Proofread by Thomas F
Vaessa Talonfall
"I only wanted a few minutes more," said Mardan as he stopped beside me.
He didn't even get down from his bone construct. Talking to me like he is my superior, he is not. Technically, I am his superior, but I am not an idiot enough to say that.
I know it is only temporary, as long as he continues to behave. He will get his old position back.
"The orders were to assess the strength of the fortress, and we have achieved that; there was no reason to fight longer than we needed to," I replied, keeping my voice even.
This man scares me; it is not so much the power but his impulses, which he controlled better than I had thought.
I thought I would need to evoke the name of his teacher to stop him, but things didn't come to that. He had stopped the battle after some complaining.
He didn't reply and just snorted.
I was relieved that he didn't make any threats; he is not someone I want to be on the bad side of.
"How was Silver?" I asked.
I was busy with the battle, so I wasn't able to see much, and later in the battle, he had covered the whole battlefield with smog and used sensory suppression spells.
"He is good, more powerful than we had expected. Especially that monster and the skill that lets him share its power," he said with a big smile appearing on his face.
I was surprised and shuddered at the same time. That smile is not a good one.
"It's such a regret that I couldn't fight him to my heart's content. I really wanted to use my true spells and aura," he added, with his expression filled with disappointment.
"I am sure you will get the chance, eventually," I replied, and he nodded.
"How was your battle?" He asked, turning to me a few seconds later. "The same; the General is more capable than I had expected," I replied with a frown appearing on my face.
I had not expected that, and it's not a good thing.
We will attack them eventually, and with the speed at which their strength is rising, they might give us some challenge. That is a bad thing for us, as being challenging is something our other neighbours are not doing.
"I think it is a good thing, when the time comes, things wouldn't be boring," he said, with a grin spreading across his face.
…
General Cardin
The scaled stallion, with lightning bolts swimming across its body, landed beside me.
The imposing monster was dangerous before, but now it had become even more so. Just standing beside makes my heart shudder and raises all the hair on my body.
It is not a simple beast, but a wild monster that Lord Silver had tamed.
People rarely do that because it's hard to tame them, and not to mention the unpredictability they can cause in the heat of battle, but Jordan says the young lord has a way with the monsters.
"How did things go?" I asked. "Better than we had expected," I replied.
Still, his expressions turned bad as he looked back. People died, only nine of the fifty thousand we had taken into the fight, while many others were injured.
Some are more serious than the others.
I had brought all the battle healers in battle and mages who could cast a healing spell. Their only purpose was to heal, with a unit of people protecting them from all sides.
It helped in managing casualties, but the deaths still filled me with rage.
Those were the good soldiers; they didn't have to die, but they did due to the sick games of the undead, and the worst thing is, we couldn't kill them for it.
Yes, our people killed the undead, but that will only cost them some magic, which at most will be repaired by the morning.
"Good, we will talk more in the fortress," he said and rode forward, leaving the tiny bolts of lightning behind, which took a few seconds to disperse.
Well, it's not going to be a stealthy monster. There is nothing stealthy about it.
"The battle between Lord Silver and Necromancer had been terrifying. If he hadn't been here, that necromancer would have destroyed us easily," said Irab, with fear flashing in the eyes of the man.
"The necromancer had only attacked because of Lord Silver. If he hadn't been here, he wouldn't have revealed himself," I replied.
The undead might have still attacked, but not the necromancer. This was not a real attack, but a test. If it had attacked, we would have been trying to stop them from breaching the fortress.
"I thought we became quite strong after dealing with all these enemies, but these undead had shown how weak we still are," said Johson, shaking his head with a sigh.
"We are not weak; they are just too strong," I replied; to that, the men around me smiled.
"Besides, we are growing stronger by the day. I truly believe in my heart. that one day, we will become strong enough to deal with even them," I added.
"Let's just hope that day does not come before we are ready," replied Irab.
I didn't say anything about that because I don't know. Navr sent their hordes every decade, but it's not set in stone. Sometimes they take two or three decades; sometimes they don't wait a decade at all.
