Kamil had been extremely busy ever since the fall of Altzel. He had been constellating men and supplies ever since his swift return to Ceres. At the same time, while he was not declared a king yet, some houses had been paying their respect to their new liege to earn his favor via diplomats as well as offering their young daughters as mistresses. However, he flatly rejected any requests to receive diplomats.
“That’s not important, like at all,” he explained to his council which consisted of three people: Aaron, Cezary, and Nestor.
“It is important for diplomacy. Perhaps, you should let Lady Fenchel take on this task?” Aaron suggested.
“She is pregnant, though?”
“She is in an early stage. Additionally, nobody will think she is pregnant with the way she acts.”
She showed absolutely no symptoms as a pregnant woman. Meanwhile, Heiga had gotten better and started to show the monstrous appetite she was once warned of because she apparently consumed a whole roasted boar in one sitting. Given the fact that she couldn’t eat solids for over two weeks, nobody raised their eyebrows when she consumed so much in so little time. For Flora, however, everything was business as usual. Avina, who had experienced her pregnancy before, wasn’t surprised, but anyone new were. Needless to say, she was quite surprised to hear what her husband had to say to her.
“I feel like I misheard you. You want me to do what?”
It wasn’t generally a wife’s job to take on her husband’s workload. She could join him on some occasions as an advisor, but sharing some of his workload alone was unheard of.
“Take care of diplomatic matters for me, dear,” he repeated softly.
She looked somewhat troubled because she was aware of the fact that some of those matters involved mistresses. It would be a conflict of interest for her because she would grow an urge to outright reject such requests even though he was culturally entitled to up to three mistresses. Heiga being the second wife was a unique case in her mind. Under a different husband, she could have been relegated to being a second wife in fact.
“Reject all those absurd mistress cases, dear,” he told her with a smile as if he read her mind. “I could care not about such. Having two women is already enough.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am absolutely certain. Go nuts.”
She beamed a smile and said, “Thank you.”
The truth of the matter was that many noblewomen were combating boredom. Flora had it a bit better due to the fact that she was writing, but that wasn’t enough to keep her mind from being bored. Granted, she had Cecilie to look after, but most of the jobs were performed by maids.
“How is Heiga by the way? I was told that she ate a whole boar?”
She chuckled pleasantly. “She did. I was there.”
“You were there?”
“She always invites me daily.”
“She really likes you, huh.”
Well, it’s better than being hostile toward each other. I didn’t really think they’d get along this well, though.
Realistically, wives and mistresses of a high ranking nobleman were usually hostile toward each other to a point that they’d go as far as poisoning others to get rid of them. In Flora and Heiga’s case, there was no need to compete with each other since their children were to inherit different titles. Flora’s child would inherit Ceres while Heiga’s child would inherit Estana. Added to the fact that Heiga was attracted to Flora, the two women had absolutely no reason to act hostile. Finally, Flora’s own mellow nature played a part as well. She was an easy-going and meticulous woman.
“Either way, the job’s all yours.”
She leaned forward with a palm on her chest. “Thank you, husband.”
“How is our daughter by the way? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Doing extremely well. She drinks well and poops well.”
“I wish I could play with her.”
She interjected, “You are busy. We all know that.”
The man was working to become a king and the world’s savior. No woman of his was going to object to him becoming busy. Once their meeting was over, Nestor rushed in. Flora and he exchanged nods briefly as both passed each other by.
“Sir Vogel? It must be urgent.”
“A word from Lord Flissing has arrived.”
He had been tasked with watching over Elsos and had been sending regular updates. The mere fact that Nestor rushed in meant something had changed.
“So, what does it say?”
“According to the letter, Lord Karsten had been holding the keep remarkably well until very recently.”
“What has changed?”
“Monsters’ behavior had been rather tame, but that apparently has changed over a night. They’ve become far more viscous while becoming more clumsy.”
Kamil frowned in confusion. “I beg your pardon? What does that even mean?”
Nestor explained that Lord Flissing had observed the besieging monsters to be rather dumb, not showing any strong will to fight but seemingly following strict orders. That behavior had changed over a night.
“For example, the orcs are now having an issue with climbing siege ladders which they had no problem with before. At the same time, they are now far more aggressive and unpredictable, posing more danger once they make it to the top.”
As a direct result, less monsters were making it to the top but the defenders of Elsos were receiving casualties due to unpredictability. Given the fact that the besiegers had far superior numbers, it was deemed a matter of time before the keep would fall.
“There is something else, Duke. Our scouts noticed a disturbance at Siwen mountain.”
Kamil narrowed his eyes, understanding that Duman’s group had arrived at their destination. While this wasn't a top secret mission, not many were aware of their presence.
