Chapter 44 - Bel

Growling I throw another dagger pleased as it sinks into the throat of my target. Around me the battle rages on but my focus remains on the enemy in front of me as I rush forward to retrieve the dagger just so that I can throw it again. Whenever one of them comes into reach I don't even bother with the dagger instead I fall back to hand to hand, easily able to kill them with my bare hands thanks to my superior strength.

Most of the enemy this time are human with a few elves mixed in so my men have them defeated in little time. As the battle comes to an end we scour the battle ground for any of our own injured while searching to see if there are any living officers here that will be worth taking prisoner. Any other living enemy we find is quickly and painlessly killed, we don't want them to recover and fight us again.

With our work done for the day we return to our camp. It's only a small camp in comparison to what other general's have under their command but that's how I want it. I prefer this smaller force rather than commanding thousands of men, we're able to move and strike faster which is completely my style. The only downside of this division though is that I've been split up from Kor for nearly two months now as he'd taken a larger portion of the army to lay siege to Rhovas the second largest city in Nerkise.

On top of that split though our movements have made it difficult for me to receive any of Emmy and Lilas's letters. We've been travelling so quickly and so often that messengers have been having a hard time keeping up with us. With my rank I haven't had to wait for orders to come so we've kept moving without needing to wait for further instructions.

"So where are we?" I ask my second in command Gatael who I've charged with keeping track of our location. We're running low on supplies so in the morning we need to start making our way to the nearest base so that we can re-supply before continuing on with our mission of eliminating whatever enemy forces we encounter.

"Not far from Mar, it's perhaps a days march slightly south-east and we should be able to go there for more supplies. General Asaroth's hold of the city is secure so we can work from that base for as long as we need to." He informs me looking over the map and pointing out where we are and where we should be going next. We'd travelled through the route he's proposing a few weeks ago so it's back tracking slightly but we need to check in with the base and more supplies as soon as possible.

"That's good. We set out at dawn I want to reach Mar before sundown tomorrow, let the men know." I order making him nod and exit the tent to spread the word of our next move. When we get there we'll probably spend a few days in Mar recovering before moving on. Our last stop had only been brief and at a small town that we couldn't afford to stay at for long but Mar is now one of our bases with more to offer. After that we'll head out towards wherever the nearest siege is at the moment to take out any enemy near them.

That's how we've been working since leaving the base at the border, taking out the enemy before they can attack the other parts of our army that are sieging cities throughout Nerksie. As far as I know there is still no sign of Rhistel but they might have changed since I was able to make contact with anyone in the know. And if there is still no sign of him then we'll just keep taking cities until we find him, he can't hide forever. Not with so many of us searching for him.

"Where the hell are you?" I wonder aloud looking over the map as though it'll somehow reveal Rhistel's location to me. If only things could be that easy.

Pulling off my boots I grab some blood and almost throw myself into a chair as I sip at it. Even with the runes used to keep the blood cool it's not as good as fresh blood but at the moment I have to take what I can get. Sure I could feed on the enemy but it take time and I prefer being able to enjoy my food without needing to watch my back plus Kor and Lilas would never let me forget it if I got stabbed because I was too busy feeding.

The blood doesn't last me long and I'm left with nothing else to do. Needing to move fast we'd all packed lightly so there was no room to bring anything like books to help pass the nights. In fact the only things I'd brought with me other than clothes and weapons are a few drawings of Nazeph, Emmy and Lilas. It makes me miss travelling with Kor even more because at least then we had each other for company at the end of each day. Sighing I go to bed eager for the next morning and the travel to Mar.

As I'd ordered we break down camp and set out for Mar at sun rise. Being within a day's march of the city we don't need to set too hard a pace, even at an easy steady pace we'll get there in good time. I think the prospect of a well-cooked meal once we arrive is providing good motivation for the men to keep this pace despite it only providing the opportunity for a handful of short breaks.

Gatael keeps track of our course being much better with the map and the area than I am, he's a native of Nerkise who'd joined up with our army after helping to smuggle Stones across the border and wanting to do more. We don't have much to worry about though as this area is mostly clear of enemy since Asaroth took control of Mar. This area is now firmly under the control of our army and with how spread out Rhistel's army is there's little chance of him retaking the area. Not unless he has an army hidden somewhere that we don't know about.

