Chapter 36 | Jeromy 6

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Jeromy’s caravan was heading back home to Riverside, human territory. The large line of soldiers, mercenaries, and civilians was in plain sight. They didn’t have much time before the sun goes down. Monsters were more active at night so they had to hasten their pace towards the next rest point. It has been a day since they left Emered and was currently traveling through the elevated highway in the Elven Forest of giant trees. Much of the forest was like this, with trees as tall as a telegraph tower and branches that made canopies. This was the only road to and from where they needed to go, it made Jeromy uneasy every time he had to travel through here.

Jeromy has been keeping Prince Lue occupied in the stagecoach so that he wouldn’t be bored. Since Nerea was urging Lue to talk more, their traveling seemed ideal.

They began trading stories. Lue told Jeromy many things about his adventures sneaking around the capital. They were stories from a child so Jeromy perceived them as a bit mundane but understood his curiosity. Jeromy told stories about his missions and his career. He told Lue how he got promoted from a Lieutenant and how became a diplomat for Seuteria.

Seutaria’s University had a Mercenary Academy that was an army training program with a different name. As far as Jeromy knew, he was the only graduated mercenary officer who was a former slave. The Phoenix pulled a few political strings for him to attend.

When Lue asked where Jeromy was born, he paused. Lue looked concerned that maybe he said something wrong.

“Your Highness did not offend in any way. To Jeromy, it is a very personal question,” Nerea explained to her young master.

“It’s fine, Nerea.”

Jeromy told Lue about his enslavement, about how degrading and dehumanizing it was. He left out the part when he rebelled and killed thousands of elves. It wasn’t something to say to a five-year-old or the prince of the kingdom he warred with. He was vague about how he was freed and finished his story.

Lue didn’t cry but he had his head down with a pained expression. He got up from his seat and sat next to him to hug him.

“Sorry,” Lue finally said. Jeromy chuckled. His brother Shol also pitied him about his enslavement. Nerea and Jeromy looked at each other with the same light smile. The sounds of the Elven Forest were then filled with the rustling of the large trees against a sudden gust of wind.

An explosion was heard at the front of the caravan.

The carriage grinned to a sudden halt. The sudden jolt frightened Lue and he clung to his arm. Jeromy immediately went outside after grabbing his weapons, leaving Lue and Nerea to the guards outside.

“Stay hidden!”

A second explosion was heard and felt at the back of the caravan. This one was much closer and Jeromy saw how the blast created a wall of debris, blocking their escape.

As he exited the carriage, he heard Selina and Patrick barking out orders to the mercenaries and elven soldiers. Everything was in orderly chaos as civilians ran for cover and the fighters stood with their weapons pointed to the left of the caravan.

Their enemy quickly emerged from the tree line and pointed their rifles at the caravan on the elevated highway. The two forces stood opposing each other as they aimed their weapons. It was a standoff.

As the commander of the mercenaries and the elves, Jeromy had to quickly assess the situation. The ambushing force used magic to block both ways of the road, trapping the caravan. A flaming pile of debris prevented anyone from leaving or running away. If they were to retreat, they would have to run into the forest behind them.

The purpose of attacking from only one side was to give their enemy an escape route. It was basic knowledge in combat not to surround a large army unless they wanted a slaughter. The ambushing force also intended to force a stalemate by coming close to the opposing force.

A battle between mages was usually decided between the number of mages on one side and the other. Because no matter what, the force of a spell was proportional to the amount of mana input. No matter how skilled a caster was, the brute force option was ideal for head to head battles. The distance between the forces also mattered, if they engaged too closely, there would be severe casualties on both sides.

They wanted to put Jeromy and his men in a situation where he had to negotiate. Jeromy understood their purpose but this was more complicated than a simple robbery. To attack a large force like his, there was something more to this. Were they after the Prince? No. Prince Lue’s transfer from the capital was known to only a few people.

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Spells casted at a distance need a medium for the spell to travel in which could be in the form of a bullet, arrow, or crystal. With a decent barrier, they could be easily deflected. Hand to hand combat would be best in the current situation but with the enemy’s weapons aimed at them and the civilians. At this time, they had to stand their ground and not break formation. Whether to attack or retreat, shots had to be fired unless they could talk themselves out of here.

If the enemy attacked first in the ambush, they would’ve shot back with greater force. The enemy knew Jeromy’s capabilities and was wary of his smaller force, as they should be. The civilians that were able to escape behind the ranks looked panicked as their friends and family were in danger. The situation was bad. To make things worse, all of this was happening in the middle of a monster-infested forest.

Jeromy hated this kind of conflict most of all, the attackers were humans. They were former human slaves from the elven territories and they formed this militia group.

