Chapter 4 Chapter 4
The king’s gaze lingered on me for so long that it drew everyone's attention to me as well. I figured this was when they really started watching me, as a dozen pair of eyes examined me. This king was not easy to fool; if I wanted to escape later, everyone would notice, although, it’d probably be hard to protect oneself among this bunch of inexperienced losers in a fight, never mind watching someone else.
“Let me introduce someone to all of you. He is a powerful warrior in our military, and he will lead our royal guards to protect all of you and to fight the necromancer.” As the king spoke, a young man walked in from the same door the king had entered earlier. He was tall and fit, and his armor made him seem more impressive; even his face was more handsome than mine. Normally this would be a man everyone loved to admire, but I didn’t like him. His face may be smiling, but there was something in his eyes that I didn’t like. His grin couldn’t hide his ambition. Once upon a time, my eyes had held that same glint.
“My name is Ying Luo,” he greeted everyone. “We will soon be comrades. I hope we can all work hard to vanquish the evil necromancer!”
This man was probably very strong, as a warrior’s strength could be determined from their demeanor, movements, and expression. Too bad that fighting the necromancer required not a strong warrior but a strong magician or priest. Necromancers could all obtain an invincible body after aligning with certain dark forces, and most of them were immune to metal weapons. No matter how skilled the royal guards were, or how powerful this warrior was, we would all be sacrificing our lives in our war with the necromancer. With just apprentice magicians and soldiers here—and of course me—our chances of beating the necromancer were really slim.
His eyes surveyed the crowd, looking at everyone before landing on me. He could also tell that I was the strongest among this group; at least, I was no apprentice.
“Everyone, I’ve made my decision,” the king spoke again. “Anyone who can beat the necromancer will be able to marry my daughter and become my heir!”
The crowd became energized by the announcement, which surprised me as well. A king making this kind of promise showed how desperate he was.
“I have a question!” I cleared my throat. There was no point dying for a gemstone, but I could give them some helpful suggestions. The king signaled for me to continue.
“Why not get help from some neighboring countries? It would be helpful if we could find some powerful priests before we battle the necromancer.”
The king looked at me before glancing at Ying Luo, who coughed before speaking.
“Please allow me to explain for the king. We have sought help from neighboring countries, but there’s no telling when the reply will come. Even if there was help coming, it’d be several months later. We can’t afford to wait. Our people are under the threat of the necromancer right now! We cannot wait to attack the necromancer; if we waited, even if we succeeded, we’d pay a huge cost, so we must be proactive . . .” He followed with more motivational words, enough to galvanize young and inexperienced people to die for his cause. Then the king departed, while we were ushered into a hall to enjoy wine and fancy food. To me, however, this was more like the last meal before an execution than a celebratory occasion. Well, I decided to skip out anyway, so I might as well enjoy the offerings. I had no intention of being someone else’s cannon fodder.
“Hello, young priest.” Ying Luo walked over to talk to me. His tone was irritating. How old did he think he was to call me young? I would bet that I didn’t look much younger than him.
“Hello, ‘our nation’s most powerful warrior!’” I answered coldly, my voice dripping with sarcasm. He should have left after hearing my derision, but he stayed.
“I still don’t know your name!”
“People call me Laide.”
“Laide . . . What a great name. Would you mind talking to me in private?” What a joke that my ordinary name got his praise. What was his game? Watching his retreating back, I hesitated before following him. My curiosity was piqued.
There was a garden outside the hall, a different one from the one I'd waited in earlier, and it was smaller. There was no one else around.
“Laide, it’s okay I call you this?” he asked, smiling at me. “Know why I wanted to talk to you?”
“Are you going to organize the upcoming battle?” I answered half-heartedly. If he sought me out to discuss this, I could care less; I was planning to leave soon anyway.
“Ha-ha. You know why we’re really fighting this war?”
“The real reason?”
“Our neighboring countries have already replied. They all agreed to help; after all, the evil necromancer is our common enemy, but they won’t get here until five days from now. The necromancer has already given us an ultimatum. If he isn’t sitting on the throne by the day after tomorrow, he’ll destroy the throne and the palace! So we have to launch our attack now, to disrupt him, and gain enough time to . . .”
Oh, so we were definitely cannon fodder; no wonder the king offered such a generous reward, even sacrificing his only daughter. The king knew we wouldn’t come back alive, so he could afford to give out blank checks.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, knowing his answer.
“Well, I just feel like a magician like you, so young and brilliant, shouldn’t die in this dead end battle. You better be careful in the battle, and don’t be impulsive!” he said, patting me before leaving.
Ah, so he did want to ingratiate me. Too bad I was more experienced than he realized. I knew the best way to convince someone to die for you. Money, women, and power were actually all secondary to how you made someone feel, to make you seem special and worth dying for. The question was: Why did he bother to seek me out?
I considered the problem. Maybe he chose me since I was the strongest in the group. The apprentices were no match for me. I still couldn’t understand why he seemed to confide in me.
There was no point to puzzle over this, as I was leaving anyway. This had nothing to do with me.
The feast ended. Most people didn’t eat or drink much; everyone was nervous about the upcoming battle, except for me. I even filled up my canteen with this country’s specialty wine. It was indeed a fine wine. I sort of thought the necromancer wanted to take over this country in order to be able to drink it every day.
As the soldiers gathered outside, we rested inside. No one was really resting, however, as everyone was preparing for what lay ahead. Some prayed, and some read magic books. I watched the young people; they were like other people of their age, their eyes filled with anticipation and passion. They had no idea the true purpose of this battle. Soon, death would loot their lives the same as he looted others’ lives. I’d seen so many similar scenes that I was numb. I kept drinking the wine, wanting to finish the half-bottle before we left.
