Chapter 16: Gods
"Raven-sama."
After Raven sat down face the large planning table, a man entered the officers' tent. Seeing the red-haired man, Raven quickly identified him, Royner Londinium, one of eight captains in his army.
"Captain Londinium, anything to report?"
As he looked Raven's eyes, Royner's body shuddered slightly, yet his impassive face showed little reaction.
"Yes, Raven-sama. Just a couple of hours ago, one of our patrols reported the encounter with some spies. According to the description, except for possessing long ears, they seemed fully human, and as Raven-sama ordered, they were kindly invited to retreat."
"Elves… so it wasn't just rumors" -recalling Erick's exaltation and the words of the village elder, Raven muttered to himself.
"Nii-sama, I will track down all the forest and capture them for you!" -on the side of Raven, Freya was able to hear his whisper.
Freya's silver eyes flashed with a gleam of emotion; it was not difficult for Raven to discern that she was really the one who was most interested in the matter.
"Shall we proceed, Raven-sama?"
Nike also seemed eager to take action, yet her reasons seemed to have more to do with security than curiosity.
(We are just beginning with construction, although it can be dangerous not to deal with this, to start a conflict without knowing anything at all about the forces of the elves, it doesn't seem like the best option) -in his mind, Raven analyzed his options.
No, our priority is construction. Still, we can't completely ignore this… extend the vigilance radio and increase the number of patrols, keep one hundred riders on permanent alert. If the situation repeats itself, the order remains the same; if they try to spy, invite them to leave, if they present with intentions of dialogue, receive them".
"Yes, Raven-sama!" -Royner and Nike answered in unison.
"Nii-sama is very bad, he cannot please his future wife as he should, I will have to be stricter" -after letting a sigh escape, Freya muttered that to herself.
For some reason he didn't understand, Raven felt a slight chill running down his back.
Following Raven's orders, building the fortress became the NPCs top priority. Dozens of huge logs were extracted from the forest, while the materials in the storage wagons were arranged for construction.
(300 infantrymen, 200 cavalry, 200 archers…) -while the NPCs took care of their assigned tasks, in front of the planning table in the officers' tent, Raven made a precise count of his forces.
One aspect that separated Conquest Online from conventional strategy games was the incorporation of RPG elements, such as levels and skill trees. The common NPCs started at level 1, and their limit was level 100.
As the NPCs progress through the levels, they improve in up to four classes. An example of this are the infantry troops, which start at level 1 under the 'Recruit' class which is also called the beginner class. Upon reaching level 20, their class improves to 'Soldier' which is also called basic class, which significantly improves their statistics and expands their skill tree.
When starting a new game, the player is provided with one thousand troops within the veteran class, which were currently Raven's circumstances. In CO, after taking a city or building a castle, the player could recruit new troops, these within the beginner class. Currently, this option was unlikely to be available to Raven, so he could only count on his current troops.
A few hours later, without the presence of Nike and Freya, Raven finally enjoyed some peace and quiet.
"Raven-sama"
As he focused on making an inventory of everything he had, a woman's pounding voice interrupted Raven's thoughts.
As he looked up, Raven saw a beautiful woman with slightly wavy brown hair, who had a faint smile on her lips.
"Is something wrong, Captain Valdini?"
Vesta Valdini, captain of the engineering troops, the only NPC who was over twenty years of age, and who, despite this, whether because of her personality or her highly developed body, possessed an aura of maturity that forced even Nike herself to refer to her as 'Vesta-nee'.
"About the calculations in the building materials you asked for" -totally immune to that intimidation that Raven caused in the other captains, Vesta advanced towards him while keeping that faint smile.
Surprisingly, it was Raven himself who was forced to divert his sight from Vesta.
It was not that the exuberant figure of Vesta wrapped in those tight work clothes that allowed the skin of her prominent chest to be glimpsed caused concern in Raven. Being sincere, beyond that well-proportioned figure and that mature aura, Nike far outperformed Vesta in beauty, so that Raven, who had not only seen much of Nike's skin but had even spent two nights feeling her warmth on his own skin, he was practically immune to Vesta's mature charm.
The real reason Raven had difficulty dealing with Vesta was in his past. Vesta's aura and personality were the same as that of the only person who, practically intruding by force, interacted with him during his college days. A cheerful and meddlesome sempai, who constantly insisted on being called 'Onee-san' by Raven.
"What's the status of the materials?" -after repressing that restlessness, Raven looked back at Vesta, who was already in front of him.
"The materials we currently have, can only cover a third of your design"
"I understand, I'll take care of it. You focus on the construction, Captain Valdini."
"In that case, I'll leave it to you, Raven-sama."
After Vesta left the officers' tent, Raven let out a slight sigh. He really had difficulty dealing with her.
(That woman, how deep is the impression she has left on me?) -with the image of that sempai in his mind, Raven let out a new sigh.
Forcing himself to temporarily forget that, Raven stood up and left the officers tent. On the sides of the tent access, two brilliant armor guards respectfully crouched their heads when they saw Raven, and quietly walked behind him.
In Raven's sight, a large number of white tents appeared. It was mostly the soldier's simple tents. Only his own tent, the officer´s tent, the unused Freya and Nike tents, as well as the tents of the eight captains are the only ones who stood out with a red color.
With his eyes fixed on the front, Raven walked silently toward the area that had been set aside as a training area by the soldiers. Every soldier in his path respectfully bowed their head as they stepped aside to make way for him. It was a kind of intoxicating respect he had never experienced in his life, so despite his expressionless face, he felt some discomfort.
