Divine Heritage: Only I Can Judge The gods-Chapter 20: The Subtle Art of Incitement

By the time Ark arrived from the patrol, the entire camp was in disarray. There were confused murmurs and groaning all around him.

Both the regular guards and the lord's personal men wore confused expressions on their faces as they moved from place to place.

Someone immediately ran up to Ark and grabbed him by the shoulders. The man had a wild look in his eyes and took heavy breaths, a man Ark recognized as one of the guards from their circle.

"T-the lady is dead!"

Ark recoiled in his grip, his eyes wide with horror. He took a step back and then two before running in the direction of the cage.

When he got there all he could see were the embers, the entire carriage had been burned to a crisp.

The only thing that remained were the charred remains of the lady. A body slender enough to fool anyone, with a necklace around its neck.

Ark let out a cry from the depths of his soul and bent down, facing the snow.

When no one could see his face, his lips curled into a smile only to be erased as quickly as he came.

He rose to his feet, each step with purpose and walked over to where the nearest guard was.

"Where is Michael?!"

The man flinched at first until he realized who he was speaking to.

"W-we can't find Michael..."

Ark's expression twisted to that of shock.

"It can't be..."

He looked around the scene of the crime. It was spotless, nothing could even give a hint to who the potential killer was.

But there was one thing they could latch on to... none of the lord's guards remained. After confirming it was indeed the princess—they simply left.

A foolish mistake.

"Gather everyone!"

Ark's voice boomed over the guards, soon every single guard in the area huddled around him. He gave them a firm look as he established his position as leader.

"You three, create a search party and try to find Michael. Four of you will be with me, we will man the night shift."

Just before they left, his gaze once again returned to the carriage and then he stared up into the sky.

After what felt like a few minutes a lone tear cascaded down his face.

"Who is next? Me, you? Your best friend? Your wives and children back at home?"

"He is a madman... if we follow him, none of us will see the light of day."

The guards around him all seemed to think the same, after all, Michael was missing, and to them most likely dead.

His slow but effective deception that he had been building up for the past few days was finally paying off.

They all gave him fierce looks while some nodded.

"It's about time we fight back!"

"Hurrah!" They all screamed in unison.

"Stop a tyrant before he rises!"

"Hurrah!" Their shields rocked against their swords.

"Save ourselves and our families!"

"Hurrah!" They slammed the buts of their spears against the cold floor.

'And help me pass this trial...'

***

As arranged, Ark and four more guards took the night shift after he had fed them lies about how unsafe they could be...

Lies of how the lord might be planning to slit their throats in the night, and they had bought it a little too well.

It didn't help their confidence when the search party that had gone to find Michael came empty handed either.

The real reason Ark had chosen the night shift was to ensure that there were no other spies among their group.

If he was to find anyone sneaking out, it would be the end of their life, since the prison cell was now ash.

There was visible tension in their camp, so much that they did not return back to the regular camp.

Instead, the guards left at the main camp joined them out of curiosity, leaving only the lord and his men behind.

This time Ark didn't have to convince the newcomers, not when those who had spoken to did well to spread his false doctrines.

***

Very early in the morning, everyone was awake and already getting into formation.

There was no way the Lord had not noticed their absence, but there was a slight chance he believed they were just going to mourn the princess and get back to their usual activity.

Maybe they had even been celebrating her death throughout the night.

Still, Ark knew their battle could not be easy. With him he had about twenty men, the lord had fifteen personal guards, while the mercs had stolen a carriage and fled soon after realising what was going to befall the camp.

Although they outnumbered the usurper lord's men, Ark suspected that the difference between a noble guard and a regular guard was light and day.

They were probably far better trained, had better equipment and were even more experienced on the battlefield.

This made Ark unsure about their victory, and yet, it was the best possible outcome.

After arranging themselves in formation, with Ark in front, they began their march back to camp.

Those standing next to him held their long spears forward, those with shields stood at the sides, ready to swap places with them at a moment's notice.

The only three archers they had stood at the back, their bow strings stretched thin, and in the middle of the formation were the swordsmen.

It was an effective formation for countering a powerful foe.

Once they arrived at the camp, they did not stop. They simply kept marching, up until the point where they got to the lord's quarters.

The lord had segregated himself from the rest of them by building something like a makeshift fortress using the carriages as walls.

At the entrance were three guards armed with Long swords and tall shields.

On seeing their group a massive bell was rung fervently, the guard ringing it watching them with firm eyes.

Ark did not move, they simply waited.

Seconds later the group of guards trooped out from behind the carriage, their swords lifted high. They were like an oiled machine, each man moving with purpose.

Soon enough their battle formation was formed, and it looked absolutely impregnable.

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Not only that but they must have been expecting them because they were fully armed in gleaming steel armor.

The lord walked out from behind them, staring at the crowd.

"D-do you know this is an act of tre—"

"Shut up, murderer!" Ark said, cutting him off before he could finish.

He lifted his sword and pointed it directly at the lord's head.

"Today is the day you die, you and your band of traitors."

'I might just have a thing for acting...' Ark thought to himself just as the first arrow was let loose.