Release That Witch

Upon seeing the menacing knight, no one dared to say another word. It was as if the actors had turned into walls and they stood there frozen, witnessing the conflict as it took place. No one wanted to go up against the mighty May, so the fight became one-sided as Bella was dragged from the restroom by two guards.     

A few moments later, only Carter and the performers from Border Town were left in the big house.     

"Thanks for your help," said Gait and the other people, and they all bowed deeply.     

"You were awesome! She couldn't even speak." Irene exclaimed and held May's hands. "That slap to her cheek could easily beat her senseless," she added.     

Then, she turned to the chief knight and gave him a salute and asked, "Your Excellency Carter, why did you show up in Longsong Stronghold?"     

"I was wondering that too," said May. She shrugged, breathing a sigh of relief.     

"For the sake of His Highness' decree," Carter threw up his hand and said, "May I buy you a drink?"     

...     

"You... live in here?" The chief knight asked, looking around while appearing reserved.     

"Yes, it's pretty common." May pulled out a bottle of white wine from a cabinet and poured a small amount into a cup. "The pub is only open at night. Now, this cup counts." She pointed out handing him the cup. Irene and her partners had fled using the excuse of having something important to go do, which left her and Carter alone in her domicile.     

"Yes, indeed... common." Carter coughed and then asked, "What about... your family?"     

"My mother passed away a long time ago. My father landed a job in the theater, doing a few easy chores, but it would keep him out very late." May said in a calm voice.     

She bought this small bungalow, situated in a deep alley off of Inner City, with all of her savings after she had become the Star of the Western Region. Although it was old and small, she would be free from harassment and the vicious snooping moving from the outer city brought.     

"Oh... sorry."     

"It doesn't matter. Did His Highness send you here to rectify the theater order and cope with the growing disputes between performers?" May asked while pouring herself a cup of the white liquor.     

"No, of course not." Carter waved his hands in denial. "Timothy sent some of his people to cause trouble in the Western Region again, so His Highness Roland went with the main troops. I arrived early in the Littletown to arrange the night duty reinforcement from the Second Army and to remind the Honeysuckle Family to remain vigilant in case of an enemy's sneak attack at the gate."     

"You shouldn't have told me about this." May was shocked and shook her head.     

"You asked and it wasn't confidential. Take it easy! I know what I'm doing," Carter said before drinking the wine.     

"Okay." She curled her lips before asking. "How did you come to the theater?"     

"After I arranged everything, I saw the advertisement for your drama. So, I came to see you on a real stage and just like I had imagined, it was a wonderful performance. Although, I only got to watch the ending." The knight gushed in admiration. "I went backstage to invite you out for a drink. I didn't know if it was proper so I hesitated until I heard the dispute inside..."     

May frowned before saying. "You were already out there?"     

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Carter lifted his hands in protest. "It was just a coincidence, I promise."     

"Pfft." She could not help snickering. "I wasn't accusing you. Don't get a hurt look," she said.     

"Oh? Yes?" The knight breathed a sigh of relief and went to pour himself some more wine and she quickly smacked his hand away.     

"Don't you have duties to complete tonight?" May wagged her finger at him and said, "you're only to drink a small cup, nothing more, but... you could invite me to have a big drink with you after you've finished with your tasks." She offered with a smile.     

After Carter left, May added more wine to her own cup, before leaning against the chair and taking a sip.     

She found that she now loved the ardent and mellow taste of the white liquor when compared to the last time she had tasted it.     

As to Carter's invitation earlier, she faintly knew the answer in her heart. As expected, the only way to know was to try. Much like the drink in her hand, although the first taste was difficult to swallow, the later mellowness she experienced was comparable to a sweet fruit wine or a plain cerevisiae.     

[How about returning to settle in Border Town with father after finishing the drama's performance?] she thought.     

…     

Roland arrived at Longsong Stronghold two days later.     

Petrov Hull and members of the Five Families greeted His Highness and troops outside of the city.     

After the First Army was stationed at the stronghold, Roland went straight into the castle and briefly convened.     

"According to our credible source, Timothy sent out a troop to march on the stronghold. The number of people and the attack route isn't clear though. There's little doubt that I'm the target. Considering his style, he's going to try and expand his troops by looting civilians, and then he'll then force them to take pills and make them launch an attack."     

"Your Highness, by a pill you mean...?" Viscount Elliot of the Wolf Family asked confused.     

"This is an evil red pill which endows the person who takes it with incredible power that rivals that of the knights. However, anyone who takes the pill will die in desperation as soon as the effects of the pill wear off." The only one who knew anything about this pill was Petrov, so Roland took the time to explain the details to the others. He then added, "Timothy's plan is to weaken the defensive forces of the Western Region by targeting the civilians that were of no use to him, and this is the plan for your domain. I implore you to move your families and civilians into the inner city, to prevent them from being used by Timothy."     

"But, what about the grains and goods in our warehouse?"     

"Only transport within your capacity." Roland interrupted firmly. "I leave you only three days. The civilians of the villages around must gather together in the stronghold. I'll set you free as soon as Timothy's troops have been defeated."     

After the meeting, the prince led Iron Axe into the castle.     

In fact, he had not fully disclosed all of the information he had to the nobles. He had found out the location of the troop through Lightning and Maggie's reconnaissance. Unlike the last invaders, they were taking the slope to travel west along the mainstream of Redwater River so they could enter the backlands of the Western Region, gaining access through Willow Town.     

It was a pretty tricky route and if the enemy crossed over fork point, they could turn back to attack the southern and eastern gates of Longsong Stronghold along the tributary. Or, they could choose to march towards the west of Border Town.     

In order to avoid them dividing their forces, he decided to take the initiative and gather his superior forces to defeat this enemy.     

Apparently, the fork in the Redwater River was the most appropriate place to conduct an ambush.