Dominic reacted on pure instinct, swatting the dagger away with his rifle, then tearing the boy’s throat out with his claws.

"Wrong answer."

Now, the boys were really crying, but none had that spark of rebellion that said they were about to do something stupid.

"Please, we won’t resist. Don’t kill us. You’re from one of those desert assassin Sects, right? Teacher Dean warned us about them, how they’re all murderers who will come for us if we don’t behave." One of the boys pleaded.

Dominic smiled, letting them see all four extended fangs clearly. "Oh, I’m much worse than that, but you’re not entirely wrong. Your teacher misbehaved, and we came for him. If you’re willing to behave for me, then I will take you somewhere safe, where you can sit and wait for an Elder to decide if you’re going to be expelled or continue your training under new Elders."

"Expelled?" The student asked, horrified.

Dominic nodded happily. "Expelled. From training, from your friend group, from life itself. Removed, deleted. It’s all up to how well you can impress the Elders, that’s not my job."

Then, Amie reappeared with a gold object in her hand, waving to Dominic in the distance.

That looked like a portal beacon, so Dominic motioned for the boys to stand.

"Get up. You’re going to the Elders now. Remember, behave yourselves. Tell the truth and don’t lie. If you do what they say, you’ll probably get to continue your training." He commanded.

Obediently, the boys walked over to where Amie was standing in front of a tunnel entrance. Then, they stopped as they realized where they were being led.

"Oh, so you did know what was happening down there. I’m sure the Elders will be truly interested in that. But we’re not sending you to the Goblins, you’re going through a portal." Dominic informed them.

Amie gave him a strange look. She had sent the girls through for treatment, but she hadn’t expected Dominic to bring the other students with him. In fact, she hadn’t expected him to leave any of them alive once they started casting spells at him.

But today was just full of surprises.

"The portal is still open, right?" Dominic whispered as he got close to her.

Amie nodded. "I didn’t think we would need it, but they’re going to send us a few reinforcements."

"Tell them to take these into custody and check them over. They might be corrupted by dark magic. I’m not an expert in that, but they look suitably terrified, and they promised that they’re open to accepting their punishment before studying corrective lessons under a new Elder."

Amie rolled her eyes. Dominic was turning the Duskblade Sect into a combination prison and rehabilitation facility for juvenile mages.

Though, if they could be properly indoctrinated, that would just add to the Sect’s strength, as these kids had all been vetted, and proven to have passable talent for magic. No Sect would turn down capable recruits if there was even a decent chance of making them loyal.

Two mages came up out of the tunnel, and called the boys down to take them to the tower.

Then, they returned with blades at their hips, and smiled at Amie.

"Good work, little one. We’ve got some work ahead of us, but Goblin breeders make excellent assassins if their minds recover." The taller of the two black-haired men whispered.

"I live to serve. But thank Lord Dominic here for taking out the Shamans and the Elder while I worked. He did an excellent job, and even collected those boys without killing any... many of them." Amie amended.

Dominic shrugged. "That one was a slow learner, he doesn’t count."

The new arrivals noted that the boy had his throat ripped out with claws, and that Dominic hadn’t bothered to wipe it off his hand. Sending the two of them so he wasn’t left alone with Amie any longer than necessary was definitely the right call, even if they had just been given clearance to leave the infirmary.

Both of them had been injured in battle earlier in the day, but with the troll in from the outskirts, and the healers within the Sect, they were patching everyone up fairly quickly, so they could continue to fight.

Once the Paladins finished, it would be faster. But Dominic was not with them as expected. Hopefully, he was close so that they could meet up and get the city’s best healers back where they were most needed.

"Where are we off to next?" The taller of the two asked.

"Toward the core of the horde. We’re meeting the Princess there, her force is off to my right a kilometre or so. Just try to keep up, we’re going to be clearing monsters as fast as possible so that the Paladins can’t claim that we’re slacking." Dominic insisted.

"He’s competing with his wife to see who can kill more of them." Amie quietly amended.

Perhaps everyone in Wistover was a little crazy, the mage decided.

"Alright, lead the way. Do you know what we’ve got coming up next?" He asked.

"Not yet. We sent the one who could check for us back with the adventurers. But I’m hoping that it’s going to pay well. These level four Goblin Shamans were a bit disappointing after we did so well with the Minotaurs."

Amie nodded. "Hundreds of Minotaurs spoiled us. The adventurers made out like bandits during the scouting mission, even after accounting for the injuries and damaged gear."

"Well, let’s not waste time, then. The Elders want us to bring the Paladins back as soon as we can, so they can help with the medical treatment of the soldiers and mages.

Some of the forces have had a very rough time of it, and the Royal guards all went together, instead of spreading the healers all over the fight." The mage sighed.

Dominic laughed. "That’s because they view fighting as the priority, and healing as the backup skill. Don’t worry, we will get them back home soon enough."