Chapter 58: A Blood-Soaked Stronghold

Rehanna rushed to the gate, stumbling as her foot slipped, nearly collapsing to her knees. 

The Fire Fox Mercenary Company’s outpost on the outskirts of town had turned into a vision of hell. 

In the once lively courtyard, the members who had stayed behind now lay scattered in pools of blood. Nolan realized that the faint scent of blood Vivi had noticed earlier in town hadn’t come from beaten miners at all—it had come from here. 

Broken wooden pillars and shattered walls bore silent witness to the fierce battle that had taken place. 

“Renee… Llewyn! Levi!” 

Rehanna’s cries were hoarse with anguish as she darted among the bodies like a madwoman, her trembling hands lifting each familiar face, desperately searching for any sign of life. 

But all she found was cooling flesh and darkened blood. 

No one answered her. 

Nolan and the others arrived moments later. The horrific scene brought them all to a halt. 

Anna’s face turned deathly pale as she covered her mouth. Leus reacted quickly, shielding his son Kreil’s eyes, refusing to let him see this living nightmare. 

“How could this happen…”

“Who did this?!” 

The surviving Fire Fox mercenaries could not believe it. The brothers who had remained behind in what should have been a safe base were now nothing but cold corpses. They rushed inside, shouting their comrades’ names, clinging to the faintest hope of a response. 

Nolan exchanged a glance with Hank. Both wore grim expressions. 

“Quick. Look for survivors. Save anyone we can,” Nolan ordered. 

Everyone immediately joined the search. 

The entire outpost had been nearly wiped out. Of the more than thirty members who had stayed behind, most were dead. 

“There’s still a pulse here!” Vivi’s voice rang out. 

She had found a wounded man collapsed in a corner. Kayan planted his heavy cross-shaped staff into the ground, and a soft white glow enveloped the injured man. Leus hurried over, pulling out several potions and carefully feeding them to him. 

Under Kayan and Leus’ combined efforts, they managed to wrest four lives back from death’s grasp, though all remained unconscious. 

The bodies were laid out in the center of the training yard, covered with white cloth beneath the bloodstained Fire Fox banner. The bad news was that Renee was nowhere to be found—but the absence of her body was perhaps the least terrible among many grim possibilities. 

Rehanna stood numbly before the corpse of Vice Captain Llewyn. This burly man, who had followed her for five years, had only last month thumped his chest and joked that he would use the next job’s earnings to find himself a wife. Now, the horrific sword wound running from his right shoulder to his left abdomen seemed to mock that simple wish. 

Suffering had always been part of life for the kingdom’s lower classes, but that did not mean they did not grieve. 

Her fists clenched tightly. The sudden blow left her swaying, and she would have fallen if not for a steady hand supporting her back. 

It was Nolan. 

Standing behind her, he frowned. “Do you have any leads on the attackers? Enemies? Or…” 

“Llewyn was Silver rank, the strongest among those who stayed behind. Anyone who could kill him in a single strike…” 

Before she could finish, a voice suddenly called out from inside the building, filled with surprise, “Captain! Rooney’s awake! Rooney’s awake!” 

Rehanna’s body trembled as she rushed inside. 

One of the rescued wounded was struggling to open his eyes.

She hurried to support him, asking urgently, “Rooney! How are you? What happened?! Who did this?!” 

The young mercenary, Rooney, grabbed her arm weakly as he recognized her, speaking in broken breaths. “Captain… you… you’re finally back… It was… Baron Haus… he came… in person today…” 

Rehanna’s heart sank. Though she had suspected it, hearing the truth still felt like falling into an icy abyss. Her hands trembled uncontrollably. 

Nolan stood at the doorway, his expression turning completely cold. 

As Rooney spoke in fragments, the group pieced together what had happened. 

That afternoon, Baron Haus, lord of Coldsteel City, had come under the pretext of “inspecting” Silverglow Town, bringing his guards to forcibly collect a newly imposed “out-of-town residence tax.” 

When they reached the Fire Fox outpost, Vice Captain Llewyn stepped forward to negotiate. He argued reasonably, pointing out that the company had already paid numerous heavy taxes that year—from “mining zone access fees” to “weapon possession taxes”—amounting to more than half their income, far exceeding the limits set by the kingdom’s laws. 

The tax collectors clashed with Llewyn, and the argument escalated into physical conflict, eventually drawing Baron Haus himself. 

“That beast… the moment he saw Renee arguing her case, he took a liking to her…” Rooney’s voice trembled with hatred. “He said… as long as Renee went with him, all of Fire Fox’s taxes for this year would be waived… Brother Llewyn flew into a rage, drew his sword, and told him to get lost. And then… that bastard Haus lost his patience…” 

Rooney broke down in tears. 

