"It"s been a month already." Richard was at the highest place in the castle, overlooking everything. He was thinking about Erin as she left the castle. That still confused him. Why would she want to leave? Was she so angry about that accident? Or was it for another reason?He squinted his eyes and looked at the magic formation, which wasn"t completed yet. That would be his gift for Erin. After all, using it in times of war to power it up from the bodies that fell in battle could be excused. Even though he preferred to just go and exterminate a town.
"Lord, the humans started their marching through the forest. We expect them to be here in less than a month." A shadow of a person emerged from behind Richard, kneeling on the ground.
"Alright, leave." Richard waved his hand, dismissing his subordinate. "Hmm, the formation will be ready in two more weeks. When the humans come, there will be a feast," His lips curled up while he looked at the horizon.
"Erin." He was regretful for not stopping her when she wanted to leave. Now he missed her. Most of the time, all his thoughts would be about her. He closed his eyes and sensed her presence to the north from him.
"Should I go and bring her back?" That"s a question that he repeated tens of times every day, but in the end, he never tried to go after her. Richard had a feeling that if he tried, she would leave him forever. That made his heart bleed.
Heavy steps echoed from behind him. An orc with messy black hair and red eyes came forward.
"Lord, recruitment is complete. We have a five thousand strong army. The training is in progress at the moment." Vlorg reported, looking at Richard"s back.
"Recruit more soldiers, just in case," Richard said, his eyes closed, as he was still tracking Erin"s presence.
"Yes, my Lord." Vlorg stood up and looked one last time at Richard. "Sooner or later, I will replace you. You won"t be one of the strongest forever." He thought, as he turned around and left.
Richard"s lips curled up. He was aware from the beginning of the ambitions of this orc, but that was good. He needed strong subordinates who strived to become even stronger. Only that way could he enforce his rule.
"I wonder how long would she travel around. It would be good if she returns before the war starts." Richard sighed. He missed Erin"s smile. She was soft-hearted, but that only made him more protective of her. He didn"t want to show his dark side to her.
"Did I become too soft?" Lately, while he was around her, he made a lot of compromises. Usually, he would be more strict and vicious, but then Erin entered his life. At the start, he wanted to change her, to make her stronger and more cold-blooded. But over time, he started to become softer instead.
"My Lord, I"ve already decided on the subordinates who will help me with the magic formation. Now they are working on it."
Henry"s voice echoed from behind. He had already fully recovered from his wounds. Though a lot of the people in the castle ignored him because of Erin, at least they didn"t create more problems for him.
"Alright, watch over them and work on the formation. Vlorg can train the army. You will be needed only for the battle later."
"Yes, my Lord." Henry bowed and withdrew.
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"Hmm, I wonder if becoming softer will bring problems for me in the future?" Richard contemplated it, but there was no answer to his question. "Well, only the future will tell." He turned around and left for the throne room. There were still things to be done.
***
"Hehehe, let"s see if he can survive this time." Alfred chuckled to himself, watching the troops amidst the forest. There were eight thousand soldiers in total, as one thousand of them were cavalry. A lot of powerhouses from the humans joined the crusade and everything was moving according to plan. The elves and dwarves would soon join their ranks, while they marched towards the castle.
"I will have my revenge for Henry" He clenched his fists. Alfred knew Henry for a long time. The magician was a kind man, who loved to help others in need. But now he was dead. Alfred had seen him casting a spell before he escaped from that spot. Most probably, the vampires killed him already. After all, Henry never returned.
"One day, I will get rid of all the demons The world will be for us, humans only. Only our pure race can be the ruler. We don"t need other races to taint us." His eyes turned bloodshot. He hated the other races. They were all cruel and merciless in his eyes.
Alfred still remembered how his parents died. He was only five years old back then, traveling with them when demons attacked their convoy. There were more than five hundred people in the convoy, close to a hundred were proud warriors that guarded against any attacks.
With the falling of night, growls were heard all around them. His mother made him hide in a nearby barrel which was used to store fruits. He could hear the screams and noises from the battle that was going on outside.
His father was fighting somewhere there, as his mother was hiding in the carriage with him. There were other women too, but they didn"t use the barrels or sacks to hide, instead, they all helped their children to hide.
His whole body was trembling at that time, as he waited with bated breath for everything to end. The noises from the outside started to fade away, which made Alfred relax a bit.
That was when something collided with the carriage. All the women shrieked in unison, losing their balance. He hit his head, but he tried not to make any sounds, as per his mother"s instructions.
Sobs and shrieks echoed from everywhere around him. After a long time, everything became silent. He stayed hidden for a few more hours, waiting for his mother to call him out, but there was no sound.
With suppressed sobs, he called out, but there was no answer. Mustering up his courage, he got out of his hiding spot, only to see red everywhere. The whole place was covered in blood, the smell all around and the body parts made him vomit at the spot. He cried and looked around for his parents, but he couldn"t recognize them from the carnage.
From the whole convoy, he was the only one who had survived. All the men, women and children died that night. The howls and mad laughter repeated all the time in his ears.
That night, he swore to himself. One day, he would get rid of all the demons in this world. Alfred took a deep breath and repressed his memories.
He looked around once more, the troops were moving at a fast pace through the forest. Every beast in their path was killed. In less than a month, they would be reaching their destination. Soon, his revenge would finally start.