Kapitel 195: Lands of white guardians (2)
Having each taken a horse, we set out for our destination. We would reach Baron's castle by lunchtime, and on the way, I decided to inquire with Asura about the terrain where we would have to fight.
"So, in a few words, the place is beautiful," Asura reminisced with a nostalgic smile. "Baron's castle is located directly north of the Academy, but his main lands stretch eastward all the way to the sea. They used to be separate provinces, but now they are ruled by one feudal lord. The entire territory to the north is bordered by a crown-like mountain range, and to the south are the sparsely populated lands of the Academy. However, one of the three roads to Nordrune passes through the baron's territory, so goods from the eastern part of Verania and the Academy pass north through his lands."
"An excellent place for ambushing traders. Bandit gangs must have settled there before, right?" I assessed the situation in that area.
"Yes, but my family has always guarded the eastern road, and no bandits managed to stay there for long. When the baron began ruling the lands, he had a serious argument with my father. Since then, the baron's men have been in charge of protecting the road. They ensured safety even better than my father's people, but the tolls increased several times. Still, they were within the legal framework, so no one complained."
"Strange that he needed help from the outside if he managed it on his own before."
"Yes, either these bandits are too cautious, or he doesn't want to lose his soldiers in a confrontation with them. Baron's lands are divided into two parts: the western ones with fields and several villages, and the eastern ones are around the sacred Mount Kamiyari, beyond a thick forest. My family lives in several major settlements around the sacred mountain."
"I can see this place means a lot to you."
"Yes, it's a mountain with eternal snow, sacred to our clan. There's the Temple of the White Goddess, whom we worship."
"What? So, you worship a dragon god?" I was surprised because most people are skeptical about dragons, not to mention believing in the church's faith or summoners.
"Yes, according to the legend, our clan originates from the White Goddess, which is why we can use ice magic," Asura turned her head to the east. "We'll leave the forest soon, and you'll see the sacred mountain."
The Academy's border was approaching, as was the edge of the dense forest. In the distance, we saw a high mountain with a perfectly-shaped truncated cone. The Great Northern Wall looked majestic, but the solitary peak rising from the forest amazed with its beauty.
"Oh, I thought it's always covered in snow," I noticed that a gray haze rose above the mountain's peak, and there was not much snow left on it. "I hope your family knows where to seek shelter because an eruption might happen soon."
"It's impossible..." Asura's eyes widened in fear. "This was not supposed to happen. We need to hurry."
The warrior attempted to spur the horses, but I stopped her just in time.
"What's going on?"
"If the sacred mountain's fire awakens, it will bring calamities and destruction to the entire human race," her hands were trembling.
"Asura," Katrina placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "we need to first stop by the fortress to inform the feudal lord of our arrival, but after that, we'll head straight to your family, I promise."
"Alright, I'm just worried about my family. I hope they're safe."
On the western outskirts of the feudal lands stood a majestic fortress. Just ten years ago, it was a small wooden outpost almost destroyed during the civil war. However, with substantial investments from the royal court, the new feudal lord constructed an impregnable fortress on the eastern border of the kingdom.
Presenting the contract, we passed the guards at the gate and entered the inner courtyard. Surprisingly, there were very few people inside—only servants and about a dozen soldiers guarding the walls. After leaving the horses in the stables, we headed to the baron's reception hall. All this time, Asura kept her face hidden under her hood, and to avoid revealing her identity, only Katrina and I removed our cloaks as a sign of respect to the castle's owner.
The inner chambers were not filled with paintings or expensive statues; instead, the walls were adorned with military trophies, the heads of slain monsters, and exquisite examples of weaponry. It wasn't hard to deduce the preferences of the castle's owner from the ambiance.
In the main hall, a similar setting greeted us. Along the walls stood expensive full-body armors, and just like throughout the castle, only two guards protected the entrance. In the center of the hall, on a small throne, sat the master of the castle.
He was a muscular and large man, even bigger than Grain, not exactly fitting the classic image of a baron. Short red hair was combed back, and his stern gaze revealed an experienced warrior. Beside the throne lay huge scabbards with a two-handed sword that could easily cleave me in half if he wished.
Katrina was the first to initiate the conversation. Slightly bowing, she addressed the castle's owner.
