No one is gonna believe that here I am, holding a mortar and pestle doing alchemy in the middle of war. While it was not the most efficient way for fast alchemy creation, it was certainly better than nothing. Good thing the elves actually brought with them some alchemy equipment for me to use. And they brought along alchemy ingredients as well, exactly what I needed to make my bomb. Jasmine, lavender and snake plant was all I needed for my bomb to be useful.
All of the elves stared at me curiously, wondering what tactics I was planning to use to break through those armoured soldiers. I told them that I'll be making a sleep bomb potion. All of them had their eye raised when I told them about it. I had always used this when I had trouble sleeping albeit in very small dosage. I use mine as a candle and the effects were quite effective. For my bomb, all I had to do was make it more potent and the soldiers will literally be falling timbers. I intent to be making it in the form of liquid so that it can be absorbed through the skin easier. Of course, there will also be odours as well, but I needed something with faster effect. Which is why I decided to just bring the rain on those armoured soldiers. Fingers crossed that this would help us to break through all those soldiers and not forcing my hands to use the cannons instead.
Thankfully, there were enough ingredients to make around twenty potion bombs. I will do my best to reduce the effectiveness on some of the soldiers first and then to have the elves toss the bombs and shoot them mid-air. Some of the elves helped me in creating the bombs which sped up the process, although some of them ended up falling asleep upon inhaling the scent of the potions. Time is of the essence here while we sat around doing nothing but glare at those armoured soldiers.
I sent Rick back to the east to inform the soldiers to make haste and come over to this side instead. No point in continuing the siege battle when we can just storm in after I'm done in incapacitating these soldiers.
***
It took me about two hours to finally get the bombs ready. As much as I would like to rush myself in doing alchemy, a slight mistake can end up creating something with completely different effects instead. Imagine making a nuclear bomb instead of a sleeping bomb by mistake. While it might not be that drastic, it's not something I'm willing to risk.
All is done, time to set things in motion. I strolled out of the forest towards the armoured soldiers alone. Some would call it "likka boss" but I like to keep things modest. I had Concentration activated just in case of a random cannon ball flying towards me. I should have enough time to react with Concentration active.
The soldiers noticed me and immediately assumed a tighter formation. No wonder the elves had difficulty in breaking through. All of them were incredibly fully armoured and wielding a great shield. They looked like some metal robots rather than soldiers. I am certain that there are some mechanical support helping them in moving, otherwise I highly doubt any normal human soldiers are strong enough to move even an inch. That is just how big and armoured they are. The height of those armours are perhaps about 300cm as I walked closer to them. Their shields are even taller, which was why the elves had such difficulty fighting through. Perhaps John can don the armour without needing any mechanical support.
All of them stood closer to each other, blocking the entrance entirely. Not even a small gap remained for you to squeeze through. I certainly would like to figure out who created this suit of armour. It is definitely one of the most effective way to defend a city.
I stood in front of them and tilted my head. Are they— not planning to attack me at all? Is their primary objective only to prevent anyone from entering the city? Why though? I deactivated Concentration started negotiating with them.
"Soldiers, take me to the Queen. I surrender," I held both my hands up for them to see.
Silence was the only answer I received. Are they even humans inside those armours or did the elves mistaken these as just a mechanical being?
"Soldiers? Aren't you going to arrest me? I'm unarmed here. Do you want me to get down on my knees and tie my hands or something?" I asked them.
Again, there was no response. I was starting to think there are no humans inside these armours. In that case, using cannons to break apart this mechanical armours is the least of my concerns. I was close to giving the signal to ready the cannons to fire on them until I heard someone coughing and another person sneezing. Almost had me fooled didn't they?
"I am here on my knees with my hands held up to you. I would suggest that you take this opportunity to capture me and end this war. Who knows when the elves might decide to shoot cannons at you guys. Even with all that armour, I doubt any of you are gonna survive constant barrage of cannon fires," I said out loud to all the soldiers.
