The dim glow of the moon bathed the encampment where the corpses of numerous corrupted creatures as well as soldiers could be seen littering the ground. The burnt tent and the scattered campfire could be seen as well, releasing white fumes into the dark night.
Further away from the encampment, the remaining crew members could be seen chanting words of prayer as they prepared to bury their comrades that had lost their lives protecting the king.
They all had solemn expressions but none were as sorrowful as the king who could not hold back the tears dripping from his eyes. Theobald and Osborne stood beside him, silently observing the corpses.
Constantly, Theobald clenched his fist and gritted his teeth with rage — the corpse of his comrades laid before him, each slaughtered in the most inhumane manners that made them revolting to even look at.
It pained the captain that he had failed to protect his men once again. He felt even more ashamed of himself, recalling just how frightened he was in front of a single cultist.
How could he fight a large group of them when he cowered in the presence of a single one of them? The question repeated in his mind, tormenting him.
Alister stood at the back of the soldiers, calmly observing the funeral. He did a quick headcount and realized there were only eight of them left, including himself. The number had fallen so much.
CACKLE!
The cackling sound of the flames consuming the bodies drifted across, accompanied by a gentle breeze that blew dust around. The silent cries of the soldiers could also be heard.
Everyone stood gallantly and watched till their comrades were reduced to nothing but ashes as the funeral ritual demanded. This took more than two hours to finish.
By the time it was over, the moon had already disappeared from the sky and the sky had already begun retaining its morning glow.
King Julian and the remaining of the crew silently retired to their tents to relax for the little time left.
Alister approached Osborne to ask a question that bothered him, it was about Nervered's magical power.
"Your judgements are correct, he wasn't the one who actually summoned the dark creatures," Osborne answered, he was a little surprised that Alister was able to read the situation.
"Who did then? He also claimed the abnormalities we fought were his puppets or was he simply bragging?" Alister asked, curiosity evident in his tone.
"He was definitely bragging when he called those monstrosity his pet. The only logical explanation to all these is that a more powerful member of the gravemind order prepared the spell in advance and he simply activated it, not with his own mana even, but with some sort of magic artifacts like the truth stone which is rarely found in nature and contains powerful supply of pure mana."
Osborne was glad to explain to Alister.
Alister's confusion was finally resolved with the explanations.
"Thanks for clearing my doubt, rest well."
Alister bade the old wizard farewell and prepared to return to his tent which fortunately wasn't among those that were burnt.
Osborne halted and stared at the back of Alister with a smile, "Such wisdom and curiosity, if he was born in this world, he would definitely become a true wizard."
He shook his head pitifully and retired to his tent, right beside the royal tent.
Alister was strolling casually towards his tent when Theobald appeared and knelt on the ground before him, causing him to halt.
"What is it, Theobald, why are you kneeling?"
Theobald looked up with a eye filled with resolve, admiration and determination, he opened his mouth and made his intention known.
"You want me to train you?"
Alister repeated and the captain nodded.
"I've watched your moves, they are nothing but graceful, elegant and lethal. I've fought wars with self proclaimed sword kings and famous swordmen but none could beat you in a fight. I want to be stronger with the sword, please teach me."
While saying all these, his head was bowed to the ground. His resolve could be heard from his voice.
He left Alister questioning himself, if he could actually impart his skills into another.
The hero shrugged, it was worth a try.
"Fine I'll teach you."
"Thank you! I promise I won't dishonor your training!"
Theobald performed several rapid bows while thanking him.
Alister wasn't used to such behavior from others toward him but he did not stop the middle-aged captain from bowing. He kind of enjoyed it.
"When do you want to start your training?"
"Right now if possible."
Alister had nothing to do for the meantime so he agreed to began training the captain right away. He brought his sword and performed a few simple but lethal moves and made the captain try to reciprocate them.
Just like that, Theobald began a new training arc with a single goal in his mind — To slay as much of those gravemind bastards as he could.
As for Alister, well, one could say he was simply bored.
Morning dawned on the two as they swung their swords in harmony.
Theobald was a fast learner thanks to his sturdy foundation in swordsmanship. Except the advanced moves, he could pull off all the simple moves just by watching Alister perform them once or twice.
As his strength was above an average human, each new moves became a lethal moves from him. Although not as strong and lethal as his master, it was far better than anyone else.