Devourer

Chapter 74: Conflict of Interest

Chapter 74: Conflict of Interest

Prince Silas’s hands shook in rage as he held the portrait in his hands. He stared down at the beautiful face painted on the canvas before him. He stared at that smug smile and the mischievous look in those ruby red eyes. He saw his vision go red as his mind wandered to how his prize was stolen for the second time…

He strained his arms as he began to bend the canvas frame until it splintered down the middle. He was going to do so many things to that woman when he got his hands on her. As for his two stolen prizes, well they will owe him for lost time…

“My Prince…” Silas heard one of his trusted generals say from the side.

“WHAT?” Silas snapped in response. His general Montis on the other hand was completely unphased by his outburst. His entire staff had gotten used to his temper at this point.

“The city your highness, what should we do about it? We can’t exactly present the princess to the remaining defenders and declare a victory now…” Montis replied evenly, his back ramrod straight with his arms crossed behind his back. 

Silas turned to look at Montis, he saw his cold grey eyes staring at him from within the confines of his silver helm. Montis was wearing the colours of Voleria, his silver armour, with white and light blue accents. Looking for all intents and purposes like a knight in shining armour, which is in stark contrast to the black and red armour of their Elysian rivals.

“Use the body of the Queen. That should be a good enough alternative.” Silas replied his voice although still coming through gritted teeth was a little calmer.

“Yes your highness, then I assume we will be moving to the southern border after we wrap up the occupation of Beralis?” Montis asked as his eyes wandered down to a set of papers showing their current army strength.

“Yes, assign Major Beler to the occupation efforts. Brutalising peasants is all he is good for anyway.” Silas replied.

“Occupation force? I suggest one thousand in the capital city and another two thousand to cover the rest of the territory.” Montis suggested as he ran his finger down the list of available units.

“Reason?” Silas asked as he turned to look at Montis. That was a large garrison…

“With the Princesses gone, this will no doubt cause the spread of rumours as it has with the incident in Averlin. An escaped royal can be a rallying point for resistance movements.” Montis replied.

“The people have been starving, surrenders were plentiful when we took this city. The loyalty to the crown of this piece of territory is suspect at best.” Silas said as he turned his gaze down to the map.

“Yet there are still some holdouts of resistance. We cannot alleviate the food shortage if we wish to march on the south immediately. We will need to use the seized food from Beralis for the campaign. It is spring, the wise decision would be to hold off until the fall harvest for the Elysian invasion.

We use the food we seized to stabilise Beralis and allow time for our troops to recover. Then we march on Elysia fresh and well supplied. An invasion of the south now will mean exhausted soldiers and stretched supply lines, not to mention stale food which will hurt morale.” Montis said, trying to be the voice of reason.

“If we are repulsed at the Elysian gate the invasion plan will be pushed back two years at least. Taking the gate will not be as easy as the Beryl Line. The Empress has the Spider, they will no doubt be aware of your commando teams. They will have countermeasures in place.

Not only that, we will have to assault an ancient fortification that will be garrisoned by Wardens and Istland Knight Enchanters. They will be far more difficult to break than the soldiers at the Beryl Line. The Wardens are probably the most battle hardened soldiers in the region, they have been fighting the Ostayans for thousands of years.” Montis said as he locked his gaze with Silas.

Silas scowled as he heard those words. But there was one glaring problem that Montis hadn't mentioned. It was simply the political climate, when word gets out not just one but two of his prizes were taken right from under his nose by a woman… 

Well there would be no shortage of mockery when he returned back to Tralis. The size and quality of a man’s harem was a sign of prestige. He was supposed to have three princesses in his harem, but now he had none…

So all he had to show for his conquests was a tranquil mage. Which means now his harem consisted of a pair of young Tralis noblewomen, one given to him when he turned 18 and the other when he was appointed the commander of the Tralis military and the last was that mage he had made tranquil that now had the mental capacity of a dog. So two are gifts handed to him on a platter and the other a sub par piece of meat. A pathetic haul for someone of his station, and for the jewels of the collection to be stolen by a woman no less?

