Year 2: The Encroaching Dread - Chapter 4

Eight people, in total secrecy, had gathered in the middle of the night in a private study that hadn’t been used in many years.

Inside, there was a single table with no chairs, a large cloth map of Aangapea spread out across it, wooden banners and figures littered around it and some stood off to its side, and only low candlelight to illuminate it.

Outside, guarding the door, was Dante and Atalante, though the room itself was protected with many enchantments and barriers, preventing any sound from getting out or anyone else getting in.

“Thank you for coming tonight,” King Alexander said to the four heroes. “I trust no one followed you?”

“No,” Duncan answered.

“Me neither.”

“Akane and I came together and weren’t followed,” Kayleigh said.

“Excellent. Then, let’s begin. I’m sure you’re all wondering why we discretely asked you all here tonight and it’s for this.” He gestured to the map. “This will be the new, final grand invasion plan for the east.”

“And you left it lying around here in the basement for someone to see?” Akane asked.

“This study used to be where I’d write my own books, but it’s fallen into disuse since I became king. And no, we didn’t. This is a completely wrong layout with none of our plans really on it. Instead.”

He nodded to Queen Dorothy who snapped her fingers; then, little balls of light began to fly through the air, rearranging everything on the table into a completely new configuration.

“Spirit magic?”

“Correct, Hajime.” The elven queen smiled. “The little ones remember everything that I do, so it’s nice and convenient for times like this.”

“…Five armies?” Kayleigh mumbled too quietly for anyone to hear as she gazed at the map.

“Alexander, why don’t you start the explanation and I’ll do the second half?”

The king nodded at Princess Hiiragi’s suggestion, then stepped closer to the table. “Young heroes, please, listen carefully to what I’m about to say for this is a battle plan we four have agreed upon that we think gives us the best chance of defeating the tyrant in the east.

“Five armies will march on the Demon Empire, three from the north, three from the south.” King Alexander traced his finger along the south. “In the south, a fleet of one hundred and thirty ships under the command of Admiral Banken will raid and pillage the south-eastern coast, aiming to destroy any remnants of the Demon Fleet and any large supply bases. As the fleet hugs the coast, the second army of eighty-nine thousand men under the command of Wolfang, Leomare’s son, shall advance along the mainland, making a line for Atryus first.

“Once the fortress is secure, twenty thousand men shall be left behind to hold it.; the rest shall march on Adetite and then split in two, with one force staying to defend the city whilst Wolfang takes the rest towards the ruins of Black Port to link up with the fleet and liberate the most south-eastern point of Aangapea.”

“That’s quite an ambitious undertaking,” Kayleigh mumbled.

“We know, and if I’m being honest, we do not expect him to be able to fully complete his task.” The king’s voice was firm, but Kayleigh could hear a slight sadness mixed in with his tone. “The main point, however, is that the admiral and Wolfang will distract the Demon Emperor and his forces for a time. Their main objective is to waste as much of the Demon Emperor’s time as possible.”

“In the north.” Princess Hiiragi took over, placing three wooden figures, one of a boat, one of a banner and one of a standing sword. “The three armies shall do similar. The fleet of two hundred ships will be led by Admiral Ei Yanfei and they shall do what Banken and his men will. As for the army here.” She picked up the banner. “General Tyvoren Iron-fist shall lead them. One hundred and twenty thousand soldiers that will march with the Dragon Spine Mountains on their flank, attacking and liberating key cities, towns, strongholds and villages as they march.

“The third army, the main army of one hundred and eighty-thousand men.” Hiiragi smiled. “Shall be led by my husband along with all of your tutors and all of you.”

“With us too?!” Hajime repeated.

Hiiragi nodded. “You, along with my lord husband, shall pierce right into the heart of the north-east, aiming first to take back the Twin Cities. It won’t be easy as it’s right in the heart of the enemy’s empire, and winter will have come in full force by then, but it’s a symbolic victory that we need to achieve.”

“…He burnt one of them, didn’t he?” Duncan asked.

“More accurately, Abaddon the Cruel burnt the city but yes, it was likely on his order.”

“How many people lived there?”

“Half a million, I believe.”

Duncan’s hand dug into his thigh. “…I see.”

If the monarch’s noticed his anger, they ignored it to keep the meeting on track.

“Of course, it might not just be these five armies fighting,” Queen Dorothy said. She then picked up a different coloured banner and placed it in the top right of the map. “Princess Raeanne and her rebels are still going strong, though we’ve had no way of contacting them.”

“Then, how do you-?”

“Because our spies tell us the Demonic Legion and other agents of the Dark Lord are still searching for them to this day. If any one of these invasion plans are effective, then more people will flock to her cause and form a sixth army. Even if their numbers are small, it should be enough to disrupt his supply lines and provide some additional harassment.”

“But this, young heroes, is where the best part comes in,” Bernaught said, leaning over the desk and pointing at the three armies in the north. “One Akechi or Tyvoren’s armies punch a line through the Demon Emperor’s defences, they’ll have no choice but to retreat and form a new line, or risk becoming encircled and wiped out. With every victory, the Demon Emperor’s territory shrinks. We’ll see a great domino effect if that keeps happening.”

