1468 An Unforseen Battle
Whoooo~... Whoooo~
The faint cry of a night owl whispered in the dark.
Crickets chirped, fireflies danced, and the gently yet hot breeze caressed the cheeks of many.
The night sky was clear and filled with stars with no clouds in sight.
Beautiful.
One could get drawn in and mesmerized by their surroundings.
Yet... on this fine, warm night, a brooding chill passed through many like an electric current.
In the overly black massive tent fit for a ruler, several men gathered around in silence.
Their faces though looking expressionless, still managed to capture all the rage within them.
Want to kill them off so easily? Naive!!!
Commander Ferguson narrowed his face on the piece of flesh before him.
"You're majesty, I know of the ungrateful bastard who owns this."
How could he not?
This symbol belonged to one of the generals, whom he thought was like a son to him.
His heart quaked with pain.
What did he not do for this guy?
Amongst all his generals, this particular one was the person he blatantly favored.
What was so ironic was that he planned to step down 3 years later, handing the position over to the bastard.
Ferguson clutched his chest, bowing his head sadly.
Though no one could see his expression, they knew his pain was evident.
Who did not know how much Furgeson favored that General of his?
Back then, some even speculated that the said general was Ferguson's illegitimate child he had when he was 14. (Legal age in Deiferus).
The way he favored the general was no secret.
But who would've known that one would raise a white-eyed wolf in the end?
Sigh...
Brinkley lay his hand on Ferguson's shoulder, saying no words of comfort.
For a moment, the atmosphere was strange, with feelings of anger, disbelief, and betrayal.
Brinkley also had his own surprised alarm when seeing the marks on one of the captured hidden guards.
.
Heh.
No matter how one got old, life truly had a way of surprising them.
Reading the note his dearest General sent out, Brinkley released a chilling yet murderous laugh.
Unlike Ferguson, he strived not to favor any of his generals. So he wasn't too hurt like Ferguson.
All he saw was a traitor who wanted to kill him for his position.
But he had bad news for the fool.
He, Brinkley, was still 41 years old and will either die in position or retire at 50!
So they can just forget about eyeing his position now. He still had 9 good years to keep this seat.
Reading the many notes, everyone more or less understood that if they didn't eradicate these old believers, they, as Commander, would continuously receive a wave of assassins from the enemy.
For now, the other generals underneath them might be innocent. But who is to say they won't get tempted in the future?
The event wanted to push its people into the main power positions once they died.
So more generals would definitely get tempted in the future. Some might turn down the offer, while others might greedily accept.
But whether they showed loyalty or not was a reality that could happen in the future.
So why not eliminate the root fast, stopping such a situation from happening?
They already had many people attempting to assassinate them yearly. So why add another devious bunch into the mix?
As a rule of thumb, enemies no longer hidden in the shadows should be killed off quickly!
The Commanders clenched their fists in determination.
"Your majesty, we must get rid of the council in the next 3 years!!"
Yes... 3 years tops!
(*^*)
Seeing their fiery eyes, Henry nodded in agreement. "I know. That's why moving forward, I'll need all the help I can get from you. But first, let's handle all spies in our camp."
Right!
Everyone thinned their kid, leaning in to listen to Henry's instructions.
And the more they listened, the more they realized that this monarch of theirs might not be as soft-hearted as they initially thought.
Who was this?
Where did their previous monarch go?
....
Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.
Time was a gift that waited for no man.
1...2... 3 A.M came in a blink of an eye.
The camp was chill, with a good fraction of people already asleep.
The other fraction stayed up, guarding the camp diligently.
Everything seemed to go as it should, with nothing but the sounds of nature acting as a lullaby to the sleeping warriors.
But unbeknownst to them, their seemingly peaceful night would soon come to an end.
With his head on the soft cushion, Jameson fell to a light sleep.
As a warrior, one could never sleep deeply.
His senses were always alert, and his body honed to overcome obstacles and any surprise attacks.
The man who initially had his eyes closed suddenly opened them fiercely.
Schrip!!
A dagger plunged into his cushion several inches to the left, away from his head.
Jameson held his breath momentarily.
Luckily, he had reacted on time.
Assassin?
With a quick roll, he quickly rose to his feet.
And in less than a breath's time, the duo began exchanging attacks, twisting and turning their bodies in all directions.
"Who sent you?"
-silence-
The man in black didn't respond verbally, only allowing his blade to do the talking for him.
Swish!
The danger whistled in the air with the chilling sounds of death on its bladed tips.
Dammit!
Jameson rolled over his sleeping mat, quickly taking the dagger underneath his pillow.
'Come on!!'
Ting!
Their blades clashed.
And at this very moment, time seemed frozen in place.
The fight was intense and vicious—each one wanting to kill another with a single move.
With an unforgiving attack, the assassin sent his dagger toward his opponent's heart.
Schrip!
A long horizontal line formed on the tent's left walls.
Pah!
Jameson kicked the assassin through the opening, forcing the villain out the tent.
Yes! He did it on purpose.
The battle, though seemingly quiet, should've alerted all 6 personal hidden guards stationed around his tent.
However, none of them had shown up since the battle began.
Analyzing things quickly, Jameson concluded that his guards should either be held up or dead.
In that case, it was safe to assume that there was more than one assassin sent to kill him.
However, he didn't think they would be more assassins compared to the number of warriors in the entire camp.
Are you joking?
He alone had 2000 men here. So imagine how many the other generals and commanders had out together?
.
Seeing how only one had attacked him while the others were preoccupied with his hidden guards, he quickly concluded that they were no more than 7 intruders.
What he feared was that the other intruders would kill his hidden guards and gang up in numbers to kill him off.
That's why he decided to force the assassin out in the open for all to see.
This way, at least, he would have a chance of keeping his neck.
Strong! The assassin he fought was quite strong!
But who?... Who would've sent them to finish him off around these parts?
Could it be the council?
Jameson's expression turned grim.
After receiving his note, had the council sent these men to eliminate him because they didn't want to hold to their own end of the bargain?
For all he knew, maybe they had any hidden trump card to play the part of a Commander after the whole charade.
Jameson clenched his fist murderously.
Good... Good... What a good council.
Dare to deceive this daddy?
Apart from the council, he couldn't think of anyone else who would hire assassins to take him out while here.
Make no mistake. He, like many in powerful positions, had tons of enemies.
But those said enemies didn't know his current whereabouts now.
There were only those here and those with the council that knew his location.
So it all narrows down, doesn't it?... Or could it be another General who is jealous of all the favoritism he got from Commander Ferguson?
It's no secret that Ferguson would probably choose him as an heir for the position. But if he dies, the other generals would be viable to take over.
Jameson lowered his head and stepped through the opening to meet the assassin he kicked earlier.
'Bastard! I'd like to see how you'll handle things when your presence comes to light.'
Sure enough, his plan seemed to be working. However, after stepping out and seeing the scene before him, Jameson had a bad feeling in his gut
"Assassin!... Assassin!!!"
Someone saw the dark figure make the wind and was quick to alarm many.
What? An assassin in the camp?
In his camp, those sleeping woke up like vampires in a coffin, singing to their feet without delay.
They grabbed the sword underneath their pillows, hurting out to see this said assassin.
And stepping out of their tents, they were quickly taken aback.
F***!
Since when did their camp get surrounded by the Commander and his men?
How could the Commander and his men arrive so fast?
They… they were surrounded in all directions.
No matter how slow Jameson was, he knew he had fallen into a trap.
