Chapter 92: Hope In The Snow II
Inside the mansion
Gard sat down at the dining table with his head in a whole lot of pain. Marcus was setting his fingers ablaze, while using the little power of the demon seed still in him, to burn off the foreign magic in his body and heal. Nathan just stood to the side, drinking a glass of water.
"Do you have any questions to ask me?" Sloane asked
"I...have a lot. I'm still trying to sort out what I should ask first" Gard said
"Maybe we should start by address the elephants in the room" Natasha suggested and everyone turned towards Xavier and Kathy
"Oh, yes" Sloane said "This is Demon General Kathy and that is Demon General Xavier"
"Wait, Kathy?" Gard asked while looking at Kathy "Ah. No wonder the stench of flowers and aphrodisiac was so strong"
"The flowery scent came from the Princess. Not me" Kathy said and Xavier sniffed around her neck "What are you doing?"
"Nope. It's definitely you" Xavier said "Are you by any chance in your fertile days?"
"I spent what felt like ages locked up in the spirit world. I haven't been calculating" Kathy said "Anyways, can we stop talking about my fertile days and scent. It's uncomfortable" she said and everywhere went silent
"It's been bothering me for a while but I guess I should ask" Gard said "Among the people you sent to aid the West, there was one overly powered human. I'd like to know how she got here"
"Priya followed Tim to the settlement. He didn't know how to handle her on his own so he decided that King Marcus should be the one to make the decision. Since then, Priya has been with us and has been a big help" Sloane said "She also acted as a sparring partner for me in the spirit world. That's how we discovered she was as mage and her medical knowledge is far more advanced than Louisa or any other medical soldier you'll come across"
"I see" Gard sighed "Moving on to my next question. Why did you abandon the East and West?" he asked "I can understand why the civilians and injured had to be moved but, you left these two places completely deserted"
"For starters, I purely did this for us to prepare a counterattack" Sloane said "This is an alliance of three tribes to take down the same enemy. I already made a plan ahead of time...However, after seeing the situation with my own two eyes, I decided, this was the best course of action" she rested against her arm and made gestures with her other hand "Moving all the civilians from the front lines to the South, which is farther away from the North. This would allow the soldiers to fight without restraint. Which is also the reason why the South is currently the only settlement being rebuilt [she lifted one finger]. Secondly, the West and East also doesn't need people to stand guard...once the Michelle family's bloodline magic has been cast, it can not be undone until the caster is either dead or has left this world for another. Since I'm all the way in the South and enemies come in from the North, I'm perfectly safe as anything my bloodline magic determines as my enemy with have its whole body frozen right down to the molecular level, until they die. However, that doesn't mean I'll remain static and lower our attack power [she lifted another finger]"
'I'm surprised she thought this far ahead' Gard thought 'I couldn't even see the full picture of her plan'
"However, there are more reasons to this shift I'm making everyone undergo" Sloane said and she dropped her free hand "The third, is for me to know the total number of people participating in the war and personally observe them to know how I'm going to divide our forces. Their strengths and weaknesses....knowing this will allow me to fully control the battlefield in our favour"
"That makes sense" Gard mumbled
"The fourth and also the last, is so everyone knows they're in the same situation. Their loved ones died on the battlefield and a lot of those bodies were moved here. However, those bodies can't be kept as I've learnt our enemies can use the corpses of those who've passed, to attack us again. Not only would it not be in our favour and have our three clans eliminated, but it will also be traumatic for those who knew them well, to face them again as an enemy. Which is why I've also made the decision to burn all the dead bodies at once. Any other questions?" Sloane asked and there was silence for a while
"Did the people agree to this?" Marcus asked as he glanced at her
"You can hear it for yourself, dad" Cassandra said while pointing at Marcus. Soon, the voices of everyone outside could be heard
"Even if we lose their bodies, their names and faces will forever be engraved in our hearts"
