Chapter 52
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The camp Zarz set up for the unit was located on a small plateau south of the range of hills separating the enemy frontlines from their rear. It was far enough that we wouldn't need to fear a surprise attack without any forewarning, and now that we knew the enemy could attack from the skies, we would be doubly prepared. Not to mention getting up to our plateau required tricky navigation of a steep rise that could easily be defended by very few men.
In fact, it was such a steep climb that we had difficulty even bringing the five wagons up to the plateau. Luckily, we had big guys like Shaqs and Edo to help with the heavy lifting.
The first thing I did when I arrived at camp was to have Zarz camouflage the wagons in greenery to keep the enemy from noticing them too quickly.
While Zarz finished his task, I sent Berrian off to tend to the surviving kids. Seven more died gruesome deaths on our way to the campsite and some kids were sporting bruises or wounds on their bodies that weren't there when we found them.
Because I didn't want to be responsible for the murder of children under my unit's care, I called on one of our messenger sprites, Fila, to send word to Darah about everything that happened to the Foolhardies since we began our campaign. Specifically, I wanted to know if we had any curse breakers in the Darah that could help with the problem of the cursed children.
Fila was a foot-tall sprite with light green skin and spiky blue hair. The two gossamer wings on his back were also a shade of light blue. He wore a midnight blue tabard with the symbol of an intricately drawn white harlequin mask complete with a red and blue jester's cap.
This was the new symbol for the Foolhardies that Pike—who I recently learned dabbled in art—drew for us after she and Luca thought it up. I let Luca workshop the unit's symbol because he was pouting that he didn't get to help with the name. Better to have him stress over it than stress me about it. Besides, I would have just vetoed any lame symbols he endorsed. Luckily, I didn't have to. The first one he and Pike showed me was pretty damn cool.
Fila's loud "Ahem," shifted my focus away from the Foolhardies symbol back to the present.
"Is that all you want to say, Commander?" he asked in a sing-song child-like voice common to his kind.
"Yeah... but I really want you to emphasis that our first attack went great and that we secured prisoners and rescued hostages as a bonus. Really put some emphasis on that, okay, Fila?" I reminded him.
"Sure... impress Great General Darah," he repeated as he jotted down notes on his extremely tiny notebook and quill. "And don't mention that we haven't completed the task she asked us to do..."
"Definitely don't mention that," I agreed vehemently. "Just say that it's in progress."
Fila saluted me by banging his fist to his chest pinky first just like how all soldiers in the Fayne saluted their superiors. On a foot-tall creature like him, though, it was just adorable.
Before Fila could fly off, his partner and the only other messenger of the unit, Nike, landed down on the grass beside him in a huff while waving a glass golf ball up at me.
I glanced down at the excited little sprite to acknowledge her arrival.
Although they shared the same light green skin, Nike was the opposite of her partner, Fila. Her hair was a deep crimson similar to mine and the gossamer wings on her back were a fiery violet hue.
I'd left her behind with Great General Darah so she could quickly relay any messages to me as sprites could find anyone as long as they know the face of their target. Or in my case, being her direct superior meant Nike had an arcane connection to me that would let her know where I am anywhere in the Fayne like some magical fairy GPS.
"News from the front!" Nike piped in after she'd taken a breath.
I picked up the golf ball Nike carried in her hands, and as soon as I did, it expanded into volleyball size like it was just waiting for the touch of someone normal height to take it out of the sprite's hands.
The glass ball, which I knew was actually called a scrying orb, began to glow from within. Inside its murky depths, I saw a gathering of storm clouds that slowly dissipated to give way to the story hidden within. A series of photos like snapshots from a spy drone appeared one after another, each one giving me insight into the battlefield of the Darah army and the Magesong army.
"News from the front?" Aura asked as she sat beside me on one of the wooden logs Zarz's supply team had set up around camp.
"Nothing too bad... not good either though," I said as I pushed the scrying orb into Aura's hands.
"Looks like we won the first clash in the center," Aura observed.
"Yeah... they're led by Commander Thors so that was expected," I agreed.
"On, no," Aura exclaimed. "Looks like the left army isn't doing so well. The enemy was able to attack push them back..."
My brow creased. "What the hell is that Vardoom doing losing so quickly like that..."
