Chapter 27: The Rat Pack at the Sound of the Flute

 "What man?!" A loud bellow came from the upper end of the narrow stone steps.

 "Your honor, we are rat catchers, ordered by Lady Maltila to come and catch rats," said a black figure on the narrow stone steps.

 "Keep your noise down so as not to disturb the rest of the adults," said a tall, majestic figure as he slowly left the exit of the narrow passage.

 The two ratcatchers picked up the steps and slowly passed behind the tall figure.

 The sconces on the walls were covered in melted candles, their light flickering and shining on the guards' armor. The Broken Warrior wore silver composite chainmail armor with silver arm guards that extended from his small arms to his fingers, a red cloak hung over his shoulders, and wielded a prowler's sword with a gold-plated double-bladed lance hanging from his back, his gaiters making a subtle metallic clanging sound with every step he moved.

 Clad in a tattered black cloak, the Ratcatcher moved slowly down the long corridor of the main building. On his shoulder is a tattered basket woven of rattan, which holds multiple mousetraps. In his hand was a lantern, revealing the skeleton of a bamboo stick inside, the candle in the cage dying as the wind whistled through the stone window.

 The pair eased through a side door into an empty bedroom. Ancient wooden bookshelves occupied an entire wall, with heavy tomes arranged in an orderly fashion between them. A vase of flowers was placed on the gold-encrusted coffee table, and the flowers inside the vase emitted a strong fragrance. A jeweled helmet rested on a hanger beside the bed. On the table beside the bed, the hilt of a sword reflected the cold light. Two pairs of boots stood upright at the foot of the bed. A satin quilt covered the wide bed, loose and soft.

 A mousetrap bowed silently by the side of the bed to place a mousetrap, while another stood by the desk, looking up at the moonlight through the window.

 "Ah~."

 "Who is it," the man lying on the bed rolled out of bed before the words left his mouth and drew his longsword to slash at the shadows.

 The two men slashed at each other. The guards pushed the door violently at the sound, and Shade, who had been sparring with the man, was slashed to death by the swords of his own guards after being kicked to the ground.

 "Wanted alive," the man shouted as the guards were already rushing towards the other figure located by the window.

 The moment the guards approached the black figure, the black figure floated down with the wind as if it were a robe. The moment the black robe fell to the ground, countless rats rushed out from within the black robe, and the rats scattered along the floorboards the moment they fell to the ground, fleeing under the big bed, running towards the door, burrowing into the cabinets, and running into the curtains. The entire black robe scattered in all directions in the form of countless rats, and the sound of flutes fluttered in the main floor castle.

 The guards were in a panic, slashing at the rats on the floor with weapons in their hands.

 As the numerous rats fled and scattered, the black robe disappeared completely into thin air. The floor by the window was empty, and a few rats, which had been hacked to death, were scattered on the floor.

 "What's going on, was that one just now a human?" The guards whispered.

 "Shut up! Lord Lord has been assassinated, summon all family members to the main building. Pull that body out," the naked man said, and then pointed to the bed, "Get him dressed."

 "Yes," several guards responded, two of them lifted the body of the man dressed in rags on the ground, while the other two dressed the middle-aged man on the bed.

 "Wait, everything that happened tonight must not be spread out," the man suddenly said as the guards were carrying the two corpses out of the room.

 These armor-clad warriors of the Broken Front moved toward the door with trepidation.

 The servants and guards in the main floor castle whispered about where the flute sound had just come from.

 The next day, early morning.

 From within the main building, a large number of soldiers poured out, soldiers wearing armor and holding sharp weapons, running along the streets.

 On the street, several armored high horses ran towards the main building, and from the horses came down several men and women in fancy dress, running straight into the building at a fast pace.

 The streets were crowded with people. The merchants, farmers, and craftsmen were talking.

 "Have you heard, a noble lord was killed in the main building castle."

 "They said they were killed by rat catchers, and now the city is full of rat catchers."

 "Yes, the city gates won't even let them in or out."

 "There was another strange thing last night, I was begging on the street and seemed to hear a flute inside the main building."

 "Yeah, I heard it too, that flute sound was mournful and continuous and lasted for quite a while. I thought I had misheard it."

 "There were quite a few strange things last night, a lot of rats came out of nowhere in my house, scaring my family's mouth with fear and trembling all night."

 "Yes! My store also has, store are some iron agricultural tools, also not much food, how come out so many rats, really strange."

 Not long afterward, on the street, soldiers came bound with a dozen or so men in rags, and stopped by the tall stone wall with several corpses hanging at the crowded corner of the street.

 A dozen or so people in rags were hanged on the stone wall, a few peasant women and children were lying under the stone wall crying their hearts out, kowtowing and pleading with the soldiers, but no one paid any attention to them.

 The city of Poros was in chaos as the soldiers searched from house to house for rat catchers.

 At noon, the crowd on the streets were talking to each other about the news they just learned, Lord Faljon is dead, was assassinated last night, so now the city of Poros is only allowed to enter and not allowed to leave.

 ----

 Zestia Village , a village located on the northeastern side outside of Boros City.

 "Fatid, get over here and help me hitch up the pigskin," shouted Norong as he rinsed the fat pig carcass with fresh water.

 "Coming," Fatid ran towards the pig case and picked up the freshly peeled skin on the ground, "Big brother, do you think Second Brother will find us? Does he know where we are?"

 "He will find us, we are just a narrow sea away from him," Norong said while stopping what he was doing and looking to the south.

 From this village, they could feel the sea breeze of the Narrow Sea. Nuyong came to this village a few months ago with his younger siblings and some villagers from the same village.

 Norong's father - Beledil, and Ramtuo's father and some villagers in this village, were originally part of the tribe's conscripted infantry, and after the war between Aserai and the Southern Empire, the troops were scattered after the defeat. Beledil, Rumto's father and a few villagers from this village strayed into the hinterland of the Southern Empire, in order to avoid encountering the troops of the Southern Empire on the front line, the group marched west where there was no fighting, preparing to return to Aselai by taking the west coast of the Narrow Sea after crossing the Western Empire to the west.

 When the group passed through the village of Zestia, after seeing this sparsely populated place with fertile land, lush forests, and abundant water, several people had the hit intention of having the entire village migrate over. This place is far away from the desert, more suitable for survival.

 After that, Rumto's father and a few villagers from the same village went back to Asele one after another, and then led the villagers of the village to return here one after another. Norong's mother, Tila, was the first batch of villagers who came with him for the first time.

 "Big brother, Fatihde, come here quickly. There's a man in a flower dress at the entrance of the village, it's funny," Alia shouted from the doorway.

 "Let Fatihid accompany you to see it, I've got work to do," Norong said, continuing to tend to the pork on the tabletop.

 Fatid and Alia hurried toward the entrance of the village.