They had managed to prepare food and rest a little when Arthur sensed people approaching their camp.

  "Here they are." He said to the branch manager, who instantly tensed.

  "I don't sense anyone yet..." She said, frowning.

  "Give them a few moments." He shrugged and put on his body armour.

  The Elf looked at him in shock as if she was rethinking her behaviour towards him when they heard the voice coming from the darkness.

  "Hey, Kitten... What do you say about coming with me? We could do something fun together..."

  "I'm not interested," Catherine replied instantly toward the five men that emerged from the night.

  She stepped back and the siblings jumped in front of her. Ben was holding his sword in a firm grip while Silfa nocked an arrow on her bow, but did not draw it yet. Arthur felt a fury boiling inside him and decided that this man was going to die. He looked at Val'narii, but judging by her hateful gaze, the man who interrupted them was a notorious nuisance. Or even something more troublesome if the woman's gritted teeth were any indication.

  "Slaves?! Where is your master then?" The man chuckled with scorn. "And you are a slave as well, Kitten?! And what do we have here? A Dark Elf?! Lucky us, boys..."

  Arthur looked at the Bullman, wearing fairly expensive gear, who was followed by four other, equally armed adventurers. A quick appraisal was enough to confirm that their leader was level fifty-eight, while the remaining four were just level twenty. They were wearing strange white and yellow capes and heavier armour than most people, and they were armed with swords without a visible shield, which was also odd in Arthur's opinion.

  "For you, she is Lady Clark, swine," Arthur said in an intimidating voice.

  "You impudent-" The man yelled but Arthur silenced him by releasing his Aura of Despair.

  "Ohh? Do all of your kin look the same? If I didn't know better, I could swear I saw a ghost." Arthur stepped between the Bullman and the siblings who tried to protect Catherine. "Are you somehow related to Griss Vul? No! That must be just a coincidence… But you know what? I captured that vermin and dismantled his laughable organisation. It was so funny to hear him beg for his worthless life! Damn, man! You missed such a great show when he built himself a gallows while he cried his eyes out like a bitch!"

  "I don't like your tone. You should be more careful so far away from the city..." The Bullman growled, clenching his fists but his forehead was shining from sweat. "I will k-"

  "Silence, trash," Arthur ordered using his Authority skill and looked at the branch manager. "It looks like I shall have to teach him some manners."

  "Lord Ives! That man...!" Val'narii shouted with a warning, but Arthur wasn't listening to her.

  When the Inquisitor turned his face towards the Bullman, he noticed a punch heading his way. The blow was hard, but Arthur intercepted the fist with his open palm and closed his hand in a bone-shattering grip. Arthur smirked at the thought that Griss Vull had made exactly the same mistake. He pulled the Bullman with his right hand and threw a punch with his left aimed at the man's body. Arthur enveloped his fist with ice so cold it left a trail of frozen water in the air. A loud and sickening sound of cracking ribs, and a metal cuirass shattering like glass, echoed in the darkness. The Bullman vomited blood and tried to stagger backwards, but was still held fast by Arthur. He looked around with a stunned gaze that suggested he couldn't fight anymore.

  "You just dug yourself a grave, vermin," Arthur said with a menacing tone as he released the man's fist and pushed him.

  The force behind the push sent the Bullman tumbling to the nearby rock and a few more of his bones cracked upon impact.

  "Do you know what you have done?!" One of his companions drew his sword. "You assaulted a Templar!"

  Arthur looked at the man who rushed at him and the Inquisitor drew his own sword. The Arcadian metal blurred in the air with a low humming sound. It cut cleanly through the man's sword, armour, and torso. The momentum of the man's movement made him take one last step, and his two halves dropped to the ground in a fountain of gore. It slightly surprised the Inquisitor. They were much weaker than he expected.

  "A templar?" Arthur asked with a baffled voice.

  "They are mercenaries working directly for the Temple," Val'narii explained with a shaking voice. She was standing with both her swords in her hands but she looked nervous. "Attacking one of them is a crime punished by death!"

  "The same is true for attacking a noble. Especially in an act of banditry such as this one."

  Arthur looked at the remaining three Templars who had drawn their weapons, but to his surprise, one of them had been knocked to the sandy ground with an arrow in his neck. His windpipe was pierced, and he was drowning in his own blood with each desperate breath he took, clawing the dirt until he froze. From behind Arthur, Ben dashed in as fast as his legs could carry him, slashing the nearest enemy with a Wide Slash. Ben's skill carried his sword with enough force to cut off the man's arm and cave in the side of his cuirass. Despite Ben's low level, his gear gave him an overwhelming advantage over the enemy. The man staggered, grabbed his arm, and gave a short scream before he pitched forward unconscious. From the corner of his eye, Arthur noticed Catherine throwing a kitchen knife at the last man. The knife spun through a full revolution in the air and hit the last bandit in the eye with its handle with an impact strong enough to damage the eye. The man dropped to his knees and covered his face with a painful scream. Arthur took out a slave collar and handed it to Ben, who quickly put it on the, probably now one-eyed, bandit.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Lord Arthur... I don't know if..." The branch manager stuttered but he silenced her with an open palm.

  "They raised their filthy hands to a Count, Dame Val'narii. Now they have the temerity to hide behind the temple's protection? If that's the case, I will be forced to visit the temple and demand amends. If their God wants to involve themselves, I fucking dare them to! I wonder how their deity would react once they discover that this insignificant trash pissed off a Paladin in the service of the entire Pantheon of Arcadia. That means thirteen Gods when I checked last!"

  "You have no idea what you are talking about..." The Bullman said with a dry voice but his face was twisted in fear and pain.