"My uncle's a slow starter... he'll push back once he's found his groove," Varda explained when she popped in to sneak a peek at the orb over Aura's shoulder. "At least the right army's doing okay."
"Looks like a stalemate," Aura agreed with Varda.
"Check the next image," I said.
Aura did as I instructed and swiped the orb's screen to the right like Mudgardians usually did on their dating apps. The scene changed to another one showing huge flames erupting within the right army's forces. They were telltale signs of very recent explosions.
Aura gasped.
"Are those..." Varda began, but I finished with, "Looks like cannon fire to me..."
"But then—"
I cut Varda off again by swiping the orb once more and changed the image to a new one depicting a closeup shot of a line of what seemed like a magical version of what ancient cannons looked like back on Mudgard.
There were eight in all. Each one had a large rectangular crystal with a pointed triangular tip mounted on a wooden carriage with two wheels each. The crystal tips faced forward in the direction of what I assumed the Darah Army was in. Only, from the look of them, the cannons were clearly damaged. Their crystal cores were either cracked or broken as if they'd been sabotaged.
Varda's eyes were wide when she looked over the picture. "Someone broke these spell cannons good..."
Aura looked over to me for clarification. "did someone do this? What does it mean?"
"It means your aunt's wilier than I thought... she's covering all her bases," I said, laughing as I did. "While she sent us here looking to raid the cannon's supply of ammunition she'd already sent another group to infiltrate and destroy the cannons on her field... smart."
"Does that mean we can scrap our mission? No sense getting ourselves killed looking for something the enemy can't use anymore, is there?" " Varda asked.
I pondered her questions in my mind. It was true that the cannons were out of commission but there was always a chance they could be prepared. This meant stealing or destroying their ammunition supply could make them useless for good. On the other hand, if we stayed where we were, the likelihood of discovery was getting more likely by the minute. Especially since we'd already encountered the enemy twice and have both hostages and prisoners to take care of.
My thoughts were interrupted by the two sprites vying for my attention.
"Can I go now, Commander?" Fila asked.
I nodded apologetically to him. "Y-yeah, sure... sorry I kept you waiting."
He sent me another salute before he flew off into the night sky.
Now, it was Nike's turn to grab my attention.
"I have a message from the Great General," she piped.
"You couldn't have said that earlier?" I asked.
Commander was busy," she shrugged.
I sighed. "Alright, Nike. What's Darah's message?"
The next time Nike spoke, it was in the clear commanding tone of Great General Darah herself. "Dapper, somethings come up. I want you to end your search for the cannon's ammunition supply. There's something else I need you to check on."
I rolled my eyes. "Now she tells me..."
"You remember that fool you and Rogers allowed to go free? Well, it turns out there are more fake immortals like your friend, Azuma," Nike continued in Darah's voice. "Several commander-level enemies in the Magesong army don't seem to understand how to die properly... They keep waking up from death. I want you to figure out the how and the why and then report back to me as quickly as possible. Invade their entire rear line and get some answers from their cowardly magicians if you have to. This is priority one, Dapper. Don't fail!"
I did a double-take as soon as Nike finished Darah's message. "Did she just—"
"Seems like we completed our mission, after all, Commander," Varda laughed. "Aren't you lucky..."
I looked between Varda and Nike just to make sure neither of them was pulling my leg. Varda had a silly expression on her face but Nike was all serious so at least I could count on her to tell me the truth. It meant we had exactly what Darah wanted which felt like too much of a coincidence to me.
"I can't—"
"Don't fight it," Aura recommended. She patted me on the back reassuringly while she was at it. "I know you had your heart set on exploring the hills and ambushing every Magesong unit we could find but..."
I knew she was making fun of me now and I expressed as much in the scowl I sent her. But Aura knew just how to placate me. She grinned that beautiful grin of hers, making me soften up instantly.
"Let's not find fault in this simple gift fate sent us, okay?" she suggested. "Just be happy that things worked out. Even if you hadn't planned for it."
I sighed. Her logic, although unbelievably flawed in my opinion, made a whole lot more sense than sticking around to get caught by the enemy. We had the information the boss wanted. It was time to get it to her and hopefully find a cure for those kids. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"Alright..." I conceded while still feeling unsatisfied by this sudden turn of fortune. "Let's head back to the main army as soon as we're ready."
