Initially, everyone in the camp unsheathed their weapons. They formed a defensive formation as they waited for what was responsible for the disappearance of the Duchess’ group. Their eyes scanned the camp for any sign of the assailants. When nothing appeared, someone in the group spoke.

“Maybe the Duchess had a teleport crystal on her.”

Everyone turned to Jeane.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if she had one for the capital. She has the influence and wealth to afford one. We might even be close enough for one to work. The Duchess must have a reason to select this location as the camp.”

“Why didn’t she take us with her then?” shouted one of the knights. "We the knights will loyally serve her to the end!"

“Teleport crystals have limited carrying capacity,” Gaenor chipped in. “The Duchess’ crystal probably wasn’t strong enough to take all of us. Therefore, she split everyone into those useful to her and those she viewed as disposable. Guess what people are considered disposable in her eyes?”

At that realization, everyone sheathed their weapons and sat down on the ground. After the silence dragged out, Dreu turned to Jeane.

“With the Duchess gone, will we be attacked at any moment? It was her illusion that’s keeping the demons at bay, right?”

“Isylte’s defensive spell will last until noon tomorrow.” Jeane said after shaking her head. “We discovered shortly after the demon attack that the Duchess’ illusion spells were ineffective.”

“Ineffective?”

“Something was canceling it out but we don’t know what or who. The demon armies pursuing us were ready for the Duchess. I would say they were almost targeting her specifically. As a result, we were forced to use cleric spells but they aren’t as mana efficient as the illusion spells. We had doubts Isylte has enough mana to get us to our destination.”

“If that’s the case, let’s get some rest while we still can. We can’t move out in the darkness when the demons are out there anyways. Once rested, we can formulate a plan on how we can escape.”

As Dreu laid down on the ground, the other adventurers did the same. Meanwhile, the knights sat some distance away discussing among themselves. Bayard observed them for a few minutes before turning to Dreu.

The knights might consider deserting, emperor.

Let them leave then. The last thing we need is to fight among ourselves and make it easier for the demons tomorrow. Even if they stay, we have no guarantees they will work with us.

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Dreu turned on his side to get more comfortable.

Appear as if you’re dozing off. We’ll only take action if they point their weapons at us.

_______________________

Dreu stretched in the morning and noticed the absence of the knights. He felt discouraged with what remained of their group. If all the knights stayed, they would have seventeen members. Now, they were reduced to only five members. He, Sadon and Bayard would serve as the front line. Gaenor was the ranged attacker and Jeane served as the healer and support. For adventuring parties, they had a decent composition. For surviving against the demon armies, their numbers and abilities weren’t close to being enough.

As the group ate breakfast and discussed their plan of escape, Bayard called out.

“Ready your weapons!”

Dreu stood up only to see knights approaching them with weapons unsheathed and shields raised.

“What’s going on?” asked Sadon who raised his shield in response.

“Possessed,” said Jeane. "The knights who left us are now possessed."

Dreu heard about adventurers getting possessed when fighting demonic beasts. He could only assume this was similar.

“How do we stop them?” Gaenor asked as she notched an arrow.

When there was no answer to the question, Dreu turned to see Jeane staring intently at the knights. A few seconds passed before they got their answer.

“Only death can free those knights from their possession. Whoever cast the spell has no intention of letting them free and wishes for our deaths.”

Without another word, Dreu and Bayard charged at the closest knight. The sudden charge caught the knight by surprise and his hesitation gave Dreu a chance to end the man’s life. While Dreu pulled his blade from the man’s neck, Bayard was already bringing down his sword on the next knight. The knight’s knees buckled at the strike and, before he could recover, Dreu beheaded the man. When the remaining knights stood shocked by the development, three arrows found their mark killing a third knight.

Sadon, who had closed the gap between him and a knight, swung his mace into the knight’s head. The first strike knocked the man onto his knees and the second strike at the same location knocked the knight out. What had begun as a five versus twelve situation rapidly became a five on eight. The remaining eight knights quickly formed a shield wall but, to their shock, Dreu and Bayard simply circled around them. While the knights reformed their formation to cover their rear, Gaenor dispatched two knights who had their backs to the ranger. The duo took advantage of the gap created by the two knights’ death. Following two kills, they found themselves crossing blades with a knight each.

A few minutes later, all the knights were on the ground. Dreu found himself breathing heavily and turned in time to see the other adventurers charge into him.

“That was amazing!”

“When did you two fight so well?”

“I was worried the battle would be more challenging!”

Dreu couldn’t make out who was saying what but he couldn’t suppress the smile on his face. He enjoyed the attention he got from his party members. It had been a long time since he had a reason to laugh and he didn't suppress it.

“I hate to break up your celebration,” said Bayard as he delivered the finishing blow to the knight knocked out by Sadon, “but we are still surrounded by demons. This victory won't mean much until we reach somewhere safe.”

Bayard’s words brought everyone back to reality. As everyone recovered their composure, a prompt window appeared before Dreu.

< Congratulations! You have unlocked the “Summon Archer” ability. >