Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my beloved readers ! I'm wishing you all the best! May you be blessed by a good health, luck and happiness.
As you may have guessed I wasn't home this month, and obviously, I couldn't write or post any chapters. However, do not worry, I will slowly get back to the schedule of 2 chap/week. :)
Let's start this new year with chapter 62 of Void Rifters and chapter 67 for the Patrons who still support me ! Both chapters are a bit longer than usual, I hope you'll like them. (also, a little disclaimer ; the first part of ch67 might be a bit harsh for sensitive people as it describes hardcore slavery.)
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When I arrived at the lake, I was welcomed by the King and his royal knights lined up in front of my ship.
"Lord Jun, may we speak for a moment ?" I noticed the King firmly holding a small paper in his hand.
I was in a hurry to check on Douglas état and I also needed to heal from the poisonous mana still in my body, but I couldn't ignore the King of Lyssandra any longer.
"Yes, just make it quick Your Highness. I need to check on my injured comrade."
"It won't take long." The King nodded, before continuing.
"I just received the first report from our intelligence department since we entered the forest..." The king paused to calm his nerves, but I could feel how whatever was on this paper affected him.
"What happened ?" I asked, curious to know what could put the usually composed king into such an emotional state.
"Soon after we entered the forest, a massive army from Aliomeri invaded the southeast border of my kingdom. They took advantage of our absence in the capital to conduct a lightning strike assault and breach our border's defenses."
I now understood why the King looked so angry. He tried to hide it, but the nerve in his forefront that was about to pop out from anger betrayed how he truly felt.
"You said they invaded your territory soon after your departure ? Does that mean the army they sent in the forest wasn't their main force ?"
"Yes... We suspect that their tentative to conquer the forest was just a bait to lure us in and keep us occupied far from Lyssandra. According to the intel report I received, more than thirty thousand soldiers invaded my kingdom, which is three times more than the First Prince's army you defeated."
"...I see. This would explain why the First Prince had such a valuable item on him capable to save him from a nuclear explosion ; from the beginning, his goal may have not been to fight and conquer the forest, but instead to escape as soon as he deemed this region impregnable..." If this was the Queen's plan, she was a strategic genius.
'At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if they knew Alpha Zero was spying on them. They could have deliberately acted as if this invasion was important for them to give us a false sense of urgency and force our squad to move.'
[You shouldn't think too far, Jun. From what we heard of their Queen, she most likely didn't tell anything to the First Prince and just sent him here as a disposable piece. I doubt the natives of this world have a way to detect Alpha Zero.]
'If that's the case, it's even worse for us. It would mean that her own children are no more than disposable tools for whatever plan she has. It isn't simple to deal with someone that goes that far just to conquer a piece of land.'
If my hypothesis was right, then I clearly underestimated the natives of Lunaris. I thought it would be child's play to beat the elven army and conquer their kingdom with our superior firepower and technological advantage, but the actions of their Queen made me change my mind.
It was surprising to learn that the large army we reduced to dust was just a fourth of their total military. I didn't expect Aliomeri to have access to so much manpower.
Another thing that annoyed me was the multiple assassins we met on our way to find Douglas. They were not elves, but what the natives call 'beastmen'. It means that not only was the Queen's main goal Lyssandra and not the forest of Truth, but she also involved outsider forces.
She made us think the Forest of Truth and our arrival on this planet were her primary target, when in reality she meticulously planned to conquer Lyssandra from the very beginning and even brought into the war forces we weren't aware of.
The Queen of Aliomeri sure is cunning.
The only thing that she may not have expected was how quickly the First Prince's troops would be defeated. Even if they were bait, she still sent more than ten thousand soldiers. It seems to be a lot just to take care of the hundreds or so humans that accompanied the King.
She probably didn't expect them to be reduced to dust as soon as we deemed them hostile. As for the beastmen assassins, they were most likely tasked to take the King's head when an opportunity present itself.