He had heard his younger brother was already mocking him back home for the loss of Maria and when he hears that he lost the Beralis princesses as well the mockery would only increase. In Tralis the succession was given to the son with the most prestige and with his recent humiliation his status as crown prince would be put into question. 

So in simple terms he could not sit on his hands impotently and wait for autumn. What would it look like to the court? The great conquering general was forced to wet his dick with such a poor collection while his enemy who was also a woman laughed at him on the other side of the border.

Even general Montis had two noble women at his disposal. He had been granted a pair of twins after the Averlin occupation and the breaking of the Beryl Line. This was a gift by Silas himself considering he got his hands on Maria who was a royal…

So now his own general had two women of high birth which was exactly the same as what Silas himself had. Since the pair were twins they were arguably better than what he had. The tranquil mage would not be recognised as a real addition to his harem, at best she was considered a hole for some variety when things got banal.

No this cannot stand…

“Give Beler his three thousand men. Give him a veteran company just to be safe and provide the rest of the troops from the reserves. Tell him if he gets even a whiff of insurrection to use force. Burn the villages, burn the farms, hang twenty men a day if he has to. Let the people here know what it means to choose the wrong side.

Assign another two thousand men at the Berylis fortress west of the Beryl Line to guard against insurgent movements across the border. They can also act as reserves in the event that the resistance movement becomes too much to handle. 

We will move the prisoners across the border to Tralis to defang Beralis. They will march with the army so we should be able to keep them in line. My brother can clean up the mess, since he is in charge of internal affairs.” Silas said as he spitefully planned to dump the metaphorical pile of manure on his brother’s desk.

“Send out the orders that the men are not to take any women from Beralis. That should reduce resistance movements in Beralis…” Silas began but was cut off by Montis.

“That will brew discontent amongst the troops. Some of the women have already been dragged back here to the camp.” Montis remarked calmly.

“Tell them they can take their spoils from Elysia. Elysian whores are worth more than Volerian whores in brothels. Everyone knows Elysian women are more beautiful. That will placate them until we attack, also it’s an attractive carrot to the troops. It will also convey confidence in the coming campaign.” Silas said as he glanced over to Montis and saw the familiar discomfort in his gaze.

Montis was from a minor house that existed before Tralis took over the old regime. So his house was actually older than the Tralis Royal Family. The older houses never fully accepted the way women are treated in the nation. Montis himself clearly does not condone this practice of treating women. 

Thus although he was very capable in conventional warfare tactics, he always lacked an appreciation for the effectiveness of using women to motivate the troops. He was also hesitant to use them in his tactics, but Silas himself had no such reservations.

“You have your orders, we will move out in two days…” Silas said coldly.

“Yes your highness…” Montis said as he bowed, his armour clinking from the movement. 

Montis exited the tent after sending out the orders and let out a weary sigh. He hated this part of his nation, he never liked inflicting pain to others. Hearing crying and screaming always made him uncomfortable…

Montis looked up to see the moon high in the sky, it looked like it was past midnight. He would need to get some sleep and be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Prisoners to round up and organise, soldiers to discipline, some were sure to try to kidnap and sneak some of the women into their waggons. There was nothing to stop them from having their fun tonight but he would have to clean up the mess tomorrow…

As he went into his tent the first thing he saw was a pair of identical scantily clad women run up to him. He looked up to see their pretty faces, with their blonde hair and blue eyes. He could see affection in their eyes and he smiled as he took off his helm.

“Montis, come let us get your armour off.” one of the twins said.

Montis nodded as he walked deeper in the room and he stood still as the pair of them began removing the armour. Then he stripped down as the pair of them took out a bucket of water, some soap and clothes. They then began to gently wipe him down. He had grown quite close to these two, their names were Talia and Natalia. They were more than ten years younger than him. He was 29 years old and the pair of them were 18, being fresh into adulthood. They were honestly quite hard to tell them apart so he asked them to wear different colour hair pins so he wouldn’t call them by the wrong name.

