Chapter 6 - The General Encounters Enemies

On the road, we camped wherever we could, avoiding all inns and lodges along the way. There could be Wolves' spies. Naturally, they would be on alert for anyone approaching the Duchy of Evenhart. Even though this was my family's Duchy, the Wolves were influential nobles with a small faction of lower nobles who would rise when Nikolaus became Duke. They would likely be on alert if a child and a woman appeared at an inn. Even though my face and gender were unknown, I was still a strange child entering a territory where people wanted to kill someone my age.

We were in a forest near the coast, and I could sometimes hear the sound of the sea. My mother was cooking over the campfire. I discovered she was very good at it. I asked her how she met my father, and she told me she was a soldier who saved him on a battlefield.

I found it strange when she said "soldier."

That explains the sometimes frightening demeanor she has...

She was also a mage who used the plant element and had skill with a sword. Hugo told me she was somewhat famous on the battlefields and always received marriage proposals from the soldiers she saved from death, but she turned them all down.

I hope no fool dares to propose to her again.

“It’s almost ready, Nate. You’ll fill your belly soon,” she said as I practiced some movements with a wooden sword. Hugo usually went off to buy supplies, but this time he was sending a letter via bird to my family, who would be waiting for me in the Evenhart territory.

What will they be like? I... never had a family before. I don’t even know what to do or how to behave. It took me a while to get used to having a mother, let alone gaining a big family...

“Worried?” she asked, still facing the pot.

A part of me laughed, thinking she always had the best advice at the right time.

“How do you know?” I had to ask.

Could she be an oracle like the ones in my old world?

“Because I’m your mother,” Katherine said while stirring the pot.

Apparently, mothers are more powerful than oracles.

I sighed and sat against a log. There was no use lying to her. Katherine is my mother, and she is the only person I can ask for advice because she is the only being I know who genuinely wants the best for me.

“I’m nervous, Mom. I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been... I’m afraid to meet these people. I don’t know if I’m ready for this kind of thing; I just want to be Nathan, the son of Katherine... not Nathan, an Evenhart.”

Katherine got up and sat next to me.

“I’m nervous too…”

She folded her legs.

“But do you know what calms me?” she asked.

A part of me wanted to learn how to deal with this nervousness; I wasn’t even this nervous in battles. I learned to be mentally prepared to fight an enemy, but no one taught me how to deal with a family.

“What?” I asked sincerely.

My mother pulled me closer and laid my head on her lap.

"Being with my son, that's what calms me. Knowing that you are well... having someone else to care about took away all the selfishness and pride I once had. For you, I would dig a tunnel with my hands from here to the Evenhart mansion if necessary," she said while her warm hands gently stroked my head. That gesture was enough to make me understand that I would go through anything for her. If she would dig with her hands, I would dig with my feet, with my mouth, and even with my head if nothing else was left. I would dig to the depths of this world to come out the other side if it meant saving her. I would dig until my hands vanished, scraped raw from plunging them into the earth if I had to do it for her.

I didn’t reject that affection because she was my mother. She was the only person with whom I could relax in that position without fearing someone would take advantage and slit my throat.

"Thank you so much, Mom. Know that I... I love you."

"I love you too, Nate. I love you more than anything in this world. You are my only family; I have no one else. But don't worry, you are all I need."

I do too, Mom. I also have no one else... and never did.

***

That night, Hugo still hadn't returned. He had informed us that since we were on the borders of the Evenhart Duchy, he might take longer to come back as he would make crazy routes to shake off anyone who might be tailing him. He ordered that if he took more than two days, we should go without him, even if it meant leaving him behind. Hugo alone could catch up to us or lead the pursuers in a completely different direction from our route. My mother knew how to drive a carriage… I did too, thanks to my experience in my previous world, but I preferred to pretend I didn’t. If necessary, I would take a horse and carry her myself, but I didn’t know the route or which places to avoid.

Fortunately, my mother had military training in her past and said she had lived in these lands as a peasant before her mana awakened, giving her an opportunity to be useful and earn money by becoming a mage. She doesn’t like to talk about her past, but I know she spent much of her life hungry with her mother. I still don’t understand how, but I think she chose to join the military to help my grandmother… but unfortunately, she died. My mother became a cold person because of that at the time.

As she told me about her past, I saw my former self. Like her, I joined the military because I had nothing and saw a chance to rise. But in the midst of her journey, before becoming a ‘General Icarus,’ she fell in love with my father and had me. She became a mother, and that changed her completely… I wonder what would have happened if I had been a father in that world? I became a General and then started my crazy journey to defeat Olympus. If I had become a father during that time, would I have pursued my revenge to the end?