"Raven-sama?"
Despite how much she had to do, Nike seemed to always find some time to practice her fencing. But Nike was not the only one, each NPC was extremely diligent about training, this was why the training area, despite not being contemplated by Raven, had been established even without being requested.
"Nike, remember the report on the coastal exploration?"
"Of course, Raven-sama"
From the exploration requested by Raven, cavalry captains Morgana Karl and Sareek Ankar presented an interesting report on what each had found.
To the east, Sareek Ankar had found a rudimentary camp outside the forest. The place was inhabited by large, stout and green-skinned humanoid creatures, which adhered to the classic description of the Orcs of various games and novels.
To the west, Morgana Karl had found what looked like a quarry, which was inhabited by small bipedal creatures resembling dogs. No doubt it was about the creatures called Kobolds.
Of both reports, Morgana Karl's report was the one Raven currently had in mind.
"Let Captain Ambroce prepare one hundred of her troops and prepare one hundred more of Captain Londinium's troops" – one hundred archers and one hundred infantry troops, that's what Raven had in mind.
"Wouldn't it be quicker to use cavalry?"
"With the orcs to the east, it's best to keep the cavalry on the camp" – for facing a possible orc attack, confront a poorly armed infantry with cavalry it's a basic strategy.
"Understood, I will immediately prepare the troops and I will personally deliver that quarry to you, Raven-sama."
"No, I'll take care of this and Freya will accompany me, so I need you to assume command of the camp, Nike."
"Raven-sama, there is no need that you…"
"I have my reasons"
"Understood."
Raven's reason for choosing to lead this task was none other than to experience a battle. Perhaps an event like this could give him more clues about this dream or absurd reality.
As for why Raven continually chose Freya over Nike as his companion, the reason was much simpler. Freya, with her magic, efficiently complemented Raven's hand-to-hand combat skills, she had been specially designed to fulfill this role.
Just ten minutes later, the two hundred troops requested by Raven were advancing westward.
"This is not so bad after all, Nii-sama" -clinging to Raven's arm as she walked beside him, Freya showed a dazzling smile.
Once Raven had told Freya that they would not use their mounts, she protested forcefully and yet at this moment she clung lovingly to Raven, as she enjoyed the scenery.
Of course, in her mind Freya thought that the situation would be much better if they two were alone and not at the center of two hundred soldiers. Even so, Freya happily enjoyed the situation while Raven, with some guilt for forcing her to walk, allowed her to behave selfishly.
"Raven-sama, our goal is in sight" -in front of the formation of two hundred soldiers, a beautiful woman with black hair up to her shoulders, violet eyes and androgynous face, pointed to a peculiar scenario in front of her.
The quarry was at the edge of the forest, about two hundred meters from the beach, in the place were appreciable a considerable amount of huge rocks and a large number of small caves.
Forming a perfect circle around the place, there was a series of sculptures of animals finely carved in rock. Without a doubt, a sample of the great skill of the small beings who had made that place their home.
(Are they skilled sculptors?)
If these creatures were so skillful, then they must have intelligence.
"Captain Ambroce, change of plans, let's first try to dialogue with them. They could be more useful alive than dead" -once I contemplate the Kobolds' ability with the rock, Raven's plans underwent a sudden change.
"Understood, Raven-sama!"
Although Freya had her doubts about Raven's change of plans, she was too comfortable clinging to her beloved brother's arm to pay too much attention to other issues.
When Raven's contingent was at the edge of that circle of sculptures, about 70 kobolds armed with small axes and stone spears emerged from that small caves.
"We don't want trouble, you leave."
With a voice similar to that of puppets in children's programs, one of the Kobolds expressed those words that, despite his intentions, did not sound threatening at all.
"We want to talk to your leader" -having adopted a two-column formation, with the archers behind and the infantrymen at the front, Teress Ambroce stepped forward.
"Not wanting to talk, you leave!"
Despite being outnumbered, the little kobolds showed no sign of giving in.
"Nii-sama! Nii-sama! Can we leave some of them alive?" -From his position behind the two columns, Freya's eyes flashed, she had definitely fallen prey to the charm of the Kobolds.
The appearance of those small hairy creatures was equal small dogs standing on their little paws, so it was difficult to blame Freya for wanting one of them as a pet.
After giving a slight sigh face Freya's request, Raven crossed the two columns of soldiers to the front. Having seen with his own eyes the skill of the Kobolds as sculptors, he could not afford to lose them so easily.
"Listen, we're not here to hurt you."
"Nii-sama, don't leave me behind!"
Behind Raven, Freya emerged from among the soldiers to stand beside him.
"Vanur-sama! Avor-sama!"
In contemplating Raven and Freya, the little Kobolds released their weapons and then knelt down and began to perform what seemed to be prayers.
Raven did not finish understanding what was happening, Freya was completely lost to the charm of the kobold.
"Oh! Great and relentless God of the Night Vanur-sama, and merciful and benevolent Goddess of the Day Avor-sama, please, how can we serve you?"
Surprisingly, it seemed that Raven and Freya had been mistaken for gods by the Kobolds.
"These creatures are not only cute, they're smart by being able to appreciate the greatness of Nii-sama."
Raven, did not know whether or not to laugh at his fate, the truth was that this practically confirmed the suspicions he had harbored since his presence in the village of Rita.
Everything seemed to indicate that both his silver hair and silver pupils were strangers in this world to such an extent that him could be mistaken for a god. Although technically, according to the background of Conquest Online; Raven, Freya and Nike were really that, gods.
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