Inside Alba's great tent, the air had solidified into something suffocating.
Langfero was dragged in by two Orcish soldiers, his armor battered and his face still covered in the dust from his flight.
He had just opened his mouth to explain when Alba kicked him behind the knee, sending him heavily to the ground.
"Useless!" Alba's roar made sparks fly from the brazier. "I gave you five thousand men, and you couldn't even hold out for two hours?"
Langfero's lips trembled. "Great Chieftain, the enemy's weapons were simply too powerful. Greiman sent cavalry, and they were even equipped with fire crossbows!"
"Shut up!" A murderous glint flashed in Alba's eyes. "Aro Yue! Do it properly, the way we do things on the Great Prairie, and teach this noble knight a good lesson!"
The Orcish General Aro Yue sneered as he drew his leather whip. He gave it a hard snap, and it cracked loudly through the air.
"No!" Langfero's eyes widened.
Arroyo ignored his pleas and immediately lashed him. The first stroke tore open the knight's undershirt, followed in an instant by three more cracks that left three bloody welts across his back.
"Ah!" Langfero's scream caught in his throat. His dignity made him clamp his teeth together, but the agony still forced tears from his eyes.
Each stroke seemed to pull a little more of his pride from his flesh. As a knight of the human world, when had he ever been treated like this?
By the time the thirty lashes were finished, Langfero was sprawled in a pool of blood. Aro Yue seized him by the hair and forced his head up, allowing Alba to see the face twisted by humiliation.
"Remember this lesson." Alba bent down, his fangs nearly touching Langfero's nose. "If you ever dare flee