Chapter 98

News about the devastation of the two towns within the domain of Avarel spread, but the most intriguing information that made much fear of this so-called Rogue Army was its behaviour and sudden disappearance of nearly 70 thousand individuals just vanish without a trace in their territorial land inside the second nearest town named Stratford,

The authorities under the control of their council and ruling house are currently investigating the matter and have yet to release any official statement regarding the incident. The residents of nearby towns are advised to take necessary precautions and report any suspicious activity to the authorities.

Viscountess Hilas Ugrihron already advised all of her people to plan in case they should evacuate their homes and business to save their lives, as of now she only has 100 fully armed, but they are all still inexperience in actual battle and a handful of her remaining elite Knights were still recovering, with this issue the Viscountess also considered to seek help from neighbouring kingdoms to increase her military power and prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Additionally, she might allocate resources to train and equip her soldiers to be more effective in defending their land but because of the altercation with the Floating Garrison of Avarel Knights, their reactions were poorly received by the surrounding cities that might eventually face the same predicament.

the residents of Stratford were able to evacuate and save all of their lives and personal belongings and now after gaining some help from an aristocrat to temporarily stay at their land for a day were finally able to return to their ruined homes, to their surprise they were expecting to see an unlivable town but the area was fine some broken items that can easily be fixed, the only thing that remained were thousands of foot marks on the ground, everybody heard that half of the population in were killed was around four hundred and the missing others were numbering at seven hundred mix race gone,

The residents of Stratford were relieved to see that their town was not completely destroyed and that they could start rebuilding their homes once again. However, the loss of so many lives and the disappearance of hundreds of people left a heavy weight on the community, which was now faced with the daunting task of moving forward after such a tragedy.

unknown to them, those seven hundred residents from Worcester that went missing were now being used as guinea pigs in the hands of a demented mind,

conducting experiments with their bodies and minds, Those victims were subjected to unimaginable torture and pain, with no hope of escape or rescue from their captor. It was a horrific situation that would haunt them for the rest of their lives,

after five long days of suffering, all of them suddenly notice those who conducted those heinous activities just never came back and just left all seven hundred both male and female young or old that were taken captive realized and took the risk to escape and free those who were too weak to move, miraculously none of them died, but the majority of them went insane and was never the same ever again,

The physically and mentally strong survivors were traumatized and struggled to come to terms with what had happened to them. and went on with their life as if nothing happened badly to them, this scenario gave chills to those who heard the stories, so many questions were asked but all the seven hundred individuals just went on their separate ways without a rational explanation, this baffled everybody to point new stories emerge out of the blue, those individuals could only be identified with the long scar on their arms,

After six days passed and no other incident occurred, the tale of the Worcester graveyard town became an urban tale, as a travelling troubadour spread this strange story to kids, within that same time

Loki Ingeborg was able to receive a letter from Ramiel or Lā mǐ'ěr, the letter was to address all of them, and for those who waited for his return, that because of an unforeseen situation that was unavoidable he apologize to those who he gave his word that on the seven days, he shall train them to become stronger, with this information the knight Leilatha Atinen sadly just accepted his reason and just as when will he return,

"the letter mentions that Lā mǐ'ěr the black battle mage will be here after lunch,"

At the same time, the Regional Director finally gave his answer concerning the Regional Tournament's current status, because they all thought the competition would be cancelled due to the circumstance surrounding the Rogue Army incident a few days ago,

the Appointed Tournament Director with a unanimous decision from all of the attending nobles to continue the event as they have already selected the city to host the battle, and The Tournament Director assured the nobles that all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of the participants and attendees. He also promised to make the event even more spectacular than before to make up for any inconvenience caused by the delay.