Honestly he was quite worried about these two. The coming invasion was risky and he was not at all comfortable with the rushed nature of it. If they lost it would set their plans back significantly. Elysia might even counter attack and they would most definitely lose Averlin. They had to make their first strike advantage count, the attacker dictated the flow of the war. If they were to win in Elysia they needed to rapidly push their advantage and give the Elysians no room to recover.

If he ends up dead, Talia and Natalia might end up being given to someone else. This would not bode well for them, they were rather meek in personality and they would not do well with another more… traditional Tralis man. 

Then he felt a kiss on his cheek and he turned to see Talia smiling fondly at him. 

“All done.” Talia said sweetly. 

“Thank you Talia.” Montis replied with a small smile.

“Are you worried about something?” Natalia said from the other side as she took a seat on his lap.

“Nothing for you two to worry about. I can handle it.” Montis said, sounding more confident than he felt. No point worrying these two with something they have no control over…

“Well why don’t you come to bed?” Talia said as he tugged on his arm he smiled as the pair led him onto the bed.

When he laid down he felt both of them each take one of his arms as they cuddled their soft warm bodies close to him. It was still surprising to Montis how quickly they took to him, but then again he was probably the first man to treat them with decency and respect.

“Do you want to…” Natalia asked with a slight blush as she ran a hand along his thigh.

“Not tonight dear… I have a long day tomorrow. I need to get enough sleep.” Montis replied with a weary sigh.

“Alright.” Natalia replied as she cuddled closer to Montis.

Montis laid on the bed and soon he heard the pair of them slow their breathing as they drifted into sleep. Still Montis laid awake as he gazed up at the ceiling of the tent. This was now a serious command problem, because there was now a significant conflict of interest. With the Crown Prince’s position in danger he was making dangerous and rash plans. Although there were political considerations at play it would still be wiser to wait. Even if he suffered a few months of humiliation, once he took Elysia the mockery would cease. The real drive for this rash invasion was his pride and wrath. Prince Silas couldn’t bear the humiliation, so he decided to put himself and the whole nation at risk.

Montis wanted to elevate his house and now he also wanted to take care of the two girls who were holding onto each of his arms. With the Prince’s rash decision making, the coming invasion was now in direct opposition to his own personal goals…

These were classic circumstances for betrayal…

If that was true for him, how much more so for the other commanders? But then again, they could be tempted with Elysian women and riches. Montis however, was only interested in the riches. But the riches meant nothing if he lost what he wanted to spend the riches on…

He had no intention of turning traitor… at least at the moment… 

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Balder Frostfang let out a deep sigh as he watched his home of the Frostfang Basin slowly recede. He lived on the northern continent, he grew up in a land of white where the snows melted only for a few months of the year. The air was cold and the water colder, hard was the land they called their home. It was an unforgiving land that kept his people strong, but it seems no amount of strength could have prepared them for the war that now raged in his home.

For a year now the Syndicate and the Seraphim had fought a war here. His home was now in ruins, the once sparkling cities were now smoking husks. The population had scattered into the mountains or into the forests. The beasts were feasting on what remained of his people.

This must be the fabled “Crow’s Feast” that the legends have spoken of. The legends say that a prophecy once said a great calamity will one day bring ruin to the old world. This must be it, it won’t be long before this chaos spreads to the rest of the world. Or perhaps not… he had to believe that… he couldn’t be doing all this to buy some time…

“Big brother.” Balder heard his little sister Astrid say from the side. 

“Astrid…” Balder said as he placed a hand on his 12 year old sister’s head.

Astrid had blonde hair and green eyes just like the rest of Clan Frostfang. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes, the fear, the worry. Of course she would be feeling these things, they were about to abandon the land of their birth not knowing if they would ever return.

