Chapter 40 – Departure
Dixon saw him coming from afar, and his blood ran cold. That look in William's eyes—he knew it too well. The same look from back then, when William had first stood against the nobles to defend them. A gaze that screamed one thing: he didn't care about consequences. If anyone got in his way, he would crush them.
They had all known this would happen if he ever found out. That's why, for months, none of the eleven had said a word. Not because they didn't need help—they did—but because they knew that if they asked, William would tear the world apart for them. And that could cost him his life.
It had started with tension. The nobles were furious over the massacre: a hundred of their own had died, and the culprits were still breathing. But they couldn't retaliate directly—not yet. Those twelve commoners had survived an impossible battle. They weren't easy prey. So the nobles started testing them. First one-on-one duels. Then two against one. Then three.
And the commoners kept winning.
Their group became something rare among the noble circles—not respect, but fear. Fights became routine. Blood spilled daily. Bones broke. Scars multiplied. But none of the eleven backed down. If anything, they grew fiercer. Stronger. Sharper. Every day they lived through was a badge of fire.
They endured their private hell in silence. At night, they'd huddle together, wounded, exhausted, some crying quietly—not from fear, but from sheer rage. They missed the security of William's presence. But they couldn't drag him into their war.
Dixon had stepped up to lead, trying to fill the void William left behind. He couldn't match him, but he kept them united. Until yesterday.
It was Thom who heard the rumor. William had killed a hundred nobles—alone. Ended the fight with every limb broken, barely breathing. The reason? To defend the girls who had once been the first lovers of their group. That news lit a fire in the eleven that couldn't be put out.
They charged out, burning with fury. But they weren't the only ones waiting. Nearly 900 noble knight-aspirants blocked their path. And like a brittle dam under pressure, the situation snapped.