"I will lead your army to attack the next enemy base while Deimos will attack the fortress with an army of orcs. That is all."
"As you command, my queen. I will give the order for the troops to prepare to move."
That was fast… I thought that he would say a bunch of things, like there was no way an army of orcs would do better than the army of lizardmen and that I was weaker than him and wouldn't pull off what he failed. They were all logical thoughts, after all. Still, it seemed that he was so whipped that he wouldn't do or say anything to go against the vampire queen.
"All right, you can do that now."
Drax nodded and then left the tent, and Melody sat in his chair as if the place were hers. I couldn't help but frown, but that is what happens to one's mind when they never hear a single no throughout their entire lives.
"I find the state of your mental health deeply concerning."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Don't you find it odd that the people around you follow your orders blindly? I would feel scared if all my minions were that obedient."
"I don't act based on possibilities, but on what they are, that is all. My underlings never said or did anything to make me feel dubious about their loyalty. As they are loyal, they will be rewarded appropriately once we win the war, that is all."
It's absolutely poetic. We have got Shakespeare over here… I realized that it was useless to talk with Melody about that, and Roskarl looked like she only said what was obvious. I wanted to ask him: Are your eyes crap holes? But refrained from doing so.
Despite surprise, the lizardmen had wasted no time in preparing to move. In a remarkable display of efficiency, they had readied themselves to move out in just two hours.
The lizardmen left their tents behind, opting to travel light and fast to start the next job. Yet, as they began to make their way through the area, they were not alone. From the shadows emerged the orcs They set about claiming the tents and supplies left behind by the lizardmen, transforming them into their temporary homes.
It soon became clear that the tents and provisions left behind by the lizardmen were seen as nothing more than spoils of war, to be seized and exploited by those who wanted to claim the fortress. For the orcs, who valued strength and power above all else, the abandoned camp represented an opportunity to bolster their own forces and gain time.
"Aren't you going to join the lizardmen?"
"I can teleport to the next base anytime. So, I am going to relax here for a bit."
"Don't you relax enough in that throne? You would boost their morale by walking with them. Those heels will kill you at the end of the day, though."
While I said that, I knew that women would do some crazy shit to look as good as possible all the time. At the same time, I wondered why I was talking about that when it didn't benefit me in any shape or form. Unfortunately, she caught on with that.
"Why do you care anyway?"
"For no reason, I just want to use this tent for my devious purposes and you are kind of in the way."
"... All right, I will walk with them this time. I will come back daily and wait for good news. Work hard unless you want to be punished."
In the end, Melody actually left the tent and soon joined the lizardmen. I was honestly surprised that she would actually do anything since it was clear that I wasn't being sincere with my words.
"What kind of witchcraft is this? Is the vampire queen being thoughtful for a moment? Is the world ending? I am going to die soon?"
"You have such a bad view about her… It is kind of disheartening considering how close you were before."
I never thought I would hear the word disheartening coming from a lich. The irony almost could be touched. In any case, I wanted to send Roskarl somewhere, too, but he wouldn't do anything aside from following his orders.
"What are your plans from tomorrow onwards? You should have asked Drax for some information before he left."
"I would rather just confirm things by myself. While he was being grossly polite, I could tell that the generals would do anything to make me die again or fail numerous times. So, aside from me, you, and that guy, there are other four generals, huh?"
"Are you curious about them?"
"Not really. Anyway, I guess I will use the strength of the orcs to measure the enemies' strength and then deliver a powerful blow on them on the very first day. I guess that they are weak against enemies that can attack from a distance and can fly… can they even use bows?"
"Even if they could, I doubt that they have the discipline to follow orders like a proper archer unit."
"That makes sense… Anyway, can I order some supplies to help in the battle?"
"The tents should have already plenty of water and food for at least one week, perhaps a bit less since orcs use the sin of gluttony as well."
"Anything else that I can order? If you want to force me to work for you, at least offer me the right working conditions."