abcnovels
Chapter 161: Terms
Chapter 161: Terms
"Whoever is in the right to talk terms, step out!" I shouted into the nearby crowd of the humans. And once I did… I courtly stepped back to roughly the point in the middle between the two armies.
Then, with a wave of a hand, I sent most of my guards back, to the point between our current position and the rest of our troops, keeping only three of them as a precaution against any sneak shots or attacks.
Terms.
The one option the leader of the humans likely never considered to be possible. Or at least, not an option he or she could learn from the treaties on the past conflicts against the protectors of holy forests.
As such, I didn't really mind waiting… No, that's not it. Every second counted right now as Fay's warning shots rang in my ears. But there was nothing I could do to speed this process up.
If the enemy leader didn't expect this kind of situation, he wouldn't be prepared for it. Thus, it would take some time before humans could produce anyone with a background strong enough to actually talk terms.
Using this time, I took a look back, at what was left of my unit.
Its nominal leader was now nowhere to be found, quite possibly dead after the prolonged battle against the human elites. And while our numbers shrank… the losses were somewhat within the range I could accept.
Of course, every celestial and divine lost during this battle would mean one less warrior in the battles to come. Contrary to the humans of this world, I didn't have an easy way to bring over thousands upon thousands of people with all the logistics and supply chain shenanigans that came with those numbers.
But as long as my current gambit worked out in the near future, then all those deaths would be… worth?
No, that wasn't it either. After going through a fair dose of shit in my life I knew better than to believe in empty slogans that both humans and the forest protectors were likely using to rally themselves up. There was no glory in laying one's life on the battlefield.
And yet, I didn't make the effort to educate others about my take on the situation. After all, as little as I was willing to sacrifice myself for the sake of the forest, I was really happy with all the fools more than happy to do that for my sake.
Still, eyeballing it, about fifty of my elites died in the assault. A tenth of the initial headcount. Loraz's forces consisted of generally weaker protectors, making their losses likely to be much higher, just like their initial number.
Seeing the first signs of commotion growing deep in the human camp, I started to get impatient to find out whether their sacrifice would pay out.
This was all a gamble at saving as many lives as I could, after all. The fact that my preferred scenario ended up with the supplies of the forest in my full control and all the sides of this war forced me to follow my whims was just a cherry on top of my plan.
Soon, the commotion in the human part of the camp grew bigger and bigger, before a group of horsemen rode towards the line that blocked my path ahead.
After some messy maneuvers, the footmen gave way for the riders, allowing a group of twenty to pass. Out of this group, only four riders continued ahead on their horses, only to stop a mere few steps away from my position.
"We don't know each other and we are definitely not friends," I started off in a seemingly weird way, ignoring the fact that the human emissaries didn't bother to dismount, opting to give me a set of heavy stares instead. "So I suggest we don't bother with pleasantries and get to the gist of things."
Raising my face, I looked at the human emissaries… Only to have them squinting their eyes as the only reaction to my words.
"My terms are simple. Surrender to avoid total annihilation," I spoke out as frankly as I possibly could. "Whether you try to oppose us right now, whether the imperial legions will arrive just in time to save what's left of your troops…" I shook my head. "No matter the scenario, you guys are going to end up dead."
After my statement, I pulled my lips together and turned silent, scanning each of the four members of the group of humans sent ahead to talk. Yet, with the continued lack of any reaction, I decided on the one, last push.
"Our goal is not to annihilate you all, but to prevent the total destruction of the forest," I announced, silently usurping the right to decide on the goal of the alliance of celestials and divines. "And from what I've gathered so far, you guys don't even know what you are fighting for."
This was a huge aspect. One that influenced mercenaries in the camp considerably less than any other troop… but even for them, it still held meaning.
Peasant levies could generally only be used for defense or some simple, short warfare. Kept armed for too long, and they would start to scatter to loot, or even worse; desert and return to their farms to take care of the fields.
Professional armies could fight in both defensive and aggressive wars, offering their loyalty to the competent commanders for a fair price and pride of serving their country, god or king, whichever one struck their fancy the most.
And mercenaries, simply fought wherever their employer sent them, assuming it wasn't an obvious suicide mission or a death trap.
All of those types, though, still needed a reason to fight.
It could be something as simple as enriching the members of the army at the cost of the neighbors. Something as grand as the defense of the last bastion of the faith, or something as bland yet natural as border conflict with a local rival.
But there had to be something that those armies strove to achieve.
And I just happened to know what exactly it was, and why the reason for this war was nothing more but a bunch of horse's shit, bundled and packaged together before being served on a silver platter and forced down everyone's throat.
"You've betrayed your race," one of the emissaries finally regained their voice… only to utter such an empty accusation and spit down on the ground from the height of his saddle. "And you want us to surrender? Only to have those monstrous allies of yours slaughter us the moment we lower our weapons?!"
Looking up into the widened eyes of the man, I shook my head and sighed before reaching out for my belt. Then, with one of my hands, I fixed my shottie in a position that made it easier to use it on the spot. And with my other hand, I threw the small box that I'd carried all this way here before lightly tossing it toward him.
"This box contains the flower that you guys were all supposed to look for once in the forest," I announced out loud, eager to start the rumors about the mysterious box. And right as the man caught the box, fought off the desire to just throw it away and took a peek inside…
"This is the flower you guys are looking for. The alleged reason behind this entire campaign," I kept my voice as loud yet as calm and collected as I could. "And I already know it is not going to work as your leaders hoped it would."