Chapter 7 - Rage

Rage.

A force of nature that not many understand. They understand the symptoms, and maybe even the causes. But not the feeling of true soul ripping, tear-jerking rage. The type of rage that makes you do things you never thought you were capable of. 

"Spymaster Vicitis, did you or did you not know about a potential assassination attempt on His Highness? And if you did, why did you not take the necessary preemptive measures to ensure His Highness' safety?"

Now, imagine If you were forced to control that feeling. To keep it in, as opposed to letting it out for all to witness and fear. 

You had to keep it hidden in the darkest part of your soul where all your empty promises and life alternating emotions go to rest. Not die, definitely not die after all you have been through. They just couldn't. No matter how hard you try.

"Do you have anything to do with this attack Spymaster?!?!"

But certainly rest until you find yourself in a place where you could blow off some steam.

"Are you going to answer my questions or are you going to sit there and act as if this incident is not your fault?!?!"

That is manageable, however it becomes difficult to maintain when the cause of your rage seems to be on a mission to constantly add onto your already resting rage.

"I believe he should answer her question, it is his duty after all." and add

"Chaplain Hagar is right, Spymaster, were you involved or not?!?!" and add

"Yes, give us answers?!?!" and add until you, despite your famed willpower, you have no choice but to… 

SNAP

"ENOUGH!!" Arno slammed the armrest of his throne. Which was ignored by the shouting and hollering of the ones sitting on the throne.

"I SAID ENOUGH!!" Arno roared again, while grabbing a nearby chalice and pouring the content of said chalice on the marble table. Ruining all the important documents.

[Your Majesty.]

Which quickly grabbed the attention of everyone, as dead silence followed thereafter. All eyes were on Arno.

"Vas!" Arno looked at where he presumed Vas was sitting, with a dead expression. His voice practically roared with anger. But his face had not shown such emotion, if any for that matter. It was truly dead like a corpse. However, his eyes.

"Yes, Your Highness." Vas replied after some time as he was tranced by Arno's eyes. Not that he felt any danger coming from them. But because he felt rage. Bloodthirsty rage. The type of rage you experience after multiple years at war.

But why would his Highness give off such an emotion  or better yet, how could he have the necessary experience to be able to produce it?

[Your Majesty, please cease your actions.]

"When you called me here. Did you call me to watch all you squabble like dirty whores fighting over a flaccid penis or to have an important meeting?!" Arno this time not forgetting to 'look' at everyone sitting when he said 'whores'.

"An important meeting, your Highness." Vas out of reflexes replied to Arno as he was still processing what he was seeing. As were all the people at the table.

[Your Majesty, I believe you are overdoing it now.]

"Okay then." Arno paused for a minute as he 'looked' at the ceiling for a second as if in contemplation, not before looking back at the council again. " So this is what's going to happen. I am going to leave right now and play with my toy or do something, anything more interesting than this. While all of you'll have this 'important' meeting."

"Your Highness, you can not just leave a Royal-Level Safety Breach meeting. Especially with this particular set of circumstances." Furum tried to persuade Arno into staying in the meeting. Because even if Arno would not be executed like the rest of the council if a mishap were to happen in the meeting.

He would certainly be heavily punished if word of his actions were to be found out by the Federation, let alone his father. While they would most likely than not, be heavily fined or even be removed of their titles and abilities because of their incompetence.  

"Which is why nobody in this room will say anything." Arno said with a shit-eating grin, which was in total contrast to the expressionless face he showed just moments ago.

The statement left the council a bit taken aback by Arno's sudden change in attitude while also put in an uncomfortable position by him. Especifically Vas, as Arno stood up and went straight to the door which led to the halls of the palace.

However his path was immediately blocked by the household guards that were guarding it.

The very reason why the council was in an uncomfortable position. Because yes, they could say nothing about what Arno was doing at the moment. However would the loyal dogs of the Von Moore family follow suit?

The answer was a resounding… no.

"Your Highness, you are not allowed to leave until the meeting has been officially convened. Please get back to your seat." One of the household guards said as three more stood behind her to back her up. 

To which Arno, not getting Guide's guidance in time, just bumped into her. However he did not have the strength to knock her over, because at the end of the day he was a mortal and she was a Von Moore household guard. 

Which sent him backwards, he was fine but instinctively he began to check if the other person was okay. At first grabbing at air and then grabbing something firm. Confusing him for a second. 

[Your Majesty, what you are holding is the chest of a household guard's armour.] But thankfully Guide came to clear up the confusion, and however embarrassing it may be for Mandle. Arno continued to feel the firm armour.

"Nice, good shape. Not too big, not too small. I now see why you were assigned to me." Arno, as shameless as ever, even started commenting on the armour or the breast or maybe both. 