"Will you really come peacefully? No tricks, you copy?" said one of the soldiers.
"No tricks, I promise," I answered as I still sat on my knees.
The soldiers started easing up. They were still cautious but the formation was dispersing now. One of them walked slowly towards me in an attempt to bind me. How he is gonna do that with his huge shield and armour is beyond me.
The soldier stood in front of me as I maintained my sitting position. It was like God looking down upon me. That is the size differences between me and these armoured soldiers. The soldier kneeled down in an attempt to tie my hands. I can hear the groaning sound of the mechanical screeching when he kneeled.
"No tricks," he said once again.
"Yes, no tricks… only spells," I activated Concentration and casted Fear in an instant.
The soldier in front of me fell backwards as he screamed. There were a few other soldiers behind that tried to run but started tripping and falling among themselves. Those armours were certainly not meant for running. Another soldier despite being scared, still managed to shout the words "E— Enter formation!". A couple of them were still sane enough to get back to position. Obviously, I'm not gonna allow them to do so.
I stood up quickly and summoned Tengu-kaze with my left hand. I gathered power to it and swung it horizontally. I used wind power instead of pressure to knock the soldiers off balanced with an extremely strong wind. Many of them lost balance and fell to the ground. I'm certain they are gonna need time to push themselves up.
I quickly signalled the elves and leapt backwards. In an instant, bombs started flying towards the soldiers with arrows striking them with pin-point accuracy before it even touched on the ground. This would ensure that the liquids will rain on those soldiers and absorbed through their skins. The effect will certainly be much faster than just the smell alone. Soldiers were dropping like flies. Those that were able to push themselves up ended up falling again or were rocking like a timber ready to fall. Just a matter of time before more of them falls over.
***
BOOM!
Success! That was the sound of the last soldier who was preventing himself from falling over. We had broken through these armoured soldiers and can finally push into the city. Both Noah and Violet came over to pat my back. Seems like they are impressed with my unusual combat tactics. However, no time to celebrate. I need to check on the condition inside the city.
I told Noah and Violet that I will be heading in first to get a status update from the adventurer guilds. All they needed to do was to incapacitate the remaining soldiers that were miraculously still standing and tie them up. Once that's done, they can storm into the city from this entrance. Hopefully Rick had made it to the army at the east and inform them to come over to this side instead. Then we can officially begin our invasion of the city itself from within.
I covered my nose, held my breath and jumped over those armoured sleeping beauties that were lying on the ground. To inhale even a little would definitely start making me sleepy and that's not what I need right now. I require all the adrenaline in my body to push myself through this war. My first stop, the secret hideout located in the west.
***
Something's definitely not right. Why are there so many dead bodies of civilians, adventurers and soldiers? There was absolutely no need for the adventurers to act so aggressively and start killing soldiers when they are strong enough to incapacitate them easily. Then what about the civilians? I don't like the look of this. I need a situation report ASAP.
I kept to the dark alleys and shadows to get a bearing on the situation. There were many people arguing with one another. Some were threatening others to stay away while those who were too scared just hid in the corner and shivered. And these were just civilians behaving this way. There was barely any soldiers or adventurers around. Where the hell are they?
I reached the hideout in question and took a peek. There were two person guarding the entrance. Wait, is that— Lily and Rose? Why are they here? I approached them cautiously with my hands up.
Both of them saw me approaching and unsheathed their weapons immediately. They were genuinely surprised when they noticed it was me but their expression quickly changed to a more concerned look as they halted my advance.
"Stop right there, Zen. Hands where I can see them. Answer the question truthfully before coming any closer, please," asked Lily.
"What's going on? Why are there so many dead civilians, soldiers and adventurers all around the city? It's like the city is in complete chaos now," I asked both of them.
"Answer the question, please! When was the first time we held hands together?!" shouted Lily as both of them pointed their weapons at me.
