Of course, even though Hector planned to depart at that moment, Red and his companions still needed to gather their belongings before joining him. Red himself was able to recover his sword he tossed away during battle, a habit that was becoming worryingly commonplace for the boy.

None of his group seemed eager to speak of the matter, and the Baron decided against trying to request their help behind Hector’s back. Some of his soldiers, however, still seemed to be under the impression they were going to help them clear the wolves and they all greeted the sect members in high spirits. Eiwin and the others didn’t have the heart to reveal the truth to them.

So it was that, after gathering their belongings in almost complete silence, Red and his group joined Hector on the road.

The elder was waiting with his arms crossed behind his back.

He looked over at the group. “Are you done?”

Eiwin nodded. “We have gathered everything.”

“Good.” Hector seemed satisfied. He stared at Rimold. “You said you had something urgent to speak to me about.”

The rogue hesitated. “… It can wait.”

The elder was suspicious of this change of attitude, but he let the matter go. “Fine. Then let us be on our way with utmost haste. I do not intend to camp outside on our way to town.”

Hector led them down the road, and the group followed behind him in an orderly line.

The atmosphere on the trip was still very awkward, and even after hours had gone by, the group did not engage in any conversation or discussions. This was, of course, because they knew Hector very well. The old man was probably ready to rebuke any protests to his decision, and trying to convince him otherwise would not only be useless, but it would also only make their day-long trip even more awkward.

Of course, even though they all knew that, Hector was not the only person in this group with a short fuse. After two hours of maintaining a conflicted and irritated expression, Narcha finally seemed to have had enough.

She looked over at Hector. “You are not a good person.”

The elder froze in his steps, and the expression of the entire group changed. They braced themselves, knowing what came next.

“… You’re right.” To their surprise, Hector responded with a calm voice without even looking back at Narcha.

He resumed his walk, falling quiet again.

Narcha snorted. “Is that it? No other argument? Is your arrogance and cold-blood something you pride yourself in?”

Hector froze again. “It is what kept me alive and relevant in the cultivation world for over a hundred years, despite me being the weakest cultivator of my generation. So yes, this is something I pride myself on, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

The woman glared at the elder. “Not everyone is like you. Not all of us are willing to turn our backs on our friends and allies when they need us most.”

Eiwin frowned. “Miss Valt…”

Hector held his hand up, cutting Eiwin off. “If you want to go there and help them, feel free. However, if you do so, you need not bother to return to the sect.”

Narcha gritted her teeth, her face twisting in anger.

The elder didn’t avert his gaze from her. “Is this not what you want? To be free of the burden of rules and to do as you please? Then you might as well go ahead. I’m sure it wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice to you since you have already opened all your veins and don’t need our support. After all, what else can we offer you?”

“Master Hector, is there a need for this?” Eiwin looked lost on how to react.

“Of course there is.” Hector remained steadfast. “I have been too tolerant of this brat’s offenses over the last few years. She forgets herself and the kind of organization she joined.” He looked over Red and his companions. “Whatever notions you have about what this group and organization is, never be misled about our true identity. We are a sect, first and foremost, and we look for each other’s interests and safety above all else. Never forget this.”

The elder started walking again, leaving the group to reflect on these words.

Red expected Narcha to explode then and there, but to his surprise, she seemed to calm down. Of course, this only went for her outer appearance.

From her fluctuation, the boy could tell she was as angry as he had ever seen her, but there was some other emotion that seemed to keep her ire contained. Pure resolve.

The woman seemed to have made her mind up about something, and Red wasn’t the only one that noticed it.

Eiwin looked over at Narcha with a troubled expression. “Miss Narcha, let us return to the sect. I’m sure we can change Master Hector’s mind later.”

Although Eiwin said that, she didn’t sound too confident in her own words.

Narcha just nodded at the woman and followed behind her.

…

They continued walking for the entire day and deep into the night, having a few pauses in between. Along the way, they met with quite a few soldiers making their way over as reinforcements towards the river. By that point, it seemed like the news of their victory had already made its way to town.

