A New Dawn 132 Fluctuant human nature

The two men had a very different approach to what war means. One promoted bloodied battle, with high casualties but visible result while the other tried to reduce the skirmishes to the bare minimum. Of course, that was also because the enemy was different, one being the cunning goblins and the other the brave soldiers of the Synnada Empire. But nonetheless, the old general did not like Avirus, and even less his personality.

Remembering how he acted previously, he could only shake his head. To verify the fact that he was truly a Hero, even if the report were saying this, a duel was organized. Of course, not anybody was chosen for that, with the lucky one being the Sword Saint Gwendhir. The results were ... not really pleasant for anyone of the Massalia Kingdom. "A brute." That could only describe the way Avirus fought.

The moment it started, the Hero dropped his sword and began to pummel his opponent. And even with all the skills and techniques of Gwendhir, he could not defend against an overwhelming might. Even when sometimes, his sword managed to touch non-vital organs, the polished wood did not even mark the skin. Of course, they weren't using real swords, but even afterward, normal swords could only pierce 1 centimeter of skin, at best. It was harder than cutting a tree.

Seeing their father getting punched time and time again, for next to nothing, of course his two children reacted. And there came the moment where the nasty mindset of the Hero came to the light. For Amdir, it was just receiving the same fate that the Sword Saint got, but for Muirnë, it came as a surprise. Even the patriarchal officers of Synnada that disregarded women as long as they were not skilled were a bit baffled. But to his surprise, the Second prince Ferrod agreed to the demand, creating even more conflict when they needed to be all together.

"Lord Darkwater, have you reconsidered my demand?" Looking to his right, the old man could see the only one that had dark hair in the family. Amdir had never left his side the moment his sister lost the fight. That was also one thing that made the mood of Lord Darkwater not very good. But instead of blaming the young man, he only complained in his head about the irresponsible prince that made this mess even bigger.

"My personal feelings won't influence my decision, young man. Even if I was made noble, I won't defy the order of my sovereign if they are not hurting Massalia. Also, we can't afford to offend Avirus for now." The young man could only bow his head lightly but was not willing to let go. Sensing that even if he said the same things for an entire year, he could not get rid of Amdir, Remi Darkwater began his morning patrol.

"Arrows? yes, we received the elven arrows ... let me see ... two days ago and the last batch came yesterday."

"... potions and enough to heal the population of the capital two times."

"... yesterday, there had been a thief caught red-handed. It was one of the peasants that brought food, but besides that ..."

"...no and no! I am telling you, even if I don't know what this red flower do and don't care if it was nearby, ask one of the alchemists or a magician! Useless stuff doesn't belon ..."

As he walked, he could hear conversations touching nearly subject. Quartermasters were running like crazy, having to deal with an army four times the size of the usual one. Funny thing that when it was in the legends, the army never suffered any problem, whatsoever. But when it was real and they had to deal with it, it became incredibly hard. Just the food was a nightmare to handle, and if not Genablum having considerable stock and giving it, they wouldn't have been able to feed everyone.

"Lord Darkwater." It was at this moment that the old man stopped in his track. Gazing at the young maid in front of him, he could only imagine the anger that was slightly displayed by the eyes of Amdir. If it was his granddaughter in her position, he would have already given all his money to the Black Gauntlet to assassinate the one responsible for it. Sighing, he returned her greetings. "Good morning, princess Muirnë."

When he was thinking about a maid, that was because her clothes were exactly the same. In a place where more than 90% were men, the princess was not wearing a conservative outfit but one that displayed too much skin. Not to the point of being worn by courtesans, but it was not that far. Her shoulders were naked as her thighs were also visible. Considering both that and her beauty, it was no wonder that everyone around the princess was staring at her.

Unfortunately for her, a woman beyond those mountains that was not that older had a striking resemblance with the princess of Massalia. And that woman had managed to anger the general the die before he saw his entire army being torn apart in front of his very eyes. Looking down at what she was carrying, Darkwater could smell the foul odor that was inside the bucket. After all, one needed to clean his room and who would be better to do that than a maid?

"Sis, let me take it and ..." Even before he finished his sentence, Muirnë had raised her hand. Nothing on her face or how she moved could make someone believe she was ashamed or even angry. But the coldness that visible still pained Amdir, finding the situation similar to the one Istuienn was in. "I lost against him, so I have to pay the price. Don't bother Lord Darkwater, it is already beyond his authority."

"Fine. But if he dares to ..." "Don't worry, I know how to defend myself. If he seeks this, I wouldn't mind being the first one to kill a Hero." Hearing this, the stranger in the discussion began to appreciate the magnificent forms that the clouds could take. Acting like a deaf and senile elder, he acted like nothing happened, whether it was the words of Muirnë or the fact that her brother only expressed relief when he heard them. Thankfully, no one else was really close to them, otherwise, an evil tongue could have turned this into treason.

"Hum Hum" Stopping them before they dig a bigger hole, the sudden interruption of Darkwater made the two only look at each other silently. "Lord Darkwater." "Princess Muirnë." Taking her leave, both groups resumed their activities, with one young man being slightly happier than before. In two days, they will have to fight a war many hoped to never see. In the end, people will have perished and grudges will be forgotten. After all, not even the Heroes of the past managed to survive this ordeal.

