บท 9: Might
Early in the next morning, we were all gathered in front of the defense line. We received news that the base lost contact with the two teams of scouts that were sent to investigate the monsters. Another set of teams would be sent to see what happened to the scouts. Of course, plans were to be made for everybody's sake.
"Eliza, Edmund and I will go inside the dungeon and clear it." Aunt Zaira announced, a few minutes before the start of the operation. "Sebastian, Zach, Torii and Luna will stay here as support."
"Wait wait wait." inserted the defense line's commander, Greg Houster. "Archduchess, you will clear the dungeon? There's already a dungeon break! And I don't agree to have kids as my support! And I will definitely not let his highness, Prince Sebastian, to fight in the frontlines!"
I could see the annoyed face of my foster aunt, but that was not what caught my attention.
"Big brother Seb, you… you're a prince?" I asked.
"How rude of you to address the empire's prince that way!" shouted one of the officers, but Sebastian shut him up.
"Luna and I grew up together, how she calls me is none of your business." he said with a glare. But then he turned to me and smiled. "Yes. My full name is Sebastian von Praiji."
I only gasped, and then turned towards my older brothers and sisters.
"And you guys knew?" I questioned.
"Well, we knew about it when we first met him." said Edmund. "It was the emperor who brought him to the estate when we were eight."
"Ah, Zach is his personal knight." Eliza added.
"What? Torii?" I turned to her.
"He's popular at school."
"I can't believe nobody told me! What kind of siblings are you?"
"Well…" Sebastian scratched his neck. "You didn't ask."
I just sighed and nodded.
"Fine fine. Let's do something about the matter at hand first. I'll roast you with questions later." I sneered. He just nodded and partnered it with a carefree laugh.
"Well, now that that's over. Let Eliza explain about clearing the dungeons." Aunt Zaira said.
"Yes." Eliza cleared her throat. "As you are aware, dungeons are the birthplace of monsters. As long as the dungeon core is not destroyed, monsters will keep spawning and will keep coming. If we don't clear the dungeon soon, no matter how many monsters you kill, they will just be born again inside the dungeon and come attacking. Again."
"As for the support, trust me Commander, these kids have more experience in dealing with monsters than any of your men here." Aunt Zaira explained. "As for Sebastian, if it makes you feel better, he can stay here with you guys."
"What? Aunt Zaira!"
"Sebastian, you are still a prince. This country's future may rest on your shoulders one day. Stay here and coordinate with them. You and Zach can get rid of strays."
"But… Luna and Torii will probably annihilate them already!"
"They have a different purpose, okay?" she turned to Torii and me. "You will go with the rescue team. I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves but if they do need any help while dealing with monsters and the ones needed to be rescued, that's the time you will make your move. Understood?"
""Yes Archduchess!"" we answered.
"Your excellency, I don't think this is proper." said Commander Houster.
"Listen here Greg." said Aunt Zaira in a flat tone. "Whether they fail or die because of this, that's none of your concern."
I saw Commander Houster swallow and he just nodded. A few minutes later, we departed. I was assigned to a team with twelve members; one magic knight, one battle mage, two support mages and the rest were regular soldiers. I stayed in the rear since they seemed uncomfortable with my presence. To be more specific, they weren't comfortable with the six-foot-tall Vyfal's presence.
I asked her to come with us as transportation support. If we find any of the scouts injured, she would be a great help in carrying them.
Our group moved inside the dense forest and at the same time assessed for any dangers. I could see how tense they were as they maintained the team's formation. I sent out some energy to work as traps and as radar, and so far, none had responded yet.
"Uhm… Miss Celestine?" called the leader of the group, Kyle Bestok.
I turned to Vyfal and told her to keep an eye on the rear. I jogged to Kyle's direction.
"Just call me Luna. You don't have to be formal with me." I replied.
"Right. Uhm, I apologize on the commander's behalf."
"Don't worry. I know it was probably because of pride why he said all those things."
"You're very frank and... open-minded, that's nice. By the way, Eliza and the others were my juniors. I graduated from the Imperial Academy last year." he said.
"Really?"
"Eliza, Edmund, Zach and even Prince Sebastian are all remarkable students of the academy. And I know you're not less than that, since your mentor is the great Prime Minister, Archduchess Celestine."
