8 Chapter 7: Not So Honest

A whole day has passed, and so much has already happened for Idaina. He woke up in a very dangerous situation and was able to fight out of it. Now, he is assigned as Elise"s personal bodyguard, to the dismay of everyone else in the Nebel mercenaries. They don't know a single thing about this person, besides their name and their skill with the blade. Though reluctantly, Karl Beisner, Elise's right-hand man, accepted the whole proposition. Karl measured up Idaina's abilities in a friendly spar. But he raised the stakes, opting to use real weapons instead of wooden ones used for practice. Karl thought this would give him an advantage, as he wields a spear and a kite shield. And unlike the fight with Elise, they would have the space of the encampment's training ground, a fenced-in space of the encampment that contains some dummies, target rings, and other training equipment. A wide enough battlefield for a proper duel.

"So this is the kid who you got as your bodyguard, Elise? It could have been me, you know." Karl spoke as he saw Idaina step into the training ground with his sword in hand.

Karl is an aged man, looking like to be in his late 40's. There was a device on his kite shield, a unique banner that represented the very noble house one serves or is a part of. Parts of his brown hair start to lose pigment and turn grey as well. But despite this, Elise warns Idaina that this old man fought in the Palvertian-Opamish Liberation War, otherwise known as the Great Rebellion, a story they will touch on at another time. But now, Idaina will be going up against a war veteran. He is also wearing full plated armor, minus the helmet, and headpiece to be a bit fairer. But despite the disparity between experience, Idaina has the power of his blade. This shouldn't be that hard, right?

Elise huffed, "Karl, I need someone who could disguise as a regular civilian, and at the same time be excellent with a weapon." She was standing behind the fence, wanting to spectate the battle for herself.

"Right, right. What's your name again, kid?" Karl asks as he holds his lance tighter.

"Idaina Senshi." He responds as he holds his sword with both hands, assuming a basic stance with his blade opting for a defensive approach.

"First to deal enough damage that Elise deems to be enough, or you force the other to yield. Don't go for killing blows, but you should already know that." Karl explains as he moves closer to the swordsman, keeping a distance of 10 paces between them.

"Ready?"

"Bring it," Idaina responded with a bit of a grin on his face, already sure that he will win.

"Here we go, then!" Karl yells as he rushes Idaina headlong, meaning to bash the man's face in with his kite shield.

It was a danger. It was a danger that would activate the ability. Idaina takes a step forward and experiences time to slow down again. This time, Idaina can't just go for a finishing blow like he always does, but instead has to beat the other into submission. The kite shield covers a significant portion of Karl's torso, and his other hand is tucked away, chambering the spear for a potential thrust or strike. Idaina plans out an action to cripple the spearman: quickly circle him while reeling back his blade, and when the opening is present, send the blade's blunt end crashing down at the back of his head. Time resumes as normal and he executes the plan, but as he was about to take advantage of Karl's opening, he was met with a smack to the side of the head by the wooden shaft of the spear. This caught Idaina off guard and took a few steps back.

Even Elise was surprised by how he was shut down in the middle of an attack. But she took this opportunity to taunt Idaina a bit. "Oh my, dear Idaina. Have you lost your edge already? You don't want to embarrass yourself now, do you?"

Idaina simply scoffed in frustration and took a moment to reassess the situation. He could not use conventional methods to dispatch of this opponent, and he had a huge shield that hindered the swordsman even more. Karl now sees that Idaina is open and goes for another whack with the shaft of his spear. Time slows down once again, and Idaina opted to just kick the shield with the heel of his foot, then take the opening created from it. He would assume a half-swording position, which involves grabbing onto the center of the blade and either add more power to thrust with the blade or bludgeon someone severely with the combined force of the sword's handle and pommel. In this case, Idaina will bludgeon the sword's handle into Karl's breastplate, which will cause enough force for a knockdown, or at least to buy some breathing room.

The plan then commences in real-time, Idaina lifting his foot and kicking into the kite shield. This caused Karl to stumble back a bit in recoil, canceling out his planned attack. Then the swordsman quickly gets into a half-swording posture and does a vertical bludgeoning strike down at Karl's chest, which is protected by a metal breastplate. The added force of this blow and the speed of execution catches Karl off guard, making him lose balance and fall onto his bottom, which makes a loud clanking sound from the metal armor.

"Woah." Was all that Karl could mutter as he slowly picks himself up. "That technique is something a master would do, kid. If you used the other end of that sword, you would've plunged that steel right into my heart." He continued, "I know what you can do now, but don't let it get to your head. You always have to be cautious, since now you will be protecting the lady's life."

