Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 101

Dante flew for two consecutive days without stopping in his rush to get back to Warlord Vidal’s main camp, and he was in no way ready for what he saw when he arrived.

At first, he had thought that their side had gotten reinforcements, or possibly a new ally, but as he flew closer he quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. The camp was completely surrounded, and by a force that looked to be at least 130,000 strong. It was Warlord Karabell’s force, easily distinguishable by the flags waving in the breeze below him.

The camp itself was overly crowded in comparison to when he left. But not nearly as crowded as it should have been if all of the conscripted troops and mercenary groups were recalled from the three fronts. He estimated the number of combatants inside to be around 70,000. By his estimate, no matter how large their losses were, they should still have around 90,000 combatants.

Dante urged his tired raptor to fly to the right. Changing his course so that he flew alongside the dense forest on his way to the eastern front as he searched for the missing troops. He had sent his unit to the eastern front only a few days ago.

The only thing he found when he arrived at the eastern front were corpses that littered the old battlefields.

Despite the large number of bodies being picked apart by the scavenging creatures below him, the number couldn’t explain the loss of troops.

Dante nudged his raptor, turning it around and flying toward the western battlefront.

As he flew over to the western front the sight that greeted him was a far more tragic one. Several thousand bodies littered the ground at the western front, and their numbers easily totaled over fifteen thousand. Dante flew lower to get a better look.

What baffled him was the composition of the corpses. Almost every single one of them were part of Warlord Vidal’s army. If he didn’t see scattered members from Warlord Karabell’s side he would have thought that they had just been buried, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

The western front was always the side they took the most losses on. The enemy there used a mounted force to dominate the battlefield. That didn’t explain what he was seeing though. The losses below were catastrophic.

Dante flew back toward the main camp, intent on getting answers. He had only been gone for six days, but the scene below him made him feel like he had been absent for months.

As Dante flew closer to the main camp he could feel the heightened sense alertness from the troops below him. On both sides. Warlord Karabell’s troops had arrows trained on him, and the troops on the stone wall of the camp were also preparing to fire.

Luckily, neither side shot at him. Both were worried that he was their ally and were awaiting confirmation from their superior officers before making any rash decisions.

That temporary ceasefire likely wouldn’t last long, so Dante took advantage of it. As soon as his raptor flew above the camp he threw it into a straight dive, positioning the bird so that it would block the projectiles coming from the enemy closest to him while simultaneously hoping that the combatants in the camp below weren’t idiots.

As soon as he dove toward the camp the first rain of arrows shot toward him, slamming into the stomach of the large bird he was flying on and causing it to elicit loud shrieks in pain.

He didn’t have time to worry about the raptor though, two arrows were sailing toward him from the opposite side of the camp. Both were shot by sharpshooters, and their speed was far beyond what seemed feasible. Dante created two daggers, then sliced each arrow out of the air just before they reached him.

A loud call came from the combatants below him. “Shield!”

Just as he was rejoicing from the prospect of not being shot at his own side, Dante saw a fluctuation of mana in the corner of his eye and felt a fiery explosion slam into the raptor that was flying beneath him. The force of the impact was so great flung him out of the saddle, causing him to free fall in the air.

Dante reacted instantly, pulling almost every spare sword he had from his storage as he ignored the approaching arrows. Then, he utilized his Manipulate Blade to lift the swords in his grasp, slowing his fall and pulling himself away from the trajectory of the arrows that were streaking toward him. A sideways glance at his raptor confirmed it was dead, or soon it be dead if it wasn’t already. Its entire stomach was charred where it absorbed the impact of the blast, and it was unmoving as it fell freely toward the ground with nothing to slow its fall.

Dante watched the raptor fall into the camp grounds as he gently reached the ground himself. He took a few deep breaths to regain his composure and calm his quickly beating heart. That was close. Too close.

“That raptor was expensive.”

Victoria had reacted faster than the rest of the combatants that were beginning to encircle him, most of them were still drawing their weapons as they eyed him warily. She waved them off, causing the combatants to put away their weapons. They didn’t disperse though.

Dante looked up at Victoria. If he was judging things solely from her expression, he wouldn’t have thought a single thing was amiss. “What in the hell is going on?”

“Dear brother!” Jayden broke into the encirclement. He also seemed unusually calm given the situation. “Thank goodness you’re back. These imbeciles are trying to kill me.”

Following just behind Jayden was Addison, Warlord Vidal’s daughter. It was nice to see that someone was actually worried about the situation at hand. Addison looked like she had aged several years in the six days he had been gone, and when she looked at him, it was as though she was gazing at her savior.

