A few hours later, west of Crescent Bay.
The sky was laden and somber. On the gray, hazy sea, a solitary three-masted ship drifted aimlessly. The icy waves crashed against its hull one after another, producing rhythmic slapping sounds: "Pa! Pa! Pa!"
On the deck, men lay sprawled in disarray. Nearly all were injured, many missing limbs, with tattered armor and clothes drenched in blood. The air was heavy with their sighs and groans.
Compared to the vibrant vigor of their departure, the ship was now shrouded in a thick veil of sorrow and despair.
Hundreds of well-equipped soldiers, dozens of Apprentice Knights and Knights—this contingent had represented nearly two-thirds of the military force from Wind Extinguishing City. And now...
The soldiers they had brought were almost entirely dead or gravely injured. Only a handful of the 27 Apprentice Knights survived, and of the 8 Knights, only two were left. Even the Earl himself had perished in the caverns.
