The stench of rotting corpses seeped through the holes of Esel's mask. He walked with the Great Leader, accompanying him through the horrific carnage covering the grassy knoll. Behind his brass facade, Esel clenched his jaw at the sight of guts and blood leaking out of the slain men. The thousands of dead stretched as far as Esel could see, composing the tragic remains of Lord Khev Vakin’s army. No survivors, no explanations. Yet the Great Leader remained impassive, which disturbed Esel even further.

  Politically, it was an unbelievable development. Lord Vakin was one of the Great Leader’s oldest allies and the most aggressive supporter of the invasion of Katan-Bat. Ever since his defeat two years prior, Vakin was preparing for another chance at this domain. He’d been expected to become its governor once they’d conquered the L’Ani host, but now…

  Roughly 8,000 men served Vakin. Losing those men would be a massive blow to the imperial forces, with the Great Leader’s ambitions only growing. Oddly, though, he did not seem deterred. Taking Katan-Bat did not require the combined might of four Lekkian armies, but he brought them anyway. He needed to remind his lords who was in charge and send a message to the other kingdoms that their time had come. They were taking over the only kingdom strong enough to oppose them—once it was done, who would care that they’d lost a whole army? Katan-Bat would be theirs. The L’Anis would be dead. The kingdoms would tremble in fear of him.

  The capital city of Katan-Bat stood proudly in the distance, its walls and tall wooden buildings surrounding the central stone palace, where Abban L’Ani ruled. The greatest military leader of the last two generations grew old while the Lekkians grew bolder. It was only a couple of years prior that Khev Vakin thought he was ready to best Abban. He brought the other warlords to watch the battle, only to lose. The embarrassment of a loss was not enough. Vakin lost to Abban’s second son, who was only 20 years old. Defeated by a boy. Now Vakin was dead on his second attempt to take that city. It unsettled Esel how this great man fell in the relentless pursuit of his goal. He couldn’t be satisfied with his riches alone.

  Esel remembered the way that war ended; the humiliation Vakin had been dealt was enough to keep him locked away in rage for months. This, however, was beyond humiliation, beyond shame. The entire army was dead. It was perplexing for many reasons.

  This western region of Katan-Bat was too far from the city’s strong defenses to have been waiting at this hill for a surprise attack. The other two lords had already trekked through this area with their forces and were now sacking the city, making L’Ani involvement even less likely. So why were there thousands of dead Lekkians lying before them?

  To Esel, it reeked of betrayal. No Lekkian warlord could be trusted. Everyone knew that. If he was right, and the L’Anis weren’t involved, then Vakin had to have crossed someone he shouldn’t have. But who?

  As the Great Leader strode before him, stepping between bloodstained corpses, Esel wondered what his king secretly knew. The man had mysterious plans, and there was no doubt that having an entire army neutralized was within his capabilities. However, his army was with Esel this whole time, making them ill-suited for suspicion.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Could he have devised this massacre indirectly? Esel wondered. What did he promise? And to whom?

  The Great Leader halted and silently bent down to examine the corpse that Knight Commander Ordan investigated. A nasty stab wound to the lower chest caused this man’s demise. Esel swallowed at the ugly sight. The corpse had been Vakin’s chief lieutenant. Seeing a commander dead must have unnerved Ordan as much as it had Esel. With a grunt, the Great Leader summoned Ordan’s assessment.

  “I find it hard to believe that L’Ani men did this,” Ordan muttered behind the stoic face of his silver mask. The revered veteran did not like things he could not control. “They would rather defend the city than the countryside. We’ve brought ten times more men this time. If they saw Vakin coming, they would have retreated to a better battlefield.”

  Esel observed the Great Leader, who merely nodded silently.

  “Sire,” Esel pushed out, knowing his input was undesired. “Could it be that a conflict arose among the lords? We are only half a day’s march behind Lord Ralu’s men.”

  “Don’t you think there would be plenty of dead men from the other side, in that case?” The Great Leader finally spoke, his voice always more frightening than an ordinary man’s.

  Esel considered it silently, then added, “Kahlist assassins, then?”

  “You’d need a legion of assassins for that,” Lord Listol interrupted, approaching their party. The bald man was the Great Leader’s right-hand man and spymaster. He was unpopular among the Great Leader’s knights, but regarded as among the most dangerous individuals in Stet-Lek.

  “There aren’t that many radical Kahlists here,” the Great Leader shook his head. “Not them.”

  “Sire!” a soldier from the regular infantry called, running over with his spear in his hand. The men glanced at each other, then received the lad with stern expressions.

  “What is it, boy?” Listol said impatiently.

  “My king, my lord,” the soldier bowed as he caught his breath. “We’ve found him. Lord Vakin. He was stabbed in the liver. I’m sorry, sire, but he’s dead.”

  “And?” Ordan muttered behind his mask.

  “Only this,” the lad handed over an ornate dagger.

  Listol accepted it, then showed the knife to the others. Esel looked past the dried blood and noticed an unfamiliar sigil on the base of the hilt. Etched in lustered bronze was an eagle with an arrow in its beak, diving with its wings spread. He raised his eyes to the others for an answer.

  “The Knights of the Realm,” Ordan noted. “I only know of one man in these lands belonging to that order.”

  Esel remembered that the Great Leader had exiled the Knights of the Realm when he took power, replacing them with the Knights of the Peace—his own order that operated under his direction. The Katanese were important members of that international union of knights. Their members were important military leaders.

  The knife was passed around the party. Esel took it and frowned. How could the Knights of the Realm have known we were coming? Why only attack Vakin?

  Listol frowned, then glanced over at the Great Leader. “Only one that I can think of.”

  “Who?” Esel asked.

  “Bardom L’Ani,” Ordan said. “The second Prince of Katan-Bat.”

  The same man who defeated Lord Vakin two years ago.