I guess we have been lucky to find them first before they could attack the King and his knights, even if it caused Douglas to end up in such a situation.
"What do you plan to do ?" I asked the king, curious to know his strategy to deal with such a crafty opponent.
"I have to head back to my kingdom as soon as possible. Fortunately, Duke Eddington escorted the elves' villagers out of the forest a few days ago. He should be leading the defense after learning of the elves' assault." The King wryly smiled. I could tell he was concerned about his people.
"I immediatly sent back the other dukes and their knights as soon as I received the report, but I had to stay and wait for your return before leaving the forest." His gaze was deep and meaningful.
"I appreciate the gesture, but it wasn't necessary Your Highness. You could've just let one of your subordinate here to inform me." Despite his kingdom getting invaded, Charles Le Sage didn't lose his cool and even waited for my return to personally inform me of the situation.
'I guess he isn't a King for nothing.'
This simple gesture was the best proof of how much he respected us, and the importance he puts on our alliance against Aliomeri.
"I decided to stay behind one more day to wait for you. I had to tell you this in person, and also... I had to ask for your help, personally."
"My King! He is still an outsider we know nothing about !" The bulky knight behind him was astonished to hear his proud king plead for assistance so blatantly.
"Silence Matthias! Didn't you also read Derek's report ? If what he wrote is true, then we'll need all the support we can find to resolve this situation !"
"...Forgive me, Your Highness." The King's personal guard coldly stared at me, before lowering his head.
'I feel like something is off about this invasion...' I thought, trying to recall the details of what the King and the village chief told me about Aliomeri.
Despite having more soldiers than we expected, they still lost ten thousand of them, which isn't negligible. Also, Lyssandra's borders are fortified with countless strongholds filled with experienced soldiers... the elves shouldn't have been able to progress this easily.
Even if I didn't know what exactly happened, I could guess something went wrong during the first battles.
'Whether Aliomeri planted enough spies inside Lyssandra's military to break their chain of command, or a powerhouse is supporting their side from the shadows... they definitely had a way to get such decisive advantage against the humans.'
[I think the same, Jun. In this world of magic, it wouldn't be surprising if they had the backup of a powerful being capable of influencing the battles by his presence alone.]
'Could it be...'
When I heard Gladia, I could only think of one person.
The one whom every resident of Lyssandra feared just by hearing her name.
The one whom even the King of Lyssandra detested so much that he was willing to sell his soul to the devil just to have her head.
The one who is smart enough to trick even us...
"Your highness, is the one leading the invasion perhaps... the Queen herself ?" I was still skeptical, as the Queen of Aliomeri had a shut-in reputation of never leaving her capital, but I still asked just to be sure.
"We cannot hide anything from you, Lord Jun..." The King sighed, and then explained.
"You are right, the Queen herself is in command of the army at the front. She is also accompanied by the heads of many renowned clans from her kingdom. We don't know why she left her palace so abruptly, but she took part in the all the decisive battles to pierce our defense line."
The king looked back at the crumpled paper with a serious look, then he added.
"We've already lost a significant number of outstanding knights to her, and... even our best mage, the pride of our kingdom, fell to a despicable trap and has been grievly injured." The King sighed, thinking about all the lives that have been lost and his old friend, Alphus The White.
I first thought that nuking Aliomeri's capital stirred the nest and forced the Queen to act aggressively toward Lyssandra, but from what the King said, they moved way before we even crashed on Lunaris.
Did the Queen foresee our arrival in this world, and used this opportunity to bait the King and his Dukes inside the forest ?
I saw the King deeply in thought after mentioning the losses. He was probably anxious about our place in this conflict. They were the losing side, after all.
"Now I know why you personally waited for me to come back. Don't worry, you have always been good to us and I already promised to bring you her head. My squad and me will help you defend your kingdom."
The most logical choice would be to turn our back on Lyssandra and side with Aliomeri, but it didn't feel right. I had no particular attachments toward Lyssandra, but I knew deep down that allying ourselves with them would be far more beneficial than siding with Aliomeri.
