The first place I returned to when infiltrating the Havan Kingdom was the province of Bravia.
Silvia still had a garrison assigned to guard the place, and she decided to stay at the outpost there while I led a small retinue of vampires to sneak into the southern province of the Havan Kingdom. The reasoning was that if there was any crisis or emergency, she would be able to easily respond. Dispatch a rescue squad and bring us back to Bravia, where we had an easily defensible location capable of repelling enemy forces several times our number.
Of course, I had Stella accompany me. an ex-human (well, I guess we both still counted as human, since vampires weren't that different from humans physically and genetically), she would be ideal for infiltration. No one could tell her or me apart from normal humans.
I wasn't sure I could say the same for the other vampires, though. Knowing that Stryker would call too much attention toward us, I brought Larson and a few of the Dark Night regiment with me. About twenty of them, all passing off as humans. We disguised ourselves as a mercenary regiment, seeking for employment here and there.
Eleanor also wanted to come along, and I saw no reason to refuse her. So I allowed her to tag along with a small retinue of bodyguards. In any event, Eleanor's retinue proved more adept at disguising themselves as humans than Larson's knights, the strategist having picked her staff out of a crop of smart and flexible vampires rather than those will excellent sword skills.
Thus we had a good mix of brain and brawn, which was ideal for a group passing off as a mercenary regiment.
"Why the southern province, though?" Larson asked as we rode toward the south, having acquired a bunch of horses from a northern town shortly after we left Bravia on foot. "Shouldn't we be slowly expanding from the north first?"
"Our goal isn't expansion," Eleanor explained to him. "But the elimination of threats."
"What threat?"
"The hunter tribe in the south," I replied in her place. "They have been united under the command of a single huntress, Yvonne. I would like to destroy her power base and assassinate her, to break them up into disparate tribes."
"Forgive me, but I still don't see what's so dangerous about these tribes. Aren't the human knight regiments of the Havan Kingdom more unified, disciplined and stronger? These hunter tribes are pretty backward and disorderly, by comparison."
Larson had a great point. Honestly, the whole reason why I was doing this was because I wanted to take my revenge on Yvonne. She was one of the ex-party members who I hated the most, and I desired to see her ruined and brought low after everything she had done to me. I wasn't going to be satisfied until I crushed her completely and utterly.
Then I would move on to Alan Assam.
Of course, I couldn't tell Larson that. I needed to justify why we were making a hit on a seemingly random target and her obscure tribe, not when there more compelling military targets.
"This isn't just about eliminating the strongest targets," I explained. "If you remember, Yvonne was formerly a member of the strongest Hero party. In that regard alone, she herself possesses immense strength and skill. Also, she's a symbol for the humans, a ray of hope that they can fight back against demons and defeat them. She was part of the party who slew the previous Demonic Emperor, Viledoofus, after all. So if we kill her, it will deal a crippling blow to morale in the Havan Kingdom. It would be a symbolic and psychological victory."
"Oh, and that would adversely affect their performance on the battlefield!" Larson nodded in comprehension. As a commander of a knight regiment, he knew more than most how vital morale was to his troops' fighting capability.
"There's also another reason. Even though the hunter tribes might not look like a strong force on paper, their unique skills make them a formidable and troublesome foe." I wasn't sure if Larson or Eleanor had heard of this term, but I used it anyway. "Their affinity with the forest makes them ideal for guerilla warfare. With just a small force, they can launch hit-and-run tactics before melting back into the forest and hiding somewhere we can't find them. Once that happens, it'll take a long time – basically years – before we can flush them out completely and totally. Not to mention a ton of resources. No, I would rather cut them out at the root before they can carry out large-scale guerilla warfare."
"Understood."
"Ho…I'm surprised you even know about that, my liege." Eleanor sounded impressed, riding her horse forward to pull alongside mine. "I always thought the scholarly look suits you, but to think that you are familiar with military tactics and history. Not bad at all."
Basically she was vindicated in her decision to follow me instead of fighting to the bitter end like Virginia. Honestly, I was relieved that she chose to join my side. I seriously disliked the idea of fighting against brilliant opponents with a talent for strategy. She would have ensured that I wouldn't have any sort of smooth victory.
"There are also reports of a rogue splinter demon force being led by a powerful demon noble who is aiming to become a Demonic Empress," Stella spoke up from my other side. She had been briefed by Valerie and Claude before we departed, and relayed the report to me. I nodded.
"Luciela, a feline demoness," I said. "She has gathered a bunch of demons to her cause, apparently to conquer the southern province of the Havan kingdom and stake out her own territory here. She would then use this to make her claim for the throne."
"She leads a horde of demons also known as the Possessed," Eleanor explained. "They may be few in number, but they are very powerful."
"Not as powerful as vampires, surely?" Larson laughed. Eleanor didn't share his amusement.
"Possibly," she said. "In terms of physical prowess and raw strength alone, yes. The only advantage we vampires have over them is magic."
"Seriously?" Larson frowned. "What are they, dragons?"
"They are weaker than dragons, thankfully. So they shouldn't be a problem for your knights. But do not underestimate them."
"Fine." Even though they had fought on opposite sides before, Larson wasn't petty. He respected Eleanor's strategic brilliance and took her words seriously. No wonder Gregory had appointed him to be his second-in-command. He would have tempered the duke's arrogance with his modesty.
