บท 21: Chapter 21: Neighbors
We had exited the cave which terminated in a small ridge overlooking the forest below. It wasn't a very high ridge, perhaps about a story high, but that wasn't the point.
Stella and I could clearly see the demonic legion marching through the forest below, an entire army of orcs, kobolds and elves riding dire wolves and equipped with swords, spears and sabers. Well, the elves and kobolds didn't have any weapons. The elves relied on casting magic, though they had jeweled daggers or ornamental swords to aid them in casting spells.
The kobolds obviously prided themselves on relying entirely on their claws and fangs to fight.
Stella gasped audibly and retreated to the cave. She grabbed my hand and yanked me back.
"What are you doing?" she hissed. "They will see us."
I gave her a stare. "So?"
"Are you crazy? Those are demons! This cave must come out in the Demonic Empire! Oh no, this is bad! We need to inform…inform…command!"
"And who are you going to inform? Duke Bradley?" My voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Not only will he not listen to you, he will rape and kill you."
"That's true…but we need to inform the kingdom! Send a message back to the capital! If Duke Bradley refuses to listen, then we'll have to inform the knight regiments in Royales! We need to do something about this!"
"Yeah," I agreed and pushed my glasses up my nose. "We'll use this to our advantage."
"Huh?" Stella stared at me, not comprehending.
"We were wondering how to break into a fortress that's being manned by a thousand Knights of the Bravia regiment, right? Well, there's your answer."
"You can't be serious!" Stella grabbed the front of my shirt furiously. "You intend to unleash an army of demons upon a province of Havan Kingdom!?"
"Yes," I replied bluntly. "I'll convince them to leave the civilians alone. No plunder, no pillaging, no raping. No butchering of the innocents."
"They are demons!" Stella had the discipline to keep her voice soft, not wanting to attract the attention of the demonic legion below us. "They are the enemy!"
I shook her hand off my collar. "So is Bradley and his knights."
"But…but this is different! These are demons!"
"So what?"
Stella gaped at me, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She glared at me and pointed her sword at my throat.
"I will not allow demons to set foot on Havan soil. It is my duty as a knight to protect the citizens of Havan from demons!"
"You can't even protect the citizens from the tyranny of a corrupted duke," I replied, smacking her sword aside. "What's the use of spouting all these big words and aspirations when you can't even manage your own province properly?"
"What are you even talking about? Those are demons! They are our enemies! They…!" she was at a loss for words. "They are worse than Bradley and his knights!"
I began laughing at that. "Really? The demons are worse than Bradley? Then let me ask you. Did the demons impoverish their own citizens by leveling heavy taxes? Did they abuse their authority to abduct and rape women? Now, I'm not saying they don't pillage, plunder, rape and murder, but when your very own nobles and knights are abusing their authority to do the same thing…or worse, how can you say the demons are worse?"
Stella glared at me, getting ready to fight. "Demons killed my parents. My parents died in the war, fighting to protect the kingdom from demons. Like hell I will…!"
"Humans raped and killed your sister," I cut her off. "Humans betrayed and tried to kill me. Sure, the demons tried to kill me too, but they didn't betray me. They didn't abuse my trust in them and stab me in the back. They were at least more honorable than the humans I thought were my comrades. In fact, some demons even helped me. Without them, I wouldn't have survived and returned to Havan."
Stella was speechless for a few moments, and I continued.
"Not all demons are evil. There are some good demons too. The same goes for humans. There are many good humans – I have the honor of fighting alongside many brave and valiant knights. But scum like Bradley and his Bravian knights exist."
I glanced outside the cave.
"And these demons…they are under the command of the Witch of Winter. If there's any demon I would trust to keep a promise…to behave with honor and decency, it's her."
"The Witch of Winter…?"
As expected, even Stella had heard of Silvia Winters and her vaunted reputation for integrity and mercy.
"Regardless, I don't need your approval." I closed my eyes for a few moments. To Stella's horror, she found her legs entombed in ice. "I would put you in stasis and thaw you out once everything is over."
"Ugh…!"
Realizing that she was no match for me, Stella lowered her sword. She still wasn't convinced, but I didn't expect her to suddenly have a change of heart. Perhaps, if this was fiction, talk no jutsu would persuade her and she would happily go along with my plan just to take revenge on Bradley. Reality was never so convenient, unfortunately.
"Are you done with your conversation?"
"Ah, Kelvin. Sorry. You were listening all this while?"
The kobold had climbed up the ridge and was leaning against the mouth of the cave, his arms crossed. Stella's eyes widened and she lashed out with her sword, only to find her feet frozen to the ground.
"I see you've gotten yourself quite the fine woman," Kelvin said to me. I shook my head
"She's not. I brought her along as a guide because I'm not familiar with the geography of the mountains."
Kelvin was puzzled and he glanced at Stella curiously. She glared back defiantly, causing him to snarl. I quickly stepped in between them to prevent a fight from breaking out. Kelvin then turned back toward me.
"Huh. I thought you returned to the human kingdom a while ago. How did you end up here again?"
"I actually did return to Havan. We came from Bravia – Stella here lives there. She guided me through the mountains that separated Bravia from the south of the Empire."
