Lowly Ascent

Yet again a year had passed.

Cardin was now a small flourishing town. Its reputation as a place where people could truly be free had spread. A few caravans even deviated from their normal routes to visit, building boats to haul goods to the island.

The island on which Cardin was built now had many structures, and more and more people headed here to settle down. Even some nearby villages migrated to Cardin.

Trade with the caravans brought many supplies and trinkets which increased the quality of life. Those living in Cardin truly had better lives than they would elsewhere, free from war and policies that controlled them.

Alex's order of Truth Seekers also saw an increase in recruits. Alex spent most of her time training the new recruits and establishing a hierarchy within her organization based on merit.

With the caravans spreading the name of the town, thousands of refugees made their way to Cardin. They came from poverty, war, and the brink of death.

Almost anyone in Netherane who had nothing came to Cardin after hearing about it.

But this wasn't a good thing, with increased population came an unsustainable populous. There wasn't enough resources to sustain the people, Cardin was only had enough food due to the Truth Seekers mysteriously producing it every time rations were to be given out. This was one of their Lady's many abilities, in a sense.

To address this, Alex announced that only people who worked had the right to stay in the growing city.

Many who didn't want to work for the city as well as those who were turned away after the maximum capacity was reached, started their own villages on the outlying islands.

The remaining immigrants were put to work helping throughout the city, and many assisted in the construction of their own homes.

Unbeknownst to the main island, the outlying islands envied the people staying on the main one. They rallied under a pitch-black banner with a blood-red willow branch in the middle.

Secretly, these villages prepared to attack the unsuspecting city as they gathered their strength. It was not until another month had passed that they turned this plan into action.

Under the cover of moonlight, thousands of villagers holding knives, swords, pitchforks, and more slowly crept up to Cardin. They moved as quietly as possible as they passed the walls that were still under construction.

However, for a group of a thousand invading a city of thousands, it was impossible not to be spotted. As the majority of the army passed through the construction site into the city, they were seen, and the city was alerted.

Disregarding stealth, the coalition of outlying villages charged into the city, thirsty for blood.

From there, everything descended into chaos. Flames were ignited inside buildings as the screams of women and children filled the defenders' ears. The fighters used all their strength to kill their opponents, and bodies piled up.

It escalated to the point people stepped on the skulls of the dead, crushing the corpses beneath their feet into the soil.

A deranged battle of madness, with both sides forgetting their rationality as they used their nails and teeth to tear their opponents apart. Cries and screams of pain reverberated through the battlefield.

It was a battle for everything for one side and a battle of greed for the other. One side fell into madness to protect, the other for riches and wealth.

As the invaders inched closer to the center of the city where the church of the Truth Seekers lay, even the children started to pick up weapons from their dead fathers and uncles, fighting to kill their enemies.

Clanking and clashing of metal swept the air, swept the sky. The taste of metal, the scent of blood! A myriad of senses converged in the city of Cardin.

Soon, those from the church entered the battlefield, adorned with flexible leather armor and iron coverings on their thighs and torso. They carried longswords and turned the tide, killing tens of their deranged invaders at a time.

However, figures in black outfits dashed through the lines and clashed with these paladins of truth. Each wore a white theater mask depicting faces of awe or admiration as they charged unrelentingly.

They were far more skilled than these recently trained knights and cut them down as they were the cattle.

The four black figures dismembered and cut apart these Truth Seekers like hot knives through butter. Their power was overwhelming. The invaders cheered as their morale rose, hastening the pace at which they threw themselves into the flames of war.

The black figures made quick work of the battlefield, killing at a pace the Truth Seekers could never keep up with. However, when one of the black figures was about to kill a boy swinging a knife at him, a figure wearing iron armor bashed a plated fist against the figure's face.

The figure was sent flying into the battlefield. A few more people covered in iron armor stepped out; they were the higher-ups of the order of Truth Seekers, Alex's personal elite who had been with her since Yoen.

The four shadows grouped together, their masks now painted red. The two sides clashed again at rapid speeds. The elite soldiers outnumbered the black figures, but they were nowhere near as skilled.

It was as if the black figures were monsters wearing human clothes. Three of them attacked without ever getting exhausted, while the last disappeared from sight and attacked when they least expected it.

The defenders found themselves cornered, unable to keep up with these mysterious enemies. They were about to retreat when they heard a heroic and calm voice.

"I will deal with them."

Walking out of the church, a young woman in her 20s stepped forward. Her hair was bright red, and her eyes were golden like a goddess. She held a spear made of wood and wore only leather armor.

The figures began to focus on her, feeling dread just from looking at her. They switched targets immediately. The three in the front, wielding a battle axe, a longsword, and a sickle, attacked unceasingly.

Alex watched as the fourth figure disappeared from sight, and her eyes widened. She then focused and pinpointed where the figure went, observing as they reappeared and then disappeared again after attacking. She watched as they hid in the shadows of their allies waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

She smiled, she knew of a technique similar to this that also allowed the user to seemingly disappear into the shadows.

However, when she watched the user of that technique, it was as if they had truly vanished. Even if you knew where they went, you could not see them.

Raising her spear, she threw it at the figure wielding the battle axe. They blocked the spear, but the sheer power of the strike caused cracks in the weapon.

As they were about to charge again, roots emerged from the ground and skewered one of the masked figures like a voodoo doll.

The figure died instantly as their corpse was held up by eight tree roots puncturing their body. The other three figures' eyes intensified, and they began to grow wary of the ground they stood on.