Crimson Eternal - Book 6 - Chapter 9

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't mind this fluff. It's so that free readers can't click on the link.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are reading this on a website that is not Patreon, please stop. You're reading a pirated version. Instead, if you would be so kind, please click on the table of contents link below and go to my Patreon instead. Or even read it off of Royal Road, which is free.

Discord Invite

Table of Contents and Weekly Schedule

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Click on the following link for the 1539 word chapter 9:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ZPrNz8_QuhskUv6nMgtRkBlno41tapYceP3GnBNN5s/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Supply Dock of the Gratale Empire Main Military Headquarters

Jex yawns as he finishes up his search of the latest supply ship. Feeling slightly annoyed by the sudden change in plans forcing him and everyone else working at the main military headquarters to begin conducting thorough searches on absolutely everything in the military base that’s open to the public. And even some areas that aren’t open to the public.

All in search of the Horseman of Death whose face is plastered all over the internet, and even on high-rises on various planets.

This whole situation is bothersome to Jex, who just wants to laze away all day after finishing up what should’ve been an easy job.

Why did she have to come to our war? And why are they making me check cargo boxes? Why would a Horseman hide in cargo boxes?

It’s not just the cargo boxes, but they’re even making him check boxes the size of a watermelon. As if a human could ever fit inside of one.

His eyes narrow slightly as he yawns again while shaking his head. Just wondering if his commander has screws loose or something.

But despite his thoughts, he needs this job. So he continues to search one ship after another with his crew.

One day passes, and then another. Yet he never finds any Horsemen in his search. All he finds are a couple smugglers.

On the third day of his search, he once again finds himself yawning as he goes from one crate to another. Searching each one by popping off their lids and going through them.

The various ships have been lined up ever since the mandatory search first began two days ago. With more ships joining the line.

But despite that, he still hasn’t even reached the ships that joined the line after it began.

There are just too many ships.

When will this overtime hell end…

Jex feels the pain of this all deep in his heart as he moves over to open another crate. Another pure silver metal box.

“Why the hell would a Horseman bother with trying to infiltrate…” Jex begins to mutter the complaint he’s grown very used to muttering over the past couple days, only to pause when he presses the button on the box to make the top open.

Revealing a head staring right at him.

He stares back at the head.

The head stares at him.

Seconds of silence pass unperturbed.

The head belongs to a woman with long white hair and glowing crimson eyes, meanwhile her neck and below is just missing, with glowing crimson flames sticking out from where her neck should be.

“Well, this is awkward,” the head mutters, breaking their silence and staring contest.

Jex finds himself silently nodding his head in agreement. Meanwhile the head floats up into the air before various other boxes in the storage hull shatter and different body parts rush out of them to merge with the head. Forming a single woman’s body.

The woman, who Jex clearly recognizes as the Horseman of Death, stretches her arms while wearing what looks like a military commander’s outfit. One that’s black and crimson in color, with pants and a military coat on over top. Making her look both beautiful and intimidating at the same time.

How exactly she cut herself into parts to put into different boxes, he has no clue. Nor does he understand why she would bother trying to infiltrate a base of a random empire like this one.

Most importantly on his mind, though, is the question of how she managed to split up her clothes perfectly along with her body parts in the different boxes.

Jex quietly begins to question his own common sense as he watches the woman adjust her coat before putting her hands in her pockets and turning to face him. Then she says, “Would you mind acting like you didn’t see me?”

He stares blankly at her for several more seconds before remembering her identity.

She’s the Horseman of Death.

But when he opens his mouth to speak, she suddenly blinks as if realizing something.

“Oh, right, I can just do that,” she mutters to herself before snapping her fingers, making a portal appear beneath his feet. Following which he falls through and lands inside of the bridge of some ship.

Jex hurriedly looks around in confusion, wondering where he is. Only to find a man he recognizes very clearly as the Horseman of War seemingly fighting with a cat. Just repeatedly trying to pet the cat, with the cat slapping away his attempts every time.

He continues looking around for a moment before focusing on the squabbling Horseman and cat.

What is happening?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aria

Well, that’s annoying.

I got into the ship thinking it would be another simple job, but I really wasn’t expecting them to predict my plan and begin a major search.

It’s fine though. As long as they let us dock, which they did.

And War can entertain that random soldier guy.

Well, assuming he even looks his way. If he doesn’t, then Crimson can deal with him.

Anyway, after a few days of their search, it looks like these soldiers are all bored as hell at their constant searches. Which is making this easier on me.

I make my way through the ship before putting on the uniform for the soldiers working here. One I was given by the Rein Empire for this infiltration.

Meanwhile I turn on the special item I was given by the Rein Empire. An item that creates a barrier of light about two meters away from my body in all directions that makes people who look at me see me differently.

Unfortunately, that was the closest a barrier could work. Any closer and the barrier would fall apart immediately because of my unique constitution.

And nothing actually changing my body’s appearance works either.

Only a trick of the light item like this.

And it won’t work for anyone who gets within two meters of me.

Overall, it’s not entirely reliable, but it’s enough to get me out of the ship and onto the station.

And my plan works for a little while. I go around setting up bombs for about twenty minutes.

Then I’m exposed when an officer gets within two meters of me and exposes me on a radio. Leading to me running through the base with a squad of soldiers chasing after me with what look like capture items. Things meant to capture me and not hurt me.

Because there’s nothing that can actually hurt me and they know it.

I summon a force of Death Spirits to deal with them with the Death Spirits also planting more bombs. But some of the bombs are discovered and dealt with by the soldiers.

Leaving just some of the ones we plant left.

The chase continues as we run through the base, with more and more enemy soldiers and security joining in along the way. Leading to a rather chaotic game of chase through their main headquarters. With the few civilians at the base looking very confused throughout it all.

Until I dump all of the civilian traders into portals sending them to random planets.

Eventually all of the supply civilian ships in the base quickly begin to flee and get away from the base. With the civilians still in the base being sent off the base one by one by me.

But as the number of soldiers and security chasing me grows, so too does the number of bombs the find and disarm.

Until it reaches a point where they’re finding more bombs than I’m placing, gradually reducing the number of bombs around the space station headquarters.

Damnit, this isn’t working out.

I let out a sigh.

Whatever. There’s no reason to follow the script.

The only reason I was going along with the Rein Empire’s script is because they’re paying me. And it gives me a chance to evacuate the random merchant civilians. All of whom are now gone.

So I stop running with a sigh and pull out some of the specialty explosives I had stored away.

I do own a large number of explosive manufacturing factories after all.

And since the civilians are all gone, leaving just military people, it’s time to finally test this out.

“Stop running, Your Highness! Surrender and exit our war!” I hear one of the officers, a commander by the looks of it, shouting from behind me.

But I don’t pay attention. I just stop running and turn around.

Making his eyes widen in surprise at the sight of the thing.

I don’t waste any more time and activate the thing under the horrified eyes of the base commander and the other soldiers.

So in a single instant, a white light flashes from the thing, blinding me and everyone else here. Following which a ringing sound echoes out.

And when the sound and light fade, I find myself floating in space.

With the space station no longer here.

Well, that was a good test run.

I should ask if they can deal with the ringing sound though.

Anyway, back to my ship now.