I quickly left the mansion and rushed out of town. As I approached, I began to get a better view of the situation. There appeared to be a large army, and across from them was a smaller contingent hastily formed together from our forces. It was clear that they had the advantage.
I noticed Xin standing there next to Ruby and the Guild Master. I ran out to my side as quickly as possible. When the Guild Master saw me, he raised his hand with a look of relief on his face.
“Lord Deek, thank goodness you’re here.” The Guild Master declared. “As you can see, a problem has arisen.”
“I see… an army.” I turned in the direction of the opposing group and paled slightly.
There were at least 3,000 soldiers at the ready. Meanwhile, our garrison only had about 1,000 in response. It looked like most of our soldiers and adventurers had been hastily dragged out here. They had managed to come upon us without us noticing. This was exactly the vulnerability I was worried about. Was Alerith taking advantage? I knew I should have taken care of Lord Reign. Even though I had defeated his master, he could still cause trouble.
“They are Osterians,” Xin announced.
“Osterians?” I blinked, using my Eagle Eye and confirming that they were indeed Osterian soldiers.
“What do we do?” The Guild Master asked.
I took a breath and then stepped out. “Might as well go greet them.”
Once the others saw me moving, they followed behind me. None of us were easy, so if the enemy posed a threat, it would cost them. A man walked out to meet me, and when I saw his face, I hissed. It was Draven Nova, the Osterian general!
“Alysia!” I immediately called out my weapon.
I wasn’t going to take any chances around this guy. I held the sword up to him. If we fought now, I would be able to defeat him, but if he sent the army at us, we might all be defeated. There was a saying that one Osterian was worth several humans on the battlefield. Since they outnumbered us 3 to one, we might as well be facing 10,000 troops. This was seriously bad. How could I have foreseen the Osterians sending an army our way?
“Deek. I’m here because you bested me in battle.” He declared.
“Are you looking for round 2?” I declared, trying to appear intimidating and unafraid.
He looked down. “The Osterians believe in following strength. You’ve tamed and wielded a powerful blade, conquered and enslaved our Queen, defeated our lord and bested me. Once we found out that you were not returning to the Ost Republic and these were your lands, the elders of Osteria got together and made a decision.”
“A decision, you say?” I was still hesitant and confused. “How did you get here so quick?”
“We received assistance…” He gestured to a woman who stepped out.
“Siti?” I blinked.
“My lord.” Siti nodded to me with a straight face.
Did she betray us? No, this didn’t feel like an attack at all. What was going on?
I looked at Draven hesitantly. “What decision?”
Draven fell to his knees. “The Osterians will serve you as their king. You are now our lord.”
“Wh-what?”
As he kneeled, all of the soldiers behind him kneeled too. They suddenly started chanting.
“King Deekson, King Deekson, King Deekson!” It grew louder and louder until it was deafening.
“Y-you’re all moving here?”
“Our home is with our king,” Draven responded, his head still lowered. “All Osterians will move here, and accept you as their lord.”
“A-all of them?”
Xin approached from behind me. “I meant to warn you of such a possibility, but they moved faster than I would have predicted. This is the way of Osterians. You are their king until they recognize someone stronger. They will follow you.”
“This…”
“They’re coming if you want them to or not,” Xin responded helplessly. “We are a united people.”
I licked my lips as I looked over the army shouting my name. “A-and how many Osterians are there?”
“The exact number isn’t known… we live longer than humans, have multiple children per birth, and are tougher, but we breed much slower. A lot of us were lost in the wars under Demon Lord Aberis. If I had to guess our exact number… 20,000.”
I thought about it for only a brief moment and then nodded in affirmation. “I’m going to need a bigger city.”
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om