Leilatha and the rest of her team were disappointed with the news because the date of the competition never adjusted to compensate for the circumstances that everybody had a focus on unexpectedly

as they had been preparing for the inevitability that they might enter a state of war, they weren't able to get the opportunity to train for the Regional Tournament, now they only had three days left to train before the big day, nevertheless, they decided to make the most of the remaining time and put in extra effort to ensure that they will get into a qualification round,

Despite the time constraint, they will now work tirelessly within that three days and even extended their training hours to perfect their skills. They were determined to make up for lost time and show their opponents what they were made of.

when Lā mǐ'ěr just appeared out of nowhere and didn't waste time on the details and just told all six of them that now will train at the Guild training hall, and will remain inside the facility until he opens the door.

Leilatha Atinen was seen a bit disheartened, knowing that the guild Training Hall was used to train novice hunters with zero experience when it come to killing, and most of them just used the hall for recreational purposes, She had hoped to find a more serious and dedicated group of hunters to train with,

Lā mǐ'ěr assured them if they do not take the training seriously they will die, Loki Ingeborg was already inside the hall as he place many supplies of food and water in the safe zone, He knew what kind of scenario and set up Lā mǐ'ěr was using, that the training was crucial for their survival and wanted to ensure that they were well-prepared. Loki hoped that his efforts would help them endure the challenges ahead and increase their chances of survival.

Eiresti Nimwen Gallien greeted Lā mǐ'ěr with a new look she cut her hair and now wears a knight in training uniform, he was pleased that she didn't waste her time wallowing in the past and took up training lessons under the guide of Leilatha while going down the guild training Loki was talking to Leilatha, as Loki was commenting on the subtle changes in Lā mǐ'ěr presence like he was constantly controlling his energy from leaking out, those this mean he became strong in the past few days,

and he felt that Ramiel was hiding more than what he actually mentioned before, Loki couldn't shake off the feeling that Ramiel was keeping something important from him, but he didn't want to push too hard and risk damaging their friendship.

Loki Ingeborg's intuition was usually spot on, so he decided to confront Ramiel and ask him directly about what he was hiding, hoping to get a clearer understanding of the situation. However, Taeriel Ingeborg ran toward the hall and asked for his brother concerning a situation that need to be addressed now,

Loki Ingeborg' had no choice but to go with his sister, and left them alone,

"so shall we proceed!"

Lā mǐ'ěr guided the six trainees inside the Training hall and once again advise them to don't assume this regimen is for beginners, to treat this like any other life-threatening situation, and took out a huge wooden container that he gave Leilatha open to see what was inside it was filled with small breakable glass Ampoules filled with healing potions,

"These are High-grade healing potions, use them wisely,"

Lā mǐ'ěr walked and went toward the entrance door

"confirm identification"

"identification acknowledge."

"implement training regiment, "

"Activate after the closing of the entrance door, remember what I told you all take this seriously or you will die!"

and closed the door, the moment he turn around, Loki Ingeborg' was stunned to hear Ramiel casually walk into the guild lobby as news about the vast number of female teens was disappearing once again spreading. Ramiel's nonchalant demeanor about the situation made Loki Ingeborg suspicious of his involvement in the disappearances. As he approached Ramiel, Loki Ingeborg couldn't help but wonder if he was dealing with a master manipulator or a clueless bystander,

"Sigma, you know what to do!"

"yes, master!"

After finishing his formal request about the missing people, Ramiel walked up to his former room and as fast as he can Loki could run up toward him to ask him what happened in the past days when he was not here in Ivlares city,

Loki saw him at the end of the corridor hall where a huge window stood and looking out toward the city, even before Loki could ask Ramiel took a deep breath and began to recount the events that had taken place, from the search for the missing people to the discovery of a hidden underground illegal slave entertainment gambling activity. Loki listened intently, his eyes widening in surprise as Ramiel described the strange occurrences that had been happening in Ivlares city, and further added to Loki that he had been busy searching for clues and any information on those ten he encountered before,

at the same time Omael Drorkanel was overseeing his new cargo while his new patron sends their secret orders based on the specification they wanted to see, he was meticulously inspecting the cargo to ensure that it met the required standards, while also keeping a close eye on his crew to ensure that they followed all safety protocols. He knew that any mistake could result in disastrous consequences for both him and his patron.