When they finally set out on a campaign, everyone perked up for a long time looking forward to this event. The horses proudly walked, carrying riders, and Nel moved especially briskly, delighted with the long-awaited meeting with the owner.Their small detachment moved slowly through the streets of the capital, led by Claude and Leatrice, slightly protruding forward. Then there were Caer with Daisyra and a girl they did not know, the envoy of the emperor. In general, it was a strange person who avoided Claude and Daisy, and now and then throwing frightened, wary glances in their direction. She looked no more than twenty-two years old, but Claude could have been mistaken, since the woman was very petite, and the huge glasses that covered half of her face, because of the wide rim, which big blue eyes looked out, only knocked down. Thick blond hair fell in a thick braid on her back, and even the taken ones reached her waist. She was dressed in a simple way, in a field jacket and trousers
- We'd love to meet you. The man chuckled sarcastically as he stirred the fire. The hood was lowered, revealing his cat eyes to everyone present.Are you all nonhumans? Ayana suddenly decided on the question, not taking her frightened gaze off Claude's face.- Not at all. Rolk and Kaer, ordinary people.- But why? ... - she did not have time to finish her thought, interrupted by Caer.- We are friends! - the guy shouted, indignant at such a division and not yet accustomed to this side of life. To which the girl only threw a strange indescribable look at him, clearly remaining unconvinced.“Now that we are more or less familiar, Leatrice, can you tell me where we are heading and why exactly?”“You don't need to know that.- If I ask, then it is necessary. I have to imagine what we are looking for and where, in order to understand what danger may await us.To which Leata thoughtfully turned the blade of grass and threw it into the fire, looked at Claude.“We are heading to the south of
- We must hurry! the woman stubbornly stubbornly almost fell out of the saddle herself. No matter how hardy they were, but such a pace was difficult for everyone, and especially for Ayana and Daisyra. Fairly lagging behind, but silently following.Claude did not know how long they would still ride at such a pace, as if all the demons of this world were chasing after them, when suddenly Ayana's horse, having stumbled on the next stone, began to slowly fall to the ground. He saw how desperately the girl clutched at the reins, trying to keep from falling and help her stand on her feet, but how could she compete with a strong animal. The horse suddenly jerked sharply, throwing the rider out of the saddle, and disappeared into the steppe. Stunned, not expecting this from her steed, the woman looked around dumbfounded, clutching her bruised side and barely holding back her tears, looking after the departing detachment.- Leata stop! - Unable to stand the mercenary shouted, sharply turning a
- You have to dig here. he said softly and leaned over the pile.The ground was soft, wet and heavy. It was easy to rake it, but constantly dipping your hands into its insides was not very pleasant. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted how two small hands joined nearby, but said nothing. The anger that arose in the first minutes of their fall did not go anywhere, demanding an exit. But he knew that if he fell for her, it would only get worse. She will either run away or shut up. "And why is she so afraid of nonhumans?!"Things went smoothly, the mound of land became smaller and smaller, dividing into two of its fellows, and the one that belonged to Claude grew twice as fast. The bite wound hurt, but he paid no attention to this, continuing to dig deeper and deeper into the ground, so that it began to seem that he would soon dig a tunnel himself no worse than the local krous. He didn't know how long they'd dug like this when his fingers suddenly found the fabric. Grasping the discove
Not though they got up from the ground and went on. Again they were surrounded by tunnels, tunnels, tunnels, pressing down on them with their tightness and darkness. Sometimes roots seeped through the earthen walls, making it clear that they were no longer far from the surface. It pleased, but not really. They never found a way out, but the chance to meet a krous on the contrary has greatly increased. However, Claude did not lose hope to miss him. After all, it was clearly clear that this part of the underground labyrinth was older, and it is possible that the owner no longer visits it.All this time, Ayana thoughtlessly wearily trudged behind, barely moving her legs and invariably lagging behind. Why did he even have to grab her by the hand, dragging her along with him. Why did she nervously twitch, but did not take her hand away. It was easier to walk that way. However, Claude understood that even this would not help them and they would have to stop for the night, and there was almo
- There's nowhere else to go! Ayana voiced the obvious, but Claude didn't answer, he needed to focus on the upcoming fight.“Ayana, you will stay here with your things. Use the bag as a shield if the monster passes through me. However, if possible, try to stay as far away as possible. I'll step forward a little and take the fight."He will kill you!""I'm not that easy to kill!" - the mercenary grinned at her words, throwing off the bag."Shut up and don't scream!"With these words, he went towards the monster rushing towards them. I didn’t have to go far, the patter of paws was already clearly felt, from the severity of which the soil vibrated under my feet. Freezing, Claude tightened his grip on the sword and prepared to attack, the main thing is not to miss the moment. The place he chose was not a good one, but here the tunnel turned sideways. So it turned out that he was in ambush, not visible to the enemy. It's just that the crus does not need to be seen. Now they both relied on