"I don't what to have to fight one of my comrades. This is the best decision"
"We'll corner and concur the North. Their lives wouldn't be in vain"
"I don't want my husband's body to be used as a weapon of war. Burning it...is the right decision"
"When did you have time to tell them?" Marcus asked
"During our moments of silence, I sent a message to all our kind within my zone and told them of these very details" Sloane said "As you can see, everyone is taking it well. This is war...and within all this snow, and the deaths that loom over us, I want to at least give those who follow me, hope"
"And the problem with Lucard?" Gard asked
"For now, Allen has decided to take up the position and make decisions for the East" Sloane said "King Lucard has been personally treated by Priya and the treatment was successful. He should be waking up soon"
"The matter with the Fallens" Marcus said
"I've already had Tim and Clark start administering the drugs to cure the bruises that refused to heal" Sloane said "Their medicines take two days to work but Priya's takes effect instantly. I've also decided that Priya's drugs, will only be used during the counterattack and during emergencies. Tim and Clark's drugs will have to do for now"
"Food rations?" Gard asked "We lost a lot of it during the start of part two"
"Us too" Marcus said "There'll be too much chaos to obtain food from Greenwood thanks to this snow"
"Priya and Timothy have perfected the food substitutes for all three clans. They'll start setting things up later" Nathan said while playing with his glass cup
"You already told them?" Sloane asked while looking back at him
"Like minds think alike" Nathan replied which made her blush and let out a 'hump' as she turned away
Gard and Marcus stared at them for a while before looking at each other. As though asking 'Are you seeing what I'm seeing?'
"Mum!!!" Mackenzie shouted as she ran in while breathing heavily
"Did you run here?" Sloane asked as Mackenzie buried herself in her arms "Something wrong?"
After Mackenzie caught her breath, she said "Something very bad happened at the hospital"
"What could have possibly happened within my zone?" Sloane asked
"Zuri, Christian's sister is on death's door" Mackenzie said "Nobody has told Christian yet but Priya said she can't heal Zuri as it affects her whole demon bloodline"
"Then, it's similar to what's happening to that ill mannered elf, Zoe" Kathy said and everyone looked at her "I remember mentioning that Zoe's perfect control of her wind magic, comes with the price of her being unable to reproduce. If she wants to reproduce, she'll have to lose all her magic power....meaning, she'll become as powerless as a human. Vampires always had this problem as such, evolution was slow and they began to lose control which caused their power to destroy their bodies. Zuri was probably infected with a stronger devil's bloodline and it caused an unprecedented self destruction"
"So, she'll need to lose her powers if she wants to survive?" Cassandra asked and Kathy nodded
"Kenzie, I'm on my way" Sloane said as she stood up
"Aren't you going to ask Christian before you do this?" Xavier asked
"Why should I ask his permission?" Sloane asked "This is Zuri's life, not his. Christian is also a fool so he would do things against her wishes and according to his own ideals. I already know what reaction he'd have if I mentioned it to him" she turned to Mackenzie "Let's go"
Mackenzie tightly gripped her hand and led her out of the mansion. Nathan dropped his glass cup on the table and looked at his father
"I'm off" Nathan said before leaving
"Well, that sums up our meeting" Marcus said while lightly tapping his finger on the table
"I still have one last question but I think you can answer that for me" Gard said and Marcus looked at him
"Go ahead" Marcus said
"What is your son's relationship with the Princess?" Gard asked
"It's complicated. Even I don't get what goes on between those two" Marcus answered instantly "What I do suppose you should know, is they're bounded by magic as husband and wife, thanks to Mackenzie, my granddaughter"
Gard was shocked for a while before slowly nodding his head "Since the meeting is over, I better go check up on my wife" Gard said as he stood up and Marcus did the same
"I might as well tag along" Marcus said while remembering Rebecca "I won't hear the end of it if everyone is going to spend time with their loved ones who are in the hospital, and I didn't even drop by to see her"
"Kathy and I would rather stay put" Xavier said
"I didn't get to sleep well in the spirit world" Kathy said "Have fun" she rested her head on the table and shut her eyes while Marcus and Gard left with the twins.