CHAPTER 406: MAKING HER ESCAPE

There was a time when she first began, when the thought of sinking her sword into a goblin was completely nauseating. How amazing it was to have evolved into someone who looked forward to this sort of thing.

She found it satisfying as she buried her blade in the chest of a goblin running towards her, acting as if a wooden mallet was enough to stop her and proving instantly that it was not.

The fight was unbelievably imbalanced because the knights had more men, and she could take on two or three at a time, depending on the size. Since the goblins were unprepared, they either lacked weapons entirely or were using shabby ones that didn’t make sense for the fight.

When she got a bit of space between herself and the other knights so she could truly swing her sword, Irene landed a sideways slash into a smaller goblin’s side, cutting its arm off from the elbow downward as well. At its horrible screech, she had no choice but to stab it in the throat so the thrashing and noise would cease. Quickly, she moved on to the next.

Two entirely unarmed monsters were easy enough to pierce with one blow. When they were both on the ground, she took care of one while another knight took care of the other.

In less than ten minutes of action, there were goblins littering the ground and, what snow the dragon hadn’t melted with her fire, was littered with the dark blood and filth.

"We ought to stack the bodies up," the Commander ordered, finishing off his own opponent before finding a place to wipe the dark, viscous blood off of his blade. "The dragon can take care of the bodies to ensure this place doesn’t run into a necromancer as well."

That order, Irene was most grateful for. The thought of anyone in her father’s village being affected by necromancers was horrifying to her.

Without requiring further request, they began to stack the bodies in a haphazard pile. Normally, this job was that of the apprentices, but since the young boys had their own guarding order, the knights eagerly did the work before retrieving their horses from the forest and making sure their loyal animals were unscathed from both fire and goblin.

Not long after, Sylaron appeared once again, but her wings were weighed down by debris and mud from the melting of the snow and ice that she had likely dealt with far below.

"Did you kill the ogre?" the Commander asked her, being the only one willing to approach her and stand close to her in such proximity. "Did you make sure he was burnt and there was nothing left?"

At that, Sylaron turned back towards the massive hole.

"Everyone might want to back up!" Henry reminded the others.

Sure enough, she lowered her head into the hole and summoned a fire from seemingly deep within her chest because Irene could see her neck widen as flame rose and then came from her mouth.

The collapsed cave below was reduced to ash, and some of the fire jumped out the other side of the hole and even through the entrance the goblins had used before—thinking they were making an escape and not expecting the knights.

"Could you take care of the goblin bodies as well?" the Commander requested.

Sylaron’s tail swayed on the ground as her eyes scanned their surroundings for the goblins. She seemed rather happy to do what the knight said because she walked slowly over to the pile of goblins and lit them up with another burst of flames, but it was much smaller than the first, considering the knights were close and the goblin bodies were smaller than the body of one ogre.

However, the Commander realized she was walking a bit funny as she crept around the area in search of something else more interesting.

"Wait!" the Commander called. "What’s wrong with your hand? Did the ogre somehow manage to harm you?"

All the knights could do was look on in interest and, as the dragon stood on her back legs, they seemed a bit tense as they prepared for what she would do next.

Strangely, the dragon lifted its clawed hand and opened it. A massive red stone fell at the Commander’s feet and the dragon seemed to wait expectantly for his response.

"A mana stone?" the Commander asked in disbelief as he reached down to pick up the rock. "Wow, Sylaron, it’s surprisingly warm. I will have to allow the mages to hold onto it until I can give it to one of the mages. Good girl."

The dragon lowered back down so her hand was on the ground, and she put her head low so that the Commander could give her a pat of his thanks. The more she behaved like that, the less the knights feared the incredible creature.

"Shall we return to the road then?" he asked the others. "I believe all threats have been handled. Isn’t that right?"

The dragon said nothing, of course, but her response was transparent as she took to the sky and busied herself with something else. She could always find the Commander later, even if he couldn’t find her.

With no other choice, they went back to the trail, and Irene was the one able to deliver the stone to the cold maids who had been waiting patiently for the knights to return and for them to be able to press on.

The rest of the journey went on without a hitch, and the knighthood all seemed to realize they were drawing closer to Earl Auden’s lands as soon as things started seeming particularly manicured. Even the township outside of his personal lands was put together and designed with the finest architecture and building materials offered. It reminded Henry of the capital in central Hydrogia. It was a bit surprising to see so far north.

Their path slowed as they got closer to the Auden’s gates, and when they were stopped completely, they were greeted with knights in gilded armor and arrogant expressions on their faces as they lifted their visors and met with someone who seemed to be the Commander of the knighthood.

Commander Henry called one of the apprentices forward, who had been tasked with carrying his identity plate so that if something befell him, it wouldn’t get stolen. He presented the gold and silver piece to the men who gestured for the other to open the gate.

"Welcome to Earl Auden’s lands, Your Grace," the knight greeted. "We hope you enjoy your stay."

It was only the tip of the iceberg, it seemed.

While Irene had been to these lands before in the past, she didn’t remember the Earl’s lands being so pristine even in the dead of winter. Despite a lack of greenery and gardens, everything was well kept, and the snow was purposefully and perfectly taken from paths so that guests arriving didn’t have trouble or track any of the snow inside.

There was also a horde of stablehands there to greet the knights and take their horses. Fortunately, the knights would all have a place to stay that was close. If they weren’t considered esteemed guests, there was plenty of room in the barracks for more knights and apprentices.

As the knights were permitted to let a load off in their various guest rooms, the apprentices went off with the stablehands while the knights reconvened shortly in a front sitting room where tea and light snacks were waiting for them. For most, they felt a bit out of place in such an environment. There was plenty of room for them all to sit, and so that was what they did after being directed to by the servants.

While Irene wasn’t exactly settled, she was still taken aback when a maid approached her directly.

"Lady Irene, your father is due this evening. Would you like to freshen up and wait for him?" she asked the knight.

For a moment, Irene’s eyes landed on Henry because he shot her an inquisitive glance. She merely bowed her head, deciding it was a good time to escape. The thought of sitting around with her Commander wasn’t preferred after being able to avoid direct contact with him up until she was allowed to escape to her family home.

"Yes, thank you," Irene quickly responded and followed the maid to where she would stay with her family.

She didn’t particularly want to be prettied up to see her mother, but that part was going to be unavoidable. It was best to look as decent as possible so her mother wouldn’t question her decisions in ditching noble life for the knighthood.