“Go on.”
“An airship approached the mountain and it was attacked by giant eagles.”
“Giant eagles? What are eagles?”
Kamil had never encountered a bird in his whole life, let alone an eagle.
“They are airborne creatures. They fly. Giant eagles sit at the top of the food chain probably.”
“And those flying creatures inhabit the mountain?”
“According to Sir Waszak, yes, the mountain appears to be their natural habitat. The airship was damaged but not down. It landed for repairs while a group of men from the airship proceeded to the mountain on foot.”
That must be Duman’s group … and I assume Faro is in charge of the airship now alone…
Scratching his chin slowly, he wondered how far they had gone. It was pretty much given that not everyone would come back alive, which was why he was willing to shower them with rewards. If everyone made it back intact, he would have a hard time fulfilling their wishes.
“Duke,” Nestor called out, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Yes, Sir Vogel?”
“Sir Waszak said that you were the one who sent this airship to Siwen mountain. Is that true?”
“Yes,” he replied promptly; he had no reason to hide. It was going to be revealed sooner or later. Besides, since Cezary had already seen it through, there was no point in trying to play dumb.
“What is your goal in this then?”
“To lure the dragon out so that I can personally deal with it.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, alone. Only I can harm the dragon since I am a betrayer of the wheel. The army is just an excuse for me to be there.”
“In that case, we should hurry. Lord Flissing doesn’t believe that the keep will stand for long with the change of the situation.”
Baptiste had 7,000 men with him, but that was still painfully small compared to the monster horde whose number was probably about 900,000. It would have been suicidal for him to assist Elsos keep. Even if Ceres' army had arrived, the total number wasn’t going to exceed 20,000 men. Logically, no matter how hard they tried, it was going to be a wipeout. Kamil and his council believed that defeating the dragon was the key and he took the matter into his own hands by sending Duman’s team deep into enemy territory.
“We must hurry then. Actually, what’s taking so long?”
“It’s a matter of logistics, I am afraid. Securing food needed to feed the men for at least six months and then ensuring steady and safe delivery isn’t an easy task. Additionally, we’ve never experienced this before. This is all new to me, and we’ve been working extra hard to move as fast as we can.”
This is taking too long. I needed to be there…
“Sir Vogel, do you mind if I simply went there?”
He looked utterly confused for a moment before realizing what he meant. “Duke, surely you jest. Are you saying that you wish to fly there via magic? Can you fly for such a prolonged time?”
He could. Due to his insane level of affinity, casting magic cost him virtually no stamina. Additionally, he could fly a lot faster as well. He was fairly certain that he could reach Elsos in a day or even less.
“I can and I will. I am afraid that time is not on our side. I will join up with Lord Flissing and take control of the situation. I want you to do whatever you can to speed up and catch up.”
To be honest, in his mind, the army wasn’t even needed. He was confident of dealing with the horde on his own, and it wasn’t just based on his inflated overconfidence. He had elementals at his fingertips and casting large scale magic spells wasn't out of the question at all. In fact, he wanted to go nuts to see what he was truly capable of.
“I will not stop you as Sir Waszak has already predicted that you’d go alone.”
Kamil shrugged with a crooked smile because he felt like he was playing on Cezary’s palm. Whatever he did, he predicted it.
“Our airforce will soon follow you. He wants to try out his bombs.”
Once he was allowed to go, he did right away. He was given a small waist pack to carry some essential boar jerky and a small waterskin. It was to be his emergency rations. Without much further ado, he simply left by casting levitation and shooting up to the sky.
“There!” He pointed in the direction of Siwen mountain. “Wind elementals, take me there!” He started to accelerate at a speed that was even faster than the latest airship. Within seconds, a see-through green sphere surrounded him, protecting him from fierce wind so that he could keep his eyes open. It didn’t take him a full day. In fact, he was within the visual range of Elsos keep within an hour.
“That is … a lot,” he said as he put a brake on his speed and surveyed the horizon. The keep was completely surrounded by animated black dots, and he spotted three airships in the vicinity. Finally, there was an army to the West at a safe distance.
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“Must be the Flissing,” he said to himself. He approached the army and descended down. The soldiers went on full alert as they saw a strange person coming down at them.
“I am Kamil Fenchel, the Duke of Ceres!” He exclaimed on his way down.
“My son-in-law!” Baptiste rushed forward, flanked by Daniel. “Clear the way, men. He is our king!”
Once the soldiers cleared a spot, Kamil landed down safely as the toe of his boot touched down. Baptiste brought him to his tent at once, and Kamil explained the situation briefly. Daniel, meanwhile, stood guard at the exit.
