Chapter 269 Volume IV - Chapter 116: Time to Get Serious
"Aiden Tenebra..."
With my hands behind my back and my head held high, I gave the military salute. On the one hand, I held myself perfectly.
"Corporal Aiden Tenebra, yes, sir!"
The dwarf in front of me let out a deep sigh and brought his hand to his face. Then he narrowed his eyes.
"Ya reckon ya got a sense of humor, huh...?"
A slight grin appeared on my serious face for a moment, and then I let out a short laugh. I dropped my salute and looked directly at the face of the dwarf in front of me.
"You're the one who told me to be formal on the battlefield, Dorhud."
The dwarf, whom I had seen for the first time in a long time, sighed again.
"We're by ourselves here, ain't no fuss about it."
He lowered his hand from his face, and this time his expression turned inquisitive.
"When Staff Sergeant Gurdas told me about what happened, I reckoned you were cashing in your chips for real this time. It's a relief to know I was off the mark, but... what exactly did you do there?
I widened my smile, then spoke calmly.
"When I went there, I heard the call of the ancient creature on the mountain, I followed the feeling, feeling the intensity and fluctuation in the mana, and then... I obtained his legacy, that's it, actually."
I raised my palm, lit a blue flame, and showed it to Dorhud.
Dorhud looked at my flame calmly. It was clear that he had expected this, he was not even surprised. But it was also clear that he expected something more, for his eyebrows were slightly raised.
"That is all?"
I trust Dorhud, he is perhaps one of the four people I trust the most on the Holar continent, but I am also certain that I am not alone in this room right now.
The North Holar are listening to this conversation right now. They can't possibly not be listening. That's why I'm not going to go into detail and I'll leave it here, even though I've already said that I have a 'legacy', I'm sure it will remain confidential.
"Yeah."
"And the creature?"
"He's dead, I saw him die with my own eyes. I didn't kill him myself, by the way."
Dorhud sighed again.
"I see... I see, good."
He looked relieved. I guess the ancient creature thing was something that had been bothering him for a long time.
"Oh, and..."
As the words came out of my mouth, Dorhud suddenly paused and turned to me quickly.
"And?"
I narrowed my eyes, lowered my smile, and became serious.
"I want to continue to take part in the battle here. My previous squad is probably here too, and I want to continue fighting alongside them."
"It's not a problem, Aiden. It's just... I ain't rightly sure what North Holar's gonna decide 'bout you anymore. With every battle you fight, you're gettin' more attention, becomin' more powerful, and everyone sees that. That's why they're more likely to send you to a location they want, regardless of your desires."
"It doesn't matter, there is no reason why they can't accept what I want. Besides..."
Dorhud raised his eyebrows again as I emphasized the last word.
"It's time for me to get serious, Dorhud. Until now I've been fighting as a simple soldier, just doing my duties, because there are things I want to gain, like experience and a mindset for war. I still want to continue to gain these things, but..."
I fixed my eyes on the ground, clenched my fist, and continued.
"This war has gone on too long. I thought I would get used to the casualties as time went on, but that hasn't happened. On the contrary, each time the war... it makes me more and more frustrated. On top of that, I want to go back home, back to my friends."
I raised my head, my expression even more serious and cold than before.
"Two days. I will end the battle here in two days and the real war in two weeks."
Dorhud's eyes widened as he looked at me like I was crazy.
"I trust you, Aiden, don't get me wrong, but... you're talkin' a load of gobbledegook right now. You ain't banged your head somewhere, right?"
"No, I didn't hit my head anywhere. I told you I had the legacy of that ancient creature, didn't I? That legacy was not the only thing I took from him."
Dorhud's curiosity was piqued even more, his ears especially perked up so he wouldn't miss what I was saying, and I continued.
"A rune, we will draw a huge rune on the battlefield. Normally it would take an enormous amount of mana to support such a large rune, and we probably don't have anything to pay for it, but... there is much, much more mana under the ground than we will ever need. The massive mana from the ancient creature still lies in that cave, as does the mana stored in the virgoniums."
I paused for a moment, but continued.
"Half of the virgoniums will probably be useless, but if we get a quarter, let alone half, of all the virgoniums in that cave, we can end this war in less than a month. I also have plans in terms of battle strategy. I noticed something among the South soldiers when I was fighting and I had an idea. But the main point is this 'rune'."
Dorhud's face soured. He was well aware that the amount of virgonium that would come out of that cave was really huge, but... he just wasn't sure about the plan.
"A huge rune... How are we goin' to draw it?"
"It will take me a day to complete a sketch of the rune. Applying it to the battlefield and arranging a team for it will take another day, only they have to be hidden and inconspicuous."
"But..."
"Trust me Dorhud, just trust me. Tell me one time when I have let you down and I will give it up myself. If I had any idea that it wouldn't work, I wouldn't have offered it to you in the first place."
Dorhud remained silent, finally closing his eyes and just waiting. He thought and thought and thought. I waited patiently as his answer became more and more uncertain with each passing second.
"I need to... talk to the higher-ups."
"Aren't they already listening to us?"
Dorhud suddenly went silent and I sighed as I looked at a random corner of the room.
It was really the perfect angle to put a hidden camera, it had a very clear view of the whole room. So I was pretty sure there was something there.
"As I said, I will prepare the rune myself and explain everything. You know the Language of Mana, which has been on the rise in rune theories lately and has new meanings every day? You must also know that it was discovered and presented by a human. That human is me. I presented the theory myself."
I took the most calm but confident posture I could.
"I will explain the rune I will draw to you with all its meanings. I have also seen that the enemies in the war put a lot of emphasis on this place, and I have an idea that we can use it to our advantage. If you are satisfied, you can continue with the plan, if not, you can suspend it or shelve it outright. What do you say?"
The device on Dorhud's wrist beeped, then a screen opened in front of him and expanded. Finally, an image of an old, elderly dwarf in a military uniform appeared on the screen.
"Show us your drawing and then we will decide accordingly."
A smile formed on my face, but I didn't let myself go too far. I gave the military salute and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, general."
The old dwarf on the screen nodded in acknowledgment, and then the image closed as abruptly as it had come.
Dorhud took a deep breath, and I kept smiling.
"Then... I'd like to reunite with my old squad first, is that all right?"
Dorhud put his hand to his face and rested his head on the table as if all his life energy had been drained.
"Do whatever you want..."
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