Finally reaching the central tent, where dozens of people from different nations and even species were gathering, the atmosphere did not seem to be particularly joyful. Raising an eyebrow, he saw the magus Arthar Rodil approaching. "General, the Archmage had confirmed that he will not participate in this battle. He is too tired, but five of his disciples will join us." If it was before, there would have been at least a few smiles when hearing such news.

But with the impact of the duel between Avirus and the Sword Saint, many saw how big the difference was between a Hero and even the most experienced expert. Therefore, between a master and his apprentices, it goes without saying that it could only be more important. "Their true ranks?" Even right now, some magus still maintained their disguise of being only of the 5th Circle. But Darkwater could not blame them after the war will end, those of the 6th Circle will be hunted, judged too dangerous by their enemies.

"One is at the pinnacle of the 5th Circle, 3 are in the 6th Circle and one has reached a higher Circle." The huge mystery about the Archmage was to know how far his mastery in magic had gone during the past centuries. Many suggested that he had at least the power of the 7th Circle, with a few talking about the 8th Circle. But if what Arthar was saying was true, that meant that "A disciple is of the 7th Circle? He truly hid his strength well."

The more advanced a magician was, the more spells he will have at his disposal. From a simple fireball to create a sea of fire, it was not done in one day, even when a body was adequate to practice magic. That was why the little prodigy Istuienn was only predicted to attain the 6th Circle because her body needed time. But right now, they had the support of someone at an even higher state. Looking at the back of the room, he saw those five magicians in one group, separated from the rest.

At first, he thought they were just normal mages from other nations since nothing on their robes could tell him their allegiance. Even previously, Arthar and his peers were often in a corner, away from the rest. "Maybe it's the behavior of a mage." Calmly approaching the leader of the group, an old man that was probably slightly younger than himself, he wondered if the other party could wipe out this entire encampment in one spell.

"Lord Darkwater, our master seek your forgiveness to not come here in person, but the evil that weakened his body prevents him from doing so." Unknowingly to everyone in the room beside the old general, he heard something else from the lips of the magus. "I excused the Archmage, but he is coming. Only you can know about this." Nodding at those words, nothing in the face of Remi Darkwater could betray what he just learned.

"You can tell the Archmage that it is unfortunate, but we remember his perseverance at protecting the human race. No one will find him at fault for first taking care of his health." Even as he was saying that his face contracted for a brief moment, showing a hint of disappointment. The same thing could be seen on many officers and magus alike. But they still had another Hero to help them in that battle.

"May I inquire about your names?"

"Naturally, I am Three, here is Five, Six, Eight and Eleven. My seniors and juniors were traveling when we heard the news, and some are in regions untouched by mankind. There are only us in this part of the world."

No one looked perturbed by the fact that their names were just numbers, but more because they did not know what it meant. But when they linked it with the number of Circle they reached, they realized the hierarchy inside the Tower of the Archmage. Because he could not ask about what he heard privately, Lord Darkwater acted as nothing strange happened. The only thing that was bothering him was the fact that Avirus was nowhere in sight.

Hoping that he was just resting and preparing himself for the future fight, the rest of the day was spent fixing every little detail possible and preparing countermeasures. Thanks to the arrival of the disciples of the Archmage, some spells that were previously too costly became available, and Three assured him that they could dig the last two meter of stone in the nearly finished hole in less than a second. After the attack of the ghosts, he couldn't let anyone have a meaningless death when he could avoid it.

Taking a step outside of the tent, he saw the sun beginning to be tainted with red. Followed by Amdir that also served as his bodyguard, he stumbled upon something he would have preferred to not have seen in this tensed day. Muirnë was on the ground, covered with dirt, and a broken plate could be seen near her. But what was the most shocking part was the fact that Ferrod was nearby, but did not look like he wanted to help her.

It was obvious that the one behind him wouldn't stay like that. Amdir immediately rushed to help his sister, not without staring insistently at the prince. The latter was alone, besides his maid behind him and the surrounding were void of people. But because they had not seen what truly happened, they could not blame him without any proof. "Second Prince, do you know what happened?" Diplomatically, Lord Darkwater preferred to ask the question instead of the angered young man by his side.

"No, but I guess it was just a clumsy maid tripping on her feet." If the one he was talking about was a normal civilian, they could have believed him. But if someone was to tell that the trained daughter of the Sword Saint managed to trip on nothing, he would be taken for a moron. "Sorry for the inconvenience Lord Darkwater, good evening." Seeing the beautiful woman leaving like that, the old man felt a bit sorry. He was not even capable of protecting someone in his own army.

"See, as I said. Good evening general." The mocking tone of the prince almost made Amdir make a move. But he was restrained by the general, that did not want to make things go worse. Looking at the prince and his maid, it was at this moment he realized something weird. Why, instead of a bodyguard, a maid was following the prince? Patting the shoulder of the exasperated brother, the only thing he could remember was that she seemed not less beautiful than Muirnë but unlike her, she had not a pale skin, but one slightly tan. It was similar to the ones those that lived in his land had, being so close to the hot desert of the Synnada Empire.

Chapter end