Shadow Fang's Reckoning
The bastards... just how long were they enjoying themselves before they still hadn't shown up?
Shadow Fang guild headquarters
Pormanker sat in the master suite, clicking his tongue as he rose from his seat.
He had told them to enjoy themselves just enough before dying, yet they were dragging this out longer than he had expected.
At the exact moment Pormanker reached for a subordinate with a furious expression, a scream tore through the air.
“Kyaaaargh!”
Thud!
A commotion echoed from the first floor, followed by the sound of something shattering loudly.
Pormanker’s brows furrowed as he stormed out of the room.
“What’s going on?!”
Pormanker called down from the second floor.
And the scene below was not his own men.
“Lisiven…!”
“What kind of witch is this?!”
Pormanker’s mind raced. Had it been a trap?
No. Even if it was a trap, it made no sense.
Julan and Heirquan had both moved out, and fifty guild members had been sent with them. If Lisiven had truly been there, they would have returned to the headquarters immediately.
“What the hell happened here…?!”
His head spun.
Every subordinate on the first floor had fallen, and the enemy was already climbing the stairs.
He had no choice but to flee.
But then.
“There is no place to run, Pormanker.”
“Y-You…!”
Lisiven had already blocked the rear, her dagger raised.
And then…
“Master Lisiven!”
“Pormanker, you bastard!”
“You little—”
Her subordinates surged up to the second floor, sealing Pormanker’s escape.
In the trap closing in from both sides, Pormanker could not hide his panic.
How had things gone this wrong?
Still, Lisiven looked at him and spoke calmly.
“For so long I let you act as master… I was foolish. Now it is time for the price, Pormanker.”
“You damn X bitch! How dare you—”
Pormanker roared in desperation, yet his dagger slipped from Lisiven’s grasp and drove straight into his forehead.
Pormanker was a fat pig who had long since stopped training. There was nowhere to dodge the razor-sharp blade that Lisiven had kept honed.
Thud.
As Pormanker collapsed, Lisiven shouted.
“The master has spoken!”
The fighters below froze and looked up at her.
Pormanker was dead. His followers wore expressions of utter despair.
Now they would all die here.
But Lisiven addressed them.
“There will be no further mercy. All that is past is forgotten… and only those who will fight beside us from now on shall remain. Those who wish to leave will be sent on their way.”
“Master!”
“What about the rest of—”
“Enough!”
Lisiven cut the worried subordinates off with a single word.
She understood their concern, yet it was something she would now carry alone.
Too many guild members had already fallen in this battle…
Then, as if declaring it, Lisiven spoke.
“From this day forward, the master of Shadow Fang is me. Any who have complaints may speak now.”
Unlike Pormanker, Lisiven posed no threat. Yet a dignified leadership held the hall.
At her words,
“I will follow the master.”
Kaiton knelt on one knee, head bowed. A few others followed, and then the entire hall echoed.
“We will follow the master!”
Every guild member in the room slammed a fist to the floor.
Shadow Fang would change today.
In this moment when their history was rewritten, Lisiven remembered the face of the boy who had come looking for her.
***
“I never imagined such a thing would be possible.”
The tone had changed. Still wary, yet now unmistakably respectful.
Arteon looked at Lisiven before him.
Lisiven had come to the battlefield to find him. She could not hide her shock at the scene of bodies everywhere.
How could she have expected even one man to wipe out fifty-plus guild members?
And that meant this single man could have destroyed them all.
“What do you require of me?”
He tried to keep his voice steady, but it still trembled.
Why had someone so powerful come to the back alleys?
But…
Clink.
Arteon placed the pouch on the table.
“One hundred gold.”
“…”
“Use this to buy as many spears and shields as possible in the central cities. You may also trade with caravans coming into Almers.”
Arteon remembered the old weapons stored in the imperial armories and the looming war in the north that would demand far more.
“Back then… I knew nothing.”
Now everything was clear. And those very situations could become fortunes for someone.
“More funds will flow your way soon. This deal will aid your organization greatly.”
The hundred gold was not enormous, but one or two more such transactions would multiply it many times over.
“I should have invested in the caravan lord Lisiven,” he thought, “but guiding her into that path is only right. She already possesses exceptional talent.”
Most of all, Lisiven valued loyalty above all.
The debt she owed him would never be forgotten.
Drk.
Arteon stood at once.
“I am Arteon of the first division. Send people to us when the situation stabilizes. We will meet again.”
“Why help me so?”
“An investment. I may need you one day.”
The answer remained puzzling, yet Lisiven asked no more.
“This help I will never forget, Arteon-nim. Soon… I will come find you again.”
Her manner toward Arteon had completely changed. No longer wary, only grateful.
She would later decide whether his intentions were good or bad.
“Thank you for saving me and my people beneath me.”
“See you again.”
Arteon turned as Lisiven bowed deeply.
Thirty days of leave might not be enough… yet the battle had ended far too quickly.
“And I have not a single copper left.”
In his current state, coming here meant nothing.
Still…
Jingling.
Arteon pulled several coins from his pouch and grinned.
“I’ll buy a few snacks for the kids to nibble on.”
Though he missed his old days, he turned back to the barracks without hesitation. There was too much to do.
***
“The enemy has retreated into the canyon behind the first front line. If we claim this canyon, it will become an impregnable fortress for us.”
One division staff meeting.
The battalion commanders overseeing every sector had gathered before Velkain Caeron and Ervan.
Ervan pointed at the map and spoke.
“Hmmm…”
Velkain let out a soft sigh.
If they took the canyon, the first front line would no longer be the dangerous border it was now. They would have a proper fortress instead of a crude wall.
And unlike the Kar, they were masters of defensive warfare from such positions.
“The problem is… how to seize that canyon.”
“Exactly. A fortress is advantageous to us now, yet it will also be highly advantageous to the enemy.”
Even if the Kar’s use of fortresses was poor, the difference between having one and not was obvious.
“Attacking first would only expose us to greater danger.”
“Why not lure the enemy to fight on our side?”
Others offered suggestions one after another.
Yet Ervan shook his head.
“Our scouts report roughly one thousand Kar stationed there. Once time passes, they will reinforce and come forward again.”
That would turn the canyon into the same endless slaughter they had endured before.
Velkain’s expression hardened.
Such indecision was unacceptable.
But then.
“If we can find a way… a small elite force could enter the canyon, then break through only the entrance. That would give us a chance.”
Ervan indicated the canyon on the wall map.
“Even elites would be in danger without proper reconnaissance of the terrain. Can we scout it?”
“The outer slopes might be reachable, but the inner area is impossible.”
“Then the risk is too great.”
One commander protested.
Losing a small elite unit would cripple their strength.
Still, everyone agreed Ervan’s strategy was sound. A small elite force could open the entrance for them, after which the battle would be far easier.
Velkain tapped the table with his index finger.
Tap… tap… tap…
His expression was thoughtful. This was the moment for the most careful decision.
The bloodiest front line in the north had finally found a way to turn the tide.
Velkain sighed again.
“Very well. Then we will do it this way.”
He addressed the battalion commanders.
“Send orders to every unit. Look for anyone who knows the terrain of Helikel Canyon beyond the first front line.”
“It will not be easy. Helikel Canyon was never our land to begin with, and few could even reach it.”
Still, grasping even a single straw was worth the attempt. If nothing came of it, they would find another way later.
Velkain did not expect much. Ervan was right—Helikel Canyon was no place ordinary imperial soldiers could simply walk into.
But…
An unexpected answer came from an unexpected quarter.
“I know it. The terrain of Helikel Canyon.”
Steady eyes. A confident expression.
The entire division turned to the single soldier in surprise.