The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: A Threat Approaches

The afternoon had passed rather peacefully.

Ares was sitting in the garden with Draven and Cedric, listening to Mara talk about the changes that had taken place around the territory while he was away at the academy.

The garden itself was quiet, with only the sound of the wind moving through the trees and the occasional chirping of birds.

Then—

"My lord!"

A loud voice suddenly came from somewhere beyond the garden.

Ares stopped listening.

There was another shout.

Then another.

This time, there was obvious panic in the voices.

Mara’s expression changed.

"What is going on?"

Ares slowly stood from his seat.

He could hear hurried footsteps approaching from the direction of the estate’s main courtyard.

Then came the sound of several people shouting orders.

"Get the injured inside!"

"Quickly! Bring the healing potions!"

"Someone call the captain!"

Ares narrowed his eyes.

"I think something’s happened," he said quietly.

Mara looked at him.

"Really?"

Ares listened for another moment.

He could already sense the faint traces of corrupted energy lingering in the air.

"The patrol team was attacked."

Mara’s hand immediately went to her mouth.

"Don’t tell me..."

"Those creatures again," she said quietly.

Her expression became increasingly worried.

"The sightings have been increasing these past few weeks. At first, they were only reported deep inside the forest, but recently they’ve been appearing closer and closer to the territory."

Ares stood up.

"Let’s go see what happened."

Mara nodded immediately.

The three of them followed her toward the courtyard.

When they arrived, the situation was far worse than Ares had expected.

Several knights were lying on the ground.

Their armor was damaged, some of them had deep wounds across their bodies, and others were barely conscious. Their breathing was weak, while dark veins had already begun spreading from their wounds.

The remaining knights were gathered around them, desperately trying to provide first aid.

Frederick was already there.

Beside him stood the captain of the knights, his expression grim as he watched the wounded being treated.

"More healing potions!"

"We’ve already used the last of them!"

"Then use mana recovery potions and try another healing spell!"

"It isn’t working!"

A knight poured a healing potion over one of the wounded man’s injuries.

For a brief moment, the bleeding slowed.

Then the dark corruption spread even farther.

"Captain!"

"I know!"

The captain clenched his fists.

"Keep treating them. Don’t let them lose consciousness."

Ares stopped several steps away.

He could see the problem immediately.

The wounds themselves weren’t particularly difficult.

The corruption was.

It’s spreading through their bodies.

Ares quietly observed the wounded knights.

If I use my own power, I can remove it immediately.

But if I do that in front of Father and Mother...

He frowned.

They would definitely start asking questions.

How did he learn such powerful healing magic?

Why could he cure corruption that even experienced knights and healers couldn’t?

And more importantly...

Why did his abilities seem completely unrelated to what they knew about him?

I really don’t need that kind of trouble right now.

Draven, who had been observing the wounded from behind him, suddenly spoke.

"The corruption has already reached their bloodstream."

Ares glanced at him.

"Can you tell how serious it is?"

"Serious enough that ordinary healing magic won’t be sufficient."

Draven’s expression remained calm.

"It is consuming their life force while simultaneously interfering with their mana circulation. If nothing is done soon, even healing their physical wounds will not save them."

He paused.

"But for me..."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"It’s hardly worth calling a problem."

Of course.

Ares almost sighed.

Draven was always like this whenever something happened to be within his abilities.

Cedric stepped forward.

"I can help as well, Master."

Ares looked at him.

Holy power.

That’s right.

For Cedric, this kind of corruption shouldn’t be particularly difficult either.

Ares looked toward his father.

"Father."

Frederick immediately turned toward him.

"Ares. You shouldn’t be standing here. This area isn’t safe."

"What happened?"

"One of the patrol groups encountered those corrupted creatures in the forest."

Frederick glanced toward the wounded knights.

"They were stronger than the creatures we’ve encountered before. The patrol was overwhelmed before they could retreat. Some of the knights were killed, while those who survived barely managed to make it back."

His expression darkened.

"We’re still trying to determine exactly how many creatures there were."

Ares nodded.

"I see."

His gaze returned to the wounded.

Then he looked at Draven and Cedric.

"Father, would you allow my companions to help?"

Frederick looked at the two men.

"Your companions?"

"They specialize in healing magic."

Ares kept his expression completely serious.

Of course, that was a lie.

Draven was a primordial dragon who had long surpassed ordinary beings, while Cedric had become a transcendent possessing both holy and dark power.

Calling them healing specialists was probably the understatement of the century.

Frederick hesitated.

"You believe they can save them?"

"They can at least try."

The captain looked at the wounded knights.

"We’ve already exhausted most of our options."

Frederick nodded.

"If they can help, then let them."

Ares turned toward the two.

"Draven. Cedric."

The two stepped forward.

Ares lowered his voice.

"Keep it simple."

Draven smiled.

"Understood."

Cedric nodded.

