Two days passed quickly. With only the news he got from Lath once a day, Ash was starting to grow restless. So far the king had kept the declaration of war a secret and was moving to make it seem as if the demons were attacking without cause or warning. At the same time he was starting to mobilize his troops though the official reason was because of the rumors of the war with a neighboring country that have been circulating for over a year now among the people. Most of the nobles knew that it was more than a rumor since the kingdom had been calling on extra supplies while moving troops toward the border, but now those orders had been changed to move them toward what had once been the Hawkwing duchy. Sadly the common people did not know about this since it was a well-kept secret.
Other than the movements of the Heluria forces, Ash had finally received news about his own forces. Just as ordered, his army was starting their march, though one small detail had left him stunned. The army did not march alone. Emelia had been able to gather just under a thousand soldiers mostly made up of demi-humans and was marching alongside the demon army flying her own flag. Ash had expected Emelia to send troops, but he had not expected her to join the battle herself since she was physically weak when it came to fighting.
Ash didn’t like the idea of Emelia being anywhere close to the front lines, but he had little say in the matter. She was now a queen just as he was a king. What was he going to say? “I can go to war, but you are not allowed to.” She would just laugh in his face and it would be the start of a fight that he couldn’t win. There was no upsides to the argument so Ash decided to keep those particular feelings to himself.
So far to his knowledge, his army hadn’t attacked a city yet and were marching slowly, waiting for him to arrive, but most likely they would have a couple of battles under their belt before Ash was able to arrive since he planned to come over land with the small force that was amassing outside the capital.
Ash could simply use the large number of eagles that he had brought to fly directly to the larger camp as he originally planned, but he had decided against it. He wanted to make a show that he could do as he pleased. Ash had tried to play the nice guy, but the king had tried to walk over him and it had stirred his ire. Ash knew that a large number of humans and demons would die, but for some reason that didn’t bother him as much as it did only a few months before.
Ash didn’t know if that was because he was getting used to the idea of killing or if it was because the current world of Tamerial. “When in Rome,” Ash said quietly under his breath.
Hunching over his desk, Ash had to squint to see in the dim candlelight. Rubbing his temples, Ash tried to force the headache that was threating to rip his head apart away. The papers in front of him currently detailed everything that Lath had learned. Since it was far more than the spy could say quickly and discreetly, he had instead brought it in the form of reports, leaving Ash to read over them at his leisure.
Currently the capital was still under martial law, but the soldiers and knights patrolling the streets had reduced since they had raided the inn the night before to find it mostly empty.
Ash was happy to learn that only two of Emelia’s knight had died during the fight while both of his demon guards had been killed. The knights had been arrested and Ash guessed that they would be ransomed back as long as the king followed procedure. The people he had captured had long since been returned since the ransom was paid before they even reached the capital, but Ash could only hope that the king followed his example. It was something that made Ash slightly worried.
If the king refused to follow the standard war rules against the demons then Ash would have to think of a response. One way of thinking said that he should just follow suite and respond in kind, but that could have negative consequences with the other kingdoms. The current rules of war had been agreed upon countless years ago when the five major kingdoms at the time gathered together and signed a large treaty.
Currently only three of those kingdoms remained, but if kingdoms started to ignore the rules of engagement that had been set, war would once again return to a very ugly state. Thinking of this, Ash decided that he would follow the rules. Not for the people of the kingdom but for his own people and what may happen in the future.
“Something on your mind my lord?” Mia asked as she gently started to rub his shoulders.
Mia was the shortest of his wives at just a little over five feet tall, though she was anything but childish, even given the way she looked. Mia had a natural affinity to nature and in a lot of ways resembled elves in her general nature though not in her looks. She also had a very keen sense of order and could easily tell when Ash’s mind was troubled, so he found it hard to hide anything from her.
“I was just looking over the reports,” Ash said handing Mia the paper he had just been reading. “It seems that the king is going to force all non-humans who are in the general army to wear the slave brand to ensure their fealty.”
“I see,” Mia said as she looked over the paper. “I can understand the reasoning behind it,” Mia remarked after a few moments. “I think it should be done with everyone in the army though. If he was to make everyone get the brand for someone who owes a debt, then it could be removed at the end of their service. With that he could have each soldier branded to a sergeant, then each sergeant branded to an officer and so on and so on.”
“True and if that was the case I would agree it would be a decent idea, though I would still find it distasteful,” Ash agreed though not happily. “But he is just targeting those who are not full blood humans.”
“This might work to our advantage,” Eun said coming up on the other side of Ash.
“How so?” Ash asked not understanding the meaning behind Eun’s words.
“If the king pushes aside those that are not full blooded humans, it will sow distrust within the kingdom,” Eun said. “More than a fifth of the people living today are non-human or have mixed blood. It is hard to keep any bloodline pure as time passes unless you are like the demons who hid ourselves away from the world. Even in the few centuries that we lived alongside humans and the beast tribe, our bloodlines comingled leaving behind a number of decedents that litter the countryside now. With the news of how the Hawkwing lands are treating their non-humans, it might spark an internal rebellion.”