"Hello, Baron Rion. My companions and I have arrived at your request to solve the problem with the bandits."
"Hello, Princess. You've grown quite a bit since our last meeting," the baron replied, speaking to us while seated on the throne and showing no unnecessary emotions.
"We've met before?"
"Yes, I was in the squad that found you after the assassination attempt. I deeply regret that we couldn't save your mother in time. Since then, I dedicated myself entirely to serving the king, so as not to allow such a tragedy to happen again."
"Thank you for your kind words. But I would like to proceed with the matter as soon as possible."
"Of course," the baron said, rising and approaching the map hanging on the adjacent wall. "As you can see, the eastern trade route passes by my castle and leads to the northern lands. From their side, there are mecha, adamantium, and expensive mercenaries, while on our side, we have gold, precious gems, and spices. Trade caravans often cross my lands, provoking the bandit gangs. To the east of my territory, the route passes through a dense forest, and attacks usually occur there. I would like you to catch the bandits or, even better, find and destroy their hideout. I know it's somewhere in the forest, but my people haven't been able to locate it so far."
"Forgive me, but don't you have a personal guard?" I interrupted the baron, which he didn't seem to appreciate, but unlike most nobles, he didn't fall into a fit of hysterical pride. "I am sure that your soldiers are well-trained and numerous enough to deal with a mere gang."
"Yes, my soldiers could handle them if they found them. However, unfortunately, the bandits never attack people dressed in my soldiers' uniforms. But I can't search the forest now since I've sent a significant portion of the guard for training in the neighboring lands, and those who remained are the castle guards and a few patrols, totaling about fifty people."
"You sent people for training? Are you preparing for war?"
"Young man, are you from a different planet?" the baron shook his head in dissatisfaction. "The empire has already attacked the Academy, and although we managed to achieve a temporary truce, war is only a matter of time. Of course, the first targets of their attack will be the fortresses in the east, and mine will be at the forefront. I don't want my castle to fall without a fight, so I want to gather an army that can resist the invaders."
"But we are trying to prevent the war!" Katrina objected to the baron, but he only smiled in response.
"Do as you please, but I see signs of an approaching war, and I won't sit idly by. These bandits are causing irreparable damage to my authority. Without profits from trade, I won't be able to maintain my soldiers, and those who remain won't be able to hold off the empire even for a couple of days. That's why I hired you."
"May I ask another question?" Vina emerged from under her cloak. "The reward you offered significantly exceeds the standard bounty for the heads of bandits. Considering your ambitions, isn't this an unreasonably high expense?"
"Hmm, you must be the treasurer then," the baron replied. "Yes, the reward is substantial, but it is well-deserved. Recently, this gang killed and looted the royal caravan carrying taxes. They were going from the capital to the east, then to the north, and back to Valenwood. There should have been taxes from half of Verania! It's no less than ten million!"
"So, they are highly dangerous. Wouldn't it be better to seek help from the royal army?"
"NO! I don't want to lose face because of bandit attacks, which is why I also ask you to keep this mission a secret."
"Alright," Katrina bowed and turned towards the exit. "We'll start with the village of Kamyari. If we're lucky, the bandits will mistake us for traders, and we can catch them in battle."
"Wishing you good luck," the baron said.
We left the house and headed towards the stables. On the way, I decided to take a closer look around the courtyard. There was a forge where new armor and weapons were being crafted, and the shelves were filled with finished products, even though there were no eager customers around. Besides our horses, there were many others in the stables, and in one of the barns, I noticed a strange contraption. However, as soon as I tried to examine it more closely, a guard hurriedly closed the door in front of my nose.
"I don't like the atmosphere here," I spoke to Katrina after making sure that the guards weren't following us. "This place doesn't look like a castle without guards for a long time."
"I don't know. Baron seemed quite loyal to the king. He cares about the kingdom's safety," Katrina replied.
"Unfortunately, even if he is a good general, he is a terrible feudal lord," Asura interjected into our conversation. "For him, the army is the most important, so he spends all the money only on that. He collects the maximum allowable tax from the peasants, barely leaving enough for a large family to get by. And at the same time, he doesn't spend money on such trifles as dams, roads, hospitals, only on the army."
