479
Meanwhile, under cover of night, Colonel Alfred Hall led a small squad racing down the road toward the nearest port.
The squad numbered only a little over twenty, escorting a carriage that carried the governor they had risked their lives to rescue.
They had escaped through a concealed side door of the governor's residence, bundled the terrified governor into the carriage, and fled without a moment's delay.
Sweat kept beading on Colonel Hall's forehead, only to be chilled by the cold night wind. General Amyrius Rieveldt had arrived here just that morning, yet now, in the small hours, they already had to rely on this private military port to escape home.
His good friend, Major Pagney, rode beside him, holding the reins in one hand and pressing down his hat with the other.
"Admiral Rieveldt will be all right, won't he?" Pagney asked uneasily from horseback.
Alfred kept his eyes straight ahead. "That isn't for us to consider."
"The admiral's orders were to escort the governor out safely."
"Damn it, how do you always manage to stay so calm? Doesn't that just make me look useless?" Pale-faced, Pagney cracked a joke, barely managing to lighten the atmosphere. After all, in a battle between demigods, the two of them, both mid-sequence Beyonders, were of no use whatsoever.
The gas lamps along the road were still lit, their light dispelling the fear in Alfred's heart.
No one spoke for a while. The disorderly clatter of hooves echoed along the road in the early hours.
He found a moment to glance back. Everyone was quietly and steadily carrying out their duties. It was quite a capable squad.
Alfred was a little surprised. He vaguely remembered that these soldiers who had accompanied him had still had all manner of shortcomings when they left