Chapter 975: Chapter 975: Messing with General Anya
Bang!
"Where the fuck does that bastard get off in treating us like this!"
Moments after Frost left the company of Avarice and his colleagues one of the late stage B-ranks roared to the high heavens while another violently slammed her fists against the nearest table.
This group of B-ranks were trusted and highly valued soldiers under the old noble families and Prince Sedrick and throughout their tenure never had they been so disregarded and insulted. This Lord from the boonies should be bowing ninety degrees at the sight of them, kissing their asses, grovelling at their feet and treating them like the superiors they were. It took all they had not to flip out and attack Frost during his little tirade.
"Enough! You read the report before we set out. Under no circumstances are we to antagonise this young man otherwise the Prince himself will have all our heads." The suave man with the code name Avarice unlike several of his B-rank colleagues served Prince Sedrick directly and thus knew full well of his liege’s intentions in regards to Frost.
"But boss how can you just..." The man that roared really couldn’t accept such treatment. After years of striking fear into even those with the title of Count let alone some foreign Lord that managed a newly developed city he had gotten used to his power trip.
But he could utter another word his neck was tightly grasped by Avarice. "You will follow orders perfectly or I’ll end your pitiful little life here and now understand!"
Avarice only released the man from his iron grip when he was close to passing out from a lack of oxygen. "The same goes for all of you, throw away your useless pride. This Frost can be considered lenient given his foundation but if you dare to act up like this in Icethorne Duke Runak and his Generals will kill you outright, preferring dead bodies over living ones that can’t be trusted to obey their commands to a tee while on the battlefield." A pawn that could not be controlled was far more destructive than even an enemy rook or bishop.
"....Yes boss." Though reluctant all the B-ranks and peak C-ranks present obeyed with lowered heads, a shiver running down their spines when Duke Runak was mentioned.
When Frost returned to his office a beautiful woman with a knightly demeanour was sitting on the guest sofa fiddling with her spear as Yuna uncomfortably perused several documents.
"Do you have to act so threatening?" Frost shook his head in dismay, though General Anya wasn’t releasing her aura the air around her was quite imposing.
"It’s not intentional, I just find it hard to relax given the current situation." She tried to shrug it off, but it only came off as something fake and unnatural, she was a soldier through and through.
"Then how about a drink, I’ve got quite the selection due to my ever growing tastes."
"No." Her rejection was firm and spoken without hesitation.
"Haaaaa fine be that way. Yuna take your work to the secondary office if you want." The maiden of ice wasted no time at all in abandoning her master, with her arms filled with documents she barrelled past him without regret. It may appear callous from an outsiders perspective, but she was just that busy, these documents needed to be verified and signed off by end of day otherwise a cascade of things would fall apart.
"Khuno will you be staying or..."
"I’ll stay."
’At least one of them is loyal.’
Frost took a seat opposite General Anya, spreading his legs and leaning back against the cushion as cool as a cucumber, an attitude that irked his guest.
"So....what do you want Anya?"
"General."
"Tsk technically former General, or did I hear you wrong last night?" Frost teased with a playful smile which earned him not just a fierce glare but a sudden burst of aura. Khuno’s fur stood on end in response, his hand instinctively reaching for the halberd strapped to his back.
"Temper temper, we’re all friends here." Frost’s smile grew as he poured himself a small glass of red wine, an appropriate beverage for accompanying a beautiful and fiery woman like Anya.
He knew his current attitude annoyed her and that her pride had been beaten recently but that didn’t stop him from acting freely within his own territory.
"....I liked your previous attitude much better." Frost albeit being reliable and someone she actually owed given his safe transport of Avira to Icethorne was still much weaker than herself thus normally he should treat her with respect.
"You sure about that? I thought a strong woman like you would be sick and tired of dealing with men gazing at you with fear and walking on eggshells around you."
"I actually prefer it that way, dominance suits me much better after all." Willing to play his game a little Anya leaned forward, batted her eyelashes a few times and licker her lips before suddenly making a fist with enough force to generate a small air explosion.
