The dark cult leader stood in front of the group and reflected a dozen of flying cannonballs and perhaps hundreds of rifle bullets with a wave of energy. Then he leaned on his staff.
"That's a dark mage! Everyone fire at him!" the captain of the wardens shouted.
"Mormir, I'm afraid you'll have to keep my word for me…" the cult leader said.
"Sir!" Mormir straightened in his back and raised his head to show honour and devotion to his task.
"Stephan, Caden... I love you. I love all of you," the cult leader looked around and then set off against the army of wardens.
"What are you doing?!" Caden called.
"What every father would do for his family, Caden."
"What?" Caden dismayed.
"Load the cannons already!" the captain of the wardens exclaimed.
"What is the chance that two mages will be born to normal people, one of whom is a dark mage?" the leader of the cult called.
"Fire!!" was heard down the hill.
Leader of the cult reflected another wave.
"Let's go!" Mormir ordered, turning away with the others.
"You'll just leave him here?!" Caden shouted.
"That's his order, boy. You will also come with us," Mormir retorted, and they all pulled out of the field and set out to bypass the wardens.
"What is he doing, sir?" the warden asked.
"He's probably mad, but give him death for his courage, lieutenant," the captain replied.
"Swords! Take your swords! Attack!" the lieutenant called out, and several lines of soldiers ran against the cult leader. That was the last thing Caden had seen when riding with others on horses.
"Move, we don't have time to rest. We must contact the second group at the southern Ashnaton Forest before..." Mormir commanded, paused and teardrop fell down his cheek. He probably finally realized what had happened. How their leader sacrificed himself for them.
"Before those bloody wardens take the formations by the forest," Cassandra added with a gentle smile, trying to hide her sadness, which was seen in her eyes. They continued until they finally reached the encamped second group in front of the South Ashnaton Forest.
"Where's Alger?" one of the mages asked Mormir.
"Numerous wardens have come in our way and he..." Mormir explained.
"Ah... I see," the man bowed his head and returned to the others.
"Em... Mormir?" What was your leader thinking by that stuff with a family?" Caden asked timidly.
"I'll explain it to you later, now it's not the time. Now we have to break through the quarantine of the wardens," Mormir nodded and walked toward the tent.
Caden sat on a piece of wood near Merill. "So how are you looking forward to seeing your mother? Strange to get there like this, isn't it?" Caden began the conversation.
"Yeah... that is. You know, I never really told you..."
"You mean how is it that your mother is a dark elf?" Caden smiled.
"Yes. My father was one of the wardens who supervise over the quarantine of the southern forest, maybe he still is. He fell in love with my mother, and as it happens, they had a child. Luckily for me, I was more like a father than a mother... and he smuggled me out and gave me to the biggest rogue in Green Grove, Gorej," Merill explained.
"Hah, what? You're not serious, why would Gorej..." Caden laugh.
"I don't know. Gorej was already smuggler at the time. He was the only person in the neighbourhood who wouldn't whistleblow my father to the wardens. And perhaps he was sorry for me, so he kept me and raised me in Oakdome," Merill explained.
"So... when we attack the quarantine, maybe we'll have to kill your father, right?" Caden said.
"Probably..."
"Still, I don't understand one thing," Caden said.
"What, Caden?"
"Why did you join the city guard, by all the Saints?" Caden laughed.
"I don't know, maybe because I didn't want to be like Gorej. I like him, I do, but..."
"You'd better help people than rob them," Caden added.
"Hah, but that won't be possible after this," Merill laughed sarcastically.
"You're probably right," Caden said when the horn sounded.
"This is a war horn, we're going to attack," Merill stood up and headed forward with Caden.
"What is the quarantine actually protected by? There is no wall!" Caden shouted as they followed the hordes of mages into the depths of the forest.
"Nobody really knows, Cade, maybe it won't be too much..." Merill said when they heard a strange sound.
"What was that?!" Caden called.
Lightning began to lash from the trees, and strike the running mages.
"Fast! We must go on!" Mormir shouted.
Caden and Merill were hit by lightning several times, but they continued.
They came to the village, enclosed by an iron wall, in front of which several groups of wardens stood. The mages started to fight them, and Caden with Merill joined. Finally, the furious forest struggle was won by the mages. All the wardens were executed. The village was liberated.
The battle was won, but the war has just begun.
Before the mages executed the chief warden, they learned from him how to control the village's defensive mechanism. It was a kind of lightning energy that attacked mages from trees, a new invention of the Stormers.
"So what do we plan now?" Caden asked Mormir.
"Um... so are you joining us?" Mormir asked.
"I don't know yet, but I'll go with you against the wardens," Caden replied.
"All right. We should deal with the northern base of the wardens so that we can move on inland with secured back," Mormir explained.
"And that's where exactly?" Caden asked.
"Hmm... it should be nearby. When our followers rest, we'll go there."
Caden found a place to sleep and lay there. Soon, Tom found him and lay down next to him.
"Hi, Caden. That's fucking cool, isn't it? We joined the cult of the darkness, dude!" Tom started.
"So you survived? Well, that will be a long night," Caden muttered while trying to sleep.515Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aSQMR6zyn
