Captives

A bandit flew past the bandit leader, and he picked up the dead man's spear and threw it at Asher. Although Asher was facing three bandits, he still sensed the spear and went to his knees. The spear flew past him and struck a barrel filled with water.

Boom!

As the water burst out, something clicked inside of Asher. Right at that moment, other barrels exploded, and the water ran toward Asher.

Upon seeing this, the bandit leader rose to his feet and threw his cleaver toward Asher. The cleaver spun through the air, heading toward Asher at breakneck speed.

But Asher didn't plan on evading this time around.

He spun his swords, and the water followed his movement!

As he swung upward, the water transformed into a giant water sword! It slammed the cleaver out of the way and hit the bandit leader before he could even blink.

Boom!

The force opened a hole in the mountain, and rocks fell on what remained of the bandit leader. The remaining bandits were frozen in shock.

Bam!

The moment Asher slammed his right foot against the ground, the water rose up with great momentum and blasted the bandits toward the fortress walls!

Boom! The fortress walls broke down, and the water washed the bandits down 30 feet!

At this moment, Eritrea, Alex, and Nero just got to the bottom of the mountain, meaning they were in the wide Mountain Pass.

Only for them to hear the sound of gushing water.

The bandits on the pass were alerted and ran toward them, but the bodies of their comrades fell from the mountain along with a great amount of water, stunning them.

"He's coming."

Nero said while looking up.

Eritrea and Alex looked up. They only saw darkness, causing them to knit their eyebrows.

Thud!

A silhouette fell from above and landed behind the fifteen bandits who came from the pass, his white eyes piercing through the night, locked on everyone, allies and foes.

Hearing that sound, the bandits turned to face a 6-foot tall man wielding a broadsword, too big for him to handle, yet he held it properly and a longsword in the other hand.

They were about to attack when their hearts suddenly ceased, causing their eyes to widen as they slumped to the ground and were lifeless shortly after.

The scene caused Eritrea and Nero's faces to go white. Alex, though heavily injured, had a better expression.

He removed Eritrea's arms from around his shoulder and chest and proceeded to kneel.

"Your Lordship."

The man he spoke to found his spirit in a valley, looking at a beautiful red knight standing at the top of a hill with her back facing him. Two longswords were strapped to her waist.

He squinted.

The Dread Knight!

Without being told, he knew that woman was Ariel Ashbourne, the dread knight and only female that ruled over the Ashbournes!

She tilted her head a bit toward him so he could see a small part of her side profile.

"You are not ready, Asher."

....

His white eyes became normal, yet those words kept ringing in his mind.

Was it about him being a ruler or using her battle skill?

Clearly her battle skill was so powerful that he killed fifteen iron and silver-ranked warriors without moving a muscle.

Whatever it was, her words drilled into his core.

She was just the second; what about Toras and even the great Zenas? What would they tell him then?

"Your Lordship."

Eritrea and Nero went on their knees.

Their voices broke Asher out of his reverie.

He looked at his two swords in his hands. Now it felt strange to hold two swords. In fact, he wasn't sure he could properly swing the longsword in his left hand.

This gave him a bigger impression of how great the Ashbourne Dukes, who reached the apex of this style, were.

Clop! Clop!

The hooves of horses hitting the rocky ground fell into their ears. The Bladebreakers slowed down and bowed.

"Your Lordship!!"

"The battle is over. Go up and check if the captives are alive." Asher said with a deep, solemn tone as he found a nearby rock and sat.

Eritrea and Alex looked at each other. They could tell Asher's mood had changed.

Asher remained like that until Alec and few others arrived and Alex was sent to the physician.

"Your Lordship, the captives are in a proper state to speak with you." Lambert reported while holding his helmet in one hand. The lance was in the other.

"Mnn," Asher grunted.

After a short walk, he arrived at the gathering of about 20 people seated on logs. Their clothes were made from beast skins. He spotted a gray-haired woman holding a staff in their midst.

When they saw Asher, their eyes were filled with gratitude and a slight fear.

After all, they saw more than Asher wanted.

"Perhaps you are the reincarnation of the great wolf rider?"

Asher blinked.

He did not expect these people would know Atticus. It now dawned on him that Atticus was indeed a renowned figure in the desolatelands, and these people were from the desolatelands!

"You're all from the desolatelands."

Asher sat down with two shura vanguards behind him.

The imposing metal men awed the barbarians.

"We're from the Bashan basin." Katarina retorted with a soft tone.

Asher raised an eyebrow.

"I'm talking about the place beyond the pass. It's the—"

"It's called the desolatelands by you outlanders, but it is actually called Bashan. Bashan is an outrageously large basin, young man, and it's not desolate."

Her gentle yet reprimanding tone made the vanguards glare at her.

Asher on the other hand chuckled.

"I see. Then your clan is the ruling clan of this large basin."

Asher knew that the desolatelands, also known as the Bashan basin had a land space of 300,000 kilometers square. It was bigger than the dukedom of Nubis and Mormonts!

"Not at all. He's just a proud man that wants to someday rule over the basin."

Asher chuckled.

"I see."

"I'd assume you're the chief of this fearsome troop."

"I am."

"You're too young to be a chief."