Mission

|Jude|

King Blaine peered down at the meticulously detailed map spread across the round table, his brow furrowed in deep contemplation. We, the council members, gathered around, each with our own concerns and perspectives etched upon our faces.

Arthur broke the silence. "I believe two divisions should suffice."

Rahdeas, the elder Council man, countered with conviction, his finger tracing the western coast on the map. "General Arthur, allocating the majority of our forces to the western coast is paramount. Withdrawing such a large number of troops to the north will leave this region vulnerable."

King Alduin, a voice of reason, chimed in. "We must consider the ongoing battles near the coast. Even the withdrawal of a single division could tip the scales in favor of our enemies."

Queen Priscilla, having just concluded her transmission scroll reading, interjected with concern. "We are still evacuating civilians from Telmore and Etistin. If our forces are pulled away from the coast, the battles will inevitably spill into the cities."

Queen Merial, her brow furrowed in contemplation, offered a suggestion. "Perhaps we could deploy some elven troops stationed near Asyphin City to reinforce the border, but sending two divisions seems more feasible."

Virion, our respected leader, turned his attention to the lances, their powerful artifacts standing tall behind them. "Generals, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

General Bairon, though brash in tone, raised a valid point. "General Arthur's suspicion, based on vague evidence, does not warrant sacrificing entire cities."

Mica, a young and astute female dwarven lance, supported Bairon's argument. "Moving such a large force hundreds of miles will take time, even with the aid of teleportation gates."

Virion sought the opinions of the remaining generals—Aya, Varay, and Olfred.

General Olfred, the seasoned veteran, nodded sagely. "The risk is too great."

General Varay surprised us all with her endorsement. "If General Arthur's claim holds true, sending a significant number of troops, if not more, to the north would be the prudent course of action."

Though Varay's support went against our intended plan, I seized the opportunity to introduce an idea that had been brewing within me.

"General Varay is correct. If General Arthur's claim proves accurate, it would indeed be wise to deploy troops to the north. Given the limited sightings of a retainer thus far during the war, the potential involvement of a retainer and a scythe in an upcoming major attack necessitates appropriate measures," I calmly expressed.

Nods of agreement rippled across the council.

"Therefore," Virion announced, his voice carrying authority, "I propose that we send a lance alongside General Jude to investigate the validity of General Arthur's claim regarding the impending attack in the north."

A collective gaze swept across the council, awaiting any objections.

After a pregnant pause, they slowly nodded in agreement.

Virion clasped his hands together, a satisfied smile gracing his lips. "Excellent. Now, which lance shall accompany General Jude on this critical investigation?"

A thin hand rose from across the table, belonging to Rahdeas. "Since Lord Aldir, the artifact holder for my two lances, is not present, I believe I can volunteer to send one of them with Jude."

Suppressing my delight at the unfolding turn of events, I maintained composure, mirroring Virion's contemplative demeanor as we appeared to ponder Rahdeas' decision.

"Indeed! In Lord Aldir's absence, it is only fitting that the dwarven lances under Elder Rahdeas' command be assigned," King Blaine affirmed.

"Considering the battles in Sapin, I concur that either General Olfred or General Mica would be ideal candidates," Queen Merial added.

Virion's deliberate nod conveyed a sense of reluctant agreement. "Very well, General Olfred shall be temporarily placed under Elder Rahdeas' command and shall accompany General Jude on the northern investigation."

The dwarven lance respectfully bowed in acknowledgment.

"Remember, this is a reconnaissance mission, and I trust your judgment in handling the situation. Our priority is to avoid alerting the enemy, particularly if a retainer or scythe is present. If circumstances permit, and there is a realistic chance of averting a full-scale battle, you may engage. Above all, safeguard the lives of our civilians," Virion emphasized. "Prepare to depart at sunrise tomorrow. The rest of the lances are dismissed."

As we traversed the dimly lit hall outside the meeting room, a sigh of relief escaped my lips. These tense and often convoluted meetings had always left me disheartened. Behind the facade of a unified council, our individual ambitions and loyalties to our respective kingdoms shone through. Only with Virion's guiding presence did the council manage to function cohesively, though not without its challenges.

