Chapter 45: Beheading the Blood Wolf

However, this sliver of hope was soon mercilessly torn apart by the shadows overhead.

High in the sky, Ed had been watching the movements on the ground.

When Carl led his cavalry in an attempt to break out, Ed immediately steered his Pegasus into a dive. Behind him, twenty Pegasus Knights followed closely.

The Pegasi were impossibly fast!

In mere moments, the Pegasus Knights caught up to the fleeing cavalry of the Blood Wolf Corps.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

The twang of bowstrings echoed through the air.

Even while flying at high speed, the Pegasus Knights could still maintain a degree of accuracy.

"ARGH!"

A cavalryman let out a pained cry and fell from his horse.

Another cavalryman’s warhorse was struck by an arrow. It whinnied in pain and collapsed, pinning its rider underneath.

Catching a glimpse of the carnage behind him, Carl felt his heart sink in terror.

’With these Pegasus Knights around, trying to escape is just suicide!’

"Surrender and you will not be killed!"

The Pegasus Knights closed in, shooting down several of the Blood Wolf Corps’s cavalrymen, and shouted in unison.

One by one, the men began to dismount and surrender.

Two legs can’t outrun four, and four legs can’t outrun a pair of wings.

As their leader, Carl had no intention of surrendering. He dug his heels into his horse’s sides, urging it to gallop even faster.

He knew that as the leader, he had been singled out.

Ed was steering that enormous Pegasus, charging straight for him.

"Ed! An Earth Knight!"

Carl recognized the figure, and his heart sank.

’I’m an Earth Knight too, but on the ground... facing a Pegasus Knight diving from the sky at this speed... I don’t stand a chance.’

Ed’s icy gaze locked onto Carl.

He didn’t use his Bow and Arrow. Instead, he leveled the Armor-Piercing Spear in his hand.

The Pegasus’s speed increased further in its dive, accompanied by a shriek that tore through the air.

Carl knew he couldn’t dodge. He wrenched his warhorse to a halt, shifted his center of gravity back, and unleashed his Fighting Spirit, trying to parry with his Curved Saber.

"BANG!"

A thunderous crash.

The Armor-Piercing Spear, carrying an irresistible Power, slammed brutally into Carl’s shoulder.

The force was so immense it felt as if a small mountain had crashed into him.

The Curved Saber flew from Carl’s grasp. He was thrown from his horse, sent tumbling toward the ground like a broken sack of grain.

He felt his shoulder tear apart as excruciating pain shot through his entire body.

After tumbling through the air, he crashed heavily onto the hard ground. A metallic, sweet taste rose in his throat, and he couldn’t stop himself from coughing up a mouthful of blood.

The startled warhorse whinnied and galloped away.

The force of the Pegasus’s charge, amplified by Wild Heart and focused by the keen point of the Armor-Piercing Spear, allowed Ed to defeat Carl—a fellow Earth Knight—in a single strike.

Carl struggled to stand, but the injury to his shoulder left him nearly immobile.

Several Pegasus Knights landed and quickly surrounded him.

Soldiers of the Black Stone Army on the ground also arrived swiftly, completely encircling Carl.

Lying on the ground, Carl met their cold gazes. He looked to the distance, where his men had been utterly routed and were now scattering in every direction, and then at the Black Stone Army cleaning up the battlefield. All that remained in his heart was boundless humiliation and despair.

’He, the leader of the Blood Wolf Corps, who had dominated the Black Stone Mountain Range for over a decade... defeated just like that. So utterly. So easily.’

A soldier from the Black Stone Army stepped forward and pressed the butt of his spear against Carl’s neck, warning him not to move.

Carl gave up resisting. He knew he was now a prisoner.

Carl was roughly escorted through the Black Stone Army as they cleared the battlefield, and brought to an open space on the edge of the camp.

A simple tent had been erected there, where several high-ranking members of the Black Stone Territory’s command were seated.

Carl’s eyes immediately fell upon the young figure seated in the place of honor.

Raylo sat in a chair, his posture relaxed.

Carl was forced to his knees. The wound on his shoulder burned, but he paid it no mind.

He lifted his head to look directly at Raylo, his expression a mixture of complex emotions.

He couldn’t believe that this young man was the one who had, in a single night, utterly destroyed the Blood Wolf Corps he had spent years building.

"Carl, leader of the Blood Wolf Corps?"

Raylo set down his cup, his voice calm.

"I am."

Carl answered through gritted teeth.

’I know my fate won’t be a pleasant one now that I’ve fallen into their hands.’

But his survival instinct wouldn’t let him give up.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the humiliation and hatred in his heart. In the calmest voice he could muster, he said, "Lord Raylo, I admit my defeat. But I am an Earth Knight with great Power and vast experience. I can swear my loyalty to you, and serve you. I can lead the charge for you in battle. I can even help you deal with other bandit groups, or any of your other enemies!"

Carl’s voice was laced with urgency and pleading.

He had cast aside all dignity, hoping only to trade it for a chance to live.

Raylo listened quietly, his face devoid of expression.

Carl’s heart was in his throat.

He watched Raylo nervously, awaiting his response.

After a moment, Raylo finally spoke.

His voice was still calm, but it carried an undeniable coldness.

"Loyalty?"

"Black Stone Territory already has a Carl. I have a bad memory, I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep track."

"’Already has a Carl?’"

Carl froze.

’I don’t understand what Raylo means.’

’Does the Black Stone Territory have another Earth Knight named Carl? Or does he mean...’

Before Carl could figure it out, Raylo continued, "Besides, Black Stone Territory has no need for your kind of loyalty. You’ve committed countless evil acts; your hands are stained with the blood of the innocent. Your very existence would only bring shame upon Black Stone Territory."

Raylo’s tone left no room for argument. He had just sentenced Carl to death.

The color drained from Carl’s face.

He raised his head, a flame rekindling in his eyes as he stared daggers at Raylo.

"Don’t you want to know who paid me to come after you?"

"Who else could it be but my ’dear’ brother?"

Raylo cut him off, his tone as casual as if he were dealing with some trivial matter.

"Drag him away! Hang his head at the border crossing!"

Two soldiers of the Black Stone Army stepped forward, seized Carl, and dragged him away.

Carl didn’t struggle. He knew it was all over.

As he was dragged away, memories of the Blood Wolf Corps flashed through his mind, leaving him with nothing but endless regret and bitterness.

Carl was brought to an open clearing.

A crude scaffold stood waiting.

There were no more words, no pretense of a trial.

Only the cold glint of a blade flashing through the air.

"SCHLICK!"

A dull thud.

The head of Carl, leader of the Blood Wolf Corps, rolled onto the ground. His eyes were still wide open, frozen with the shock and bitterness he felt just before death.

His body collapsed to the ground, his blood staining the scorched earth red.

And his head was hung from a tall wooden pole at the border where the Black Stone Territory met the wilds.

It was Raylo’s most direct and bloodiest warning to all bandits and enemies who coveted the Black Stone Territory.

Beneath Carl’s head, a message was written in large, bloody letters:

"Carl, leader of the Blood Wolf Corps, has been executed!"

The wind swept across the wilderness, carrying the stench of dried blood from Carl’s head.

Birds flying in the distance seemed to be deterred by the aura of death, not daring to draw near.