Morning came slowly.
Cold.
Gray.
Empty.
The forest behind them stood silent at last, though the memory of the night before still haunted every surviving soldier. Burned tents smoldered quietly beneath drifting smoke while blood dried dark against the ruined earth.
No one spoke much anymore.
Not after witnessing what had happened.
Not after hearing the howls.
Not after seeing men vanish beneath claws and shadows.
The survivors only wanted one thing now—To leave.And so the journey toward the stronghold began.
The remaining soldiers gathered what little survived the massacre. Weapons were cleaned. Supplies were packed onto wagons. Horses strong enough to continue were harnessed quickly despite exhaustion.
The cages holding the captured villagers were prepared once more.
Though now…
There were far fewer horses left to pull them.
Many had either been slaughtered during the wolf attack or escaped into the wilderness during the chaos. Because of that, soldiers themselves were forced to assist in dragging the heavy iron cages across the rough terrain.
The prisoners could not do it.
Inside the cages were wounded villagers, weak women, frightened children, and boys too young to carry such burdens.
What strength did starving prisoners possess to move cages filled with suffering?
So the soldiers cursed and strained themselves instead.
And slowly…The broken procession moved northward.
Toward the sea.
For many of the villagers trapped inside those cages, the very idea sounded impossible.
A body of water so massive one could not see its end?
A moving structure capable of floating atop it without sinking?
Such things belonged only in myths.
None of them knew the concept of ships.
Or oceans.
Or distant kingdoms beyond the horizon.
To them, the sea was merely another unknown terror waiting ahead.
Campbell rode silently at the front of the procession while Jeremiah's remaining men followed behind him in exhausted formation.
But even during the long journey…
Campbell's thoughts never left the forest.
The old commander's mind remained consumed by questions.
What kind of beast had he witnessed signs of?
What creature could unite wolf packs that naturally despised one another?
What sort of monster possessed enough awareness to take a child and flee the battlefield instead of continuing the slaughter?
No beast behaved that way.
At least none Campbell had encountered throughout his years of war.
Predators killed.
They hunted.
They fed.
But this…
This thing had protected.
Chosen.
Escaped with purpose.
And that troubled him deeply.
Meanwhile Jeremiah remained nearly useless.
The man had become a shell of himself after the incident. Pale. Quiet. Unstable. Even while traveling, he constantly glanced toward the forests surrounding them as though expecting something to emerge from the shadows at any moment.
At night, Campbell sometimes heard him whispering in terror from his tent.
"The eyes…"
"The roar…"
"He's still out there…"
Whatever Jeremiah witnessed had broken him completely.
And somehow…
That only fueled Campbell's curiosity further.
Days later, after crossing harsh terrain and frozen northern cliffs, they finally arrived at the sea bay.
The sight alone stunned many prisoners into silence.
An endless body of water stretched beyond the horizon, gray waves crashing violently against jagged rocks while enormous wooden ships rested near the docks like sleeping giants.
The villagers stared in disbelief.
Fear spread quickly among them.
Some prayed quietly.
Others cried.
To many, the sea looked less like nature and more like a mouth large enough to swallow the world itself.
The soldiers immediately began preparations for boarding.
Supplies were loaded first.
Weapons second.
Then finally—
The prisoners.
Campbell oversaw everything from horseback until his gaze suddenly paused.
A sound.
Soft.
Weak.
The cry of an infant.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"A child?" he muttered.
Immediately he rode closer toward the cages.
And there—
Wrapped carefully in cloth within the arms of several women—
Was the newborn.
Campbell's expression darkened instantly.
A child that young surviving the sea journey would be nearly impossible.
Even nursing mothers struggled against storms and starvation aboard long voyages. A newborn infant trapped among prisoners inside cold cages?
The chances were nonexistent.
Practicality hardened Campbell's voice.
"Remove the child," he ordered calmly.
Several soldiers approached the cage immediately.
"And the mother as well," Campbell added coldly. "It will save us the trouble of disposing of corpses during the voyage."
The words sent panic through the women instantly.
"No!"
"Please!"
"You can't!"
The women inside the cage immediately shielded the infant protectively, pressing together desperately as the soldiers attempted to force the cage open.
The newborn began crying loudly.
Campbell frowned deeply.
The reaction disturbed him.
Far too intense for ordinary sympathy.
"What is this commotion?" he demanded sharply.
One soldier shook his head.
"They refuse to surrender the child, General."
Campbell dismounted his horse slowly and approached the cage himself.
As he drew closer, he noticed something strange.
The women were terrified.
Not merely grieving.
Terrified.
As though giving up the child would unleash something far worse than death itself.
Then—
One elderly midwife stepped forward weakly from inside the cage.
Unlike the others, she did not scream.
She simply looked at Campbell with trembling eyes filled with desperation.
"Please…" she whispered.
The soldiers moved to stop her, but Campbell raised one hand calmly.
"Let her speak."
The old woman slowly stepped closer after the cage door opened slightly.
Then—
To everyone's surprise—
She fell directly at Campbell's feet.
The old commander stared down at her silently.
"Spare the child," she begged weakly.
Campbell's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
The woman trembled violently.
"Because if the child dies…" she whispered, "the damage that follows will be beyond anything you understand."
Those words instantly caught Campbell's attention.
Slowly, he bent down closer toward her.
"What are you talking about?"
The old midwife looked around nervously at the surrounding soldiers before leaning toward Campbell carefully.
Then—
She whispered the secret into his ear.
A secret Lara and every remaining midwife had sworn to carry to their graves.
The moment Campbell heard it—
His expression changed completely.
Not shock.
Not fear.
Something colder.
Something calculating.
For several long seconds, he remained perfectly still.
The wind from the sea moved silently around them.
Then Campbell slowly rose back to his feet.
Without another word, he personally stepped toward the cage and carefully lifted the newborn child into his own arms.
The crying infant quieted slightly beneath the cold northern wind.
The soldiers looked confused.
But none questioned him.
Campbell turned calmly toward the others.
"All prisoners are to be loaded onto the ships immediately."
The soldiers obeyed at once.
Then Campbell's gaze shifted slowly toward the remaining midwives.
The women who knew the secret.
The women who helped conceal it.
His voice became emotionless.
"Except them."
Silence fell instantly.
The midwives understood immediately.
One began crying softly.
Another lowered her head in acceptance.
Campbell gave the order without hesitation.
"Execute every last one."