I don’t know… all I know is that when I discovered the truth, I had to kill Athena. That was all I thought about. I had to kill that bitch… and in the end, I did.

***

Three days passed, and Hugo had completely disappeared. We had no way to communicate with him and no idea what had happened.

My mother decided to ignore the two-day deadline Hugo had given and during this time, she didn’t sleep even once, always keeping guard in the rain.

“Nate, let’s wait one more day as planned. If Hugo doesn’t come back by tomorrow, we’ll have to leave without him,” my mother said, worried.

Because of this, I had to stay inside the carriage all the time, keeping hidden with the windows closed. I was nervous about the situation and didn’t want to leave my mother outside defenseless. Luckily, we had some equipment and even a bow. I was never the type to use a bow, but I could manage if necessary. Katherine stayed outside with it in hand, watching the surroundings. We couldn’t let anyone from a distance see a child out in the open in that place; they would quickly make the connection that it could be me. So, I had no choice but to stay hidden.

The problem was that my family’s desperate move to find me spread the news that they had never tried before, and Nikolaus, with his spies, became more alert because of it. Both he and my aunt were reaching the limits of their patience, and they couldn’t predict the outcome of an internal war.

The only way for Nikolaus to proceed with his plan is by killing me and my mother, leaving my aunt in a dead end and forcing her to betroth my cousin. My aunt always had a safeguard, knowing there was another heir somewhere, so she had more pieces in this chess game... The problem is that, with the Duchy currently divided, even the nobles are prevented from trading among themselves. No one wants to strengthen the other side and they are suspicious of betrayals and 'accidents,' creating animosity and increasingly complicating the region's functioning. It was as if they were slowly putting a noose around their necks. This whole time without a decision was preventing the Duchy from functioning and moving forward.

It’s always like this, the calm before the storm is worse than the storm itself.

I say this, and ironically, it’s raining outside with a strong storm coming.

I hope this isn’t some kind of joke from fate.

“Son, we’re going to have to sleep in shifts. I’m sorry, but if we don’t do this, I won’t have the energy for a long trip tomorrow,” my mother told me, worried. She was outside in the rain, always alert to any noise.

“Don’t worry, Mom. We’re in this together,” I said to her, seeing her worried expression disappear and replaced by a smile.

“When night falls, I’ll take the first shift, and you take the second. After that, we’ll leave early in the morning, no matter how hard it’s raining,” my mother told me, and I just nodded.

The rain was increasing, and we didn’t even light a campfire. We ate some dry rations and continued waiting through the day. She positioned us among the trees to protect the horses. Luckily, we had some tents, and she managed to set them up for the horses to shelter from the rain. We stayed inside the carriage... or rather, just me. My mother covered herself with a cloak and hid among the trees until nightfall.

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“Nate...” she called, and as soon as I heard her, I woke up on alert.

“Did something happen?” I asked, looking to see if she was hurt.

“Everything’s fine, just... it’s my turn to sleep. I’m sorry to ask you this, son, but I need to rest a bit so we can leave at dawn.”

I felt a little embarrassed for sleeping too long and let my mother rest. She made me promise to wake her in three hours and gave me an hourglass.

I planned to let her sleep the whole night; she deserved it.

I was hidden in the carriage with a bow and a hidden knife. It was very dark in that forest, and the rain was falling intensely. I could hear the waves crashing in the background, and the sound was frightening, like the pounding of monsters.

This world has real magical creatures... not that my old world didn’t, but they were rare. Here, they are more numerous and with different levels of power. I know they assured me that this route doesn’t have the strongest ones... but even so, I’m tense.

The powerful magical creatures usually stay in the wild regions scattered across our continent, but even so... I don’t know if I could kill something strong with this little knife.

Not knowing magic is limiting me. My mother doesn’t have much offensive power with her magic... and I haven’t seen what Hugo can do. We didn’t have time to ‘play’ or train enough for me to have the opportunity to ask questions.

Until my Mana Gem awakens, I’ll be useless... I’m already in a child’s body, which makes things difficult, and I can’t even use magical powers... I’m a complete burden. At least I hope this wait is worth it; I want to have at least one powerful element. I know it’s random... but I need something offensive. The rarest mages in the world can use 2 or 3 elements and their fusions... If I have at least one good element, I won’t even mind not having another.

‘CRASH!’