And also... they were humans.
I've struggled for so long to preserve my species when facing the Scyllas, so I'm not going to let the first humans I meet after all these years perish horribly.
"Does that mean... that you will fight with us ?" the King asked with a low voice, visibly nervous about my answer.
"Of course. If their Queen is the one leading their army, it would save me the hassle to look for her in her own kingdom. You can count us in."
"Thanks god..." All the golden knights behind their liege sighed in relief when they heard my answer.
Their pride didn't allow them to ask for help, yet their King himself lowered his status to do so. If I had refused, these knights would have had to bear this shame until their death.
"We, Void Rifters, will gladly help you and your people. However, as you may have noticed... we are not currently able to do so." I pointed out the numerous bite and claw marks on my armor with my finger.
My black matter already closed up the open wounds I suffered, but the trace of blood remained. All the humans felt a shiver down their spine when they saw my armor covered in dried blood.
'What kind of monsters did they fight to end up in such a state ?!', they thought.
"One of my subordinate is on a covert ops mission that cannot be canceled, another one is gravely injured and unconscious, two of us have been poisoned, and the only member of our squad who is fully operational is also the only one who can cure us of this contaminated mana."
"How much time do you need ?" The King wasn't surprised by my answer. He saw see how bad was our condition when we came back from the forest.
During the time he spent near the flagship, he saw all of us going back and forth bathed in blood and battle marks.
He noticed Alice leaving in a hurry as soon as she brought back the elven princess, Jerome coming back half-dead a bit later, and then Katarina carrying an unconscious and naked Douglas on her back to the flagship.
The King and his men didn't know who we fought inside the forest, but they witnessed with their own eyes that we weren't joking when we said we would deal with Aliomeri.
"It won't take too long. At the earliest, three days. It will also give us the time to set up our new base and move the parts of our ship to the mountain. We can depart sooner if I assign this task to my drones, but we would still need an entire day just to recover from our last battle. Until then, I can dispatch a few battle-drones to your protection. You may order them as your own soldiers, but I will be honest with you... it won't be free."
I didn't mind lending the King a small unit of battle-drones, but I had to be sure he will compensate us enough for it. As far as I'm concerned, I care more about a single of my drones than an entire legion of soldiers, may they be humans or not.
"Would you really lend us some of your war golems ??" All the natives present were astonished by my offer. A single war golem required at least a four-circle mage to function properly, which was a luxury far too expensive for an outer kingdom like Lyssandra.
Only the powerful nations from the central continent had enough resources to employ golems for war purposes.
Just ten of my drones could make a huge difference in battle. Each of them was at least equal to an experienced knight in terms of combat capabilities. In addition, they use powerful weapons that don't require mana to work. Their weaponry, never seen before on Lunaris, will surely surprise the elves of Aliomeri.
"I can lend you up to ten battle-drones, they will keep you safe until we join you on the battlefield. As for the price, now is not the time. We will discuss it later."
The king thought for a moment, before saying.
"I would gladly accept this generous help, Lord Jun, but... I am ashamed to say, we do not have enough four-circles mages to manage ten of those golems..."
"Uh ? You don't need to, though. All I have to do is ordering them to obey you, and they will. They do not require any mana input, nor do they require any mage to control them. Just order them around, and they will comply."
Everyone looked at me dumbfounded.
"What ?!"
"How is that possible..."
"Did I just hear right ??"
"Doesn't that mean these are... perfect golems ??"
The royal guards were stunned by what I said. Even the King was taken aback and looked at me with round eyes.
"Lord Jun, do you know why despite their great strength, the use of war golems is considered more like a show of wealth rather than a show of power ?" the king asked me, with a solemn look.
"Let me guess, is it because these 'golems' you talk about require a mage to control them, and they have a high mana consumption ?"