“I see. You claim that you can deal with the monsters, so be it. I will believe you. If you fire the magic arrow you once did at Dido, I am sure that the damage will be unthinkable.”
Years ago, Kamil visited besieged Dido during the Siwen invasion where he fired the hurricane arrow, killing an enemy commander-in-chief on the spot and left a legendary tale for folks to remember. His hurricane arrow would have become so much more powerful at this point.
“By the way, I’ve read the report. Their behavior changed, you stated.”
The tent was a temporary one. There was a wooden rectangle table with a chair. It was the same set up he used in the recent war with Constant Egra. If anything was different, there was a bed on the side.
“Daniel is leading the airship scouts. Son, tell the Duke.” Baptiste beckoned him over, and he reluctantly left his post at the exit. Walking around the table and eventually standing next to his seated father, he explained.
“Duke, the monsters are far more vicious and act like creatures.”
“Act like creatures? I don’t understand.”
“Before the change, I felt like they were possessed dolls. They didn’t care about their lives and mindlessly climbed siege ladders, only to be killed by defense spears. Now, it’s different. They are behaving like creatures and care about their lives. They back down if they feel too threatened and are attempting to exploit their defense weaknesses.”
So, the dragon was controlling them, and now they are no longer controlled? Why the change?
Furrowing his eyebrows, he wondered why the change occurred. Soon enough, however, he shook his head subtly. There was no reason to think hard.
Whatever. I will strike them down and wait for the dragon to appear.
It was at this point that he noticed that Baptiste had brought out a bottle of wine.
“Let us celebrate a little,” he said, beaming a smile. This reminded him that Flora’s pregnancy hadn’t probably reached his years yet.
“Lord Flissing, you may already be aware, but Flora is with a second child.”
His eyes went wide, an indication that he didn’t know. Then he laughed pleasantly. “Time for a son then! Like the mother, I am sure it will be a son this time!”
“Congratulations, Duke,” Daniel said with a grin.
“Any news between you and Esther?”
“Get the woman pregnant already,” Baptiste muttered, clicking his tongue in displeasure. “It is a man’s job to get his woman pregnant.”
“Well, I will make sure to end this conflict soon so that the love birds can get together,” Kamil said jokingly. However, Daniel’s response was completely unexpected.
“Yes, please,” he said with a pleading tone. “I miss her.” Baptiste, meanwhile, had a sip of wine in a wooden cup with a subtle grin. The contrast from his time with Lillian was like night and day.
He does really like her, huh.
“Mark my words. It will end soon.”
Food was brought in, and the three men had a casual meal during which they conversed a lot about various topics, one of which was the situation in the North. According to Baptiste, the North was pretty much completely devastated. The current horde at Elsos wasn’t the only one, and Atra had been battling another horde. Unlike here, however, they had been losing a series of battles. This was primarily due to the fact that they lost their main army to the dragon in the early stage of the Age of Darkness. Having rushed to muster a new army, not only were they poorly trained, their equipment was subpar as well.
I hadn’t heard much from the South, though…
He assumed that they were doing better since Heiga didn’t seem to be making a fuss. Whatever the case, he had only one body. The dragon of the North was the first priority.
“I saw three airships in the sky. Are those all yours?”
“No, two of them are ours. One of them is from Ceres,” Daniel replied. The three men had sat down around Baptiste’s desk around a roasted boar on a plate. One wine bottle was already empty with another open. “I’ve noticed that your airship is significantly better than ours.”
“By a long shot,” added Baptiste.
“We’ve been improving the design a lot.”
And that was an understatement.
“Would it be possible for us to acquire the improved schematic?” Daniel asked carefully in spite of being slightly tipsy. Kamil, likewise, responded professionally.
“Please send a diplomat. It is not my decision alone.”
The airship was widely known as his invention, but the real inventor was Cezary Waszak. The reasons he was willing to let Kamil have all the credit was due to two reasons. One, the core concept was indeed discovered by Kamil. Two, he did not want unnecessary eyes on him. Baptiste laughed pleasantly upon hearing the response.
“Good, good, you are acting like a real noble now. That’s good. You were a bit rough before but have sharpened up. I hope it was my daughter who sharpened you.”
It was the other way around, but he didn’t need to know the details of their relationship. After exhausting further wine bottles, their little feast came to an end. Having consumed enough wine to get himself pretty drunk, Kamil had a good night's sleep. It was his first time in many years to have been quite drunk as well. The last time he was drunk was from his past life as Tom. Nevertheless, he really did have a good time and got along quite well with Daniel. When he woke up in the early morning, he felt refreshed. Washing his face from a bowl of water present in a tent he was given for the night, he fixed his clothes and prepared to combat the horde. He had a job to do, and it was a big one.
