Chapter 60: The Season of the Minotaur (9)

There were five creatures in the imperial bestiary that troops were allowed to flee from on sight: archfiends, dragons, dryads, liches, and Eidolons.

Simon had used Anathemic Secrecy to present himself as the first of these creatures, but Leonard and his soldiers were no local adventurer or criminal group he could intimidate easily. Standard procedure meant they would immediately report his presence, and that might bring complications.

Instead, he altered his stats to fit his disguise of the Old Man in the Woods, appearing as an ancient fey creature that, while powerful, didn’t represent a potentially existential threat to the War Party’s interests in the region. The hounds sensed his approach as he stepped out of Duchar’s fog, the dogs whining and prostrating themselves at his approach. Leonard’s group instantly tightened their ranks, weapons raised; although Simon noticed that the orc among them lagged behind, his spine struggling against the urge to bend downwards.

His Unquestionable Ruler Perk had grown powerful enough to affect goblinoids. Interesting.

“You may lay down your weapons,” Simon declared, trying his best to ‘age-up’ his voice behind the Fiendmask disguise. “I come to you as an envoy of the forest, who wishes you no harm.”

“You can speak our language?” Leonard asked, though he didn’t lower his sword. “Now that is a surprise. Are you a fiend?”

“I am no demon, young Leonard, though some call this place their home now.” Leonard hid his surprise well, but Simon had spent enough time around him to recognize that being called out by name had rattled him. “I have been observing your group for a while, and I believe you are a sensible soul. Hence why I have chosen to come to you, bearing peace’s banner.”

Leonard glanced at his mage. “Threat estimation.”

“Level sixty or so,” the mage replied, squinting at Simon. He must have had a stat-reading Perk or spell of some kind. “A fey creature. A dryad’s emissary.”

“A dryad?” Leonard looked up at the manatree’s shadow beyond the veil of miasma. “The local dryad is alive?”

“Our lady is alive, but sick from an ancient curse,” Simon confirmed. That much was true. “The blighted landscape around you is the result.”

Leonard assessed him warily. “What do you want, spirit?”

“I ask that you turn back and return from where you came from.”

“That we cannot do, sir. Our orders are to push into the Darkwood and establish a safari zone for grinding.”

“This is folly,” Simon argued. “There are other horrors deeper in these woods, creatures that would wander far into the local town and ravage the region if disturbed. I have kept them at bay so far, but each new intrusion further pokes the beehive. Thousands of innocent lives will be lost if you continue.”

Leonard was a loyal soldier, but he was also noble and honorable. He didn’t disbelieve the claim at face value. “What kind of monsters?”

“Fiends attracted by the miasma, corrupted fey, the undead… some that would rip you to shreds on sight, however strong a Dreadnought you might be.” Simon leaned forward a little. “Surely a knight like you would understand that robbing a person in their own home is wrong and invites retaliation?”

“Even if you speak the truth, our orders are clear,” Leonard replied sternly. “We must establish a training camp in these woods.”

“You may do that, just not here, so close to the manatree and its most dangerous denizens,” Simon argued. Now that he had shown them the rod, it was time to bring out the carrot. “The other parts of the Darkwood are safe. I could even help you with your goal, if you agree to stay in a specific area.”

“Help how?” Leonard asked tentatively.

“I could send the weakest creatures to be culled by your soldiers. This would lessen my burden and fulfill your orders without endangering the town.” Simon could always summon more imps or brew slimes without jeopardizing his defenses. “Peace through coexistence.”

On paper, this should be a golden opportunity for Leonard to seize. The imperial army would get its training camp at a reduced risk and win a local intermediary to deal with the Darkwood’s most dangerous creatures, and this would cancel the raid.

“If you need any proof of my goodwill, I can already send troublesome creatures to a designated spot of your choice,” Simon suggested as Leonard considered his offer. “I will gladly assist you in your task here so long as you respect our boundaries.”

Leonard pondered his words in silence, his men exchanging nervous glances behind him, their hands tightening their grip on their weapons. They feared a battle could start at any time. Simon himself was ready to unleash his Dreadful Aura at the first sign of aggression and signal the Honorius family to attack them.

He didn’t want a battle, but… he would wage one if he had to.

Come on, Leonard, don’t be a gallant fool, Simon thought, praying to the Light and Dark both that his former retainer would see reason. Take the easy win. Take the deal and come back to your sister alive.

“A powerful surge of mana took place to the south of the Darkwood yesterday,” Leonard finally said. “Do you know anything about that?”

Simon was thankful the Fiendmask hid his expression behind an inhuman visage. Did they notice the Merchant Crestone’s destruction? It did release a huge amount of mana when Simon consumed it, but he had been careful to operate miles away from Whispermire.

“I have no knowledge of this,” Simon lied. “You people are at war, if I can trust the metal birds flying over our forest days and nights. What happens beyond this forest is of no concern to us.”

“Is it? Then why do you care about protecting local humans from your kind’s depredation?” Leonard briefly glanced at the woods and the fog shielding the Honorius family from his sight. Had he somehow sensed their presence too? “The creatures living here have grown stronger and more organized lately, according to our reports. What do you have to say to that?”

“All monsters across the world grow stronger,” Simon admitted, before seeing an opportunity. “A great comet is approaching this planet as we speak, as it did long in the past.”

“A comet?” Leonard asked in disbelief.

