Rise of the Horde

316 Chapter 31Inside the keep of the City of Alsenna, Adhalia was busy dealing with the management of the city. She spends most of her time during the day dealing with reports and other stuffs that has something to do with the management of the city while ensuring that the supplies to the frontlines remains on time. It was only during the night that she would find some time for herself albeit just for a short moment as her tired mind and body would quickly succumb to the call of the soft and comfortable bed.

It was almost time for her to withdraw from work since the day was about to come to an end but a knock on the door to the room that she was confined in for many hours of the passed days caught her attention, “Come in!” she responded to the knock while still keeping her gaze onto the reports that just arrived for her to deal with.

The giant wooden doors split apart and gave out a low creak as they were slowly pushed open, Adhalia lifted her face to see who it was, “Oh…Zaraki…What brings you here?” she was curious on the reason why her assigned commander of her army is in the city and not in the frontline with the chieftain while dealing with their enemies who they were certain didn’t come with good intentions just by their numbers alone.

Zaraki moved forward with an unhurried pace while Adhalia returned her attention on the paper works that were on her messy table. She was focused on reading the details of the report that she had in her hands when a soft thud sounded right in front of which prompted her to find out the origin of it and there she saw Zaraki who was on one knee as he bowed his head, “Apologies for my incompetency to lead your army properly into battle, my lady. Due to my lacking ability, a lot of them got wounded and many died.” Zaraki’s voice was filled with guilt and shame as he spoke.

Seeing her assigned commander blaming himself, Adhalia stood up from where she was seated at then approached the kneeling Zaraki, “Don’t blame yourself too much… Casualties are inevitable in battlefield and even the greatest commander couldn’t claim a flawless victory over their foes no matter how great they are.” She pulled him up from his kneeling position then stared at him directly in the eyes, “It’s not your fault…It’s mine…Because despite me knowing of your abilities and at the area that you excelled in, I have given you a responsibility that wasn’t a match to the field that you excel at.” Adhalia patted him on the shoulders then turned around towards her table.

Zaraki was about to say something when the lady turned around and handed him a scroll, confused and curious of what are the contents of the scroll, he directed his gaze at Adhalia asking what was the scroll for. Adhalia gave him a smile, “I want you to revive the Eye in the Shadows and established cells in all cities, towns and villages that are not yet in our control. You would be tasked in launching an espionage war with the current ruler of the kingdom, his servants and his subjects who are loyal to him. Try and also to seek those who are willing to side with the House of Darkhariss in bringing that bastard down since I am certain that my house isn’t the only one that he had preyed upon. The more allies the you can gather would be a great boon to us.”

Exiting the room with the scroll in his hands containing the official orders from the House of Darkhariss from Adhalia, Zaraki can’t help but feel excitement after he was assigned with the role that he was great at. A grin made its way to his lips as the thought of the possibility of reuniting with his old comrades who have all gone into hiding after the tragedy that befell upon the house that they served. They are all hidden and spread out in all corners of the kingdom and blended well in the place that they are in which denied the dogs of the current king from sniffing them out and eliminating them. The Eye in the Shadows is by far the strongest and biggest gang of the kingdom which excelled in espionage and sabotage and sometimes they would even take on assassination missions which instilled fear upon the nobility of the kingdom and prompted them to find or establish a gang to support them and be able to have eyes and ears in the underworld part of the kingdom.

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Far to the east, there was a building tension between the people of union and the federation as many of their border villages and towns were suddenly razed down by soldiers that suddenly emerged out of nowhere. Two forts along the borders between the two nations were destroyed while a few more were damaged and both rulers of the two countries were pointing a finger at each other and claiming that it was the other side that attack them first and they just retaliated.

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Armies from the two countries were mobilized towards the borders and they were at a standoff against each other. The Kellan Union fielded four armies in four different areas along the borders which possessed passable paths for an army to pass through in order to get inside their territory. A total of sixty thousand soldiers was fielded by the union which was mostly comprised of mercenaries while the Federation of Duridarr fielded fifty thousand soldiers split into four different armies to try and contain the enemy armies along the borders but there was an information that was being passed around that another army from the side of the federation was being raised which was estimated to number around twenty thousand.

A few skirmishes broke out along the borders but not proper battle occurred just yet as the armies from both sides waited for the formal declaration of war from their leaders before the commanders from both countries commit their soldiers unto the battle.

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Inside the city that was deemed to be heaven by many merchants, a young man who is most likely in his mid-twenties leisurely swirled the wine inside his cup as he listened to the report of his henchman, “The two are already on the verge of declaring a real war against each other and the officials from both sides that we bribed are goading them to do so while our men are going to continue causing chaos inside their territories…” the man who was covered in a pitch black cloak reported and his attire gave off an illusion that he wasn’t there as he stood by the shadows casted by the walls.

The young man took a sip at his cup as his blonde hair dropped down after he undid the knot that held them in place in a bun right atop his head, “Mhmm… I guess it’s time for us to take down the first target while the other two are busy blaming each other and almost at each other’s throats. Get our soldiers who are stationed near the borders of that kingdom to move in but first, tell the barbarians to the north to begin their raid and will provide them with their needed grain.” He tilted his head back as he finished the contents of his cup.

The man who seemed to be in the shadows bowed down, “As you wish your imperial highness…” and when his voice died down, he also disappeared from where he was at seemingly vanishing into thin air. “Tsk… I can never get use to your ways…” the imperial prince shook his head then turned around to head towards his quarters where the ladies were waiting for him to spend some intimate time with them.

He was the fourth prince which would make him the fourth in line to succeed the throne of their father but he and his brothers knew that whoever remains alive among them and equipped with the greatest strength to back their claim to the imperial throne would be the eventual winner. All five of them began competing against each other at a young age and when the second oldest among them became an adult, he was exiled by their father to some unknown place to keep him away from the imperial capital and before the third in line could be exiled, he himself just suddenly disappeared without a trace. The first prince became the crowned prince when he was about to come of age and before their father exiles him, he followed after the footsteps of the second and also went on a journey to gather a strength to help him succeed in the fight for the throne.

There only sister who was born two years after him was the only one who remained in the imperial capital even after becoming an adult while the crown prince was sent to the frontlines to train under the guidance of the best generals of the empire. “It won’t be long now…” he muttered to himself as he pushed open the huge doors to his quarters where ladies of different variety were waiting for him. The giant doors were closed and it didn’t take long before enchanting moans of pleasure and clapping filled the room accompanied by the bewitching laughter of the ladies as they enjoyed themselves in the embrace of each other while waiting for their turn with their master.