- There's nowhere else to go! Ayana voiced the obvious, but Claude didn't answer, he needed to focus on the upcoming fight.“Ayana, you will stay here with your things. Use the bag as a shield if the monster passes through me. However, if possible, try to stay as far away as possible. I'll step forward a little and take the fight."He will kill you!""I'm not that easy to kill!" - the mercenary grinned at her words, throwing off the bag."Shut up and don't scream!"With these words, he went towards the monster rushing towards them. I didn’t have to go far, the patter of paws was already clearly felt, from the severity of which the soil vibrated under my feet. Freezing, Claude tightened his grip on the sword and prepared to attack, the main thing is not to miss the moment. The place he chose was not a good one, but here the tunnel turned sideways. So it turned out that he was in ambush, not visible to the enemy. It's just that the crus does not need to be seen. Now they both relied on
- Eat. Let's take a break and move on. I'm not sure, but we'll be on the surface soon. - After thinking, the guy said, it was somehow very awkward to be silent. At these words, Ayana only slightly nodded."Well, okay!" - the mercenary disowned the closed companion and, having finished his portion, went to bed. He has been tired for the past day. Yes, and this meeting with Crows also exhausted him pretty much.The dream flew by quickly and imperceptibly, it seemed that he just closed his eyes and it was time to get up. Grunting and groaning, his muscles numb from the uncomfortable posture, he got up. Aiyana didn't look much better either. "I can imagine what we'll be like when we get to the surface!" the guy mentally chuckled, observing the grubby face of his companion in no less clean clothes.Already habitually holding hands, they again plunged into the maze of transitions, but now their wandering was no longer so unsystematic. Focusing on refreshing notes, Claude invariably followed
The Rancia empire prospered. Those terrible times when the Ransians fearfully expected the birth of their own children are far behind. With the accession to the throne of the new emperor Claude re Tigras the First and Empress Daisyre re Tigras, the people stopped living in fear and excitement. Now every Ransian, human or not, had the same right to life and happiness. The persecution of non-humans stopped, because the ruling family also did not belong to the human race, mixed marriages began to appear more often, and cities grew. Life became calmer, now the imperials were not afraid to travel between cities, risking being in the mouth of some monster. All creatures, of course, did not disappear, but as a result of a number of innovations introduced by Claude from the experience of his mercenary life, they greatly facilitate the fight against these creatures, forced them to go away from human habitation or hide deep in their holes. Man again became the dominant race on the planet, and e
- Oh, those boys. Alita purred as she slid off her man's lap and sat down on Claude's bed. “In general, sweetheart, when we burst into the hall, we only made it to the finale, when you, with completely wild eyes, rushed towards the door until you stretched out on the floor, not having reached us a few steps. And then Alexander quickly stepped forward, ordering that you be lifted and taken to the imperial chambers and called for a doctor, and then he explained to everyone present that according to some ancient law, I don’t know where he dug it up, you become the next emperor, taking the place of the deposed you ruler. We didn't even believe what we heard. You are Claude and the emperor. It sounded kind of unbelievable. And to be honest, they also managed to catch this cold, so they thought it was the result of a fever. But as it turned out, no, they heard right and you were really glorified as the future emperor. He cleverly organized everything here. So even the few dissatisfied witne
- Infections... It's people like me that you call an infection?- Yes. To be honest, I even liked you a little, not often non-humans managed to hide from my eye for so long, and your stupid principles ... naive, frankly childish, but noble, made me smile. However, the fact that you are a monster cannot be changed and you have no other destiny than to die.“It’s like seeing which one of us is a monster.— Ha! Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?“Appearance says nothing about a person. Yes, my eyes and ears are different from human, but there is much less blood on my hands than on yours.- What are you talking about. Turn around. All these people could live if not for you.“My fault for their death is no less than the one who set them on me. At least I was only defending myself, not sending them to their deaths.They died because they were doing their duty.Or because they were left with no choice.This conversation did not lead them anywhere, without bringing clarity or sat
And now only three of them remained, the horses carried the tired mercenaries forward, whipping dust into the air and crumbling the age-old stone into the sand. Two hot streams of steam escaped the air from the wide, nervously quivering nostrils of the driven horses. No one believed that they would catch up with the warrior, only hoping that the emperor would not realize his terrifying plan immediately upon the arrival of his assistant. On the horizon in front of them rose the towers of San Pen, brightening up the dull landscape with each kilometer growing higher and higher, delighting and frightening at the same time. Claude did not know what awaited them in the capital, for the first time he did not have at least some slightly thought-out plan, only one desire to be in time, not to be late, to stop. Inside, everything was shrinking from a bad premonition, but the guy drove away uninvited thoughts. You should never take on a job with a gloomy attitude to its failure, otherwise, every
Leata's voice broke through her rage-clouded consciousness. "Finally!" the guy exhaled, looking at the best thing to do in order to retreat without consequences for his health and life. It was not far to go, the creatures had already almost pressed him to the failure, from which the mercenary was separated by several steps, he needed only a couple of three seconds to get the coveted vial and jump over to the other side. Taking a step back, he seized the sword more comfortably and threw the dagger at the creature closest to him, slashing the blade across the entire expanse available to him and forcing the creatures to retreat a couple of steps. Here are his seconds. Rushing back, he removed the blade with one hand, and with the other he felt for the coveted cork. Which is specially marked so as not to be confused with others. The previous experience of using this remedy in the battle with sectroses taught him decently, but there was no time to sip drop by drop. Let it be what will be.