“Yes. A comet that strengthens the Dark and will bring disaster upon this world.” Simon could see that Leonard struggled to believe his words, but this might be a chance to convince the War Party to take the problem seriously. “Your presence in these woods will only exacerbate the problem. I have the situation well in hand, but your interference may threaten this delicate balance unless we can reach an agreement.”

Simon had no way of seeing Leonard’s face past his Dreadnought armor, but the man had served half a dozen reigns as his subordinate. He could read his body language, the way his knees bent slightly, the slight, almost imperceptible moment when he pivoted to shield his allies with his body…

Don’t do it, Leonard, Simon pleaded mentally, even as the tension in the air grew heavier and heavier. Don’t do it, please, don’t do–

Leonard charged faster than any other Dreadnought should be able to, sword first.

His agility would have taken most other foes by surprise, but Simon was already aware of that secret trick of his and reacted quickly. He immediately unleashed his Dreadful Aura, bathing the area in otherworldly terror, and then raised his hand at his retainer.

“Hellthunder!”

A mighty bolt of crimson lightning erupted from his fingers and crackled forth.

Leonard swiftly reacted by raising his pavise shield to protect himself, but the energy struck more than just the body; it hurt the very soul, the current coursing through his armor, and briefly causing a view of the skeleton within to flash to life. A brief moment of guilt washed over Simon, only to be quickly drowned by a rush of adrenaline and combat instincts.

A fight was a fight.

His Dreadful Aura sent the hounds running, but the imperial soldiers readied their weapons. Simon briefly wondered if they were all higher-leveled than him before dismissing the possibility. He had seen the brief flash of fear in their gazes. They had been affected by his aura, but Leonard took their dread and terror upon himself.

Hector chose this moment to emerge from his father’s obscuring fog, having craftily moved behind the imperial group to flank them. His dark frame cast a great shadow upon the enemy as he brought down his axe on the archer of the group, the woman barely having time to turn and raise her bow before the blade lopped off her head…

Or rather, that was what would have happened had Leonard not taken the damage upon himself. The archer was instead thrown across the clearing with her head still attached.

“An ambush!” her orc swordsman ally shouted as he engaged Hector in melee, his blade now oozing poison. “It’s a trap!”

Leonard was too strong for Hector’s strike to kill him outright, but blood did leak from beneath his armor. His pain from both the blow and lightning failed to halt his charge, his sword clashing with Simon’s disguised morning star in a blow that sent a brief ripple reverberating through the air, the force of the blow revealing the mace for what it was. Although Leonard was higher-leveled, the Overlord Class’ greater strength modifier more than made up for it.

“A forest spirit, using a forged metal weapon?!” Leonard scoffed as he pressed on with his sword, trying to break past Simon’s guard. “You were deceiving us the moment you opened your mouth!”

“Duchar, Hector, incapacitate him!” Simon shouted as he raised a free hand at Leonard. “Chaos Wave.”

Leonard raised his pavise just in time to avoid a blow to the face, the spell’s shockwave instead throwing him back a bit. However, Simon quickly noticed that the mage of the group had used the opportunity to move to the side and start incantating.

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“Megafrost!” the imperial magus said, a rain of hail and icicles materializing from his staff and flying straight at Simon.

Inventory, Simon thought as he switched his Ring of Cursed Flame for a Ring of Cursed Winter he had prepared just for the occasion. The hailstorm harmlessly bounced off his newfound immunity to Frost damage.

Although Simon could only wear one ring at a time, he had created a few that protected him from the most common elemental damage types, like fire or lightning. So long as he reacted in time to switch them out, such weak spells would always fail to affect him.

“Hellfire,” Simon countered.

A skull-shaped fireball erupted from his snapping fingers and flew at the mage, who hastily stomped the ground and raised a wall of ice to intercept the projectile. Tainted steam and fumes rose at the point of impact.

“Diabolism, Ser Leonard!” the mage shouted as he prepared to cast another spell. “That thing is a demon!”

“Focus on their leader!” Leonard shouted as he lunged at Simon again to keep the assault going, but thick ice chains appeared out of nowhere to bind his feet and arms, causing him to stumble; likely a hidden Duchar’s work. Simon exploited the opportunity to cast a second Hellfire at the mage before he could complete his incantation, forcing him to dive out of the way to avoid the fireball.

Only Leonard has a high level among this squad, and he weakens himself by taking on their wounds, Simon thought. This will be over soon.

Meanwhile, the orc swordsman was dancing around Hector while struggling to avoid his axe, his poisoned sword darting and inflicting superficial wounds on the executioner. He must have mistaken Hector for a living creature rather than an undead and hoped that an ailment would eventually bring him down. The archer of the group, who had recovered from Hector’s previous blow, supported her allies by firing arrows of mana at all her foes. Simon deflected a hit with his morning star while the projectiles barely needled Hector.

Unfortunately, this infuriated the undead. Hector let out a raging wail, tossed the orc swordsman back with a backhand, and then lunged at the archer in a blur of speed. An unholy crimson aura radiated from his axe.

“Execution!” he snarled with an animalistic grunt as he caught up to the archer, too quickly for her to retreat.

“Wait–” Simon shouted in alarm, far too late, his heart skipping a beat in his chest when the blow connected.

Hector brought down his axe and killed two people in one blow.

Leonard absorbed the blow for his ally as he did before, the aura surrounding the axe swirling around him as an invisible force beheaded him and sent his helmet flying into the mud.