I will stay behind

Aizel and the rest of his party could easily see the sight as they approached the town's gate. The sight of dead bodies, both human and animal, scattered all about the ground.

"How long have these bodies been decomposing here?" Alisme questioned while using her fingers to cover his nose.

"Maybe for 3-4 days," Harry replied.

They arrived at the town gate, where some bodies were still hanging by the rope.

As Aizel summoned his sword, he cut down the rope that was hanging by the wall, and the bodies started dropping to the ground one after another. They were all dead, the ones who looked like they were alive from far, were already dead the moment they saw them from close.

He joined his hands together and prayed for them: "I am sorry, but we will give you all a proper burial afterward."

As the other guys saw him acting in that manner, they followed suit and started walking toward the gate. The gate appeared to be sturdy and was constructed of wood.

"What do you think of the possibilities of the trap?" Alisha asked while Aizel pondered for a bit.

"I don't think there might be a trap, but on the other hand, we might face some guards." He responded.

"Let me enter first, and if I don't give the signal to you guys, then run as fast as you can." He spoke while the rest of the guys nodded.

Alisme and Nathan have some doubts, but they remain silent. If the rest of the guys believed in him, they decided to give it a shot as well.

Aizel took a deep breath and slowly opened the gate.

He squeezed himself inside because he hadn't fully opened the gate, and what he saw inside was essentially nothing.

There were a few guard posts at the beginning of town, but everything was quiet. There were no dead bodies or goblins to be found. The town was silent and still as if frozen in time. The once-bustling streets were now strangely silent, devoid of any signs of life. The structures that once housed shops, cafes, and homes were now empty shells, with shattered windows and doors hanging off their hinges.

"Are they hiding somewhere?" Aizel thought while giving the signal for the rest of the guys to enter, and they joined him in one of the empty guard posts.

"Why aren't there any goblins here? Where are they?" Alisme inquired quietly, while the rest of the guys were puzzled.

"They could have killed everyone in town or held them captive somewhere," Alisha replied.

"Is there a large enough space here where they can hold everyone captive?" Aizel asked further.

"The town hall," Harry said, pointing to the large tower-style building in the town center.

"What should we do? Should we go and check first, or should we inform the others?" Alisme asked, while Aizel pondered for a minute and then replied.

"You guys should go back and inform the situation; meanwhile, I will go ahead and scout for more information."

"That's insane; you'll be in danger if you go alone?" Alisme raised her voice.

"Are you sure?" Alisha asked, while Aizel simply nodded.

"Then best of luck. Let's go, guys." Alisa said while Alisme stared blankly at her. They left the town and headed back towards their camp.

Alisme couldn't take it anymore and asked Alisha about her decision.

"Why did you guys leave him alone? Don't you care about him? He is part of your group."

Harry chuckled a little and said, "He doesn't need us because if anyone can scout the area alone, then it is him."

"Is he a mage or what?" Nathan asked who had been quietly observing the situation from the start.

Harry just grinned a smile and didn't respond to that question, while Nathan understood the meaning behind it.

They all went towards the camp to inform them of the situation in the town, while on Aizel's side, he was on the roof of one of the small houses.

"Now that I'm finally alone, not only will I be able to use my power more easily, but I'll also be able to keep an eye out for any new problems that may arise.

"I think I'll let them charge towards the town hall and see where things go from there." He thought as he waited for the group to arrive.

*****

Alisha and the others reached the camp and made their way straight to David. The mages who were guarding David stared at them closely as they gave them a warning not to try anything stupid.

"So, any news, and what about your leader? Is he dead?" David asked after noticing them.

"Nope, sir. He had stayed there to further scout the area, basically the whole town.... She began explaining the whole scenario to David, who simply nodded after hearing it.

"Ok, good work. Because of you, we now know the situation.

"Everyone gather, we're going to attack the town hall right away. We can expect goblins might have kept the town's people captive there. They might use them as a shield or trap for us, but our priority is defeating the goblins first.

"What about the town's people?" Alisme questioned them while the mages stared daggers at her.

"They might have already been killed, but who knows? We will save them after we defeat the goblins if anyone is left alive." David simply replied while everyone started preparing to enter the town.

"Don't worry about the people; that's why Aizel has stayed behind," Alisha whispered into Alisme's ear.

Alisme's eyes widened in shock after hearing that.

Clearly this time Alisha has misunderstood Aizel's intention to stay behind.

Everyone made their way straight to the town gate, with hunters in front and David and Mage in the back.

Alisha and her group were leading them as they opened the town's gate, and the rest of the group also saw the same situation.

"Don't stop; head straight towards the town hall; it's to kill the goblins," David said with a shout as the group headed straight for the town hall.