The majority of the team headed out into the battlefield to look for survivors, while Wolfe and the few who were returning to town headed into the trees.
"Are they really going to kill anyone who comes here to rescue us?" The Rank Four mage asked at a whisper.
"Of course not. Just the annoying ones. If they show up and ask politely for the prisoners to be returned, our people will happily work a deal with them to take their people and leave. But if they renege on that deal and come back even after they promised not to, then there will be no guarantees of survivors.
Your Emperor was a bit stronger than Patriarch Wolfe here, and he's far from the strongest person on this continent. He's not even the strongest of the three of us, but Patriarch Wolfe would have no problem defeating him in a duel.