“Okay, time to show those motherfuckers that we, humans, are no longer just some pushovers.”
Cracking his fingers in the sky, he inhaled deeply as he scanned over the battlefield. He could see that orcs were climbing all over the keep and were no longer using the siege ladders. The spearmen on the walls looked exhausted, and their formation was off due to the unpredictability of the monsters. He could also see collapsed soldiers here and there.
“They are hanging on but not for long,” he remarked. “But they’ve held on for long enough.”
Elsos keep had been holding the horde at bay for over two months. It was 4,800 versus 100,000. No matter how much one could downplay their achievement, it was nevertheless remarkable. By the time he arrived, the number was actually 4,200 versus 85,000. Duman’s group had a big part in this. When they fired off magic as they left, it did a considerable amount of damage. Realistically, they could hold on for more months probably although it wasn’t clear where their breaking point would be. Once past their breaking point, they wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer.
“Elementals, grant me powers to exterminate those monsters.”
Thousands of wind elementals appeared at once around him, covering a small portion of the sky with small dots of green lights. And then floating salamanders began appearing as well in an equal amount. With green and orange lights covering a considerable amount of the sky, the defenders and the monsters alike took notice. Regardless, he posed to draw a bow where a magical bow appeared in his hand. There was no arrow this time. However, floating elementals started to turn into arrows one after another, pointing downward.
“The ire of elementals! Go forth!” And he let go of an invisible sting of the bow at which point the elemental arrows accelerated at once toward their targets, leaving trails of green and orange lights. As lights of rain showered upon the monsters, the arrows pierced through them with different results. Orange arrows left trails of violent explosions, scattering charred flesh all over. Green arrows were literally meat grinders, and pieces of thinly sliced orcs flesh were all over the ground with blood splattering all over. In just one attack, more than 10,000 orcs were slaughtered. The defenders were flabbergasted as they watched the carnage unfold right before their eyes. With their eyes wide and their mouths agape, they stood still dazed as orcs started to step back in shock. It wasn’t over at all of course.
“Hurricane -” He drew his bow again, and this time a small tiny ball of green and orange lights began to gather around the magical bow, eventually forming into the shape of an arrow that was flashing ever brighter by seconds. “ARROW-!”
Two beams of orange and green intertwined together as it shot to the ground on a very high concentration of monsters. Then, there was a giant explosion as well as a violent whirlwind and a deafening sound of bang as the ground shook violently. The explosion was so large that it left a pitch black mushroom cloud, and the whirlwind was throwing everything in its wake high to the sky while slicing off the monsters’ flesh. Approximately 30,000 monsters were wiped off at once. The monsters, having finally come to their senses, began to flee in all directions with those on top of the walls abandoning whatever they were doing.
“Nope,” he blurted and drew his bow once again. “Elementals, track down every single one of them and finish them off.” Elementals around him turned into arrows once again and, when he fired his invisible shot, the elemental arrows homed onto every monster they could track, leaving wide curves of dazzling green and orange lights.
Makes me wonder why I hadn’t done this sooner…
It was bureaucracy that was binding him. He understood Vass’ plight therefore.
“Sir Vass, it must have been hard for you.”
‘It was hell. I knew the solution, but no one but a few were willing to work with me. I had to watch my civilization slowly be devoured by the wastelands.’
“I will not let that occur this time.”
With just some hundreds of monsters scattered around, Baptiste gave an order to charge. Elsos keep, however, was too confused to act. By the time the sun was high in the sky, the horde was annihilated, and the Flissing soldiers were shouting “victory!” along with the local defenders who eventually poured out to attack.
Kamil, flanked by Baptiste and Daniel, was greeted by Karsten who looked spent with dark circles under his eyes at the only gate of the keep. The monsters were not giving him much time off for the past several days.
“Lord Flissing, why are you standing behind the duke?”
It was certainly strange. Even strictly ranking wise, Baptiste should have never stood behind Kamil. At the moment, it looked like Kamil was in charge. He was right to feel that something was amiss.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know,” Baptiste replied, placing a hand on his waist. “Your son has failed to control his kingdom, and it has crumbled. The duke here has gained support from the majority of the lords. He now controls the kingdom.”
Karsten looked utterly surprised. Heaving a long sigh, he looked up and lamented, “That fool … Always chasing after women’s dresses…” Unexpectedly, however, he didn’t seem too offended or even angry. Instead, he asked a daunting question.
“What happens to me then?”
