Fallen Fate Online

After a while they were on the other side of the river, sinking to the bank. The river was now poisoned, so if either of them fell in, they would most likely die.

"Mr. Clort!" Knight Commander exclaimed, walking up to Clort and looking intently at Zayne, "Looks like you were right, isn\'t it?"

Clort glanced at Zayne and nodded slightly, "Yeah, but there\'s nothing to worry about. Zayne was here for another reason, he was hunting spiders and was hidden by one of his skills. However, he was attacked by a Lighting Beast, and his skill stopped working. Otherwise, I probably wouldn\'t have noticed."

Knight Commander looked at Zayne for a while, then he nodded. This story seemed strange to him, but he didn\'t argue because he trusted Clort. If Clort thought it was possible to work with Zayne, then it was and no one should doubt it.

"Is the plan the same?" Knight Commander asked.

"Yeah. Move to Lizard Village, and take the fruit that is ours by treaty. We won\'t take more than we need. If they break the treaty, it doesn\'t mean we have to do the same." Clort said calmly.

Knight Commander nodded, "I understand, but, what do we do if they refuse?"

"Take them by force." Clort answered quickly, without hesitation, "If they try to stop us then we will kill and kill as many as necessary. No one forced them to break the treaty, until this day we had no claim on them."

"Sure." Knight Commander replied, "We will do whatever is necessary."

Clort waved his hand, "Let\'s go, we must hurry."

Everyone followed Clort. Zayne walked last, looking at the Knights. There were twelve in total, though from far away it seemed like there were many more.

\'Hmm... Dark Lands is actually an amazing place... These Knights are definitely not Fate Knights, I don\'t even know how they relate to Fate and Chaos, but, I feel that they are strong. Although I can\'t, like Toruf or Edvin, determine their strength from their auras, it\'s obvious that they\'re stronger than most in Terror Grade.\'\' Zayne pondered while following the knights.

Each knight had a confident look and a stern step. They moved behind their commander and leader, Clort, who was leading them forward.

...

"These Knights... They look strong, but they can\'t be better than Champion Grade, can they?" Fosca asked with a worried expression as if she realized that wasn\'t the case.

"Agh... You\'re wrong..." Marcus sighed, "Each of these knights is comparable to a Fist Rank Fate Knight, I\'d even say they\'re a bit taller. I haven\'t seen what they\'re capable of in battle yet, but I can tell a lot from the look on people\'s faces."

"What...?! You mean they\'re stronger than me?! But how!? They\'re just ordinary knights! Also, they\'re from the Dark Lands!" Fosca exclaimed, in disbelief.

"Yes. You answered your own question. Surviving in the Dark Lands is no easy task. Whether they obey Chaos or just live their lives is irrelevant. They have survived and are surviving every day. I\'m sure there are many monsters in this territory that attack their fortress from time to time."

Marcus continued, "Every battle like this, on the brink of death and life, equals months if not years of training."

Fosca\'s face darkened as she clenched her fists tightly, "But... Why doesn\'t the Order do the same in such a case? It\'s possible to do similar workouts, isn\'t it?"

"Well... These are dark thoughts, but I understand why you decided to ask about it. The most important thing is the result, right?"

Fosca didn\'t answer anything.

"Agh... It\'s impossible, you yourself realize it\'s too dangerous and most of the recruits will just die, even though there aren\'t as many worthy applicants as it is. Every one of them is valuable.

"Moreover, it\'s impossible to artificially create such a situation. Death fights should be natural with opponents who have their own motives and goals. If it\'s a simple fake, there will be no result." Marcus said in a deep tone.

"Shit! I can\'t accept that this is happening! The Fate Knights are supposed to be the best! The most important force in the entire world, just like the Crusaders!" Fosca exclaimed, with a great grimace.

\'The most important power... right?\' Marcus internally muttered as his gaze traveled towards Edvin, Karin, and Fride.

They were all Moons, and their strength was either comparable to the Crusaders or even superior to them. There were enough powerful people in this world that could bring change to the world.

...

"Well, well, he\'s doing well. Even though what he said is utter nonsense, this mage believed him. Isn\'t that lucky?" Karin smirked, looking at Zayne with a sly look.

Edvin shrugged, "He just used everything he had. He was attacked by Lightning Beast and Chaos brought him here, so he told about it but made sure he was believed. Sure, you could have come up with a better lie, but in his situation, it was more than enough."

"By the way... Is it normal for them to be watching us and for them to be here?" Fride asked, pointing at Marcus and the others, "Maybe we should get rid of them? I can do it quietly, no one will mind."

Edvin waved his hand, "No need. We\'ll definitely take our time with them, but a little later. Moreover, don\'t you see who\'s among them?"

"Hm?" Fride gave him a questioning look and looked at the Fate Knights more carefully. Then, her gaze stopped on Marcus, and her eyes went wide.

"Oh... I see... If he starts fighting seriously, then we can forget about quiet killing... Moreover, it\'s not a fact that I can handle him." Fride muttered, standing up next to Edvin.

Toruf raised an eyebrow, "Guys, I\'m no expert, but aren\'t the members of the Moon Shattered Order just as strong as the Crusaders? I mean, there\'s Zayne, but he\'s a rookie... The others should be much stronger, shouldn\'t they?"

"Well... You\'re right." Edvin nodded, "But... Marcus is a special case. There are some people who don\'t go for promotion out of personal beliefs or some ulterior motives. He\'s one of them. If he fights at full strength, many Crusaders will be surprised."

No one said anything else, everyone just looked at Marcus in surprise.

He sensed it, and his gaze deepened.

\'Looks like we won\'t be able to get away unnoticed... but, there\'s still a chance to avoid a fight.\' Marcus glanced at Sara and Fosca, \'It won\'t be good if they die on such a simple mission...\'

...

Step. Step. Step. 

The knights led by Clort were approaching Lizard Village. They stopped in front of a massive wooden gate. Several Lizard watched them from the watchtowers.

The Lizards were not human, but they could not be called full beasts. They were humanoids. They had many slippery scales on their bodies, sharp eyes with amber pupils, and powerful jaws.

Lizards had powerful muscles, excellent instincts, and reactions, and each Lizard had a thick, long tail that was more dangerous than any whip when swung.

"Clort...? What do you want?" One of the Lizards asked.

There was the usual relationship between their village and the fortress, sometimes trading, but the guard realized that this time Clort had not come with good intentions. It was obvious by the stern look of the knights and Clort\'s stance. He held his staff tightly as if he was ready to attack at any moment.

"I need to speak to the Elder! I ask that my request be honored as soon as possible! I realize that the knights behind my back may alarm you, but we just want to deal with the situation. Nothing more than that." Clort said seriously, even with a modicum of respect towards the Lizards.

The Guards looked at each other, and one of them nodded. Then, the gate came into motion slowly opening and revealing the lights inside the village.

Lizard Village looked cozy and peaceful, normally, but today something was different. Many Lizards were rushing from one hut to another as if they had a problem they needed to solve as soon as possible.

Clort gestured, and everyone followed him. Knight Commander, cast a cold glance at one of the Guardians before heading onward. 

The Guards weren\'t very happy to be visited at a time like this, but they couldn\'t refuse Clort, otherwise, they would definitely start a conflict. No one wanted that.

Zayne walked last, looking around carefully. He didn\'t know why, but he immediately sensed some kind of oppressive atmosphere, as if it had already been decided that there would be no peaceful ending.