On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

As the moon shies away, the sun climbs up the sky. The dark sky is replaced with a clear blue sky. White clouds that look like cotton candy decorates the sky beautifully. It is a very peaceful day with the sound of chirping birds filling the air. You will want to sit down and chill the moment you look at the surroundings and take a deep breath.

Alas, we are not given the leisure to enjoy this beautiful and peaceful morning. In a few hours, the Rectusomine Army will arrive. We have to prepare ourselves, so we can minimize our loss. We are not going to only fight but also act. We have to be able to make the army believe that we are not intentionally letting them do the job.

"You have been quiet since last night. Do you have something in your mind?" I ask my partner.

"I am appalled by the fact that I found comfort in cuddling with you last night," she answers without batting an eyelash.

"I will take that as a compliment."

Millonia turns her head to me and gazes at me silently. She has a thoughtful look on her face and I don't have to ask her to know what she is thinking about.

"What is the worst form of betrayal?"

"Are you planning to do it?"

"No, but…I am curious. I've been betrayed countless times and as a fellow betrayed individual, I want to hear your opinion."

"Well, it doesn't matter, does it? As long as you don't hurt the other side, I don't think the action is worth calling a betrayal." Millonia wants to say something else, but I put my hand on her shoulder. "Let's join the others. We need to be ready for the Rectusomine Army."

As I walk past her, she remains in her place for a few moments. Ignoring her, I put on my cheap helmet and adjust my cheap armor, so I look like a proper ordinary but competent Warrior. By the time I finished adjusting everything, Millonia chases after me. She doesn't get to walk beside me, though, since Teanosvera teleports me away.

I don't need to do that just to get out of my tent, of course. I asked Teanosvera to teleport me away, so no one but Millonia knows where I am. Most of the Warriors may be brash, but they are not stupid. As ordinary as I look in this set of cheap armor, they will be able to spot me among the crowd as long as they have seen the armor once.

I am not oblivious to the admiration these idiots have for me. I can tell they are sure they are going to win as long as they have me on their side. That is very flattering, but it also comes with a disadvantage. When things get hard, they will look for me. Their eyes will wander the battlefield just to find me in the cheap armor.

While this might not happen and the probability of the stupid humans even caring about it is low, I can't risk it. You have to fool your allies to fool your enemies even if they are all fools.

Appearing out of nowhere, my presence startles some Warriors. They look at me in wonder but immediately turn their heads away a few seconds later. They probably dismiss me as another human soldier who doesn't know how to socialize. Nobody suspects me since I wear the same armor as they do.

"Attention, Warriors!"

Standing in front of her troops, Decima prompts everyone to stand in line.

"Per the information that Commander Layland conveyed, two Legions of the human alliance army, Rectusomine, will arrive here in a few hours. Our main goal is to let them take the Curse on the cave in our stead while not making it obvious. Fight to your best, but be slightly lenient to those closing in on the mine. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Decima nods her head. She is about to order her troops to take their position when a human soldier raises his hand.

"Yes?"

"Where is Commander Layland, Ma'am? Is he not going to fight with us?"

"He is watching over all of you somewhere." The soldier tilts his head at the answer. "Commander Layland hates over-dependent people the most. Fight till you can't stand on your feet; only then shall you wish for help."

"Understood, Ma'am!"

Looking at the scene, I conclude that Decima may be a better leader than Lemius and Velucan. She can reign her subordinates, but she is still close with them. The latter is true for Velucan, but he can't completely reign his soldiers. Lemius is the opposite. He reigns his soldiers well, but he is completely detached. None of his soldiers dares to approach him.

Decima lacks the skill and the experience. Unfortunately, it will be a long way for her to improve those two aspects, so her chance of being as good as the two Generals is close to zero—she is not the only one improving.

