Count Albert's office door was ajar, and Ashton silently slipped inside.
Behind his cluttered desk with his chair turned away from the door, the count hadn't noticed Ashton come in.
His eyes were just as purple in exhaustion as Koalts were, except the rich aroma of his freshly brewed coffee tickled his nostrils and kept him awake.
"Ahem" Ashton cleared his throat and made his presence known.
"Ah. Nephew, I can't say you being here is surprising, but it is not a good time."
Ashton took a seat in one of the guest chairs at the desk, "Judging by your appearance, I'm afraid that if we don't speak now then we won't have the opportunity today."
Count Albert took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, "What are you planning now Ashton?"
"Firstly, I must ask if you are ready... What must be done is easy but what comes after is exhausting."
[How can you call sacrifice easy...] Count Albert pitied House Whey's warriors as he leaned forward in his chair. "I don't need you to remind me what is at stake. Or what victory will cost."
"Good." Ashton waved his hand, "Then I can assume you have declined whatever Aaron Raine suggested on behalf of his father."
"I have decided so, but I haven't said as much."
"Tell me what support the duchy extended, and what they expected in return for their efforts."
"Does that even matter anymore Ashton?"
"Humor me..."
Count Albert sighed, then explained the deal that Aaron proposed. The duchy promised to pay 10,000 gold coins to the rebelling faction led by Viscount Redsheen, while at the same time exerting political pressure on his house to ensure his rebellions end.
In return all the duchy expected was land deeds within Alberta and a few surrounding cities for commercial use.
[A good deal on paper, you could buy multiple buildings and the land they stand on for much less than that. But the duke would never purposefully offer a deal with such unfavorable conditions for himself...] Ashton thought for a moment, he tried to decipher the intentions within the deal, but he was lacking information.
"If they opened shops within your lands, the people guarding their property would surely be their own men... But this seems like too much effort just to place their soldiers' boots within your borders."
"I agree. At first I thought this deal was to my benefit, but as I mulled it over, I noticed there was a snake lurking somewhere within that I couldn't see."
"Yes, well luckily for you, what I offer doesn't hide deceitful intention. What I offer is what I hope you can return to me."
"Ashton. Is your house also on the brink of war also? What is this empire coming to..."
"My house is already fighting within the shade with our enemy. Both sides are already planning and preparing."
"So, what now? Your house pledges me men to fight my vassals and in turn I pledge mine when the time comes?"
"No. There is no need for the warriors of my house to step in for your struggles. I alone will end this conflict."
"Hahaha! I admire your confidence nephew, but wars are not won by a single person. Let alone a 3rd circle ma-"
As Count Albert was dismissing the proposition, Ashton summoned mana from all four of his circles, and tried to cast a spell combination.
The magic circle in his hand, blue on its left side and red on its right. It appeared within his palm fast but broke apart even faster.
Ashton played it off as him canceling the spell, hiding the fact he was uncapable of actually performing the combination.
But his point was made.
[4 circles... at the age of 16]
Count Albert was in awe. In a matter of hours, he had witnessed a knight that was singular and a mage who was an even greater monster.
But Ashton didn't let him sit and take in the situation, he continued with his momentum.
"I know you believe this rebellion will cost you the lives of your loyal warriors, but I am of the opposite opinion. This is hardly a war. From what I gather this rebellion is centered around one man. One domino that if we knock over, the rest will follow."
"Ashton! I cannot condone assassination!" Count Albert became clear, his exhaustion temporarily vanished as his blood became hot.
"That was not my intention either. I only meant that this viscount is the leader of rogues, and there is hardly any loyalty among such people."
Ashton continued to explain his plan to the count.
It was not only bold, but it was also dangerous and devoid of noble noblesse.
But Count Albert agreed with it. He smiled grimacingly and summoned his commanders to gather their armies.
The estate which sat at the edge of war, had finally stepped over the line.
Horses were saddled and weapons were sharpened.
Mages took their final moments to meditate and clear their minds.
Butlers packed tents and food into wagons.