It was more than just a little bit uncomfortable to see a person that was in a state of desolation look at him in that way.

Jayden completely ignored Addison’s presence as he looked between Victoria and him pointedly. “Dear brother, I would advise that the three of us leave at once. Staying with these fatuous ingrates is far beneath us.”

The glare that Addison gave Jayden was enough for Jayden to perceive imminent physical danger, because he practically threw himself behind Dante, using him as a shield to block her wrath.

Addison retracted her glare as she looked at Dante. “We really need to talk. Please follow me.”

That was fairly obvious. Dante followed Addison, and Jayden strutted confidently by his side as though he hadn’t been hiding from Addison only moments ago. Victoria followed as well, silently. Other than the mention of the raptor shortly after he landed, she hadn’t spoken. It was obvious that he was expected to handle this on his own.

After a brief walk through the camp, the four of them stepped into Warlord Vidal’s massive tent, which was surprisingly empty. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that there was a mana fluctuation around Victoria, he couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing.

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Dante asked the first question that was on his mind. “Where is Warlord Vidal?”

“Incapacitated.” Jayden quickly got out an answer before Addison could reply.

Addison paused to glare at Jayden before answering for herself. “Shortly after you left father was hit by a poisoned arrow in a surprise attack aimed at our command station on the main front. Your master was able to halt the poison’s progress, but he is still in critical condition.”

He couldn’t help but wonder how Jayden’s position had changed so drastically after he left. It had only been six days, and in that time, Jayden somehow went from being beaten by the Warriors in the Redwing unit and begging Tabitha for to heal him, to freely angering Addison and joining in on their conversation as he pleased.

“And that caused…” Dante motioned with his hand in an all-encompassing gesture. “This?”

Jayden crossed his arms over his chest, looking quite smug. “Yes, Miss Addison. What caused this?”

Dante locked eyes Addison, she looked like she would rather die than answer Jayden’s question. “After father fell to the arrow, the best that the healers at the main front could do was slow the spread of the poison.  As soon as it became clear that he wouldnt recover I took advantage of the chaotic battle and ordered a retreat before the mercenary leaders could find out what was wrong and try to sieze command from him.  Since our return, your master has treated him in an effort to stabalize his position.”

Dante could only look at Addison in disbelief. “You retreated… with everyone?”  She should have at least left a stalling force, or scouts to monitor the enemies movements and give warnings to the other forces stationed outside of the main encampment.  There still would have been losses, but no where near the number that they were currently facing.

Addison gave a despondent nod in reply.

Dante rubbed his eyes. All of the pieces started to click into place, and everything that transpired was beginning to make far more sense. Instead of taking advantage of his enemy’s rout, Warlord Karabell had most likely moved his entire force to the western front to decimate the troops stationed there. Dante could only be thankful that he had sent the Redwing unit to the eastern front before he left.

“So Warlord Karabell attacked the western front with the troops he had at the main front?”

Jayden nodded quickly as he glared at Addison in indignation. “Precisely. They then moved on the eastern front, intent on butchering the remainder of our army stationed outside the camp. If I hadn’t reacted promptly and recalled all of our forces stationed there, narrowly reaching the camp before we were caught, the number of casualties would have been even more catastrophic. And what do I get for my efforts? An order to be executed as soon as I return.”

Jayden spoke in exasperation, making a show of how wronged he was.

Dante’s eyebrows knit. Knowing Jayden, he had just received half of the full story. Not to mention the fact that he clearly hadn’t been executed. “What is he talking about?”

Addison’s eyes seemed to bore into Jayden as she stared him down. By her posture, it was obvious that she was restraining herself. “He omitted the small detail of him assassinating all of our mercenary leaders that were stationed at the eastern front.  Leaving that aside, he should have already been killed for stealing all of our essence crystal reserves.”

Jayden waved a hand dismissively. “The morons didn’t listen to my warning. Besides, we only killed thirty-four people. How they even achieved such a high-ranking position is beyond me.”

Addison looked like she was about to explode, but Dante cut her off. “Where is your father, and who is issuing the orders now that he has fallen ill?”

Addison didn’t even bother to stop glaring at Jayden. “Father is currently resting in his bed, he only has enough strength to appear for a few minutes every day.  Everyone knows that he is weak, but no one knows the extent of it.  So far, everyone has accepted my command with the expectations of him quickly recovering.”

Dante pondered for several seconds. Addison was clearly unfit to lead, especially after such a massive mistake. He glanced at Victoria, who was watching everything that transpired in silence. She shook her head, as though answering his silent question of whether or not she would take charge.