I was caught off guard by such a question. But I'm certain something horrible is going on that required them to ask me on such a personal question.
"When you blessed the elven dagger for me," I answered truthfully.
Rose glanced at Lily to which she gave a sigh of relief and nodded to her. They wanted to greet me but I stopped them. Now is my turn to verify.
"Now it's my turn. How far had I gone in relationship between the both of you? Go," I pointed to Rose.
"H— huh? Umm, we— kissed?" answered Rose which I then moved my finger to point at Lily.
"We— slept?" answered Lily as she covered her face.
Now it was my turn to give a sigh of relief. I guess these two are the real Lily and Rose. Strange for them to be guarding the hideout though when they should be doing something more important than this.
"Geez, Onii-chan. This is serious! Not the time for jokes!" shouted Rose.
"So am I. I'm the instigator of this war. The worst case scenario is that I ended up getting stabbed in the back by my little sister. Now, give me a sit-rep of what's going on in the city," I asked them as I walked into the hideout.
There were barely any adventurers inside. Too little, as a matter of fact. As I approached the underground guildmaster's hideout, there was only John and the Elementalist inside. John immediately stood up with amazement at my presence. The Elementalist, on the other hand, remained seated with a smirk.
"Zen, you made it! H— How did you manage to break into the city this quickly? Wait, you are Zen, right?" asked John as he alternated his gaze between Lily and Rose to which they nodded.
"The elves helped me tremendously in breaking through from the south. Now, can someone tell me, what the hell is going on with the city? Why are they so many dead bodies of adventurers, soldiers and even civilians? I was expecting the cannons to stop firing by now but it seemed like that went to hell. Tell me all that I need to know," I stared at all of them.
John started by mentioning that everything went well during the initial evacuation. Adventurers brought a lot of the civilians to the safe zone. It was not until some of the adventurers started randomly killing civilians that all hell went loose. Even civilians were attacking one another. The adventurers had to kill those adventurers and civilians that went mad. Then the horror appeared when those body morphed into demons upon their death. They were among us from the start. It was then that chaos erupted. Adventurers were killing each other as well as civilians. No one were able to trust one another in fear of them being a demon in disguise. All throughout the city, deaths were occurring due to mistaken identity or fear of being stabbed in the back.
I slammed my clenched fist on the table. No wonder there were no adventurers who helped me with the cannons. They could barely even get a grip on who is what. They can only trust themselves; not even their companions or loved ones can be trusted.
I asked about the status of the Paladin and Dark Lord. The Elementalist mentioned that both of them are moving around the city to help out in identifying those in disguised. It's not easy and takes a lot of time to identify, but they mentioned that they have some spell to help them. It's gonna take them forever to sort this out seeing as the city is in such disarray.
I slumped back on my chair. There was a moment of silence as I alternated my gaze among the four of them. I can see the reason why John and the Elementalist are here trying to sort out a plan and figure out what the hell they can do in this situation.
Damn it. The Queen must had planned this all along. No wonder she didn't bother about her soldiers and was just stalling us. All she wanted was for us humans to kill each other out of fear instead. At the end of the day, humans are the one killing themselves more so than the demons. Even if we invade the city, the army is eventually gonna start killing themselves due to mistrust. I need to stop the army entering the city before it's too late.
I glanced at Rose as I was racking my brain to figure out a plan. She was reading a book while leaning against the wall. Is it really the right time to be reading a book right now? Oh, she had cut her hair shorter. Reminds me on how she used to look. Lily had washed away her blond colour and it's back to her silvery green hair colour. Ah, do I miss those silky hair of hers.
Damn it, Zen! Keep it together and focus on the important things right now! What other way is there to bait the demons or something to reveal them quicker? There must be a way.