"I'm aware. So what was this important meeting you two were talking about?" Idaina changed the subject, stepping out of the training ground and going over to a rather ecstatic Elise once she hears what Idaina was talking about.

"We are going to be hired by house Chello, the most powerful noble family in the whole Grand Duchy. They need extra people putting down a rebellion in their territory." Elise explains and procures a sheet of paper and shows it to the two males.

"A rebellion?" Idaina asks as he takes the piece of paper and read its contents. It was a call to arms to be sent to other noble lords to request for aid. But at the bottom, it stated that any mercenaries who wanted to offer their services would be rewarded handsomely. And if they are interested, they need to head to Erenlow, one of the major cities.

"Erenlow? Where is this?"

"A city that is under the protection of house Chello. It is both the biggest commercial and adventurer hub in the Grand Duchy. We will be heading there as soon as possible. And luckily, we are but an hour away!" She proclaimed as she procures a map and hands it to Idaina.

The Grand Duchy of Opami, Its capital being Verling. Having a natural land bridge with the Empire, and a few hours of ferrying to reach the nearest port city in the Kingdom above. The terrain in the Grand Duchy consists of various mountain ranges and hills scattered around, even the capital was built on top of the peak of a mountain. Due to the topography, the climate can either be considerably cold, or hot, depending on where one is positioned. Winter comes much sooner in this country, starting in the 7th month of the year, forcing the populace to move to the flat ground below.

"We can't keep them waiting any longer, post-haste everyone!" Elise chimes as she instructs her men to form a convoy right outside the encampment. The convoy would carry most of the mercenaries in carriages, while the rest will have to make do with their horses. Equipment will be already outfitted on the men, in the case of an ambush or attack.

"Idaina! You will ride with me again!" She called out to him, trying to get into a carriage. He shrugs and complies, mounting the same horse Elise was riding.

"Do these rebellions happen often?" Idaina starts off the line of questioning as Elise leads the convoy forward with her steed.

"It's an occasional thing. Most of them are incited by New Ventia. They want a world revolution, slaves breaking themselves free from their masters and taking their own lives into their own hands." Elise explains.

"New Ventia? Is this some kind of cultist group?" He asked curiously.

"No, it's a whole country. They broke off of their overlords, the Ventian Empire, and ever since was causing all sorts of trouble. They don't follow the system of a monarchy or imperialism but instead want every single individual to be equal through collectivism. Well, that's what my father told me anyway. Well, for now, they will help us earn a good amount of coin." She did not seem interested in the very adversary that is causing the trouble but is much more interested in the bounty of the current situation.

"This won't end well... Communists, at this time..?" Idaina asked to no one in particular, pondering about how this correlated in his world. Oppression and mistreatment of a populace can cause revolts and will evolve into a full-blown revolution. And this new ideology they came up with, it has communism painted all over it. If not, maybe anarchy. And soon, it will only be a matter of time until the international community will tackle this threat.

"Elise, what do you think about those New Ventia guys? Are they credible in their actions, or do you think it's phony?" The young man wanted to have the opinion of someone who's directly threatened by this political idea. Will she be full of herself? Or is she open-minded to such seemingly radical ideas?

"Hmm.." She took a moment to ponder, "If I were a peasant, being treated like utter garbage and forced to work to the bone, I would do the same they did. Many call them fools or traitors, but they are simply fighting for themselves. It takes a great amount of courage for them to take on the second-largest empire in this world. Though, if they are inciting these revolutions in other countries that's something I cannot stand for. They have my respect, but us nobles still have a duty. We need to protect this very land we fought so desperately for 10 years ago." She answered, seemingly having a liberal view on the whole thing.

"Oh, about the Great Rebellion, you should tell me about that. We've still got a long way to go according to the map." Idaina changed the subject, wanting to enrich his knowledge about this world even more.

"I'll just give you the non-boring version. 10 years ago, the Maveicalians were stretched too thin, completely controlling both this country and Palvertia to the north. We both did not like their rule very much, and we made arrangements with the Palvertians for a coordinated attack. And that's exactly what we did, villages and entire cities took up arms and threw out the Empire's garrisons. Hell, if we wanted to, we would have gone into Tanal and burned the place to the ground. But the Empire sued for peace, and we were satisfied with the land we gained." She trailed on, with Idaina listening intently as the time flew by.

"Interesting. So is that why you sympathize with these other Ventians?"

"Exactly. We rebelled all those years ago, and they followed our lead. But if they want the whole world to do it, it's not exactly great."

