Joshua continued through the secret passage and soon reached the exit; there, he ordered Herbert to exit the hole first, and together they started helping their younger siblings up. Once they were all outside, they proceeded to head to a small cabin inside the forest where Dirrar and the director often took them to hunt.

They rested inside the cabin, exhausted from the lack of oxygen and tiring march. Joshua handed out some of the meat jerky that was kept inside, and they all gobbled it up instantly. Joshua then took stock of the situation and counted the number of his siblings: 7, 8, 9... someone was missing!

Joshua frantically started counting and recounting, trying to remember who was missing. Then Jasmine approached him and said, "I... I think I saw Arlen turn back while you were helping us climb out of the hole."

Joshua started panicking; he was unsure of what to do. On one hand, he was entrusted with the lives of his 8 siblings currently with him, many of them barely over the age of 9. On the other, he was not prepared to abandon Arlen, whom, despite the little interaction the two of them had, he considered a friend.

Noticing his perturbed state, Sai, the second-in-command in Joshua's little group, attempted to calm him down.

He was a pragmatic kid who often excelled in planning and weighing risk against benefit. He knew that potentially sacrificing the group to rescue Arlen was a bad idea, especially given that the situation in the orphanage was unclear.

He reminded Joshua of the director's words and the urgency of the situation, so Joshua accepted his words, frustrated with himself for failing to protect his sibling and not being able to carry out the director's orders completely.

Joshua then stood up and grabbed the attention of all of his siblings, their eyes fixated on him as they huddled together, trying to keep themselves warm, with the gray clouds gathering above. Joshua steeled himself for the sake of his group and said, "I know we are all worried about what's happening back in the orphanage. The director entrusted me with your safety, and I will do my best to protect you."

One of the boys, Altan, a golden-brown-skinned boy, shorter than Herbert but more physically gifted and brave, often the most renowned in hunts and always bragging about the time he killed a hibernating bear, stood up and asked, "When will we go back home? The little meat jerky we had is gone."

Joshua shook his head and said, "We will not be returning today. We will sleep here in the cabin and go back tomorrow. For now, Altan, Reynard, and I will go catch something to eat. Sai will take Herbert and Teuta to gather firewood and some water. Jasmine, Sylvia, Loretta, and Sarai will stay and prepare the meal later."

With orders dispatched, the voice of the director emphasizing the need for collaboration started ringing in their ears, and they found solace in this sense of unity and solidarity as they started preparing to head out.

Joshua grabbed the weapons that Dirrar had stashed away and started distributing them to the hunting party. There was only one axe, and he gave it to Herbert for cutting wood. He made sure to instruct Jasmine not to open the door to anyone other than her brothers, and then headed out with Altan and Reynard.

Back in the orphanage, as the bandits rummaged through the buildings, they found nothing of note to plunder but a handful of silver coins and a few herbs and animals in the courtyard.

Visibly enraged, one of them shouted out to the gray-haired man as he approached the director, "This place is a damn dump! I didn't come here all the way from Mount Baedu for chump change. Are you sure this old fool is the Winged General? Oi, old man! Where's your stash?" He pulled out his dagger and waved it around the director's face.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

The director paid him no mind. His surprise over the reveal of the gray-haired man having subsided, he returned to his usual calm and stern demeanor and asked, "What brought you all the way here, Godwin? Accompanied by bandits, no less?"

Still on his guard, Godwin scratched his head and signaled to his subordinates. As they started searching the courtyard for hidden traps, he turned to the director and shrugged. "I heard you ran off with that old fox. I can't be too careful."

After careful examination, his men confirmed the absence of any surprises. He stepped forward, his grip resting on the sword at his belt, and said, "When I first heard the rumors, I didn’t believe them. Who would've thought that the Winged General was playing house deep in the forest?"

He looked around the deserted, shabby buildings and trampled-upon courtyard and continued, "Is this what you ran away for? Creaky floors and dirty walls, a handful of vegetables and a few chickens?"

He became visibly enraged at the director's silence and shouted, "My master wasted all these years looking for you, wanting to settle the debt he had, but you were hiding here, playing father to children you caused misfortune."

He laughed out loud and said, "Do they even know who you are? What hides behind the face of the man they look up to?"

The director hung his head low for a few moments, then quickly regained composure, still without saying anything.

Godwin continued, "I heard he followed you, but seeing as he isn’t out here chopping our limbs off, I take it that your warrior Dirrar is absent. It seems all my preparations were for naught..."

The director suddenly shouted, taking everyone by surprise. "I asked, why have you come here, soldier? How long will you keep rambling?"

Godwin was angered and shouted back, "I am no longer a soldier! I am the First Captain of the division, and you will show me respect!"

The director chuckled. "Giving a traitor the First Captain position? It seems the confederation is desperate. Does your so-called master know that you're here?"

"Of course not. I have a reputation to protect, after all," replied Godwin. "Which brings us to why our esteemed companions are here. Today, the Scianeus Orphanage was attacked by bandits and destroyed, and the director—who turned out to be the Winged General—was murdered. My master will be sad when he hears it, but he will be too busy with the upcoming war."

"No one knows I am here, and killing one man will do little harm to the kingdom," stated the director.

"Oh, but it will. The plan for the downfall of the kingdom is already set in motion. We can't have something unexpected like the legendary general returning from retirement due to a sense of patriotism and reversing the tide of war. I am simply eliminating variables," said Godwin.

"You seem to think that getting rid of me is a simple task," responded the director as he unsheathed his sword and cut the hand of the bandit who was still holding a dagger to his face.

Godwin laughed and said, "True, it's a shame we couldn't find any children; it could have made things easier. I suspect this is Zenobia's doing, so looking for them is too much of a hassle." Then he signaled to his subordinates, and they slowly started to surround the director. "Still, putting a retired general down can’t be that difficult."

Seeing how their comrade lost his hand in the blink of an eye and hearing his wailing, the rest of the bandits were spooked. Godwin scoffed at them and muttered how they were useless as he and his men slowly started approaching the director from all sides.

They felt safe in their numbers. The man before them had been retired for close to a decade. They thought he was out of practice, easy prey, but they were gravely mistaken.

The director used their hesitation and lethargic approach. In an agility that belied his age, he swiftly shifted his body around and lunged at the man approaching him from behind, his hand calmly springing forward like an eagle in ascent. His sword passed through the helmet's visor, and his opponent was dead on impact.

Quickly retracting his blade, he refocused his attention on the three remaining opponents. They were shocked by the sudden display of swordsmanship, with Godwin gritting his teeth and cursing at him.

But the director knew he couldn't keep this up forever. He realized that his age had caught up with him, and he was no longer the young man he once was. That little lightning-fast maneuver had exerted his body to its limits, and he felt exhausted.

Nonetheless, his expression never changed. He cleared the blood from his blade and adjusted his stance while slowly retreating. Even if this was his last day on earth, he felt at ease that he was the only one there. No one else needed to die today.