"It seems he is seriously afraid of war with the empire."
We had already left the castle and were moving through the streets of the surrounding town, able to talk without fearing that someone might overhear us.
"I wouldn't want to disappoint him, but we most likely won't attack his fortress," Eileen rode closer to us. "Our goal isn't the total conquest of your land, and we can organize equipment supplies through the air. So instead of wasting troops on capturing all these fortified castles, the emperor will probably send his army straight to the capital, capture the king, and declare victory over Verania."
"Oh my, isn't it a bit too casual for you to share such information with us?" I teased.
"No worries. I still hope that we can prevent the war, but even if not, it won't change the tactics."
"Then maybe we should tell the baron that his castle isn't under threat from the empire, and he'll stop spending so much on the army?" Katrina's idealism shining through.
"It would be foolish to expect that he'll believe ME, an imperial spy. And it would be good if he lets us leave the castle after that," Asura said.
"Do you know what? I've come to realize something important," I evaluated the baron's speech and word choices and made the only right conclusion. "The baron didn't care much about choosing the mercenaries. He only knew one thing about our guild, that the guild master is Princess of Verania. If he had done even a small investigation, he would have learned about Seleria, Hilde, and Aileen. But he clearly wasn't interested. Most likely, he hired us precisely because a member of the royal family is in our group, so he could use that to his advantage."
"That was rather crude," Kat narrowed her eyes disapprovingly.
"But I'm afraid it's true. Asura, I'm starting to believe in your predictions more and more."
"So, what do you think?"
"They look like traders, but something about them doesn't sit right with me."
"They went to see the baron, clearly not for trading business."
"Most likely just another group of mercenaries. We'll handle them as usual."
"But, my lady, they came from the Academy, they might be stronger than they appear."
"All the better. If they are wealthy nobles, they probably have good weapons and armor with them. In any case, they'll be useful to us."
"Should we call more people?"
"No, we've already lost so many. We can handle it ourselves, but if we start losing, we'll retreat immediately."
"It looks like they are heading to the village."
"They won't find anything there. Let's set a trap for them on the way back."
The shadows hidden in the trees ran eastward, overtaking the mercenaries' caravan.
We were already approaching the territory of the Yukitori clan, and I decided to inquire a bit about it from Asura.
"Asura, do you have a large family?"
"Our clan comprises nearly three thousand of the best warriors on the continent. That's not counting the elders and children."
"So, both men and women serve in your clan?"
"Children are trained in swordsmanship from the age of five. And if you had searched a bit in the books, you would have found that our clan was founded by a female warrior. So, girls fight on equal terms with our men."
"Yes, yes, I can see that," my words slightly embarrassed Asura. "But I asked about your family, not the clan. You only told us about your father."
"Yes, my father was a great warrior, and it was only because he lacked magical abilities that the king took our lands away from him. I always respected him and wanted to regain the right to rule our ancestral lands."
"And your family saw that as betrayal?"
"Yes, I hoped my father would understand my feelings, but it was in vain. Now I am no longer part of the family, but I won't give up. When I earn the right to own these lands again, I will pass the management back to the family, and even though I may not be able to return, I am sure they will be glad."
"But you were the heiress to the clan leader. What will happen to them after your departure?"
"My younger sister will become the new leader. Our mother died shortly after her birth, and my father had no other children, so there are no other contenders. She always wanted to become as strong a warrior as I was, but it didn't really work out for her. But I can say for sure that everyone in the family loved her, and I believe she will make a better leader than I ever would."
"Do you miss her?"
"I... No, it's better for us not to see each other," Asura sadly lowered her gaze. "I saw her when we were here a couple of months ago. She still hasn't forgiven me for my betrayal. So it's better for us not to meet again. Because of me, she already has enough problems."
"Oh, it looks like we've arrived."
Around the corner, beyond the wall of the forest, I could see a wooden palisade and tall red gates surrounding the village.
"They might not welcome you too warmly because of me, but don't worry; they respect strong warriors and will treat you well."
Asura dismounted from her horse and approached the gates. Taking a deep breath, the prodigal daughter finally decided to open the doors, but the sight beyond them wasn't particularly joyful.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein