—Cole POV, Several Hours Later—
While I spent most of the day training with the Four Heroes, the families we rescued successfully mapped out the extensive maze of tunnels under the meadow. Handing their map over to me after lunch, they proceeded to show the UA Students the exits they needed to hide. With the assistance of several UA Staff Members, the students carefully camouflaged the tunnel entrances and then began doing practice drills with training dummies.
Keeping an eye on both Hero groups, I was very confident we would come out of this fight with minimal injuries. Stopping my training session with the Four Heroes around an hour after lunch, I instructed them to spend the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow. Leaving them to their own devices, I began finishing the groundwork of my plan to eradicate the Church.
‘Alright, time to call in some of my men.’, I thought.
Hoping to call in a few hundred men to assist in this extermination, I was worried that only a few of them would be available on such short notice. During this time of peace, most of my soldiers had settled down and were raising families of their own like me. I wasn’t sure who would show up, but I knew someone who’d be able to get a few soldiers together for me.
“Hopefully Drakken is still eager for a bit of combat, he’s a busy grandpa now.”, I chuckled, “He’s probably mellowed out quite a bit thanks to those little munchkins.”
Drakken, or Drakken the Bloody as most knew him, was a good friend and faithful second-in-command leader in my military forces. When I first met him, he was a shell of a Minotaur who had his family taken from him by humans. He was on the brink of ending his life because he felt he’d never see them again, but I managed to stay his hand and give him hope. Leading my forces alongside me, we eventually found his family working as enslaved workers in a Copper Mine.
I clearly remembered the moment he saw them…he dropped everything he was holding, and ran to them. Embracing them tightly, he apologized over and over that he wasn’t there to protect them when they needed him. None of them blamed him for what happened as he was away laboring in the fields when the humans came. Since then, Drakken became my sworn brother in arms and in my absence, he kept our nation together.
“Avos, it’s been a while since we last spoke. Is there something I can help you with?”, he asked responding to my telepathy.
“I do need your help, as you know I am currently working to track down the ones responsible for the demise of our world. During my travels, I came across a rather unsavory group of people…similar to the ones we used to butcher on the battlefield.”, I informed him, “They are persecuting many nonhumans here, and I want to see this stopped before it gets out of control. To that end, I need you to gather volunteers to help fight alongside me like in the old days. I know most of you have settled down now, but I am hoping to gather a few hundred men together as a show of force.”
“...they are in the situation I was, aren’t they?”, he inquired with a hint of rage in his tone.
“Unfortunately, yes…these parents had their children stolen from them right in front of them. The Cult intends to sacrifice the children to power a magical weapon, but that part has already been dealt with so it won’t happen.”, I said wanting to make sure he didn’t overreact, “I am asking for volunteers because I want to scare the populace at large into never allowing a cult like this to form again. The plan is very similar to the one we used in the Forlorn Kingdom, we will slaughter their forces and deal with the ringleaders as we did with the nobles and royals.”
“Understood my King, I will get them assembled and ready for combat.”, Drakken assured me.
Telling him to have them ready by dawn tomorrow, Drakken told me it would be done. Ending the connection after that, I sat back and watched the UA Students train in silence.
—3rd Person POV—
Given marching orders from the King, Drakken was left feeling a sense of pride and excitement. After seeing how powerful his King had become, Drakken thought his days would be spent leisurely with his family. While that was ultimately what he wanted, he still had the urge to fight still deep in his heart. Hearing that his King needed his services again, Drakken couldn’t help but smile with excitement as he went to find his wife.
Finding her playing with their grandchildren in the living room, she called out to him as he approached.
“Dear, their mothers are going to be running a little late today again. The markets have been busy lately so they have to work later than usual.”, she said before noticing his expression, “Did something good happen? I haven’t seen that smile in a while.”
“The King just spoke to me, he needs me to rally men to assist him in a short campaign. He has ordered us to be ready to march at dawn, we are going to crush a Human Supremacist Cult.”, he told her, “Where did you put my armor and battle axe?”
“It is in the attic…”, she replied, “The King really needs your help?”
“He wants to send a clear message to them, just like we did in the Forlorn Kingdom.”, Drakken answered as he went to retrieve his equipment, “It sounds like the world he is on isn’t as bad as ours was, he wants to ensure it never gets to that point. I want to help ensure that never happens either.”
Pulling his armor and weapons out of storage, Drakken squeezed back into his armor and did a few test swings with his battle axe. Recalling the days of old, Drakken felt a rush of energy come over him as came down from the attic. Telling his wife he’d be back later today, she stopped him at the front door.
