“Shit,” Zach said.

The scream of a man caught them all off-guard. Teena’s heart sank. Anxiousness plastered all across her face as her eyes gazed at Zach. She was silent, but her eyes said it all. Zach patted her on the shoulder.

“I’ll take responsibility,” Zach said. “Whoever asks about the arrow, just know I’m the one who shot it.” He reminded the rest, and they all readied for a potential battle between men, not beasts, nor insects.

“Which bastard was it?” an angered shout came. Weaving between the trees that grew too close to one another. Zach couldn’t see where they were coming from, but Teena sensed them.

“Over there,” she said. Pointing northwest of where they were. Zach narrowed his eyes, trying to see. Then he saw them. The glint of shining iron, and they were many. Soon, men emerged out from the protection of the green.

They saw one after another, and the approaching party stopped. Their iron swords raised high, facing Zach and co. The leading man had a hefty beard with eyes that of a vengeful beast. A warranted glare, seeing Zach’s party was the one responsible for the sudden ambush.

“To arms!” the bearded men said. Rallying united cries of a bunch of angered men.

“Wait,” Zach said. He threw the sword to the ground. Lifting his hands up in the air. “It's true I'm responsible for the arrow, but I assure you it’s a big mistake. I thought a beast lurks in between the leaves and—”

“Enough, cunt!” the bearded man said. “You draw your bow, and we shall draw our sword, and we need to avenge what had been done.” The men behind let out another wave of battle cry with eyes that could kill.

“Is the one struck dead?” Zach asked. His eyes narrowed as options were running low. If he could, he preferred not to engage with these men especially when their numbers triumphed against their five. But if he had to, he wouldn’t hesitate.

“He bled, and I shall do the same to you!” the bearded man declared. He raised his sword up high, glancing at the men behind him, and mustered another deafening war cry.

“Can I burn them? Their unceasing shouts are starting to irritate my eardrums,” Mathias said. He felt a nudge by his side, and Dayana was glaring at him.

“Don’t be foolish,” Dayana said. “We’re outnumbered, and the best way of getting out of this is through a proper negotiation.”

Dayana did not wait for a response from Zach as she took the front stage, standing before the group. “I am Dayana Weisebraun of Kolham, may I know to who I speak?” she asked. Her voice carried a charisma similar to when Zach met her the first time.

The name Weisebraun dampened the fire of the opposition. Their cries turned to whisper, and the vengeance they sought started to waver. The name of a great house was something they could not tread lightly.

“And what proof do you have?” the bearded man asked. “Impersonating a noble is a heavy crime, and perhaps I will do the Weisebraun a favor.”

Dayana frowned. She had never felt this insulted before by such poisonous words from a rowdy-looking man. Her hand reached for her left chest, and yet the thing she sought wasn’t found by her delicate fingers. She looked down, and it was not there. The silver emblem of the owlbear was gone. It might have dropped while running through the flaming forest or dislodged itself while she was thrown into the pond.

The bearded man laughed boisterously. He had been observing Dayana with keen eyes, and the obvious flustered look was not missed. “Where’s your pompous words now, wench?” the bearded man asked, chuckling. “On behalf of the Weisebraun, I will be sure to teach you a lesson before your death.” His eyes traced over Dayana’s figure which was tightly hugged by her dress. He had seen his fair share of women, but none as beautiful as her.

“Someone made a big blunder,” Mathias whispered from the back, grinning. While the rest grew worried. Zach took his time, eying everyone on the other side, and noticed every one of them held a sword and shield, the common denominator of a knight. Looking at how things were, their shot at surviving this perhaps lay upon the sole mage among them.

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“Wet that snatch of yours, woman, as it won’t be long as I finish those pubescent boys that flock around you along with that old cunt,” the bearded man said.

Dayana gnashed her teeth in revolt, fuming inside. She glanced at Zach who stood beside her and noticed his calm demeanor as if the incoming confrontation did not matter.

“Do you still want to burn them, Mathias?” Zach asked.

“Do I even have a choice?” Mathias smirked. The wand revealed itself as the blonde man cast his spell behind the cover of his allies.

