94 Beginning of the Great War

What can be said about Ronta? It has the best orphanage in this world, the butchers are unscrupulous, and the guards are a bunch of greedy lads. It has served my perpetual evolution for a very long time. At first, I was only a small little rat, fleeing some Gods of Destruction and wolves. Then, it was to prevent an assassin from killing me, and I ended up against a dwarf. But every time I left it, it was because of the chaos that I provoked and with a bunch of humans chasing me.

It has been more than a month since I rushed past the ramparts and exited by the northern walls. At that time, I was still scared by the magicians. I am still scared of them, I mean, they are the only reliable way for the holy kingdom to destroy my army. But between my incapacity to kill them and just a pain in the ass to do it, I have greatly improved.

I come from the East of the city, and I am still a little too far for the humans to spot my army. The local farmers that should be planting their seeds or taking care of their animals are all gone. Apparently, the mayor didn't manage to appease the fear of the commoners. As I approach Ronta, I can see that instead of some farmers, there is an army with a lot of tents surrounding the walls.

That is very strange? Why are they outside and not inside? I mean, with the absence of the population, there is plenty of rooms inside the city, there is no way that it is full. What could possibly happen when I was gone that would force an army so big that the important city of Ronta can't provide a house for everyone? There is a problem.

I order my three spirits to roam past the walls, to see the inside and let Oslo watch everything. Shortly after, the god speaks to me with a powerful voice.

(GO AWAY! NOW!)

Ok, fine, I return toward the forest, where I can't even see the walls of the human town. But I need some answers now Oslo, what happened?

(Honestly, if I had to guess, a new Portal War. Quite frankly, there are more troops near Ronta than the population of both Lucia and Ronta. The army is huge, and it has encircled the town from all sides. Even in the West, there are a lot of tents and carts coming and leaving. They are preparing for something, but I don't know what.)

That's why I asked my spirits to go, that way, you can scout, listen, gather information and report to me all of this.

(The spirits … the spirits are all dead.)

WHAT? They cost me a lot, what happened?

(Like I said, it is an army like the one I saw during the Portal War. That means the Church has made the first move. The holy priests and some archbishops have put so much walls against detection, undead, evil spirits, that the moment I discovered their presence, they already had destroyed the three spirits. The power of faith is a scary thing. And now, there is a horde of fanatics and madman believing in Aria located in the same city. If you do the same thing that you did at the orphanage, it will be useless. Now even the weak sisters that barely have any powers are capable of healing your plagues.)

And I guess that the high concentration of men belonging to the Church improves the blessings of Aria too?

(Yes, you get it quickly. That's the perks of having a big and powerful army, the stronger it is, the stronger it becomes. A virtuous circle. But the reverse happens when you begin to lose too many battles. Honestly, there is only one thing that can provoke such a reaction. It is your action, saying that the ratmen will attack once again. But there is still a problem that I have no idea how they fixed it.)

You mean, where the ratmen are? Because what is the point of such an army if you have no enemy in front of you. But the presence of the army means they have at least a clue about the position of the ratmen. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been reassembled at Ronta. But I guess that means my plan to attack the city needs to be forgotten.

(You can still attack if you want, I will bet that your army will last exactly 10 seconds. 11, top.)

Yes, I get the idea, you don't have to do such sarcastic remarks. But the good thing is, if I manage to reach Atria, the capital, nothing will stop me. All their forces or the majority is here, leaving a meager garrison to prevent the powerful me from rampaging. So I just have to dodge the threat in front of me and most importantly, not be seen. Because otherwise, they can detach a small troop of heavy knights to deal with me before launching the assault against the ratmen.

(We have no idea for how long they will stay here, maybe they are waiting for the elves, maybe they are waiting for some information from the dwarves, who knows? As for the moment, I can advise you to create a new spirit, for me. And to be sure, when you recover enough mana, invoke once again the two others. That way, your travel to the capital will be without surprises. I know that you hate surprises, so it's for your own good.)

Yes, I know, here you go spirit number one. I create it and after that begins to travel toward the South. I don't enter the forest once again, fearing the reactions of the treants. They can potentially watch me and I will have no idea, even Oslo have a hard time knowing what is a true tree and what is a living tree. Only when they start moving can my spy in the sky detect them.

It was a pleasant walk, in the plains, with a slight breeze. An enjoyable walk, with no problems, no worries. I have to enjoy such things, otherwise, I will be bored. I spend more time walking and running than fighting, and even when doing such things, I am not protected from unforeseen events. Why am I thinking such things, that's really dumb? It's literally an invitation to a disaster, and I will only have me to blam…

(NIGHTFALL!)

I instantly active a huge cloud of shadows around me, blocking any light and preventing someone to see me. During a fraction of seconds, I really begin to curse Oslo. Only to praise him.

"-146HP"

OUCH! I have a dagger planted in my right shoulder, it broke my magic shield. That's probably what prevented my death. Surrounding me, all the skeleton magicians are casting their magic shields and my Chosen are getting in formation to protect me. But all of this is useless, I know that only one thing can bypass the detection of Oslo. The first time, it was just sheer luck that I was stuck with the treants, forcing the assassin to stop and be easier to detect. And even during that time, it took a long time for Oslo to spot him.

I remove the dagger from my shoulder and put it in my bag. I can't drop it or the sound will alert the assassin. Inside my [Nightfall], I am near invisible. The size of it is now huge, and I have a huge space to move inside. So by now, the chances that a lucky throw can hit me is far too low. Adding all the magic shields, even the strongest weapons or spells won't be able to hurt me. He has to get close, and for that, I am waiting for him.

(He is gone, for now. But this time, he is running to the North, not even checking if you are dead or alive. He probably will report you alive, seeing your skeletons to have a proper order and formation. So apparently, the ratmen are on the rise once again. You are really unlucky, I am certain that he was just checking the army of the Holy Kingdom of Aria, and you just appeared. I have no way to tell if it is the same as before, but you are probably on their death list. I advise you to create ten doppelgangers of you, for now, that way, you will be able to dodge some assassinations. Now, you have to deal with the humans and your people.)

Great, thanks for your kind words and your concern about my injury. But I really didn't expect the ratmen to be so close to me. And that means they have found me, and I kind of dishonored them, by escaping one of their assassins. Farewell, my walk in the park with no troubles and welcome to my highway to hell, what will kill me first, the knights of the Church or the assassins of Salazar?