“The captain of his guard… with just one strike… killed Brother Llewyn… Haus gave the order to slaughter us all… and then… they took Renee!” 

Rehanna trembled violently, rage burning through her reason. 

Nolan frowned and added quietly, “Someone who can kill a Silver-rank vice captain in a single blow… that guard captain is likely at least Gold rank.” 

Rehanna gently patted Rooney’s shoulder, telling him to rest, then stood up and turned toward the door. 

“Captain! Where are you going?” 

“I’m going to the lord’s manor to bring Renee back.” 

“Captain, calm down! What can you do on your own?” 

“I promised Renee… even if it costs me my life, I’ll go! That’s my responsibility as her sister.” She turned and swept her gaze across the faces filled with grief and fury. “I won’t force anyone. If you want to leave, I won’t blame you. If you want to follow me, then pick up your swords!” 

After a brief silence, a mercenary with a severed arm grabbed a longsword from the ground with his remaining left hand and roared, “What are you saying, boss? If you hadn’t taken me in, I’d have starved on the streets! Fire Fox is my home! Anyone who touches my family—I’ll fight them to the death!” 

“Damn right!” 

“Count me in! This life was given to me by you, boss!” 

“Kill! We storm the lord’s manor and avenge our brothers!” 

The surviving mercenaries surged with emotion, drawing their weapons and answering their captain with furious shouts. 

“Your courage is admirable, but this isn’t the optimal solution. You’ll die for nothing,” Nolan’s voice cut through the clamor, silencing the crowd. “We’re going too.” 

Rehanna turned to him, and for the first time, a trace of vulnerability showed in her eyes. “Mr. Nolan, I can’t drag you into this any further. You’ve already done more than enough. Haus’ guard is powerful. I know this trip is almost certain death, but I can’t leave Renee in that den of demons.” She forced a bitter smile, her gaze passing over the cold bodies on the ground. “Fire Fox is a family. We have no regrets about avenging our own. The only regret… is that we may never repay your kindness.” 

Nolan stepped in front of her and met her eyes, speaking each word clearly. “This isn’t your ‘personal matter,’ Rehanna. Look at them. Look at this town. A cancer like Haus—if we don’t cut it out today, it will spread across the kingdom tomorrow. The reason we’ve come this far is to eliminate people like him. To be honest, he’s exactly our target. So this isn’t just for your sister. It’s for us, and for the future of the kingdom.” 

Rehanna froze. The desperate resolve to burn everything down in her eyes was ignited into something else—hope. Looking into Nolan’s clear, unwavering gaze, she suddenly felt that the burden he carried on his shoulders was far heavier than she had imagined for someone even younger than herself. 

She stopped hesitating, took a deep breath, and nodded firmly. “Words of thanks feel too trivial. If we all make it back alive, we’ll host the grandest banquet in your honor.” She drew her longsword in one swift motion, raising its tip toward the ceiling as she shouted, “Fire Fox!” 

“To the death!” the mercenaries roared in unison, raising their blades. 

Nolan smiled. “Don’t worry. You won’t be getting out of that banquet.” 

He drew Mountain’s Resonance and lifted it high as well. 

Clang. 

The tips of his blade and Rehanna’s met lightly in midair. In that clear metallic chime, a new “alliance of blades” was forged—both a vow and the tolling of judgment. 

“What about their forces?” As everyone hurried to prepare, Hank, cigar in mouth, spread out a map and began planning immediately. 

Rehanna steadied herself, her composure returning as a captain. “Haus has around six hundred private troops in Coldsteel City. In addition, there’s a fifty-man lord’s guard—elite soldiers. The Gold-rank guard captain is among them.” 

Hank exhaled a plume of smoke and looked at Nolan. “On our side, even counting Fire Fox, we don’t have fifty. What’s your plan?” 

All eyes turned to Nolan. 

A calm confidence settled over his face. He had been waiting for this day. 

“Remember what I said before? We’re not playing siege warfare or positional battles with them.” 

A faint smile curved his lips. 

“Trading our lives for trash isn’t worth it. Against superior numbers, our advantage lies in one thing—decapitation. Now that we have Fire Fox helping, the plan is even simpler.” 

His confidence spread through the group like fire. The mercenaries, who had moments ago been ready to die for vengeance alone, felt hope rekindle in their eyes. 

Nolan glanced at the darkening sky. “In a little over an hour, it’ll be completely dark. It’s about an hour from here to Coldsteel City. We rest for ten minutes, then move out immediately.” 

His gaze swept across everyone as he issued his orders.

“Each person—prepare a rope. Anna, Mr. Leus, and Kreil—you stay here and take care of the wounded.” 

Finally, his eyes landed on Vivi. 

“Vivi, it’s time for you to shine.”