“Everyone, get ready,” Zach said in a whisper. Barely opening his mouth. “Five minutes. We need to hold them all for five minutes.” None of them knew what five minutes meant as their sense of time was only in hours based on a sundial. But they trusted Zach’s word, and they would do as told.

“Be delighted, men,” the bearded man said. “Our first battle will reward us with some fine pussies to fuck.” Some cheered with delight, while some hesitantly joined in the battle cry.

But then, a resounding voice towered over everything else. Silencing the cheer into nothingness.

“Did I ask to scout, or did I ask to fuck?”

The voice sounded familiar, too familiar. Zach gazed at the enemies as they parted, revealing a path for a man to stride forward. That hair and those eyes reminded him of his mother. They found each other eyes, and both stood in a daze.

“Cyrus,” Zach said.

His elder brother moved again, heading forward. Ignoring the men around him. Zach did the same as the others questioning what was going on. But before they knew it, Zach and Cyrus were one step away from each other. The rest waited with bated breath as the sudden tension weighed heavily on them. But then, those two men did the unexpected.

Zach and Cyrus embraced each other, their arms tightly grasped one another as they felt each other warmness. Despite the ridicule gazes from his elder brother, Zach was still his brother.

“Are you well?” Cyrus asked. Parting with Zach as his green eyes went up and down on his little brother.

“I’m fine, brother,” Zach said. Gazing at Cyrus as it had been a while since he received such a warm gaze from this stern firstborn of Gardwin. Their relationship had been strained over the last few years, and Zach knew he was the cause of it.

“But what happened to your face? It’s even worse when you touch that creeping ivy in Lake Town,” Cyrus said.

“Well, it’s a long story. But I think we should handle this situation first, brother,” Zach said.

Cyrus turned his gaze to the people behind Zach. He found the bow in Teena’s hand, and he frowned.

“I take responsibility for the arrow,” Zach said. Their eyes locked again with one another. “She did it under my command.”

“She almost kill one of my men,” Cyrus said. The word almost was hard to miss.

“Almost? Is he alive?” Zach asked.

“He is,” Cyrus said. “Fortunately, we have a healer within our midst.”

“A healer? How did he know how to use his skill?”

“He’s a Highbrow,” Cyrus said.

The new word made Zach widen his eyes.

“Is Grant…” before he could finish Cyrus shook his head. The second eldest, Grant Gardwin was a member of the Highbrow Union. It was a place where scholars gathered, and knowledge was shared and developed. A place where intellects thrived.

“Still, I have the responsibility over my men, and it’s the job of a leader to seek proper justice,” Cyrus said. He was not going to brush this incident aside.

“Then I shall take it,” Zach replied. “Likewise, I gave the order, and a leader must hold the responsibility of his people.”

Cyrus kept his gaze on Zach, trying to read behind those gray eyes of his. Then he took another glance at the girl with the bow, and back to Zach. “Why gave the order?” Cyrus asked.

“She’s an archer. Her senses are a lot stronger than normal, and she detected approaching entities. As the leader, taking the first strike was the obvious thing considering the situation, and so I gave her the order,” Zach said.

The eyes that sought justice changed to those of interest. The ability of detecting danger was hard to ignore after witnessing the greatness of the healer’s skill.

“Have you fought?” Cyrus asked, and Zach nodded.

Zach gave a brief summary of what had happened, and his tale shook Cyrus to the core. It seemed his eldest brother had a pretty relaxed first day when compared to him.

“So the black smoke was because of you,” Cyrus said. His group had seen the increasing volume of smoke rising up to the sky.

“It wasn’t intentional, but it kept us alive,” Zach said. “So how are we doing this?”

Cyrus looked a bit confused at first, before realizing what Zach meant. “We’ll put your punishment on hold,” Cyrus said. “For now, you’ll join us and head to the Land of Safe.”

“Land of Safe?” Zach asked. The tacky name caught him off guard, and from the look of it, his brother definitely knew something more than him.

“The Highbrow healer told he received a message. A command to search and defend the Land of Safe,” Cyrus said.

“Only the healer?”

Cyrus nodded. Zach deduced that the healer had gained an exclusive notification from the system, and perhaps the healer class had a certain role in all of this.