The sight of Mar is a welcome one as we break the tree line and we get a clear view of the city and our flags flying high over the city. Tents still surround the city providing extra shelter to the soldiers under Asaroth's command, they'll likely stay here until more orders come from command keeping an obvious sign of our presence here. With so many soldiers around we carefully approach the camp making sure they can see that we aren't enemies, the last thing we want is to be captured or worse killed.

"What's your business here?" A guard at the gate asks as we approach the cities entrance.

"King Belath's squadron here for rest and resupply." Gatael states handing over the papers that prove our identity to the guard. He looks them over carefully before nodding and handing them back over.

"Your Majesty forgive me. We have orders to check everyone entering the city." He states bowing towards me and waving us into the city. No sooner than we've entered then my men split off from the rest of us to find themselves some food and somewhere to rest for the night. Gatael and I on the other hand head towards the castle where Asaroth has set up base since taking control of the city.

"Bel! Welcome to Mar." Asaroth greets as we enter the room where he's set up his command centre.

"Asar, you've done well for yourself." I reply with a grin. It's been a big win for our side that he's now in charge of Mar as it's the closest city to the border making it a prime spot to launch an attack on Rialria.

"It's a start that's all." He jokes in return before becoming serious, "A better win will be Kor in command of Rhovas, we've received multiple reports that it's where Rhistel is holed up at the moment. Now if that intel is correct then he's stuck there as the city is surrounded by our army. He has no way out so we should have him caught soon enough then we can go home."

"That is the best news I've heard since Nazeph was born." The very thought of being able to go home to my family fills me with joy. It's been nearly eight months since Nazeph was born and all I have of him are drawings, I desperately want to hold him and be more than someone he's only heard about.

"Speaking of here are some letters for you." He smiles handing over a small stack of letters, "We'd thought that you would be close to here so we've been holding them here waiting for your return."

"Thank you." I say gratefully taking the letters and holding them gently as though they'd disappear if I hold them too tight. Knowing that I'll want to read them in private Asaroth instructs a nearby servant to escort me to my room, he really had been expecting me to come here for resupply.

After being out of contact for a few months there are a number of letters for me to get through, not that I mind I love hearing from Emmy and Lilas. The first few letters are filled with news of Nazeph including many drawings of the three of them, I read of how he's developing and mourn for each milestone that I've missed. His first attempts at crawling and the favourite foods he's developing and how they change every so often.

Then I stare in shock at what one of the letters tells me. It had started detailing Nazeph's six-month celebration before dropping the sudden news of Emmy fainting during the party. That alone terrified me, the idea of Emmy being seriously ill while Kor and I aren't there to help, but the letter continued with the reason she had fainted. She's pregnant. We're going to have a second child.

Eagerly I finish off the rest of the letters learning that she's roughly four months along now and that Nazeph has progressed to crawling all around the palace. Lilas even included a drawing of Nazeph crawling around the drawing room with a big smile on his little face. I stare at the drawing for what feels like forever not realising that I've started to cry until a drop falls on the paper and I have to put it down before I ruin it completely. Gods I miss them.

Deep down I know that I'm lucky though as most soldiers aren't getting any news from home while I've been fortunate enough to get many letters. Yet it still doesn't feel fair to be missing out on so much with them. We should have all been there for Emmy's pregnancy, the birth and seeing Nazeph start to grow up, there might even be more that we miss before finally getting home.

Wiping the tears off my face I get up and head back to the command centre where Asaroth is still working. I plaster a smile on my face as I walk in trying desperately trying to hide how hard the letters had hit me.

"Today just keeps getting better." I say as I walk over to him.

"Really, what's happened?" He asks with a smirk.

"Emmy is pregnant. I'm going to be a father again." To my surprise he doesn't really react other than his smirk growing slightly, "Wait, did you know already?"

"Yes. The news reached us about a month and a half ago but I thought you'd prefer to hear it from them rather than second hand from me."

"Thank you." I reply grateful that he'd given me that chance. At least it explained why the first thing he'd done was give me the letters, he'd known that they'd likely written to me and Kor about the news. Standing at his side I look over the map on the table trying to figure out what he's been working on in here, hopefully something that can help end the war soon. Maybe even soon enough that we can be home before this second child is born. "Now what plans are you working on here? Anything I can help with?"