The autumn wind blew through the woods, causing the few remaining leaves on the trees to fall.
A few black crows were circling in the gray sky, their eerie cries sending chills down one's spine.
Suddenly, a stronger gust of wind blew by, and fallen leaves tumbled on the ground. The rustling sound was deafening, and in this somewhat open space, it was particularly eerie.
Arthur tightened his clothes to keep the cold air from getting into his chest, and looked up.
The valley in the distance was now clearly visible, just as it had been when he left. He quickened his pace with a smile, eager to leave as soon as possible.
The scenery in the valley remained the same as always, but the dried blood and the corpses lying haphazardly told him that things had changed.
He stood in the open space.
The wind in the valley was stronger than in the forest, making his robes flutter loudly. He didn't tighten his clothes any further, letting the bleak autumn wind sweep over his body.
"What should I do?" He wanted to think it over carefully, but the birdsong in the air was bothering him.
He bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it at the bird in the air, but it had no effect; the bird continued to cry.
Arthur was distraught. He had confirmed that the ground was littered with the bodies of guards, all killed by longswords or arrows, indicating an attack. But why were none of those damned slaves there?
The warehouse was completely emptied of ore; those despicable attackers even stole the white ore that they had mistakenly mined earlier.
Where did these guys come from? We checked the surrounding area before; there's no one around. They must have come by water. These wretched creatures deserve to die!
He now knows that they are mining silver ore, and this is silver ore!
He knew that if he didn't come up with a good solution, his head would really be fed to the fish.
First of all, he definitely needs to find a scapegoat, otherwise if you can't find out who did it, you'll be in even worse shape.
The barbarians in the barren lands west of Yew Territory would be a good option, though they certainly don't have the shipbuilding skills or the arrows. Perhaps they robbed someone; who cares? Who knows how they got here? This place is so vast. It would be difficult to ascertain how they arrived.
Unless they came from Yew Territory, but that's impossible; the Earl is on guard against them.
Having found the perfect scapegoat, Arthas felt a little relieved.
However, he couldn't be careless. This was a huge burden, and the barbarians might not be able to handle it all. He needed to find some more people to share the burden.
Oh right, I didn't see a single one of those damned slaves. They must have colluded with the barbarians to launch a sneak attack while I was away.
"What a bunch of useless idiots," Arthur kicked a corpse on the ground.
Two more perfect scapegoats. Everything was fine while he was around, but such a huge problem arose the moment he left. Lord Worthy will surely see his immense value.
Arthurs felt somewhat fortunate at this thought. Luckily, the mine couldn't be moved. If these guys who appeared out of nowhere had moved the mine, he would have had no choice but to jump into the lake himself.
I should go back and tell the Earl what's going on here! As for whether I'll have another chance to come here, that's up to fate.
Arthurs stood at the entrance to the valley, looking once again at the valley that had been cleared, the bleak autumn wind blowing against his clothes again.
"I hope I never have to come here again."