________________________________

|Jude|

As I settled on the edge of my bed, a peaceful silence enveloped the room, broken only by the rhythmic breathing of Kathy, soundly asleep beside me. Lost in my thoughts, I watched as she rolled over, finding solace in the tranquility of the night.

Time slipped away unnoticed, and when awareness returned, I noticed the soft glow of the rising sun casting an orange hue across the sky, obscured by drifting clouds. With a sense of purpose, I shed the elaborate garments from the previous night's event and replaced them with a comfortable shirt, vest, and trousers. My boots secured, I draped a thick cloak over my shoulders. "I must depart now, Kathy."

Kathy's captivating black eyes fluttered open, and doubt once again crept into my mind. Was it right to leave my fiancée just two days after our engagement? Yet, I knew the weight I had to bear, the same burden I had carried in my previous life—the burden of being the strongest.

Kathyln rose from the bed, unabashed by the dark red marks adorning her pale skin from our passionate night. She rubbed her eyes and questioned, "Do you really have to leave so soon?"

Suppressing my internal turmoil, I embraced Kathy and pressed a tender kiss upon her lips. "I apologize for the lack of time we have together," I whispered before reluctantly releasing her. With a heavy heart, I left the room, fearing that lingering longer might weaken my resolve and tempt me to relinquish the mission, passing it on to Arthur instead.

Before descending the stairs, I made a stop at my sister's room and gently rapped on her door. "Ellie, it's your brother."

The door slid open, revealing my sister in the midst of a yawn, her hair tousled on one side and flattened on the other. Curled up next to her bed, Boo, our loyal companion, peered at us with one eye before returning to his slumber. "Brother? What's the matter?"

She halted midsentence, her gaze falling upon my attire. "You're leaving?"

I mustered a smile, though it failed to reach my weary eyes. "I'll return before long." I drew my sister into a warm embrace.

"Don't rush back, just return safely," she whispered, clinging tightly before reluctantly releasing me. Ellie lowered herself to the floor, her eyes welling with tears, yet a wide smile graced her face.

I playfully ruffled her tangle of ash-brown hair. "I promise."

Making our way down the stairs, I was greeted by a stern-faced Olfred at the front of the corridor leading to the teleportation room.

The gruff, elderly dwarf, who came up to my chest despite his ramrod straight posture, looked at me stoically.

"We'll be traveling by flight rather than through the gates," I told him as we went on our way.

The artificers and workers inside dropped whatever it was they were doing and saluted upon our arrival. One person, however, walked toward us with an innocent smile.

"Elder Rahdeas," General Olfred greeted, bowing deeply alongside me.

"Lance Jude and Lance Olfred." Rahdeas's smile deepened, the scar running through his left eye curving. "Excuse my intrusion; I merely wanted to send you all off in person."

"It's an honour," General Olfred replied.

Rahdeas walked to me, staring at me silently with his weary eyes. When he smiled at me, I couldn't help but wish this person wasn't a traitor—that I had suspected him wrongly.

Rahdeas placed a large hand gently on my arm. "By the asuras, let's hope that your suspicions turn out to be false so that you may hurry back and get some proper rest."

While his expression and gesture seemed genuine, Rahdeas's words seemed carefully picked. Nonetheless, I replied with a smile. "Yes, let's hope."

Olfred led the way to the port on the other side of the large room. "We're ready to depart."

The wall in front of us lowered in a drawbridge mechanism as the floor beneath us extended into a large skydock.

The roof and the multiple terraces were protected by a transparent barrier of mana, however we were still hit with the full force of the winds at an altitude of more than twenty-thousand feet.

Our voices lost in the wind, Olfred merely pointed in the direction we were supposed to head. Immediately, we took off into clouds.

After flying for a full day, we descended to set up camp for the night. Olfred dug up a cave for his camp while I conjured up a soft ice bed for myself.

A haze of magenta and orange spread throughout the horizon, giving life to the tranquil ocean in the distance. We were still several miles away from the northern coast but we couldn't afford flying any closer. assuming the worst, a scythe might be able to sense substantial mana fluctuations even from this distance.

There we slowly descended, close enough to the massive mountain range to avoid any unwanted attention. We landed at the base of the Grand Mountains, on a field of dry grass and boulders where frigid winds whistled around us.