They approached the wounded knights.

Cedric placed his hand above one of the knights.

A soft light immediately appeared around his palm.

"Minor Restoration."

The spell was simple.

Almost laughably simple.

Yet the moment the light touched the knight’s body, the corruption began to retreat.

The dark veins slowly disappeared.

The torn flesh closed.

The knight’s breathing stabilized.

The entire process took only a few seconds.

The surrounding knights fell silent.

"...What?"

Before anyone could properly react, Draven had already moved to the next wounded knight.

"Recovery."

A warm wave of magic passed through the man’s body.

His wounds closed almost immediately.

The corruption vanished as though it had never existed.

Draven moved to another.

Then another.

Cedric followed beside him.

Neither of them used complicated spells.

There were no elaborate incantations.

No grand display of magic.

Just simple healing spells.

And yet every wound disappeared.

One after another.

Within moments, the knights who had been on the verge of death were breathing normally again.

Ares quietly watched.

As expected.

For beings at their level, something like this was nothing.

But the people around them clearly didn’t see it that way.

Mara stood frozen.

Frederick stared at the recovering knights in disbelief.

Even the captain seemed unable to process what he had just witnessed.

One of the knights slowly sat up.

"My wounds..."

He touched his chest.

There wasn’t even a scar.

Frederick finally found his voice.

"That’s..."

He looked toward Draven and Cedric.

Then toward Ares.

"Ares..."

He seemed to struggle to find the right words.

"Where exactly did you find these two?"

Ares gave an awkward smile.

"They’re both specialists in healing magic."

Another lie.

But it was convenient.

Frederick stared at them for several seconds.

"Specialists?"

He looked at the knights who had just been saved.

"They’re barely old enough to have this level of skill."

Draven smiled politely.

"We have simply received a rather unusual education."

Ares glanced at him.

Good answer.

Frederick slowly nodded.

"Whatever the reason, I owe you both a great debt."

He stepped forward.

"Thank you. If you had not been here, I don’t know how many of my knights we would have lost."

Draven merely nodded.

"There is no need to thank us, Count Frederick. We were able to help, so we did."

Cedric lowered his head slightly.

Frederick smiled.

"Even so, I won’t forget this, Thank you truly."

The captain then approached the recovered knights.

One of the knights immediately got to his feet.

His face was still pale, but his condition had improved dramatically.

"Yes, Captain."

He straightened himself.

"We were conducting our usual patrol along the eastern forest when we encountered them."

"The corrupted creatures?"

"Yes."

He swallowed.

"There were more than we expected. At least a dozen, perhaps more. They weren’t ordinary monsters either."

"What was different about them?"

"They were faster and stronger than the ones we’ve encountered before."

Another knight stepped forward.

"They moved together. It wasn’t like a group of monsters attacking randomly. They surrounded us and deliberately targeted the weaker members first."

Frederick’s expression became serious.

"How many did you lose?"

The knight lowered his head.

"Five."

The courtyard became silent.

"Five knights were killed during the retreat."

Frederick closed his eyes briefly.

"And the rest?"

"We tried to hold them back long enough for the wounded to escape. Some of us managed to break through, but the creatures followed us for part of the way."

The captain frowned.

"How close did they get to the territory?"

The knight hesitated.

"Closer than before."

Frederick’s expression changed.

"How close?"

"Less than half an hour journey from the outer settlements."

Mara’s face paled.

"That close...?"

The knight nodded.

"If we hadn’t encountered another patrol along the way, we might not have made it back."

Another knight added,

"And there’s something else."

Everyone looked at him.

"We found signs that there are more of them deeper inside the forest."

Ares narrowed his eyes.

"More?"

"Yes."

The knight nodded.

"We couldn’t determine how many. But judging by the tracks and the corrupted areas around the trees..."

He took a breath.

"I believe there may be an entire nest somewhere deeper in the forest."

Frederick’s expression became grim.

"If that’s true, then this is no longer an isolated incident."

The captain nodded.

"If those creatures continue moving toward the territory, the villages will be their next target."

Ares remained silent.

So that’s what’s happening.

The corrupted creatures weren’t simply appearing randomly.

They were moving.

And judging from how quickly their strength was increasing, something deeper in the forest was probably causing it.

Ares remained silent as he listened to the report.

The knights had already been dealing with the corrupted creatures for weeks. There were established patrols specifically assigned to monitor the forest, and his father’s territory was close enough that the local forces should have been able to contain them.

So why are they suddenly having this much trouble?

The orders should’ve handled something like this already. Especially when these creatures are appearing this close to Father’s territory.

Ares narrowed his eyes.

Something must have changed.

The corrupted creatures weren’t simply appearing more frequently.

They were becoming stronger.

And if even the knights assigned to this area were being overwhelmed, then whatever was happening in that forest was no longer a problem that could be dealt with by ordinary patrols.

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