Chapter 74

They reined in their horses, bringing them to a stop, and looked back at the dead monsters.

But monsters don’t just come from the ground. As they swept the area, a scream sounded in the distance. A flying beast had somehow found its way to the camp. Adrian watched as it dived down, disappearing from view before soaring back up, this time with a catch.

A child.

Adrian and his squad surged toward it, chasing it until they reached the other side of the horde's tents. The first thing he saw was two squads of the Earl's soldiers fending off monsters. And in the distance, around the giant wall, more monsters were scattered and approaching, while the flying beast holding the struggling child was disappearing into the distance.

Adrian hesitated for only a brief moment before he ordered, “Follow!”

They surged after the flying beast, not stopping even as they plunged into the incoming monsters. The men with him were soldiers he had trained as best as he could, so they were no slouches, a few monsters tried to intercept their path, only to be plowed through by his men.

Adrian readied his spear to throw. Once they were only a couple of meters away from the flying beast, Adrian willed all his skill and experience as he threw it, hoping with all his might that he wouldn’t hit the kid. He didn't. The spear hit its mark, striking the flying beast squarely in the back.

Luckily, because of the weight of the child, the beast was only flying a few meters off the ground, so it crashed down, carrying the child with it. Adrian hoped the fall hadn’t broken any bones in the child’s body.

They reached the crash area. In one smooth motion, Adrian dismounted his horse. The moment his boots touched the ground, he rushed toward the groaning child lying next to the dying monster to which Adrian finished it with a stabbed. His men gathered around him protectively. Adrian grabbed the child, quickly settling him onto his horse, and from the corner of his eye, he saw one of his men fending off an attacker.

Adrian quickly hoisted himself back onto his horse just as blood splattered into the air, Dexton finishing off a monster. Adrian nudged his horse backward.

“Let’s go!”

They surged back, hooves thundering on the ground. They noticed that the squads fighting the monsters from before were now gone, leaving behind the bodies of monsters and a few fallen soldiers.

Then, they spied a group of common people fending off a monster. When the group saw Adrian’s squad, particularly the child riding in front of Adrian, one of the men roared. He smashed his hammer into the monster's foot, making it stumble back, before killing it with another heavy blow.

“Son!” The man charged toward Adrian, looking ready to face a surging horse. Adrian slowed down and handed the child to him. The man immediately hugged his son with a whimper.

Adrian’s group slowed and looked toward the rest of the common folk. “Everyone, into the stronghold now!”

The group did as they were told, clearly only having stayed behind because of the child. The father nodded at him, bowing gratefully, his face now streaked with tears.

“Thank you, milord. Thank you!”

The other people in his group also looked at him with gratitude, and Adrian simply gestured for them to move on.

They did another quick sweep of the area and judged there weren’t any more people left, save for a monster or two that occasionally crossed their path.

“Milord, we should go back.” Dexton said at his side.

Adrian finally nodded, and his squad headed toward the wall. Ahead, they saw there was still a crowd surging inside the stronghold, with two squads of the Earl's soldiers guarding them. Adrian had to give the Earl credit, but then, perhaps it was only because these people, commoners though they were, had come here for the tourney he announced. Their deaths would only tarnish the reputation of his event.

“Let’s join them. Protect the crowd until everyone is inside,” Adrian ordered. Dexton only shook his head slightly before doing as his lord commanded.

“Lord Harrow? Joining us?” The knight from before, Sir Luke, called out to him.

“We will…” Their horses slowed until they were side by side. “Everyone's almost inside, it shouldn’t be too hard just guarding this area.” Adrian said, scanning the thinning crowd. Despite the pushing and panic, the majority had eventually managed to get inside by now.

“We are thankful, Lord Harrow, for your actions. I will make sure the Earl hears of it.” Luke said, nodding with genuine gratitude.

Adrian nodded back. Lordly favor wasn’t the main reason he was doing this, but it was a welcome boon.

They guarded the area, fending off and killing the stray monsters heading toward them. Soon, just as Adrian expected, every last commoner managed to make it inside.

