The 'Extra' Lord (Unlimited Plunder) - Chapter 71

“Gorath,” Owen shouted above the twanging of bow strings and war cries, “focus your attention on the left, they’re going to break through!”

Gorath listened. He shoved an archer to the side as he summoned his powerful lightning, and fired it into where the serpent troops were the thickest. Although he didn’t use Chain Lightning, and a result of that was only one of the beast’s falling, the latent static still affected those around it, slowing them down.

Draed, using the fact they were slower now, shot accurate arrows into their vitals. Hearts, eyes, throat; anywhere Draed could deal maximum damage possible, he hit it with ease.

“We need to push them back!” A man wearing a golden crown said from the side, he looked the part of a Lord. Eyes laser focused, back stood straight; he released the air of someone with pools of experience in a leading position. He spoke, loud and clear with no way to refute, “Exit the walls, flank them—and Kill!”

His troops roared at the command, at least twenty percent of them were human. The melee warriors rushed down the stairs of the battlements, heading to the large gates that lead to the outside. 

“Follow!” Hassan shouted to Owen. Already giving his word that he’d help, Owen listened.

Owen kept Lome with Gorath and Draed on the walls. He didn’t feel comfortable letting Gorath stay on his own.

Leaving the gates, Owen rounded the walls with the rest of the army to attack the serpents in direct combat. They clashed together. 

Owen found his target, but just as he was about to cleave it in half—he stopped himself. Gritting his teeth, Owen redirected his attack to slice the monster’s arm, resulting in the humanoid snake dropping its weapon. With a flick of his blade to the serpent's throat, the beast fell.

Justin was with him, and had no reservations about displaying his power in front of everyone else. Wherever the shade of darkness lingered, Justin used it to his advantage, summoning black lances from the earth and skewering any opponents that attacked him, or got near.

Taking a breath, Owen slowed himself down. Right now, he had the strength to cut his way through the large swaths of snakes like a hot knife through butter. But doing so would reveal that he was a lord. The Lord. The strength he had, only someone at the top of command could obtain that level of power right now. 

So, he fought with a power only a powerful troop should have. He even hid the fact that he had magic, sand magic. The less these people knew, the better.

Serpents were, on average, much stronger opponents than Sand Hounds. Not only that, but their clawed fingers were laced with potent poison. And that continued with their weapons, too. Even getting nicked with one of those was enough to cause death. If it didn’t, you’d wish you were.

But as Owen dodged a curved blade, and replied with an attack of his own, thrusting his sword into a serpent's chest, he was stuck in thought. The biggest counter to these beasts was heavy armour. Their venomous claws, fangs, and weapons had no effect if the attack was blocked. 

However, glancing around, hardly any of the warriors had durable enough armour. They wore leather or fur for the most part, hardly enough to endure the war they were currently subjected to. 

It didn’t make sense. Hassan had said they had been battling these monsters for weeks. That was enough Credits to afford everyone heavy armour, with plenty to spare. So, if the Lord wasn’t offering the people fighting in his war the armour needed to survive, then what the hell was he spending it all on? 

Neither was it a case of a lack of armour on the market. Owen had checked before. There was plenty of armour to buy, some even of higher quality. The only reason Owen hadn’t purchased any was because he had a Blacksmith of his own. It would only take time before he had his own, using the resources he had available. 

Besides, for him, it wasn’t a necessity as he had tall walls to fend the scarlet crabs from. This Lord had the same… so then why order a melee when they could whittle down their numbers from above?

All things led to ineptitude. 

The fight raged on for the better half of three hours. During that time, Owen made sure to hold back his killing power without making it obvious. It was easy to do. Not long ago, he always hesitated with taking a life, even if it was a bloodthirsty monster. He also still lacked sword experience. It was easy to revert back to it as a disguise. 

Maybe it was because he knew that he was strong, that he was able to enter a strange calm during the battle. He noticed things he usually wouldn’t in the dance of death; like their expressions, for one. They acted crazier than the descriptions he was used to in the book. They didn’t care about taking a hit to score one of their own. As a cautious race, it didn’t make sense.

And then there was the maddened glint within their eyes. They were dilated, enlargened, like they were intoxicated or… drugged.

For some reason, none of this was sitting well with him. From the niggling feeling of familiarity with Jonah, to the seemingly drugged up serpents that betrayed what he knew about them, to the inexperienced Lord above the walls. Something was wrong. He just had to find out what it was.

***

Owen finished taking the life of a serpent when he heard the sound of a horn; the noise of retreat. The serpents slithered back up the mountain pass to where Owen assumed would be their nest.

Glancing at the warriors, he noticed a lot of them were actually the humans—Lord candidates like Owen. But now they were pale faced and laced with venom. They rushed back, obviously expecting something.

The first thought on his mind was why did the majority of the human forces attack on foot, and why were the summoned units stationed safely atop the wall. Most of them also had melee weapons. Why didn’t they help?

Anti-venom? Owen thought further. But why would the Lord supply them with anti-venom, and not provide them with the proper protection. Not only would armour last far longer, it was a sound investment to the people who were protecting his land. Anti-venom was expensive. The ingredients were difficult to come by, and with a quick glance of the market, it was made apparent that handing out so much of it would be infeasible. 

So that meant they had an alchemist. 

I don’t like this, Owen thought. He just didn’t know if it was him being paranoid, or if his worries had merit. Whatever it was, the whole situation stunk.

As the others returned, Owen’s vision remained on the passage that led up to the expansive mountains. Although he couldn’t exactly recall the details within the book, he had a vague recollection that there was a mountain troll there. Ansel dealt with it much later, when he had to go through the canyon as a shortcut. But it was just one of the many—far to many—fights that took place. 

And it should still be there. It wasn’t a monster that the serpents could take on. How did they get past it? Just what is going on? 

“You look at that ridge any longer and you’ll burn a hole through it,” Justin joked.

Owen chuckled. “Just wondering where all those serpents have gone. They’ve battled for weeks. That’s a lot of deaths. A lot of bodies. Why do they attack in small scales, when they have the numbers to assault this castle and kill everyone in it?”

“I’m sensing it’s time for a little more walking.”

“Little bit of walking never killed anyone,” Owen said, smiling. He waved his hand up to Draed, signalling them to come down. He had questions to ask the Lord, but first, he’d find some on his own. 

He turned to Justin, “Do you feel something… off?”

“Like a stink that won’t go away?” Justin replied. 

Owen nodded. 

Justin glanced up at the walls. “A little,” he said, a grin emerging on his face. “Want me to do a little digging later on?”

“If you can. Don't get caught. And try to find a Gateway if you can. It may be hidden. Check for secret passages; a castle this old is bound to have its secrets,” Owen said, turning back to the ridge as Draed and the others arrived. “But for now, I want to see what’s going on up there.”