Marcus retracted the dome, letting the cold night wind sweep through the ruined forest. The smell of blood was still in the air.
Roland lay still against a tree. His breathing had become steady, under the supervision of Elara.
Garret walked back to the center of the field. A few paces away, Thomas also adjusted the creased cuff of his torn vest with his right hand. His left arm still bore some wounds and a thin trail of dried blood along his temples.
Marcus stood with his hands tucked behind his back as he eyed on his two approaching men. Then he crouched beside the nearest body and broke a thin silver tag from its collar, a tracking artifact.
Thomas and Garret followed suit as they checked the rest and found one on every body and joined the group.
"You both relied on direct force tonight," Marcus said, his voice low in the quiet forest. "But the execution was clean. Good."
"The royal armor holds a bit more resistance than the beasts here, my Lord," Garret said. "But once you break the framework, the flesh inside the armor snaps just the same."
Thomas gave a polite incline of his head. "A few scratches, Viscount. The targets have been thoroughly killed."
From the side, Prince Asher stepped forward as his boots squelched in the mud. The eagerness on his face had sharpened into calculation. He looked at Garret’s now normal skin, then at Thomas’s left arm hanging at his side.
"I have seen the royal guard’s best, Marcus," Asher said, looking at the ruined surrounding. "But, I did not expect four of them to die like this, and in a few minutes. If the royal officials ever sees what Hayes can do, they will stop treating you like a wall in a border and start taking you seriously."
Marcus didn’t turn to face the prince. "Let them. Hayes held the border for generations while the capital counted its gold. If they want to fear the shield, they can do it from a safe distance, and they can think twice before sending shadows to my gates."
"And those bodies need to disappear completely," Asher said as his eyes narrowed. He looked at the silver royal armor scattered across the mud.
"If even a single piece of that runic metal is found near your estate, the investigators will use it as an excuse to control you. My brother will also not let go of this opportunity to brand you as a traitor."
"They won’t find a scrap," Marcus said.
With a slight nod from Marcus, Thomas stepped forward. He raised his right hand and thin blades of shadow essence swept over the four imperial corpses as it sliced the runic plates and the bodies inside them into pieces small enough to carry.
Garret also channeled his essence as he gathered the pieces into a small heap in the middle of the clearing.
Then, Marcus lifted his hand and pressed it against the air. A faint ripple spread over the heap with a distorted hum, and the whole pile vanished.
"The coordinates are locked to the deepest sector of the high tier beast zone, hundred kilometers deep," Marcus said as the ripple faded.
Garret said. "If anyone tries to track their essence, they’ll have to dig through the stomach of a Rank 5 soul Behemoth."
The clearing was barren now. Not a single trace of royal guard’s presence remained.
"The capital will ask where four men went, Marcus," Asher said, watching the empty ground where the guards had fallen. "Leave that to me. I will take care of it."
Marcus gave him a short nod. "Do as you see fit." He turned to Garret. "Double the patrols towards this direction tonight. Some beasts might rampage as their homes were destroyed."
"Yes, my Lord."
Kellan stepped forward, and Elara stood by the tree where Roland lay, her glowing palms hovering on his chest.
"The boy’s vessel is locked and stable, Marcus," Elara said, turning to look at him with a soft expression.
"He just needs rest for a few days, and he will be fine. His core is almost empty so he may experience some pain for a week while drawing in essence and most important, do not let him touch a training blade till a week. Then he can break through if he wants."
"I know his limits, Elara," Marcus said, his tone softening as he looked at her. "Thank you, both of you. For tonight, and for keeping what you saw to yourselves."
"We swore it, Marcus," Kellan said. "That oath stands."
Elara nodded. "We will take our leave, now. Nothing much to see here."
"Then travel safely," Marcus said.
Kellan lifted two fingers to his lips and let out a long, low whistle that carried through the trees and out over the hills. For a moment nothing answered.
Then the clouds above the forest shifted, and a giant hawk came through them. It tore through the upper branches and flared out just above the trees. Its wings flapped once, hard enough to send leaves and mud spinning across the ground.
It hovered there and lowered its eyes towards Kellan.
Then a soft green light gathered under Elara’s and Kellan’s feet. The grass bent away from it, and they rose together as if lifted by a gentle current of wind. They settled onto the hawk’s back and nudged it to move.
With a powerful snap of its wings, the hawk launched into the sky, tearing through the sky and vanishing into clouds.
Marcus walked back to the tree where Roland lay as he bent down and gently lifted his unconscious son into his arms, supporting his head and broken ribs.
Roland’s hands were still red and blistered but his core and structure was stabilized. His breathing stayed
steady against his father’s chest.
Sofia stepped up beside him. She did not look at Marcus. She straightened the torn collar of Roland’s shirt, her fingers pausing over the burns on his hand.
"Next time," she said quietly. "be careful with them. We are still here. No need to be this harsh on them."
Marcus was silent for a moment but nodded after a moment. "I will, Sofia."
Asher stepped closer and rested a hand on her shoulder, saying nothing.