Chapter 4 Chapter 4
The king’s gaze lingered on me for so long that it drew everyone's attention to me as well. I figured this was when they really started watching me, as a dozen pair of eyes examined me. This king was not easy to fool; if I wanted to escape later, everyone would notice, although, it’d probably be hard to protect oneself among this bunch of inexperienced losers in a fight, never mind watching someone else.
“Let me introduce someone to all of you. He is a powerful warrior in our military, and he will lead our royal guards to protect all of you and to fight the necromancer.” As the king spoke, a young man walked in from the same door the king had entered earlier. He was tall and fit, and his armor made him seem more impressive; even his face was more handsome than mine. Normally this would be a man everyone loved to admire, but I didn’t like him. His face may be smiling, but there was something in his eyes that I didn’t like. His grin couldn’t hide his ambition. Once upon a time, my eyes had held that same glint.
“My name is Ying Luo,” he greeted everyone. “We will soon be comrades. I hope we can all work hard to vanquish the evil necromancer!”
This man was probably very strong, as a warrior’s strength could be determined from their demeanor, movements, and expression. Too bad that fighting the necromancer required not a strong warrior but a strong magician or priest. Necromancers could all obtain an invincible body after aligning with certain dark forces, and most of them were immune to metal weapons. No matter how skilled the royal guards were, or how powerful this warrior was, we would all be sacrificing our lives in our war with the necromancer. With just apprentice magicians and soldiers here—and of course me—our chances of beating the necromancer were really slim.
His eyes surveyed the crowd, looking at everyone before landing on me. He could also tell that I was the strongest among this group; at least, I was no apprentice.
“Everyone, I’ve made my decision,” the king spoke again. “Anyone who can beat the necromancer will be able to marry my daughter and become my heir!”
The crowd became energized by the announcement, which surprised me as well. A king making this kind of promise showed how desperate he was.
“I have a question!” I cleared my throat. There was no point dying for a gemstone, but I could give them some helpful suggestions. The king signaled for me to continue.
“Why not get help from some neighboring countries? It would be helpful if we could find some powerful priests before we battle the necromancer.”
The king looked at me before glancing at Ying Luo, who coughed before speaking.
“Please allow me to explain for the king. We have sought help from neighboring countries, but there’s no telling when the reply will come. Even if there was help coming, it’d be several months later. We can’t afford to wait. Our people are under the threat of the necromancer right now! We cannot wait to attack the necromancer; if we waited, even if we succeeded, we’d pay a huge cost, so we must be proactive . . .” He followed with more motivational words, enough to galvanize young and inexperienced people to die for his cause. Then the king departed, while we were ushered into a hall to enjoy wine and fancy food. To me, however, this was more like the last meal before an execution than a celebratory occasion. Well, I decided to skip out anyway, so I might as well enjoy the offerings. I had no intention of being someone else’s cannon fodder.
“Hello, young priest.” Ying Luo walked over to talk to me. His tone was irritating. How old did he think he was to call me young? I would bet that I didn’t look much younger than him.
“Hello, ‘our nation’s most powerful warrior!’” I answered coldly, my voice dripping with sarcasm. He should have left after hearing my derision, but he stayed.
“I still don’t know your name!”
“People call me Laide.”
“Laide . . . What a great name. Would you mind talking to me in private?” What a joke that my ordinary name got his praise. What was his game? Watching his retreating back, I hesitated before following him. My curiosity was piqued.
There was a garden outside the hall, a different one from the one I'd waited in earlier, and it was smaller. There was no one else around.
“Laide, it’s okay I call you this?” he asked, smiling at me. “Know why I wanted to talk to you?”
“Are you going to organize the upcoming battle?” I answered half-heartedly. If he sought me out to discuss this, I could care less; I was planning to leave soon anyway.
“Ha-ha. You know why we’re really fighting this war?”
“The real reason?”
“Our neighboring countries have already replied. They all agreed to help; after all, the evil necromancer is our common enemy, but they won’t get here until five days from now. The necromancer has already given us an ultimatum. If he isn’t sitting on the throne by the day after tomorrow, he’ll destroy the throne and the palace! So we have to launch our attack now, to disrupt him, and gain enough time to . . .”
Oh, so we were definitely cannon fodder; no wonder the king offered such a generous reward, even sacrificing his only daughter. The king knew we wouldn’t come back alive, so he could afford to give out blank checks.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, knowing his answer.
“Well, I just feel like a magician like you, so young and brilliant, shouldn’t die in this dead end battle. You better be careful in the battle, and don’t be impulsive!” he said, patting me before leaving.
Ah, so he did want to ingratiate me. Too bad I was more experienced than he realized. I knew the best way to convince someone to die for you. Money, women, and power were actually all secondary to how you made someone feel, to make you seem special and worth dying for. The question was: Why did he bother to seek me out?
I considered the problem. Maybe he chose me since I was the strongest in the group. The apprentices were no match for me. I still couldn’t understand why he seemed to confide in me.
There was no point to puzzle over this, as I was leaving anyway. This had nothing to do with me.
The feast ended. Most people didn’t eat or drink much; everyone was nervous about the upcoming battle, except for me. I even filled up my canteen with this country’s specialty wine. It was indeed a fine wine. I sort of thought the necromancer wanted to take over this country in order to be able to drink it every day.
As the soldiers gathered outside, we rested inside. No one was really resting, however, as everyone was preparing for what lay ahead. Some prayed, and some read magic books. I watched the young people; they were like other people of their age, their eyes filled with anticipation and passion. They had no idea the true purpose of this battle. Soon, death would loot their lives the same as he looted others’ lives. I’d seen so many similar scenes that I was numb. I kept drinking the wine, wanting to finish the half-bottle before we left.