When morning arrived again, the group was very exhausted, since they weren’t able to rest after that huge battle. However, they were already very close to town, and it was just a matter of a few hours before they arrived.

It was at that point, however, that a group of mounted soldiers coming from the town’s direction made their way over to them in a hurry. Red would have thought they were here simply to greet Hector and his sect out of respect, like all the other guards they met along the road, but he saw their expressions were tinged with apprehension.

Hector paused and frowned.

“Master Hector!” The leading soldier stopped right in front of the group, dismounting his horse in a hurry and bowing to the elder.

“What is it?” Hector asked.

The soldier tried to catch his breath as he spoke. “We… We have received urgent news from the capital! The Empire has declared war on our kingdom!”

The expressions of everyone changed, and even Red couldn’t contain his shock.

“This- This can’t be right!” Rimold looked at the soldier in concern. “The negotiations were supposed to still be happening! What changed since then?!”

“This… I’m not privy to the details.” The soldier shook his head.

Hector frowned with a troubled expression. “Have they attacked us yet?”

“N-No, not yet. They have just made their formal declaration of war earlier today and spoke of their intention to invade our lands in the following months.”

Narcha gritted her teeth in pure anger. “The sheer arrogance of these fucking bastards!”

“It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence.” Rog shook his head.

“If they were so confident, why would they need to be such cowards and attack us right after a monster horde?!”

Hector still seemed to be in deep thought. “Do you have any more information we should know?” he asked the soldier.

“We do not know much yet, however…” The soldier hesitated. “Sir Bernard has apparently made his intentions known in the meeting with our King. He will be leading the Imperial armies himself.”

Red’s heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t the only one to have a reaction of fear and concern at this news.

Bernard, the target of Red’s revenge, and one of the most talented individuals in human history. A young cultivator in the fourth realm, or the equivalent for the Imperial’s self-denominated system, and responsible for exterminating the cultivator community in the northern part of the continent. Among his victims stood Viran, of course, a man who had been crippled at the hands of this rising hero of the Empire.

From Red’s knowledge, he knew the Empire had stronger and more experienced generals to lead this invasion. Yet, in the whole cultivation world, there was no one on a faster ascension path than Bernard. By sending him, it was likely the Empire wanted this entire kingdom to be but a simple step on the ladder towards his growth.

“Has the King passed along any orders?” Hector asked.

“Not yet.” The soldier shook his head. “But his advisors and subordinates have already reached out to the Baron for an emergency meeting. We were sent to escort him back to town.”

“I understand. Then we won’t hold you any longer.” Hector nodded and waved the soldiers off.

The man bowed towards the elder and remounted his horse, heading east towards the river.

Hector looked back at his sect members. “We will have an emergency meeting once we are back in our sect.”

No one protested his orders.

After a few more hours of travel, they finally arrived back in town. The settlement was already abuzz with the recent news of war.

The town was already full of refugees, and by the looks of it, these people who were eager to return to their villages once the horde was dealt with were instead making plans to settle down for longer. As Red had come to learn, there was the Great Serpent Canyon separating this region of their Kingdom and the Empire, which meant that it was unlikely they would see combat during the initial phases of the war.

Still, this didn’t mean that the town and region would be peaceful. Instead, it was likely that even more refugees from other parts of the kingdom would migrate south in search of sanctuary, or so Rimold claimed. This meant that the town would only grow more and more chaotic over the following months, and the Baron would have a whole different problem in his hands. Yet, this was a better position to be in compared to directly having to face the Empire’s armies.

The group made their way up the hill, and for the most part they went by unnoticed as the town was in a turmoil at the recent news. They arrived at their sect without much issue, and soon enough found themselves at the gates.

Hector turned around to look at them. “To the meeting room, now!”

He swung open the gates, finding Domeron sitting in his swinging chair on the front lawn while sipping from his steaming mug. The swordsman raised his eyebrows and was about to speak before Hector walked past him and into the main building without sparing him a glance.

Domeron frowned and looked over at Red and the others. “What’s gotten into him now?”

“We’re at war.” Red said.

“We’re what?!”

It seemed like the sect’s isolated position didn’t always serve to their benefit.