The chatters of the mercenaries were cut short by the distant shouts and echoing sounds of battle ahead of them. What could be seen inclined to them is terrifying. There was an ongoing siege of the city they were instructed to go to. Hordes of footmen charge up ladders siege towers but would be promptly repelled and destroyed. A hail of arrows would shower over the city's defenders, but a testudo formation would be called by the commander to minimize the damage. Among the enemy ranks though, there was an unfamiliar sight in Idaina's eyes. Men and women dressed in robes, with what looks like opened books resting on their palms. Were these mages? Or perhaps people that could use destructive magic of any kind?

These questions would be answered in less than a minute, as a line of these supposed mages would summon a ball of fire out of their free hands, and chuck it as hard as they can at the city defenders. Some would try to stray from the line formation to get a more accurate shot at the walls above but were quickly slaughtered by the archers that were stationed in the watchtowers. This resulted in the magical volley to be nothing but a display, none of the fireballs would reach their intended marks, and any who would get into the effective range of the bowmen would be cut down in nearly an instant. This type of warfare is not new to Idaina, but the whole new factor of magic will make things easier and harder.

Elise gives the order for the mercenaries in the carriages to dismount from their carriages and get into battle formations of their own. While the other men on horseback remained on their steeds and assembled into a cavalry formation as they closed in on the city.

Once they reached the rear entrance of the city, what looks like a general greets them, as he was wearing lavish armor, made out of an assortment of metals. "Stand easy, vanguard! They are allies, coming to our aid!" He proclaims to the men that were about to pepper Elise's company with arrows and slingshot rounds.

"You are mercenaries, yes?- Ah, forget that we will discuss the details after this is over. We need you and your men to do a hard flank on their formation. They are focused on taking the city walls, but it hasn't been working well for them. While their infantry is over here, their missile and magical units are sitting out there like sitting ducks! Their commander is over there too, but his bodyguard is with him, so be careful. Get on out there!" The general explained the whole ordeal to Elise, before heading back inside the walls to continue commanding his men.

The battlefield proves to be very advantageous for the defenders, as the town is sitting upon a rather steep hill, requiring the attackers to exert a lot of energy before they even get close and place their siegeworks. But judging from the current situation, the attackers were under the cover of something to establish a toehold on the city. But Elise was planning to ride out from one side of the town, avoiding combat with the enemy center as much as possible.

Elise assembles her company equally on both flanks of the city, riding out on their horses and strike the enemy's vulnerable archers and mages; maybe even the opposing commander if they could. The horsemen did something a bit unconventional, having two men ride on the horse at the same time, serving as a type of troop transport while it can still function as a cavalry unit, though encumbered by the weight of another person. It is paramount they get close enough for the infantry to close the gap and fight on their own without hindrance. Heavier armed and armored infantry will be left in the city to defend any possible breaches and promptly repulse.

And so, the cavalry contingent of Elise's company sully out from the rear entrance after planning and preparation, traversing down the hill and onto the flat lands where their mobility advantage will be much more apparent. Idaina was still riding with Elise, leading the charge of the left-wing. While the right-wing was being led by a trusted lieutenant of the company.

Their horses gallop across the field as they harmlessly pass by the chaotic fighting in the front entrances of the city. Some of the reserves standing by spot the mercenaries and call for them to be pursued. Unfortunately, they don't have any cavalry of their own. A small force of spearmen try to chase after them, but it was useless to run after a horse that was in full gallop. With the failure to eliminate or distract the incoming wave of horsemen, the rebel backline is now completely exposed.

"Ever seen magic before, Idaina?!" Elise raised her voice to compensate for how loud the sounds of battle were.

"Only now. I suppose they can't defend themselves in this state. But tell your men to spread out, they can still hurl those fireballs at us!" Idaina clutched onto his sword.

"They already know that, but I hope you are ready to charge for the mages. When our formation hits those mages, get off!" Elise draws her cavalry saber from its scabbard and got ready to ram into the closely packed mages who were bracing themselves for the charge.

What follows next was a display of chaos. Once the first few cavalrymen strike or run down the first few mages, the other light infantrymen dismounted and assisted with the following slaughter of the magic users. Others who were dismounted farther immediately ran to the archers that weren't too far behind the mages; that included Idaina.

Since Elise was leading the charge, Idaina had to drop in the thick of it. There was no time for his power to be utilized, and the combat was very fast-paced. With sword in hand, he cuts down the magic users that were the most dangerous, the ones who would dare use their magic in this kind of range. Others trembled but clung to the formation, but others seemed deterrent to the charge. Soon other infantrymen joined Idaina and encircled the mages and killing most of them, some lucky survivors running away but were run down by some pursuing cavalrymen.

