A few days later, a caravan was driving on a wide road not far away from the Black Tulip's Earldom.

The caravan consisted of several long carriages that were made of a special kind of wood, each with three large white horses pulling them from the front.

These horses were not ordinary animals, but special beasts that had been domesticated by the humans of this world, bred to possess not only extraordinary endurance but also superb strength and intelligence.

Each carriage was accompanied by a team of Knights dressed in thick iron armor, who constantly scanned their surroundings as if they were searching for danger.

Suddenly, the Knight at the front of the caravan raised his hand, signaling the carriages behind him to a stop.

Immediately, the other Knights controlled the horses to stop running and gathered with their teammates to discuss. A few teams stayed near the caravan, while others held watch further away.

"What do you think the Lord is planning to do with these 'things'?"

Keeping watch around a lit fireplace, a Knight Apprentice couldn't help but ask his companion, as the loud screams and words of begging reached his ears despite being so far away.

He wasn't fazed. He knew that these sounds came from the "items" they were transporting. Or rather, from the people inside the many carriages.

Though this was not the first time that this Knight Apprentice had done this job, he still felt somewhat nauseous when he tried to imagine what the final fate of these people would be.

Hearing his words and seeing the concern that was obvious on his face, his companion didn't try to comfort him.

"What else could he do with them? The women will either become concubines or be presented as gifts to other nobles, while the children will be sent to the mines to work.", he said bluntly.

His voice was cold, containing not even the slightest trace of warmth, as if he didn't regard the captured as real people, but as mere animals.

Or rather, this person seemed to see these people as less than animals.

His words made the original Knight Apprentice frown, but he didn't show much surprise. He had already asked several people before, and this was the most common answer he had received.

Just when he was about to ask further, his companion suddenly got up and, after patting the accumulated dirt off his clothes, walked away.

"Keep watch. I'll be back right away.", his faint voice echoed in the Knight Apprentice's ears, who immediately nodded his head to show that it was fine.

Time slowly passed.

The fire's orange tinge fell on the Knight Apprentice's face and made him even more uncomfortable, while the crying voices behind him continued coming.

At first, he didn't notice anything wrong, but as time passed, he discovered something unusual.

Normally, his companion should have returned long ago. Yet, even though more than half an hour had passed, he was nowhere to be seen.

Thinking of this, the Knight Apprentice couldn't help but worry.

Rising to his feet, he was about to follow his companion's footsteps and go check up on him, when he captured a faint movement from the corner of his vision.

Before he could turn his head, though, a sharp dark blade slashed straight through his neck, cutting his head off and causing it to fly away.

The Knight Apprentice's eyes shone with confusion until his very death, not understanding how his companion and he had died.

--

A few hours later, the many Knights had gathered around the caravan once again and were ready to continue their journey.

However, during the headcount, they discovered that many people were missing.

"What happened? Where did they go?"

"Don't they understand the importance of our mission? How dare they slack off at times like these?"

The Knight at the front of the caravan scolded angrily, never expecting that his subordinates would let him down at such a critical moment.

He waved his hand and was about to order a team to call the missing people over when he suddenly felt the ground beneath him tremble.

"An earthquake?", he couldn't help but exclaim as he felt the trembling gradually increase.

"Captain! Look! There's something over there!", a discordant voice jolted him awake.

Instinctively, he raised his head and turned in the direction that its owner was pointing to.

Immediately, he discovered that a small number of black dots could be seen on the horizon.

At first, the Captain didn't understand what these dots represented, but as they grew closer, their true identity was fully revealed.

It was a small team of Knights on top of war horses, who were charging recklessly in their direction.

This sight, coupled with the previous missing people, let the Captain understand what was going on.

"Get to your positions! It's an enemy attack!", he yelled at his subordinates, who rushed to get into a formation, ready to meet the charge.

Shields were raised while spears and other long weapons extended through their gaps, used to stop the momentum of their enemies.

The Captain didn't choose to join them. He unsheathed the long sword on his waist with a flick of his hand and waited for the enemy Knights to arrive.

Having reached the peak of the Knight Apprentice rank, he was confident in his strength and his ability to deal with any danger.

Time quickly went by.

Before long, the marching enemy was practically next to the caravan, giving the Captain a clearer look at their appearance.

But he didn't care to investigate their identities at the moment.

He didn't give the enemy Knights the opportunity to charge head-on into his subordinates, but instead launched himself forward, wanting to curb some of their momentum.

His main target was the red-haired woman at the front, whom the Captain judged to be their leader.

"Hmph! A mere woman dares to play with swords and armor!", he scoffed, contempt and disdain flashing in his eyes.

Still, he neither underestimated her nor was he enamored by her beauty and let his guard down.

Like an emotionless killer, he raised his sword and was about to slash forward, ready to cut his opponent in two.

The red-haired woman seemed to sense his intentions, as she turned her head and her crimson eyes fell on his figure.

The moment they did, the Captain couldn't help but freeze.

He felt as if a sledgehammer had struck his head, causing his movements to pause for a split second.

By the time he recovered, the woman had already appeared before him.

In shock, the Captain tried to raise his sword in order to defend, but it was already too late.

The woman casually waved the iron sword she was holding, piercing through the gap of his armor and penetrating his heart with a single, extremely precise strike.

"The Captain is dead!", a fearful cry sounded from behind as a few people along the formation noticed something wrong and wanted to flee.

Unfortunately, before they could do so, the woman's figure flashed, and the sword in her hand began harvesting their lives.

The rest of the attackers arrived and, facing the broken formation, assisted their leader in conducting the massacre.

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