I was imagining a lot of fun scenarios using magic in my mind when I was startled by a loud noise.

What was that?

I look around with the bow in hand, ready for anything that might dare move in this darkness. I hear some smaller impact noises and even a scream. Getting down from the carriage, I go to my mother.

“Mom...” I murmur, but as soon as I enter, I see she’s in a deep sleep.

She’s very tired... and this whole situation is my fault.

‘CRASH!’

I hear the noise again, this time a bit quieter. I manage to distinguish where it came from. Climbing up the tree, I head to the highest branch and hang on. I look and see only darkness; even the sea is pitch black. I only know it's there because of the sound of the waves.

The rain continues to fall steadily, and I focus, trying to discern the distant darkness. Something quickly illuminates that darkness towards the waves.

“Fire?” I ask myself, not believing what I saw.

A fire mage? Could it be the Wolves? It has to be them. If not, what would a mage be doing near the coast? Hugo said no civilian would dare enter this forest.

I ponder my options. The noise is definitely coming from the direction of the sea, and we’re only a few kilometers away from it.

What if Hugo had been captured and brought them to a nearby location? Could that fire be some sort of signal from him to us? He does use the fire element... could this be their way of warning us to leave?

Looking towards the carriage where my mother is sleeping, I decide.

I’ll check it out and return; regardless of what it is, we’ll leave. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, we’ll depart when I return.

I go to where my mother is sleeping and place the bow near her.

This thing is useless to me;

I’d rather hold a blade and throw it if necessary. Slowly, I gather myself and take two more knives that are nearby, leaving her with just one for protection in case of an emergency.

I close the carriage and move slowly, crouching towards my objective.

Unfortunately, I received almost no stealth training, being a war general... there isn’t much stealth when you need to face an army coming furiously to kill you in an open field.

With two knives in hand and another sheathed, I move slowly, looking around. I use my short stature to my advantage, crouching and hiding better as I move through the bushes. I see and hear nothing besides the sound of rain and sometimes the sea.

As I approach the sea, I can hear the strong noise of the waves even more. In that darkness, the moonlight illuminates a bit, and I see the orange light again, then quickly disappearing. I hurry carefully and throw myself to the ground, lying down when I realize I’ve reached the edge of a cliff. Carefully, I crawl to peek over.

“A ship...” I murmur, seeing what looks like a completely wrecked ship. It hit the rocks and is completely unusable.

Did anyone survive?

I look to the right, and the orange light appears and disappears again. I can see a small beach full of debris and some people.

“Make that thing stop!” shouted one of the men on the beach to another.

They were wearing remnants of armor in a style different from what I was used to seeing people wear in the city. Their armor, even their helmets, were different. While helmets usually covered the face, theirs had an open face area.

Is this some kind of armor typical of another Ducal House? It doesn’t make sense; I learned that everyone practically uses the same armor pattern in the human kingdom.

I try to observe the men more closely, moving frantically on the beach while hitting something.

They are Asian! What are Asians doing here? Are there Asians in this world?

At that moment, my mind exploded, understanding the reality of my situation, and I asked myself a question.

Wait... are there Asians... on this continent?

I ask this to myself, as the concentration of humans only exists in the kingdom of Teresia, which has the pattern of my old people that Athena described as ‘Europeans.’ There was only one possibility for what these humans were, as in the other two kingdoms there were only half-humans. What was right there on the beach were...

“True humans...” I murmur, looking at them and then at the wrecked ship where everything starts to make sense.

“Bring the chain now!” shouted one of them to another.

True humans here? How? They are our sworn enemies! What are these guys doing here?

I look at what’s left of the wrecked ship on the rocks and then observe the beach with its debris.

They were brought here by some accident! Now... they’re trapped in our kingdom!

I remember my time as a soldier and the things I know an enemy soldier can do in foreign land in this kind of situation.

Anything! They will do anything to escape. They will invade houses of people living in the forest and kill them, they will do whatever they think is necessary. They will steal, kill, loot, and even assault women... these guys know they are in enemy territory and that death is almost certain for them. They will do anything to survive.

I clench my fists just imagining what these soldiers would do to the common people living their lives in the countryside. In my time as a General, I never tolerated my men doing anything against innocent people. My focus was always on the kings and those in command. The people living below are used as meat shields by their leaders; they don’t deserve to die for those who wouldn’t die for them. This was one of the reasons that made me become an Emperor. I didn’t like the way the kings ruled... so I decided to rule myself.

