126 Remi Darkwater

The moment the old man finally left the inn, three strangers that were previously joking and chatting with others suddenly stopped everything and left as well. They were joined by two others that were in the vicinity of the inn. Nothing in their outfits nor their equipment could link them all together, so much that even the most cautious observers could only guess and not conclude. After all, if the most famous General of Massalia could truly walk in the streets without anyone following and protecting him, it would be shameful for the very king of this nation.

But, if someone was capable of learning who those five humans were, he would be extremely shocked. Not by the fact that even without looking at each other or sending hand messages, they were capable of communicating. And even less by their capacity to easily merge with the crowd, not appearing to tail the old noble at all. But by the fact that they belonged to the Organization, and the fact that the safety of the protector of the North was maintained by criminals and outlaws.

Looking at the nice looking couple that bypassed him, Lord Darkwater, of his real name Remy Rattle, smiled at the clueless knights around him. Even if they seemed to be in a hurry, they were on high alert, making the common people baffled by their presence. But not even once did they noticed the shadows tracing them. Looking with a bit more attention at their uniform, he noticed the emblem of the Sword Saint. "Maybe I should teach them a trick or two ..."

"What is it, grandpa?" His voice was so soft that only the little girl nearby heard it. Pinching her cheeks, he finally picked her up afterward, noticing the impatient stares of the knights. "Nothing little bunny. But like I told you, youngsters trying to make me move. And what do I hate the most?"

"To walk outside!" She nearly shouted that sentence, grinning happily. Their house was quite big, but besides the servants and tall adults, she had not a single friend of her age. So, each time she wanted to go outside, she had to solve one puzzle from her grandfather. And recently, he had been making them incredibly difficult, proving that he truly didn't want to left his comfy home.

"That's right, that's right." Hearing the strange discussion between the two, the leader of the knights could only look helplessly at the speed of the old man. At this point, he was willing to bet that even the oldest cow could move faster than this, or maybe the fastest turtle. But knowing the identity of the one he was bringing in, he had no choice but to suffer in silence. After ten minutes like that, and without any incident, the group stopped, blocked by a line of soldiers.

An entire area of houses had been requisitioned for this, making it off limits for all the civilians nearby. The security was extremely important, and at the same time, numerous armies each controlled their own locations. The yellow emblems of the Synnada Empire were already visible when they arrived inside the perimeter. Next to them, some elven bows could be seen stored inside some crates.

If the real armies were not yet here, each nation had already sent some emissaries to ease the process. No one wanted to find out there was a lack of food or arrows only the day before the assault. With that in mind, the cooperation between the nations was... tensed, to say the least. Each faction had their own allies and enemies, making some discussion particularly heated. And the presence of some special individuals would not reduce them at all.

Like right now, if before, the three officers of the Synnada Empire were talking peacefully with someone from the Massalia Kingdom, their stares turned hateful in a blink of an eye. Spotting the very man responsible for the most terrible defeat in the history of their country, their hands instinctively reached their sabers. Only the same reaction from the knights prevented them from rushing at the old man to cut him in half.

"SO SCARY!" The little girl was in shock, suffering from the intense pressure from those officers. She was, after all, only a child, and because of this and her remark, the tension was slightly reduced. While the men from the desert were still pondering whether they should die trying to kill the target of their hate, someone put his massive hands on their shoulders. Feeling the inescapable grip, they could only turn to see an unrefined brute looking at them.

"SWO ... SWORD SAINT! We ... eh ... farewell!" They did not dwindle any longer, knowing that they couldn't kill Lord Darkwater anymore. If before, it would be a sacrifice, it now became a suicide. The old man couldn't be harmed when the first swordsman of the kingdom was present. Looking at the fleeing officers, the later was not even smiling. After all, they were supposed to be allies in the end.

"Hey brat, you brought what I asked?" His ears were slightly shivering when he heard that. As for the knights nearby, they all looked the sky, wondering if the clouds were always so beautiful during the day. The number of people that could call Idhrenil Gwendhir a brat could be held on one hand. Maybe even two fingers only, namely the two old generals. Looking at the pair of old and young foxes that were smiling widely, he reluctantly gave the old man the bag he was holding.

"Great, great. Thanks a lot for this, now, little bunny, did I ever told you about ..." He triumphantly brought the small bottle that was inside the bag up." ... THIS!" On the other hand, the little girl that was visibly expecting something else looked a bit disappointed. After all, it was just a bottle filled with something pink in it, she could not make any sense of that.

"A bottle?" Shaking his head, Remi Darkwater looked sad. "Remember the last summer when you were desperately trying to make me buy one of those, only to find out they were tasteless?" Hearing this, the little human did not even wait for the end of that sentence to grab it. Her eyes were looking at it like it was a treasure. The massive and respected Sword Saint was looking weirdly at that spectacle, while the knights were still wondering what was happening.