The household guard did not flinch at his behaviour, which was either a testimony to her training and willpower or this was not the first time this had happened. Mandle was hoping for the former then the latter.

"However I do wonder how much longer you will be assigned to me if my father catches wind that all of you just watched as two Bronze-level knights fought in my vicinity and did nothing to at least stop them." Arno said with a smile as he continued to grope. " But why shouldn't he know, it not like he will torture and then kill you and your whole bloodline for this lack of action."

And just like that the three behind her began to move out of the way. But she still stood there unflinching. 

"You have my respect guard lady." Mandle guniely smirked at the resolve of the household guard. Evening if it was as fleeting as the wind. 

As Arno held her by the waist and pulled her closer towards him. While he brought his lips towards her ear and wispherd.

" If you do not move, I will f#ck you like you have never been f#cked before and then have the rest of the castle staff and guards have their way with you. Not before loaning your cunt to the cheapest and dirtiest brothel I can find in this city. And then, and only then will I kill you for disobeying direct orders from a Von Moore family member."

Everyone in the room's eyes widened at what Arno had just said to a household guard. Because while he had whispered, everybody in the room's senses were abnormally sharp. So eavesdropping his little conversation, if you could call it that, was child's play for them.

Arno knew this, or at least that's what they thought he did, and despite that he still decided to say those words in front of them.

And the household guard in question, well she just stared at Arno for a second. Having at this point lost her stoic demeanour and had eyes filled with rage as if she would spitfire at any moment.

A tempting idea for any woman in her position. But alas that did not last long as she freed herself from Arno and turned around to face the direction of the door. As she began to make her way to it and then proceeded to open it. 

"My apologies, Your Highness." She said right after opening the door and kneeling at Arno which caused the rest of the guards to do the same. " I was not in the right state of mind. Please show mercy on this humble servant."

Arno, not missing a step, smiled and walked through the tall doors while not giving the household guard anything, not even his attention beside a comment.

"Rejoice, for I am feeling merciful today." As he continued to walk through the halls.

…..

[The room is empty.] 

Was what Arno heard when he entered his chambers. The room that once had multiple guards and two beautiful women was now empty, the only thing that stayed was the scents deliberately left by the servants who cleaned and tidied the room. However, all of that was overpowered by the silence.

The silence in the room was deafening,

thanks to what had happened in the Royal-Level Safety Breach. A maddening experience for Arno, if he could ever describe it in one word. But sadly then he would be lying to himself, as it was hard to explain the experience.

"Traitors, traitors, all of them are traitors, all of them." Arno muttered while sounds of the meeting showed up one after another like a  sombre in his mind. Giving him a trance-like focus on them as he began to analyse everything he heard and potentially decode their reasons while anticipating their effect. 

Hopefully to find a way to make a negative into a postive, but all he could come up with was the word 'traitor'. Years of South African Special Operations training, years of 'on-field' experience and also a reputation that honestly felt like fiction at times. And all he could come up with was 'traitor'. Bloody 'traitor'. The most obvious thing about that meeting and that's all he got. 

It was a miracle that he had not lost the strength in his legs from the sheer disappointment in himself. 

"How the great have fallen." Mandle smirked at the thought of what his old enemies would say if they caught news of the situation he was in. Would they celebrate this occasion or mourn the fact that they missed such an opportunity? He truly wondered…

[ Your Majesty, I believe it is time to choose your beginning Clan.] Guide as always kicked him out of his daydream by bringing him work to do.

"Beginning Clan? Are you serious right now?" Confusion plastered itself on Mandle's face as he heard Guide seriously suggest choosing a beginning Clan. When it is clear from how that meeting went he had little to no power.

Even Vas, the person Arno's memories earnestly believed and suggested that he was the golden boy of loyalty. A true benchmark. Even he abused Mandle's trust as his steward to have his way in court.

Because when he heard that it was apparently 'Lord Arno' that called the meeting. It was obvious who was the suspect most likely to do it. The butler. 

And from the way he did not seem to be phased by the fact that he fabricated a direct order to gain access to resources not privy to him, while the person whose name he used to fabricate the order was sitting in the same table as him. Listening to him fabricated an order in his name. 

He was treated like a puppet. No, he was a puppet. And he was puppeterd by his most trusted subordinate. What were the rest of the less loyal subordinates doing?

And instead of discussing the elephant in the room. Guide wanted to ensure that the System's tutorial was finished. How could Arno not be confused at his behaviour.

[Deadly your Majesty, the sooner we finish this stage of the system the better.] Guide said, without skipping a beat.

"You know what, I don't get it…" And that when Arno was fed up and started using his actual voice. "... what is your goal?"

[Your Majesty?] Guide asked, unsure about what he was being asked.

