Bael also rose from his bush and looked at the figures a few meters away from them.
The figures indeed wore armour and held swords, but unlike humans, they were entirely black, as if shadows had been moulded into human visages.
They had no eyes, no nose, no mouth; they only had a somewhat practical humanoid body.
"What are they?" a few of the soldiers murmured within themselves as they pulled out their weapons and stared at the shadows in vigilance.
Bael had the same question, and he thought, 'What's going on? How is the duke capable of doing this?'
He knew these shadows belonged to the duke because their capes had the dukedom's insignia.
"Calm down!" Jareb muttered darkly while his own legs shook under the cold, lifeless presence of the entities before them.
The soldiers closed their mouths, and Henry stated, "Take the formation!"
The shadows moved around without a motive, and sensing the nearby movement, they stopped and sloppily turned towards the platoon.
