sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴᴛʜ.

"General." One of the soldiers bowed his head and whispered something to his ear. He gritted his teeth and stood up to call the first and second battalions. 

"We will attack today. Call the Knights. We have to prepare." He ordered the soldiers. He went out of the tent and instructed two messengers to rush to the Royal castle and inform the King about the growing number of the Knights Templar at the southern part of the country. 

The smallest village of the Southern Fields has been occupied by the Knights Templars and they are using the supplies from the warehouses. That part of the country is rich for rare gems like emeralds, rubies and sapphires. It is a given that a lot of bandits and colonizers will want to seize the land. He furrowed his brows when he heard about the Knights Templar. They all know that the last members of the said group perished centuries ago. If they are currently on the move, it means someone has been recruiting people to join the group. 

It didn't take a while for the Prince and the Knights to arrive at the barracks. The first and second battalions immediately lined up and greeted the Prince. As only few know that the Prince has been punished by the King, he still needs to fulfill his duties as the next King of the country. A few medics had arrived and this includes the General's older twin. They all bowed to the Prince and the other soldiers proceeded on putting up tents. The others rushed to the villages for support. 

"How come the Knights Templar exists today? The last Grand Master was killed a long time ago and we know that the direct descendants ended up the same." The Prince said and a soldier from the Southern Fields arrived with a report. 

"Send some spies to know who is the current leader of the group." The Prince added and they started moving already. 

The Knights got their horses and the low-ranked soldiers were ordered to surround them. They put the Prince in the middle and covered him. The General instructed the first battalion to cover the front and the second battalion at the end. The Countess took a short sword and the bow and arrows for an alternative. He quickly grabbed her wrist when she was about to ride the horse. 

"You will stay here." He said but she shoved his hand away and mounted on the horse. She has no time to argue with him. 

"I need to protect and serve the country. I didn't become a Knight to be kept here." She hissed but the General's older twin approached them. 

"Take care of her." He patted his younger twin's shoulder and his jaw tightened as he knew what to do. He doesn't need to tell him that he should protect the Countess. 

"Where's the Grand Duke?" The Knight of the Fujiwara family asked and the Countess told him that he is out of the country with the Duchess. 

"That's better. They will be safe out there." The Knight of the Yoshino family said and they proceeded to the Southern Fields. 

When they arrived, few houses were burned down and the supplies were looted. A huge flag of the Knights Templar is up and the Prince gestured to prepare and attack. He will be the one to command and the soldiers will need the approval of the Prince and the General to proceed. The General gestured to the first battalion and they started attacking. If they need to shed blood, they will do it. The Knights Templars are also Knights but decided to be zealots. 

"Injure their horses!" The Prince shouted and a part of the soldiers attacked the front. He pulled his longbow and arrows and started shooting the opponents' vital parts. 

The members of the Knights Templar already reached a hundred and most of them are skilled. They know that they will lose a lot of lives but they need to protect the country. The archers behind the second battalion started to aim and they lit up their arrows. They swarmed the opponents with fire arrows and they also threw fire bombs towards them. The first battalion slain one-fourth of the number and blood splattered on their armor suits. As long as it is not their blood, they will keep on attacking. 

"You bastard." The General hissed when a member decided to attack the Countess. He slashed his long sword and beheaded the member. 

"I told you to stay behind!" He shouted at her but this made her mad. She screamed angrily and attacked the opposing members to let her frustrations out. 

It took them hours to finally defeat the Knights Templar. They made sure that every member was killed and when they were done, they burned the flag as a sign of their victory. The General ordered the soldiers to bring wagons to the village for the wounded ones. They looked around and saw the villagers who died under the hands of the group. The Prince decided to give them proper burials and the remaining family will be compensated. It will take time to fully recover the damages. If they were a minute late, the whole village might end up a desert.