He was the former king of the kingdom Kamil took over. In a sense, this was a similar situation with Constant Egra. If anyone needed to be removed, it was him, period. He or his descendants could eventually become a seed of chaos most likely. However, Kamil didn’t mull much over the matter.
“You live. Why else did I save you in the first place?”
“And my stupid son?”
“That is out of my hands. It will depend entirely on how he will react. He has yet to surrender. At this rate, we will go to war to settle it.”
And Leonhard would very likely lose. Nothing was in his favor.
Placing both of his hands on his waist and sighing once more, he said. “Let me rephrase my question. Will I keep my fief?”
Elsos was rightfully his although there was nothing much left of the city. The whole city was leveled when the monster horde arrived. Only the keep was standing.
Cezary is going to hate this when he hears it…
“Yes, you defended it with your life. It is yours by all things considered.”
“You are too soft,” he scoffed. “If I were you, I would have eliminated the whole Egra bloodline.”
Kamil shrugged with a smile on his face, “My advisor said the same.”
Shaking his head, Karsten showed a moment of hesitation before kneeling down. “I, Karsten Egra, swear an oath of vassalage to Duke Fenchel,” he declared. It was at this point, Baptiste walked toward him and pulled him up.
“Good to have you back,” he told him softly.
Karsten didn’t have the leeway to fight to get his kingdom back. His top priority became the preservation of his bloodline and protecting whatever was left of his legacy.
“I probably don't have much to live on. The poison took a great toll on my overall health. It is very likely that I will die childless. In that case, would you grant my daughter, Lillian, to take over in my stead?”
Kamil looked beyond him to spot a woman he recognized. It was Lillian. It took a moment because her hair was so much shorter. She was wearing a dirty robe as well. The contrast was staggering.
Interesting…
The defiant aura she once had was gone, replaced with a soft and subtle aura. Their eyes met, and she showed subtle respect with just a nod.
“I do not see why not. Lord Flissing, your advice?”
“The man did not hesitate to surrender. In such a case, mercy is warranted.”
“Very well, I grant your request.”
Karsten released a sigh of relief. He had already given up on his sons, such as Leonhard. At least, his bloodline will somehow go on with Lillian. Her desire to stay by her father’s side had somehow paid off because her actions showed loyalty and bravery both of which she was going to need to be able to succeed his seat. Not many, if any, were going to argue when she would eventually succeed his seat because she had stayed with him through thick and thin.
“Lord Flissing, please grant some supplies to Elsos. I am sure that they need some specific supplies.”
Baptiste responded with a firm nod. Everyone, bar Kamial, believed that their ordeal was over. The horde was defeated, and peace would reign. They had forgotten about the dragon blissfully. However, the very next day, they were confronted with a harsh reminder: It was not over. It was never over.
“What the freak…,” Kamil uttered in the sky. The same amount of horde appeared not far on the horizon and was marching toward Elsos keep. Baptiste was rushing to evacuate his men while Karsten prepared to defend his little castle once more. He could defeat the horde again with his magic but realized that there was no point. He had to defeat the source: the dragon.
“I see. It is really down to the dragons then.”
He descended down on top of a wall where Karsten and Lillian were present. The latter was carefully donning a fur cloak over his shoulders.
“Lord Egra, I am afraid I will need you to defend this place once again. It is vital that you hold the line for the others.”
“You do not need to ask me. It is a lord’s job to protect his land. My men had a good night's sleep at least.”
He glanced over Lillian once more. He felt that the woman really changed. He had an urge to ask what happened, but the timing wasn’t right.
“Lord Egra and Lady Egra, I wish you good luck.”
Karsten scoffed, “Only useless fools seek luck. It is all about meticulous efforts and planning. I will defend the keep. You can mark my words.”
He was likely bragging, but Kamil had a degree of belief that he meant what he said. Bidding farewell, he flew to the Flissing camp and ordered Baptiste to withdraw to his territory.
“Lord Flissing, withdraw your army. Watch over your land.”
“I shall do that. Any other orders?”
An idea came to his mind at this point.
“You could give Elsos some extra luxury supplies with an airdrop from an airship.”
Baptiste’s eyes lit up at once. “Why didn’t we think of that before? That is a brilliant idea!”
As much as I want to just fly there…, it does look ominous…
Siwen mountain wasn’t too far from where he was with his magic, and he could see very dark clouds circling around the mountain in the sky. Venturing there alone did feel too risky.
Yet, I sent my brother there anyway.
Sighing, he turned back and began flying toward Ceres. He was hoping to run into Ceres airforce and he did. Informing them of the change of the plan, he sent them back home. Looking back for the last time in the direction of Siwen mountain, he prayed for Duman’s success.