Dante let out a sigh. “Until your father recovers, I’ll be taking command of the camp.” Addison opened her mouth to speak, but Dante continued. “You will return to the post that you occupied previously.”

“You can’t just-”

“Do you think I want to? I think we both know that you're unfit to lead, and if anyone else takes command your father will be killed long before he recovers.” Dante kept his tone neutral, trying convince her with reason. This entire situation was going to give him a headache.

Giving command to one of the other mercenary leaders would have been the ideal option.  There were too many possible consequences though, and not just for Addison.  Not only would she be killed immediately, but it was also impossible to predict the actions of a newly appointed warlord. 

Addison reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Very well. I’ll go organize the defense.” Addison spun and exited the tent.

Jayden watched the entire scene unfold in schadenfreude. Dante shifted his attention to him. “Who helped you kill the leaders of the mercenary groups?” The obvious answer was the Redwing unit, but they shouldn’t have been enough. To kill thirty-four higher ranking leaders, all of them would need to be attacked at the same time. Otherwise everyone would be on alert after the first few were killed, it would make killing the rest impossible.

Jayden still maintained the attitude of being the victim. “Dear brother, the conscripted troops Addison dispatched weren’t too keen on getting butchered after I explained the situation to them. They made things rather simple, and are the reason my head wasn’t lopped off when we returned the camp yesterday.”

Dante let out another sigh. “They still listen to you?”

Jayden nodded happily.

Jayden had actually created his own faction within the army. It was no wonder that Addison could only endure him.

“You’ll handle the logistics and day to day operations.  Leave the defense of the camp to Addison and whoever was already in charge.”

Jayden’s expression didn’t change, it was like Dante’s words were to be expected. “I understand.”

Dante gestured at Victoria. “If you try to act against the camp, or expand your authority in any way, one of us will hunt you down and kill you.  No matter how far you run.”

More than likely, he would be acting alone if he decided to try and kill Jayden, but Jayden didnt need to know that.

Jayden scoffed. “Dear brother, I’m not sure what kind of person you think I am. How could you question my loyalty? I am the embodiment of integrity, and would never act against you as long as you treat me in good faith.”

Dante rolled his eyes as he pointed to the tent’s door flap. “Yes, yes. I have the utmost faith in your character. Now leave.”

“How could you not?” Jayden smugly strutted out of the tent.

Now that they were alone in the tent, Dante looked at Victoria. “Well?”

She looked him up and down. “You handled everything well, but you seem different. Did something happen in Sloria?”

That gave him pause. Dante re-examined his actions since entering the camp. He might have been slightly more forceful than usual, but other than that he didn’t think anything else was different.

It was possible that he was still adjusting after leaving Sloria. When he was in the city, he had put on something of a persona to help him move around more freely. It had started when he acted cheery to get information about the first lady from those waiting to get into the city, and continued when he tried to charm Elizabeth, Leah, and Candice so that he could enter the Combatant’s Hall quickly. After that, there wasn’t really a way or reason to change it.

Dante shrugged. “Quite a lot happened actually, but we can talk about that later. Why did you let everything fall apart after I left?”

Victoria let out a brief snort. “Actually, the situation is far more stabilized than it was before. Warlord Vidal was far too aggressive as the weaker side. Now that he is out of the picture, we can just turtle in this camp for a few months. Warlord Karabell won’t make too big of a move, and will try and wait us out instead.”

“What about Jayden? If he makes one move against us it will be disastrous. Even now, if I deal with him we would likely lose a majority of the conscripted troops that were at the eastern front. That would give Warlord Karabell the edge he needs to end things.”

“He won’t.” Victoria spoke with certainty.

Her immediate answer surprised him. “How do you know?”

Victoria shrugged, and there was a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips. As though she thought something was amusing. “It may surprise you, but he didn’t tell a single lie after entering this tent. I was also worried about him ruining things.”

Dante froze. It didn’t take a genius to understand the implications of what she said. And it would explain the mana fluctuations that surrounded her after they entered the tent. He couldn’t help but frown as he thought back to all of their previous conversations that they had before he could sense mana.

He decided not to ask her about the skill though, just seeing the amused smile on her face was enough to stop him from doing that. “What about Warlord Vidal?”

“What about him?”

Dante rolled his eyes. His reason for asking was obvious. “When will he be fully recovered?”

Victoria didn’t bat an eyelash. “He won’t recover. I managed to slow the poison, but he only has around a year left if I continue to sustain him. Plenty of time for us to finish up here.”

Dante couldn’t help but wince as he thought about Addison. From what he could tell, she fully expected him to recover eventually. “So, what now?”

“Now, we train.”