Year 2: The Gathering Fires - Chapter 5

The plan to invade the Demon Empire, officially titled the Great Invasion, was near impossible to keep secret.

Any spy, no matter how skilled, would immediately report the suspicious troop and supply movements the enemy was making to their master, and then their master would plan accordingly to repel the invasion. However, the camp that Commander Leomare Shimta, a famed lizardman general, was in charge of was one of four war camps growing across the Free People’s Alliance.

In the north, outside the capital city Yun, the shogunate had started erecting many tents and bringing stores of food and fresh water to supply tens of thousands of soldiers without rest for weeks. In the western port city of Du-mán, a large fleet was gathering, as were countless skilled sailors and mercenaries. War machines, horses and supplies were loaded on board daily and it looked as if they would be ready to set sail come the end of next month.

The farmlands outside of Rhodes had been turned into the largest of the military camps, where soldiers, knights and adventurers from across all the lands of the free peoples gathered. Finally, there was the camp Leomare was in, the second largest set up about forty miles from the south-eastern border with the Demon Empire.

Commander Leomare’s camp was the real gathering place for the invasion, while the others were merely decoys. When the time came, the fleet and the Yun camp would move in tandem with Leomare’s southern force, but they were meant to be nothing more than distractions for the Demon Emperor to waste his time and resources on.

Outside of the monarchs and the commanding officers, no one else knew which camp was to be the main show of the Great Invasion. There were lots of speculations and rumours going around, but no one could say for definite, just as King Alexander had hoped.

If our own people are this confused, then surely the Demon Empire’s ilk must be too, Leomare thought as he reviewed the latest documents his aide had given him. He’ll have his suspicions and he might even be able to guess correctly, but he’ll definitely have positioned his fleet and forces to intercept all three armies, not just one. If he does that, then we have a real chance of breaking through his defences and striking at the heart of his empire.

The Dread Keep. Leomare shot a glance down at the map of the old Holy Empire of Themis and the Northern Hills. If that place falls, then the Demon Empire shouldn’t be too far behind.

“Commander.”

“Ah, Lurie.” The lizardman smiled at the S-ranked adventurer. “What news?”

“Two more A-rank groups have arrived, and they say that the Behemoth’s Jaw S-rank party will be joining us sometime early next month.”

“Splendid. Did they say why they wouldn’t be able to join us sooner?”

Lurie shook her head. “Only that they would try and finish their business as quickly as possible.”

“…Bring any updates about Behemoth to me the moment you hear them.”

“Of course, Comman-”

“Sir, terrible news!”

“What is it, soldier?”

“A-a rider, from the 8th Scouting Corp, returned from a patrol and said.” The private tried to gather his breath. “He said they found a supply convoy in the woods.”

Again?! Leomare clicked his tongue. “How many dead?”

“E-everyone, sir! They’re all dead and the supplies were burnt!”

…The exact same as last time. Dammit!

***

King Alexander burnt the letter his messenger pigeon brought him over a candle, a slight scowl on his face.

“That makes five in twelve days,” he grumbled.

On the surface, the preparations for the Great Invasion were proceeding smoothly with few obstacles or errors. However, that was only because King Alexander made sure that no one reported any issues to anyone outside of his direct chain of command; he would, in turn, then tell the other monarchs what happened.

In Yun, sixty thousand soldiers had gathered and were well supplied. The fleet at Du-mán had thirty thousand sailors and mercenaries on nearly two hundred ships, ready to sail at a moment’s notice should they need to. The city of Rhodes was safe even without the massive war camp outside its gates, and yet the camp under Leomare’s command had suffered more setbacks than the others.

Worse, the setbacks were not due to human error or exhaustion; they were due to outside interference.

It was one thing if a supply train slowed down because of a broken wheel or a muddy road, it was another if an entire convoy was slaughtered and their goods burnt to cinders.

Each attack is random and sporadic, hitting both troop and supply convoys whenever they can along different roads. No matter which path we send them down, someone somewhere knows where they’ll be and intercepts them. Guerilla warfare tactics, but we have had no reports of sizeable crossings from the east - unless, those spies that we’ve theorised crossed the border are conducting these attacks.

But there’d be traces of them at least, something that indicates who they are or what weapons they used. Instead, all we have are a mixture of wounds and deaths. Some were bludgeoned, others had their limbs crushed, some were stabbed with great force from behind and others had been suffocated with something. Their necks were crushed to the point there was barely any bones left.

“You’re certain that each convoy departed from Rhodes with written orders from yourself or one of your trusted generals?” Princess Hiiragi asked, her fan resting against her lips.

“I am.”

“Then, that means the worst possible outcome has befallen us - there’s a traitor among us, Alexander.”

The king’s hands curled into fists as the dreaded truth sank deeper into his skin. He knew, in his heart, that she was right long before the words had left her mouth, but Alexander didn’t want to accept it.

How could one of my inner circle do this?

“Don’t just assume that they had to be within your inner circle, Alexander.”

“What do you mean, Sakura?”

She smiled and deployed her fan. “It’s quite simple, really. I don’t believe that a traitor would suddenly appear within a group of men and women you’ve known and fought alongside for thirty-five years; well, not without an incredible reason. Unless the Demon Emperor was holding their loved ones hostage, there’s no way they’d turn their back on you. Even then, Oliver and Tycer would rather die than betray you.”

“If it isn’t them, then who could it be?” Alexander asked.