"Exactly. For a golem to move, a mage at the fourth-circle or above needs to bond a part of his soul to the golem's core while providing a continuous flow of mana... I fear that if anyone else learn of your 'drones', you may get hunted down by even the most powerful nations of the central continent..."
"Ahahah!" The King had a worried tone, but I couldn't help but laugh after what he said.
'Gladia, did all the reapers recovered ?'
[Yes, they did. Wait, don't tell me...]
'It's what you think. After spending so much time sleeping inside my shadow, I just found the perfect opportunity to set them free.'
I had a wide grin under my helmet.
"That's one more reason for you and your knights to keep it a secret. Do not misunderstand me, I did not reveal this because I trust you. I'm not an idiot, I know some of your knights might spill this information to their wives at home, or to their friends when they get drunk."
"N-no we would never !"
"Who do you think we are ??"
Some of the royal guards were offended by my words, but I didn't care. I just walked closer to the king, while my shadow spread out to cover the area under the humans' feet.
Slowly, thin lines glowing in a crimson red appeared all over my armor.
"The reason why I don't mind telling you such important informations is quite simple : I can end the life of any of you, whenever I want."
The moment I said so, fifty reapers suddenly materialized from the large shadow on the ground and placed the sharp tip of their long fingers on the humans' necks.
The only one who reacted in time was the King's champion, Matthias. He unsheathed his sword and slashed at the reaper behind him, but his sword passed through the etherical body.
In the end, even he got caught by surprise, and he stopped moving when he saw blood flowing out of his King's neck.
"YOU...!!" he shouted angrily at me, but the King raised his hand to stop him.
All the golden knights became as quiet as water, paralyzed by the fear of their King dying if they moved just an inch.
Even the elven princess watching from afar was stunned to see those royal guards, all 3-stars veterans, being subjugated so easily in just a second.
All the natives who saw the nightmarish figures of the tall reapers emerging from the ground like creatures of the underworld shivered.
They remembered that behind our sweet talk and gentle words, we were still people of another world.
They remembered how brutal we could be against our enemies when we shot the proton torpedo at the First Prince army. Even now, they still had a lingering fear of this unknown weapon that could split the sky and flatten everything in its explosion radius.
When I was sure everyone got the message correctly, I nodded at the reapers and they all vanished, leaving behind not even the slightest trace of their presence.
They left as they came, as if they never existed.
"Do you understand, now ? I may have been friendly with you up until now, but do not let this kindness blind your judgement. I wouldn't even wait for a betrayal ; the mere thought of it would be enough for me to end your life. If you value your life, keep this in mind."
When the reapers disappeared, everyone gulped and grabbed the part of their neck that wasn't covered by their golden armor, as if to protect it.
Matthias dashed to his king's side and examined the little cut on his liege's neck.
"How dare you land your hands on..."
"Enough!" Despite the fear, Matthias still had the courage to lift his sword toward me, but the King intervened once more to save him from doing something he would later regret.
The King was fully aware that if a certain line was crossed, I would not be merciful not sympathetic to anyone, not even to his personal guard.
"I think we should end things here. Don't you agree, Lord Jun ?" The King was sweating down under his armor.
"I do, Your Highness." I answered him with a smile.
After everyone calmed down, I detached a small part of my Dark Armor, and gave it to the King.
"As long as you keep this with you, I'll be able to know your whereabouts. Do not loose it, so I can directly come to you once my preparations are done."
I then pointed at ten battle-drones patrolling the area, and without saying anything, they all nodded at me with their mechanical head before lining up at the edge of the forest.
"As promised, these guys will follow you and listen to every one of your orders. Use them sparingly, since each one will cost you a fortune that your kingdom may not be able to pay if they get destroyed."
"I... understand. I hope for you and your comrades to join us in time, Lord Jun."
"May you travel back safely to your kingdom, Your Highness."
The King, still sweating from the reapers' sudden appearance, shook my hand with vigor and said his goodbye, before leaving the lake shore with his royal guards.
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