Chapter 41: Chapter 41
Arthur's Point of View
Lestrania Thousands of Years Ago
"Pardon?" Aydan asked when he heard me mumble.
Shaking his hand, I looked at him with a forced smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Sir Aydan." Now I remembered why the name Aydan sounded so familiar.
He chuckled and patted his shoulder with his free hand. "Just Aydan will do!" He said mirthfully as we broke the handshake, and he then gestured to me. "May I have the honor of knowing your name?"
Time travel has been debated for years about the consequences of revealing certain details. However, if this was the same Sage who created the Book of Prophecy and he knew about me already, why ask for my name? Was it truly magic at work like the 'Priestesses' said, or was it me who revealed things? With a frown and unsure of what to truly do, I thought about how to respond.
Deciding to keep with Arthurian lore but ignoring the original name I chose, I decided to go with another familiar name. "My name is Mordred." Was my answer.
It was either that or Gawain, but I've never been a huge fan of that name. This way, I still have ties to the Pendragon name depending on which version of events you believe.
"Mordred?" He repeated as if the name was foreign, which it was. "Interesting name, but who am I to judge?" Aydan bowed to me slightly and thanked me again. "I cannot express the gratitude I feel towards you for coming to the aid of my student and the Princess when I could not. While I cannot reward you properly at the moment, if you travel with us back to the castle, I can make sure you're handsomely compensated for your deeds."
I cared little for rewards and wanted nothing to do with this situation altogether. Unfortunately, there wasn't a choice to be made here. If Aydan was the one who made the book, he was likely the only one to help me. Especially since I looked exactly like the description he put in the book. The source of this content is N0veII_bIn
As I was about to answer, Kandma and I both looked off to the distance where the forest was at the same time. "Arthur..." She began.
"I know." Looking over the treetops, I saw that same red and black energy again, but it was getting closer. "It would seem that a large force of Demons is heading directly towards us." This got everyone's attention even though I was speaking to Kandma. "And something darker and more powerful than a mere Ghoul is leading them." While they couldn't understand Kandma, they could understand me, and almost all of them were put on alert immediately.
"How large is this force? Can you give us any details of their numbers?" The young Arceana inquired as she stepped next to Aydan.
"I don't know for sure," It was a lot of demonic energy coming from the forest as my eye focused on the hundreds if not thousands of signatures. "Well over a thousand. Maybe more..." I answered in an unsure manner.
The large wafts of demonic energy shooting over the treetops gave me pause once more. It was likely from the Ancient Demon Kandma spoke of before. While it didn't compare to Tor in any regard, it was still far stronger than all of the Ghouls I had faced until this point.
"Form a defensive line and prepare to charge!" Arceana began shouting out orders as she moved through the camp.
"Probably?" This got a huff from the bear, and I turned back to the Princess. "We will join you. I'm not sure Kandma will be able to flee in time. I would stay behind and let her join you to buy you all time, but..." I trailed off as I saw the waves of Demonic energy getting closer. "I think it'd be best to join you at this time."
Aydan nodded. "Good! I look forward to seeing your skills in battle if you are indeed as good a warrior as the Princess claims!"
I nodded in return. "I feel the same, Aydan. Surely such lovely titles have to mean something."
He guffawed at that. "There are few who could claim they haven't heard of me, but I'm more than willing to show my mettle!" Aydan then gestured to Kandma. "We'll be in the rear guard to deter any Demons who get to close." Smirking at me, he continued as he turned his horse. "When we get back to the Capital, after being handsomely rewarded, we may even offer a place among us."
"Maybe." Was my reply.
Arceana looked between us and eventually focused on me. "It will be reassuring to have a warrior of your caliber with us." She then smirked as she looked at Aydan. "You may even match our Knight!" I didn't respond. "Yah!" The Princess let out in a very non-lady like manner.
"Come, Mordred! We must keep up!" Aydan moved in a different direction before he and his horse just straight up fucking disappeared.
Looking up at Kandma, I spoke. "You saw that too, right?"
The bear nodded. "I did." She then leaned down and gestured to her back. "Get on." While I was surprised, it didn't stop me from jumping up on her back.
Grabbing a tree trunk that was sticking out of her back, she took off out of the encampment behind all the horses. Roaring as we took up our positions startled some of the soldiers, but Arceana looked back with a smirk while Aydan popped into existence right next to us. I eyed him for a moment as I saw him smirking up at me. While we had escaped for the moment, everyone turned when a sickening hiss and screech caught our attention.
Looking back towards the encampment, we saw Demons by the thousands pouring over the hills. Behind them, the forest was catching on fire in an unnatural way. Lines of fire shot throughout the trees as the Demons quickly laid eyes on us and started to give chase. They weren't the real problem. The giant fire Demon that shot from the forest and into the air was.
"That's not good." I said as I moved around the trunk to face the rear while standing on Kandma's back. "We got company!" My shouts drew the attention of several who started screaming in fear.
"Those who specialize in fire spells, water spells, and shields to the rear!" Aydan ordered out, and then he looked to me. "Mordred, can you provide assistance against the Demons while the main force gains some distance?" He asked in a shout.
Glancing over my shoulder at Arceana, I saw her looking back and observing the situation, and I sighed upon looking back at Aydan. With a nod and finding my balance on my bouncy steed, many fell back to surround Kandma and I. Moving towards the rear of the large stone bear to get a better look, Aydan and his others rushed to their spots in some manner of formation.
"What do you think of that Ancient Demon, Aydan? Can you deal with it?" I asked him over the wind.
He looked up at me with a smirk. "I wouldn't dare take all the glory for myself!" Aydan replied playfully. "Surely you can handle such a foe with no issue!"
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This weeks goal is going to be the same as last week! 800 Power Stones for the first Bonus Chapter and 850 for the second! I think we should be able to get it easily this week! With two full days left, we're well on track! Fingers crossed it happens! As usual, hope everyone is still enjoying the story! We're almost to the next arc! Look forward to it or read it now on my patre-on! Up to you! Later!