Juliana's workshop - Book 1 - Chapter 6

Book 1 - Chapter 6: The murder under sunshine and leaves.

Soon after a cool morning with moisture, the noon came with the hanging sun at the highest point in the sky, penetrating the layers of the forest, bringing its glorious sunshine to the gloomy forest interior. The Forest of the dead was very quiet and dense enough, but there were always gaps that allow sunlight to enter this tomb of the dead. Under the mottled glares of sunshine, plus the songs of birds and insects, the forest which sometimes makes people feel uneasy of its silence, had become lively and chirpy.

But in this calm forest, there were more than twenty dead people now.

They were the newcomers who became the new guests of the Forest of the Dead, and new friends with the soldiers of the Twin Eagle Empire from more than a hundred years ago.

This happened after noon, when the sun finally lowered its proud head for a bit and moved away part of the scattered light in the forest, no longer dazzling. And its location was on a very remote road to the west of the forest’s middle area.

If you keep traveling on this road further to the west for another half of a day, you can leave the Forest of the dead. Walk a bit faster, you can see the linked mountain peaks in front of the mountain ranges. At the foot of these motionless and lined up "giants", there are some small towns and noble territories that can be used for people who come out from the Forest of the dead. They aren’t any good though, but it is better than camping in the forest. For the humble servants, it is much better to smell horse’s feces and piss under the roof of a stable, than to be worry and watchful under a vault formed by branches and leaves in the forest.

But now, even that little wish can't come true.

Falling to the ground, their bodies were full of many nonfatal or fatal wounds. Some had their necks cut off by just a slash and their head flew out, but the pain was only for a moment, then it was a long sleep for eternity; others was pieced with many holes, dying in fear and pain as their blood continued to spurted out. If their voices were too loud, it would lead to another then another slashes from the impatient mercenaries. More people were killed in surprise; even the idea of running away had not yet emerged before the murderers’ weapons were already on their faces, as they still thought about one thing in their hearts: What happened?

The convoy that escorted Roseanna to the Vises Republic of Ayer Sea was followed by twenty servants. And today, at this time, twenty poor people have died in the forest.

The mercenaries’ attacks were so sudden that many people didn’t realize what was happening until they were already hacked down to the ground. The small number of warriors among the servants also didn’t respond in time, they hadn’t pulled out of the swords at their waist and were already slain. The horse's reaction was faster than that of the human, but they also met their misfortunes faster: their neighs were loud, but in the end they were also hacked to death by the blood drunk mercenaries. The horse fell to the ground, and then the carriages behind them also fell, forming roadblocks.

The blood stained and reddened the dirt road, making it all muddy—as if it had just rained. These cruel mercenaries turned this into a slaughterhouse. The deaths of all the servants were very tragic, their blood gathered under them to form a pool with the color of watery blood. The wind from the south blew the smell of blood to the north, so that the northern part of the forest seemed to have also become lively.

After all the servants were slain, the mercenaries began to search their bodies to see if there was anything worthwhile. Some more clever ones ran straight into the carriages, grabbed whatever valuable and light enough into their arms, and then took out the fine wines that those abominable servants didn’t allowed them to touch. They gather together, sip some good drinks with their big mouths and laugh out loud. Now, those arrogant servants, who always look down upon them with their disgusting eyes were all dead, no one dares to step on their heads anymore.

Most of the attendants died tragically regardless of their age; some of the servants, who slowly moved toward their death when the blood in their eyes became thicker and thicker, remembered the church knights.

The knights who were not friendly to the mercenaries, who protected them from being harassed by these robbers, did not come forward this time.

Some of them were riding their horses and stayed on the rear of the destroyed convoy, or they dismounted, holding their horses in the front of the convoy without saying a word, silently watching everything happened. Their hands were on the swords, bowstrings, and maces, but they didn’t pulled out or lifted up any of those, just kept themselves in this position and did nothing

When the mercenaries was slaughtering and having their feast, they still didn’t say anything, as if they were watching out for these robbers, blocking the way of all the servants who wanted to escape, and watching as they die under the horseshoe. The miserable cries of the begging servants can pass through the trees and dip into the depths of this forest, but cannot enter their ears.

The bloody massacre began quickly and ended quickly. Seemingly premeditated, the carriage's horse was systematically killed, and the valuables on the dead bodies and the convoy were looted. The church knights didn’t tangle with these mercenaries. They stayed outside the convoy and formed a stark contrast compared to the other party. The knights seemed to have truly become blinded and deafen, as if all that happened before the eyes didn’t exist.

After this tragedy, only two people remain alive.