In another life, I was a street kid caught in a war situation; I know well what an enemy is capable of doing to innocent people. I saw it up close many times...

Clenching the knives in my hand, I made my decision.

I will nip this evil in the bud before they leave this beach and find any innocent people.

***

I spent a long time observing the men arguing on the beach as they tried to get their bearings. I couldn't risk leaving my hiding spot to warn my mother and let them disappear from my sight. It would be too dangerous, even for us.

I chose to move closer and observe, trying to identify their equipment, their weapons, and even their way of walking. Observing your opponent before a duel is a privilege that should not be wasted. I discovered that one of them had probably injured the bone in his leg by the way he was walking; he was putting too much weight on the other leg. This means that if I injure the good leg, it will leave him in a worse state in a fight. This information is incredibly valuable to me since I am not in the body of a trained young adult. I am a 5-year-old child who barely has the strength to lift a sword and shield.

I will be facing three trained soldiers... at least they seem to be injured.

“Make sure that thing is well secured! I don’t want another surprise,” said the one who appeared to be their leader.

"We've got it secured again, sir. But we won't be able to move with it," said the man with the injured leg. They were discussing something they had captured and taken into one of the sections of the ship.

"This is going to be a problem. That damn chain came loose in the middle of the damn storm. Now we're stuck with this thing here," the leader said, staring at the section of the ship.

The three of them sighed.

"We should just kill that thing. We're not going to be able to take it with us anyway. Let's say it died at sea... if we manage to get back," said the third soldier.

The leader looked at him and punched his arm.

"Stop talking nonsense. Are you crazy? Kill that thing? Do you think you can? We're screwed, that's what we are. Even if we return to the Empire, we'll be dead men. Do you want to report to Him that we failed? We're fucked!" the leader shouted.

'Him'?

"So what do we do with that thing inside?" asked the man with the injured leg.

The leader looked at the part of the ship.

"For all I care, I'd release that shit in this land of 'false humans' and let the creature grow up killing them, but if we let it go, it'll come back to attack us. We'll leave it locked up to starve and try to return to the Empire," the leader complained.

"Screw it, I'm going to take a piss! We're fucked either way. How are we going to get back to the Empire? We're probably in this damn demonic continent," one of them shouted.

I kept listening to their conversation, trying to absorb any information they might give. The only thing I understood was that they had managed to capture a dangerous creature and were taking it to someone.

I noticed one of them walking away, heading into the forest below.

My chance!

Running through the woods, I went down the hill, hiding among the trees. I needed to take this opportunity. It was my chance to get rid of one of them without worrying about the others.

I threw myself onto the muddy ground due to the rain when I saw the man walking in the middle of the forest. He had a sword in his hand.

"Damn place! Damn suicide mission!" he muttered as he walked, looking around until he reached a tree.

"Damn beast! Made us shipwreck in the middle of that infernal sea, and now we're stuck in some shitty region," he said, sheathing his sword and unbuttoning his pants.

I took off my shoes and walked slowly, my calculated steps echoing softly on the wet ground.

In front of me was the soldier relieving himself against a solitary tree, his back to me. Only the sound of rain, the crashing waves, and the soft rustling of leaves being urinated on broke the night's silence. I got even closer, holding a knife in my hands and keeping my eyes fixed on the man in the darkness.

The faint light of a moon hidden by dark clouds briefly revealed the soldier's outline. I got so close I could feel his breath, still absorbed in his momentary relief.

Without making a sound, I raised my hand with the knife and focused all my body. With a swift and precise movement, I jumped on the soldier as he was adjusting his pants.

"What the—" before he could finish speaking or scream, I plunged my knife into his neck and applied pressure to his jugular, silencing any scream that might escape.

For a brief moment, the soldier tried to struggle, but it was in vain. I applied more force and let my body weight press down. The soldier fell to his knees, his body collapsing backward into my arms as the life faded from his eyes. I carefully lowered him to the ground to avoid making noise.

I confirmed he was dead and tried to move his body, but unfortunately, my strength wasn't enough to drag an adult's body.

Two soldiers left...

I don't feel guilty, even though I somehow know that in this new life I decided to become more human. That man would have done the same to me if he could...

Or he would have done something to my mother... If these guys managed to capture us since they were so close... I don't even want to imagine what they would do to her.

The fury returns to consume me, but it’s pointless; I no longer have the means to burn or transform that fuel into power. Trying to use the fury is useless since I don't have Aura. I just try to concentrate and take a deep breath, remembering the person I have to protect. I need to save my mother.

I have to kill them!