"Mana from this point on should be kept to a minimum, General," Olfred said as he scanned our surroundings for anyone nearby.

I nodded in agreement. I was able to use aether as naturally as mana, but that was information better kept to myself.

"I presume you have a plan in order to find the retainer and scythe in question?" the gruff lance remarked.

"Yes." I fished out a thick cloak from my dimension ring and draped it over my shoulders. I also took out Arthur's mask from his adventurer days. "We'll need to head toward the main road so take out your cloaks and put up the hoods."

Olfred studied my black coat with a curious gaze. "An intriguing effect. Were you once an assassin or thief General?"

"No," I chuckled, looking down at my outfit. "This is Arthur's. Take out your own coat to wear," I ordered in a low voice.

Olfred followed my order and took out a lavish cloak of rich mana beast fur.

Bending down, I dipped my finger on a muddy patch of dirt.

"I am going to be a slave that has been traveling a fair distance. It'd only be natural to be dirty, and it'd be a good way to get by unnoticed." I smeared the moist dirt on my face.

I dipped my head down and tousled my black hair until it became disheveled and covered most of my face. After putting on the hood of my cloak, I handed the mask that I was holding to Olfred. "Wear this along with your cloak and if anyone asks, it's to hide a gruesome scar you received years back."

_________________________________

|Jude|

A thin, scraggly man uniformed in overalls and a dirty apron came running out from one of the dimly-lit aisles of cells. "Sir! My apologies for the smell. I was just cleaning up!"

Sebastian finally pried himself away from me, standing on his own with the wooden cane that the portly woman had been carrying for him. "What's happened?"

The beady-eyed conjurer began limping down the center aisle, checking on each of the prison cells that I assumed had slaves inside. It was eerie how silent this place was. There were no wails of sorrow or cries for help. I studied every one of them as I followed behind Sebastian with Olfred. Every one of them was clothed in rags, huddled in the far corner of their cell. When they looked over at us, I got shivers from the dark, vacant eyes they all shared.

"It was one of the pregnant woman," the cleaner replied as he put down the mop that he had been holding before following after his boss. "She died giving birth."

"The baby. Did it live?" Sebastian asked, unfazed.

"We'll have to wait a few more days to know for sure, but the newborn girl seems healthy as of now."

Sebastian nodded in approval. "Excellent. The newborn will be worth more than that tramp anyway."

As the conjurer slowly hobbled through the aisles, I noticed the different reactions from each of the slaves. A few shivered uncontrollably as Sebastian passed by, others had spiteful glares, some just had distant, hollow gazes.

"The dwarves and elves are held further down, but"— Sebastian spun around to face Olfred, a lewd smirk on his thin pasty face— "do you see anyone you're just dying to get your hands on?"

The masked lance raised a hand. "As a matter of fact..."

Before I could even react, the earth beneath Sebastian began enveloping, covering his feet and creeping up his legs.

"Huh?" Sebastian let out as he tried to pry himself from the rising earth.

I whipped my head toward the masked lance. "What are you doing?"

The lance remained silent as he continued his spell. It was slow, but he was doing it on purpose. I could see the conjurer wide-eyed with fear and confusion.

"W-What are you idiots doing! Get them!" the conjurer readied his wooden cane to fire at Olfred when he let out a shrill scream of agony. The earth that had consumed his legs and was continuing to rise up his body began turning a dark red. A faint sizzle could be heard amidst his screams as the smell of burning flesh reached my nose.

The spell that Olfred had cast on Sebastian wasn't to trap him—it was to slowly torture him.

I shot two wind blades at the two subordinates to instantly kill them. I used the bare minimum amount of mana needed.

I looked over my shoulder to see how Sebastian had fared against the lance, but all I saw was a statue of molten lava in the shape of the thin conjurer. He was dead, encased in a tomb of hardened magma.

I activated All-seeing Eyes to see just how much mana fluctuation was caused by the lance's spell, and if it was possible that we could remain hidden despite this setback.

However, what I saw baffled me even more. There were particles of mana erratically moving around Sebastian's corpse, but there were also fluctuations of mana all around us. Either a wide-scale spell had been used or a battle took place here recently.

My instincts had already sensed what was happening even before I saw the Scythes approaching me.