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The camp Zarz set up for the unit was located on a small plateau south of the range of hills separating the enemy frontlines from their rear. It was far enough that we wouldn't need to fear a surprise attack without any forewarning, and now that we knew the enemy could attack from the skies, we would be doubly prepared. Not to mention getting up to our plateau required tricky navigation of a steep rise that could easily be defended by very few men.
In fact, it was such a steep climb that we had difficulty even bringing the five wagons up to the plateau. Luckily, we had big guys like Shaqs and Edo to help with the heavy lifting.
The first thing I did when I arrived at camp was to have Zarz camouflage the wagons in greenery to keep the enemy from noticing them too quickly.
While Zarz finished his task, I sent Berrian off to tend to the surviving kids. Seven more died gruesome deaths on our way to the campsite and some kids were sporting bruises or wounds on their bodies that weren't there when we found them.
Because I didn't want to be responsible for the murder of children under my unit's care, I called on one of our messenger sprites, Fila, to send word to Darah about everything that happened to the Foolhardies since we began our campaign. Specifically, I wanted to know if we had any curse breakers in the Darah that could help with the problem of the cursed children.
Fila was a foot-tall sprite with light green skin and spiky blue hair. The two gossamer wings on his back were also a shade of light blue. He wore a midnight blue tabard with the symbol of an intricately drawn white harlequin mask complete with a red and blue jester's cap.
This was the new symbol for the Foolhardies that Pike—who I recently learned dabbled in art—drew for us after she and Luca thought it up. I let Luca workshop the unit's symbol because he was pouting that he didn't get to help with the name. Better to have him stress over it than stress me about it. Besides, I would have just vetoed any lame symbols he endorsed. Luckily, I didn't have to. The first one he and Pike showed me was pretty damn cool.
Fila's loud "Ahem," shifted my focus away from the Foolhardies symbol back to the present.
"Is that all you want to say, Commander?" he asked in a sing-song child-like voice common to his kind.
"Yeah... but I really want you to emphasis that our first attack went great and that we secured prisoners and rescued hostages as a bonus. Really put some emphasis on that, okay, Fila?" I reminded him.
"Sure... impress Great General Darah," he repeated as he jotted down notes on his extremely tiny notebook and quill. "And don't mention that we haven't completed the task she asked us to do..."
"Definitely don't mention that," I agreed vehemently. "Just say that it's in progress."
Fila saluted me by banging his fist to his chest pinky first just like how all soldiers in the Fayne saluted their superiors. On a foot-tall creature like him, though, it was just adorable.
Before Fila could fly off, his partner and the only other messenger of the unit, Nike, landed down on the grass beside him in a huff while waving a glass golf ball up at me.
I glanced down at the excited little sprite to acknowledge her arrival.
Although they shared the same light green skin, Nike was the opposite of her partner, Fila. Her hair was a deep crimson similar to mine and the gossamer wings on her back were a fiery violet hue.
I'd left her behind with Great General Darah so she could quickly relay any messages to me as sprites could find anyone as long as they know the face of their target. Or in my case, being her direct superior meant Nike had an arcane connection to me that would let her know where I am anywhere in the Fayne like some magical fairy GPS.
"News from the front!" Nike piped in after she'd taken a breath.
I picked up the golf ball Nike carried in her hands, and as soon as I did, it expanded into volleyball size like it was just waiting for the touch of someone normal height to take it out of the sprite's hands.
The glass ball, which I knew was actually called a scrying orb, began to glow from within. Inside its murky depths, I saw a gathering of storm clouds that slowly dissipated to give way to the story hidden within. A series of photos like snapshots from a spy drone appeared one after another, each one giving me insight into the battlefield of the Darah army and the Magesong army.
"News from the front?" Aura asked as she sat beside me on one of the wooden logs Zarz's supply team had set up around camp.
"Nothing too bad... not good either though," I said as I pushed the scrying orb into Aura's hands.
"Looks like we won the first clash in the center," Aura observed.
"Yeah... they're led by Commander Thors so that was expected," I agreed.
"On, no," Aura exclaimed. "Looks like the left army isn't doing so well. The enemy was able to attack push them back..."
