Spear General Argent entered a dark room. A lamp with a dim light was all he could make out at first.
Just after getting used to his environment he heard some m.u.f.fled noises from afar. He followed the sounds only to find Colonel Ayse all tied up, but alive and kicking while Master Jin and someone unfamiliar in a long trench coat were sitting at her side. The unknown person seemed to be enjoying the rest of a meal before turning his attention towards the goblin. "She is all yours to interrogate. If you fail to learn anything from her, it will be my turn to have some fun." Kraft said as he plucked the debris between his teeth with a toothpick.
"Sorry for the late introductions, this is Kraft. He is my erm personal...erm... He is a specialist who helps convince people to reveal their secrets." Jin put it nicely and Kraft could only grin. "Rest a.s.sured. Both of us haven"t done anything to her. You two seem to have history so we will leave you to yourselves before we interfere." Jin finished his sentence and asked Kraft to disappear into the darkness with him.
Argent understood that they were establis.h.i.+ng some kind of good cop bad cop scenario so that Ayse would confess what the Orc race was planning. He dragged the chair Jin had been sitting on over and faced Colonel Ayse who only had her hands cuffed at the back of the seat.
"10 minutes. That is all you are getting." Kraft threw the toothpick on the ground and with a snap of his fingers both figures disappeared into the darkness. Argent thought that the dimness of the light was playing a trick in his mind but he got into business quickly.
"You seem strangely comfortable being chained down. I had always hoped to meet you under different circ.u.mstances… So how does it feel to be on the other side for once?" General Argent removed the tape over Ayse"s mouth as he tried to start the conversation.
"What does it matter to you? Let"s skip the bulls.h.i.+t and get to the point. So speak up. This may be the last time we see each other Brother." Ayse begrudgingly acknowledged Argent"s existence for now. He was the last person she wanted gloating over her, yet she was in no position to do anything about it.
"Fine let"s get right down to it. Is Orc King Hamu suffering from the same thing as what Father did to the previous Orc King?" Argent asked bluntly and Ayse smirked.
"Heh, you still acknowledge him as Father even after what you did to him, huh?" Ayse stared at General Argent for a moment before continuing to speak. She was after all commanded by Jin to answer truthfully to Argent. After being "baptised" by the System she was loyal towards him but under normal circ.u.mstances, important secrets could still be withheld from Jin. Similar to the conditions that Nubwort, Black Disaster described, until Jin proves himself worthy he would not reveal much… Although, a small bite from Evon, one of Kraft"s foxes, made non compliance no longer an issue which Jin usually tried to avoid unless it"s urgent.
"Yes, but I used a different mixture. Orc King Hamu always enjoyed his pork soup to be served first before every dinner. All I had to do was to plant a mole inside his Royal Kitchen and continuously feed him "that" drug." Ayse emphasised the last word which made Argent rage inside.
"The dosage was small but the effects started to become apparent after a month or two. I doubt he ever even considered the possibility he could fall into the same s.h.i.+thole as the previous Orc King." Ayse laughed as she revealed that.
Argent knew one thing was for sure, Ayse"s insanity knew no bounds and she inherited it from their "father". Because of her distorted way of thinking and immense knowledge as a young researcher, she was hailed a genius creating all sort of gadgets and devices. To date, she might have created more inventions to improve the military force and indirectly affect the Orc population than anyone else, even trumping the previous Head Researcher after his demise.
Ayse was also the one who managed to decipher the lost tech map; a task which her father failed in his lifetime. This accomplishment lead to the Orcs discovering the mysterious island which was filled with old lost tech. She was also the one who suggested to capture the humanoids to operate the lost tech as well as the one who aided Orc King Hamu to contract the Messenger of Shaitan, Diabolos.
"So you are the mastermind after all… Why did you not learn from Father"s mistakes… You saw where such a path lead to, didn"t you?" Argent asked with a sad tone which ironically p.i.s.sed Ayse off.