By the time I finished musing, everyone already assumes their position. They stand in place vigilantly, ready to fight at any given moment. To avoid suspicions, I act as paranoid as possible. It is harder than I thought since I am already used to inspecting my surroundings solely with my hypersensitive Mana Sense.

"Ah, there is a lizard a mile away," I mutter. "I wonder if these guys can see it too." I know the answer is no, but quizzing myself is better than dying of boredom.

Time passes quickly when you do something. When I am about to ask myself what will happen if I challenge Ilschevar for his throne, my Mana Sense detects the awaited army. They are fifteen miles away from where we are. I am tempted to rush there and slaughter them all, but I hold myself. I can't ruin the plan I made myself.

A few minutes passed and it is at this moment that Decima and Neroel turn their heads in the direction of the Rectusomine Army. It took them long enough to realize it, but I am not complaining because I am aware that not everyone has a Mana Sense that is as absurd as mine.

"The enemy is incoming! Prepare yourself, Warriors!"

Decima and Neroel immediately take the lead. They don't head to the incoming army but stand on the frontmost line. A few more minutes passed and the army is finally visible. Everyone tenses their muscles and takes a deep breath as they look at the number of soldiers.

"Are you afraid!?"

"Awooh! No!"

"Are you intimidated!?"

"Awooh! No!"

"Will you die to achieve victory!?"

"Awooh! Yes!"

Decima smirks, satisfied by the response. This is the last time she speaks before the army reaches us. When the army reaches us, she passionately shouts for her soldiers to fight. Everyone maintains their position, making it clear to the human army that we are in defense.

This seems to excite the human army as many of their fools jump thoughtlessly at the Warriors. A cornered rat bites the strongest. Those bastards learn it late. By the time they realize they messed up, their bodies are no longer intact.

Clank!

Steels clashing against steel produce a sound that is both fascinating and haunting on the battlefield. Sparks fly off and blood is drawn.

Boom!

Those with crazy power blast people off from time to time, decorating the ground with bits of flesh and blood. The pungent smell of blood is so thick in the air, it might sway those with weak stomachs.

Swoosh!

Those with speed move agilely through the battlefield, cutting their opponents' heads here and there.

Spurt!

Fountains of blood can be easily seen on every part of the battlefield.

I watch as everything unfolds, standing unnoticed among the crowd. I am not using any Spell that diverges their attention from me. Keeping calm in this situation is uncanny. They instinctively ignore my presence because they are afraid of what I may be capable of. Some just don't realize I am even there because of their adrenaline.

"I am tempted to go crazy, but I guess I will settle with cutting off some heads."

I am going to use this as a chance to train my Mana usage management. I have a lot of Mana and I think I haven't been utilizing it effectively lately. I will see how much I can do with a limited amount of Mana. I will pay a hefty price if I am bad at it.

Channeling the allocated amount of Mana to my feet, I use the Footwork Technique that I made to rush at the human army. This is the moment when they register my presence. They immediately rush at me and I easily knock them out with a hand chop. Everyone eventually turns their attention to me because of this.

It is getting harder to reach the other side with my limited Mana, but it is not impossible. After ten minutes of struggle, I manage to do that.

"Wait! I am the Lady In The Hood's informant! I informed you about the mine!" I shout as I raise my hands in the air. "I am not your enemy!" I turn to the High Priest.

The High Priest looks at me silently for a few seconds before whispering to the Legion Commander beside him. The said commander nods his head soon after, prompting his soldiers to retract their weapons.

"What are you—"

"There is no time to explain," I interject urgently. "Layland Kleinhaus is on his way. We will have no chance to extract the Relic if he is here." As they become nervous, I turn around. "Follow me. I don't infiltrate the Demon King's Army for nothing."

Without waiting for confirmation, I rush back to the gold mine. Rectusomine's soldiers avoid me, but Decima's soldiers are coming at me. As I knock them unconscious, I glance back at the High Priest and his entourage. Fortunately, they follow my lead.

That is how I lead the donkey to its pit.