The last two attacks Navr had made were only after six and a half years.
So, we can't really predict when it will happen; the only thing we can do is stay as prepared as possible. So that we could resist them when they attacked us.
Soon, we reached the fortress's gates and entered with the army.
"Do you think General Stone would be able to take on Lord Silver if the two of them were to fight?" asked Irab suddenly.
I looked at the man and was glad that he was using a privacy skill.
Lord Silver won't mind such a speculative question, but that doesn't mean others won't use and twist it. It is how it happened to me with Dane.
Since then, I have always been careful when speaking.
"A few months ago, I might have said that General Stone might be able to defeat him. It might have taken him everything he has, but with the great strength and stamina that his giant bloodline provides."
"Now, I don't think it would be possible," I replied.
It's true: the man is improving fast. I asked General Stone that question when he came to the fortress a few weeks ago, and he said he had no confidence in defeating Lord Silver.
"How quickly things change. It wasn't long ago that Lord Silver was someone we could fight head-on. Now, he is someone to defeat us in a single move," said Irab, laughing.
I smiled as well.
I remember the first time I met the young man. It was when I brought the army to Greltheaven to aid the count, then Silver.
I truly had no hope; Dane had sent me to die, and I thought I would die, but not only did we survive, but we thrived beyond what I had dreamed.
I believe that, in time, we will be strong enough to handle anything our neighbors throw at us.
…
Taren Zanav
The ship's laid down the ramp and a minute later, crates begin to roll down through it into the harbor.
Each crate holds a sedated green stallion.
They are sarmors; the fastest beasts in our famed cavalry. These beasts are fast and could carry the leaner cannons.
"With this, we will be able to form another swift blast company," said Lomus, and the man looked relieved. So, am I, but the ruler didn't need to show it. Though I am glad they came today.
It is the reason why I am awake at three AM in the night.
Yesterday had been filled with bad news after bad news. Silver's monster had advanced, and it is incredibly powerful, if the intelligence is to be believed.
There is also news that Summerfield has found a new vein in that envious mine.
Any gain of theirs is a loss of mine; I know these bastards want my territory. There is also the undead; they are closest to me, but they are more interested and keep their focus on Silver.
Which is a good thing and a bad thing.
It is giving me a chance to grow, but I know that if they were able to defeat Silver and conquer Greltheaven, I will be the first one they will target after.
I hate Silver like I never hated anyone before, but I don't want the undead to conquer Greltheaven.
I know very well that with the essence provided by the Velvet Garden, they will be unstoppable. I don't want to admit it, but the Great Horde last time had scared me.
It was powerful enough to sweep through the whole region, but Silver had somehow stopped it.
The question of how he did that always kept me all-night as my ultimate target was Greltheaven. As long as I conquer it, no one will be my match.
The essence of Velvet Garden would help me find a force that will enable me conquer the whole region; not even Grimvale and the undead will be able to stand in my way.
Then I will show my sister who the real son of House Zanav is.
"It's far from enough for our current needs. We need at least ten companies of swift blast, and we didn't even have half," I replied, bringing myself back to the real world.
I wish my father could send me more, but he says he needs it for his own use; he is allied with the Princess. Some of his forces are busy fighting against the Crown Prince's forces, and some are fighting on the frontline, where he is.
He may have joined the princess's side, but he is not fighting the Prince's directly.
He is keeping himself on the frontline, fighting against the empire's enemies while my sister leads our forces on the Princess's side.
So, if the Crown Prince wins, our house will survive, albeit with damage, but if the Princess wins, we will win big. We will get a larger territory and a bigger title.
It's all because of my dear sister that I am not getting the help I need. If not for her, my father would have sent me more forces.
I pushed those thoughts away, and I walked toward the crates.
Four companies may not be enough for my needs, but it's a start, and I am sure I will be able to convince my father to send more, with the progress I am making in my cities.
I have become self-sufficient.
Even if my father cuts off the money now, I will be able to survive, but I would rather avoid that situation. His help is very important, especially with the forces.
Unbroken General of Resolve Lv. 43