“Come, Lord Harrow. There is nothing left to protect out here.” Luke said, gesturing him inside. The gates were already halfway closed.

“Let’s go, milord. Sir Luke is right,” Sir Dexton urged.

Adrian chuckled at his knight. “No need to say more. I’m actually exhausted already.” he said genuinely. 

Soon after he had reached the stronghold following his evacuation with Lord Jayson and the rest, he had been drafted to this area. Now, he just wanted to rest, even if only for a little while.

They finally entered. The first thing he noticed was the crowded streets. as large as the stronghold was, an extra few thousand people made it tight. Sir Luke parted ways with a final goodbye, while Adrian and his group headed toward the keep.

However, before they could get far, the smell of roasted meat washed over his nose as they passed a tavern.

Suddenly, his stomach rumbled. Adrian had a choice, eat at the keep, where other lords and ladies, especially a certain mischievous lady, would no doubt corner him and pepper him with questions about what he saw, or eat here, where his only company would be the common people. He looked down at his armor, which was dirtied and a little bloodied.

The choice was clear.

Screw his previous resolve to socialize more with the other lords. Right now, he just wanted some peace and quiet to eat.

He and his squad entered the tavern. It was about half full, packed with people anxiously discussing what was happening. Alert, they immediately noticed the squad of armored men enter and tensed up.

Adrian trudged over and found a seat, waving to a tavern worker. “Hey, boss, got any meat? We’ll have some, along with drinks, but no ale of any kind,” Adrian added, looking pointedly at his soldiers as they settled at the other tables.

His soldiers chuckled, while Dexton, the only one who sat with him at his table, leaned in.

“Milord, I’ll kick their asses if they do.” Dexton said, taking off his helm. Adrian did the same.

“Nah, that’s too much. Maybe just extra training,” Adrian said, making sure his voice carried across the room. The boys grumbled and groaned in response.

It was then that Adrian realized he didn’t have a single coin on his person. “Shit…” Adrian cursed.

Dexton, knowing his lord well, smiled and pulled out his coin pouch. “Don’t worry, milord. I carry some coins.” He wiggled the pouch, making it clink.

“As expected of my knight, always prepared,” Adrian chuckled.

Soon, their food was served. As they ate, Adrian couldn’t help but spy a few common folks approaching his men to talk about what was happening outside. Adrian felt a bit envious of them, commoners didn’t approach him anymore. He had to approach them himself, and whenever he did, they tensed up. He missed the days when he could just talk to them casually.

“I wonder how the situation is up front right now.” Adrian mumbled, blowing on his roasted meat before taking a bite.

“It shouldn’t be too bad, at least from what I gathered when I asked earlier. Besides, there are many fighters around because of the tourney.” Dexton said, taking a bite of his own food.

“Right…” Adrian nodded, thinking of the spectacle he had seen during the tournament, and then snickered. “How does one go from a tourney to a monster horde? The Earl set up a tournament, but who could have foreseen this horde?” He said the latter, almost sarcastically.

“No matter what, the Earl's tourney and reputation are going to take a hit after this.” 

Dexton nodded, not daring to comment further.

Suddenly, there was a loud grunting sound, followed by what seemed to be a brawl breaking out outside. A large window provided a clear view of the street, allowing Adrian and the others to watch it unfold.

“Food and entertainment? Great.” Adrian muttered with a grin.

Dexton chuckled, while his men inside cheered at the spectacle. It might have been because the stronghold's guards were too busy to step in and stop it, so the fight dragged on for a while. Finally, seeing that enough blood had been spilled, Adrian spoke to Dexton.

“Break them up.”

Dexton immediately put down his cup and walked out. His commanding voice put a swift halt to the fight, and the brawlers and onlookers quickly dispersed soon after.

Dexton returned and sat back down across from him. “It seems it was a matter of a man touching another's wife, or something of the sort.”

Adrian raised a brow and whistled. “So lively here. When do you think our village will become like this, Sir Knight?”

“With your lordship leading it? Not long, milord.”

They both chuckled. However, all good things must come to an end. Deciding they had eaten enough and rested long enough, Adrian sighed and stood up.

Time to go to the keep.