The lord's castle in Border Town had not been originally built in its current position.
Whilst burying the foundation of the stone wall, an underground cave was uncovered. The ground suddenly collapsed, so there was no choice but to move the position of the castle.
The waterways that had already been dug were mostly destroyed during the collapse. Even those that were intact were abandoned because of the reconstruction.
When Brian was young, he often played in these tunnels, and one day he accidentally found that the route from an abandoned well led to the well of the castle garden. Brian told his father, and was severely beaten. His father warned him that the punishment for trespassing the castle was death. Once found guilty, he would be sent straight to the gallows.
Brian was terrified and naturally did not walk through the waterway again. But at times when everyone got together to drink and chat, he had more than once boasted that he knew a direct access to the castle. Now he regretted his remarks.
Excluding Greyhound, there were a total of nine people. In other words, the entire patrol team had been persuaded by Fierce Scar—being able to serve Duke Ryan, the lord of the Western Region, with such a lucrative return, was a temptation few people could resist.
The abandoned well was located at the outset of the collapse, and now it remained a wasteland. Held by Fierce Scar's sword and caught in the middle of the platoon, Brian went down the well. What was once a spacious waterway, was now very narrow. No one had passed through in years, plus the water direction had changed. Many vines had sprouted all over the cave.
The bloke who had stabbed Greyhound was in front holding the torch and bowed. He held a short axe and used it to remove obstacles.
Brian pretended he was trying to remember the road, but in fact, he was thinking about getting away.
Obviously in such an inconvenient place, he had no possibility of escaping. He could only wait till he got to the castle, before getting a chance. What should he do once he got there? Shout to attract the personal knights of His Highness? No. Fierce Scar would raise his hand and finish him off. He had to lengthen their distance first, otherwise he would end up like Greyhound.
Thinking about Greyhound, Brian's eyes became bleak again.
He and Greyhound had lived in Border Town before it was even established. The two had spent their childhood together and joining the patrol team was also Brian's idea. He had not expected that Greyhound would be elected as the patrol team leader.
Brian was happy for him for a long time. Because of his stutter, Greyhound had always been despised by others. Now, he had finally gotten the opportunity to be recognized. At least at the time, it was what Brian thought.
But when Greyhound fell and Brian screamed, Fierce Scar told him the real reason they had been elected captains.
"Fool, patrol leaders have to stay until the Months of Demons, to ignite the flames and warn everyone. If you two didn't do it, did you expect me to do it myself?"
The sentence was like a sharp knife piercing Brian's heart.
All those compliments and congratulations were false, and the real reason was actually so ugly. He showed a look of shock and despair to cover up his raging anger. It was simply unforgivable. Brian secretly clenched his teeth. Someone had to pay the price!
After walking through the dried-up waterway for half an hour, they finally heard the sound of water.
This meant that they were not far from their destination.
After turning a corner, it suddenly became more spacious, and could accommodate two people standing side by side. The person walking at the head of the platoon said, "There's no way forward, just a shaft."
"What's happening?" Fierce Scar nudged the sword and asked.
"Ask him to look up," said Brian. "We have arrived."
The abandoned waterway was connected to the middle of the castle backyard's waterway. Perhaps it had not been sealed shut due to negligence. Fierce Scar stuck to the wall and looked up, three feet below him was gushing water, and above his head he could see a small circle of the night sky.
He let people guard Brian, while he pulled out a rope from the backpack, tied the hook, and gently threw it up. When a "dang" sound was heard, the hook was firmly stuck in the edge of the well's head.
Fierce Scar followed the rope, and carefully climbed up. Soon, he tugged the rope several times above, indicating that the rest of the people could come up.
The line of people took almost half a day's efforts to climb out from the well. The castle which was originally far from sight now stood erect in front of them.
Fierce Scar grabbed Brian and shouted, "Hurry and take us to the warehouse."
Brian had only come here once. Though the memory of the castle was obscure, he quietly led the crowd, pried open the nearest wooden door and slipped into the castle.
At this hour, most people inside the castle were asleep, and the lamp lights along the corridor walls were completely extinguished. In the pitch-black darkness, someone from the platoon lit a fire. Faint fire could only illuminate a few feet, and Brian knew his chance had come.
When the platoon went to a crossing leading to the basement, he aimed at the bottom of the ladder, and suddenly rushed over. Although the person who held Brian had been paying attention to his movements, but the leap was too fast. Before he could react, he collided and began rolling down with Brian.
Down the ladder, the two instantly came out of the fire's range, and disappeared in the darkness.
"Oh, damn!" Fierce Scar immediately pulled out the dagger, and chased after them. He thought Brian would use the dark to play hide and seek with him. But not only did Brian not escape, he was also quietly standing under the stairs, as if waiting for him.
Fierce Scar saw that the associate who collided with Brian was lying on the ground motionless. And Brian was holding the man's weapons in his hand.
"Fool, do you think you'll have a chance to win?" Fierce Scar held his attack stance, waiting for the others to come down, and then said, "There are seven of us, and only one of you."
Brian did not answer, and he no longer needed to suppress his anger. He swung the sword, and swiftly struck the peak of Fierce Scar's sword, with sparks flying. Without waiting for the next stance, he stabbed the sword into Fierce Scar's shoulder!
Fierce Scar roared and fell backwards. Another one stepped forward, blocking the pursuit of Brian.
This was an excellent place to strike, as the narrow aisle gave the opponents hardly any advantages. He just had to stand in the middle of the aisle facing the enemy, and the opponents could not do anything. It was just too narrow here to accommodate two people waving weapons.
With regards to swordsmanship, Brian was confident he would not lose to anyone of the patrol team.
When this group of scum was lazing around, gambling, and indulging in the bar, he was honing his fighting skills. Regardless of wind, frost, rain or snow, years went by and his routine was never interrupted. This was also why he did not choose to immediately shout for help.
He wanted to personally avenge Greyhound's death.
