Are you sure about this? Nolan considered the herbs that Benn had left in his possession before his abrupt exit from the building just a few moments ago. I’m not one hundred percent on getting more involved here, not when the guys we’ll be picking a fight with have allies to the north.

I’m certain. Believe in me, my dear disciple, that you are just a few simple ingredients away from being able to make some green channelling pellets. With cultivation levels so low, you lot will benefit tremendously from them.

I hope so. He stowed the jar into his spatial bag with a sigh. If only he could put full trust into the old ghost’s words.

You have already obtained the reward, you know. You could always just leave.

Sounds like something you’d do. Not me, though. He helped himself to some of the cold meat that was arrayed upon the platter of food closest to him. What he didn’t mention to his old mentor was that there were still many rewards to be had in this valley, though only if he was ready to take the risk to obtain them. If he was serious about heading a martial sect, he would need an absurd amount of resources to help compensate for his ignorance and lack of experience.

People ran by the Barley Brew with increasing frequency as the food upon the silver dishes was fervently disposed of. Everyone was making their way toward the centre of the village.

“I can’t believe you guys didn’t wash your hands before you started eating,” said Sean after a resounding belch that took everyone off guard. “Wow, this is some good beer.”

Ian gave a thoughtful shrug. “I spent most of my time hunting back home, so I’m used to having dried blood on my hands.”

“But this is human blood,” Nolan said with revulsion. “What the hell Sean? If you noticed then why didn’t you say anything?” He couldn’t believe that he’d just eaten an entire meal with hands stained red with human blood. The guys that they had been chasing down had been tough despite their relatively low cultivation levels, the moments of combat menacing and brutal. He’d been distracted by the thought of having just killed six men, his focused skewed as he realized that he didn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse.

“What do you think I am, your dad?”

“You always make sure Esteban washed his hands back in the glade.”

“You do crazy stuff all the time. I thought you were fine with it.”

Nolan quickly washed his hands with a bowl of Divine Spirit Fountain water, which he and Ian then drank from in order to replenish their inner energies.

“Like right there,” said Sean. “You could have drank first and then washed your hands after.”

“The water got rid of all the blood. Again, thanks for saying it after the fact.”

Nolan stood up and walked over to the side of the room that currently lacked a wall. He’d tracked Benn’s aura to the plaza in the centre of the village where hundreds of people were currently gathered, only to notice him detach from the masses and quickly make its way toward the tavern.

A pale-faced Benn arrived beside the wreckage of the downed wall, his eyes desperate as they settled on Nolan, who’d crossed his arms and stood patiently to receive him.

“What happened?”

“It’s the count,” said the modest man. “He’s leading an army toward the village as we speak! They’re approaching from the north.”

It was a quicker response than Nolan anticipated. “How many?”

“More than I estimated, a thousand at least. All of them are heavily armoured and in the late levels of the Profound Entry stage. We only have a few hundred people that can fight on our side, and everyone from the valley is meeting up elsewhere!”

“How much time do we have?”

“They’ll be here any minute!” Benn clapped his hands to his head and began pacing around in front of them. Several moments later, he stopped. “Ian, Nolan, will you still fight with us even though the situation’s worsened to such an extent? Will you…will you help us?”

“We’ve already accepted your herbs,” said Nolan. He motioned for the others to follow him. “Let’s go meet up with everyone else and see what we can see.” It wasn’t just the fact that he had already been paid. After hearing about all of the sick and sketchy stuff that this Count Algrave had been up to and gaining a rough gauge on what sort of person the youngish and unimpressive Benn was, he knew that he’d have a hard time sleeping at night were he to leave the man and his people to face this hopeless situation when it was entirely within his power to help them out.

The group hurried to Talen’s central plaza, where nearly every one of the eleven hundred villagers had gathered in a mass of confused voices and communal unease.

“What’s going on, Benn?”

“Are we in danger?”

“What are we to do now?”

“This wasn’t what we all agreed to, Benn!”

The shaken village head leapt to the top of the largest building that rested along the plaza’s north face, where he did his best to compose himself before throwing his hands up to quell the crowd. He had hard time of it, though he eventually succeeded when Ian and Nolan leapt up to stand on either side of him.

“We are in very dire straits, about that I will not lie to you all. Count Algrave has learned of what has transpired today at the Barley Brew, which I’m sure most of you have heard about by now. As we speak the wretched man leads an army toward our village, no doubt intent on making an example of us to the rest of Malben.”

Worried whispers and stifled cries swept the crowd, though Benn’s energized voice carried cleanly through the air. “All hope is not lost! Just as Algrave is moving in on Talen, thousands of our countrymen are gathering at different points throughout the valley to assist us in our fight! I intend to send runners to each force, for I have a plan. Over five hundred fighters are rushing to our aid from the nearby countryside. With their help we will confront Algrave’s men and hold them off so that our allies may surround his army and attack it on all sides. If we do this, we can win!”

