Takoda was the one standing before Vale, his stone shield blocking the sword attack.

Vale’s eyes widened as he took in the full features of Takoda.

He’s in a very worse shape. One of his legs, the right one, was obviously broken, bloodied bones piercing through fur. The rest of his body bore different layers of wounds, and his gut carried the biggest, with most of his intestines on display.

"Blessed Vale." Takoda grinned. His fangs shattered.

But he was still standing there, his spine straight like a sword as he blocked a killing blow for his Lord.

Vale didn’t say anything, he couldn’t, but his eyes spoke of things his mouth never said.

Eirikr seemed he had had enough, he glared at his Master Knights. "I thought you took care of them?"

"As requested, Clan leader, we took great pains not to kill them. We’ve rendered them all unconscious, but we didn’t know that the beast man is still awake."

They’re not killing his Master Knights? Vale didn’t know what to think about that. If he should take it as good news or not. There are things far worse than death, after all.

But it was really getting harder for Vale to concentrate. His heart was pounding, pulsing in beat with the Mark Order on his arm. His ears filled with buzzing that crowded his vision.

He knew Eirikr barked something. He heard the murmurs from his Master Knights.

Takoda shouted something, but then the man fell over, his weight falling on Vale, using a bit of his strength to raise his hand, ripping off the crown on his head and pressing it against Vale’s chest.

That. That was the only thing that could now catch Vale’s attention, and it caught it. Held it. The crown was glowing with crimson light that spilled over like searching hands. Light bathed him, washing over him and now pulsing in time with his Mark Order.

Vale didn’t understand. But he knew what to do. He has inherited the Inheritance of the Crimson Lord. There are things that are his by right and right only.

He reached out with his mind, warping his will around the crown and the Mark Order.

The crimson light intensified, grew, bellowed out, and twisted with his flickering figure before Vale disappeared.

Vale Athrimir disappeared.

Eirikr flinched in his place. He and his Master Knights took several steps back, adding to the one they already had taken when everything started glowing red.

But, he just disappeared? "Is it some kind of artifact? You! What is that thing!"

Takoda looked just as shocked as he reverted back to his human form with the disappearance of the crown. But he used the last of his strength to smile with vengeance at Eirikr before he passed out.

Silence returned to the air.

Eirikr stared blankly before he took a deep breath and howled his anger into the air. The sound reverberated.

☆☆▪︎☆☆

The war was lost. The Athrimir had been defeated. After Vale’s mysterious disappearance, Eirikr immediately took control of things. He took the Athrimir Master Knights, and himself, crossing to his capital.

His Master Knights were enough to subdue what remained of the Athrimir soldiers, and they accepted their surrender.

Unfortunately, Tong had not managed to take control of the throne when Eirikr returned with a near-dead Tiber and the others, quickly capturing them.

And thus, the news that the Athrimir had been defeated spread through the Hinterlands like dry fire, sending a shockwave through the land as it’s been so long since another major Clan in the Hinterlands has ever won like that. It’s been so long, and the Athrimir Clan has been so strong. Even though most of them were expecting it, they were still shocked.

And Eirikr Akatsuki did not take his time to expand his influence at all. He detained all the Akatsuki Lords and all the major military officers.

Then he deployed his own Master Knights to hold all the positions. The only place that’s still resisting him is the western parts of the Clan, where Commander Garran and Master Knight Pomora are battling it out with the Ito Clan.

And not so surprising, the Ito Clan has stopped their own direct assault, although their ships were still out on the waters, deployed. Although the western side isn’t totally Eirikr’s now, everyone already considered the whole of the Athrimir as his own.

And at the moment, there’s no serious resistance to that.

But there’s a big stain on his new power and position. Vale Athrimir isn’t dead, he’s merely missing. And nobody knows where he is or what he’s up to.

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

".....I don’t think the western army will fight for us." Slya muttered. She was pacing in the large prison, her gaze shifting around.

The prison was constructed as a large room, the walls made of strong steel pipes for easy vision access. Several beds are thrown on the ground, partly covering the large circles of enchantments etched there.

It was where some of the Athrimir prisoners are stationed, not all of them but the core group. And the enchantments on the ground were to drain their essence as soon as they appeared.

"Hurh." Tiber grunted. He was heavily bandaged, most of his body covered with it. He hadn’t been healing well because of the lack of essence. "Well...they don’t have the power to come and help us out, Slya."

Even now he could only speak weakly, but he’d demanded that Slya update him on what had happened since the last five days.

The room was filled with low voices, but almost everyone, including the Master Knights—Takoda, Helena, Eryndor, Valtor, Terrix—were secretly listening to their conversation. After all, since Vale had disappeared, those two, who were the closest to him, were suspected to know things.

Even Eirikr had tortured them to know the whereabouts of the lost Clan leader.

"So what are we going to do? How do we get out of this mess?" Slya asked.

Tiber shrugged. "First, Vale isn’t dead..."

As soon as he said that, the expression of everyone soured, even more so for Takoda because he thought he was the one that did something to Vale.

"....he’s not dead." Tiber repeated firmly. And he knew this because he’s still able to use his power, he’s still a construct user. And Vale is his construct. Also, Tong has confirmed that he’s not dead even though he had no idea where he is as well.

"And since Eirikr didn’t kill us, it meant he’s not that sure of his new position as well. By taking half of the Athrimir, he just made himself the strongest—debatable—Clan leader in the Hinterlands. But will others just watch? They would all want a piece of us. And the best way to do it is to fall behind a figure of power to ’fight’ for the Athrimir Clan.

"That’s why he’s not killing us. Because he didn’t kill Vale, and he doesn’t know what type of allies he might bring... we’re bargaining chips with the others." Tiber assessed.

But a voice cut through. "I’m afraid that’s not all, or maybe even it."

Helena Varrow, who’s back to her full figure, said, "We are Knights. Master Knights are....unique and precious. He might not kill you two because of Vale. But he’s likely keeping us alive for something else."

Tiber blinked. "What?"

Takoda added his bits. "Master Knights, Tiber. We are an incredibly strong source of power. In some...places, we can be refined into potions and pills for advancement. Shackled to an enchanted circle and used as a renewable power source."

Slya’s face went pale, and Tiber looked sick. The idea had never crossed his mind.

"Knights are also spoils of battle," Valtor said.

Only Terrix and Eryndor did not seem inclined to add to the conversation. But without doubt, all the Master Knights could feel their doom approach.

There was silence for a while before Tiber broke it again. "Well....well. Our only hope now is what Commander Garran intends to do. Last we heard, he already had all the western lands firmly in his grasp, and the local Clans had rallied around him to stop the approaching Akatsuki."

Since the Ito Clan has withdrawn their assault, the man has already taken control and swept through, pushing back the Akatsuki and handling things firmly.

Surprisingly, Eirikr didn’t stop the flow of information for his prisoners, he didn’t even suppress it. Why should he? He had already determined their fate, and by feeding them information, he could study them and learn more secrets so as to complete his total sweep.

Slya hesitated. "I’m just worried about High Chief Eamon Rikon. According to the law, he’s now the one in power in the absence of the Clan leader."

Valtor snorted. "Don’t worry about him. Although Commander Garran is dour, he’s known for his rigid outlook. He’ll submit."

Last they heard, High Chief Eamon Rikon had already gone to meet Commander Garran. Everyone is awaiting the feedback.