And Ashton himself had climbed atop his horse and left in advance.
Koalt who was awoken from his sleep saw Ashton ride off and felt uneasy. He turned to Count Albert and asked why he was leaving.
The count chuckled. "He is our inside man. Now where is my son?"
[The army will depart in a few hours, so I have a decent head start. But who knows how many scouts I will have to cut down along the way]
Ashton was given a detailed map of the western sector, but it wasn't enough to truly grasp the way of the land. He needed someone who truly explored the area, someone that could give a firsthand account of what to expect, but there was nobody available on such short notice.
He was traveling blind.
Luckily the castle concentrated with the rebel army was only half a day's ride from Alberta.
He sat on his horse, gripping the reigns with one hand and his sword with the other.
He was hardly steering, the beast provided to him was well trained and followed the road without resistance.
Even as arrows rained down on him, the horse remained disciplined and stopped on a dime as Ashton leapt from his back.
Despite the daylight, the scouts remained blended within the brush and trees. The arrows kept bombarding Ashton only to bounce off of his warding spell.
"He is a mage! Retreat for now!"
"But he is wielding a sword..."
The communication of the scouts had revealed their location and as they turned their backs on the road to flee, Ashton had already gotten behind them.
"Found you..."
Ashton's took three steps and swung his sword three times, which caused three heads to roll along the dirt and mud of the forest.
The bowman at the top of their trees looked down in horror, they hadn't even seen Ashton move. He was like lightning.
And Ashton looked up at them, only seeing the Aether systems analysis above their heads.
All of the remaining men were undisciplined in mana, their numbers read zero.
Of the four archers, one threw his bow down and announced his surrender, but Ashton spiraled his mana around his palm then shot it through the chest of the scout.
"My Lord! What are you doing?! We surrender... please..." The three remaining archers all descended from their tree, dropped their weapons, and pleaded. They were unable to flee. They knew it would have been pointless.
Ashton only rotated two more spheres of mana in his palm and threw them, leaving only one scout remaining.
"Please... don't kill me! Whatever you want to know, whatever you need... please!"
"What could a hunter like you possibly know? You are but lamb in a game that you do not understand." Ashton stepped closer to the scout and raised his sword.
"NO! I know of the patrols and other scouts! The closer you get to Red Stone Castle, the more powerful the guards!"
Ashton swung his sword, splitting the scout's skull in two. "Thank you."
Ashton stepped back onto the road, wiping the blood from his sword with his cloak, only to see his horse huffing as if it was saying he took too long.
The same situation repeated itself like history, hunters without mana shot arrows at Ashton and then pleaded for their lives.
He found the situation frustrating.
At a certain point it felt like murder and not war.
These people weren't magical, they were simply human. No mana to speak of, yet they were dying solely because they were born within the territory of a greedy lord.
But as he cut his way through the forest, every scout he came across said the same things. That there would be much stronger people the deeper he traveled.
Then he finally came across the second-class knights at the ends of the forest.
Standing over their corpses, he thought that they couldn't be the "strong guards" the hunters were referencing.
[Well... I guess these knights are powerful to regular humans... And it seems I have arrived]
Ashton looked out from the edge of the forest, the road that he traveled was no longer surrounded by forestry on either side, but open. The road stretched over the horizon with a large open field to its right, and on its left the road split off and led up a hill.
[I see how it earned its name] Ashton thought as he looked at the castle resting at the top of the hill.
Multiple stories tall, made completely of rare volcanic rock. The wall surrounding the keep matched its innards.
[Those rocks are impervious to heat and explosion, I can see why uncle was hesitant]
Ashton stepped back onto the road, [I am at least six hours ahead of the army, they will arrive well after the sunsets... I wonder if uncle will attack immediately or take a night's rest first]
As he imagined what would happen, he wrote a quick letter stating that every scout along the road had been neutralized then placed it into the satchel attached to his horse.
After he smacked the beast on its backside and sent it back up the road, he turned and looked upon the castle.
"Hide."