Chapter 624:Sudden Turn In Situation
Chapter 624: 624:Sudden Turn In Situation
He slowly flipped through the papers one after another while everyone quietly watched.
One page.
Then another page.
Then several more.
The others remained silent while waiting for him to find whatever he was searching for.
Several moments later, Ethan finally paused.
His eyes stopped on a particular section of the document, and his expression immediately changed slightly.
"Ohhh... I see it now."
A somewhat creepy smile slowly formed on his lips.
The expression immediately made everyone inside the tent even more curious than before.
"What is it, my Lord?" Noel asked while leaning forward slightly.
Randall also moved closer.
"What did you find?"
Ethan lightly tapped the document with his finger.
"That guy..."
"It seems he is the bastard sent by Ambrose."
The moment those words were spoken, several people inside the tent immediately frowned while exchanging looks with one another.
Randall’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Noel looked surprised.
The others became thoughtful.
Ethan continued reading the information for a brief moment before finally folding the paper and placing it back inside his storage ring.
Then he leaned back in his chair.
The mysterious smile on his face still remained.
"I think I can already foresee what’s going to happen."
Everyone immediately looked toward him.
"What do you mean by that?" they asked almost at the same time.
However, Ethan simply smiled.
He did not explain further.
Instead, he calmly poured himself a cup of tea before taking a slow sip.The mysterious expression on his face only became deeper.
This immediately made everyone even more frustrated.
"My Lord, stop acting mysterious."
"Just tell us."
"Now you’re making me uncomfortable."
But Ethan simply shook his head.
"Guys, it seems we need to prepare quite well because there might be a much bigger crisis waiting ahead than the one we are currently dealing with."
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere inside the tent immediately became serious because although Ethan often joked around and acted casually, everyone present knew that he rarely made such statements without reason, and if he was saying this now, then something was definitely coming.
The following days passed quickly while the Arcadian army continued advancing deeper and deeper into Xylos territory, steadily pushing the borders forward little by little as the war continued raging across countless regions.
The fighting remained fierce.
Every day battles erupted across different locations.
Every day soldiers died leading to more territory changing hands.
Yet while Arcadia continued advancing, a strange question gradually began appearing inside everyone’s minds and became increasingly difficult to ignore.
What exactly were the Allied Forces doing?
Why were they not sending more troops?
Why was there still no major response from them?
The situation felt strange.
Especially considering that Arcadia was technically fighting on multiple fronts at the same time while one side remained locked in a brutal struggle against the alliance forces and another army was actively invading Xylos territory.
Logically speaking, sustaining such a campaign should have been extremely difficult and should have placed immense pressure on the Empire.
Yet somehow Arcadia continued fighting.
And not only were they fighting.They were winning.
The mystery left many people confused and unable to understand what was happening behind the scenes.
As for Xylos losing territory so rapidly, that part was much easier to understand because most of Xylos’ strongest forces were concentrated elsewhere, and nobody had expected Arcadia to suddenly go crazy and launch such a large-scale invasion with such speed and ferocity.
Furthermore, they probably never expected the frontlines to collapse so quickly.
According to military estimates, even after receiving the news, gathering forces, reorganizing command structures, and sending meaningful reinforcements would likely take close to a month, and by then many things could already change beyond their control.
Meanwhile, Ethan and the Order of Eternal Blade continued carrying out their assigned missions while moving from village to village, from town to town, and from settlement to settlement as they searched for remnants, hunted down scattered enemy soldiers, and captured isolated military groups that had become separated from the main army.
Whenever they encountered ordinary villagers, Ethan allowed them to leave.
Whenever they encountered armed soldiers, he imprisoned them.
The pattern repeated again and again.
And because of that, stories about Ethan slowly began spreading throughout the occupied regions.People whispered his name among themselves.Villagers spoke about the noble who spared thr civilians.
Parents thanked him.
Old men blessed him.
Mothers prayed for his safety.
Everywhere they went, people offered their blessings and gratitude for showing mercy amidst the cruelty and destruction of war, and more and more people began remembering the name of Ethan Blanks.
Until...
.......
The next village Ethan’s forces arrived at looked no different from the others they had passed through during the past few days, because broken houses stood everywhere, damaged walls leaned at awkward angles, and the streets remained almost completely empty as if the people living there had vanished overnight.
As usual, Ethan ordered the village to be searched carefully.
Groups of knights spread throughout the area while checking houses, barns, storage sheds, and underground cellars.
Soon enough, frightened villagers began emerging from their hiding places.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Elderly people.
Their faces were pale and filled with fear.
The moment they saw the armored soldiers of Arcadia, many instinctively stepped backward while clutching their family members tightly.
Ethan sat atop his horse and looked at them quietly.
"We are not here to harm civilians," he said in a calm voice.
"You are free to leave."
The villagers looked at one another in confusion.
Many of them could hardly believe what they had just heard.
Several women immediately grabbed their children.
Others began helping the elderly move.
Slowly, the crowd started retreating away from the village.
However, the fear inside them had not disappeared.In their eyes, Arcadian soldiers were still invaders.
Many had lost family members during the fighting.Many had seen their homes destroyed.Many carried anger alongside fear.
As the villagers continued moving away, one young man suddenly stopped.
His eyes were bloodshot.His face twisted with hatred.
Without warning, he bent down and grabbed a stone from the ground.
Then he hurled it forward.
BANG!
The stone slammed directly against a knight’s helmet.
The knight staggered slightly causing the entire atmosphere to freeze.
"What the hell?"
Before anyone could react, several other villagers suddenly followed.
They picked up stones.Broken bricks and pieces of wood.
Anything they could find.
"Monsters!"
"Murderers!"
"Get out of our land!"
Stones began flying from multiple directions.
One elderly man rushed forward and struck a nearby knight with a wooden stick.
A young woman threw a rock that smashed against another soldier’s visor.
The situation instantly spiraled out of control.