“Given everything that the non-humans have endured over the years, I doubt it,” Ash said with a heavy sigh. “But there is a chance. I just don’t want them to take it too far, though there is nothing I can do to stop them.”
“That is not true my lord,” Mia said as her face brightened.
“Do you have an idea?”
“Yes…Umm, you are already spreading the news about the nobles desire to cull all non-humans. Why not do the same with this and at the same time spread the news that the Hawkwing kingdom and the demon kingdom will accept all non-humans along with a small stipend to help them set up in their new home. The demons have amassed a large fortune over the years so it would not be that hard to shoulder the burden of even tens of thousands of people.”
“That is true,” Eun agreed. “We could then use them in war and reduce our own losses like you did with the duchy,” She added with a thoughtful expression.
“No,” Ash replied immediately. “We used that tactic with the Hawkwing duchy, but only because we were short on people. I don’t want to force anyone to fight, though if they want to join on their own, we will not turn them away,” Ash quickly added.
“If we take them in without any gains, I think that some of the clans will complain my lord,” Li said from behind the three.
“That is true,” Eun said agreeing. “If they simply leach off the kingdom without giving anything back, I don’t think it will go well. At first it will be accepted, but over time it will raise contempt for them.”
“Is that so,” Ash said, feeling as if another weight had been pressed down upon him. Each time he found a useful solution to a problem something seemed to block it.
“There a
re more they can do than just fight,” Mia suggested. “Right now there is little farming done within our kingdom. We have some trade with the elves, but the amount that can be brought over with the eagles is really limited. For the most part the food we get is from hunting in the labyrinth, but it is not enough to support a large community without great effort. It is one of the reasons that our population has not grown too large over the passing centuries. Other than farming, they could also be used to make various items since there are few demon clans who can work with wood or metal and none who can enchant.”
“There are none who can enchant?” Ash asked slightly surprised. “There were a number of magical items that I got as gifts from the different clan heads when I took over as the Maoh.”
“Those came from what was gathered long before we shut ourselves away. Each clan has a treasury of items, but all of them are older than anyone currently alive. It would be nice to have people around who could make new things since I am sure many things have changed over the passing of the years.”
“Then we will go with that,” Ash declared. “We will have the people who migrate create their own small town much like the one with mixed blood already within the kingdom and put them to work. I am sure there are mines and other fertile areas near each clan that could be used. This way we can expand our power in more than one direction at a time. Not just demons, I want it to be open to humans as well.”
“My lord that might not be a good idea,” Eun said with a weird look on her face.
“Why?”
“Though most demons don’t hate humans, there are few who do not hold any love towards them,” Eun explained. “Though it was long ago, we still remember the betrayal that happened and while we have allied ourselves with your human wife and her people, it is still a long way before many could begin to accept them.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Ash asked throwing his hands up. “I know there are some humans who live within the kingdom now, but they are few in number.”
“Well calling them human wouldn’t be true,” Li replied. “They all have some demon blood, though some do have as low as 5% within their bodies. If my lord truly wants to allow humans to live in our lands, I think you should give them the land in the far eastern lands near the ocean. There are only three clans that live near the ocean and they have the most contact with humans and would be the best to supervise and watch over them, though I still don’t think it will be an easy task for them to be accepted.”
“It is never easy to be accepted anywhere new, but I am sure the people who come over will be up for the task,” Ash said, sounding more sure of his words than he truly was. “I should talk with you girls more often,” Ash said, finally showing a smile. “You all have a great deal of insights.”
“That is normal my lord,” Mia said with a dazzling smile. “We were raised from an early age to be the wife of a Maoh so we not only received combat training we also received training on how to run our lands by the heads of our clans.”
“True,” Tolarea said in a boisterous voice from where she was standing near the corner of the room. “The clan head was always trying to make me read this book or that book. He would also try and explain how the clan and its lands worked but it all seemed idiotic to me. It was much more fun just to swing my sword in the labyrinth.”
Ash couldn’t help but think that was just like her. She was a true battle manic though in a way that was her good point. From what he could tell, she had no hidden side to her. She said whatever she was thinking since she found it too annoying to try and conceal it. The others would often hide their thoughts when they thought that it would displease Ash. He was happy that they were thinking about him, but he wished that they trusted him enough to speak their minds, no matter what it was about.
“Does anyone have any other idea about what we could do to help out with the war while we are stuck here?” Ash asked trying to stir their minds.
“I do,” Li said after a few moments as she raised her hand like a small schoolgirl.
Ash looked at Li, but she remained silent. “Go ahead,” Ash said trying not to smile.
“My lord, there is a small clan that uses spirit magic to tame monsters. A long time ago they used to be a major clan, but they fell in decline a few centuries ago. They look mostly human, though the do tend to have longer canines and light green to grey skin since they were bred with a mix of goblins. We could have them join the war by bringing a large number of monsters along to sow chaos throughout the kingdom.”
