Feisi Kingdom. September. Drizzle.
A forest. A dilapidated camp.
This troop of Knights and attendants looked thoroughly bedraggled, their clothes tattered and speckled with blood.
The pot set over the campfire was decent enough, with oatmeal porridge simmering inside and game roasting over the flames.
Tekaxiu lay on a blanket. The aroma made him open his dazed eyes. Lulie and Xiūsang had awakened him.
"How is it?" Tekaxiu asked, accepting half a roasted wild boar leg.
Of the hundred-odd men who had followed him, only these three old brothers remained.
That was only because Romon had left behind a considerable sum of money and many healing potions years ago.
"The situation is terrible. The Royal Army is pursuing us relentlessly. The three nearby counties have basically all fallen, and the territories our lord entrusted to us within the Feisi Kingdom have all been occupied." Lulie gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"Yes. Who would have thought the Royal Army would disregard everything, seizing estates everywhere, burning, killing, and plundering, stripping the nobles of all their lawful lands?" Xiūsang said through clenched teeth.
Even if they had once been mercenaries and hired hands, the three of them were now Knights and retainers, with hundreds or thousands of acres of land and flocks of tenant farmers.
How could the Royal Army's actions not fill them with hatred?
A fine rain fell from the sky, droplets continually striking Tekaxiu's forehead. He frowned and asked, "How did this happen? We originally held the advantage... What is happening in the other regions?"
"They say the Royal House has begun worshipping a new god named Aidite, one who possesses royal authority and legitimate Divine Authority."
"During the war, it descended three times, destroying large numbers of elite noble forces and swiftly tipping the scales of victory