"Luciela also has a sister, Rafaela." Stella was reciting the report she received from Valerie now. "She's considered to be one of the strongest human knights in the continent, and was formerly a member of one of the Hero parties. But after she was heavily wounded during the battle against Tiamattra, she has rarely shown up again. She was on the verge of death and is recorded to have perished during the battle."
"Except that her body vanished." Eleanor nodded. "I've read the report too. Interesting."
"Wait, what?" Larson was getting confused. "Did you just say that Luciela's sister, Rafaela, is a human knight? Surely you meant demon knight, right?"
"Do you not know what the Possessed are?" Eleanor asked stiffly. Larson's jaw dropped, and he looked away sheepishly.
"I'm afraid not, my lady. I have heard of the term, but I am not familiar with…the specifics. They are a rare breed, even among the Demonic Empire."
"They are similar to us vampires in many ways," Eleanor explained with a sigh. "Possessed are former humans who have ingested or have demonic tissue implanted in them. Often, human bodies would reject the tissue, but there are those with high compatibility with demons, allowing them to fuse and evolve. They…awaken, for a lack of a better term, become powerful monsters."
Both Stella and I exchanged a glance, recalling the chimera experiments that Miranda was performing in her twisted lab. Eleanor must have caught the look that passed between us, for she shook her head.
"I recall the both of you have encountered chimeras from that mad mage's lab? Lindley mentioned it to me. The Possessed are different from those failed products. First of all, the mage's attempts to create chimeras was to try and bypass the rejection process. Also, many of the organic components she fused to the human hosts weren't exactly from actual demons but artificial organs created in a lab – the attempts to produce a homunculus."
"The Possessed must be a lot more stable than those chimeras. So they won't fall apart or crumble after a few days." I recalled Lindley's words and was able to figure out an explanation. Eleanor nodded again.
"Correct. They do not have to worry about rejection at all. In fact, their lifespans will be extended indefinitely. There are many Possessed who have lived for centuries, such as Luciela."
Why wasn't I surprised? I could imagine superhuman soldiers growing out of their power armor, sporting wings and claws…wait, wrong universe.
"Do we regard this Luciela as an enemy then?" Larson asked.
"It depends on whether she will obey Lord Klein's commands," Stella replied. "If she doesn't, then we will treat her as an enemy."
"Honestly, it will be difficult to get Luciela to submit," Eleanor admitted. "She had great pride and ambition."
"Much like you?" I teased. The blond strategist giggled, but she shook her head.
"More so than me. She is one of the three Abysmal Rulers of the Possessed – the three most powerful Possessed who currently exist."
"There are two more?" Larson blurted out in astonishment.
"That's right. Iskandar of the North, Rachel of the West, and Luciela of the South." Eleanor turned to look at me seriously. "If you are to claim total dominion over the Demonic Empire one day, you will have to confront all of them eventually. Each of them is said to have the power equivalent to a Divine General. Ironically enough, that's the reason why none of them is a Divine General yet – they have yet to fight each other for the position."
"They don't just want to be a Divine General," Stella said coldly. "They want to take the throne and become the emperor or empress themselves."
"Correct. Which is why you'll have to confront them at some time."
"Well, we'll take things one at a time," I told them. Glancing into the distance, I adjusted my glasses and magnified my vision. We were nearing the southern plains and tropical forests so reminiscent of the province. There was a town about a few kilometers away, and to my complete lack of surprise, I could see a bunch of demons besieging it.
Holy hell…for me to be able to see those demons meant that they had quite the incredible size. I quickly turned toward the others and roughly told them what I had seen.
"Yes…Possessed are known to grow to great sizes," Eleanor confirmed.
"The town ahead is Zaid Town, right?" I asked, glancing at Stella. The red-haired knight nodded, her gauntleted fingers tightening the grip on the reins of her horse.
"That is correct, my lord." She swallowed. "According to reports, Luciela and her demons…the Possessed, they are supposed to be attacking Zaid Town."
"Then we'll head there first." I did a few calculations in my head. If it was possible to rope the Possessed toward our side, then I might as well make use of them to attack Yvonne. If not, then I would rather get rid of the dagger pointed at my back.
Though, given their immense sizes, Luciela and her Possessed were more likened to heavy broadswords rather than daggers. Whatever they were, I didn't want to be ambushed by them while I was engaging Yvonne. If this Luciela was smart enough, she would pounce on the opportunity while I was weakened, so as to usurp the throne from me.
On the other hand, I knew Yvonne was far too stupid to scheme anything like this.
The point was made more salient when Larson raised a question.
"Uh, this might be foolish of me to ask, but where are the human's defenses? They have a town being attacked by demons, and they aren't marshalling any defense against it? Where's their knight regiments? Battalions of soldiers? Are they really abandoning the town?"
"Zaid Town is in the southern province, which is under the purview of Yvonne," Stella explained. "She is responsible for its security and has overall authority over the armed forces in this region. Which is the hunter tribe."
In other words, she didn't deign to dispatch her troops to repel the demons. Most likely, Yvonne thought that it wasn't worth risking the lives of her tribesmen to save a bunch of townsfolk.
Rage poured through me, but other than Stella, I knew the other vampires wouldn't care about the supposedly insignificant lives of humans. They were supposed to be the enemy, after all. Clamping down on a curse, I took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Let's hurry."
Those were the only words I dared to speak, for fear of revealing my true emotions, as I tightened the grip on the reins of my horse and urged it to gallop faster.