Olga kept Roseanna protected behind his back, where there was a dense forest without any sign of human stepping on it. Leaning against a big tree, Roseanna’s face was pale and horrified. Her two maids died under the mercenaries’ axe, one’s head flew up, while the other’s head was chopped into two halves. Their deaths were terrifying.

Olga held a long sword in both hands as his tall body shielded Roseanna. There were five mercenaries in front of him, armed with various weapons. They were vigilantly and nervously surrounding him, staring at him as if the old man was a terrifying monster - at Olga feet was their companion’ head, his face even held an arrogant smile; at their side was other companions who had their hands or feet severed and fell to the ground, their blood poured out from the wounds like a fountain while they squealed. Then the sound of their wails was getting weaker, and weaker.

The servants didn’t cause much harm to the mercenaries. Only this old man, who seemed to be entering his coffin, killed two mercenaries in one confrontation and then cut off the hands and feet of two others. His sword was very fast, and moreover, he didn’t attack just by piecing or stabbing. The long sword that wasn’t very suitable for slashing danced around like an axe, bravely cut down the mercenaries who were drunk in violence, leaving a trace of blood all around on the ground.

Because their companion's deaths were too terrifying, the mercenaries around him become cautious, no one wanted to be the next unlucky fellow to be decapitated or ‘amputated’.

The leader of the mercenary, Gris, and the leader of the church knights, Paddington, came to Olga and Roseanna. Gris carried along an enormous iron axe with blood covered on its blade. He didn’t join the servants slaughter with his subordinates, just conveniently chopped the two poor people in front of him into two halves. One was split open vertically and the other was horizontally. Blood and organs fell all over the ground with a disgusting smell.

The knight Paddington still maintain a calm expression. While the church knights’ expression were more or less turn ugly, only him was as peaceful as usual, as if this massacre cannot bring his any anger, sympathy and compassion, nor let him be as vicious as the mercenaries. He was calm, like this were all just part of the job.

"If you don't want to die, get back here for me!" Gris yelled at the mercenaries under his command. Looking likes some criminals who were grant pardons, the mercenaries immediately moved back a few steps to expand the circle. After the other mercenaries finished harvesting all the valuables, they also came over, readying to fight again. The church knights remained on the periphery, only Paddington followed Gris and stayed in the center of the circle.

"Hey old man, hiding some real talents here huh." Gris held the giant axe in his hands, and his face was a little more serious. "Here I thought I have a bit of good eyes myself. So it turned out you are a White Silver class warrior."

Gris's words caused the mercenaries to fluster and moved back for a few more steps. The most powerful ones among these mercenaries were just of the Bronze class, who can be a tough solider, but for certain they can’t be the warrior who could fight against hundreds of men. Their boss, Gris, used his strength and the giant axe in his hands to intimidate the people and terror to keep his men in order. Even then Gris was only a barbarian on the boundary between Black Iron and While Silver class, with considerable strength, relying on brute force and a giant axe to reach the hundred men battle's record - but it’s definitely not in any sense on the same level as the White Silver class.

The true White Silver class master, even if he has to sacrifice his own life, will be able to fight off thousands strong, tear through the formation of a large squadron and break any enemies ... A one man army.

Standing in front of Gris, Paddington was an acknowledged White Silver knight with some reputation in the Twin Eagle Empire. Even many people among the mercenaries here had seen him in practice fights with the church knight. The magical performance of fighting against hundreds of men opened people's eyes, but thanks to that they also has a profound understanding of the strength of White Silver class.

Olga’s killed four people in the blink of an eye, his performance convinced the mercenaries even more that the old man may be really a White Silver class warrior, and when their trusted boss Gris also said this, they were without doubt that the old man was the true thing – A fighter like that, it is too simple for him to kill a bunch of mercenaries like them. As for their boss, Gris, he was certainly not the kind of boss who will protect his own subordinates due to kindness. Gris can protect himself, but he will definitely have no spare strength to protect his mercenaries.

The mercenaries didn’t escape right now because Paddington was also here. Just standing still, the silver knight helped them feel more secured – which was quite an ironic thing, Paddington had never given them, including their boss, any friendly gesture, as they also had never respected these old-fashioned knights. But now they had teamed up and finished the convoy massacre. The murderers were these mercenaries, while the church knights and Paddington were accomplices.

"I have never heard of if there is any other White Silver class in the convoy." Gris said to Paddington, his face was quite grim. "You lied and it killed four of my men."

