After a month of travel, Edmund learned from the soldiers and knights that they were getting close to the border; everything was so beautiful. But it was not a pleasant ride because, from what he picked up from the soldiers, the lords didn’t want to have the caravan in their towns or cities; they had to put up camp or rent a tavern in the middle of the road.

  ‘It will be difficult to use the runes if she doesn’t have people loyal to her; that is some stupid rule right there.’ Edmund looked at the blue sky.

  As the caravan crossed a bridge, many people blocked the road, flanked by dense forest to the right and a river to the left.

  ‘Oh, so the mission is to attack this convoy? It is the Archduke?’ An older man asked.

  ‘Don’t forget about the white-haired kid,’ another voice in the crowd said.

  ‘Why didn’t we ambush them? Coming from the trees, they are going to escape.’ A young man complained.

  ‘We don’t need ambush tactics; these stupid idiots only have a couple of soldiers and knights; we are about sixty strong.’ The man laughed.

  Edmund was awoken by the sudden stop and noticed the soldiers gathering before the caravan. He could see a large group of people blocking the road from the wagon's side. He immediately grabbed his sword and followed the soldiers while dragging his weapon.

  ‘You there, let us pass; this is his majesty Archduke Adrian's convoy.’ A knight screamed.

  ‘You see, I don't care who is in these carriages; this is just a toll for a good cause. Would you ?give us something so that nothing happens?’ An older man shouted back.

  The Archduke was in the first carriage with Ariadne and her maid. The princess was impatient and tried to look outside, but before that, one knight tapped on the window.

  ‘Your Majesty, we have bandits; they are too many; you must flee; we will buy some time for you.’ The knight drew his sword.

  ‘I understand, Ariadne; get ready to leave.’ Adrian got up.

  ‘This is no coincidence, Father, with these Velventian traitors.’ The princess shouted.

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  ‘Hum, maybe.’ The archduke opened the carriage door.

  They all got out of the carriage, and Eliza looked distressed as she saw the number of people blocking the way. Coming from the other side was Edmund with his greatsword. The young man did not surprise her but by the sword itself and how different it was.

  ‘Where are you guys going? There is no need to run.’ Edmund ?walked by.

  The boy seemed not to hold his sword?, as evidenced by how he dragged it across the ground. The sight startled the archduke.

  ‘What is the meaning of this? Is he crazy?’ Adrian looked at Ariadne.

  ‘At the very least, he is brave.’ Ariadne smiled.

  Edmund got to the front, and the Shafran soldiers blocked the way. The soldiers and the bandits were shouting. One of the soldiers looked at the A-Dam boy and used his elbow to call for the soldier who was shouting at the bandits. He opened the path for him, and the young man stepped to the front.

  ‘Is that boy going to fight us, boss? These bastards are going to make him fight us. Remember, we need him alive.’ A bandit laughed.

  The knights' decision to even fight the bandits surprised Edmund because of how many bandits there were. The young man smiled, took position, and looked straight at one bandit.

  Ariadne came to the front and opened her fan. She looked at the bandits. Seeing them made her feet tremble, but because of her dress, nobody noticed, as her posture was as noble as it got. The archduke followed her and put his hand on her shoulder.

  ‘Let’s go, my daughter; we need to ride.’ Adrian tried to pull her.

  Ariadne looked at the archduke but did not move an inch. She looked at Edmund, and right after, the young man looked into Ariadne's eyes for a moment before facing the crowd of bandits again and launching himself into them. The man in front of him could do nothing but move his eyes and stare at Edmund as the young man’s blade slashed through him. The bandits did not see him getting closer; their leader was cut in half. At that moment, everyone just stopped.

  Before the bandits could react, Edmund, like a beast that none of them had ever seen, charged into the crowd like the weight of the sword itself was leading him. Blocking with shields was ineffective; anyone who attempted it was instantly killed, and the radius of the attacks was unpredictable, as a man who tried to attack the boy from behind was suddenly cut in half, forcing his comrades to close their eyes due to the blood splashing from the body. Noticing this, Edmund altered his attacks, launching himself at the group with closed eyes and slashing them with the momentum of one swing, but now he was upside down.

  The boy's white hair had turned red from the amount of blood that came out of the one he had just cut down. With more swings of his greatsword, more bandits came down. Even when they tried to block his sword, that only caused their weapons to plunge into their flesh. Some of them tried to put some distance between themselves and the wild, red-haired young man, but more bandits came down. Even when they tried to block his sword, that only caused their weapons to plunge into their flesh.

  Some tried to distance themselves from the wild-red-haired young man but with no success. When he noticed them doing this, he moved strangely to cut them down like a fox with a sword on its mount. They had never seen something like this; the majority couldn’t react and just stood there with their swords pointed at the young man, who, with one swing, passed through multiple of their comrades one after the other. His sword, now dull, broke bones with every strike as he continued to rampage.

  ‘Run!!!’ One man screamed.

  Suddenly, those who were still standing began to run. It seemed as though reality had been completely shattered when the group looked around and became aware of the dead bodies on their feet. It was a complete nightmare, as the beast was in front of it. An ancient demon that the Shafran had let loose wanted more blood.

  The archduke could not believe what the young man did. His movements, jumps, and sword style, which he had never seen anywhere, were utterly foreign. The young slave was just a beast, madly dancing in a fountain of blood.

  Ariadne started to laugh out loud as the remains of the bandits began to run. Part of her was disgusted by what she saw, but it was overwhelmed by a feeling of happiness that filled her chest like never before.

  ‘Can I do that?! Amazing!!!' She shouted with a grin.