Chapter 14: Freeing the City (Part 3)

Subtitle: Peace and Annihilation

“So? How’d it go?”

Raymond gave a smile. He then gave a dramatic pose as he showed me a piece of paper.

“I have gotten their cooperation. Praise me!”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I fell to the ground, grabbing my sides. It’s been two days since we’ve been in this city. So far, we’ve managed to take over half the underworld. Of course, we weren’t just fighting. Diplomacy, blackmail and a bit of fear. Those were the tools we’ve been using to take over the entirety of the underworld. Though, sometimes, those tactics weren’t enough.

As a result, I have successfully initiated a civil war within the underworld itself. The new alliance was named, The Coalition. What can I say? I suck at creating names ok… but, back to where we are. Currently, we were out in the garden of the shrine. Raymond just got back from negotiations and seemed to be successful in his mission. I have to say though, a man basking in the glaring sunlight as he poses with a victory sign towards me. That’s going to drop you to the ground laughing no matter who you are.

“Jeez, you don’t have to laugh that hard you know”

That only made me laugh harder. In the past two days that I’ve been with him, I found something interesting. He was the type of person that likes to joke around. Whether, making fun of himself or teasing others, he never fails to amuse everyone. You can say, he’s the sole reason why his company has stayed united for this long. It’s for the fact that his personality as well as his leadership intertwines so well that it’s hard not like the man.

Also, I found out something else. He was a lot younger than I thought. Apparently, he manipulated his appearance a bit using some kind of skill. Now, he looks to be in his mid twenties when, get this, he’s actually 40! Just how is this possible? Well, I’ve set this aside. Probably because his previous appearance wouldn’t match his current personality. I mean, seriously. When I saw him fighting off part of the Black Phoenix, he was joking around casually with the other members as he killed one person after another. That honestly gave me shivers, though now. I can't help but gasp for some much needed air from the laughing I did. Did I also forget to mention that I laugh easily?

“My bad. I just couldn’t help it”

“Sheesh… well, anyway. Here… the contract with both the Merchant Guild and the black market has been signed. The two have agreed to join our cause”

I pumped my hand into the air. With this, controlling the city wouldn’t take that long. We’ve already gathered our war potentials. The Assassin guild, the Adventurers, the Lancers and the Red Faction. As for supplies, the local shops have given their support. Not only that, both the merchant guild and black market have given their support. This is a major success due to the fact that neither side would even consider teaming up together. After telling them my plan though, they were easily brought over to our side. With this, you can say that the power balance has greatly shifted to us.

“Still, the plans you have sure is pretty grand. You really think it’s going to work?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know anything about politics… nor do I know anything about economics. But I do know that if we change a few things, we can somehow restart this city’s stability. Not only that, the higher ups and politicians would find a way to fix it in the long run so for now, were just fixing it for a short term”

“Hmm… I guess. But to actually produce new items as well as institute several key structures including schools for free… aren’t you a part of the royalty for having this much money to do this?”

“Ha… you have no idea”

We continued talking about the future of the city. The new schools, parks and improvements that I was considering to add. Then, two more figures showed up.

“Iridia, Rina. I’m guessing it went well?”

“Yeah. My side managed to capture the remainder of the black heart gang. Also, we’ve managed to rescue several slaves as well as free several families. With that, the guards of the northern district have pledge allegiance to us”

“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on… did you just say that a dwarven force has pledge their allegiance to us?”

“Yes. It seems that the gang kept their families locked up so they couldn’t do anything to them. Now that we’ve freed their families, they are willing to fight for us to the end”

I couldn’t help but have a bad premonition. It’s nice having a small army under your use, especially at a time like this… but these men are part of the dwarven army. They can’t just pledge to another faction? Actually, it really seems impossible for the sole fact that dwarven soldiers are extremely loyal to their nation. That’s why, I can only see this as a problem. I sighed… guess I’ll have to deal with them later. I already have one dwarven pain in the ass to deal with… so having to deal with another would only bring trouble.

“What about your side Rina. Did it go well?”

“Hai. We’ve managed to kill off all remaining members of the Scarlet House”

“Scarlet House? I don’t remember them… wait, were they the psychotic murder group I told you to take care off?”

“Yes”

I remember now. They were a group who specialized in killing mass pockets of innocent lives. Apparently, each member had a psychotic tendency to kill as many people as they want. They’ve also managed to capture the families of the guards, but they were smart. They didn’t kill them knowing that the guards would instantly destroy them. Instead, they used them as a shield to do whatever they wanted in the city.

That’s why, the area that they controlled became a sacrificial field. The black phoenix would always capture a number of young men and women. The men were hunted down and killed while the girls were captured, raped then killed in many horrible ways. I instantly placed them in the kill off list and tasked Rina with the task of destroying and eliminating them… though this is the first time I’ve actually heard of their group’s name. Well, it’s not like I actually care for them or anything.

“Great, with this. The Black Phoenix should only have 50% of its power left”

“Yeah… I’m rather shocked at the fact that you’ve forced them back this much in only two days while garnishing the support of, not only the population, but the guards as well”

I merely shrugged.

“What can I say? I go all out when I put my mind to it. Plus, they started it. If they hadn’t tried to pull off that bullshit that they did, then I would have just gone my merry way. But nope, it doesn’t work like that. You can't expect to hurt the people I know and get away with it safely”

He gave a dry smile as the two girls smiled. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised at myself. I would never have guessed that I was the same person as before. It’s as if, when I became a spirit… a wolf type spirit, I’ve been showing tendencies of fighting and, as much as I don’t want to admit it, pride. I wonder if there was some kind of fact in my previous world that stated wolves were prideful creatures. I know wolves were fighters… but prideful, still not sure... hmm, maybe territorial is the better word to use. I shook my head to clear my thoughts away. I then turned towards Iridia.