“You make sure those sick bastards regret their actions.”, she told him, “No one should suffer as we did. I want others to enjoy the peace we have here now.”
Nodding his head, he promised to help ensure that others enjoyed this peace. Running out the front door, Drakken headed into their village to the Drunken Fighter’s Tavern. The tavern was a place many soldiers in the area often frequented so it was the best place to start spreading the word. Kicking the door to the dining room in, all of the patrons turned to look at Drakken as he slowly entered the room.
“Hear my words, your King has called us back into action! He is calling on those that are able, to rally to him and join him in glorious combat!”, Drakken proclaimed, “We are setting out to destroy a cultist group that has taken nonhuman children hostage to power a Magical Weapon. Our King wishes to show the world he is currently on that humans and nonhumans can coexist, and wants to bring the peace we have here to them!”
Hearing the tone of voice, the soldiers stood up from their seats and quickly tossed their coin on their tables. Quickly vacating the tavern, soldiers quickly began spreading the word among their colleagues. Hearing that their King had called them into action, every able-bodied fighter in the Special Region began preparing for combat.
—Cole POV, several hours later—
Slipping past the Heroes' night watchmen, in my Demon King appearance, I headed out into the forest to check on the status of the Cultist Group. Using the goblins as an anchor point, I teleported myself high above them to get an aerial view of the situation. Finding the Church’s people in total disarray, the goblins had been playing their part well. Judging by the dark circles under their eyes and the dozens of injured people in their group, they would be completely useless in terms of fighting strength tomorrow.
Noticing a Slave Cart in the middle of their camp, I found the children huddled up together for warmth and comfort inside. Sharing one large blanket between them, every fiber of my being wanted to raise the area in hellfire and pull them out. Unfortunately though, I needed these cultists to stay alive so they could serve as an example to future people. All that said, there was no reason to make the children continue to suffer.
‘We can proceed with the set plan, but I can swap the children for training dummies. The UA Students will still get their live training experience, and the children can come home tonight.’, I thought as I descended to the ground.
Isolating the space around us with a barrier, I greeted the children with a friendly smile and told them I was there to help. Opening the lock with magic, the children remained where they were without moving an inch. Motioning for them to come with me, they looked around the area and saw the cultist nearby. Shaking their heads violently, none of them wanted to risk being spotted by them and beaten for trying to escape. Apparently they had made several attempts already, and a few had been beaten nearly to death for it.
“Don’t worry about them, they can’t see us right now. I have a barrier around us so they can’t see or hear us, as far as they can tell you are all sleeping.”, I assured them, “Come on, I will take you to your parents right now.”
Hearing the mention of their parents, their desire to see their parents overcame the fear of being hurt. Getting up from their spots, the children helped each other over to me and I helped them out of the cart. Putting training dummies in their places, I used Illusion Magic to make each one look like one of the children.
“They look like us!?”, one of the girls gasped.
“Yep, this is to make sure they don’t know you are gone.”, I chuckled seeing how badly the children’s condition was, “Let’s get you home so you can see your parents, get some food, and I can heal you.”
Dispelling my barrier as the last of us slipped out of their camp, I teleported us all back to the Conference Site. Appearing in the middle of the Refugee Camp, the parents that were still awake nearly keeled over in fright. Going to shout at me for appearing out of nowhere, they paused when they saw the children with me.
“The children!!”, a few of them shouted, “He brought the children back!!”
Hearing the commotion in the center of their camp, parents began poking their heads out to see what was happening. Seeing their children around me, they flew out of their tents and ran over to the children. Holding on to them for dear life, everyone began loudly rejoicing that the children were back.
“I am happy you are all back together, but we really need to get them food and treatment. Can some of you start preparing food while I get them clothing?”, I asked.
Immediately splitting into smaller groups, all of us quickly got the children cleaned up and into clean clothing. Having the children eat while I used magic on them, I got all of them mended up by the time those nearby came to the window. Looking down at us from their bedrooms, the Melromarc, Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, and Faubrey delegates were happy to see that the children were back.
“Good work man! Also, this new appearance suits you!”, Renjo shouted from his bedroom window, “How does it feel to have hair on your head?”
“You aren’t out of range for my magic.”, I replied, “Better be careful, or you might end up hairless.”
Giving me a horrified look, he begged me not to do anything rash. Giving him a shrug, I said I would think about it.
—Cole POV, Several Hours Later—
While I spent most of the day training with the Four Heroes, the families we rescued successfully mapped out the extensive maze of tunnels under the meadow. Handing their map over to me after lunch, they proceeded to show the UA Students the exits they needed to hide. With the assistance of several UA Staff Members, the students carefully camouflaged the tunnel entrances and then began doing practice drills with training dummies.
Keeping an eye on both Hero groups, I was very confident we would come out of this fight with minimal injuries. Stopping my training session with the Four Heroes around an hour after lunch, I instructed them to spend the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow. Leaving them to their own devices, I began finishing the groundwork of my plan to eradicate the Church.
‘Alright, time to call in some of my men.’, I thought.
Hoping to call in a few hundred men to assist in this extermination, I was worried that only a few of them would be available on such short notice. During this time of peace, most of my soldiers had settled down and were raising families of their own like me. I wasn’t sure who would show up, but I knew someone who’d be able to get a few soldiers together for me.
“Hopefully Drakken is still eager for a bit of combat, he’s a busy grandpa now.”, I chuckled, “He’s probably mellowed out quite a bit thanks to those little munchkins.”
Drakken, or Drakken the Bloody as most knew him, was a good friend and faithful second-in-command leader in my military forces. When I first met him, he was a shell of a Minotaur who had his family taken from him by humans. He was on the brink of ending his life because he felt he’d never see them again, but I managed to stay his hand and give him hope. Leading my forces alongside me, we eventually found his family working as enslaved workers in a Copper Mine.
I clearly remembered the moment he saw them…he dropped everything he was holding, and ran to them. Embracing them tightly, he apologized over and over that he wasn’t there to protect them when they needed him. None of them blamed him for what happened as he was away laboring in the fields when the humans came. Since then, Drakken became my sworn brother in arms and in my absence, he kept our nation together.
“Avos, it’s been a while since we last spoke. Is there something I can help you with?”, he asked responding to my telepathy.
“I do need your help, as you know I am currently working to track down the ones responsible for the demise of our world. During my travels, I came across a rather unsavory group of people…similar to the ones we used to butcher on the battlefield.”, I informed him, “They are persecuting many nonhumans here, and I want to see this stopped before it gets out of control. To that end, I need you to gather volunteers to help fight alongside me like in the old days. I know most of you have settled down now, but I am hoping to gather a few hundred men together as a show of force.”
“...they are in the situation I was, aren’t they?”, he inquired with a hint of rage in his tone.
“Unfortunately, yes…these parents had their children stolen from them right in front of them. The Cult intends to sacrifice the children to power a magical weapon, but that part has already been dealt with so it won’t happen.”, I said wanting to make sure he didn’t overreact, “I am asking for volunteers because I want to scare the populace at large into never allowing a cult like this to form again. The plan is very similar to the one we used in the Forlorn Kingdom, we will slaughter their forces and deal with the ringleaders as we did with the nobles and royals.”
“Understood my King, I will get them assembled and ready for combat.”, Drakken assured me.
Telling him to have them ready by dawn tomorrow, Drakken told me it would be done. Ending the connection after that, I sat back and watched the UA Students train in silence.
—3rd Person POV—
Given marching orders from the King, Drakken was left feeling a sense of pride and excitement. After seeing how powerful his King had become, Drakken thought his days would be spent leisurely with his family. While that was ultimately what he wanted, he still had the urge to fight still deep in his heart. Hearing that his King needed his services again, Drakken couldn’t help but smile with excitement as he went to find his wife.
Finding her playing with their grandchildren in the living room, she called out to him as he approached.
“Dear, their mothers are going to be running a little late today again. The markets have been busy lately so they have to work later than usual.”, she said before noticing his expression, “Did something good happen? I haven’t seen that smile in a while.”
“The King just spoke to me, he needs me to rally men to assist him in a short campaign. He has ordered us to be ready to march at dawn, we are going to crush a Human Supremacist Cult.”, he told her, “Where did you put my armor and battle axe?”
“It is in the attic…”, she replied, “The King really needs your help?”
“He wants to send a clear message to them, just like we did in the Forlorn Kingdom.”, Drakken answered as he went to retrieve his equipment, “It sounds like the world he is on isn’t as bad as ours was, he wants to ensure it never gets to that point. I want to help ensure that never happens either.”
Pulling his armor and weapons out of storage, Drakken squeezed back into his armor and did a few test swings with his battle axe. Recalling the days of old, Drakken felt a rush of energy come over him as came down from the attic. Telling his wife he’d be back later today, she stopped him at the front door.
