Chapter 631: The War of Three Fronts (2)
“Welcome back!!”
“Hail the heroes!!!”
The mood was nothing like what we faced when we ran into Aegon earlier.
Despite the horrific outcome and the millions dead in the Empire,
it didn’t stop those here from clapping for what we’d achieved.
“You’re popular here ..like some kind of superheroes,” Daemon scoffed, striding past everyone.
I didn’t miss my chance to ask him something that mattered.
“What about you, Daemon? Do you share their opinion?”
There was a hidden edge to the question, and Daemon caught it at once.
He turned with a smile, golden light flickering in his eyes.
“Your question’s stupid, Frey Starlight. I don’t harbor the sappy fantasies those pitiful soldiers do. To me, you look more like a hungry monster than a gallant hero.”
Joking, he jabbed a thumb at Snow.
“But our flamboyant friend here ..that’s another story, if you catch my drift, heh-heh-heh.”
“Don’t forget you lost to me, Daemon Valerion,” Snow said, annoyed. Daemon stuck out his tongue.
“It was a draw. If we hadn’t been interrupted, it wouldn’t have ended like that.”
“Shall we resume now, then? I’m ready whenever you are,” Snow needled him on purpose ..knowing full well that with his current strength he’d win, no question.
Daemon waved a hand and kept walking.
“We can have our rematch after this war. There’s too much to do right now.”
Unusually for him, Daemon kept a tight rein on himself as he led us to the place he’d made his base.
“Welcome to my office!” he said, spreading his armored arms ..though the “office” was just a shabby, threadbare tent.
“What office…” I muttered with a chuckle, while Uriel sat off to the side, keeping out of the talk. I figured her mind was crowded .. especially after what happened between us earlier.
I set it aside for now. I was honestly glad to see Daemon the same as ever.
Snow, though, looked doubtful.
“Daemon… aren’t you a Valerion?”
“Of course I am. What’s with that damned question?” Daemon pulled a ridiculous face. Snow sighed.
“You’re part of the ruling house ..and as you can see, your family doesn’t like us right now.”
He had a point, and Daemon’s expression turned serious.
“Well, that’s only natural. According to Aegon, our friend Frey Starlight here plans to kill the ruling family and rebel against them,” Daemon said ..and we started to grasp what Aegon had done.
“Rebellion, then…” I murmured, and Daemon nodded, stepping closer.
“They’re saying you intend to kill Aegon first ..then Maekar, his brothers, and their father by the end of the war. They call you a monster of uncontrollable power.”
Circling us, Daemon went on.
“A monster who wants to wipe out the Ultras and the Empire alike, to become the sole ruler.”
Aegon had used two things…
People’s fear ..specifically their fear of me, after everything they’d seen me do ..
and my behavior toward him and the ruling house, which looked like a plain attempt to rebel.
Aegon had always been a deft manipulator, good at steering people’s feelings and making fools of them.
This time, he’d taken his game wide.
“What about you, Daemon ..what do you think of all these claims?” Snow asked, wary. Daemon shrugged.
“What do you mean? I don’t have an opinion. From the start I don’t care what Aegon says. He’s a trick-loving pest ..I prefer the direct approach.”
Hearing that, I smiled for real, satisfied with his intent.
“You’ve got a unique way of thinking, Daemon ..and I don’t dislike it. In fact… I think I like it.”
In response to my honest words, Daemon looked disgusted.
“Are you turning your twisted tastes on me now, Starlight? If you’ve got fancy lines, save them for your demon sweetheart…”
He said then turned his head toward Uriel.
“Or the saint who’s been staring at you for a while now… planning to build yourself a harem?”
Daemon stepped in and set a hand behind my back.
“I’m starting to believe what Aegon said .. you’re definitely trying to sire a cursed bloodline here. A demoness and a saint… what kind of imperial family would that make for us, Starlight?”
At his casual talk about making babies, Uriel’s face flushed, and Snow wore a strange look.
As for me, I just laughed and brushed his hand away.
He was still an ally ..his affection points toward me hadn’t changed .. and that honestly made me happy.
“Enough nonsense. Our situation comes first.”
I pushed Daemon to the point we’d come for.
“What happened in the war? Where are the others?”
By “others,” I meant the rest of our comrades ..our Elite Class and the rest of the vanguard.
“Filling you in on everything would take forever and be a pain in the ass… so I’ll keep it short.”
Daemon led us to a rickety table inside the tent and gave us the gist.
A few minutes later, we were fully up to speed on what we’d missed.
“The moment you left for the Sacred Island, the Ultras started hitting us hard, exploiting your absence and the Church’s focus on you.”
“That’s why we’ve been fighting them nonstop ..and the sons of whores have killed a lot of us.”
Taking advantage of my absence and the Church being tied up…
the Ultras hit hard this time.
“Their offensive splits into three fronts,” Daemon said, pointing at the map.
Three colors marked the Ultras: black, blue, and red.
“The way they’re attacking is very organized ..means a military expert is leading them. He’s divided them into three factions.”
“The ones you just fought are the blue.”
Blue represents the force formed by an alliance of two Hollows:
Simon Manus with the puppet army, together with the Cursed Knight, Pontiff Sulyvahn.
The first is a mysterious man said to worship strange entities other than demons;
the second, a mindless SS+ ..tier beast ..
and with them, an endless army of puppets.
“They say the Hollow Ludwig also shows up with them from time to time.”
At Ludwig’s name, Snow’s eyes lit up ..the one who killed his mother and slipped away recently.
In short, the blue side has seen all the Hollows except the Blood Queen, Evelyn.
Daemon continued.
“The red side is the one that’s done us the most damage: Lord Gavid Lindeman.”
“Those who fought him say he’s got a masked warrior of the same caliber as you, Frey Starlight,” Daemon added ..almost certainly V.
I’d ignored him till now, but the time to deal with him was close. I intended to do it myself.
Daemon moved to the last front.
“Last but not least ..the black side: the mildest of the three, Lord Mergo’s forces. He only kills when necessary, so they’re the easiest to handle, even if many there are strong. And they say an ancient lord has reappeared among them.”
Finishing his annoyed briefing, Daemon summed it up.
“I’ve been stationed here with a unit to hold Simon Manus’s puppets. There are several squads nearby, and the rest of our forces are split across the other fronts.”
In other words… we’re up against blue right now.
Taking that in, Snow looked to me.
“What now? Do we head out and find the others?”
It was a good idea ..find Sansa and Ghost and team up.
I simply shook my head. “No.”
I set my priorities.
“We’ll join Daemon’s team and finish the blue front,” I said,
“We’ll kill every Hollow and end them, then regroup with the others and crush the remaining fronts. That’s my plan.”
I was here first and foremost to fight and end the war ..so hunting the enemies down one by one was the clearest path. Along the way, I could work out a plan for the prince, or whoever lurked behind him.
Snow and Uriel didn’t seem opposed, so I nodded to them and turned to Daemon with a wide grin.
“I hope you’ve got room for three more soldiers.”
I said it lightly ..Daemon scowled, then opened his mouth:
“I quit.”