The remaining formation of archers was already long routed when they saw their comrades be killed before them. Only leaving the general and his guard remaining in the backline. The general abruptly gets off of his mount and removes his helmet, revealing the face of a grizzled old man who's seen hundreds of battles. He approaches the mercenary forces who were cleaning up the stragglers, and who were planning to encircle and ultimately end the battle with the general's death.

"I challenge one of you to a duel! Face me in single combat, and feel the wrath of the Great-"

"I'll take you on," Idaina spoke suddenly, cutting the man off mid-sentence. He steps forward from the formation of mercenaries and distancing himself with the general, his sword held in a neutral stance.

"Such confidence." The general snickered and drew his blade, a longsword forged from steel. "Just because that blade is fine and balanced does not mean you can use it, boy." He continued, taunting the other swordsman.

"Now then." The general utters before spinning around his sword, flourishing it around with his hand. This was rather strange, as usually, duels would involve one on one fighting. This was something Idaina did not understand, was he supposed to do tricks and showboat with his sword as well? Well, he just did the next best thing.

While the general was busy showing off with his skills in showboating, Idaina closes the distance with a few dashes, the tip of the blade aimed right for the neck of the other combatant. The general did not have time to react, he could not even raise his sword to block the strike; the fight ended in those few seconds. Idaina's blade was plunged into the general's neck, instantly killing him. The swordsman pulled it out, gushes of blood spilling out, and the now-deceased general drops to the ground.

"Run for your lives!" One of the general's guards exclaimed and turned tail, galloping into the other direction as fast as they possibly could. The mercenaries around Idaina looked confused, some even disgusted at the sight that beheld before them. The air was silent. No one dared utter a word, and Idaina was there, looking down at the corpse of a fine general, feeling like he did something wrong.

"Did I do something wrong?" He broke the silence, looking around at his mercenary allies, and finally at Elise.

"It wasn't wrong, but... Certainly unexpected." Elise answered, the rest of the mercenaries there agreeing by affirmative murmurs and nods.

The awkward air breaks when the sound of trumpets and cheers echo from the city behind them, which signaled a successful defense. The mercenaries, in turn, got back on their horses and rode back to the town to collect their well-deserved reward. Once they arrive at the front gate with Elise and Idaina being the first seen, the cheers grew louder and the fanfare intensified. They were greeted by the Opamish general who oversaw the battle on the defending side.

"Sir Dimitri." Elise states as she and Idaina dismount. "How much coin will you give us for the stunt we pulled?" She asked, motioning to Idaina behind her.

"A grand sum, of course. But he is impatient, huh? Does not give his opponent a chance, and not even going with the pre-duel tradition." Dimitri smiles wryly and looked over to Idaina. "Good job, kid. That was the fastest duel I have ever seen. It may be deemed dishonorable, but it's on the battlefield." With that remark, Dimitri heads off to reconsolidate his forces and count the dead and treat the wounded.

"You should get your stats checked, Idaina. See that lady over there in the tent? Just give her your book, and she will do the rest." Elise explained as she got Idaina's empty book from her satchel and gives it to him.

Idaina complies and heads over to the tent, clearing his throat to get the attention of the woman, who seemed to be dozing off. She was startled but regains her composure quickly.

"Ah yes, mister adventurer, how may I be of service?" The witch asks, her expression hidden under the hood of her cloak.

"I need this checked. First page." The swordsman responds, placing the brown book on the table in front of them.

"So you are a new adventurer, sir? But if I recall, I saw you with the other mercenaries that helped out here." She opens the book to the first page, closing her eyes and positioning her finger on the book.

"Well, I did kill the rebel general in a duel." He admitted, feeling a bit boastful.

"No way." The witch uttered and began her work, her finger glowing and rapidly writing down the specified stats, Tier, and traits that Idaina has currently. At the same time, she casts a spell that deems a person if they are telling the truth or not. Of course, the person affected will not know until one out of two things happen: they will emit a crude odor and make it obvious that they are lying, or nothing happens, meaning that they are stating the truth.

Once she was done and opened her eyes, shocked at the sight before her.

[ HP: 70

STR: 85

DEX: 75

MAG: 0

STAM: 70

DEF: 65

Idaina Senshi - Adventurer Tier: D

Level: 18

Traits: Brawler, Hardened, Duelist ]

And at the same time, she could not sense any crude odor in the air, meaning everything that Idaina has said was the exact truth. The witch hands Idaina back the book for him to see.

