บท 33: Chapter 33 - Its a Trap!

"Your majesty?"

I turned my gaze from the battlefield to him. "Did you hear that second horn, commander?"

He nodded and frowned, confusion marring his face. "I don't-"

I raised a hand to stop him. "It's a trap commander. The original force of two thousand was just bait for us. We've been locked in on two sides. I don't know if they know we have flying mounts but they're probably under the impression that we can't let this place fall, which is correct."

The commander's frown deepened and he sighed, looking far more tired than he had before. "I should've known it wouldn't be this easy. It seemed too odd when they first appeared and started pushing. They might have taken the fort I suppose, but the loss of life wouldn't have been worth it because you would have come in and just taken it back, but if it's just a ruse then I guess it makes far more sense. What's the plan, your majesty."

"That's easy," I said, trying to relax and get my thoughts together. "My allies will be done shortly and we will get ready for another siege though I doubt it will be a typical siege. It will most likely be a repeat of this. We will just have to break it once again."

Brinehall nodded at my words but there was still a worried look in his eyes. "Your majesty they wouldn't try this without a substance force. Would it not be best for us to retreat?"

He said the last word quietly and despite it being a reasonable request I still felt my anger rise.

"No we will not retreat," I said, sternly. "This fort is too valuable and I'll be damned if I'm going let it fall into the hands of the princess's pet. I will destroy this fort before I let them have it, commander, so go and get your men prepared. The fighting isn't over!"

He straightened at my words and bowed at the waist before hurriedly marching off.

I let out a breath when he was gone and held back the urge to lean my head against the battlement wall. I was worried about what was about to happen, and my threat had been true. I would destroy the fort before I let them have it. It was too much of a strategic position and would make the rest of this idiotic war even harder to fight. As for the force marching on us now? I had my tokens. In fact if I'd leveled up then I should have not just one common token but two plus the situation token which I was hoping would be my saving grace.

After all, what's the best way to fight an army? with an army of your own or course.

"Master!"

I shook the thoughts away and looked up to see all my summons clinging onto Rath who was letting out annoyed growls. I chuckled at the sight and motioned them to jump onto the battlements.

"All dead?"

Domino nodded. "Yep, with Rath and Blair none managed to get away and any that they didn't catch Stalker took care off. He's a scary one I'll tell you that. I was confused when bodies started dropping then I realized why."

"What with the horns Boss?" Leone asked, stepping closer. "And what with the frown?"

I sighed and leaned my head into her chest. She placed her hands on my back and head then slowly rubbed up and down. I felt some of the pressure and stress leave me.

"It's all a trap," I said. "This force that we just beat was just bait for a larger force on the way. I don't know if they knew we were coming with riders, but either way, we can't leave, and I'm assuming that's what they're betting on."

"That's bad," Zombieman said. "What are we gonna do?"

"I have tokens left and a situation token," I replied. "I'm hoping the situation merits a damn good summon that can deal with it. You guys are gonna be doing the same thing you did, causing chaos and havoc within the enemy ranks, though it might not be as easy this time. I'm gonna have to split you up again. Lilah and Domino will be on the other side with Gible while leone and Zombeiman will be on this side with Stalker. Blair and Rath will be doing the same things as before, which you guys did perfectly by the way."

I moved from Leone's grasp and gave Balira and Rath a smile. "Great work. Remind me to reward both of you later. In fact, I'll reward all of you later."

"Thank you, master," Blair said. "I know what I want for my reward."

She said the last work in a sultry purr and several thoughts crossed my mind before I got it under control and rolled my eyes at her.

"Later," I said, and meant it. After this battle, if all went well, I would need to relieve some stress and I could think of no better way than a tumble in the bed, especially since I wasn't hung up on the idea anymore.

As my summons split off I finally brought up all the system notifications I'd been ignoring up until now.

[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 4]

[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 4]

[Congratulations! Gible has Leveled up! Gible is now Level 4]

[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 4]

[Congratulations! Migi has Leveled up! Migi is now Level 2]

[Congratulations! Rathalos has Leveled up! Rathalos is now Level 2]

[Congratulations! Rathalos has Leveled up! Rathalos is now Level 3]

[Congratulations! Zombieman has Leveled up! Zombieman is now Level 3]

[Congratulations! Blair has Leveled up! Blair is now Level 2]

[Congratulations! Stalker has Leveled up! Stalker is now Level 2]

[Congratulations! You have Leveled up! You are now Level 6]

[Reward: Summoning Token]

I smiled. It was just a common token, but every token would count if the situation token didn't act as I wanted it to or didn't give me a summon that could deal with the situation alone.

"Gible!"

I shifted slightly as a hole in the ground appeared and Gible popped out.

"Had fun?"

"Gible!"

I chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. Go form up with Lilah and Domino, there on the other side of the fort battlement."

"Gible!" he replied before he jumped back into the hole.

"Your majesty, is all well?"

I looked up just in time to see Asara jump from her mount to land beside me. She was covered in blood, dirt and who knew what else, but she had an excited grin on her face and was practically vibrating with energy. She didn't look tired or winded at all. These talon riders sure are something, I thought, definitely elite.

"It's all a trap," I told her, moving my gaze back to the direction of the first thorn. I couldn't see it that well, but in the distance, I was almost certain there was a long line of soldiers marching closer. "You need to get your riders ready. It isn't over yet."

She nodded and looked even more excited. Is she a battle junkie, I thought, that's good to me I suppose.

"I will stay by your side, your majesty," She said. "My riders already have their orders. The scout I sent has yet to come back so either they took her down or she's run into a problem."

Almost as if her words had summoned the scout. A bleeding silver hawk came diving down before leveling out. The rider atop it was heavily injured though was still on their feet and had a please smile on their face.

"Your majesty, commander. An army approaches," she said. "I ran into a kor with flying abilities. I managed to kill him but I'm sure I was spotted."

"Anything unique about the army?" I asked.

"It's a large portion of the Princess's army. They're waving her banners and their armor is in her colors."

So it was some form of magical transportation then, not a hidden force. That was a better outcome than the hidden force since it meant we would have less to deal with later if we won this battle.

Now I just had to wait for them to get closer and for the battle to start so I could use my situation token. Hopefully, it would give me something to counter this situation, after all that was its purpose.