Wait a minute, the Queen. If we all attack the Queen, the demons will surely come to her rescue. Why didn't I think of this before? The Queen is the most important piece of this war and I'm certain the demons will do anything to prevent her from dying or captured. With that said, it would mean that there should be plenty of demons inside the castle defending her. Damn it, my army is outside of the city now and I can't bring them in if we can't figure out a way to expose those demon imposters. I continued in figuring out a plan when Lily told me something that sent chills down my spine.
"Zen, I know now's not the time, but I feel you should know this. I'm sorry if you don't wish to hear this, but— we found Rick. He— didn't make it," she said with a sad tone.
My eyes widen. I immediately rose up from my chair and grabbed her by the arms.
"Lily, are you 100 percent certain it's Rick?!" I asked her hastily.
"W— we checked the body and face. I am fairly certain it's him," she muttered.
"You are certain it's a human and not a demon disguised as him?" I pestered her with more questions as I started to panic.
"On that I'm extremely certain. I know he means a lot to you so I had to make sure it was really him," she answered with a serious look on her face.
"What's going on, Zen? You don't look like you're grieving over his death. You're panicking over something," asked John.
"Shit, shit shit shit. I— I had an imposter following me around without me even knowing it? How— did that demon even know where I'll be after escaping from the city? Was the Dark Lord not aware that Rick was an imposter and told him about that information, or did the demon somehow found out that information through some other means? He said that the Dark Lord ordered him to protect me throughout this war. What else does that demon know?!" I started grabbing my hair unknowingly.
"Calm down, Zen. This is what the Queen is trying to do to us. To ensure that none of us can trust each other and distance ourselves. Run us through on what's troubling you," said the Elementalist with a soothing voice.
"What if— you're an imposter as well? I don't even know whether you're actually the real Elementalist. That Rick imposter was so real. He was asking questions that the real Rick would be asking. He acted the exactly the same as Rick. Just asking questions alone is not enough to prove that you're an imposter," I started to panic and move closer to the wall.
As I alternated my gaze between the four of them, my mind started to think of the horrible possibilities. What if all of them are demons in disguised? Asking questions alone is not enough to prove that you're not a demon. I started to sweat profusely and hyperventilate. How much do the demons know about the plans for this war? Was that why the Queen was so confident that she's able to win easily? Information is key in winning a war and the demons had the most advantage in gathering with their deceptions. Damn it, I can't even think straight anymore.
John and Lily started to approach closer to calm me but I stopped them. I told them that no one should be getting close to each other under any circumstances until we are certain that none of us are demons. They retaliated and ensured me that they are not but I argued back and told them that I was certain that the imposter was Rick with the way he acted. We continued to argue back and forth.
BOOK!!
Someone shut a book loudly. Is that why we call it a book? Because of the sound effect of shutting one?
It was Rose. She had closed her book one-handed and was now glaring at me. She then proceeded to walk straight towards my direction without any hesitation. I told her to stop coming any closer but she ignored. I unconsciously took out my dagger hidden behind my back and pointed at her. She lifted her hand and I thought that she wanted to slap me. I closed my eyes and braced for the slap but both of her hands clasped my face cheeks instead. We stared at each other directly which made me noticed her face features and imperfection. She looked so much more beautiful now after four years had passed, but she still had that small mole on her neck. She then gave me a passionate kiss which lasted longer than it should.
The kiss was awkward and out of sync. It was the exact same kiss we had before. This calmed me somehow and Rose smiled at me. She looked as bright as the sun to me.
"Onii-chan, do you really think a demon is capable of kissing you so passionately? I'm your little sister, don't you recognise me? Don't let the Queen get to your head. We must not let her win. You can beat her. You are Zen Hawthorn, my Onii-chan," Rose said to me while still holding my face with her hands.
I stared into her eyes. Her pink coloured eyes were unmistakable. This is indeed my little sister, Rose. I gave her a hug to calm myself further. After some time, she continued with her explanation.
"And besides, I just happened to find something that can give us an advantage. Time for us to turn back the tide of battle," Rose held out the page of the book she was reading. Written on the page was "Revelation".