"Not bad for my second day." He whispers under his breath, believing he's got a headstart compared to the rest of his friends, assuming that they were transported here as well.

"No wonder you are so high already. It would take rookies a few weeks to reach anywhere near you are right now. Keep it up, sir. Until we meet again." She waves Idaina goodbye as he walks out of the tent and back to Elise, who was preoccupied with assessing the large sum of money the mercenaries were rewarded with.

"Oh, you're back. What's your Tier and level?" Elise looks up to see Idaina.

"Tier D and 18." He stated simply,

"I would be surprised, but everything that I've seen you do is simply amazing. Maybe it has something to do with that sword?" She inquired further, looking back down to the sacks of coins she has to arrange and portion out accordingly.

"It is." Idaina decides that Elise deserves to know this, as she has offered him shelter from danger and the elements, a spot within her company so he can earn money, and is overall really kind to him.

"Oh?" This piqued her interest, looking back up at him.

"It gives me a unfair advantage in battle. Whenever an attack is close, time just... Slows down. I have a lot of time to plan out what I do, and I execute them in real-time. Problem is, once I lock in the sequence of movements I want to do, I cannot correct them once they are in motion. If my opponent were to counter my strike, I will be completely helpless."

"Huh... Is that why you panicked when I suddenly lunged at you in the war room?" She smiled a little at the thought of yesterday's fight.

"That's right, time did not slow down and I did not have that safe space to plan out my next move. At the very least, I proved to you that I'm not useless without this sword, right?" He lifts the sword in question and lays it on his lap.

"Indeed, you are a capable fighter even without that ability. But back to the sword. Why do you think it was suddenly given to you when you woke up here?"

"I have no clue."

"Makes sense. Also, here, buy yourself some protection. Won't do us any good getting you seriously hurt." She hands him a pouch of gold coins. "It's exactly 8,000 gold, should be enough to get you a good set of armor."

He takes the money and heads to the marketplace, specifically to the armorer. He was looking for something light yet will provide adequate protection against slashes and stabs. He spots a set of armor that is plated chainmail, covering most of the upper body to the upper legs. It also had a standard knight's helmet, but excluding the visor and anything that would protect the face and jaw. This was perfect for Idaina's way of fighting and immediately inquires to the armorer about it and purchases the set and helmet. It cost him 7,500 gold, almost all of the money that Elise had given him. He promptly puts on the armor, wanting to know how it feels and getting used to the weight.

He goes back to Elise, who was now talking to Sir Dimitri, a general who led the defense of Erenlow.

"So will you help us against the New Ventians?"

"I did not even know they were from New Ventia... I thought they were rebels that were riled up by them." Elise sounded surprised.

"I thought the same. But upon closer inspection, their banners bear the New Ventian flag. It's either they were in hiding this whole time, or they sent a whole army without our knowledge." Dimitri huffed, "I even received word from the other noble houses, these "rebellions" have also shown up in their lands. You have to help us, Elise." He pleaded and lowered his head.

"I am more than willing to help out, as long as we are paid according to how much we contributed. My boys don't just sit back a stone wall and form shield walls, so we will be quite expensive, Dimitri." She crosses her arms and smirks.

"Money won't be a problem, the invaders at our doorstep are the biggest threat to us right now. You don't want them "liberating" your hometown, right?" He raises his head.

"Of course not. I'll defend the entirety of Atfurt alone if I had to." She hums and turns to Idaina who has been listening in on them this whole time. Dimitri walks off to assign shifts during this evening and night.

"You heard all that, Idaina? We'll be part of the Opamish army for a while."

"It's going to be yet another long day tomorrow, huh?"

As night falls and the city starts to quiet down with the celebrations, the troops went into their garrison quarters and promptly rested up for the upcoming campaign. The Nebel mercenaries set up their tents and sleeping bags, as exhausted as anyone else. Idaina was assigned to sleep with Elise in a tent. It was incredibly awkward, but he had no choice but to comply with her orders. The moment they got in and laid down on the leather mat, Elise instantaneously fell into a deep sleep, immediately clinging onto Idaina as a sort of pillow. Luckily, he was facing the other way. But the worst part was that he could not shake her off without sounding suspicious to the other mercenaries. He has to lay still in that exact position, a woman cuddling him from behind. Not exactly a situation he's going to complain about, but it's the least he can do for the same lady's kindness onto him.

'This is insane. The others won't believe this at all.' Again, the thoughts of his friends plague his mind as he attempts to fall asleep.

The task ahead of him won't wait, though. And time is ticking.