“Why are we not using them in the main force?” Ash asked. Having soldiers that could bring their own small army of monsters to bear sounded like a good idea to Ash.
“While the monsters are tamed and listen to the demons commands during battle, they can go a bit wild and have had a habit of attacking anything that comes near them,” She explained. “That is especially true of monsters that have low intelligence. It is hard to give them complicated orders. That is the main reason that the clan fell in the first place. They tried to attack another clan, but their monsters had a hard time distinguishing and ended up going on a rampage. The Maoh at the time was forced to step in and ended up taking away the clans leadership position and gave it to the Trent clan.”
“If that is true, how could we use them?” Ash asked frowning.
“As long as they are used in small groups with easy orders, they are very useful,” Li explained. We can give each one of them an eagle and have them fly around to areas with little defense, attacking any village they come across.”
Ash started to understand what Li was getting at, though the idea bothered him slightly. If they used the monster tamers in such a way, then many innocent people would die though it would sow chaos within the country. It was a good plan and even though he didn’t like it, Ash had to give it consideration.
“Is there a way to keep them from attacking the children?” Ash asked after a long minute. He was willing to do a lot to win this war, but he would not purposefully advocate the killing of children.
“Yes,” Li replied. “You just have to give the beasts a command not to attack the young. All monsters can tell the difference between a grown adult and the young so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Then we will go with that,” Ash said nodding his head.
“My lord, it is time to go,” Lath said interrupting their conversation as he stepped out of the darkness.
Ash nodded his head. The guards had decreased enough for them to flee without being seen though it would not be long before they returned, this time with an army behind them. Ash wanted to make a point to the foolish human king. He could attack him at any time.
Ash looked back at the small room they had stayed in the past few days and let out a small sigh. It hadn’t been long, but over the past two days Ash had enjoyed the time spent here even if it wasn’t very comfortable.
“Time to beat the drum,” Ash said under his breath as he ascended the stairs to the bar above.
11-10
It was much easier to leave the capital than Ash thought it would be. They still couldn’t leave by the main gate, but near the southern wall of the city, where the slums were, there was a large drainage pipe that led outside the walls of the city.
It was not the cleanest way to leave the city, but it was the way that offered the best chance without being discovered. From Lath’s report, the king was sure that Ash and the others had long since fled and he wanted them to keep thinking that so that when he returned with at army behind him it would take them by surprise.
Due to the fact Ash had ordered some of his troops to raid local towns, the king was already aware that a small force was already in striking distance of the capital, but he didn’t know the true size of the force. The ones that were sent out were less than three hundred. It was just enough to draw attention. Right now a contingent of six hundred soldiers had left the capital in order to track down the small army of demons, which made Ash smile. Six hundred knights only made it an
even fight against three hundred demons, but right now there was more than two thousand demons waiting for Ash in the nearby forest that was only slightly over a day’s ride away. With the troops outside the city walls, it would be easy to dispose of them, reducing the king’s forces and striking a bit of fear into them before the real war starts.
“It stinks,” Seia said holding her nose as the entered the greenish water that led to the large pipe. Ash tried not to agree with her or think of what was in the water as it swished around his ankles. His only thought at the moment was to quickly make it to the other side and find a place to take a nice warm bath.
What Lath had called a tunnel was more just like a large metal pipe that Ash had to duck to walk through, but at least unlike Tolarea he didn’t have to crawl. Seeing the large woman on her hands and knees with the trepid water all around was one of the few things Ash was grateful for at the moment.
As soon as they made it to the other side, Lath took them to where he had hidden the horses. “I need a bath,” Li said as she wrinkled her nose.
“I agree,” Ash said as his eyes watered from the smell that had clung to all of them. “Lath, where is the closest place where we can wash off this smell and burn our clothes.”
“So the first priority of the lord is to take a bath rather than meeting up with his soldiers?” Lath asked in a mocking tone while giving Ash a toothy grin.
“It is more than a day’s ride before we will meet up with the troops and neither I nor my wives wish to smell like a pig’s backside for that long,” Ash said, his voice hinting at his anger.
“There is a small river about an hour away that you can use to wash yourself,” Lath said quickly. “Though the water is not warm it should get the worst of the smell off.”
Hearing this, the mood of Ash and his wives improved greatly though they might have pushed their steeds a little harder than normal in order to reach the stream even a moment faster. The second they reach the stream, his wives started to disrobe throwing their old clothes in a pile. Seeing this, Ash couldn’t help but watch in fascination. It was not that he hadn’t seen their bare bodies before, but it was the first time he had seen all of them at once and Ash found the contrast between them alluring. When Li saw the slightly perverted smile on Ash’s face, she blushed and quickly covered herself but Tolarea laughed. “Hurry up and come in, the water is fine though a bit nippy.” Nodding his head, Ash quickly threw his clothes aside and jumped in the water.
Reborn: Flames of War Page 7