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Alright guys, sorry for not putting up a new chapter in the last few days and I think I owe you an explenation.
I wrote this in a comment 2 hours ago but I am sure not even one of you has seen it so I am just going to say it again so those who are questioning themselves if I maybe am dropping this can be at ease.
My income and job hunting has been at 0 for some time now and my savings are starting to dry out so for me to actually continue living I was forced to put my mind completely into work mode concerning the book as it has a good chance of possibly giving me some dearly needed financial support.
This is why I have been gone for the last few days and also stopped advancing the story but I am back again even though the book is not finished yet I am getting there. :P
Anways, away from all that heavy stuff and back into more.... well.... interesting stuff? XD
Some of you might hate me for this but trust me, I know what I am doing! (atleast I hope so...)
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Chapter 63: Element of Surprise
Unsure what to really do, Makoto decided to follow Commander Bharfas.
"I see you are still alive and kicking."
The man said after spotting him.
"Commander... just what kind of relationship do you have with the enemy Commander?"
Lifting one eyebrow he remained silent for a while before explaining with a long sigh.
"I see you were in earshot before so there is no use denying it, I actually hoped the confusion all around would be loud enough to hide our talk but that was obviously not the case.
Galenwelth and I have known each other since we were young men.
Before there was any hate between both us Humans and the Werebeasts.
You are young so you probably don't know this but Asuria and Sarachec were once at peace.
Sure there was always something to fight about but not to the scale that we see today were this siege alone can be seen as an act of war.
It all started with the previous King, Markus the Righteous.
Turns out for him when he grew old, righteousness was to eradicate everyone that wasn't human.
As the King he had the power and used it in treacherous ways.
Entire Legions of Soldiers were sent to each corner of Asuria to purge the lands of the 'filth' how he liked to call it.
He was a man who had truly gone mad in his last years and was finally assassinated by a special force from Sarachec.
The common folk had been unaware of their King's actions and only witnessed his death by the hands of a Sarachec Werebeast.
This together with the rumors that had made their way to the Throne of Sarachec ignited the flames of war and they truly burned strong.
More than 30% from both Countries perished in 20 long years of strife until Asuria and Sarachec were forced to declare a ceasefire as the casualties had reached an astronomical number.
Hate has been carved into the bones of the survivors and there has been 10 years of peace since.
Both me and Galenwelth were forced to participate in the wars in those 20 years and we more than once crossed blades.
Our hands were forced as we served in the army and we always had the desire to protect our kind so we tried to push away friendship and kill each other as best as we could.
In the end neither of us could end the others life whenever we won in a duel.
That alone would have been treason in the eyes of the previous King and I truly thought that this one would be wiser but I clearly underestimated the influence that madness can have in your own house."
Confused as to what he meant, Makoto opened his mouth and asked the question.
"Is it really so difficult to connect the dots?
First Sarachec suddenly attacks after many years of peace, that alone is highly unlikely as their King changes every year so there would be no one that would even plan to attack another country without a reason.
Secondly, Falknir disappears from the battle without a trace.
And finally, something which a normal Soldier doesn't know but I do.
Why only send 5 thousand as a reinforcement to defend the border?
Have you never wondered why it is only this small of a number?
Do you really think we only have that many men to defend against an imminent threat that could very well bring ruin to us all?
When the King gave me the order to bring 5 thousand men to hold the Stronghold I asked him why not more and his answer was very simple.
After 3 days he would send 75 thousand.
Why hesitate with your troops?
Only now does it all make sense.
Something must have happened in Sarachec, could be an assassination, could be something else but it was enough to once again ignite the flames of war.
No one wants to be the bad guy, so what do you do to change the mindset of your men?
Anger the other party and justify your actions with 'defending' your loved ones.
For these simple Soldiers it really is the same but I would bet both arms that it was not Sarachec that started all of this.
After the Stronghold that they were supposed to help defend fell it would only further fill the 75 thousand with a sense of duty as their comrades that died would have to be 'avenged'.
It was all a farce to begin with.
The reason he sent only 5 thousand was to let us die, we were supposed to be collateral to change the mindset of thousands of Soldiers.
He would have not only taken back the castle but also started an invasion and from his Soldiers point of view they would have every right to do so.
What a truly twisted and cruel King we once again have sitting on the throne."
Sighing deeply and with a look that only showed disappointment, Bharfas stared towards the setting sun while Makoto needed a moment to digest this incredible developement.
"B-But if it is like that why not get rid of the King?"
