Baron Von Hess paced his grand hall, a furious, portly figure in silks and furs, his face puce with rage. Kaelen, Borin, and Sylas, battered and humiliated, stood before him, stammering out their tale of the mysterious young man who had single-handedly decimated his elite cultivators and defied his authority.
"One man?" the Baron shrieked, striking a fist against a nearby table, sending goblets clattering. "One insolent upstart laid low my Blade and Hammer? This is an insult! A direct challenge to my rule! He must be crushed! Oakhaven must be razed!"
His advisors, a collection of equally fearful and sycophantic nobles, murmured agreement, careful not to meet his eyes. They knew the Baron's temper.
"My Lord," Borin, still nursing a throbbing head, managed to interject, "He is no ordinary man. He possesses a Qi Condensation cultivation, perhaps even mid-stage. His spiritual energy is incredibly pure, and his techniques... they were devastatingly precise. He did not kill us, but he disrupted our Dantians. It was a clear message."
Sylas corrected him quietly when the Baron turned away. "Not crippled. If he had done that, we wouldn't be standing here." Borin kept his eyes on the floor. An account that made the defeat sound final was easier to give than one that admitted a recoverable injury and another order to fight.
"A message?!" the Baron roared, his eyes bulging. "The message is that he is dead! Gather the legion! Twenty fresh footmen, and my remaining cultivators! This time, I will lead the charge myself! We will show Oakhaven, and this 'Rylan Sterling,' the true might of Baron Von Hess!"
Borin and Sylas exchanged glances. Leading the charge himself? The Baron was a loudmouth, not a warrior. But his pride had been wounded too deeply for reason.
* * *
A runner reached Oakhaven with dust up to his knees. The Baron rode beneath his own banner, he said, with twenty fresh footmen, attendants and four cultivators; two of the latter traveled stiffly in a cart. Rylan asked which road and how far, then sent Elara to confirm the approach from the nearest rise.
"He's coming," Rylan announced to Elder Kael, his voice quiet but firm, as he stood at the village's edge. "And he's bringing his entire legion. And himself."
Kael's face paled. "The Baron himself? But he never leaves his keep! This is truly a declaration of war, Master Rylan!"
"Indeed," Rylan replied, a brief smile playing on his lips. "And it is precisely what I expected."
He turned to the people waiting for instructions. Lyra checked the smoke pots; Lena held a nervous villager still long enough to bind a cut; Elara watched the approach from the lower rise.
"Elara," Rylan instructed, "take a few of the younger children and keep them in the safest, reinforced house. Keep them calm."
"Yes, Master Rylan," she replied, already moving to gather them.
"Lyra," Rylan continued, "your skills will be crucial. Position yourself with Lena near the main path. Create a diversion, obscure their vision, disrupt their advance. Do not engage directly. Their focus will be on me."
Lyra nodded, her gaze sharp. "Understood, Master Rylan. We'll make it messy for them."
Lena, though still visibly nervous, gripped her healing pouch. "I will do my best to help Lyra, Master Rylan, and keep the villagers safe."
Rylan gave each of them a reassuring nod, then looked towards the approaching dust cloud. This was it. Not just a test of his power, but a grand display to break the Baron's rule entirely. He moved to the center of the path leading into Oakhaven, a lone figure once more, but this time, he wasn't just defending. He was conquering.