“It’s impossible.” A gnarled voice drew everyone’s attention. It was the old man named Pete that had been at the Barley Brew before all hell had broken loose. “Even with the help of our hired hands, we’re talking about seven hundred farmers and tradesmen against a professional army of over a thousand people! No matter how I look at it, we’re shit outta luck.”

“Is that what you think?” Nolan yelled, making sure to empower his voice so that it easily overshadowed the magnitude that Benn and Pete had displayed. The crowd quieted quickly, his nerves enjoying a complete calm as he considered the frightened country folk before him. “The way I see it, at the end of the day no matter what you guys decide to do you’ll have to fight against this Algrave guy and his men. Since that’s the situation you’ve got on your hands, why not roll the dice and make the choice with the highest chance of success?”

Ian raised his hand to draw focus upon himself. “We may not look it, but Nolan and I are pretty strong. We’re leaders of a sect, after all. Good Benn here has paid us quite the price so that we may assist you, so you just leave this Algrave man to me.”

“A sect?”

“Like a martial sect?”

“Now that you mention it, their clothes look to be uniforms of some sort.”

“Leaders of a sect, at their age?”

“That boy intends to fight Algrave himself?”

Anxious voices pervaded the square despite the urgency of their predicament.

“They speak the truth,” said Benn. “Those of you that were at the Barley Brew earlier can attest to it. These boys are—”

“They’re here!” a man’s voice rang throughout the area, weak in tone and ridden with terror. “Algrave’s men are here, less than a league out to the north!”

The square went so silent that Nolan couldn’t help but think of the stillness within the solitary glade back in Nia. Glancing at his companions, he decided that they needed to make a move as quickly as possible.

“Unfortunately for you guys, you’re out of time to think. Fight now and maybe die or fight later and definitely die. Me and my buddy have already been paid so we’re gonna go and do what we can, but if you guys don’t step up then we might just leave, I mean we’re not trying to die either. If we do that then you’ll be completely fucked, so let’s get this show on the road.”

“Benn!” A chubby man appeared beside them on the rooftop, his shaky voice betraying him as the one that had just announced the arrival of Count Algrave and his men. “The militias from the closest villages and hamlets just showed up. They’re gathered out front of the village, but they’re nervous. Algrave’s army is just too imposing. If we don’t hurry outside then they might leave.”

“Thank you Jecks, you’ve worked hard.” Benn turned from his friend to the villagers. “I invite those brave enough to follow me to come meet our allies so that we may risk our lives in this fight for our freedom. To the cowards that stay, I have no words.”

Benn took off toward the village’s northernmost exit, fifty people dashing after him as the rest of the hesitant mob rushed after.

“Hey bud,” Nolan said to Jecks, the portly man that had just delivered the crucial news. “You’re coming with us, right?”

“I will follow everyone as soon as I catch my breath.”

“Sorry if that sounded like a question. Come with us, if you try to run away I’ll kill you.”

The man’s rounded cheeks paled by a considerable degree. “O—of course.”

They leapt down from the rooftop and ran on in the direction that Benn and the others had just taken off, though they made a quick stop at the Barley Brew where Nolan ordered Sean and Esteban to remain.

“Hey kid, I…I’m sorry I’m so damn useless all the time. You know if I could help then I’d definitely—”

“You guys are just a few breakthroughs away from being able to fight any of those soldiers out there, and thanks to those herbs that homie Benn just gave me I’ve got a way that we can make that happen a lot faster than it’d normally take.” He handed Sean the Essence Fusion dagger that he had obtained in Greenwall so long ago, an eerie aura seeping from its pallid surface, a jagged blade tinged with frosty blue. “You’ve got a lot of fighting in your futures, so don’t be in such a rush. Anyway, remember how to use this?”

“Inject inner essence into it and maintain the input. I at least know that much.”

“Good.” He gave the man a light punch on the shoulder and then ruffled Esteban’s frizzy hair. “Once we get back I’ll whip up some medicinal pellets and we’ll all cultivate for a bit. Then we can get the hell out of these mountains once and for all.”

“I shall stay and guard your friends, on my life!” Jecks proclaimed with mock valiance.

“Hah, nah man you’re coming with us.”

They left Sean and Esteban at the tavern and quickly caught up with the others, who were just now arriving out front of the village only to find an empty stretch of cultivated farmland before them.

“Jecks,” Benn said as Nolan and the others arrived at his side. “Where are those from the nearby settlements?”

“I—I don’t know. They were out here when I came to get you, hundreds of them.”

“I don’t see any footprints,” said Nolan as Jecks’s body crumpled to the floor. He ignored the fright and surprise of those around him and motioned upward with his finger, the movement purely for effect. A thick needle shot out of the corpse’s head and came to hover a centimetre above his finger, its surface slick with blood.

“You killed him,” Benn breathed.

Nolan turned to the gathered crowd. “This guy’s betrayed all of you. He said that our allies were waiting for us out here, but there’s no sign of a large group of people having been through the area. The count was supposed to be approaching from the north, but he’s nowhere in sight. Buddy was obviously up to something.”