The acting manager for the affairs of the Vesala Estate was one of the most loyal vassals of the duke - the Baron of Viole, a distant cousin of the Vesala.
His loyalty came forth after the Vesala siblings, Maxim and Carolina offered him timely help when his fief was on the verge of collapsing.
It was further strengthened when Duke Maxim even announced to bestow his daughter, Illia Viole, the surname Vesala in order to increase her prospects of becoming a doctor in the capital.
Due to her daughter's undeniable talent in medicine, he was taken by the duke as a scholar, introducing her to the high society as the Duke and Empress's gifted niece, Illya Viole Vesala.
All these things deepened the sense of gratitude that the Baron of Viole felt towards the duke and the empress. He became one of the most radical followers of the two, even actively participating in the setting up of the black market as the middleman.
If there is one person who has known the Vesala's activities deeper among all their accomplices, then it would be Baron Viole who knows the most.
It was because of this fact that the duke was able to peacefully hand over the matters of the territory to him while the main family temporarily resided in the capital and focused on preparing the way for their attempt to seize control of the empire.
But now he was in a great predicament.
Suddenly, the Vesala estate was under attack, the once magnificent estate was now filled with rubble and debris. The once fragrant smell roaming around the estate was now reeking with the combined scent of blood and dust.
The glory that had made half of the empire envious was now all in ruins.
All he can see was the chaos and panic, the light now refusing to shine on their territory. It was now filled with gloom and hazy air, and in the midst of this, the baron managed to see the flag that was now waving magnificently on top of the rubble - the Sleeping North!
"Heavens! This is not good! I must make a way to inform the duke!" Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was busy fleeing for their own lives, Baron Viole slipped into the secret passageways in the estate.
Since he knew that the main teleportation array might have been destroyed by the infiltrator, he took the liberty to go to the secret teleportation array, only used by the cursed army and the dark knights.
With great haste and a rapidly beating heart, he bypassed all the restrictions and arrived at the hidden hideout of the cursed army.
"Baron! You are here!" Most of the personnel in the cursed army were already out fighting the Northern Army with Governor Fidel and Grandmaster Andvari.
The members of the secret army that was left were trying to smuggle out the important artifacts the organization had in case these were discovered.
"How is the escape route?" Baron was already out of breath upon his arrival, but seeing the disturbing faces of the armies, his heart sank.
"Baron, the teleportation array is not working. It was like all of our attempts to access the spatial void to teleport to another location were blocked by some forces." The person who took charge of the platoon reported with a helpless expression.
"D*mned Northern Army!!! What about contacting the Duke or the Empress?" Baron Viole could not help but curse upon realizing that there was no way for them to escape. Even so, he had to think of a way to contact the Duke and Empress who were in the capital.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "Baron, we have tried contacting them through our communication stones but just like the teleportations, it is not working! Our only option was to send a distress message through the notification paper, but if even the communication stones were not working…" The acting leader's voice grew fainter and fainter as they realized their dire situation.
"What shall we do, baron?" The others were also worried about the situation.
Judging from the vibrations on the ceiling and walls of the hidden passage, the fight was still intense and that would mean that the estate was having a hard time gaining control of the situation.
How could they not be afraid? The northern army was known to be stronger than the normal knights! Their entire lives were spent killing beasts and monsters far more powerful than ordinary people!
Baron Viole gritted his teeth. With the master of the house missing, the estates needed someone who would stand and hold the ground. He knew that if they did not fight back their heads would be chopped off.
"There's no other choice." His gaze darkened and a sinister glint flashed on his face.
His head looked at the certain treasure box which had been enchanted with multiple security arrays. At one glance, one would conclude that this box was the most important artifact that they had to take away from the chaotic place.
"Baron, you mean?" The members followed his gaze and they could not help but feel their hearts jump. "This box was only for the platoon leaders and master-"
"I know! But we have no choice but to use it! Now go and unlock the chest!" The baron did not bother to argue with the members and immediately ordered them to open the box.
With the baron's order, the members could only lower their heads and unlock the box with great fear and trembling. In their hearts, they were still hesitating as they were actually taking out something that should have not been used on their level.
After a few seconds, the chest was opened and three crystal vials lay carefully inside the cushioned interior of the box.
"You... you and you! You three possess the strongest abilities in his place. Take one of each vial and wait until it takes effect. I'll be outside to act as a lookout. The rest, take all the notification papers and communication stones to try to contact the duke! I don't care if we run out of papers, as long as just one of them reaches the duke, it'll be fine!" The baron ordered everyone in the room, taking the role of the pillar of the group.
Seeing someone taking charge of the matter, hope flashed in the members' eyes. They nodded and went to carry out their tasks.
Baron Viole then moved to the exit acting as a lookout while everyone was busy with their own roles.
Thud!
The sound of the stone door rang as he finally exited the hideout. A sinister smile flashed on his face as he said in his heart, "Do your roles well, your sacrifices will be remembered!"
Instead of staying as a lookout outside the entrance, he immediately sneaked out and tried his best to escape for himself. The estate is done for, he would just plead to the duke that he had done his best to hold the fort and defend the territory.
As for how he managed to survive, he will just say that he was lucky to survive under the hands of the two tyrants, Governor Fidel and Grandmaster Andvari! The most important thing was that he is alive, for there will always be more chances to build all of this if they are alive, they can all take revenge!
A few minutes after he went away from his position, there were muffled screams and agonizing shouts that could be heard within the stone walls. One would have their hairs stand on ends if they chance upon hearing the noise coming from within the hideout.
Outside, the fight was intense but the Northern army proved to be the dominant party in the war. The opponents could not believe the sudden attack of the Sleeping North.
Is this an invasion attempt?
Has the so-called brother of the emperor planned to move to usurp the throne?
Why was he attacking the Vesala's instead? Is it because this was the largest support for the current emperor?
If that's the case, then the Vesalas were caught in between!
Why did it have to happen at this point in time?
Little did they know that their confusion was something that the cunning Emperor Valentin planned to achieve.
By asking his brother to carry the northern flag instead of the Imperial flag, as well as taking only one of the two grandmasters with him, this will create an effect that the attack was not on the Emperor's order but just the Governor's whim.
Unlike the traitors in the Astaze territory, the traitors inside the Vesala's faction would be much more desperate and insistent to call upon the help of the duke.
Emperor Valentin factored in the possibility of the communication attempts slipping past their interference arrays. In case the news reaches the duke, it will appear as such and his mind would be directed towards the wrong person.
While he was occupied on this matter, that's the time Emperor Valentin will strike his unprotected back!
Inside the bloodied hideout which was now filled with mangled corpses and blood, three grotesque-looking people stood up at the pile of notification papers.
One of them bent his body, which was now two times the size of an ordinary man, and picked up a blank notification paper.
He started to chant some inaudible syllables as if it was part of a spell as he used his bloodied fingers that glowed in violet to write directly on the blank paper, 'Ha…saa…meee… ra…'
Simultaneously in the capital, the duke was startled by a message appearing on his set of notification papers. The words appeared in burning purple as his eyes widened in shock upon seeing its contents -
"Territory under attack… Northern Army!"
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