Chapter 127: The Training Ground
The training ground behind the City Lord’s fortress had been abandoned for a long time. Ever since the fall of the previous City Lord, the number of knights in Galdreth had dropped to almost none. With no one to train and no one to lead them, the area was left to gather dust.
When the new City Lord took over, things were already a mess. He had no time to appoint new knights or restore the training ground. It simply remained unused.
So, for the time being, while Cassian and his knights stayed in the fortress, he decided to use it. It was quiet, open, and perfect for keeping his men in shape. And just like that, the forgotten ground found purpose again.
As the knights walked towards the training ground, they felt the air outside was thick with tension.
Not from the weather—the weather was a clear, crisp morning with the kind of breeze that usually made morning drills feel bearable—but from the overwhelming silence of eight knights walking toward their death. Or at least, that’s what it felt like.
They moved in a stiff line, their boots hitting the dirt in synchronized dread. No one dared to speak now. Not a single joke. Not a single whisper.
Because there, standing in the middle of the training ground, was Leader Hayes.
Cassian stood like a statue with a sword in hand, his cloak fluttering ever so slightly in the wind. He wasn’t even doing anything threatening just existing, but his presence alone was enough to make every knight suddenly regret every bite of breakfast and every word of gossip.
He hadn’t said a single thing since storming out of the dining hall. He hadn’t looked at anyone either.
Cassian simply stood there, face carved from stone, gaze fixed on the training dummies across the yard—but everyone knew he wasn’t seeing them.
He was brooding—and brooding Leader Hayes was worse than angry Leader Hayes.