“Speaking of which. How’s the noble doing?”

She placed her finger to her chin, as if she was in some kind of deep thought.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Angry. Extremely angry”

“Well, who wouldn’t be? The day I asked for a meeting, I immediately stood him up. Of course you’d be mad as a noble”

It was a very amusing sight though

Fer suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped towards my arms. I quickly caught him and began to pat his soft fur.

He was running around his office, yelling at his staff. Who knew you can get him so worked up by not being there

“Well, you already understand why I’m doing it right?”

Yeah I know. That’s why I’ve taken the opportunity to scout out the entire place

Fer immediately got off. He then began invoking an ice spell on the ground.

“What the?”

Raymond was immediately on guard while Rina and Iridia gave an indifferent look. Soon, a small scale of the noble’s mansion could be seen. From the walls to the pillars. Everything was as accurate as it could be. Then, to add icing on the cake, the entire scale was bathed in light. The buildings were colored in exact detail. Also, there were red dots everywhere while a single blue dot could be seen in one of the rooms inside the mansion.

Hello. Can you hear me Mr. Raymond?

Raymond frantically looked around. I couldn’t help but chuckle while I directed his gaze towards Fer.

“Eh… wait, was that you?”

Yes. My name is Fer. It is nice to meet you

Bending one paw, Fer gave an elegant bow as a wolf. Losing to his atmosphere, I could see Raymond give a confused look as he unknowingly bows in an awkward stance. I could only hold my laughter… if I laugh now, the seriousness of this conversation will disappear. Getting through the dilemma, Fer began the breakdown of the mansion.

There are currently 100 soldiers guarding the compound. Normally, there are more men outside than inside. But, they were apparently expecting you Feri

“They sure are. Did you find out the composition of the men inside?”

I sure did. Check this out

The colors disappeared. Around thirty red dots that surrounded a blue dot remained. Then, small sculptures began to grow out of the ground around each line of dots. The first sculpture was that of a dwarven soldier in full plated armor. The man carried a long pike that had a three pronged point that was attached to a small cleaver. On their sides, you can also see a short sword.

The next one was an infantryman. He had a buckler and a dwarven sword. I could also see that a mace were attached to these men’s belts. Not only that, two axes were strapped to their backs. Lastly, the third sculpture was that of a dwarven ranger. He had a crossbow on his hands and a bolt pack strapped on his back. Unlike the infantry’s boxed helmet, his stretched outward and had a circular shape.

So, what do you think?

I think everyone’s jaws dropped. Even Rina and Iridia. I mean, I didn’t even know you can do this with magic? Just how did this not come into mind?

“Fer, have you been practicing magic?”

Yeah. Since you guys are doing the majority of the work, I was just laying around doing nothing. That’s why I asked Arian if there was a place I can stay to learn magic. She led me to the back of the shrine and from there, I just kept practicing magic

“But, to control it to this degree… in only two days? That’s impressive”

Meh, it was nothing…

I could see his tail wagging. Putting aside the cute image of a happy wolf who trained hard to master the arts of magic, I stared at the composition. That noble sure planned an elaborate ambush… one that had, what appears to be, highly experienced troops. I know for a fact that you wouldn’t do this for just anybody.

“Hey Fer. Did you hear him say anything?”

Ahh… about that, there is a reason why he’s doing this. Apparently, he wants to capture you since he believes you are the leader of the Lancers of Osnorio.

Figures. Seeing that they had some kind of run in with the dwarven elite force, they must still be pretty hurt about that. Honor and pride is a dangerous thing. Although there are many cases were a noble’s pride and honor can considerably help the people around them. If used incorrectly, they can lead a noble down a path they can never hope to recover from. I sighed… really such a pain.

“Well, we might as well go. We’ve let him wait long enough so how about we go in a flashy way”

“You mean, full frontal assault so their ambush would be rendered worthless?”

Iridia asked for confirmation as she began equipping her shield and her sword. Both she and Rina had a devilish smile on their faces, Rina arming herself with her favorite scythe. Raymond also had a mischievous look as he began playing with his daggers. I also equipped a staff that Arian lent to me.

“I think we’re all on the same page”

With a smile, we headed out to meet with our new unwilling ally. This is going to be fun.

_____________________________________________________________________

Author Notes:

Sorry for not posting these few days. Had a run in with my university's financial aid department so I've been stressing about that. It's all fixed now so I can return to writing and posting chapters.

Also, there was a comment in the previous chapter that I would gladly clarify.

My use of the word leathery. It is intentional that I say leathery instead of Tannery and Leather-works. That's because it separates each race/nation from one another.

Dwarves- Leathery

Humans- Tannery or Leather works

Elves- Weavery

Demons- Spinnery

Now, the dwarves and humans have the same process of leather production and usage. Their language though is different which is why the Dwarves word will be translated as Leathery, whereas the humans words are either translated as Tannery or Leather works depending on what kingdom it is in.

The elves is called weavery for the fact that they mainly weave many of their leather products. Also, wooden composition is added to these leather in a special process only known to the elves.

The demons don't use leather but their equivalence would be Metal Web Silk. This silk comes from a rare species of spiders only known to the demon continent. These spiders are farmed of their webs which are then used to produce beginner level armors. Although it sounds stronger, it is really just as strong as leather.

I'm not going to lie, these sound ridiculous. But... meh. I'll take it lol