They were well-organized by their mannerisms but their equipment was probably what they had stolen and raided. They all had varying levels of armor and weapons. They were relatively light compared to Jeromy’s force but knew what they were doing.

Jeromy was afraid this might happen and knew who was leading them as she stepped out from the shadows of the giant trees. He recognized her immediately.

Annabelle Everhart.

She looked much younger than her actual age with short black hair and blood-red eyes. She almost looked over-worldly and out-of-place with her clear and perfected appearance. Her clothes were somewhat practical with trousers and a utility belt, but it was also flashy with her skirt and robe making it almost like a dress.

Annabelle was confident in her abilities and was nonchalant as she walked ahead of her men, in the line of sight with her enemy.

She had a revolver and a sword strapped to her waist. Swords weren’t used much anymore since the advent of high-power rifles. However, with enough skill and talent, swords could be very powerful in battle in combination with magic.

Jeromy met with the elven officers, Nerea, and Selina on the other side of the elevated highway, out of the enemy’s sight. Jual was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t do anything until he relayed his instructions to the officers. Jeromy could only watch in horror as Patrick went out to negotiate with Annabelle. Jeromy knew Patrick was an airhead but he didn’t have much choice with him.

“The situation seems to be under control, for now,” Jeromy said.

“Sir Jeromy! Please! What do you command?” One of the elven officers pleaded with him.

“Tell your units to fire on my command. Don’t let any of your men fire unless they’re fired upon first. Be ready for a retreat. Selina, the map.”

Selina took out a crystal from one of her jacket pockets and activated it to project a map of the area as a hologram. It was a special map spell sketched into the crystal. It was relatively easy to project light on an object with a spell. It could only show mapped regions which was a disadvantage because of how much of the forest was uncharted.

“Whatever happens, we’ll rendezvous in Teizen over here. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir Jeromy!” The elven officers all said. They disbursed and began to prepare for the inevitable.

“Teizen is not with the Association,” Selina worried again.

“I know,” Jeromy said with a heavy heart.

But Teizen was the only village nearby with enough people to take us in. When they hear they were attacked by the slave rebels, they might just be willing.

“Nerea, I need you to keep Prince Lue hidden.”

“Are they attacking because of His Highness?” Nerea whispered.

“No, we shouldn’t look different from any other caravan. Bad luck, I suppose. However, I need you to get rid of anything that might expose us.”

“There are somethings in the cargo, I will tend to it personally.”

Just as Nerea turned to leave, Jeromy called for her, “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me? How is Prince Lue?”

“No. His Highness is handling the situation well.”

That wasn’t what he was referring to. Lue was hiding something from him. He noticed as they rode together that Lue was gripping something in his coat, excessively. It wasn’t a habit. It was something the Prince was conscious of. Hopefully, it wasn’t something troubling.

Jeromy looked at his army as they were huddled together behind the carriages. They weren’t in a good position. His men could easily be shot from underneath the wagons. They weren’t stable enough to take many hits. These stagecoaches were only designed to defend against monsters.

He had to go talk with Annabelle. Just as Jeromy took a step out from his men’s battle line, Selina pulled him back in by his sleeve.

“What are you doing?”

Selina was concerned and was more expressive than usual. They both knew her question was rhetorical.

“Do you know her?”

Selin read his emotions again. Jeromy sighed and said in telepathy so only Selina could hear, “She’s Annabelle Everhart.”

Selina was shocked to hear that name and instantly knew who the woman was and her relation to Jeromy. Her family name was also common knowledge for most common people because they were one of the Great Houses on Theia. Annabelle Everhart, the former princess of the extinct Rodani Empire and second in line to inherit the House of Everhart.

“I have told you this repeatedly. Put down your arms and surrender your goods, this is non-negotiable,” Annabelle said with her young and dignified voice.

“I’m sorry we still can’t do that,” Patrick said with pretentious confidence and a trace of sarcasm. “We just got in each other’s way and we apologize. How about we just get out of your hair right now and leave?”

“No. How about we kill you and take your stuff?” Annabelle countered with an equal amount of giddy amusement. They both smiled at each other, laughing at the exchange.

“Okay. A quarter of our stuff and we don’t shoot each other.”

“All of it.”

“Okay. A third.”

“All of it,” she repeated with more emphasis.

“Hmm. You’re a very good haggler,” Patrick said with conviction as he folded his arms and nodded to himself.

“Thank you,” Annabelle giggled a bit before quickly casting a spell. She raised her hand and forced Patrick onto the side of a stagecoach. The impact shook the wagon full of goods. “Enough stalling.”

“Then, shall we get serious?” Jeromy called out to her. Annabelle was wide-eyed and stared at Jeromy as he came out from the ranks of his men to greet her.

“Jeromy...”