“…An excellent point, Chancellor, but might I speak freely for a moment?”

“What is it, Akane?” Princess Hiiragi asked.

“First, let me say that I do believe that this plan is a well-thought out one and, most likely, the Alliance’s best option at present to defeat the Demon Emperor. Attacking in just one direction will not prove effective as the Demon Emperor outnumbers the Alliance at present, even if that includes large quantities of weak undead. However, in total, I can see less than half a million troops marching into the empire on all fronts.

“No doubt, once footholds are taken and supply lines established, reinforcements can be sent in and the liberated slaves of the empire will flock to our cause. Yet, there seems to still be a fear that the Demon Emperor might expect such actions from us, which is why more than half of the Alliance’s total forces will remain in the west. I can only imagine that this is for one of two reasons. One - you do not believe, in your hearts, that this plan will succeed. Two - you fear the risk of counterattack while your strongest forces are in the east.”

“It’s the second reason, Akane,” King Alexander confessed with a wry smile. “We know that the Demon Emperor or maybe his generals, or maybe both, can summon portals to transport themselves around Aangapea, so there is always going to be a risk of encirclement for the armies or a full-on invasion of the west while the armies are in the east. That’s why we can’t commit everything until we’re more certain of victory.

“Right now, as the plan stands, the Demon Empire could fall or we could fail completely. No matter which result it is, we’ll be ready for it.”

“Not that we intend for this plan to fail,” Chancellor Bernaught grunted.

“Of course not, but the incident with Amen at the Rivers House, as well as the repeated incursions along the border, have given us cause to worry,” Queen Dorothy added. “I’m sure you yourselves, as battle-hardened as you might have become these last few months, understand that anything can happen in war.”

“…Some more than others,” Akane whispered, sparing a glance at the dejected Hajime to her side. She gripped his hand gently, startling him, and continued speaking. “Amen poses a great risk to all of us, but the generals are definitely the biggest issue. The woman at the Rivers was far too powerful for us to handle.”

“Dante has been gathering the strongest adventurers for some time together to try and deal with the Demon Emperor’s generals when they show up, but how likely they are to succeed is unknown. Dante’s also taking on Ewan as his successor and intends to revive his order as soon as possible. Hopefully, they will be able to assist you in some way or perhaps even deal with the enemy themselves before you have to face them.”

“…Why are you only telling us four all this?” Kayleigh asked. “Three of us are leaders of teams, so I get why you picked us, but why not Guy or-?”

“Because.” Hiiragi unfolded her fan across her lips. “We believe we can trust you four alone.”

“What?!”

“What do you-?”

“Hiiragi.” Bernaught sighed, glaring at her. “Don’t-”

“I’m not lying to them,” she chuckled. “Out of the remaining twenty-nine, we have deemed you four the most trustworthy.”

“W-what she means is-”

“For months.” Hiiragi shut her fan, silencing Dorothy before she could speak. “We have been watching each and every one of you, your movements, who you spend time with, what you talk about and more; of course, not out of suspicion or malicious intentions. Rather, we wanted to get to know what is most important to you all.

“When we began to suspect there was a traitor, we monitored you all more closely than before, but still kept our distance so not to intrude upon your lives. However, when Amen revealed himself as a traitor and abandoned us for the Demon Emperor, we had to change our tactics. We needed to find people we could trust, but had no way of doing so. The Rivers House incident, as well as the misinformation we gave you during your assignments there, allowed us to pick out the ones we trust the most and the ones we believe the most capable.

“Duncan Wilson - you are a brave young man who acts as something like a leader for all of the heroes, not just the ones in your team.

“Hajime Sakamoto - while you are not as courageous as you would like to be, you are earnest and hardworking, constantly looking for ways to improve yourself and to become the hero you’ve always dreamt of being.

“Akane Nariko - curt perhaps in your tone, but you are a highly intelligent young woman who provides in depth insight into various matters across the board.

“Kayleigh Henson - your intelligence might be second only to Akane or Stephanie, but you have a deep love and care for your fellow heroes, and always try your best for them even when no one else is looking.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel both violated and embarrassed right now,” Hajime said.

“The point is.” Hiiragi tapped her heel against the floor. “While there are many talented heroes, you four stand above them all and we need to have people we can trust or else the Alliance will destroy itself long before the Demon Emperor gets a chance to.”

“…I get it now,” Kayleigh said. “It’s basically the Prisoner’s Dilemma again. You know that someone could be a traitor, but you need to be able to trust someone or else we’ll all get nowhere collectively. Thus, you wanted a small sample group you could place your faith in to see if it’ll work out well, and then look to expand the circle of trust as time moves on.”

“In effect, yes,” Alexander replied. “In fact, outside of the four in this room, no one else will know the time and day of the invasion until the moment it happens.”

“When will-?”

“Three days after the New Year has been rung in, to mark the anniversary of when you all joined us.”

“About four months to go,” Duncan mumbled. “So, we can’t tell anyone else about this either until then?”

“I’m afraid not, regardless of whether you love them or not.”

Duncan went red at Alexander’s comment, making Dorothy and Bernaught laugh.

“…Alright, but if she’s angry later that we knew this long before she did, you all better have my back.”

“We will,” Hajime assured him.