The column of forty barbarians moved steadily along the trade route, their bare feet kicking up clouds of dust under the evening sun.

They brought no horses for this journey, so the strongest men dragged the two large supply carts themselves, rotating teams every few hours to keep their pace fast and steady.

Kane walked at the very front of the formation with his twin iron axes strapped securely to his back.

His freshly cut red hair barely moved in the breeze. He set a gruelling pace to test their endurance, but his warriors kept up without a single word of protest.

They had spent their entire lives starving in a dead forest, so marching under a strong leader with full stomachs felt like a true blessing.

He glanced over his shoulder to scan the marching group, but Gina was nowhere to be seen.

A small smirk appeared on his lips.

’Embarrassed after screaming my name last night? Cute. Don’t worry, blonde... next time I’ll make you cum so hard you won’t be able to walk straight for two days.’

He felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing he had broken the arrogant knight’s composure before leaving the village.

Proving dominance so that she would always remember him.

Thora walked close to him on his right side, and her new anklets jingled softly with every step.

She occasionally stole admiring glances at his strong profile.

Sira took her assigned position at the very rear of the column with her brand new silkwood bow in her hands, her eyes sharp and focused as she scanned the surrounding fields for any hidden threats.

They marched in comfortable silence for nearly an hour before Sira suddenly spoke up from behind him.

"Are you not being too confident, Chief?" Sira asked.

Kane slowed his pace slightly so she could catch up to him. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Thora also moved closer, her curiosity piqued by the sudden question.

Sira matched his stride, and her voice carried a rare edge that demanded an honest answer.

"You talk about conquering the entire Elven Empire like it is just another simple village raid," Sira continued, looking out at the road ahead.

"My mother once believed in strong leaders, too. She thought our tribe would be safe until Lain killed her right in front of me and took me as his prize. I was not grateful to you when you did the same thing."

She turned her head and looked straight at him, refusing to back down from his intimidating presence.

"So tell me, why should I believe you are any different from him?"

Kane stayed quiet for a few steps.

He noticed the way her fingers nervously traced the wood of her new bow.

Her question was born from a lifetime of trauma and promises, and he understood exactly where her fear came from.

"I don’t want you to be grateful, Sira," Kane said, turning his head to look directly into her eyes.

"I did what I had to do to make the tribe listen and stop starving to death. That is all. I needed power to keep us alive, and I took it. But now that you are mine, I am not letting anyone hurt you. Not Lain’s ghost, not the elven armies, and not even the gods themselves. That is one thing I could give you."

Sira stared at him for a long moment, her fiery expression softening just a fraction. She opened her mouth to reply when suddenly her eyes narrowed.

Thora’s ankles made a jiggling sound as she pointed towards a direction.

Without any warning, Sira raised her new bow and fired an arrow.

Swoosh.

The shaft whistled right past Kane’s head, barely missing his ear by an inch.

It flew straight and true, embedding deep into a tree trunk ahead of them with a loud, hollow thud.

Kane instantly raised his hand, signalling the men behind him. The entire column froze in place.

"Ambush," Sira said coldly, nocking another arrow to her string.

Ten bald warriors jumped out from the trees and bushes hiding alongside the trade route.

They wore rough animal furs and carried crude, rusted weapons, roaring loud challenges to imitate savage raiders.

But Kane saw right through their disguise.

They were humans pretending to be barbarians, likely hired to raid merchants and blame it on their people.

Kane didn’t even bother to draw his axes at first; his men moved with terrifying speed.

Brak shouted a command, and the barbarians formed a shield wall. They thrust their new iron spears forward, subduing most of the attackers with brutal efficiency.

The fake barbarians realised too late that they had ambushed a highly trained military unit instead of a disorganised mob.

Three of the desperate thugs managed to slip past the spear wall.

They broke through the line and charged straight at Kane, raising their rusted swords high into the air.

They screamed at the top of their lungs, trying to intimidate him, but their grip was loose and amateurish.

Kane maintained a bored expression on his face. His high Agility stat made their desperate charge look like they were moving through deep mud.

When they were only a few feet away, Kane finally moved. He reached over his shoulders and drew his twin axes in a blink.

He stepped inside the first man’s guard and swung his right axe.

Slash.

The blade bit deep into the attacker’s neck.

He pivoted smoothly on his foot, dodging a wild swing from the second man, and brought his left axe around in a side arc.

Slash.

The iron edge sliced right through the second man’s throat.

The third thug panicked and tried to stop his charge, but Kane was already stepping forward.

He crossed his arms and delivered a final scissor strike.

Slash.

Three clean cuts ended the fight in a matter of seconds.

Blood spurted from their throats, making the ground turn red. The three men collapsed onto the road, dropping their weapons and gurgling their wet breaths.

Kane stood tall over the dying bodies.

His twin axes dripped warm blood onto his foot.

The rest of the ambushers were now pinned securely to the ground by his warriors, crying out in pain and begging for mercy.

Kane looked down at the bleeding men at his feet, and then he slowly raised his eyes to glare at the surviving prisoners.

He tightened his grip on his weapons and spoke in a low voice.

"Listen to me."

Kane crouched down slowly until he was eye level with the trembling prisoner, tilting his head with a calm, almost friendly expression.

"You just became the most useful man on this road," he said quietly.

"Now tell me everything about the next merchant convoy passing through here."