Chapter 412: Secrets in the Shadows
The battlefield seemed to pause for a heartbeat as the cloaked figures halted abruptly, their faces frozen in shock. Darius, their leader, lay dead, his blood painting the snow crimson. Seven figures remained, clustered near the edge of the clearing, their hoods low, hands gripping the hilts of their weapons, eyes darting between each other as disbelief spread silently among them.
"This isn't possible," muttered one, his voice low and ragged beneath his hood. "Darius… dead… like that?"
A taller figure with a scar running from his left temple down to his jaw, named Kyle, shook his head slowly. "He underestimated them. We all did. That was his mistake… and ours," Kyle said, the tone sharp, controlled, yet tinged with fear. His long cloak rustled as he adjusted the sword strapped across his back, the leather squeaking against the movement.
