

A loud clanking sound echoed across the small dugout when Cleo pulled the door. Signard also pulled with one hand but it was heavier than he thought so he had to use both hands.

The moment Cleo illuminated the vault, there appeared a huge stack of arrows covered in straws, a mountain of lances and spears whose blades were wrapped in clothes, and piles of swords stored properly inside tightly sealed chests. Bottles of potions were also found inside the stacks of crates. Witnessing how good condition they were in with no or little rust, Cleo respected Madame for being such a meticulous person. She got what she needed to lay siege.

"We are good to go now." Cleo smiled contently after watching her new army.

They laid an ambush for the Temple army coming to reinforce the army that they had obliterated by poison. They hid in the forest, some inside the houses that could still be used to hide while fifty of them exchanged their armours and clothes with the Temple uniforms. They disguised themselves as the soldiers of Temple except for the commanding Templer whose face was known by the coming reinforcement. Ethan acted as a lieutenant. The plan was for Ethan to get as close as possible and eliminate the coming officer first. Then, those in hiding would come out and surround the enemies. Every enemy who tried to run into the forest would also be dealt with swiftly. It was the perfect plan. They excitedly waited for the enemies.

By the first light, they saw figures appearing from the east along with the rising sun. Judging by the number of banners, they could tell there were two centurions. It was more than they thought. By the numbers, it could be a stalemate or an enemy's victory. However, they possessed the element of surprise which is the best winning card.

Ethan anxiously awaited his enemy as the figures became more and more defined approaching from the horizon. Then he saw his long-lost friend who he hadn't seen for two years. It was Drake the Muscles, Ethan's past comrade while he worked for the Temple. After the incident in Mount Raza, their friendship had gone sour.

"And now we are standing on the opposite side, huh?" Ethan muttered regretfully.