Building A Carnal Empire In The Fantasy World-Chapter 30: Hunters And Prey I

The garden path stretched ahead like a snake through the darkness. Madam Vex pressed her back against the cold stone wall, her breath coming in short gasps. Beside her, Velara clutched at a torn sleeve, blood seeping through her fingers from a cut on her arm.

"How much further?" Velara whispered, her voice barely audible above the distant shouts of the Church soldiers.

"Not far," Madam Vex replied, though her eyes showed traces doubt.

The hidden building lay beyond the main gardens, past the ornamental lake and through a grove of ancient oak trees. That was all she could remember, after all, they had taken a carriage deep into the forests instead of walking.

In daylight, it would have been a pleasant walk. Like one you would have in a park. But now in the dark, with hunters on their trail, it might as well have been on the other side of the world.

They had been moving carefully for nearly an hour, using garden walls and decorative hedges for cover. The sounds of the hunt echoed across the estate grounds.

The sounds of boots on gravel, orders shouted in the distance, the occasional clash of steel as soldiers checked empty buildings or maybe clashed with the fleeing nobles.

Madam Vex peered around the corner of the wall. The path ahead was clear with no obstacles, but flame torchlight flickered between the trees beyond.

There were too many torches, too close together. Not feasible for a stealthy pass through.

"They’re sweeping the entire grounds," she muttered. "It’s like they know exactly what they’re looking for, where to search."

Velara shifted beside her, wincing as the movement pulled at her wounded arm. "Maybe we should split up and take different routes. Cover more ground."

"No." Madam Vex’s voice was firm. "We stay together. If they catch one of us..."

She didn’t need to finish the sentence. They both knew what the Church did to people like them. Public execution was the kindest fate they could hope for.

More likely, they’d face interrogation first. Torture to extract every detail about Count Varnell’s network, every name of every client who had ever bought flesh at one of their auctions.

A new sound reached their ears—the steady tramp of boots on the garden path behind them. The sound was slowly getting closer.

"Move," Madam Vex hissed.

They slipped along the wall toward a gap in the hedge that led to the next section of garden. The opening was quite narrow, barely wide enough for one person at a time.

Madam Vex went first, her dark dress catching on the thorny branches, drawing a few muffled gasps.

As she pushed through, a voice rang out behind them.

"There they are! By the hedge!"

Madam Vex’s blood turned to ice and shivers ran down her spine. She spun around to see three figures in red and gold armor standing at the far end of the garden path. Even in the dim moonlight, she could see the sacred flame symbols on their chests.

Church soldiers. And they were looking straight at them.

"Run," she breathed.

The soldiers broke into a sprint, their armor clanking as they charged across the garden. The leader was a big man with a crossbow already raised and aimed. The other two carried swords that gleamed in the torchlight.

Velara was still halfway through the hedge when the first crossbow bolt whistled past her head. It struck a stone cherub beside the path, sending chips of marble flying.

"Halt in the name of the sacred flame!" the lead soldier shouted.

Madam Vex grabbed Velara’s hand and pulled her through the gap. They stumbled into the next garden section, a formal space with neat rows of roses and a central fountain. The sound of splashing water masked their footsteps as they ran toward the far side.

Behind them, the soldiers crashed through the hedge roughly with much less care for stealth. Thorns scraped against armor, and someone cursed loudly as his cloak caught on a branch. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Sergeant Cole!" one of the soldiers called out. "They’re heading for the lake!"

"I can see that, you fool," came the reply. "Spread out and flank them. Don’t let them reach the woods."

Madam Vex risked a glance back as they reached the fountain. The lead soldier, Sergeant Cole, was a huge man with a scarred face visible beneath his helmet. His crossbow was already reloaded, and his movements spoke of years of combat experience.

’A Level 3 Earth Rank warrior,’ she realized. Maybe even higher. The other two were younger, but their coordination suggested they weren’t novices either. They were Level 2 Earth Rank warriors.

"We can’t outrun them," Velara gasped as they vaulted over a low hedge.

"We don’t have a choice," Madam Vex replied, but even as she said it, she knew it was hopeless.

The soldiers were gaining ground with every step. Their armor might slow them down for just a bit, but their cultivation made up for it. Earth Rank warriors could run for hours without tiring.

They burst out of the rose garden onto the shore of the ornamental lake. Moonlight reflected off the still water like scattered silver coins. On the far side, the grove of oak trees were like a thousand years oath, promising cover and concealment from their pursuers.

If they could reach it...

"Swim for it?" Velara suggested, looking at the dark water.

"In these clothes? We’d drown before we reached the other side."

A crossbow bolt splashed into the lake three feet from where they stood. The soldiers had found them again.

"Last warning!" Sergeant Cole’s voice boomed across the water. "Surrender now, and your deaths will be quick!"

Madam Vex looked at the lake, then at the approaching soldiers, then at Velara’s frightened face. There was nowhere left to run. No clever escape route, no hidden passage, no last-minute rescue.

Just three Church soldiers with weapons and training, closing in on two desperate women with nowhere to go.

She straightened her shoulders and turned to face their pursuers. "Well, then. I suppose we fight."