Arash contemplated silently on his throne, and at that moment, the door opened once again.
Arash raised his head and saw a very familiar face. "It's good to see you again, Haitam."
The man before him—wearing glazing silver armor—kneeled on his right knee and spoke respectfully. "It is my blessing, sire."
He was the general of Migotanie City, Haitam. A man who was respected by many didn't care if they were his enemies too. He had a long, double edged sword on his waist and a helmet on his other hand. He had black eyes and short, messy black hair.
Raising his head, Haitam asked with a calm yet serious tone. "Sire, is there anything you need from me?"
"Haitam, the city is about to descend into chaos. I have no one to trust other than you. So, I have an order for you." Arash said it with a grave tone.
"Sire, just tell. This servant will do anything for you."
Arash nodded his head in satisfaction. "I want you to go back guarding the city once again. However, you do not have to worry. It won't conflict much with your current mission, as I need you to guard against the demon army more than anything. So, I planned for you to do just two things."
"First, you just have to show your might to anyone that tries to ensure conflict on my streets. Lastly, you will capture anyone who is suspicious, no matter who that person might be. If anyone tries to question it, then just say, The suspect might be a demon."
Haitam went silent, digesting the order, before he asked Arash. "Sire, can I know the story behind these orders?"
"Yes, I will tell you." Arash told Haitam everything. Haitam wouldn't do anything on a national scale until he knew everything about them. For this, Arash felt very fortunate that an important figure for his city was not someone who blindly followed others.
It took just a couple of minutes to explain everything to Haitam, including his concerns.
"I see, sire." Haitam contemplated and then said. "Don't worry; I will keep this city from any harm. You just govern this city with peace of mind."
"Thank you, Haitam. You may take your leave now." Arash said with a smile as he saw Haitam leaving before giving a bow.
After Haitam left the hall, Arash whispered softly. "I can only rely on you, Haitam. You are the only powerhouse I have in my arsenal."
Arash rested his head on the throne and looked up at the ceiling. "If only I could use power wantonly, like in the past."
…
Slowly, the news of a half-breed mixing and going along with humans spread to the surrounding cities, catching the attention of the barons. However, the ones who got riled up the most were the churches and temples of various gods.
They were given mendette directly from their gods and goddesses, to purge demons, giving most attention to the half breeds as they were soiling humanity.
Night had already descended when this message reached the surrounding cities.
Heaven High shop.
"Thank you for your visit. I hope you come again, sir." Ravenna said to the leaving gentleman before closing the door and putting on the closed sign.
Afterwards, she and Fiain stood before the counter, where Benimaru was. They didn't do this every day, as they would just go back to eating and sleeping. However, today was a bit different, Benimaru wanted to discuss something with them.
"Do you know why I am holding this short meeting?" Benimaru asked, giving them a questioning gaze.
Ravenna didn't answer, as she was bad at this type of thing. She would try her best to conserve her brain power.
However, Fiain, on the other hand, was very passionate about this. "Lord, Belal's situation isn't an issue to you now, despite it being the talk of the town. I think you are going to talk about the big demon army's presence we felt before coming back. We also saw Baron Arash's army being stationed outside."
"It looks like they are planning to stop any future invasion. Baron Arash knew about this clearly, but he still didn't make the citizens know about it, or he was making them feel like there wasn't anything to worry about in the first place. The demon army is located in the north-east of the forest, and there were no adventurers nearby, meaning that the baron has banned any mission that is located in the north and east." Fiain gave an analysis while having a pensive look on her face.
"Good job, you summed up everything before I could even say it. It saved me so much time." Benimaru was almost about to clap for Fiain's wisdom.
He had told them about this when he came back from the meeting that Arash held with them. At that time, Benimaru didn't care much about it, as he felt this demon army would be just cannon fodder in front of all these adventurers and the powerhouses this city holds. But he was proven wrong when he felt the sheer size of the army after feeling their presence.
"So, now what do you think we should do about it?" Benimaru further asked, curious if Fiain could guess it again.
But, Fiain failed to come up with anything this time. "I do not know, Lord. This demon army does not benefit us anyway except for helping us decrease the manpower of the city."
"Well, you are somewhat right but not entirely." Benimaru shook his head and gave a look to Ravenna, to see if she could surprise him.
However, it was the same as usual. Feeling his gaze, Ravenna started acting dumb. She looked at the shining axes beside her, acting as if she had found some dirt on them, and went to wipe them off.
"Huh~." Letting out a helpless sigh, Benimaru decided to explain them thoroughly. "You guys should have seen it by yourselves. With how big the army was, it could mean there is more than one Demon Knight or even one Demon Baron."
Demon Baron was the next on the ranking list of the demons. All of them have a strength level above the 5th Stage Fleshcrafting Realm.
"However, even with such a big army and strong people among them, they still dare not strike right away and are waiting. So, they are not confident that they can take down the city."
Fiain rubbed her chin and nodded her head. "Hmm, you are right, Lord. But where do we play in all of these?"
Benimaru said this with a big grin on his face. "We will be their confidence."
"Huh?" Fiain and Ravenna became surprised, not understanding what he meant.
Benimaru stood up from his tool and said something to them before leaving. "Sleep quickly, we will leave early in the morning. We have some new allies to make."
Fiain and Ravenna looked at each other, not expecting Benimaru to go this route. But they could feel Benimaru was up to something big, their mission in this city might be coming to an end much sooner than they expected.
…
Chirp Chirp
The sun had just peeked its head on the horizon, and the birds had already begun their fight for the early worm.
Outside of the city entrance, one could see a carriage galloping through the dirt road that cut through the forest leading to the nearby city.
However, just as the carriage entered the forest road, it deviated from its path and headed inside, among the sparsely populated trees. In just a few minutes, the carriages vanished, as if it were all but an illusion.
But that wasn't the case. The carriage was now on a road that had been cut open and had all the weeds removed, almost like a road. Well, this was a temporary road to help Benimaru get his items in and out without letting anyone notice.
The roadblock that let them vanish was an artificial bush that had no thick branches, making it as soft as cotton. Around that area, they also put more of these to make them look natural.
After a few twists and turns, The carriage—that was holding Benimaru, the girls, and the guards—arrived before his base.
However, they didn't descend from their carriage. Benimaru opened the window and was met with Ragnar.
"Greetings, Lord. May I know what the reason is for your sudden visit?" Benimaru became surprised to see Ragnar eloquently talking to him, and his posture also felt a bit different than his rougher ones.
But he decided to toss this curiosity away and told him everything.
"I see, my Lord. Do you need me to come with you?" Ragnar asked eagerly.
Benimaru could see Ragnar's enthusiasm, as he might be missing the adventurers he had with him. He looked at the girls and asked with a smile. "Who wants to stay?"
"I do. I do not want to be in a stressful atmosphere." Ravenna decided to give up, as she knew how the negotiation table worked every time. She might as well relax in the meantime. She is always standing to do her job; it might not exhaust her physically, but it does her mentally.
'Of course, you do.' Benimaru already knew this. He looked at Ragnar and said it with a smirk. "Quickly prepare the carriages and bring the best platoon. Oh, bring those little guys too. It would help us more."
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