“You make sure those sick bastards regret their actions.”, she told him, “No one should suffer as we did. I want others to enjoy the peace we have here now.”
Nodding his head, he promised to help ensure that others enjoyed this peace. Running out the front door, Drakken headed into their village to the Drunken Fighter’s Tavern. The tavern was a place many soldiers in the area often frequented so it was the best place to start spreading the word. Kicking the door to the dining room in, all of the patrons turned to look at Drakken as he slowly entered the room.
“Hear my words, your King has called us back into action! He is calling on those that are able, to rally to him and join him in glorious combat!”, Drakken proclaimed, “We are setting out to destroy a cultist group that has taken nonhuman children hostage to power a Magical Weapon. Our King wishes to show the world he is currently on that humans and nonhumans can coexist, and wants to bring the peace we have here to them!”
Hearing the tone of voice, the soldiers stood up from their seats and quickly tossed their coin on their tables. Quickly vacating the tavern, soldiers quickly began spreading the word among their colleagues. Hearing that their King had called them into action, every able-bodied fighter in the Special Region began preparing for combat.
—Cole POV, several hours later—
Slipping past the Heroes' night watchmen, in my Demon King appearance, I headed out into the forest to check on the status of the Cultist Group. Using the goblins as an anchor point, I teleported myself high above them to get an aerial view of the situation. Finding the Church’s people in total disarray, the goblins had been playing their part well. Judging by the dark circles under their eyes and the dozens of injured people in their group, they would be completely useless in terms of fighting strength tomorrow.
Noticing a Slave Cart in the middle of their camp, I found the children huddled up together for warmth and comfort inside. Sharing one large blanket between them, every fiber of my being wanted to raise the area in hellfire and pull them out. Unfortunately though, I needed these cultists to stay alive so they could serve as an example to future people. All that said, there was no reason to make the children continue to suffer.
‘We can proceed with the set plan, but I can swap the children for training dummies. The UA Students will still get their live training experience, and the children can come home tonight.’, I thought as I descended to the ground.
Isolating the space around us with a barrier, I greeted the children with a friendly smile and told them I was there to help. Opening the lock with magic, the children remained where they were without moving an inch. Motioning for them to come with me, they looked around the area and saw the cultist nearby. Shaking their heads violently, none of them wanted to risk being spotted by them and beaten for trying to escape. Apparently they had made several attempts already, and a few had been beaten nearly to death for it.
“Don’t worry about them, they can’t see us right now. I have a barrier around us so they can’t see or hear us, as far as they can tell you are all sleeping.”, I assured them, “Come on, I will take you to your parents right now.”
Hearing the mention of their parents, their desire to see their parents overcame the fear of being hurt. Getting up from their spots, the children helped each other over to me and I helped them out of the cart. Putting training dummies in their places, I used Illusion Magic to make each one look like one of the children.
“They look like us!?”, one of the girls gasped.
“Yep, this is to make sure they don’t know you are gone.”, I chuckled seeing how badly the children’s condition was, “Let’s get you home so you can see your parents, get some food, and I can heal you.”
Dispelling my barrier as the last of us slipped out of their camp, I teleported us all back to the Conference Site. Appearing in the middle of the Refugee Camp, the parents that were still awake nearly keeled over in fright. Going to shout at me for appearing out of nowhere, they paused when they saw the children with me.
“The children!!”, a few of them shouted, “He brought the children back!!”
Hearing the commotion in the center of their camp, parents began poking their heads out to see what was happening. Seeing their children around me, they flew out of their tents and ran over to the children. Holding on to them for dear life, everyone began loudly rejoicing that the children were back.
“I am happy you are all back together, but we really need to get them food and treatment. Can some of you start preparing food while I get them clothing?”, I asked.
Immediately splitting into smaller groups, all of us quickly got the children cleaned up and into clean clothing. Having the children eat while I used magic on them, I got all of them mended up by the time those nearby came to the window. Looking down at us from their bedrooms, the Melromarc, Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, and Faubrey delegates were happy to see that the children were back.
“Good work man! Also, this new appearance suits you!”, Renjo shouted from his bedroom window, “How does it feel to have hair on your head?”
“You aren’t out of range for my magic.”, I replied, “Better be careful, or you might end up hairless.”
Giving me a horrified look, he begged me not to do anything rash. Giving him a shrug, I said I would think about it.
