Tobias chose to go to the first village, which was located in a forest. Before they arrived, Tobias and Liam would meet at an intersection after entering the dense forest.
Both of them continued to spur their horses on at a steady pace. They didn't want to be in a hurry to arrive, of course, while both of them scanned the surroundings.
The forest was an unpredictable area. It could be used by people to commit robberies or other crimes without being detected.
Not only evil-hearted humans but many wild animals roamed the forest. Given that this place was their habitat, there was no fear whatsoever for the animals to defend their habitat or territory.
The first intersection Tobias encountered was the same as when he rode in from the west with Giselle, Theo, and Mira. Tobias stopped his horse, looking right and left.
Liam did the same, "Where's the road to one of those villages?"
Tobias pointed to the dirt roads on two sides, north and south, "T
"Dieter Archibald?" asked Tobias.The man had no idea that anyone else from the House of Archibald was still alive. In all the time Tobias had lived in the Archibald residence, he had never seen Dieter, and his parents had never told him anything about Dieter."I'm your grandfather's older brother," Dieter said, smiling as he tried to remind Tobias of that.Tobias sighed. If only he knew what Archibald's family tree was like, he might know Dieter's identity better.His small family was all he knew; they had all been killed in the war against Valcke. Giselle and himself were trying to restore the glory of the House of Archibald at any cost."I apologize. I don't remember anything after waking up from the coma," Tobias explained.Dieter Archibald's eyes widened violently; he hadn't expected Tobias to feel that way. If what Tobias said was true, then there was no way he could have known Dieter or even his own grandpa."I see, huh. I'm su
The villagers' steps began to stop near a cliff. Tobias and Liam watched with expressions of admiration for the beautiful landscape of the Atrea region.Because of its high location, Tobias and Liam could see the landscape of the urban areas and forests in the western region. He could see Hooktown and several other towns under Valcke's control."You can watch the war from here," Tobias said."It's something we've been doing for a long time, ever since the war against Valcke in Stratham happened," the villager said.He stood with his head slightly bowed. Liam was focused on watching the man while wanting to know what the man was doing. However, it was different with Tobias, who was still standing near the cliff secured by the fence, staring at the landscape of the Atrea region, which was now filled with farm fields."It looks like Valcke's purpose for capturing that territory is to use it as their farm," Tobias said."If I can seize this terr
Tobias couldn't wait for them from above. He looked down with a peek. There were a total of 20 people walking along armed to the teeth.They looked eager to kill Tobias, not knowing the consequences of dealing with the nobleman.One by one, the criminals began to walk up the stairs. They walked in neat rows, their right hands holding weapons while their left hands held torches.Seeing the situation that was happening, Tobias couldn't stay long in that place. He thought he would be completely trapped if he stayed here when the criminals arrived.Tobias looked to his right and left, seeing if there was any room in the rock. He picked up the torch, trying to shine some light around the place until he found a fairly dark corner.He returned the torch, walked over to the dark corner, and hid in it. Tobias was fairly certain that the bad guys wouldn't be able to find him, as they were too distracted with their ambition to kill Tobias."Come on. Le
The young man thoughtlessly dragged the man before him to walk out. Liam followed while carrying the bodies of the criminals to be thrown from the cliff, of course, to hide the traces of the murder that occurred.The man only throws away the spy who has just been killed. Tobias told Liam not to dump the other. Tobias was afraid that the disappearance of the bodies would raise the suspicions of the spies.Liam nodded his head, obeying. His hands began to lift the man's body that felt cold in his palms, throwing the body as hard as he could down the cliff."His body won't be left when night falls. The beasts in the forest must have smelled his blood," Liam said.The man turned his head slowly, looking behind his back at Tobias, who stood firmly before the spy he had arrested."I do remember the road to the village. However, in order to confirm whether it's the right path or not, I need to take you with us," Tobias said, crossing his arms in front of
"Let them in," said the troop commander.His order was immediately obeyed without arguing by the soldier guarding the gate. Instead of blocking Tobias and Liam, they were welcomed into Hooktown, which had been turned into a military town."Thank you, Commander," Tobias said."Just call me Heimer," said the middle-aged man, looking very dignified in his military shirt with a shiny badge attached to his upper left chest.He continued to make his way into the center of town, Tobias and Liam following on foot. He handed over the horses to the soldiers at the gate; it wouldn't be good if only the two rode horses while following Heimer.Liam and Tobias continued to look around them, specifically at the houses and shops that had been turned into sword forges. Not a single civilian was to be seen here; it was truly a closed and sterile area."We're sorry. We can't keep the defense line any further," Heimer explained."You saved a city from de
"I only came here to see the situation of the places that are still in Equestria," Tobias explained.The young man sat back in the chair, as did Heimer, who occasionally took a deep breath. The middle-aged man tried to calm down the enthusiasm that kept spreading in his heart, wanting to delay this pleasure until Tobias' troops actually arrived."Of the three places I've visited, it seems Valcke hasn't really touched the place directly," Tobias said."The road in this town is the only way from west to east. They could go through the forest, but the risk is quite high," said Heimer."My troops have laid many traps. Before the ceasefire was agreed upon, we used to hear explosions every night from deep in the forest," Heimer replies."This war is like a guerrilla war," Tobias explained.Heimer poured the entire bottle of wine into his glass. It was the seventh bottle he had finished this week, averaging one bottle of wine daily.Accordin
***Tobias and Liam drove away from the forest, leaving the horrific events in the center of Hooktown to Heimer's forces. Tobias felt absolutely no guilt about what had happened, even though he had, in fact, killed them.If only they hadn't dared to challenge Tobias to a fight, then the young man wouldn't have killed them in that fight. By now, all the soldiers in Hooktown knew precisely how powerful Tobias was.Before arriving in Leafvile, the two had to pass through the capital of Equestria first. Tobias planned to visit Giselle when he got there, so it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to bring Liam along."We probably wouldn't go straight to Leafvile," Tobias said."What do you mean, Lord Tobias?" asked Liam, curious."There's someone I'd like to meet in Valestria. We still have plenty of time before sundown," Tobias explained."Is he someone close to you?" asked Liam.Tobias moved his head left and right, explaining that the
"It's tough to get into this place. Your two guards are really doing their job well," Tobias said.The man complained to Giselle, who had actually put up a complicated guard in this place, unlike the previous conditions. Giselle realized that and apologized, but she did it for a reason."My workers are my precious treasures. I cannot just let people in and cause chaos inside," Giselle explained."Like the incident last month?" Marcela asked.Giselle snapped her fingers, pointing at Giselle, who was still standing near Tobias, "Like that.""What happened? Did something bad happen here?" asked Tobias, curious."The kidnapping of two of our workers. We were able to save one of them but not the other," Giselle explained."Since that incident, we've adopted an auction system and increased the number of guards outside and inside the brothel," Giselle continued.Tobias nodded his head. As he walked from the entrance to the third floor