"Please, my methods should be considered less crude compared to Father"s. He personally shafted the idea into the previous Orc King"s mind! I could never do that do our Saviour and King, Hamu!" Ayse was being sarcastic and making a fool out of Argent.
"Although, I must admit following Father"s legacy was indeed thrilling. We were all wrong about him. Everyone thinking he was a monster in person, was just too blind to understand him. If only you could have seen his research notes and secretly kept papers. That knowledge was out of this world! In retrospect, he was a saint. Such a pity that you had to kill him." Ayse complained with disdain.
"What else could I have done? Just wait at the sidelines and let him sacrifice the whole race of goblins so that you could have pursued some fake immortality? Please! That whole plan was just madness!" Argent got up from the chair and pulled Ayse"s collar towards him as he shouted.
"Oh, Brother. Seeing you act all protective for the inferior race is amusing. But you know what is even more amusing? Knowing that the hypocrite in front of me also not only ordered but even took part in the deaths of his brethren so many times until he felt guilty about it. My only regret is that I did not notice this weakness of yours soon enough. Otherwise, I wou---" Ayse laughed out loud.
"Enough!!!! What is the current plan of Orc King Hamu?" Argent demanded and Ayse rolled her eyes.
"Why should I tell you? I am done for anyway. No reason to give you this satisfaction. So what are you going to do know, General Argent? Do you believe you could force me to tell you by beating it out of me? Maybe take revenge before I get the chance to tell the whole world that you had tortured hundreds of goblins all back then as well?" Ayse taunted with the truth against which Argent could not fight back.
"This is just painful to my eyes. Not even five minutes in and you fell into her pace. That"s it, let me take over Mr Goblin. Time is of the essence after all." Kraft yawned as he grabbed Ayse by the throat with the chair attached and threw her to the wall. The chair broke from the impact and Ayse coughed for breath.
"We will deal with this ourselves. You can go back now." Kraft dismissed him as he opened a portal for Argent. The middle aged goblin grasped his own fist tightly and walked towards Ayse instead and punched her. Once. Twice. Three times. Many times.
He beat, slammed and punched until his knuckles were filled with blood. He did not care if it was his blood or coming from Ayse, he was punching until Ayse was knocked out. Argent then walked towards the portal with no remorse. Kraft did not seem to care about the goblin"s fit of rage and just waited before he clapped lightly and escorted him out.
"What was that all about?" Jin asked as he resurfaced from the darkness and into the slightly dimmed area.
"I probed his memory after he entered my domain. Young Argent had rescued Ayse when she was just a tiny little baby orc. There had been some terror attack by some rebellious goblins. As a simple servant back then he had been tasked to look through the rubble for possible survivors. He found her screaming in a burning house and did what he could just to rescue her. Apparently, the Head Researcher was there at the time who witnessed the whole thing. Impressed with not just his bravery but his quick wittedness to grab a bunch of draft research papers which the Head Researcher so happened to be working on, he tasked Argent to bring her up. Especially since he had other more important a.s.signments to do. The Head Researcher granted him the status as the personal servant for Ayse which elevated his rank to be the same as an Orc citizen." Kraft explained as he picked up the female orc who was disfigured by the attack.
"Growing up this little young Orc kept close to Argent despite being surrounded by other excellent Orc guards. Their relations.h.i.+p became very cordial and Ayse regarded Argent as her brother despite their different races. The Head Researcher became interested in observing their strange relations.h.i.+p and figured if Argent learnt how to fight, read and stuff like that, Ayse would naturally try to copy him so too. She did and they eventually uncovered her talent for researching things, which lead the Head Researcher to invest more resources in her. In turn, he also elevated Argent"s status even more and allowed him to stay as Ayse"s personal servant. However, Argent was also made to perform personal tasks for him too. As you might guess it involved torturing and killing his own kind. Well, that is where the tragedy started. Little Ayse witnessed this and started to develop a superiority complex. Some boring stuff happened in between and in the end when the Rebellion happened Argent was forced to kill his own adoptive father. " Kraft summarised it for Jin.
