Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (26 page)

“In-n-deed. Quite a few have stated their desire to join. I advised Isabelle to refuse them-m for now. Until they finish up their current contracts, we won’t be hiring them.” Nadine stood at his elbow, peering at the map in front of him.

“Very good. Thanks, Rabbit. Wouldn’t want to start dating someone who is cheating on another to be with you. Poor manners and a terrible precedent,” Runner said. Scratching at his cheek, he tilted his head.

Until I know where they’re set up, this is pointless. I can only run through these so many times.

As if fate were reading his mind, a man dressed in messenger colors rushed through the entryway of the tent.

“Report,” commanded Runner, pinning the man with his eyes alone.

“Ah, uh,” the man said intelligently.

Runner smiled and made a “please continue” type of gesture with his right hand.

“Oh! Lord Runner, the scouts report they’ve found the enemy army. They’re encircled around Kastell and are preparing for the siege,” the messenger stated, smiling.

“And?” Runner prompted.

“And?”

“Yes. And. And did they make contact? Were they spotted? Did they exit without being noticed?”

“Yes!”

“Yes, what?”

“No.”

Sighing, Runner held up his left hand with the index finger upraised. He face-palmed with his right hand.

“Did they engage the enemy?”

“No.”

“Were they spotted?”

“No.”

“The enemy, as far as we can tell, is unaware of us?”

“Yes.”

“Did they notice any scouts or a screening force?”

“No. They looked like they were in the reserves.”

“Excellent. C’mere.” Runner visibly regained his composure and motioned the man over. Dropping a handful of tokens representing the enemy into the messenger’s hand, he gestured at the map. “Please mark the enemy locations as they were last known.”

The messenger ducked his head and bent over the map. Catching sight of Isabelle on the other side of the man, Runner rolled his eyes.

Isabelle merely stared back at him.

Maybe she finally realizes how silly she sounds constantly calling him a lord?

Not likely.

Standing upright, the man nodded at Runner.

“There they are, my lord.”

“Fantastic. Go get some breakfast and return to duty.” Runner dismissed the man and looked to the pieces.

They were arranged in an circle around the city. Grinning, Runner couldn’t help but shake his head.

Kastell would come under siege this day. In preparation for that attack the Human general had recalled their vanguard. They didn’t seem to expect anyone to come from the direction of Highpass Crossing.

He’d been given two things: mission-critical information and the element of surprise. Like a gift. All wrapped up in a pretty bow.

“There it is then. We hit their supply depot as hard as we can. Take nothing and burn it all to the ground. Right as they move to assault the city,” Runner supplied.

Moving his pieces into position, he lined his forces accordingly. They’d keep their back to Highpass in case they needed an exit. Using the terrain to their advantage, they would set their forces on a ridgeline.

Hit hard, burn all the supplies, retreat as soon as they move to engage us.

Gesturing to the map again, he indicated the far right flank of the encirclement.

“On our retreat we have our mounted forces do a flanking attack on this side.” He tapped the south-east corner of the castle. “One pass only and then exit. Between these two actions it’ll be enough to break the momentum of the attack.”

“I’ll prepare the orders, my lord,” Isabelle said with a renewed fanaticism in her eyes. She slammed her fist to her chest, then turned and bolted out the door.

“Really wish she’d get over that,” Runner muttered. He’d have to be bold here. So far this was a delaying tactic, nothing more.

Moving his mounted soldiers to the wings of his formation on the board, he toyed with a few ideas. Trying to think several steps ahead was the best way to create your own advantages.

“What, the pure Elf m-maiden’s infatuation with a lord? Not likely. She sees you as a dem-m-mi-god, at the very least,” Nadine replied.

“Fool.” Runner grimaced, his fingers sliding his cavalry over into a gully.

If I can get them over here before the enemy reforms…

“We all see you as more than-n you do yourself, Runner.”

“Fools, the lot of you,” Runner muttered. In his head he planned on having the supply division mount up and stand in place as if they were the mounted troops.

People believe what they want to believe. If the enemy commander believes my cavalry is visible, he’ll hopefully not look for them too hard.

His chin was yanked aside and he found himself looking into Nadine’s green eyes.

She released his jaw as quickly as she had pulled on it.

“You will n-not say that again. Ever. Think about it. To Katarina, you gave her a direction, an identity, and self-worth. To Hannah, redemption, an ally, and trust. Thana gained a patron, an equal, and an opportunity to be herself. For myself, you saved me from death’s door, you’ve never seen me as anything less than what I want, if not more. Isabelle has seen all this and more, and you mock her. You will n-not do so again or so help me…” Nadine snapped off the last words with a growl.

Runner processed all that. Then he slowly smiled. A chuckle escaped his lips.

She isn’t wrong.

Runner felt like laughing at that. He had been pressing Srit towards sentience from the first moment he realized he needed her on his side. The best way to do that was enabling her to throw off her masters. He doubted she’d agree if she knew that.

“As you will it, Rabbit. I shall not mock her again. My word on it.”

“Good. N-now, have you eaten?”

Roughly two hours and a forced breakfast later, his forces were in position.

His artillery battery was arrayed at the crest of the ridge. They were facing the opposing hill, which would give them plenty of time to fire into the ranks as they raced to the other side.

Next came his ranged classes. They were set up lower than the SO team but at a location that would give them a perfect arc to the space between the two hills.

Runner had given them instructions to fire at a forty-five-degree arc and believed that their missiles would go beyond their expected range. All had accepted his word as law and believed it.