"I too didn’t know about this." Paddington replied with indifferent voice. "Thank you for your testing it out, Captain Gris... Without you, the church knights that I brought along may have casualties." When he said this, his tone was dull, like he didn’t take the deaths and injuries of Gris’ subordinates as anything. Then he looked at Olga and ignored Gris’ anger. "Mr. Olga, you made things a bit tricky."

Olga watched over Paddington vigilantly. "Sir Edgar, do you know what you are doing?" Among all the people here, only Gris and Paddington can be a threat to him - a White Silver knight and a giant who is close to White Silver class - if the two collaborate, surely it is not difficult to kill an elderly man like him. Coupled with the fact that the other party had the number advantage, and behind him he was also shielding Roseanna who would have troubles even with escaping, which makes the situation very severe. If he escapes alone, he has the confidence that he could get away, but if it’s the talk about bringing along Roseanna, then it is only a fainted hope. Also, he can't just abandon Roseanna and run away alone. He didn’t even dare to imagine what tragic fate Roseanna would meet when she was in the hands of these people.

In front of Olga, Paddington obviously knew Olga's predicament and how desperate Olga was now. "I am sorry, Mr. Olga, Lady Rosanna," said Paddington. "This is my job. I am sorry for it to be like this... but this is my mission, and I can't allow my personal feelings to interfere."

"Edgar, I always thought that you were a noble knight. It seems that my old eyes are getting blurry, I can't even see a dirty soul right by my side and treat him as a friend!" Olga was very angry, and the long sword in his hand pointed to Paddington. If it wasn't for Roseanna, he would have rushed forward and fought with Paddington to the death already.

Roseanna leaned against the big tree, her face turned pale and she couldn’t speak a word. This sudden massacre caused a great shock to her. The scene of flesh scattering everywhere and the smell of fresh blood that irritated the nose were not something she had seen in her entire life, which made her almost faint. Now that she was able to hold it because of the fear that gave her a little strength, so that she can rely on the tree and not just collapse on the ground.

"I know this isn’t anything glorious." Paddington said, "I don't have any reason to defend myself, and I am not qualified to pray for your forgiveness. There is only one thing I can do for you: Try to let you die without pain."

"Don’t ever dream of using your dirty hands to touch lady Roseanna." Olga kept the sword in front of him. "Before I die, all of you will die under my sword."

Olga was engaged and wary of these two most threatening people.

In the forest behind him and Roseanna, a mercenary was lurking inside, quietly crawled to the place closest to Roseanna while they were talking. He thought to himself that he had the opportunity to emerge from the bushes, holding his sword and reaching out to Roseanna who was leaning on the big tree - as soon as he caught the noble lady, everything was over.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, just before he finally touched Roseanna, a stone struck his head. The mercenary was the one whose forehead was smashed by Julius. Now in same place, his forehead was also struck but this time with bigger and sharper stone.

He screamed painfully, reached out his hand and grabbed his forehead. He didn't have the chance to find the culprit who threw the stone at him, because Olga had already turned around when he was holding his forehead. The sword in the old man’s hands waved back, and a silvery white glint cut off the mercenary’s head. Before the head fell, Olga had returned to Roseanna and continued to face the enemies ahead. His sword was so fast that many mercenaries didn't even see his movements at all. Gris's face became more ghastly, as for Paddington, he was still expressionless.

That mercenary was so close to Roseanna that when the blood from his neck sprayed into the air, it fell on the surrounding floor plants and on Roseanna’s face. Felling the warmness on her face and the liquid dripping down from her cheek, she didn't have any spare energy and mood to wipe her face or have the strength to scream. Her whole body had become numb.

The person who threw the stone came out from the deeper part of the forest and ran to Olga and Roseanna’s side.

This person was Julius. He held a few stones in his hand and hid behind the big tree where Roseanna was. He used the big tree as a cover and poked his head out, which was full of surprise, nervousness and anger. The bloody scene made him shivered, but the almost ignorant courage helped him stand up.

After the death of another subordinate, Gris's expression got even grimmer. Paddington sighed, and finally had some expression on his face - helplessness and a little pity.

"Stupid boy, your insolence has forsaken your own life here," Olga said. He didn’t thank Julius for his calculations, because the old man had long felt that there were a mercenary without good intentions behind him. He was just waiting for the man to fall into the trap himself. Even without Julius’s small stone, he would still use a decapitating slash.

"My lord, I just saved the life of your lady, can you be a bit happier instead of continuing to have a suffered face?" Julius replied, his voice was trembling, but he wanted to behave like a hero.

"You haven't saved anyone, silly boy." Olga’s expression turned more serious as he looked at the two most threatening people in front of him. "You only added another stupid, innocent body to this dirty murder scheme."

End of chapter 6