I stopped on my tracks. Surprises had kept popping up that day.
"Prime Minister? Aunt Zaira is?"
He nodded and asked; "You didn't know?"
"Why do people not tell me anything?!" I complained.
Just then, the energy I sent suddenly got activated. I asked everyone to stop.
"Mages activate radar and search the area."
I heard them complain but Kyle ordered them to do what I just asked.
"Vyfal, keep an eye out in the sky." my familiar let out a cry which was a yes and immediately flew up.
"We could sense the scouts, all six of them. They're heavily injured, but they're alive." reported one of the mages.
"How about monsters?" asked Kyle.
"I do not detect any monsters." answered the other mage.
I gave them a skeptical look. I decided I needed to confirm it myself. I gathered energy at the tip of my two fingers and released it in front of us. Using the energy as an extension of my senses, I let it roam around the area until I found what I was looking for.
"There are twenty monsters just a few hundred meters away from the scouts." I informed them. "There are six B-Class and two A-Class in the group while the rest are D-Class and below."
"You can even tell?" asked one of the mage.
"They give off different sets of auras." I paused. "What's the plan Kyle?"
"Saving the scouts is our top priority." he replied. "Some of us will have to distract the monsters while the rest will go and save them."
"Captain!" shouted a soldier in the team. "Are you saying we have to sacrifice ourselves to distract the monsters?"
"That's not what I meant." I saw Kyle look at me with pleading eyes. I just sighed upon realizing what he was trying to say.
"I'll handle the A-Class. Kyle, you do something about the others."
He nodded. He then told us his plan…
Four soldiers were assigned to take the injured scouts to a safe distance, while Kyle and the rest of his men would be with me and fight the monsters. Although there were a few complaints, Kyle used his authority as a squad captain and gave them the order which the soldiers could not disobey.
We were hiding behind the trees and examined the situation ahead of us. We were also hiding our auras so the monsters won't be aware of us sooner. Just a few meters from where we were, the six injured and unconscious scouts were laid a meter apart. Like somebody deliberately put them that way, which made me wonder. Regular monsters wouldn't be able to do that and even if they did, one with intelligence should be leading them.
-Is that the case right now?
I looked back and forth the area where I sensed the monsters.
I looked at Kyle who immediately ordered us to slowly advance. The two mages were lagging behind because they were on support, as well as the four soldiers assigned to get the scouts to safety. I slowly made my way to where the A-Class monsters were and leaped to a branch silently. From where I was, I saw the two A-Class monsters, each accompanied by one B-Class and three D-Class. It made me really suspicious because they were different kinds of monsters and usually those from different species never got along.
"Do they have a high ranking general coordinating their movements?" I whispered to myself.
Usually, when a horde of different monsters gather, there would be a general-grade or at least king-grade monster leading them, but looking at the monsters below me, I couldn't help but have a foreboding feeling.
I immediately sent a mental link to Vyfal. Part of the plan was to take the monsters by surprise by having her attack from the sky. She was the biggest distraction and she would aim for the B-Class monsters and the others could focus in dealing with the lower-grade monsters.
With a sound of explosion, Vyfal descended from the sky which immediately annihilated a couple of B-Class monsters. I told her to keep attacking and make sure not to hurt the soldiers. I immediately descended from where I was and faced the monsters in front of me.
"Why do I feel like I'm the one who drew the short stick?" I mumbled.
With a couple of hand gestures, energy gathered in front of me which I formed into projectiles. I could see the monsters charge to my direction and I thought I needed to be fast. I took a deep breath and with a shout, I released the light blue energy projectiles which hit the monsters in the chest and the head. The B-Class and D-Class monsters immediately died, and as expected, the A-Class remained standing. The projectiles definitely hit them, but they were tougher.
I summoned my twin swords, Rile and Sanx, and got to a defensive stance.
"Let's dance."
A/N:
I know, dreadful. It's an Author's Note. Anyway, this is an announcement concerning the updates of this story. One new chapter every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at midnight (00:00). Yes, an M-W-F schedule, but it may change sometime in the future, depending on the availability of myself (the author). Don't worry, I'll give you guys a heads up. Don't forget to comment and vote!
xoxo,
Niche_Bezarius
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