191. Augmentation - 32

191. Augmentation - 32

We managed to arrive at Town Maell before the flying castle, but it had been a close call. When we stepped into one of the tunnels that led directly to the inner town, the castle was just a couple miles away, and approaching rapidly.

I sent a signal to Limenta, asking him to take Takis and a team of elites, and use a flying cart to go support Zolast. Since I was here, I was confident I could defend the town even if the worst happened. There was only one flying castle here.

It was a pity, but depending on the determination of Somaton, Zolast might have to deal with an even larger force. Having a backup assassin here would have been convenient, particularly since they were the ones that added assassination to the mix, and I would have loved to respond in kind.

I didn't appreciate assassinations targeting me. I turned to Baron Maell, and looked at him sharply. "Stay here, and don't come out until the Lord Steward gives you the signal," I said, still dressed as the Crusader.

"Even if " he started, but I silenced him with a slam of my Charisma, predicting what he was about to say.

"Especially when your uncle appears," I warned him. "It's a complicated political situation, and Lord Steward will handle it appropriately. But, if you show up early and ruin his plans even I'm afraid of what he might do. Understood?"

"U-understood," he responded, unsettled by the fact that even his great 'hero' showed fear.

"Good," I said, then left. As much as I wanted to give him a more detailed set of information, I refrained. However, I couldn't just keep him in a room, because eventually I had to call him as a part of the confrontation. Even with his declaration of fealty, it was still his town, and bypassing him completely was not an option.

Though, I certainly wished that it was.

I visited my room, and after a quick change, I was once again dressed as the Steward, feeling exhausted by the number of the roles I had to play. Unfortunately, considering the threat of multiple superior combatants was keeping them back far more effectively than our army, I had to keep playing along for now.

I moved forward, showing myself. As much as I was tempted to delay my appearance, the town was reacting to the presence of the flying castle negatively, and I didn't want the panic to spread. I walked out of the barracks, and the moment I stepped out, I spread my Charisma across the town, enveloping the guards.

The moment I did that, four flying carts appeared from the flying castle, headed directly to the center of the town. Before they could reach, however, I used Charisma to send an order, and four ballista fired.

Warning shots.

Once the castle had retreated outside the range of the ballistas well, the ones they could see the flying carts landed, revealing a team of knights. One of them raised a white flag and walked toward the town, carrying a large metal object.

While he walked toward the gates with a dignified pace, I moved to the gate as well. It had a subtle implication. Normally, as the acting ruler of the town, I should have asked the guards to lead him to the audience chamber. Or, if I wanted to insult him, I could have sent a few guards to talk with him while not allowing him to enter.

By walking to the gate to greet him there, I was using another method receiving an emissary from a force that we were at war with. The declaration was silent, yet clear. I was willing to escalate things into war.

I looked down on him from the gate. From his face, I could see that the message had been received clearly. "Speak," I called before he could start.

First, he raised the metal object he was carrying, and activated it with mana, which glowed with a unique pattern. At the same time, a matching object Baron Maell's symbol of town leadership started to glow in my hand, confirming his identity. It was more of a show than anything, but I didn't say anything.

"I'm here under the orders of His Majesty King Ralum, third of his name, protector of the seas" he started, which had been followed by a long, largely pointless list of names and achievements.

"And what exactly does your very important king need from our humble church?" I asked. Subtle, yet with a very important detail. I called Ralum his king, and not our, showing that I was determined to push the independence of the church to its conclusion.

While it was technically our right, pushing it openly was frowned upon at best. Under the circumstances, it had even more dangerous implications.

Implications like, if they wanted to fight, we were confident to give them one.

"His Majesty has concerns about the disagreement in the Maell family, and has offered to mediate to solve the differences." It was not a strong statement, but then, it wasn't exactly a shocker. Their allies had already sent an army to kill Baron Maell, and just to be on the safe side, Ralum forces arranged for an assassin to take him down if he managed to escape.

It was an overkill that would have worked against anyone but me. And, with Baron Maell dead, and the princess distracted with the battle, they could have installed his uncle as the next baron before we could react, which would have neatly solved the problem of the church and cut off the biggest supporters of the princess at the same time.

The failure of such an amazing plan was certainly a sad and disappointing affair for them.

"Alright," I said. "We will set up a tent outside the range of the town and your castle, and discuss," I said, once again treating it like we were at war.

Now, it was time to see what else they had prepared.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience