“Carmine, just out of curiosity, has your… feelings for me changed at all?”

Carmine cocked her head questioningly. “No? Are you talking about the princess?”

“Yes? I’m the commander of this place now, it seems.”

“Haven’t you always been?”

“…”

She blinked and then shook her head. “That’s right, you weren’t. My feelings for you are the same though. It’s like… the two different people in my mind merged into one.”

So, I appeared to have the karma of Drakus, but I also had the karma of Commander Stone placed on top of it. In a way, I was both and I was neither. I guessed if there were any inconsistencies, they were reconciled when I absorbed the Karma.

I stood up and turned to the men. Before, they had looked at me more or less as equals. There was respect as the man who rescued the princess and was close in confidence with the Commander, but now it was the respect of a superior and leader. Like that, I had taken over the troops of this fort.

“Send out scouts. Demand reinforcements!”

“Already done, sir.”

“Right, um… make the fort secure. Tell me how many you need, to keep it protected, and then I’ll send the rest to our fort.”

“My lord, we don’t want to push on?”

“Push on?”

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“We are now behind enemy lines. The demons won’t see us coming. This fort would have been their advanced warning, but none survived to give a warning. With the princess safe, I say we let them attack the fort thinking they are protected. Once they break through the walls, I say we destroy our fort using a powerful spell that will take out as many of their men as possible. While that is going on, we then launch an attack at the next fort, bringing it down and further stranding the Demonic Prince. We can then send our reinforcements to hunt him down. If we can capture him, then we’ll be able to use him as leverage as we continue the attack.” The skeleton explained in a clear, concise voice.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Captain Bones, sir.”

“Bones…” I coughed. “Ah… ahem, good name!”

“Thank you, sir.”

“In that case, Mr. Bones, please send the orders. We’ll be setting up to destroy the other fort. In the meantime, have our men wear enemy armor on the walls, so no one will notice that we’ve taken over the fort.”

“We should leave soon, my lord.”

“Not necessary,” I responded. “Just get the men ready. When the time comes, I will transport them over to the next fort to attack.”

“My lord?”

“Find me the highest-ranking demon in this place and bring me his body.”

If I could absorb karma, maybe I could appear to be a high-ranking demon as well. In that case, it’d be easy to sneak into the next fort and bring them in again. In this way, we could conquer all the forts quickly and efficiently. This captain had suggested a good idea in my mind.

“So, you’ll be leaving, my lord?” he asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t take long.” I said.

“Very good, sir.” He turned and began to relay orders for me.

“I will be leaving the princess here though,” I said, partially to myself before glancing back at Carmine. “Carmine, try to rest in the safe room.”

“But…”

I shook my head and leaned close. “I can’t justify bringing you with me into danger this time. Besides, you’re useless as defense right now.”

She looked down, a flash of hurt and anger on her face, but she eventually nodded. She had to admit that I was right in this. Had she been at her full potential, there was no way the commander would have perished in the first place, not that it didn’t make things easier for us.

“My lord, I have relayed your orders. There is a horse waiting for you at the entrance.”

“Good job, Bones, when I get back, remind me to give you a promotion.”