NOVEL NEXT CLXXVIII – Addressing the Crowd
While Alissa returned to the frontlines at Fort Silvia and would likely stay there for the foreseeable future, Esperanza regrouped with the rest of her companions and discussed with them about the path they would take going forward. Their main goal still remained mostly the same, that was to weaken both the demons and the humans through the ongoing war by making it last longer, thus forcing both sides to devote more of their resources and people to the war effort.
At the moment, the most efficient method to do that was to help the human side as they were the ones who were the underdogs. The demons had a far greater populace which translated to a much stronger military, so they always had the advantage. If anything, the victory Alissa mentioned at the frontlines was a welcome surprise, as it coincided with Esperanza’s own plans.
What Alissa described to her about how said victory was achieved, on the other hand, worried her quite a bit.
From the description Alissa gave of the battle, the girl who sacrificed herself in order to make the victory possible was only about as strong as one of the [Progeny of Yore], maybe even a little weaker. The self-sacrificial skill she possessed however, allowed her to rise in power to a point that she was about as powerful as the strongest of the humans present in the battle.
Esperanza had yet to run into anyone who possessed such an absurd skill, but she knew that if she was to continue meddling in the ongoing war, chances were that she’d likely run into such people sooner or later. They posed quite a bit of threat for rather obvious reasons, especially since Alissa also informed her that it was mostly the people associated with the temple that had the skill.
The members of Alissa’s party who were from the Royal Guards looked as surprised as everyone else when they witnessed what happened, while the ones from the temple had looks that showed their understanding of the situation. Based on that, Esperanza guessed that there would be equivalents of said people on the demon side, just that Alissa was fortunate enough not to run into one in her battles so far.
Or maybe she had run into one, but they decided that the situation was not important enough for them to lay down their life for. The skill killed its user after its effects ended, after all.
When Esperanza considered the stakes involved on both sides, and how for the humans the fort was a symbolic sign of the first victory they have had in a long while, whereas the demons might view it as a minor setback at worst, it was obvious how for one side, there was far greater pressure to not lose the battle, to the point where burning their very life and soul might seem to be the natural option to take.
Doubly so when it came to religious fanatics like how Alissa hinted the people from the temple might be.
People who were so drunk on their own beliefs and ideology were often driven by them to do both great and horrible things. It was a phenomenon Esperanza herself was all too familiar with from her previous world. To see such a thing happen in this other world was no real surprise, especially when they had gods which were more actively present and tangible.
“So that’s the gist of things, at least from what Allie and I managed to talk about in the few days we had,” said Esperanza in closing after a long, extended discussion with the rest of her companions that went all the way past the midnight and then some. “Given the activity on the frontlines, it might be a bit too soon for us to return to the demon territories already, so I’m thinking we might stay in the kingdom a bit more and see what we can find out, what do you all think?”
“We will follow your decision, Exalted One,” offered Tiara, speaking for the five infiltrators from Zikeal, who nodded to show their support of her words. “We lack knowledge of the more distant areas of this kingdom. Our ancestors have never dared to venture so far away from our home, and the few who did so, never returned, so this will be a first for us.”
“To be honest, however, I personally feel excited at the prospect of going to where none of my ancestors have gone before, to tread on paths none of ours have tread yet, and to see things for myself which lay there,” added the girl with a smile. “So even if we were not at your perusal and would follow your command to begin with, I would still follow you all the same.”
“”Well, gracias for the support, Tiara,” replied Esperanza with a smile to return the girl’s enthusiasm. “What about the rest of you?”
“Tiara said her words well. It is something that’s in our blood as those who spent our lives infiltrating our great foes’ cities and villages to want to find out more, so I can definitely speak for myself and my lady that we would be honored to come along as well,” said Murad with a wide smile on his face, after which Mora laid her head on his shoulder affectionately. “I think the youngsters feel the same,” he added, to which Kurt and Leo replied with nods as well to signal their agreement.
“That’s one group, I guess…” muttered Esperanza as she looked towards where the [Progenies of Yore] and Iryl sat, the children who she rescued out of Navef and had since been made to mature ahead of their time, even if it was partly with their agreement. “I assume you lot would follow me no matter what I say, regardless of the danger before us, wouldn’t you?”
“We will go through hell fire and high water with you, Exalted One,” replied Val-Kas’j with a confident smile on his face. It was not a boast he was making, but a promise, or even an oath, that much Esperanza could hear from the way he said the words. Almost as one, the other [Progenies of Yore] gave her a sort of a salute with one fist over their chest, the group stating their agreement in unison.