Below his ranged forces was the infantry. They lined the point where the ascent became the most severe. Every mount that could be found had been put under someone from support. Every wagon had been deprived of its horse team.

These soldiers were scarecrows at best and were held in the reserve position. They’d look like cavalry though. His vanguard forces and actual cavalry weren’t here.

He’d sent them off on their mission as soon as it was apparent that the siege would be commencing shortly.

Accompanying them as command officers went both Katarina and Hannah. Katarina would remain with the vanguard force. Hannah would depart with the cavalry to a separate location to await orders.

Hopefully the cavalry would be overlooked and the ruse believed. It would give him a trump card to use at his discretion. An impossibly strong flank attack that might even be able to be launched at the general himself.

He had given Katarina last-minute instructions to try and hold as long as possible to hopefully draw some of the forces along behind them. Into Runner’s waiting arms.

Character boxes in his raid window began flashing as combat was joined. They were too far out to hear anything.

“They’ve started,” Runner said.

“Oh? Indeed. So they have,” Thana replied. She stood at his side, her staff held loosely in one arm as she surveyed the countryside.

“My lord, you can tell?”

Runner frowned and looked to Isabelle. He nearly made a comment but saw Nadine a foot beyond Isabelle. Swallowing the rebuke, he managed a partial smile.

“Think ‘raid window’ in your head. It’ll pull up the relevant information. Everyone has a flashing border around their names. This means they’re in combat. Therefore we can conclude they’ve attacked the supply depot. Which also means that the enemy forces have engaged the capital.”

“Ah. Thank you for explaining, my lord.”

“Please, Belle. Please, just call me Runner. If nothing else, I would love to hear my name spoken from your lips,” Runner pleaded. Turning his head, he caught the eyes of his SO team commander and nodded at the man.

“Load!” shouted the man. Forty breeches opened and closed as the cannons were armed.

“Such lovely sentiments, dear heart,” Thana purred at him softly.

“More flies with honey, my lady. I really am tired of her calling me that but I promised Rabbit I’d be nice,” Runner whispered back at her.

“Where’s my honey then?”

Runner coughed and looked around. No one seemed to be listening.

“Whenever, wherever, beloved chancellor. Now tease me no more—it’s go time.”

Thana harrumphed softly but didn’t appear to actually be angry. If anything she looked pleased.

It was only an excuse of course. There was no immediate need. Time would pass as the plan carried itself along.

Runner found himself staring at the map as he watched the dots for Katarina and Hannah separate from each other on their way out. Hannah and the cavalry hit the flank and then wheeled away. Katarina and company were making a beeline back for the main force.

Runner held up his left hand above his head. Any and all noise died away around him as everyone took this as a ready signal. Up to this point they had suffered no losses, and he was keen to keep that number at zero.

Run on, Runner.

Over the opposing hill’s crest came his vanguard. They came in a rough formation, but a formation nonetheless. He felt pride in their movements; they trusted his plan to keep them safe.

Runner spotted Katarina in the press of bodies. She kept at the rear of the pack, herding them onwards, glorious in her armor, her longs legs pushing her onwards.

He felt his heart catch at the sight of her. If anything went wrong, she’d be the one to pay the price first.

They hadn’t even reached the bottom of the hill when mounted soldiers came flowing over the horizon. Runner wanted to drop his hand to let death fly, but he had to hold it.

They needed more enemies to come over the top. He needed to inflict the maximum number of casualties here to soften up future fights. He also could only afford one salvo. It wouldn’t do to reveal the reload rate.

Katarina could hold her own if it came down to it. Right?

I hope so.

Feeling like the time was right, that more than what had already crossed over would overwhelm his vanguard and infantry, he dropped his hand.

Cannons thumped, spells arced out, arrows flew, and death came. Literally.

Ernsta came down from above on her horse. She coasted by, high above the smoke, fire, lightning, ice, and other various spells going off in the midst of shrieking horses and soldiers.

Runner would have laughed at the theatrics of the situation if he didn’t know it was for his and her benefit.

Terribly cliche though.

As she sailed over the maelstrom of fire, ice, and explosions, a stream of souls chased after her. They could only be souls as they looked like translucent human bodies. Wraiths that wiggled and twisted in the wind as they sped along behind her.

Then she was gone. As the smoke dissipated and cleared the field, all that remained were corpses. Every soldier on the far side of the artillery strike had already fled. Those who had already passed beyond the impact point had promptly stopped dead and watched.

Katarina had turned the entire vanguard force around and renewed the attack on them while they were distracted. The sergeant he’d Awakened led the force, screaming wordlessly at them as he engaged.

Thrusting out his hand, Runner called out.

“Healers and ranged squads forward, support the vanguard!” Runner thundered.

Every member from the groups he called sprinted forward.

“Belle, targets of opportunity. Go,” he said, swatting her on the backside. She jumped at the impact of his hand and then sprinted forward into the fray. Runner leaned towards Thana and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“My lady, please prepare a contingent to speak with our Barbarian friends. Whoever you think would be helpful in a delegation. I trust you completely in your choices. No idea on timeline—assume in the next two days,” he said.

“Already done. I’ll send you the list later. I also have your wardrobe set aside. Don’t argue. You’ll wear what I want and like it,” Thana replied, patting him firmly on the ass.

She’d obviously noticed his cavalier dismissal of Isabelle and felt he should be put in place. He hadn’t intended anything by it, but it didn’t excuse the action.