The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 795  Truelight Host

They had been fast, but not fast enough. In the minute it had taken them to realize that this was more than just a fight in the yard and organize a full squad, three of the seven Overlords were dead, and Hawk had begun the mass bombardment of the enemy Guild house, as well as their members in the streets.

Karl didnʼt relax his guarded position, though the surviving warriors of the Truelight Host Guild were lowering their blades.

”They came and challenged, then refused a duel by champions, insisting on a full-scale Guild War to annihilation.” Karl insisted.

”And who called for reinforcements?” The Guard Captain demanded.

”I donʼt know what you mean. Weʼve all been here since the start of the fight.” Karl replied, and the four Overlords nodded in agreement.

None of them had called reinforcements, and the fight was on Guild House property, not in public.

[Hawk, stop the bombardment, I think we broke a rule.] Karl warned.

Hawk mentally shrugged and flew close enough to return to his space.

The Guard didnʼt reply for a few seconds as he used a communication spell.

”A group of Truelight Hostʼs junior members was ambushed by an unknown assailant in the Foolʼs Walk boardwalk area. They were incinerated by an Overlord Rank ability, and heavy damage was done to the surrounding area.

Then a group of them was seen firing spells in the Forest Gate district, upward toward the Ghostfire Thunderbird who is often perched here at the Darklight Host Guild House.

Both are violations of the city code on Guild Wars, which restricts battles to Guild Properties.” The Captain explained.

”So, the attack on their Guild House was fine, right?” Karl confirmed, as Hawk had done heavy damage to that building.

The closest of the four surviving Truelight Host Overlords took off their helmet, revealing a vibrant red Demoness with her horns filed to nubs.

”What do you mean, the attack on our Guild House?” She asked.

”I had one of my bonded beasts bombard your Guild House with Ghostfire. Itʼs gone, along with everyone in it. Well, most likely everyone. The house is still on fire, but Ghostfire isnʼt easy to put out.”

The Demoness went so pale her face faded to pink, and she collapsed to her knees.

”No, there is no way that they could know where our Guild House is.” One of the others muttered.

”The one with thirty of your people in it, to the west of Forest Gate?” Karl asked.

The guard verified something with a communication gem, then shook his head and sighed.

”The Guild War is over. The Guild Master of the Truelight Host is dead.” He announced.

With that, the red highlight on their names faded, and the four Overlords faces morphed to expressions of horror, visible only as widened eyes under their helmets, except for the one with her helmet off, who was openly weeping.

”How could the Guild Leader die?” She mumbled, with a hopeful look at the Guard, begging for it to be a lie.

”Some sort of Overlord Rank flaming tornado. He tried to rescue the wounded from the flames, and ended up trapped in the spell.”

That made sense. It wasnʼt easy to escape [Hellstorm].

The Guard Captain patted her on the shoulder. ”He was a bastard, but he was your bastard. We will allow you twenty-four hours to gather the Guildʼs belongings before you are escorted out of the cities as the defeated party.”

Tessa raised a hand to stop the guard before anyone left. ”As a High Priestess of the War God, I have to know. Why? What possessed you to start this Guild War that took so many lives in minutes?”

One of the warriors took off his helmet, letting it vanish into his storage. ”The tabards. The Guild Leader was upset that your colours were so similar to ours, and he demanded that we run you out of town. Ormeth should have accepted the challenge, where the guards would have supervised and stopped him from being ambushed, but he was always prideful.”

Ormeth must have been the first one to die.

Tessa shook her head. ”Foolishness. Pure foolishness. There are few things that the Red Dragon Goddess despises more than senseless wars.” The other two Warriors picked up their traumatized member, then moved the bodies to their inventories.

Much to Raeʼs dismay.

The man with his helmet off turned to the Guard Captain. ”We will be out of the city within the day. Where were the wounded taken?” ”Into the care of the Guardʼs healing department. If theyʼre too injured to move, they will remain in our care until they are discharged, so donʼt plan to move too quickly.”

The four left, and the Guard Captain turned on Karl.

”The only suspect for the damage to the boardwalk if your Ghostfire Thunderbird. Do you require a payment plan for restitution?” He insisted.

[Sorry.] Hawk apologized, as he realized they were being made to pay for the damage to the ground around the red targets.

”How much is it? I will pay in gold.”

The Guard Captain nodded, and a soldier behind him handed him a sheet.

”These are the itemized damages. The Guard will distribute payments to ensure they are made.”

Karl passed it to Davis, who nodded and brought out a small bag of gold from the storeʼs vault. ”Restitution, with the collection fee and city levies added.” He declared.

The Guard smiled. He liked it when they came across smart people. A little lubrication kept the wheels of bureaucracy moving smoothly.

Karl sighed. ”We might need to reconsider our magical item selling operation if itʼs going to put noncombatants in danger.”

Davis chuckled. ”I think you misunderstand. This fight will be the talk of the city for months. One major Guild War a year is already a lot. But targeting the same Guild multiple times is unheard of. They lost four Overlords today, and itʼs our word against speculation by the shopkeepers down the street on which side rejected the offer of a duel.

I donʼt think that anyone will be eager to challenge the Darklight Host during the next decade, and now that weʼve been challenged, the Guild House will have the option to [Recall] a Champion if we are challenged again, so there is no need to keep a powerful member on call at all times.”

At least someone knew how the system worked.