“We followed you because we believed that you will have use for us for whatever the Exalted Deities of Yore had in mind, Exalted One,” stated Ani from the side, sounding just as pious and confident as the rest. Sometimes Esperanza forgot that for all that they were mostly normal, her own people were quite fervent worshipers of Oldies as well, and could be a touch fanatical too, at times. “Whatever you command, we will follow.”
“I know, I know,” replied Esperanza with a shake of her head. “It’s just that that sort of attitude isn’t of much help when I’m trying to look for second opinions on our possible future path to take, comprende? I would much rather you assess the situation presented and offer me what insights you may have.”
“Why, certainly, Exalted One. All you needed to do was to ask,” replied Ani with a bit of a chuckle. “From a more pragmatic point of view, I would say that there is nothing wrong with the idea of performing an extended reconnaissance in the kingdom, especially now that we have a potential ally in the [Hero]. We would not be able to truly work with them unless we are familiar with the challenges they face in this place.”
“Risks are relatively minimal since logically most of the powerful people in the kingdom, those powerful enough to actually present a threat to us in their lonesome, would likely be either at the frontlines or deep in the back, where the important people of this place lives,” Ani elaborated after a moment of thought. “As such, chances are minimal that we might run into such people and endanger ourselves as a result.”
“Allie did mention that two of the strongest people in this kingdom were at the fort she was fighting at, so that hypothesis is likely true. Just to be safe, however, we will exercise extra caution while infiltrating larger cities, and should we ever be discovered, priority will be to escape while minimizing bloodshed. Massacres should only be the last option to take.”
“Your will be done, Exalted One,” noted Ani with a nod. “On that field, however, I have to note that the technique you developed and taught the infiltrator clan at Zikeal seems to be functioning flawlessly so far, has it not?” she returned with a question of her own. “Clearridge was a rather large city that we safely infiltrated, and by your own words, not even the [Hero] could detect you until you showed yourself to her.”
“Yeah, Allie did say that, but my own skills are a bit unique and they likely helped with that. We should try at another large city to be sure, with at least one of us who can fight well going with each of your groups while in the city, just in case,” said Esperanza as she looked towards the five infiltrators. “Better safe than sorry in cases like these.”
“Worst case, we can most likely make a quick exit without hurting many, if any people. The only way it would devolve into an actual fight would be if the humans somehow knew of our coming and prepared an ambush that would be difficult for us to escape from,” noted Ani thoughtfully. “In such a case, we might well have to massacre quite a few of them to get out.”
“Yeah, let’s try to avoid that for now, where we can. We want both sides weakened by this war, and there’s no real point in helping give the demons an upper hand when they’re already at an advantage,” noted Esperanza after a moment. “Getting rid of a pendejo noble or two might just be seen as some internal conflict or those people getting what was coming for them, but if we start massacring people in the hundreds or thousands, that would be a lot harder to disguise as something else.”
“I guess our course is settled, then, Exalted One,” said Tiesya from the side where the [Progenies of Yore] gathered together, “We will be heading westwards to more human cities and learn more of our foes for the time being, yes?”
“That’s the plan, at least. I’m afraid most of you will have to be camping out in the woods again since you can’t disguise yourself as humans, so sorry beforehand about that,” noted Esperanza. “We’ll try to bring you more souvenirs from the city though.”
The group that went into the cities or villages would indeed bring some souvenirs for those who were stuck waiting outside. Typically they bought them some local delicacies, as there were not too many things of interest to the group otherwise, especially given how they would have to be on the move again in short order. Good, local delicacies increased their variety of food and helped keep their morale high, so those were always a safe bet to get as souvenirs.
Deities know that Esperanza left Clearridge with at least a couple dozen pounds worth of preserved meats and sausages in her [Soul Storage], bought off several vendors to make sure nobody got suspicious of the large purchase. Some of the younger [Progenies of Yore] were caught off-guard by the spiciness in them, but most of the older ones like Ani’s people enjoyed them quite a bit.
“All right then people, it’s already morning now, so let’s take a good, long rest first,” said Esperanza in closing now that her immediate concerns were addressed for the time being. “Once we wake up later, we’ll pack up and continue heading westwards, to see what else this kingdom of humans has to show us. Now go get some sleep. Buenas Noches.”