“Perhaps one day we will return…” Balder said as he pulled Astrid into a gentle embrace. 

Balder cast his gaze to his fleet of ships, it was a flotilla of about 100 cargo ships. These were the combined vessels of all the surrounding clans. A final gambit to save what was left of their culture. 70 000 souls were now packed onto the vessels in the overcrowded holds. Families were sleeping on top of barrels of cargo. Not all of them would survive their great exodus, there wasn’t enough supplies to feed all of them. 

The Jarls had assigned what was left of their fishing fleet to the flotilla in the hopes that they could fish for food as the florilla sailed to safer lands. But Balder knew those ships wouldn’t last long in the open seas. They didn’t have enough wood and other supplies to maintain them. They would soon have to cannibalise ships to maintain the flotilla. With pirates, naga and who knows what other creatures prowling the waters, it was only a matter of time before ships had to be scuttled.

Balder was tasked with leading this flotilla, to carry the final hopes of the Northern Clans. He wasn’t sure how many would survive until they found a new home. Disease, starvation, fighting for scraps of food, all of this was bound to happen. They had to sail out of the Sea of Cracked Ice then past the North Sea to the Divonia Empire. If they didn’t take them in then they had to try to Valley of Plenty, if that didn’t work either then it was to Voleria and finally to Elysia. 

He knew they would get no good terms, they had nothing to offer and they were essentially dumping tens of thousands of starving and diseased people onto someone else’s territory. Their men would be labourers and soldiers. Their women would be servants or whores depending on the mercy of the rulers that took them in. But that was still better than starving to death in the north…

His father was staying behind as were the other Jarls. It was tradition that the Jarl of a domain cannot leave the land that they ruled unless it was to defend the land during times of war. So escaping was completely out of the question unless they wished to incur the ire of the ancestors. 

Just as Balder cast his gaze back to the shores of his home he felt a wave of heat on his left cheek and saw a blinding bright light. He spun around and he felt his blood turn to ice. He saw a beautiful angel with six wings and a blazing halo above her head. Behind her back was a glowing gold ring that was covered in arcane runes. She had a head of blonde hair that looked to be a wave of flowing gold. She had a face that was the very definition of beauty and a pair of glowing white eyes. She wore a revealing white flowing dress that showed off her voluptuous figure. 

Balder knew exactly who she was, every man, woman and child had seen the paintings…

“Archangel Uriel…” Balder said softly as he felt his voice catch in his throat.

Balder cast his gaze to her guard of six high angels. Their six wings flapping and all holding weapons blazing with gold fire. The air felt thick with ether and Balder was finding it hard to breathe. When Ether in a location got thick enough the air would change as it crackled with energy and to the weak it would feel like the air had turned to soup.

“Hello young one… may I know what is the purpose of this flotilla?” Uriel asked cordially.

“We are… leaving… Archangel.” Balder stammered as he bowed his head. He knew if the Archangel so desired, this entire flotilla would be ash…

An Archangel appearing is nothing short of a calamity. They never appeared in Terra unless something dire was about to happen… or is happening…

“Leaving?” Uriel asked as she tilted her head.

“Archangel… There is war in my home. We cannot sow another harvest with things being as they are… we will starve if we stay…” Balder replied shakily. 

“Yes… your harvest… of course…” Uriel replied as she turned her gaze to the shore.

“Do you have any members of the Syndicate aboard the Flotilla?” Uriel asked as she turned her gaze to Balder and he felt his legs weaken at the question.

“NO! No, no Syndicate. They are just common people aboard, craftsmen, warriors sworn to defend our people, WOMEN, CHILDREN!” Balder exclaimed as he felt the panic rise within him.

“I see…” Uriel replied as her gaze scanned the deck filled with people that were frozen in fear.

“Then be on your way young one, I wish you good fortune.” Uriel said with a nod, Balder felt relief but that was quickly extinguished when one of her guards spoke.