"Oh…so Ayse did this kind of taunting is to break the bond with Argent?" Jin asked as he pushed the chi regeneration potion into Ayse"s mouth.
"My best guess is that she could not forgive Argent for killing her father, but you would need to ask her yourself for her side of things," Kraft answered as he laid back on the chair and waited for Ayse to regain full consciousness.
"I hope you had a nice little nap darling. But now that you are up it"s time to tell us what we want to know. So what"s the Orc King"s plan?" Kraft yawned lazily. There was no reason for him to enter her mind to search for the answer.
"He will personally enter the capital kingdom of Gob Gob in 15 days alongside the avatars empowered by the Shaitan n.o.ble," Ayse said without any hesitation in her voice.
"15 days?" Jin queried as he thought the King would do a swift strike, similar to what he has done with the Kingslayer Ambush
"He is waiting for the full red moon phase, that is when his Shaitan powers will be at their peak. At the same time, every offering the Avatars present to the Shaitan n.o.bles at that time will be rewarded handsomely. If you are wondering where are they going to enter from the North or West, you would be sorely mistaken." Ayse warned with a serious face and the duo giggled together before taking out the lost tech artefact Jin had found on the Orc Raider Captain.
"How did…oh wow." Ayse realised what was happening and chuckled too. It seemed that she was captured by either a fairly capable person or a person with heaven defying luck.
"Then I guess that settles the Capital Kingdom part. You could now control where he would be teleported. Though I would not celebrate too soon. He always has a backup plan if things do not seem to be according to plan. Also, you can be d.a.m.n sure, that the King is not going in first but should be last." Ayse said as she calmed down.
Jin then explained his operation to Ayse and she could not help but laugh loudly till her stomach hurt. "Are you freaking serious?! Here I thought that the one to enslave me would be boring, but you are just crazy. However, I really do like the sound of that plan. And that will definitely should not make him suspicious. That is at least what I think. But beware he is not alone. Diabolos and the other Shaitan n.o.bles should not be underestimated. I doubt simply dropping him in a volcano will be the end of it."
"Let that be our problem. Just let us know if there are any good large volcano places around?" Kraft asked since the orc researcher might have stumbled on geographical knowledge or perhaps detailed maps of the regions.
"It so happened that I know of a displaced island that would fit those criteria," Ayse replied and Kraft did not hesitate to scoop that information out of her head and transmit it to the System.
The System then projected the information to a floating digital screen in front of them and Ayse verified the location. Both Jin and Kraft agreed it looked very suitable for the Operation but before they wrapped up the entire conversation, Jin asked Ayse of something important.
"Wanna play spy?" Jin asked politely which both Kraft and Ayse grinned widely.
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Once Sword General Gladios finished supervising the area, he went around town and ahead to the top of the fort walls to overlook the destruction that was left by both parties. The bodies were many and the distinct smell of blood was obvious.
He later ordered a group of militia to go outside to collect any usable swords, axes, spears, s.h.i.+elds and arrows. Even pieces of armour and helmet would be great but were placed lower in priority. The orcs might have carried weapons larger than what a usual goblin would hold but the salvaging was to reuse and recycle. The metal collected could still be melted down and those arrows that were left untouched could be used against the orcs. This would also prevent the possibility of Orcs taking them up and made them even more deadly.
In the meantime, Slashreaver was looking at Wyrstriker"s new form and his wyvern. "Wow, I did not expect you to evolve faster than Ripcaller. I always thought he was the superior one…" Slashreaver tried to pat Iwen but the red wyvern seemed to proud to allow that and even gave him an annoyed look.
"Who knows maybe Ripcaller already evolved?" Wyrstriker wanted to be humble but at the same time, he unknowingly hurt Slashreaver"s feelings. Noticing this he tried to salvage the conversation by consoling him. "Anyways didn"t the System promise we would evolve no matter what when we finished this so called war thing?"
