Soulblade Chronicles

Eyolian's eyes widened, shock and uncertainty evident in her expression.

On the other hand, Noah only frowned slightly, his head lowered in deep thought.

"What do you mean the town is under siege? By whom—" Eyolian began to ask, but the sound of rhythmic clapping interrupted her.

Her gaze shifted toward the source of the sound, where Lady Elara stood with a cold expression, demanding everyone's attention.

"A few hours ago, troubling news reached the borders of my town," Lady Elara said, standing behind the massive wooden desk at the center of the room, her eyes sweeping across everyone in sight. "An unknown group has surrounded the Adventurers Guild in the northern part of town. And before word even reached me to send reinforcements, they had already taken full control of the guild. A significant number of hostages were seized in the process."

"Despite everything, I still sent the necessary reinforcements to reclaim the guild for its rightful owners. Half of my knights have already arrived there, fighting with their lives on the line," Lady Elara sighed audibly, her expression growing even colder with each passing second. "But the guild was never the true target—It was my town."

"A calculated move to cripple the town's defenses and seize control swiftly," she let the silence linger for a moment before continuing. "As we speak, my knights are out there, defending their home with everything they have. So, my next words will be brief. I want this conflict to end as quickly as possible."

'That explained the siege Lord Edric had mentioned,' Eyolian thought. 'But then, who were the three strangers?'

Her gaze dropped to the two elderly people seated on the couches. No matter how she looked at them, they seemed like ordinary folks, their bodies lacking any trace of mana. People like them shouldn't be in this room, especially at such a critical moment.

"First," Lady Elara continued, gesturing toward the dark-skinned man with tattoos on his hands, "this is Master Nolver Norar Arlo. He is a specialist sent by the Empire to examine Noah's condition. Though, I suspect the mystery surrounding his state is merely an unfortunate effect of the attacker's devious plan. I expect many more cases like his to emerge later."

Lady Elara turned her gaze to Noah, who showed no reaction to her words. She seemed slightly surprised but wasted no time giving her orders. "I need you to go with him for now. The results of his examination may prove crucial in this conflict."

Noah simply nodded and followed the dark-skinned man, who had been waiting for him by the door.

Lady Elara waited until they left before continuing, her gaze now fixed on the two elderly people who trembled under her cold stare. "These two are farmers who own a piece of land between the town and the guild. Their children and grandchildren have been taken hostage by the terrorist group, and they were sent here to deliver the group's demands."

After Noah and Master Arloa left, Lady Aileen took Eyolian's hand and pulled her toward the couches.

She gently placed little Elowen on one of the couches and sat down beside her, then gestured for Eyolian to sit beside her.

Eyolian braced herself for the scolding she was about to receive. But to her surprise, the woman who had played the role of her mother simply pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Don't worry, I'll scold you as much as I want once everything has calmed down," Aileen said, shattering Eyolian's hope of avoiding it.

"Alright, you can let go now. I want to hear what's happening," Eyolian said, pulling away from the hug. Despite her cold words, she felt a sense of gratitude deep inside.

Refocusing on the conversation, Eyolian saw that Lady Elara had been waiting for their moment of intimacy to end before she continued. "To summarize their demands: they want us to hand over an individual whose description they provided, claiming he is hiding in my town. In exchange, they will withdraw. If we refuse, they will escalate their siege on the town and the knights who have gone to reclaim the guild."

"Who is this person? And are you going to comply with their demands?" Eyolian asked bluntly. She didn't care about the silence that followed. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

She was almost certain that the person in question was likely Noah. She didn't know why they would be after him, but her instincts pointed to him as the prime suspect.

And if, by chance, it wasn't Noah, then there was a good chance she might be the one they were looking for.

"There is no record of such a person in the town—no record of entry or exit," Lady Elara said, unfazed by Eyolian's boldness.

She gestured to the knights standing by the door, issuing silent commands.

The knights stepped forward and escorted the elderly couple out of the room. Only after they disappeared from sight did Lady Elara answer Eyolian's second question. "And no, I cannot comply with the demand and hand over someone we do not have or even know the whereabouts of. But even if the person in question were in our custody, it is against the Empire's policy to submit to the demands of terrorists."

"So what are we going to do?" This time, it was Lord Edric who asked, as calm as ever.

"Everything happened suddenly and unexpectedly. But for now, we will remain on the defensive. The enemy has superior forces compared to what is available in the town. We also cannot expect any external assistance—our communications are completely cut off." Lady Elara paused for a moment, as if she were at a loss. "For the time being, we will search for this individual based on their description. Even though there's no record of them, finding them within the town's walls shouldn't be difficult. If they are here, we will use them as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the terrorists."

To Eyolian, the plan sounded far too shallow—a plan born out of desperation. How bad is the situation?

"It seems they planned this attack with extreme precision. The Adventurers Guild isn't a place that should have fallen so easily," Eyolian commented again, trying to extract more information.

"Indeed. From what we've uncovered so far, their planning and positioning span over three months before execution. All thanks to Master Arlo," Lady Elara sighed, her voice quiet. "Everything is in their favor, and there is little we can do to turn the tables."

At the mention of Arloa, Eyolian thought back to Noah. "What does Noah have to do with all of this, as you mentioned? And why did he go with that man?"

Lady Elara gave Eyolian a long look, as did everyone else in the room. Gareth looked curious, Cadet frowned slightly, and Seraphina remained cold. But Lady Elara answered, prompted by Lord Edric's interested nod. She had clearly realized that the boy had once worked under him.

"The boy has nothing to do with this. He is merely an unfortunate victim who got caught up in the chaos. As for Master Arlo, he will simply confirm Noah's condition to validate certain hypotheses."

Eyolian nodded and kept her silence, not wanting to push her luck further than she already had.

But to her surprise, no one else spoke either. Not a single word was said, yet all eyes were now on Lord Edric.

As if he had been expecting this moment, he took the initiative to ask, "What do I need to do?"