"No really, what is your goal? Is it assisting me or is it just checking off the list of things the system requires you to do? Tell me what it is?" Arno asked, as accounts of all the times Guide seemed not only to not care for Arno's well-being but omitted necessary information from him. Despite him claiming to be a personal assistant.

For heaven sake, Arno was blind at the moment and all Guide could think about was what starting Clan Arno wanted to start with while being fully aware that Arno had no power. He didn't even know where he would get a place to build the genome facility to produce these people, let alone have enough to stop them from being taken advantage of.

[My goal has and will always be to assist you, Your Majesty.] Guide replied to Arno's flurry of questions with one simple answer. However Arno was having none of it.

"Then what have you done to actually prove that? because from what I am seeing. It's not much." Arno self-mockery felt like lemonade on a paper-cut, but he was willing to bear the pain. If it meant mutual destruction of each other's ego.

[You believe I do nothing for you, Your Majesty? Okay, If you truly believe that then please summon one of Hanzo's Shadow units.] Guide asked Arno to do him a favour. 

"Summon one of them? Why should I do that for you?" 

[ Because despite what you may believe about my alleged lack of action. I have been gathering information through Hanzo's Shadows while also formulating a plan to  gain control of the city.] Guide explained to Arno without trying to sound angry, if he was even capable of such emotion.

"Wait, formulating a plan…" Arno frowned for a second, before asking, "... And you didn't think to tell me or involve me?" 

[How could I, Your Majesty? When you are clearly on a mission to victimise yourself while villainizing me and the System as if we were the reason you died in your previous life. And the constant need to interrupt me at every given moment when I am trying to explain something important to you did you no favours, Your Majesty.]Silence was all that Arno could muster at that moment as Guide continued

[ And now you are accusing me of not being useful, when you never gave me the chance to be.] When Guide finished his reasoning, Arno was about to respond. However once again silence was all he could muster. As he began to think deeply about Guide's baseless accusation.

But was it even baseless? Was Guide making a legitimate point? Because yes, he had been on the fence about Guide and The System. But it was only natural that he should be. How could he not? He died through means he has not yet confirmed and now is trap in the body of (what seems like) a serial r#pist who has a huge target on his head with everyone seeming to want to kill him or control him. 

While his only ally in all this was a powerful system that was 'created' by some alien race to conquer worlds or something. In fact It is so powerful that it can reassemble the genomes of multiple historical figures and constructed genetically modified versions of themselves to survive any world that they are in.

But if it is so powerful, why did it choose the body of a scumbag who barely has any power instead of a much more 'stable' candidate, perhaps an only child or a powerful king. But instead it chose Arno to be its host. Was that not suspicious?

And Guide experts Arno to fully trust him when there is this type of shady behaviour from his creator?

But…

"Hanzo's Shadow." 

…even if that is the case, if he is to believe what Guide tells him. System with all its power, has no idea how it got to this part of the universe or if it's the same universe that it originated from. So it is either it is lying or some mysterious force/being shipped him and it to this world while not forgetting to have a laugh and trap them into the body of this scumbag. They were both victims here.

These were Arno's thoughts as by his command a Hanzo' shadow began to materialise behind him.

"Kage." The Hanzo's Shadow that wanted to commit harakiri ( a form of suicide) said. 

"What intel where you are able to procure?" 

And if he had to be honest with himself, even if he found out that the System was lying to him this whole time, that he was a pawn in a fourth dimensional game of chess that he was not seeing. Then what could he realistically do as a mere pawn.  

"Nothing, but to do my best not to die a second time."  A blick realisation, but a realistic one nonetheless that he would have to keep in mind even if they were not both victims. 

"Kage, we…" to apologise.

…

Author's note: Now addressing the Hiatus or no hiatus questions I proposed. I have tallied up the votes from all websites I post my fanfic on.

But first thing first, I would like to apologise to my only paying p.a.t.r.e.o.n member, Chao Landy. Sorry for name dropping you. But without you I would honestly be forced to go apply for a job, just to keep my family quiet. They still talk, but not that much. And for that I am eternally thankful and also sorry to say that I will not be posting on p.a.t.r.e.o.n for the next 3 weeks just to improve my fanfic.

But I promise I will make it up to you, by adding an extra chapter for every tier. However at the sametime I would also understand if you stopped paying. So thank your patronage and i hope that you enjoy the rest of the fanfic( P.S The reason i only wrote this here, is because you did not vote, so I don't know if you even visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n every now and then)

Now for the votes. They have totaled to hiatus; 6 and No hiatus; 13

But I will take everyone's advice and take a hiatus, however it will be a p.a.t.r.e.o.n hiatus. So for those who wish to join my page. You can, but I will not be posting for about 3 weeks. Sorry for the Hiatus, and thank you for your time.

Total War : Shogun in another world/ chapters ahead