Chapter 61
[Rex POV]
The supposed VIP still had not arrived in Lion’s Maw two days after we arrived. Normally, this would have irked me, as my personal time was being wasted, but under the circumstances, it was actually a relief.
Finishing the tunnel wasn’t a difficult endeavour at all. In fact, I had already set everything in motion. It would probably be finished within a week, two if the security around Lion’s Maw were to think of positioning scouts on the other side of the mountain.
Though really, why would they ever do such a thing?
The best part was that my presence wouldn’t affect anything, so there was no need to try and keep the group in the fort any longer.
So why was I pleased to have the extra time? That’s simple, I had my own goal to complete. It was all well and good for Arach and Seraphina to use me for their little sabotage mission, but they were naive to think I would accept it without doing any 'digging' of my own.
So long as I remained linked to Vek’s soul, I could intercept mental communications similarly to how Seraphina could. Seeing as Arach wouldn’t respond to me directly, this was the only method I had to spy on her.
“”
That was the latest communication I intercepted. They were always brief like that. Funnily enough, Vek could have sold me out immediately, yet he didn’t. I think it had something to do with the demonic influence, but the level of subservience he exhibited towards Arach had diminished, making him a truly independent being.
“What the hell is she doing down there?”
I grumbled aloud and wrote the words she had spoken into my journal. The problem was that she rarely applied mental orders, as she had delegated spider officers who handled much of the management themselves. I couldn’t hear their words, as Vek was outside of their command, so I was essentially receiving a fraction of the orders and trying to piece the rest together.
Looking at the single page of various commands I had recorded, the best I could surmise was that Arach’s tunnel was just a single part of her scheme. She probably intended to either relocate her entire lair or produce a staggering number of new soldiers, necessitating a second base. I could guess that much based on the amount of food she was stockpiling.
Beyond that, she was also experimenting with cross-breeding to create even more diverse magical arachnids. In other words, she was building an army.
Perhaps she really did intend to attack Lion’s Maw herself, but I failed to see what she would gain from such a thing.
I stopped writing and closed the journal. I lacked the information to hypothesise any further; anything more would be entertaining delusions and paranoia. So on that note, I turned to my other target of investigation.
Seraphina? I thought about it, but she was always followed by Gina—who I know to have been the cause of the bloodlust I detected previously. Her senses were naturally far beyond mine as well, making quiet observation difficult. She may even notice the subtle differences between a normal cat and me disguised as one.
So maybe Uriel would be my priority? Nobody present would know more than him, right? Maybe, but he is also considered the kingdom's most capable man, besides the King himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he had me in chains before I could blink.
No, the one who earned my attention was Zachariah, the Prince who brought me along. He was the one who commissioned this mission to begin with, and he alluded to the fact that he knew who our VIP was, though he would not divulge that information to anybody.
In other words, second to Uriel, he was the most informed person present. He also wasn't likely to know the specific abilities available to me.
So when he spotted an orange cat napping lazily by the statue of Skori, he did little more than smile and continue about his business.
I had already confirmed he had been slipping away under the cover of darkness each night since our arrival. He gave me the slip last time, but this would be different.
Thanks to my experience fighting the ogre, I already knew that I could be linked to two souls at once. So, while fused to Tiara and assuming the form of a (particularly handsome) ginger cat, I was actively looking through the eyes of Vek.
Vek had covered himself in dirt by burrowing into the ground earlier, making it hard for even me to see him standing motionless against the mountain wall.
With this set-up, I was able to monitor him from above and the ground level simultaneously. This would certainly be easier if I had one of Professor Kuhn’s drones, admittedly, but if it works, it works.
Just like last time, he made some incomprehensible movements. He seemed to glide in one direction, only to suddenly break into another. The sound of his footsteps did not match the movement of his feet either, disorienting my ability to track him by sound. His body would seem to stutter before my eyes, then vanish completely.
That was the move that shook me before, but switching to Vek's perspective allowed me to lock on again.
Zachariah was suddenly behind a building and walking silently while practically resting his left shoulder against the mountain wall. If not for the fact that Vek was on the opposite mountain, he wouldn't be able to see either.
Thanks to Tiara, I could tell there some magic involved in that series of movements, though only to mask and falsify the noise of his footsteps. Everything else was pure physical skill, despite how impossible they appeared.
I stretched and casually ran towards him, just in case Vek couldn't keep a visual either. I pretended to be chasing an insect, and Zachariah again paid me no more than a glance.
His next move was even more unbelievable than his previous one, as he simply… dropped.
As if he were standing on a body of water and suddenly allowed himself to fall in, he vanished into the ground.
I took a moment to confirm he hadn't just thrown me off and gone in a different direction again, but there was no doubt, he was underground.
