Chapter 53 Next Step After Failure
The place where they lived was so far away that they rarely touched each other.
Baldeem knew that the Elves were at war with humans from another world. The human from another world was the one who stole the key to the Fountain of Eternity.
He doesn't think of it as something worth taking into account. Even Baldeem was happy that the human race from another world had stolen the key.
But Baldeem doesn't know what happened. How could there be a human in the Elf palace and how did he have such power?
Question after question raced inside Baldeem's head along with his anger.
With a certain Magic, Baldeem can see firsthand how the secret attack process is through the eyes of his soldiers. He wanted to see how the soldiers entered the palace of the Elves and then destroyed the palace and killed the residents from the inside.
After that, the soldiers will turn off the Magic shield that protects the palace from the inside. The window of time they have is very limited so they have to do it quickly.
'They' even gave the safest location so they could enter the palace undetected. That is the garden at the back of the palace.
But Baldeem did not expect that in the garden there would be a human who caught them.
What surprised Baldeem, even more, was how a human could exert such power. Baldeem saw it through the eyes of his soldiers as the humans spit fire from his mouths and could overpower them easily.
"(He is no ordinary human.)" Baldeem gradually calmed down as he thought of that human. The image flashed through Baldeem's head like a nightmare.
"(Is that… A Dragon?)"
Baldeem subconsciously frowned as he thought. In his mind, he saw again how the human had red scales that his soldiers' weapons couldn't penetrate.
Suddenly one of his most loyal generals, Kraem, came to Baldeem. His face looked uneasy. He was as angry as he was, Baldeem knew it.
"('They' are coming again, my King,)" Kraem said. "('They' want to meet you,)"
Baldeem was very surprised. Not usually 'They' come and want to meet him in person. Usually 'They' just leave a message.
But now 'They' suddenly wanted to meet him in person. This must be something very important.
"(Where is 'They' now. Tell them to come in. Say I am willing to meet them,)"
"(There's no need for that,)" Suddenly in the room there was already a figure in a black robe.
There was no recognizable feature of the figure as his entire body was covered by a cloak.
There were no recognizable curves to indicate that she was a woman. There was no tall, sturdy figure or firm gesture that indicated that he was a man.
Their face was also covered with a black veil. Their voice was hard to identify. Feminine and masculine at the same time.
There wasn't any explanation that could answer other than the powerful Magic the figure had used to disguise itself.
Baldeem immediately controlled himself from the confusion as he had expected this. He had expected that 'They' wouldn't let anything show his identity.
Because most likely 'They' are traitors within the Elves. Otherwise, how would 'They' have known all those kinds of information?
Baldeem immediately told 'They' to sit on the chair. They are now sitting opposite a table.
Baldeem orders his generals to come out and orders everyone to stay away from his room until he finishes.
"(You came. Why?)" Baldeem asked.
"(I know your attack plan failed,)" 'They' said.
Baldeem clenched his jaw. "(Yes. A human. He caused that failure to happen.)"
'They' nodded. "(He's no ordinary human.)"
Baldeem frowned. "(What do you mean?)"
"(He has a mysterious power that can make him a Dragon)" 'They' said.
Baldeem's eyes widened. "(So it's true.)"
"(Yes, what you see is a Dragonborn. A race that has the power of a Dragon in their bodies. They can transform into Dragons or other hybrid forms.)"
"(Shouldn't they have been wiped out?)" Baldeem asked.
"(Yes. They perished hundreds of thousands of years ago in our world. But the humans came from another world.)"
Baldeem's brow furrowed. "(You mean the world that the Elves fought to find back the key to the Fountain of Eternity? But I heard that there is no Magic in that world.)"
"(That's true. But somehow he managed to get that power.)"
Baldeem was silent for a while. Pondering the information provided by the figure in front of him.
A human from a world without Magic can become a Dragonborn. It was a strange phenomenon that was too difficult for even beings in a Magic-filled world to explain.
But that made Baldeem's question even longer. Why did 'They' tell him all this?
"(Why are you telling me this?)" So Baldeem asked.
"(We have to deal with him before we can attack the Elves,)" 'They' said.
"(Not really. Aerchon is away. If I could get time to enter the palace again, I would be able to. That human just happened to be in that garden. He wouldn't have had that coincidence twice,)" Baldeem argues.
"(Then how did you get into the palace without my help?)" 'They' said.
Baldeem unknowingly clenched his fist. But a moment later his fist unraveled. He knew that 'They' was right. He had to obey them if he wanted to enter the palace again because only 'They' could do that.
"(But how? You see that human can overpower my soldier?)" Baldeem said in an annoyed tone.
Then Baldeem felt that he saw a smirk behind the black veil. Not something he could easily explain. But Baldeem senses that this figure in front of him is smirking.
"(He has friends,)" 'They' said.
After hearing that Baldeem knew what 'They' meant and where this conversation was going.
"(You want to kill his friends first?)" Baldeem asked.
"(No. Not killing. There's no meaning in killing them. But that Dragonborn is very close to his two friends. We have to get him to tell the secret of his power, or give up his power.)"
Baldeem nodded in understanding. "(You want me to capture his friends and use them as hostages?)"
'They' nodded slowly. "(Yes. I'll give you an order when the opportunity comes. Just prepare yourself.)"
Baldeem feels humiliated. He was a King but this figure in front of him ordered him like a subordinate. But he knew the only way to fulfill his goal was to obey this figure.
"(All right,)" Baldeem said.
'They' stood up then without saying anything he turned into black smoke.
The black smoke then disappeared before Baldeem. As soon as 'They' disappeared Baldeem immediately turned the table in front of him.
A loud crash was heard and then Baldeem's scream was followed. He vented all his anger after feeling humiliated by that damn black-robed figure.
~~~
The next day has come. Erend expected an attack from the Daemon of Calamity to come but nothing happened.
"When are we going back to the Republic?" Billy asked Lt.Boartusk. He as the leader was the only one among them who made the decisions for such a big thing.
Lt.Boartusk looked silent in thought. "I don't know. It all depends on the Elves."
"Why become dependent on the Elf?" Billy looked confused.
"We're going back to the Republic with the Elves who want to retrieve the key," Lt.Boartusk replied.
"Ah!" Billy finally understood. "Then when will they do it?"
Lt.Boartusk look at Billy them sighed as if tired. "I told you I don't know."
Billy who saw Lt.Boartusk's eyes smiled stupidly.
"I think we will do it in seven days. When Aerchon comes back," Erend said.
Billy exhaled tiredly because he knew what Erend said was true. Everything that happened was orders and decisions from Aerchon. Even a foolish decision to attack a human in another world that cost them a lot.
"But don't you find it strange?" Billy said. "The King of the elves chose to leave the palace and prefer to be with his wife. Which is already dead."
Erend snorted. "The King is indeed irresponsible."
"You're right. He's become a sad Elf widower and shied away from his duties." Lt. Boartusk who usually withdrew from mocking the Elves also made a scathing comment.
"Maybe he really loves his wife," Erend said. "But he's a King. Doesn't he regret handing over the throne to Aerchon after learning what decision his son made?"
They hurled taunts at the King of the Elves for a few more minutes before Erend said to go to do the Daily Quest.
Erend opened the Portal. Billy and Lt.Boartusk are no longer surprised and just think what Erend is doing is a normal daily activity.
~~~