Aiyana, hurry up. Something is not happening.- One more second. Here it is! - the girl purred enthusiastically, pressing the lever near the capsule, and completely not noticing what was happening around.- We have no time. It's time to go.- Not! Until I find it, I won't leave.- Crap! Is it worth your life?- Yes!Discouraged by the answer, the mercenary fell silent for a few seconds. That's devotion! She could be admired if he and his comrades of life did not depend on her.Tell me what to look for! - finally, unable to stand it, he grunted, finally entering the room and feeling the cold enveloping from all sides.- You don't know the language.But I can see. I'll find it by sight. Show me or we'll all stay here.She did not argue further, obediently showing what symbols she had to find. There were few of them, at most four, of which one was a letter, and the rest resembled modern numbers. It was not even a name, but rather a code. He moved along the nearest shelving unit, running
At Leata's remark, Claude only shook his head, as they approached the ruins, Leatrice became more and more irritable and angry. He did not know what was eating her, most likely she was also afraid. After a quick bite, they hit the road. The sounds that accompanied their breakfast didn't help their appetite, and neither did their conversation. In anticipation of a meeting with the owners of these voices, people unanimously grew gloomy, but walked, carefully looking around. It gradually began to get light around, mischievous rays gently ran across the grass, reflected in drops of dew, flashed on people's weapons, playfully looking into their eyes and blossomed with a gloomy rainbow, reflected from the surface of the lake. The one that Leata called the "Lake of the Dead". For what it received such a name, no one knew, but the assumptions were different. Maybe the ancients drowned their dead in it, or maybe this is due to some mysterious story, since the lake was no different from its cou
- What the hell! cried Claude with a loud splash as he went under the water. The turbulent river picked up its prey with the joy of a small child who discovered in his power a toy he had long desired. The big man was twisted and twisted, sometimes hitting the side of the shell. Water clogged in his mouth, nose, forcing him to spit, smearing haze before his eyes. You can't give up! Claude remembered that he was not alone in the water, but he did not have time to really see the creature that had so cleverly discounted him. However, this did not give a reason to underestimate her. Ripping up the water with powerful strokes, he forced himself to swim up. Thank the Gods, he did not have time to take aside. The shell, like a native, clung to him, dragging him along, trying in vain to pull him under him. The body already almost did not obey him, bound by a terrible cold. Pushing off from the surface of the water, Claude desperately jumped up in an unsuccessful attempt to grab the edge, feeli
— Falcon. Daisyra prompted, following his gaze. For her, this distance was not a problem. - Beautiful.- Yes. And lonely.- How are you!- What did you get?“This is how we met you in that tavern.- When it was. Seems like another life.- Yes. And I'm glad we met.- And I.They had a strange conversation, they seemed to be talking and at the same time not. Pictures of their meeting floated before his eyes, taken apart by the words of the girl, and seeing himself, he looked and did not recognize. Now he was no longer the same person. Claude has changed. Becoming somehow something ... more integral, but still in his chest did not want to melt a tight lump that appeared there in childhood, as if not allowing him to free himself from the cage created by himself.- For me, he is not alone, but strong. Rolk muttered thoughtfully.— Who are you talking about? Caer joined in, also following his eyes sparkling in the rays of the sun, following the bird circling above them.- About both.“We wi