I pawed the spot he fell into, but there was only solid ground. I pushed my ear to the ground and concentrated.
The undeniable sound of footsteps. It sounded like Zacharia had finally gone back to his usual pace.
It wasn't ideal, but at least I could follow with my ears.
“You're here.”
An authoritative voice spoke, and the footsteps stopped.
“Is it time yet?”
Zachariah responded.
“Yes. I shall make my presence known at first light. I shall go by an alias, do not treat me as you normally would.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Yes, sir.”
“Any movement?”
“Not on my end. Nobody has shown any sign of suspicion either.”
“Mm. Good. Keep an eye on the Imperial boy, if he is what he claims, even the birds and ants could be watching you.”
Silence followed, and I had to steady my breathing before my heart rate could skyrocket.
It may have been wise to leave at that point, but I pushed my luck just a little further.
“One moment, father.”
Zachariah spoke again, and I bolted without a moment's further delay.
By the time Zachariah had popped out of the ground and begun searching the courtyard, I was already using to quickly return to my room.
A lack of a window doesn't matter when I can phase through walls after all.
Once inside, I reverted to my usual human form and lay down on the bed. I had picked up more than expected, and all from just one word spoken by Zachariah. “Father.”
***
The following day, Zachariah came to my room and brought me to meet up with the others in the centre of the fort. There, looking up at the statue of Skori, was a large hooded figure. His frame was second only to Uriel's, but his stance and posture spoke to his refined bearing.
Naturally, I already figured out who this man was, but given how the others were meekly waiting nearby instead of gawking at him, it looked like his identity was still meant to be a secret.
“Milord, apologies for keeping you waiting.”
Zachariah called out, and the hooded man turned around. I had wondered how Bridgit in particular had not caught on, but seeing the golden helmet that covered his face answered that question.
His attire was overtly lavish, and spoke of immense wealth despite Axel’s implication that the royal family’s financial situation was declining. He wore fine silks with gold embroidery, shiny golden gloves, and every part of his body was covered.
The term ‘clothes fit for a king’ felt ironic considering he was apparently hiding his identity, but then I reminded myself what Soleo stood for. Their king was always described as being a knight before a monarch, and was more often seen wearing practical armour than fancy, lavish clothing. With that in mind, this choice might not be too bad if he was looking to throw off the suspicions of people close to him.
As he spoke in response to Zachariah, his voice came out as a low, bassy timbre. The somewhat warbled brassiness of it sounded similar to what one would hear from early voice modulation software.
“No need for apologies, Prince. Is this to be my pathfinder?”
He turned his head towards me, and I took the initiative to answer for myself.
“That’s right. I’ve been told I don’t need to wait on you, but just to be clear, the way I plan to take us will be dangerous.”
I was careful to show too much respect, so as not to let my awareness of the King’s presence show.
“Mm. You need not worry, I can take care of myself. What of our supplies?”
Guy stepped up.
“Yes, sir! We have already taken care of food, water, and bedding. We each carry one bedroll and a waterskin, while I carry the rations.”
He wore a large backpack, though it didn’t seem to weigh him down in the slightest, despite looking so short and slim.
“It appears I am in good hands. Zachariah, has my personal guard spoken to you yet?”
“Yes, sir. They have already departed for Farrowgate and will be serving as a decoy for you.”
“Good, good.”
I silently donned my mask, but was still careful to keep my expression neutral even with my face hidden. That exchange felt rehearsed to me, and if I was right, it would have to be for the purpose of misleading the rest of us.
“I see you also prefer to keep yourself shielded.”
The King commented on my actions. I decided to mentally alter the way I referred to him, just in case I slipped up and said it aloud.
“It’s just a personal preference. By the way, I’m Rex. What should I call you?”
“Just call me Mr. O.”
Mr. O… it was a strange choice as far as aliases went, I had to wonder if it really stood for anything.
I nodded and waited for Zachariah to give the order.
“Well, if that’s all, then I guess we should get started…”
Zachariah glanced toward Mr. O as he spoke, but received no affirmation.
“What are you doing, brother? It’s not like you to hesitate.”
“Hm? Ah, sorry, I just didn’t sleep very well, haha…”
We all looked at him silently, but eventually I chose to cover for him.
“Well then, as discussed, I’ll be taking over control of the team from here on out. It will be faster to go straight over the mountain with our physical abilities, but if any of you have any reservations, we can head north until the slopes are less steep and go from there.”
“If you can do it, so can we.”
Bridgit responded briskly. Guy nodded, but kept looking at Zachariah as if he were still in charge.
“So we are to climb the fangs of Lion’s Maw?”
Mr. O craned his neck to look up at the peak of the mountain and chuckled quietly.
“Interesting. Lead the way, Rex.”