My brow creased. "What the hell is that Vardoom doing losing so quickly like that..."
"My uncle's a slow starter... he'll push back once he's found his groove," Varda explained when she popped in to sneak a peek at the orb over Aura's shoulder. "At least the right army's doing okay."
"Looks like a stalemate," Aura agreed with Varda.
"Check the next image," I said.
Aura did as I instructed and swiped the orb's screen to the right like Mudgardians usually did on their dating apps. The scene changed to another one showing huge flames erupting within the right army's forces. They were telltale signs of very recent explosions.
Aura gasped.
"Are those..." Varda began, but I finished with, "Looks like cannon fire to me..."
"But then—"
I cut Varda off again by swiping the orb once more and changed the image to a new one depicting a closeup shot of a line of what seemed like a magical version of what ancient cannons looked like back on Mudgard.
There were eight in all. Each one had a large rectangular crystal with a pointed triangular tip mounted on a wooden carriage with two wheels each. The crystal tips faced forward in the direction of what I assumed the Darah Army was in. Only, from the look of them, the cannons were clearly damaged. Their crystal cores were either cracked or broken as if they'd been sabotaged.
Varda's eyes were wide when she looked over the picture. "Someone broke these spell cannons good..."
Aura looked over to me for clarification. "did someone do this? What does it mean?"
"It means your aunt's wilier than I thought... she's covering all her bases," I said, laughing as I did. "While she sent us here looking to raid the cannon's supply of ammunition she'd already sent another group to infiltrate and destroy the cannons on her field... smart."
"Does that mean we can scrap our mission? No sense getting ourselves killed looking for something the enemy can't use anymore, is there?" " Varda asked.
I pondered her questions in my mind. It was true that the cannons were out of commission but there was always a chance they could be prepared. This meant stealing or destroying their ammunition supply could make them useless for good. On the other hand, if we stayed where we were, the likelihood of discovery was getting more likely by the minute. Especially since we'd already encountered the enemy twice and have both hostages and prisoners to take care of.
My thoughts were interrupted by the two sprites vying for my attention.
"Can I go now, Commander?" Fila asked.
I nodded apologetically to him. "Y-yeah, sure... sorry I kept you waiting."
He sent me another salute before he flew off into the night sky.
Now, it was Nike's turn to grab my attention.
"I have a message from the Great General," she piped.
"You couldn't have said that earlier?" I asked.
Commander was busy," she shrugged.
I sighed. "Alright, Nike. What's Darah's message?"
The next time Nike spoke, it was in the clear commanding tone of Great General Darah herself. "Dapper, somethings come up. I want you to end your search for the cannon's ammunition supply. There's something else I need you to check on."
I rolled my eyes. "Now she tells me..."
"You remember that fool you and Rogers allowed to go free? Well, it turns out there are more fake immortals like your friend, Azuma," Nike continued in Darah's voice. "Several commander-level enemies in the Magesong army don't seem to understand how to die properly... They keep waking up from death. I want you to figure out the how and the why and then report back to me as quickly as possible. Invade their entire rear line and get some answers from their cowardly magicians if you have to. This is priority one, Dapper. Don't fail!"
I did a double-take as soon as Nike finished Darah's message. "Did she just—"
"Seems like we completed our mission, after all, Commander," Varda laughed. "Aren't you lucky..."
I looked between Varda and Nike just to make sure neither of them was pulling my leg. Varda had a silly expression on her face but Nike was all serious so at least I could count on her to tell me the truth. It meant we had exactly what Darah wanted which felt like too much of a coincidence to me.
"I can't—"
"Don't fight it," Aura recommended. She patted me on the back reassuringly while she was at it. "I know you had your heart set on exploring the hills and ambushing every Magesong unit we could find but..."
I knew she was making fun of me now and I expressed as much in the scowl I sent her. But Aura knew just how to placate me. She grinned that beautiful grin of hers, making me soften up instantly.
"Let's not find fault in this simple gift fate sent us, okay?" she suggested. "Just be happy that things worked out. Even if you hadn't planned for it."
I sighed. Her logic, although unbelievably flawed in my opinion, made a whole lot more sense than sticking around to get caught by the enemy. We had the information the boss wanted. It was time to get it to her and hopefully find a cure for those kids. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"Alright..." I conceded while still feeling unsatisfied by this sudden turn of fortune. "Let's head back to the main army as soon as we're ready."