"Oh? So there's a way through the mountains? That's great news!"
"Yeah. Are you under the command of the Witch of Winter?"
"That's right. I managed to link up with her forces shortly after we went our separate ways. Right now, she's leading a legion to head off an invasion force from a human army at Fort Crushe. They are deeply entrenched in there."
"Hmm…I have an idea. If you were to attack Bravia, wouldn't the Havan Kingdom pull troops back from Fort Crushe to attempt to recapture it?"
"You…!" Stella shouted, causing both of us to turn back to her. She was staring at me in disbelief. "You're working for the demons this entire time?!"
I began laughing at that. "Working for the demons? Me? No. I work with the demons. Actually, I work with anybody as long as I can get my goal for revenge. I'll try to minimize casualties on both sides as much as possible, but I don't care who I work with. I hold no such discrimination against human or demon."
"Is that why you haven't killed this noisy woman?" Kelvin asked. He cracked his knuckles and bared his fangs. "I'll take care of her if you don't have the heart to."
"No. nobody is killing anybody, at least not yet. This girl is innocent." I placed a hand firmly on Kelvin's shoulder. Then I glanced at Stella. "To survive and escape, I worked with demons. Most people have probably been brainwashed to believe they are the enemy, but they are no more or no less the enemy than people like Bradley and his knights."
Stella glared at me furiously, but she couldn't say anything. Instead, she began hacking away at the ice at her feet with her sword. Kelvin, on the other hand, sighed.
"You sure as hell picked the most difficult route."
"It's easy to kill indiscriminately, but it'll have the worst consequences. Not to mention, it's incredibly shortsighted. I look at the long term."
I waved at my hand and dispelled the ice restraining Stella's feet. She stumbled, surprised, and then I struck her in the back of her neck before she realized what was happening. She crumpled onto the ground, unconscious. I scooped her up in my arms and carried her before turning back to the bemused kobold.
"Bring me to the Witch of Winter."
"Right away, buddy."
We exited the cave and dropped down from the low ridge. I attracted more than a few curious glances from the orcs, elves and kobolds, but I followed Kelvin to the front of the column. I had to shield the unconscious Stella from the hungry gazes of the demons.
I guess she had a point. Coexistence was going to be difficult.
"Klein Pearson."
Silvia Winters was at the front of the army, and she called it to a halt for a break. Setting up a command tent, she then received me as a guest. I placed Stella on the ground and lay her down before bowing my head to the Witch of Winter.
"It's been a while, Lady Silvia Winters."
"Indeed. I'm glad to see that you're in good health." She smiled, her joy genuine. She nodded at the kobold who accompanied me. "I heard from Kelvin that you took good care of him."
"He was the one who took care of me."
"Now you're just being humble," Kelvin complained, looking away in embarrassment. I could see his ears twitching.
"But still, I'm surprised that you ended up here. Kelvin said that you returned to the human kingdom. And then, he requested for a stop, saying that you have some important information to share."
"That's right. There's a passage underneath the mountains. A network of caves that link the Demonic Empire to the province of Bravia. Uh, a territory belonging to Havan Kingdom. If you have a map…"
Silvia gestured for Kelvin to grab a map. As she did so, I discussed with her the current predicament regarding Fort Crusche, and once again proposed the idea of attacking Bravia to force the Havan Kingdom to redeploy their troops.
"It'll be difficult for Havan Kingdom to recapture Bravia province," I explained. "It's surrounded by mountains on all sides, built into a valley. Any reinforcement troops they send will have to traverse steep slopes and treacherous terrain, thus rendering them vulnerable to ambushes and attacks. Whereas with this cave, you should be able to receive supplies and reinforcements from your fief without much difficulty."
Silvia pondered for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. Meanwhile, Kelvin rolled out a map across the table and stepped back. I then indicated the mountains separating Havan Kingdom and the Demonic Empire, particularly marking out the Bravia province.
"Across one of these mountains, there's a cave that takes us straight to Bravia." I poked the region indicating Bravia with a finger. Then I looked sheepish. I was terrible at map reading. "I don't know which mountain exactly, but I can lead you there." I glanced at Kelvin. "It's the one where you found me in."
"Should be this mountain then." Kelvin circled one of the mountains. He then glanced and bowed. "By your grace, I can take a scouting team and reconnoiter the cave. Draw a more accurate map."
Silvia nodded. "Do it. Pick whoever you need. But…" her voice was stern. "This mission must be reconnaissance only. No combat. By no means are you supposed to attack the humans. They must not detect you, or any element of surprise we can get will be ruined."
"Understood," Kelvin replied. "I already have a team in mind. They specialize in stealth."
"I'll accompany you guys," I said. Kelvin nodded.
"That'll be great. You'll be able to guide us through the cave."
"Excellent." Silvia smiled. "Then it's decided. Once you've mapped out the route, report back to me."
"Roger that." Kelvin saluted. I bowed politely and made to leave, only for Silvia to stop me.
"Wait, Klein. What's that on your hand?"
I glanced down and saw that the crest was once again glowing through the white handkerchief that Stella had wrapped around my right hand.
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