I did as requested, leading the team first to the top of the southern wall. With their heightened physical strength, I had no concerns that the others could keep up even without any equipment. For my part, I had linked my soul to Vek, who would remain hidden from sight. If we fused, I could probably outpace all of them by a wide margin, but I wanted to keep his recent change hidden from the Soleans for as long as possible.
Nobody likes demons, and Soleo has produced many paladins who would waste no time smiting anything that carried even the slightest of demonic influence. I had no reason to think the members of royalty would be any different.
Linking with Vek and keeping my physical changes to a minimum, my skin took on a texture similar to Vek’s carapace, allowing me to dig my fingers into the solid stone of the mountain.
I ascended quickly, but a quick glance down showed the others were still holding back from overtaking me. Guy’s fingers had darkened and extended into crimson claws, allowing him to mimic my movements, while the others were all using aura and leaping between footholds.
I smiled wryly and focused on my own ascension.
***
Getting over the mountain was easy enough. The hardest part was the regular sighs and snide comments made by Bridgit, who felt I was taking too long. But once we began descending the opposite side, she soon shut her mouth.
Jumping between footholds was a lot harder than going up, but the others had alternate methods.
“Bridgit, follow me.”
Zachariah tried helping by demonstrating a spell that allowed him to turn small portions of the stone into sand, allowing him to scoop out areas and create his own foothold.
“Tch!”
However, try as she might, her attempts at casting the spell either fizzled out or reacted in a volatile manner.
“You need to keep a firm mind. Just think of the objective and execute it, like any earth spell would require.”
“Gah!”
Her next attempt caused the stone to suddenly become sharp and cut her palm open.
“Guys, maybe we shouldn’t be trying to learn magic on the fly when we’re hundreds of feet off the ground.”
Guy chided them as he continued to match my pace perfectly.
“Rex, why are we descending at an angle? Wouldn’t it be quicker to go straight down?”
He turned back to me, but continued to diligently follow my lead.
“The Blood Thunderers have been conquering and expanding into other tribes’ territories. The area just below us belongs to a troll they’ve been hunting for the past two weeks. If we go there, we would likely get tangled up with both sides.”
“Blood Thunderers, who might they be?”
Mr. O stepped between us.
Yes, he Through means unknown, he was walking vertically, as if gravity was just a suggestion for him.
“A tribe of goblins and kobolds. Rex took control of them over a month ago.”
“Oh? Why don’t we assist them in their endeavour then? A troll is a tough foe, but with me here, I can assure you none of you will come to harm. You could grow considerably from a confrontation with such a creature.”
“First of all, I don’t control them, I’m just on friendly terms. Second, it's important that the Blood Thunderers do this themselves. Think of it like two soldiers competing for knighthood, and one of them slays a dragon single-handedly, who would the kingdom favour?”
Mr. O considered my analogy.
“So they would want to receive recognition for killing the troll themselves? Ah, I suppose that would allow them to absorb many more followers in one fell swoop.”
“That’s exactly right. If we go kill that troll, we would be harming the cohesion of the forest tribes in the long run.”
“So how big are they now anyway?”
Guy asked me.
“Getting a headcount on the goblins is like trying to catch smoke with your hands, but ballpark figure? I’d say a couple hundred.”
Both Mr. O and Guy expressed their shock.
“What? They’ve expanded that much already? Sh-should we be worried?”
“Why? They’re officially considered allies of the Empire, and so long as I’m alive, they won’t go berserk.”
“Yeah… haha…”
Guy looked a little conflicted by my words, and grew oddly quiet.
Most of what I had said was true, though there were some lies thrown in for my protection.
For one, the troll was already dead. From what I had heard, Clink’s bombs had removed its legs, and they set the body alight before it could regenerate. The real reason I didn’t want the others to go in that area was that I had sent a message via Vek for the kobolds to start digging there.
In addition, the actual headcount was already closer to a thousand. If the King was really intending to attack Borderton during the tournament, he might first work to purge the Blood Thunderers if he considered them a threat. With my lie, he would hopefully look at them with caution, but not fear. This might allow us to subtly discourage him from sending any surprise attacks through the Verdant Divide.
Finally, that last part about me needing to be kept alive to keep them quiet was just thrown in to keep my own neck safe. It may have been overly cautious, but it didn’t harm me, so why not?
“Uuuaahh!”
A feminine scream broke me out of my thoughts, and I had to quickly shift my weight to one hand to catch the plummeting Bridgit.
“Th-thank y—”
“Are you an idiot? Just follow Guy’s lead and take it slow, you don’t win an award for being the first one down.”
I cut her off and grunted as I lifted her up to Mr. O—or rather, her quietly watching father.
“Impudent bastard…”
She grumbled as she latched back onto the wall with assistance from Mr. O, but the rest of the descent she did as I instructed, even if it caused our pace to slow down.