The camp Zarz set up for the unit was located on a small plateau south of the range of hills separating the enemy frontlines from their rear. It was far enough that we wouldn't need to fear a surprise attack without any forewarning, and now that we knew the enemy could attack from the skies, we would be doubly prepared. Not to mention getting up to our plateau required tricky navigation of a steep rise that could easily be defended by very few men.In fact, it was such a steep climb that we had difficulty even bringing the five wagons up to the plateau. Luckily, we had big guys like Shaqs and Edo to help with the heavy lifting.The first thing I did when I arrived at camp was to have Zarz camouflage the wagons in greenery to keep the enemy from noticing them too quickly.While Zarz finished his task, I sent Berrian off to tend to the surviving kids. Seven more died gruesome deaths on our way to the campsite and some kids were sporting bruises or wounds on their bodies that weren't there when we found them.Because I didn't want to be responsible for the murder of children under my unit's care, I called on one of our messenger sprites, Fila, to send word to Darah about everything that happened to the Foolhardies since we began our campaign. Specifically, I wanted to know if we had any curse breakers in the Darah that could help with the problem of the cursed children.Fila was a foot-tall sprite with light green skin and spiky blue hair. The two gossamer wings on his back were also a shade of light blue. He wore a midnight blue tabard with the symbol of an intricately drawn white harlequin mask complete with a red and blue jester's cap.This was the new symbol for the Foolhardies that Pikewho I recently learned dabbled in artdrew for us after she and Luca thought it up. I let Luca workshop the unit's symbol because he was pouting that he didn't get to help with the name. Better to have him stress over it than stress me about it. Besides, I would have just vetoed any lame symbols he endorsed. Luckily, I didn't have to. The first one he and Pike showed me was pretty damn cool.Fila's loud "Ahem," shifted my focus away from the Foolhardies symbol back to the present."Is that all you want to say, Commander?" he asked in a sing-song child-like voice common to his kind."Yeah... but I really want you to emphasis that our first attack went great and that we secured prisoners and rescued hostages as a bonus. Really put some emphasis on that, okay, Fila?" I reminded him."Sure... impress Great General Darah," he repeated as he jotted down notes on his extremely tiny notebook and quill. "And don't mention that we haven't completed the task she asked us to do...""Definitely don't mention that," I agreed vehemently. "Just say that it's in progress."Fila saluted me by banging his fist to his chest pinky first just like how all soldiers in the Fayne saluted their superiors. On a foot-tall creature like him, though, it was just adorable.Before Fila could fly off, his partner and the only other messenger of the unit, Nike, landed down on the grass beside him in a huff while waving a glass golf ball up at me.I glanced down at the excited little sprite to acknowledge her arrival.Although they shared the same light green skin, Nike was the opposite of her partner, Fila. Her hair was a deep crimson similar to mine and the gossamer wings on her back were a fiery violet hue.I'd left her behind with Great General Darah so she could quickly relay any messages to me as sprites could find anyone as long as they know the face of their target. Or in my case, being her direct superior meant Nike had an arcane connection to me that would let her know where I am anywhere in the Fayne like some magical fairy GPS."News from the front!" Nike piped in after she'd taken a breath.I picked up the golf ball Nike carried in her hands, and as soon as I did, it expanded into volleyball size like it was just waiting for the touch of someone normal height to take it out of the sprite's hands.The glass ball, which I knew was actually called a scrying orb, began to glow from within. Inside its murky depths, I saw a gathering of storm clouds that slowly dissipated to give way to the story hidden within. A series of photos like snapshots from a spy drone appeared one after another, each one giving me insight into the battlefield of the Darah army and the Magesong army."News from the front?" Aura asked as she sat beside me on one of the wooden logs Zarz's supply team had set up around camp."Nothing too bad... not good either though," I said as I pushed the scrying orb into Aura's hands."Looks like we won the first clash in the center," Aura observed."Yeah... they're led by Commander Thors so that was expected," I agreed."On, no," Aura exclaimed. "Looks like the left army isn't doing so well. The enemy was able to attack push them back..."My brow creased. "What the hell is that Vardoom doing losing so quickly like that...""My uncle's a slow starter... he'll push back once he's