Kyran was surprised to hear the Saint's double call out to him. He did not want to heed her plea, but reason stopped him.
No matter how you look at it, he was still an outsider in this war. He had to take responsibility if he did his own thing and slaughtered the retreating enemies.
The question was: Would he take the responsibility?
That was right.
The question did not start with a could because he could. But he would not. He was not here to stay and had no plans to meddle too much with the Somulians internal affairs. He was only here for Cyneah and her alone.
To be honest, he could take her back at any moment. But he knew she would not agree to leave because of the Eidum's situation. She was already attached to them and would never leave them when they suffered like this.
Kyran knew Cynean would only agree to leave once she had done all she could for the Eidums. Thus, until then, he could only support her. Besides, there was also the matter of her 'pact' with the Abbot's son. Kyran had to remove it first because he did not want to take any risk of possible repercussions if she left Somuli with the pact in place.
Nevertheless, even if Kyran knew that not pursuing the enemies was a sound move, a part of him felt exasperated about it.
Taking a deep breath, Kyran calmed his nerves and reigned in his own discontentment. Ignoring the cautious looks from the retreating beast-likes and complete beings, he returned to the Eidum's border.
The moment he jumped over the steel wall, Kyran was warmly greeted by the Eidums. They did not applaud, which he was secretly grateful for because it was too embarrassing. But they all conveyed their thanks and even patted him on the shoulders.
It was a foreign feeling to Kyran, not because it was the first time he had received such greetings but because he still considered them strangers. A while ago, most of them were looking at him as if he was a rare animal. But now, they looked at him like he was one of them.
The Saint's double approached Kyran with a grateful smile and said, "Thank you for accepting our request."
Kyran did not respond. He already guessed her request was a consensus. Proof of that was the relieved looks on everyone's faces.
If others received such a greeting, they would probably feel satisfied. But not Kyran.
As a matter of fact, the more they felt relieved that he did not go after the enemies, the more he felt exasperated. Because their strong reaction reflected how much they feared the enemies' retaliation.
The enemies were already winning, yet they were forced to retreat because of Kyran's arrival. To the Eidums, this was not a good thing. They knew the enemies' retreat was only temporary.
Now that the enemies had seen Kyran's strength twice, they would probably gather more beasts, even their people, to keep him busy the next time they came.
The Eidums did not doubt that the enemies could gather more fighters because they had a deep pool in terms of manpower, unlike them.
Kyran also knew this and understood the Eidum's concern. At the same time, he was exasperated at their cowardice.
While dealing with the horde of beasts, Kyran observed the Eidum's fighting the beast-likes and complete beings. When the latter two decided to go after him, to be honest, he was surprised that the Eidums were able to restrain their movements.
The combined number of beast-likes and complete beings were thrice the Eidums, yet they managed to stop them. This showed how powerful their restraining magic was. If they had used this at the start and pinned the enemies before they reached the border, they would not have to worry about reinforcing the border's defenses. Not to mention, they could stall for time.
Now if the Eidums had a special unit that could deal enough damage, since the enemies' movements were restrained, it would have been easy to injure them.
But none of that happened.
At the start of the raid, they exchanged offensive attacks with the enemies.
Kyran was once more reminded that the Eidums were amateurs in the way of war. They would not have suffered to this extent if they had only focused on utilizing magic that they were really good at. Coupled with proper preparations and teams, they could even show the enemies they were no pushovers.
Alas, their ignorance failed them.
The Eidums felt awkward when Kyran remained silent.
On the other hand, Gidan noticed that although Kyran wore an unreadable expression, he seemed discontented. At once, he approached him and said, "Let's meet up with Azikh and the Saint. We have much to discuss."
Kyran only nodded.
After that, Gidan gave a few orders to the rest before taking Kyran to the receiving room.
They found Azikh sitting on a chair conjured by Cyneah while she stood near the array. She immediately rushed to Kyran, grabbed his hands, and said, "Let me see your hands."
Kyran's expression softened at once. He held her hands and said, "My hands are fine. My clan has a tempering technique that strengthens my defenses."
He used the Human plane's universal language when he spoke, which prevented Azikh and Gidan from understanding what he had said.
Cyneah realized this and was somewhat confused. But then she could not blame him for not saying that in the Somulian language because there were no clans in Somuli. There were lineages and tribes. But the term 'technique' when translated to the Somulialn language was 'bloodline,' which someone part of a lineage had.
If Kyran had spoken in the Somulian language, Azikh and Gidan might misunderstand his origin again.
"More importantly, how did you know I used my hands just now?"
This time, Kyran spoke in the Somulian language. He also looked at Azikh, who stood up and approached them.
"We've seen everything from here," Azikh replied, looking at him with a slight frown.
Obviously, he noticed him using a different dialect just now, and he found it suspicious.
Gidan also noticed it since he was standing right behind Kyran but chose to feign ignorance.
It was not because he wanted to cover him but because he had many things in mind.
"There's a projector in this room?" Kyran asked. He had only checked the room's defensive array and had not done a thorough inspection; thus, he did not know if the room had other arrays.
"Yes," Azikh replied. Not wanting to let Kyran off what just transpired, he opened his mouth and was about to bring it up.
However, Kyran beat him and said, "That's right. Somulian is not my first language."
As soon as he admitted this, he felt Cyneah's hands turned cold. But she did not say anything and even tightened her grip on his as if to tell him she trusted his judgment.
"But does my first language matter at this time?" Kyran asked and looked at Azikh.
Azikh frowned. If he answered no, then the topic would be dismissed. But if he said yes, he would appear insensible.
"No."
The one who responded was Gidan, which surprised them.
Kyran turned and saw him looking at him with clear and determined eyes.
"You know a lot of things about war."
It was not a question. Gidan only stated a fact.
"I did not see your fight with the first horde and only saw the last part. Frankly, I admire your strength. At the same time, I fear it."
Kyran only raised his brows in response.
"But the second time I witnessed it, I began to think, why should I fear it? This guy is one of us."
Hearing Gidan's statement surprised Azikh.
On the other hand, Cyneah let out a smile as if to her, Gidan's change of heart was not surprising but a given.
"You know you're way around the art of war," Gidan continued. "Teach us how to defend our borders properly."
Kyran had already thought of several ways to convince these two to listen to him. He did not expect one of them— who happened to be the one always at odds with him— would ask his help instead.
"I won't be lenient."
"Good."
"Oi, Gidan."
Gidan looked at Azikh, "We need his help. But he is only one man. If the enemies return and increase their number, if we can't provide proper assistance, he will end up overwhelmed by them."
"About that, I won't— ah!"
Cyneah squeezed Kyran's hand so hard that he could finish what he was saying. Obviously, she did not want him to interrupt the conversation between the two.
Kyran was surprised at Cyneah's grip. His default physical defense was already high, yet she was able to 'hurt' him, albeit a little.
"But to request something like that to an outsider is just...."
It was ironic that Azikh and Gidan's roles were now reversed.
Azikh supported Kyran earlier, and Gidan was against him. But now it was the other way around.
"You were not in the frontline; thus, you don't understand the pressure I had to endure," Gidan responded solemnly. "I am not only responsible for the lives of the Eidums here but the whole land. If the border falls, millions of Eidums will die."
Gidan's words made Kyran see him in a different light.
That was right. The responsibility he carried was not limited to the borders. Millions of lives were at stake if their border fell.
Azikh fell silent. In the end, he could only relent and agree.
"Alright," he looked at Kyran. "Tell us what to do so we can defend our borders well."
"Rather than defending, I wanted to suggest something."
"Pray tell us what it is."
"Let's start a conquest," Kyran replied with a slight smile.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l