“My lady, he wouldn’t know if any of the Syndicate has infiltrated the people here.” the High Angel guard said.

“Yes, he wouldn’t…” Uriel replied calmly and Balder fell to his knees as he clasped his hands.

“Please…” Balder began his voice pleading.

“But it matters little…” Uriel said again, cutting him off.

“The Syndicate have their own means to travel. Even if they were here, we wouldn’t be able to kill all of them. They will just find another way off the Northern Continent. There is little sense in slaughtering these innocents on the off chance that the Syndicate is among them.” Uriel said calmly and Balder felt a wave of relief flood him as he heard those words.

Balder thanked every ancestor and every lucky star in the sky that the one that was before him was the Archangel of Mercy Uriel. If it was any of the other Archangels there was good chance this flotilla would be ash.

“Now rise young one and go in peace.” Uriel said gently.

“Thank you…” Balder said as he lowered his head before rising to his feet.

“Be on your way quickly and do not look back. There are foul portents and dire tidings from your home. Be grateful that you can escape with your lives…” Uriel said as she cast her gaze to the shore.

“May… may I ask, why are you here?” Balder asked tentatively.

“I am here with my husband Mihael, we have detected some troubling things in the north… an old presence… a very old and familiar presence…” Uriel replied as she furrowed her brows.

“I hope he is only here to talk but… that is naive thinking… my husband should not have come, there will be blood today…” Uriel said softly as if thinking out loud.

Then Balder felt a wave of searing heat from the shore and his eyes widened as he saw a giant flaming gold sword descend from the clouds and crash into the city. There was a blinding white light then a shockwave that rippled outwards. Balder stumbled and fell to his knees as the waves rocked the ship. He heard screams all around him as many lost their footing. 

Balder scrambled to his feet to see his home city just… gone… there was nothing left but a crater…

He heard a ringing in his ears as he stared at the crater in mute horror. His mother and father were still in the city… this meant… he and his sister were now the last of the Frostfang line… 

Then he heard his sister scream and he turned to see her on her knees as she gazed at the crater that was once her home.

“Mihael…” Balder heard Uriel mutter in disappointment from the side, the only reason he could hear it was that the ship was now deathly silent.

Just as Balder was about to tear his gaze away, he noticed a sparkling gold light floating in the air above the crater. That must be the Archangel Mihael… that giant blade must be his sword Daedelus, the blade that burned with the power of a thousand suns…

Then he saw a flash of red light and a giant raven with four glowing red eyes appeared from the crater. It spread out his wings and let out an eldritch cry that rattled his mind. The sound clawed at his sanity and he buckled to his knees as he clutched to the side of his head. He felt one emotion from the cry, rage, unspeakable rage…

Then he heard a voice echo forth from the giant crow.

I WARNED YOU MIHAEL

LEAVE IN PEACE OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES

NOW SUFFER YOU SHALL

Baldur raised his head just in time to see the giant crow fade away as a red light flew right at the gold light. He saw pillars of gold appear around the gold light as more lights joined the fray. He watched as they all flew at the red light at once. There was a pause then a flash of red and the gold lights were knocked back. Two were knocked into the ground and the other two were sent flying back into the air. 

Then he saw a red beam shoot towards one of the gold lights in the air, the gold light dodged out of the way just in time. The red beam hit the clouds and blasted them apart revealing the clear blue sky.

“[Divine Enchant: Mass Greater Mobility]” Balder heard Uriel intoned and he turned to see the sails of his ships now glowing.

“Go now! If you get caught in that fight there will be nothing left!” Uriel shouted in urgency, then her body glowed and she shot towards the battle followed by the rest of her guards.

Baldur gazed mutely as his enchanted sails and then at the stunned crew on his ship. She was right, if they caught up in that fight, they were all dead…

This was no time to mourn, no time to panic, he had his duty to his people. He turned and roared at the captain of his ship.

ALL HANDS TO YOUR STATIONS!

WE SAIL FOR DIVONIA…