"Blackthorn." A broad-shouldered man who gave off a seasoned warrior's presence muttered while gazing at the horizon where dense black clouds gathered with the occasional flash of white followed by roaring thunder that echoed across the barren lands.

A campfire sat in the middle with a group surrounding it, the embers dimly illuminating the people's faces. A man clearly past the prime of his life sat in full plate armour; only his aged face was on display for all to see. He turned to face his employer with a frown, "Marquess Cunningdal if you don't mind the question.... why exactly are we heading to Blackthorn? Last I heard, it's a village filled with peasants and nothing much else." Disdain practically dripped from every word, clearly showing his disapproval of having to visit such a backwater place.

A young woman with strikingly similar features to the Marquess seemed to perk up at the question; a cold bowl of half-eaten murky mushroom soup sat on her lap.

Marquess Cunningdal's earthy brown eyes gave the knight a warning glare, "Blackthorn will be our new training grounds for the coming spring; a civil war is on the horizon. There are very few places outside Prince August's reach left for us to go, including my territory on the Oshal border." A memory of the Prince's casual threat during the chess game resurfaced, further confirming his thoughts.

Be careful where you put your troops... or you might find yourself defenceless.

The Prince's words, alongside the fact he knew tensions at the border had grown despite the Marquess never sending a report, told the Marquess all he needed to know.

There were rats within his territory, and it was no longer safe. In fact, few places were safe from nobles prying eyes, especially those willing to pay the price. For example, Owl could use clairvoyance from his stronghold disguised as a hotel and view half the peninsula, assuming no magic wards blocked his sight. Still, in a twisted sort of way, warded areas stood out like a sore thumb, as the cost of deploying such magic was certainly not cheap.

But Blackthorn was so far from the capital and so unassuming that it was, in fact, perfect.

The knight shifted around, trying to reduce the numbness from sitting on the cold ground; his armour rattled as he moved.

Having found a somewhat comfortable seating position, he dryly replied, "Forgive my impudence. My patience wears thin in old age; perhaps I have gotten too soft due to the comfortable life back home." Then, with a sigh, he added, "Been a while since I was out in the field like this."

A few of the other men sitting around the campfire in similar but slightly lower quality plate armour nodded in agreement but didn't dare open their mouths as their commander did.

Marquess Cunningdal rubbed his temples in frustration, "Commander Nicholas, you make it sound like home is a jolly place and not a fortress located only a river away from the lunatics of Oshal."

Nicholas chuckled, "I consider anywhere with Oshal scum to slay my home, but out here? Only the occasional dungeon escapee or hungry bandit. Not exactly exciting; add the camping outside in the cold with the dreary scenery of nothing but flat, cracked mud, and I hope you can understand my unsavoury mood."

The Marquess sighed deeply, "Nicholas, I specifically told you to stay behind, yet you follow me from home and now cry and whine. Look at Evelyn."

The sudden mention of her name and everyone's attention on her caused the poor girl to straighten her back in fear, "Y-yes, u-uncle?"

"She is the only reason I came; your Mother gave specific instructions to me before she... passed.... and one of them was to protect all the family members not just from our enemies but from each other. A lesson that I fully agree with and stand by." Nicholas said in a tone that didn't match his station, yet the Marquess ignored it and simply nodded, "I too agree with my mother's words; hence I saved her-"

"Which just makes me all the more suspicious... you of all people saving someone? I find that hard to believe." Then, while eyeing the terrified Evelyn, Nicholas declared, "If this brute ever does anything to you, come to me."

Evelyn gave the eager aged knight a weary smile, "T-thank you, but.... uncle has been kind so far."

"Don't overstep your boundaries, Nicholas-" A loud horn interrupted the Marquess's speech; with a flick of his wrist, the ground trembled and shot up into the sky. Everyone had calm expressions except for Evelyn, who yelped as they soared into the sky.

The Marquess stood in the centre of the three-story-high tower and pulled the stunned Evelyn to his side, "Identify the enemy, secure the perimeter."

"Yes, sir," Nicholas replied, the previous tone vanishing into the winter wind and replaced by a seasoned military man who knew his place in the hierarchy.

Nicholas peered over the edge of the tower into the darkness below. Illuminated by the moon overhead were the shapes of a small convoy of carriages surrounding the hastily erected tower of mud. Not much could be seen beyond that, just darkness. Usually, they would fell trees for torches, but the wasteland was precisely that, a wasteland where nothing grew, leading to their lack of light around the campsite.

Nicholas calmed his mind and willed mana inside his circuit; due to his poor aptitude for magic, he remained a D grade even after decades of training, but he still had a few useful spells for this situation.

"ᛒᚨᛚᛚᛋ ᛟᚠ ᛚᛁᚷᚺᛏ", he chanted, and moments later, small whisps of light floated down to the ground like jack o lanterns. Exposing the secrets below.

Turning his sights in the direction the horn originated was a group of newly trained knights facing off against some kind of foe.

Nicholas then checked the other four cardinal directions but found no further sign of conflict; deciding on a course of action, the commander turned towards the other knights. "Terry and Lenord remain here and protect Evelyn; the rest with me."

The Marquess shot Nicholas an annoyed but understanding smile; he was the strongest here, so if he were to die, then they all would. But he found the lack of care for his safety slightly unnerving.

Terry and Lenord replied with a salute and moved closer to the confused woman, "Don't worry, the commander will soon take care of the issue." Terry said from under his full metal armour, slightly distorting his voice.

Nicholas gave everyone a nod before casually jumping off the side, followed by an explosion a second later. The mud tower showed no signs of the human cannonball, nor did it falter when five more fully armoured men similarly followed him—showing its magical properties imbued during its creation.

Marquess Cunningdal casually watched the fight while tapping his foot and commented, "Nothing to fear, seems to be some deer, bear hybrid, although huge and fast they lack any magical abilities. The recruits will struggle, but Nicholas and the others can take them on."

Evelyn joined her uncle in observation with Terry and Lenord flanking her sides, "Uncle, why don't you eliminate all the monsters at once?"

The Marquess clicked his tongue but quickly fixed his attitude with an awkward cough, "There are many reasons. The biggest and simplest is that using magic, as you already know, requires a lot of effort. I hire these people for a reason. Otherwise, I would just walk to Blackthorn myself."

Then with a sigh, he continued, "But there are other reasons. I am already a peak B grade mage. Therefore, improvement through fighting is no longer possible, but for those recruits down there and even Nicholas, it's an invaluable experience."

"What about me?" Evelyn said with some hope in her voice, "Shouldn't I go and fight then?"

The Marquess shifted awkwardly but nodded, "Your display of magic was subpar and untamed, not ladylike. Very roughish." But then he added with a laugh, "But maybe that will give you an edge, a certain unpredictability to those other stuck up noble kids. Hmmm." He then looked towards the two full plate guards, "You two take her down there for some experience. If anything happens to her then..."

Both knights instantly knelt before Evelyn, "We shall protect the lady with our life."

The Marquess chuckled and waved them off, "Have fun, my niece; I shall be watching from here."

Evelyn screamed once again, carried in a princess style off the mud towers side by Leonard.

The sounds of battle gradually died down as the chilly night wind calmed the Marquess's mind. Nevertheless, he looked to the horizon again with unease in his heart.

They would arrive in Blackthorn tomorrow, and he would finally meet the infamous Vampire Prince.