"True that…oh yes talking about the war thing. I discussed with my Pops about loaning a goblin army to be used for helping with the Rat Demon eradication. He said it would definitely be an honour for a part of the army to serve under Master Jin. My Pops himself told me that he wanted to experience Master Jin"s training." Slashreaver boasted to Wyrstriker who became surprised.
"You told him about the Rat Demon eradication part?" Wyrstriker questioned.
"Nah, I just told him Master Jin might ask for Pops to loan an army once this particular war is over. He agreed to it immediately. Didn"t even have to tell him what it would be for." Slashreaver replied.
"And now after seeing first hand how the young Piercestriker turned into a magnificent Wyvern Knight and earning himself a personal t.i.tle, I feel even more compelled to go along with Master Jin. Whatever he needs us to do, I am sure it would definitely push my limit even more." General Gladios had accidentally overheard their conversation and decided to chime in after entering their tent.
"Son, you better buck up or Princess Starfire may fall for Wyrstriker instead. Hahahahah!" Gladios gave his son a large pat before extending his hand to congratulate Wyrstriker on his advancement to Wyvern Knight.
"Pops!" Slashreaver blushed a little. Suddenly a portal appeared beside them and Spear General Argent came in with his fist bloodied. Gladios saw that and quickly shouted for a healer to attend to Argent.
Argent explained what had exactly happened and both Wyrstriker and Slashreaver revealed a little more about Master Jin"s unique summoning skills which surprised their fathers. Jin allowed them that so they could reveal such an ability but limited it to their fathers and no one else. The two generals were left distraught for a while before a guard rushed in alerting them that the main goblin army finally arrived.
"Looks like more work hands has arrived. I shall go out give some orders. You three have a rest first. You have earned it. Unless something major happens I"d say enjoy it." Gladios said as he went out of the Command Tent and started to organise the incoming military reinforcements.
In the meantime, Zeru overlooked the entire town from the cathedral tower Hou Fei was using. He picked up a few used gun sh.e.l.ls and twiddled them around his fingers as he pa.s.sed time.
"What are you thinking?" Yun came out from a portal that was situated right beside him. She carried a tray containing two drinking cups and a bottle of sake from the Hot Springs instance.
"Lady Yun, it"s a pleasant surprise to see you here." Zeru wanted to kneel in front of her but Yun stopped him.
"The cultivators were pouring in non stop ever since the start of this Gobin Raid Event. Many new customers too after they heard about the price. Thank the System for the shop instance which has the ability to expand indefinitely, otherwise there would be a giant queue outside. That itself would be another headache to settle." Yun placed some large ice cubes into the drinking gla.s.s cup and opened the bottle of sake to pour.
"It is good to hear that the business is booming for Master Jin." Zeru thanked Yun as he accepted the cup from her and sipped it slowly.
"In any case, I"ve asked Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One to tend to the store for a while. I am only "human" and also need a break every now and then." Yun poured herself a cup as well and began drinking hers while leaning on a pillar at the top of the cathedral tower.
"How is his progression?" Yun asked Zeru since she knew he was always observing Jin silently at the side lines.
"Not fantastic, but he is my first student so it could be partially my fault for not guiding him properly. Though I suspect that he has another master teaching him things too which is why I pulled myself back and let him decide who he wishes to follow." Zeru shook his gla.s.s and the ice in it settled down.
"Heh, Jin thinks he can hide it but it was obvious once he started fighting. The System is aware that Kraft is helping him to hide something from us, but chooses to ignore that matter since that master you talked about is putting positive changes into Jin." Yun revealed as she sat opposite of Zeru in a rather provocative manner. Zeru did not care about Yun"s sitting posture and stared at her intently.
Yun somehow enjoyed the attention she gave was being reciprocated she smiled unabashedly as she consumed her cup of alcohol. "I know what you want. Well nothing like a little exercise." Yun whispered across the tower and Zeru smirked.
Both of them slowly placed their cups down simultaneously as they leaped towards each other with their weapons out and clashed in the night with all their might.