Letting out a short laugh, the Commander looked at him as if he was a child.
"Do you think it would be that easy?
First of all the thought alone that you have voiced is treason, so is what I have told you but who really cares at this point right?
The problem is that it is impossible to kill the King.
There are spies in every single Platoon or those loyal to the King.
I only told you this because you are a foreigner, free of any political corruption as this is not the only world for you but for us born here it is different.
Even if we wanted to start a rebellion, do you really think it would work?
I don't even want to think about what this cruel King of ours would do to the people that rose against him.
He is protected by the best of the best, trained as the absolute geniuses from their generation they are Knights that have sworn an oath to protect the King.
1 thousand Knights that are equal to 100 thousand Soldiers protect the King.
Tell me, how do you want to kill him?"
Unable to give an answer to that question, Makoto simply remained silent and the tired looking Bharfas nodded.
"That is what I thought.
Even if you managed to rally many from the Army without being discovered, the King's Guard alone could destroy the entire available force that Asuria possesses.
It is true there is more people than that but don't even think about using civilians as they have no real battle experience and would die a meaningless death if you put them against those elite Knights.
Right now only an external force could kill the King and maybe stop this War that is already knocking on our door."
Gloomily looking at the Sarachec Soldiers that were already getting into formation after recovering from the shock of the previous duel, Bharfas revealed the harsh truth to Makoto that there was no simple way of resolving this dilemma.
Even if Makoto managed to somehow kill the King, would that solve the War that they were facing?
Not in any way or form.
It would be incredibly difficult to calm the Sarachec forces if no one even knew why they suddenly attacked.
This gave him an idea.
"Commander, if we don't know why they attacked, why not just ask your friend Galenwelth, he should know the reason right?"
Shaking his head once a hint of bitterness appeared on Bharfas' face.
"That is the biggest problem, he wouldn't tell me.
Even if we are still friends, we are also Knights who are sworn to protect the people so how could he possibly tell someone from the opposing force any classified or valuable information?
It is simply unreasonable to expect any answer at all."
Unable to think of a way out of this mess, Makoto's thoughts once again returned to the previous fight and he voiced a question that had been eating him up all this time.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Excuse me for asking but what was the Wind and Fire attacks that you both used before? I have never heard of someone with a Class like that."
Both of them were NPCs and even though they were Bosses, just like players they used Skills in battle so he might be able to use them too, at least that was what he hoped.
Clearly surprised by this question, Bharfas looked at him for a moment and couldn't help but grin.
"I always forget that you are a foreigner when it comes to these kinds of things.
This is common sense with the people living in this world so let me enlighten you.
Every person, no matter what Class they possess will receive an Element when they reach level 40.
Most people only have the affinity for 1 Element but there are rare cases of someone having an affinity with 2 or more.
The 4 basic Elements that over 60% gain access to are Fire, Wind, Earth and Water.
The other 40% will gain access to either a unique Element of their own, a sub-element or a mix of the big 4 like Ice, Fog or Mud for example.
No one really knows where this affinity comes from, if it is an inborn talent that is determined from birth or if it is something that is acquired later.
Rumor has it that the Elfs far to the west have found the answer to this question but I doubt it.
Before gaining your Element every Warrior can be considered average but after crossing level 40 and being able to use it freely... it is enough to earn you the title of Knight Captain even if you are a Commoner from low birth.
This once again shows how difficult it is to actually reach level 40 and many people either die or just don't have the ability to reach it no matter how hard they train."
Thanking Bharfas for the thorough explanation, Makoto decided to head back to his Squad and informed them about the King's scheme and about Elements, which until then had been unknown to the players of Azalon as no one had crossed level 40 yet.
"So you are telling me all of this happened because of the King of Asuria? Talk about fucked up.
Just how sick do you have to be to purposely let thousands of people die so you have a 'cause' to attack another country?"
Sanja asked with a pale face.
Everyone present could only silently agree that the King was indeed quite a disturbing individual.
"I have to agree that its bad but just like Makoto said, what can we really do right now?
I am more interested what kind of Element all of us will gain after getting to Level 40.
Isn't your snake form over 70 Sharon, why didn't you ever tell us about this?"
Lilliana asked curiously.
"I really never heard of this before. It's true that my Lamia form is over level 75 but I never noticed anything in my status or Skills about an Element so I can only guess and say that it has something to do with my Human form being only at 38 and not having crossed that threshold yet."