“I have several theories, none of which I want to indulge just yet, not until we have a better understanding of how the traitor operates.” She leant forward across the table and shut her fan. “Let us review the facts. First, the traitor only seems to know of convoys leaving Rhodes in orders that you or your aides sign off on. Second, each convoy is hit in a location far enough away from nearby settlements and outposts to raise the alarm. Thirdly, they do not operate on a set timetable nor only target certain types of convoys. This means that they do not care what they destroy, but rather that it is just destroyed, and that they only have limited windows in which they can operate, which.” Princess Hiiragi’s gaze sharpened. “Brings me onto the next and most conclusive point.

“The attacks only seem to happen late at night or early in the morning. Tell me, King Alexander of Rhodes, who do we know that is staying in this very castle right now that can operate at such times without raising suspicion?”

“…I…don’t want…to believe that.”

“Neither do I, given how they were the gifts the Goddesses gave us, but it fits.” Princess Hiiragi spoke coldly. “Looking at all the evidence we have, it’s feasible that one or more of the Summoned Heroes might be a traitor.”

***

Outside the king’s office, hidden in the shadows with Carnwennan, was Talon.

She became pale as the princess’s words repeated inside her mind.

A…traitor?

Among us?

Who?

When?

Where?

Why?

Why?

Why?!

Talon’s grip on her dagger became so tight it began to shake.

Who would ever want to help that monster?!

She remembered the disgust she felt upon hearing the Emperor’s Voice whisper to Duncan about Dame Chelsea’s fate.

She remembered the state that Prince Julius had been in, and the terrible tales she’d heard of the atrocities the Demon Emperor unleashed upon the east.

All of it resurfaced in her mind, as did the nightmares she’d dreamt of when she imagined herself trapped in that place, just like she had been in her past life.

Alone, scared, bound, unable to live or breathe without the permission of another person, of her captor.

Even though there were no marks on her skin anymore, Talon knew where the whips and punches had fallen, where the needles had been inserted and what the men had tattooed upon her flesh.

…Whoever you are, traitor, I swear that I will find you, and I will tear you apart, slowly and painfully. Talon started to silently walk away before taking a deep breath. Don’t rush into this alone, Talon - you’ll just-She stopped. Not again, not ever again. I’ll tell Dao what I heard and see if she’ll help me find the traitor.

***

“Is it me, or is the palace a lot busier today than normal?”

“Is it?”

“…You know, leader, you should really pay more attention to your surroundings.”

“Sorry, sorry, Amen, I know I should…it’s just that I always thought the palace was this busy.”

Amen laughed. “Well, given how many parties and banquets they’ve held for us, I’m not surprised that you’ve started to think this is normal, Hajime. Don’t take this the wrong way, but how comes you’re free to hang out with me today?”

“Wow, someone really didn’t want to spend time with me.”

“I said don’t take it wrong way.”

“I’m not really sure how else I could have taken that.”

“…Anyway, as I was going to say, how comes Akane isn’t dragging you into another intensive lesson today?”

“Oh, she’s busy today.”

“Doing what?”

“Training with Duncan and some of the others.”

“Why?”

“Well, to see how well we’re all doing and to make sure she doesn’t get stale only fighting us.”

“…That’s an excellent point - we should’ve joined in.”

“Next time, Amen, next time.”

***

“Hey!” Yve’s shouts barely made a noise in comparison to the intense battle Ewan, Kayleigh, Duncan and Akane were waging. “Guys! I need to-! Guys!”

The two teams, Ewan and Akane VS Kayleigh and Duncan, didn’t even register Yve’s shouts as white noise. They were too focused in their own mock duel to notice their fellow hero stood off to the side, desperately waving her arms around and yelling out every few seconds.

Ewan’s spear kept Duncan at a distance, forcing Duncan to use the runes on his blade to close the gap. However, his empowered strikes barely reached his opponent who kept withdrawing whenever Duncan closed the gap. Akane and Kayleigh were fighting one another with their fists, with Akane trying to test the limits of her Oni-form. Each blow created a small shockwave, kicking up tonnes of dirt and sand, but neither girl paid much attention to it.

…They are meant to be fighting as a team, right? Yve weakly smiled. I guess it’d just be whoever goes down first and-there goes Kayleigh. Bad luck, Duncan.

Sure enough, Duncan wasn’t able to withstand both opponent’s attacking him at once, though he did put up a good fight.

Once the dust had settled and Akane had helped her opponents onto their feet, finally someone acknowledged Yve.

“How long have you been there, Yve?” Ewan asked.

“Ten minutes, thanks for noticing.”

“If looks could kill.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Yve smiled and then asked, “Have any of you guys seen Hailey at all today?”

“No, why?” Duncan replied.

“Well, I managed to finally convince her to go on a date with me today to-”

“Wait, you’re going out?” Kayleigh cut in.

“No, my friend, just a girl’s outing type of date - the friend kind, you know? Anyway! She said she’d meet me in the dining room after breakfast but didn’t, so I went to her room but she wasn’t there, so I started wandering around and - nothing! Don’t suppose-?”

“Sorry, but we haven’t seen her either.”

“Damn, she’s really trying to get out of it.”

“If she’s your friend, why would she-?”

“Because I was going to buy her cute underwear today,” Yve answered, cutting Akane’s question short. When the others gave her bewildered stares, Yve put a hand on her hip. “What?”

“Do…do friends do that?” Kayleigh asked.

“Guy friends definitely don’t.”

“Seconded, even if…I don’t really remember,” Ewan said.

“What, Duncan, you’ve never bought your-?”

“No, no, no - not now, not ever. No. Why - I mean, why would I?”

Yve titled her head a little. “Why wouldn’t you?”

As the conversation continued to derail, Akane lightly cleared her throat. “Regardless, Yve, we haven’t seen Hailey today.”

“Right, Hailey! Thanks, guys!”

After Yve ran away, the other four all looked at one another, unsure of what to say.

Eventually, they all agreed, without speaking a word, to continue sparring.