  "What's your name, Bull?" Arthur asked with the Authority skill.

  "Falmr Vul." The Bullman answered in a weak voice.

  "So you are the late Griss Vul’s brother?" Arthur asked, just to be sure.

  "Yes." He gasped painfully.

  "I see… Crime runs deep in that family. But worry not. I will end this soon." Arthur said in a cold voice, taking out another slave collar and putting it on the Bullman's neck. "For assaulting a noble, I hereby sentence you to death. Your execution will be postponed until you tell me everything I want to know."

  The Templars groaned, but Arthur simply clapped his hands, silencing them.

  "You both can only answer my questions, you filthy scum," Arthur ordered. "Ben, Silfa, loot the dead and drag their bodies aside. I'm very sorry, Dame Val'narii Ashfallen, for the inconvenience. I will join you once I finish interrogating the bandits and executing them."

  "Yes, Sir!" The siblings answered crisply, as if they did something like that daily.

  "Both of you, kneel here." Arthur pointed at a spot on the ground near his chair.

  The freshly enslaved bandits obediently followed Arthur's order and looked at him with hate.

  "Who sent you?" He asked with a bored voice. "And why?"

  "Bishop Hiijan," Falmr answered but it was obvious that he was furious. "He wants you dead for interfering with the Great Plan."

  "And the great plan is?"

  "We only know that some of the High Bishops of the Temple want to gain more influence in Saftia." The second man answered.

  "Was Griss Vul working for the Temple?"

  "Yes..." Falmr confirmed with a low, growling voice.

  "In that case, I will investigate it." Arthur had decided to clean the house. If he was already so exposed in Howthorns, he might as well entrench himself in the city. He looked at the patch of darkness under his feet. "You will forget about the next thirty seconds, bandits. Shadow, investigate the Temple in Howthorns and learn how many priests or whatever they call themselves support the local Bishop. If you deem it necessary, eliminate the threat, but make it clean and don't disturb the temple itself."

  "No bodies, no traces?" The quiet voice rumbled up from the ground.

  "Exactly. I would like to have a few people we could use there, so if you think you can intimidate them into submission, you can try."

  "Killing them would be easier..."

  Arthur laughed and looked at the terrified bandits. Once the thirty seconds passed, however, they blinked a few times and their faces twisted in familiar hatred. The Saftian collars were impressive…

  "I will take you back to the city, where you will answer all the questions Sion might have for you. Then you will most probably die, because I have no use for trash like you. You are a waste of air. You will stay here until instructed otherwise." He stood up, and as he turned, he noticed that the branch manager rose as well and walked towards him with a very serious expression.

  "Lord Ives!" She curtsied with grace before him. "I must beg your pardon because I previously thought you were just another noble who mocked adventurers. Upon seeing your skills, I find I have more questions than answers, but I am terribly sorry for my rude behaviour."

  "I didn't take it personally." He assured her with a smile, looking at her with a new curiosity. He was happy that the situation had somewhat explained itself. "They called you a Dark Elf and seemed... Excited about it. What's going on here?"

  "You really don't know?" She whispered as her eyes narrowed when he shook his head in denial. "Long story short, Dark Elves have lately become the target of persecution. Some of the more extremist factions of the Temple started preaching that Dark Elves are responsible for the drought that is slowly changing Anath into a desert. It's still illegal to openly attack us, but I'm afraid that it's only a matter of time, considering how this kingdom is moving... But as they said, we are far away from the city. If anything happened to me, it would be a tragic accident..."

  "So that's... I'm so sorry." Arthur lowered his head. "Something like that is unthinkable in Arcadia."

  "It's probably a nice place to live." She said with a slightly bitter voice and looked at the two kneeling men. "What do you plan to do with them, Lord Ives?"

  "I will kill them eventually.” He said as casually as he could, making her pale a bit. Seeing her serious expression, Arthur shrugged and decided to elaborate. “For now, they are under arrest, for lack of a better word. I will let Sion Howthorns interrogate them so he can get a better idea about what the local Temple is scheming against him. Then, I will dispose of them."

  She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "I know that I shouldn't impose, but I don't believe I will ever have another chance. Could I ask them something? It's very important to me."

  "Of course." Arthur nodded and looked at his prisoners. "You will truthfully answer all her questions, without withholding anything. Do you want my assistance, Dame Val'narii?"

  "I..." She hesitated for a moment, after which she nodded firmly. "If that wouldn't be a problem for you, Lord Ives..."

  "Not in the slightest."

  She approached the captives and clenched her fists. "Do you know who is responsible for attacking and kidnapping the Elves?"

  "No." One of them answered immediately, making Val'narii sigh in disappointment.

  "Do you know, Falmr?" Arthur asked from behind the woman.

  "The temple ordered us to kill and dispose of the Dark Elves whenever we can. Any other Elves we're supposed to bring to the Temple in secret." He said with pearls of sweat trickling down his face. It was apparent that he tried to keep that secret.

  Val'narii trembled in fury and grabbed the Bullman by his collar. "Do you know what happened to my brother?!"

  "No." The Bullman seemed to relish her pain.

  "And you?!" She looked at the second one to avoid making the same mistake twice.

  "I heard that he was sold as a slave, or that he was killed near the eastern ruins. I don't know for sure..." The man said with a dull voice.

  "What Temple faction is ordering this?" The manager asked with a shaking voice.

  "Arch Bishop Sumnar's..." The Bullman answered, before both of them started screaming in pain.

  Arthur quickly extended his hand but it was already too late. He clicked with his tongue. "They are dead."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to and who edited the chapter!