"Just don't ... ah, too late." She had already eaten a good third of that bottle, and then, her expression of pure bliss froze. Holding her head, she was beginning to cry, only to feel a massive hand on her forehead. Feeling the sensation of pain getting away, she looked at the bearman in front of her. Smiling, she quickly thanked him before swallowing the rest of the bottle. Leading to the man once again negating the pain.

"Thank you, mister!" Her angelic voice still brought a smile on his face, but what followed did not. "Thank you brat!" The strange couple then proceeded to walk toward their destination, without even batting an eye at the baffled expressions of those surrounding them. At this point, only the leader of the knights still had the guts to ask what they all wanted to know. "Sir, what was in that bottle was ..."

"An ice cream. A delicious ice cream. Strawberries flavored." His grave and somber voice was a drastic contrast with what he was saying. Sensing that he would not escape punishment if he was to ask any other question, the group of soldiers followed their leader and quickly reported the success of their mission. Elsewhere, but not near the Sword Saint. As for the fact that the later was sent to do an errand, this memory was buried as deep as it should be.

After bringing his most precious possession home, he left her with a group of children a bit older. The five of them were all students at the Academy of Magic, far far away from Ronta. They all had special identities, except one with red hair. Daughter of the Sword Saint, grandchildren and child of Magus. If they were to be kidnapped before the battle, it would be a complete disaster. As for whether the one he called little bunny would have fun, he was certain she will. After all, it was not often that she could bother real apprentice magicians. Since he wouldn't miss such an occasion, she won't either.

To the group that was tasked to keep him safe all the time, the changes in the General Darkwater were obvious. The kind and joking old man, that often had a smile on his face was no longer present when the little girl was gone. The traits on his face hardened, the malice in his eyes was snapped out. The more he walked, the more those passing by couldn't help but bow when seeing him. Even those from the desert respected him in that way, even if it was buried deeply beyond shame and anger.

When he finally reached the vast manor that was guarded by three lines of soldiers, his very appearance made all discussions stop. The Sword Saint that was nearby could only sigh, remembering the jovial appearance from minutes ago. No one present here could ignore what happened to the most cunning general of mankind. Thinking about his own daughter, Istuienn, and what almost killed her, he could only understand slightly Lord Darkwater.

"Is there any news from past the Wild Mountains?" Arthar Rodil shook his head. He was in charge of monitoring the orbs of communication. A few days ago, General Darkwater asked to change the path of general Avirus, from Avenio. It was only late that the officers from the Republic told them that he would stop at Archet. When he heard this, Remi Darkwater did not waste a single second before ordering it to make a big detour and avoid that city.

Some were a bit surprised by that reaction and tried to promote the decision by saying it was the fastest path from the North-West of Avenio. If they did not stop at Archet, they would be delayed by a few days, because of the absence of roads or the increase of distance. But the one in charge acted like he was completely deaf. As such, those coming from the Republic were beginning to complain a bit. But before anyone could say anything else, a female magician stumbled on the entrance, nearly knocking down Remi Darkwater.

"AVEN ... ouch." Patting her dress to remove the dust on it, she saw everyone looking at her, especially the very old man near her. Feeling a bit shy, she looked at Arthar Rodil, that nodded. "We finally have something from Avenio. One good and one bad news." Looking then at the general near her, she waited, to see which one she should tell first. "Bad."

"Yes, the general Avirus had been defeated. His entire army had been slaughtered by the giant demon. Archet ... Archet has surrendered and belongs to them now. Also, the general is still missing." Not a single sound could be heard after her report. Even the ruckus outside, made by hundreds of men and women working together was nearly inaudible. Not a lot were capable of maintaining their facades after hearing this, but soon, they realized something else.

"You knew that will happen." Ferrod Minalcar Teldil, Second Prince of Massalia, was the quickest to get the idea. At those words, the General Darkwater still kept his impassive face. For him, he had already predicted every possible scenario, every possible outcome. The first one would be to target their reinforcements, and they had communicated beforehand about that. Only to realize too late that the nobles and merchants from Avenio did not take his advice at his worth.

"I would have done the same. But the reputation of the Butcher of the North was not unfounded. Gwendhir." "Understood." Without any other words, the Sword Saint began to leave the room to reach the room where the orb was present. They could not trust a magician to understand everything that could be said about war. And in this incoming conflict, everything was critical for them. A second later, the bearman was followed by a few officers bringing what to write.

"And the rest? Why you said the general went missing when his army was destroyed?" Taking a huge breath, the female mage was still unsure if she will be believed. She had to repeat her questions three times when she first heard it. "The general Avirus seemed to have been blessed by a God. They said that ... that a new Hero was born!" This time, not even the old fox that was Lord Darkwater managed to contain his surprise. But unlike the others that were all rejoicing and smiling, he couldn't help but shudder, thinking about dark possibilities that suddenly appeared. If them, humans, elves, and others could receive the help of a God, why their enemies couldn't?