".....Too bad, what do you want?" Frost was unfazed, seeing this former general as nothing more than a paper tiger. Yes she may still have individual strength but her current situation was far too precarious for her to be throwing her weight around.
"You know what I want." Anya started grinding her teeth finding Frost infuriating to deal with, unaware that this little easy-going back and forth had eliminated the rigid and imposing air that lingered around her. She had been on edge for too long, lacking any form of support, seeing 90% of her surroundings as the enemy.
"Hoh I had an inkling but I’m sorry to say, I’m already taken sweetheart." Frost’s brow rose in recognition, his eyes looking up and down General Anya’s body before exaggeratingly covering his own chest and claiming that he was already taken.
Whoosh!
The tip of a spear suddenly thrust across his cheek leaving a small wound that dripped ruby red blood onto the seat beneath.
"Enough games."
There was a lingering silence as Frost and Anya exchanged glances, the former gauging whether or not he should continue with his little play and the latter wondering whether she should simply kill this bastard and be done with him.
"Haaaa fine, not my problem you’re wound tighter than a merchant’s purse strings." Frost pushed the spear tip away from his cheek, his playful desires vanishing like a puff of smoke.
General Anya retrieved her spear and sat back down on the sofa, her heart surprisingly feeling more relaxed than earlier, but she refused to attribute it to Frost’s actions.
"Khuno you’re a terrible bodyguard by the way." His muscles didn’t even flinch when that spear struck against his cheek.
"Milord there was no killing intent behind the blow and to be honest you kind of deserved it." An A-rank’s pride should never be tarnished even if that individual was considered a friend.
"I like him." General Anya nodded her head, finding Khuno much more agreeable than the pretty boy flirt that was Frost.
"....You want to know about Sedrick’s recently arrived caravan don’t you." Feeling betrayed Frost redirected the topic.
"Obviously." Like I would ever be interested in someone like you.
"There’s not a lot I can say, we didn’t exactly stay all that long, barely a few minutes."
"Strength, names, intentions." Anya wanted to know as much as possible before they set off to Icethorne.
"Their leader’s at the peak of B-rank and has chosen to go by the name Avarice. He’s got about half a dozen B-rank subordinates and over thirty C-ranks as well as a contingent of logistical and support personnel. The caravan itself seems pretty stacked with materials and as far as intentions Avarice himself was rather cordial. The smile on his lips never left even when I spoke to them in a dominating fashion."
"Peak B-rank and this is just the first caravan?" The first group alone filled Anya with trepidation, though she surpassed them in strength it wasn’t her means that were being compared but that of the neutral nobles.
"Yes, we should see the rest arriving in the coming days." Even Frost was shocked by Sedrick’s means let alone General Anya. He was supposed to be engaging in a stand-off with the first Prince, yet he was capable of recruiting this many soldiers for Duke Runak’s war effort.
’Perhaps I’ve underestimated my enemy.’ His eagerness to see Niflheim’s defensive wall reach 40 metres grew more fervent.
General Anya ruminated over the information Frost revealed, bringing her right thumb to her lips she started nibbling on her nail. The prospect of Sedrick’s forces being strong was both good news and bad. Good because Duke Runak would have more and stronger bodies to work with but bad because it would marginalise the neutral nobles efforts and even put pressure on them. It’s likely more than a few would throw their hats in Sedrick’s ring once this war was over. Princess Avira though the rightful heir to the throne and well-loved lacked the strength required to even enter this dogfight.
"Haaaaaa maybe I should take that drink." She felt a headache coming on.
"Take your pick just don’t get drunk and recklessly barge into the enemy lines." Frost opened up the nearby chilled cabinet where he had wine, sake, vodka, whiskey and even simple beer because sometimes he just wants something light.
"Thanks." Anya took a large glass of red wine, finished it within a few minutes and bade Frost farewell, donning her disguise as she returned to the Sleeping Fenrir’s prime suite, quarters Frost arranged for her free of charge, courtesy of their friendship.
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