Makoto and his party discussed about possible Elements for a while longer, all of them had seemingly forgotten about the imminent threat that they all were in as rows of Sarachec Soldiers once again formed and a horn resounded.
Stunned about this sound, his Party and Squad quickly got into a battle stance but when they looked towards the thousands of enemy Soldiers, only Galenwelth approached them.
He seemed to whisper something into Bharfas' ear for a good while and then turned around to depart together with the rest of his Soldiers.
Makoto saw that their Commander was clearly stunned as he watched the Sarachec force that could easily finish them all off retreat.
Silence filled the partially destroyed plaza and after clearing his throat, the firm voice of Bharfas could be heard.
"The enemy force is retreating back to their homeland and I was told that they have abandoned the Siege for now!"
Stunned about this sudden announcement, it took a while for the first cries of joy to emerge from the surrounding Soldiers.
Once again The voice of their Commander resounded and it carried with it a firm but uplifting tone.
"Naturally this could very well be a trick but because reinforcements are about to arrive this evening anyways, I will personally stay here and only keep a few Squads, the rest of you will depart tomorrow and return back home to your loved ones."
This time the shouting was a lot louder and everyone had a face full of joy that the fighting was over for now.
Luckily, Squad 40 was one of the ones that was allowed to head back home so Makoto and his Party joined in on the celebration that the Soldiers arranged in the evening.
Alcohol and laughter filled everyone's belly as they exchanged stories and drank until deep at night.
Makoto was no exception here as the previous days had been more than a bit exhausting for him.
The liquor ingame naturally had the same effects like they would have in real life so his laughter only grew louder the later the hour got.
It was quite interesting that Makoto was allowed to drink alcohol although he was only 18 unlike the rest of his party who were all either aged 21 or above.
The reason behind it was quite simple, as he was only simulated to be drunk and didn't really drink any liquid at all with his real body, there was no law that could forbid him from drinking alcohol inside a game.
It could be described as a gray area but until now, no one had heard even a single complaint from the authorities as the age restriction of playing the game was 16 anyways.
Soon enough everything started to spin and darkness crept up around the edges of his vision.
With a sluggish mind and a dizzy head he fell into his bed and only felt a soft feeling around him before blacking out.
.....
Waking up was surprisingly without a throbbing headache.
Makoto thanked the creators of the game once again for not including this rather nasty feature as he opened his eyes and stared at the wooden ceiling above him with a hazy view.
He identified it as the room that he and Sharon shared in the barracks.
Unable to see properly he blinked a few times and wanted to use his hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes but to his astonishment, he wasn't able to.
Something was keeping his arms from moving.
This was also the first time he noticed the soft feeling that both of his hands where wrapped in.
Glancing to his right he saw a breathtaking view of Sharon, completely without any clothes and snuggled against him while his right hand was buried between her breasts, only the tip of his fingers poking out.
Immediately after seeing her curves and the pleasant expression that she showed while sleeping, a fire ignited in his heart as he lovingly looked at his girlfriend.
Her curly red hair was hiding a part of her face and he wanted to use his left to push it away but once again he felt some kind of resistance and the same soft feeling that he got from his right hand.
Still half asleep and his heart full of desire and love for Sharon he glanced to his left and the blazing hot fire in his heart got doused with a bucket of ice cold water as he was shocked wide awake.
Lilliana, just like Sharon, completely without any clothes was lying beside him, seeing his arm buried deep between her chest that was even a size bigger than Sharon's despite her shorter body was enough to let his heart beat a couple of times faster.
His eyes couldn't help but follow those lascivious curves that he had before only seen, hidden by clothes.
Now he could examine her in all her glory and it was enough to freeze his mind for a few seconds as he looked at her lower region.
Only the purring from the Beast inside of him that was also feasting its eyes on Lilly finally managed to knock him out of his daze.
Having a terrible premonition, Makoto finally looked at himself and nearly cried out in shock as he was also completely naked and without underwear, his morning wood happily waving towards him.
Staring at the ceiling above him for many seconds while keeping as still as possible as to not wake the two beauties to his right and left, only one thought went through his mind.
Just what the hell happened last night?!
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And there we have yet another incredible cliffhanger that people will hate me for muhahahahhah!
Things shall be explained next chapter but I think many already hate/love me for this anyways. :P
Those of you who are wondering about Level and Skill Level, don't worry I will bring it to your attention at the way back to The Capital. ^^
Will try to get the next one out fast so you won't have to wait too long.
If you have any questions, put them below and I will try to answer them as best as I can!