Few days went by after that incident, and while Mary successfully bonded with her female polar wolf, Asher still couldn’t forget what happened that day. He had to inquire from Kelvin if there was anything special about that place, and Kelvin told him that there was a cave there where all the Ashbournes that ruled were buried.
It was no wonder the mountains were given the name Ash Mountains.
It was a tomb for Ashbourne Lords.
After training for several nights and sleeping over it, Asher could finally live with the fact that there were indeed some mystical elements still existing in their current world. There was no way a creature that big would appear, and everyone in the village, including Mary, who was just a dozen meters behind, wouldn’t see it.
“Your Lordship, are you okay?”
Standing on the alure of Nineveh’s walls and basking under the sun’s warm radiance, Kelvin turned to his Lord.
“I am.”
Asher replied solemnly.
They were looking at the departing convoy. It was a carriage and twenty bronze-ranked swordsmen, who were to guard the carriage until it was out of the wasteland.
“Will she be okay over there? She really wants to stay with her only remaining relative.”
Asher adjusted his coat as a misty breath left his lips.
“She’ll be better there. There she will learn the ways of the high plains and bring it back to teach us. I’m planning for the future, Kelvin.”
“Forgive my lack of foresight.”
Asher patted his shoulder.
“It’s not lack of foresight, but you were blinded by concern for our family.”
Asher looked at Kelvin, who still donned his butler attire proudly. The 60-year-old man came to him and rejected the offer to become his grand adviser. According to Kelvin, he was from the lineage of butlers who had served the Ashbournes, and it was a duty much more noble than being an adviser.
When the convoy vanished from sight, leaving only the vast white plain, Asher turned and looked at the mountains.
While reading the Ashbourne records, he saw a map of the wastelands, and this stronghold was at the end of it! The ash mountain was a wall that divided the wastelands from the beyond. Where the stronghold is was a part of the mountain that went inward, like a natural gate of this naturally formed wall.
He finally understood that the Ash Town was built to stop whatever lay in the beyond, also called the desolatelands.
According to the Ashbourne records, the desolatelands was a harsh environment for humans, but it was a paradise for rare resources, barbarians who were naturally stronger than a typical human, and the rest of the unknown.
While the writer was warning not to encroach, Asher only saw a vast land, as big as the entire Eternal Immortal Empire that has never been conquered. If an iron mine, which was a recourse that nobles killed themselves over, was at the borders of the Ash Mountains, what then lay in the desolate lands?
And it was better to incorporate the tribes and civilizations there into his growing territory than those in the high plains.
While they descended from the wall, Asher began to speak.
“Can you find a trustworthy physician? We don’t have priests, and we need a way to tend to the sick and wounded, or people will keep dying.”
“On the next trade, I’ll move to Hebron Town myself and inquire.”
Kelvin replied.
They boarded a carriage that went straight to the castle. The first thing that caught Asher’s eyes upon alighting from the carriage was his castle guards being subjected to a new training style introduced by the man supervising them.
The supervisor was none other than Alex!
“What’s this?”
Asher asked with a raised brow.
This was the first time he had seen them training. All of them were in their leather armor and battled against each other with swords and shields. They formed two teams.
All of them were swordsmen.
“Your Lordship!!!”
Upon seeing Asher, they fell on one knee and bowed their heads while roaring his name thunderously. The vigour in these men was infectious.
“Arise.”
They stood up in unison.
Then, Alex approached Asher.
“I’ve decided to start training the castle guards. We protect you, so we must stand out above other troops, but that’s not the case. A single Bladebreaker can wipe the floor with five of my men and get away with it.”
Asher shook his head helplessly.
“Give us the chance, My Lord. I can train these men to become a fearsome force that can only be commanded by you. We are your personal force, and we cannot disgrace your name.”
Seeing the determined look in the eyes of the soldiers, Asher nodded.
“As you wish.”
With that, he went into his castle.
…….
Night.
The cold air blew through Asher’s room while he was fast asleep.
All of a sudden…
Knock! Knock!
“Your Lordship!”
“Your Lordship!”
Asher sat up his forehead lines with creases. “Who?”
His voice was a bit deeper than usual.
“It’s Kelvin. There’s a sighting of the beast tide!”
‘Beast tide!’
Asher swiftly left his bed, grabbed his sword, threw a jacket, wore his boots, and opened the door.
“They’re here? I don’t hear any sounds.”
“A scout saw something concerning them and reported back. He says he can’t explain it, but you need to see it.”
“Where is Alex?”
“He’s outside waiting for you with 10 castle guards.”
……
Thud! Thud!
Twelve horse riders and a wolf rider trampled on the snow as they ran through the plains with solemn expressions.
Asher gripped the reins tightly as he gazed at the mountains in the distance.
Shortly after, the scout led them to a valley. Asher looked down and saw corpses splayed about. They were the corpses of several beasts.
“What could have done a thing like this?” Alex asked a question no one had an answer to.
“That’s what I want you to see, Your Lordship.” The barbarian scout pointed at the center of the massacre, and they saw a different being.
It was not a beast.
It was a…