found his groove," Varda explained when she popped in to sneak a peek at the orb over Aura's shoulder. "At least the right army's doing okay.""Looks like a stalemate," Aura agreed with Varda."Check the next image," I said.Aura did as I instructed and swiped the orb's screen to the right like Mudgardians usually did on their dating apps. The scene changed to another one showing huge flames erupting within the right army's forces. They were telltale signs of very recent explosions.Aura gasped."Are those..." Varda began, but I finished with, "Looks like cannon fire to me...""But then"I cut Varda off again by swiping the orb once more and changed the image to a new one depicting a closeup shot of a line of what seemed like a magical version of what ancient cannons looked like back on Mudgard.There were eight in all. Each one had a large rectangular crystal with a pointed triangular tip mounted on a wooden carriage with two wheels each. The crystal tips faced forward in the direction of what I assumed the Darah Army was in. Only, from the look of them, the cannons were clearly damaged. Their crystal cores were either cracked or broken as if they'd been sabotaged.Varda's eyes were wide when she looked over the picture. "Someone broke these spell cannons good..."Aura looked over to me for clarification. "did someone do this? What does it mean?""It means your aunt's wilier than I thought... she's covering all her bases,"I said, laughing as I did. "While she sent us here looking to raid the cannon's supply of ammunition she'd already sent another group to infiltrate and destroy the cannons on her field... smart.""Does that mean we can scrap our mission? No sense getting ourselves killed looking for something the enemy can't use anymore, is there?" " Varda asked.I pondered her questions in my mind. It was true that the cannons were out of commission but there was always a chance they could be prepared. This meant stealing or destroying their ammunition supply could make them useless for good. On the other hand, if we stayed where we were, the likelihood of discovery was getting more likely by the minute. Especially since we'd already encountered the enemy twice and have both hostages and prisoners to take care of.My thoughts were interrupted by the two sprites vying for my attention."Can I go now, Commander?" Fila asked.I nodded apologetically to him. "Y-yeah, sure... sorry I kept you waiting."He sent me another salute before he flew off into the night sky.Now, it was Nike's turn to grab my attention."I have a message from the Great General," she piped."You couldn't have said that earlier?" I asked.Commander was busy," she shrugged.I sighed. "Alright, Nike. What's Darah's message?"The next time Nike spoke, it was in the clear commanding tone of Great General Darah herself. "Dapper, somethings come up. I want you to end your search for the cannon's ammunition supply. There's something else I need you to check on."I rolled my eyes. "Now she tells me...""You remember that fool you and Rogers allowed to go free? Well, it turns out there are more fake immortals like your friend, Azuma," Nike continued in Darah's voice. "Several commander-level enemies in the Magesong army don't seem to understand how to die properly... They keep waking up from death. I want you to figure out the how and the why and then report back to me as quickly as possible. Invade their entire rear line and get some answers from their cowardly magicians if you have to. This is priority one, Dapper. Don't fail!"I did a double-take as soon as Nike finished Darah's message. "Did she just""Seems like we completed our mission, after all, Commander," Varda laughed. "Aren't you lucky..."I looked between Varda and Nike just to make sure neither of them was pulling my leg. Varda had a silly expression on her face but Nike was all serious so at least I could count on her to tell me the truth. It meant we had exactly what Darah wanted which felt like too much of a coincidence to me."I can't""Don't fight it," Aura recommended. She patted me on the back reassuringly while she was at it. "I know you had your heart set on exploring the hills and ambushing every Magesong unit we could find but..."I knew she was making fun of me now and I expressed as much in the scowl I sent her. But Aura knew just how to placate me. She grinned that beautiful grin of hers, making me soften up instantly."Let's not find fault in this simple gift fate sent us, okay?" she suggested. "Just be happy that things worked out. Even if you hadn't planned for it."I sighed. Her logic, although unbelievably flawed in my opinion, made a whole lot more sense than sticking around to get caught by the enemy. We had the information the boss wanted. It was time to get it to her and hopefully find a cure for those kids. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting."Alright..." I conceded while still feeling unsatisfied by this sudden turn of fortune. "Let's head back to the main army as soon as we're ready."
