Soldiers were accompanying the carriage on a grimy road flanked by hills, two on horseback and two on foot by the sides, two next to the driver, and another four divided into two wagons with Alon on a horse in front.

‘It takes so long; we need a better mode of transportation... How long did it take you to travel to every village on the duchy? This is insane.’ Edmond crossed his arms.

‘I don’t understand why you are complaining in this manner, Edmund; only the duchess was visiting the villages while you were standing back in the mansion.’ Elize jabs Edmund with her elbow.

‘I was instructing the brilliant minds, and now, just a month later, they have come a long way. Although Leah is still the best, the other ten helped with the weapons and craftsmen's tools, so the production is going to be faster now.’ Edmund smiled.

‘You looked happy, peasant; I’m glad that now you can share your knowledge; the phone is amazing; I can talk to all village chiefs back in the mansion.’ Ariadne opened the fan to conceal her smile.

Edmund suddenly had a serious face and reached for a device on the wall, placed his finger on its side, and brought it closer to his mouth.

‘Alon, we will have company on the right side.’ He spoke.

‘Understood.’ Alon replied, holding a similar device.

‘I can’t feel anyone, peasant; aren’t you wrong?’ Ariadne raised her ears, shut her eyes, and pressed the closed fan against her lips.

‘Duchess, trust me, they are coming.’ Edmond grinned.

‘So, Edmund, go outside and deal with them. What are you waiting for?’ Eliza made an attempt to push Edmund out of the door.

‘Alon got this; they need combat experience, and I’m a scholar now.’ Edmund straightened his clothes.

‘Scholar? What are you talking about, peasant? You will be what I want you to be.’ Ariadne shifted her gaze to the right, looking out the window.

‘But I don’t need to fight, and you overestimate both me and your own abilities; with organization, I can be killed; your highness would be easier because you are still learning.’ Edmund crossed his arms and looked out the window.

‘You were right; here they come.’ Ariadne whispered.

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On the top of a hill, a large group of shadows appeared. Alon noticed them and spoke into his radio, which was strapped to his chest near his shoulder.

‘Stop the convoy; every soldier on foot takes up position on the right side; we have goblins; the two on the carriage's roof cover our flanks, and the two on horseback keep an eye out for stragglers when it is all over.’ He spoke calmly.

The voice of the captain was heard over the radio by all the soldiers and drivers. The goblins only launched their assault after the convoy came to a stop. Every soldier was already on their knees at the side of the convoy when they rushed down the hill. The beasts were running with assurance, and the hills were green with no visible rocks, making them easy targets.

‘Take aim…’ Alon observed the soldiers as they aimed.

The monsters came at full speed like there was no tomorrow; their numbers scared the soldiers a little. With wooden shields and spears, they charged at the convoy with no fear in their eyes, only hunger.

‘Fire at will!’ he yelled.

Right after they all pulled the trigger, six goblins fell. Another volley followed, and more fell; Alon was taken aback by the sight of the massacre after only twenty seconds. The goblins were unable to pass half way down the hill; some of them attempted to run back up, but they were picked off.

‘Well. Instead of wasting time like this, the soldiers should just take position and begin to fire. Like defending a village. I’m going there to see these monsters up close, but it was nice, Alon.’ Edmund started to move toward the dead.

Alon and the soldiers were rendered speechless by what they did; it couldn’t be real that only six soldiers had accomplished such a feat. Before defending the town or the villages, they didn’t have these numbers. He looked back, saw the duchess getting out of her carriage, and came to his senses.

‘The two horses go to the top of the hill; the others form a perimeter around the carriage as we trained; I don’t want surprises while the duchess is out.’ On the radio, Alon ordered:

While the two horses passed by him and maneuvered around the corpses to reach the top of the hill, Edmund kneeled down next to a goblin corpse with a hole in his chest. The creature, an all-green, small, naked humanoid, used weapons, as evidenced by the shield on its arm; there was nothing about them in the books of the royal library, and his knowledge of them was limited to what soldiers discussed. He was intrigued by the creature.

‘Interesting. I don’t recall seeing creatures like this in the time of the hero. Where did you come from?’ Edmund used a small spear to poke the creature.

Eliza didn’t follow Ariadne because she was afraid of the situation; she stayed in the carriage, looking out. Ariadne came forward to look at the massacre more closely; she didn’t get too close to Edmund because the smell from the corpses was already coming out.

‘I’m impressed by these results; it will not be long before we gain independence from the kingdom.’ Ariadne used the fan to try to get rid of the odor.

‘If you want that, duchess, it is only a matter of time, but for the dungeon, these strategies are going to get them killed.’ He looked at the duchess.

The two entered the carriage once more. Ariadne was concerned for Eliza, as she didn't handle the ambush well and because ambushes like this did not occur during this month's travels. Roads were rarely attacked by monsters, but villages are a more frequent target.

‘You don’t need to worry; it was nothing for us, but I fear for the village; this close to the edge of the territory, with their backs to the mountains, sure is dangerous.’ Ariadne reached for Eliza’s hand.

‘You have me here, and yet you are afraid; I find that offensive.’ Edmund looked at the maid with a small grin.

‘You seem to be having fun, huh?’ Eliza struck his arm.

The two soldiers on horseback on top of the hill looked around, trying to find more monsters, and communicated with Alon via radio.

‘There is nothing here, captain, but we can see the village.’ The soldier spoke.

‘This was a little too close...’ Alon muttered to himself.

‘Everything seens to be fine from here.’ The soldier continued.

‘All right, get back to your positions.’ Alon replied.

The soldiers memories of that encounter were still fresh when the convoy resumed its journey. They didn’t think what they were doing was real, and several of them had a smile on their faces while gazing at their rifles.