10 The Baron Rio Arson (1/2)
Baron Rio Arson was a tough man. Submitting to the Thornfield family and putting aside his pride was probably the best thing he did in his life. Paying a few taxes, and providing this mysterious family with gifted youths was enough to earn their praise. As time pa.s.sed, he earned the family's trust, and gained support as well: breathing technique, swordsmans.h.i.+p…even an enchanted item!
In exchange, he became more and more loyal to what seemed to be a bottomless pit of treasures. Rio Arson grew stronger over time, and eventually broke through the veteran knight realm, even though his mentor had made it clear that with his talent, becoming a novice knight was the extent of what he could possibly achieve, even with the guidance of the greatest Grand Knight of all times.
Hard work paid off. Of course, his case was a successful one among thousands. Anyway, war had begun, and his training would now become of use. Thieves, bandits, and criminals weren't worthy of his skills and strength. He was known as Rio, the Bonecrusher, because he had the perverse habit of crus.h.i.+ng the bones of his enemies while fighting. Scenes of him fighting were always brutal, and it earned him respect along with fear in his territory. Among all territories affiliated with the Thornfield family, no lord had such a barbaric and overwhelming authority over its subjects.
When Drodosis arrived, after four days of travel, he was quite surprised. The streets were clean, and there were no criminals or rude acts to be seen. People seemed happy, albeit quite fearful. After asking around, Drodosis realized who Rio Arson was, and what his ident.i.ty entailed.
The streets lacked the vulgarity of commoners, and the dirt of panhandlers. Soldiers were patrolling at unusual high frequency, in small teams of three or four. From times to times, Drodosis would spot a knight here and there, looking for suspicious individuals. They were armed to teeth, and ready to defend against any kind of attack.
On the walls of Glory City, there were four long spikes, which had impaled four criminals. The inscriptions: ”The evil shall be punished”, were marked in a golden colour, making the whole scene look like holy yet h.e.l.lish at the same time. After careful observation, these four criminals seemed to be alive, and each breathe they took seemed to cause huge amount of pain.
”What a barbarian!”, one of Drodosis' acolyte bodyguard said. The latter was called Ofaris, a strong, honest and straightforward man, driven by an unshakable loyalty to the Thornfield family, and this sight of criminals agonizing made him nauseous.
”Don't say that…look at the result. People are happy in the city and they are really helping each other. There are no gangs, no thieves. The streets are safe. Adults work in daylight, and can enjoy themselves during nights. Their children can play and wander aimlessly in the city safely. Few people starve…and that's mainly because the baron made sure everything goes as planned, eliminating the inconveniences with brute force. His management skills are second to none. It might not be the gentlest way, and definitely not morally right, but you got to admit that these citizens aren't starving, and many are probably happier under his lords.h.i.+p.!”
Hearing these words, the four acolytes remembered their childhood. Their parents abandoned them because they couldn't afford to nourish one more mouth, because they died in a bandit raid, or because famines had made children too expansive to raise. If only a lord like Baron Rio existed, then there would have been no famine to begin with, and they wouldn't have been abandoned…Drodosis was right, they knew it. He always was…
The more Drodosis absorbed knowledge, the more intelligent he became. In fact, he became so knowledgeable that it was hard to find anyone capable of holding a proper conversation with him. No matter what the subject was, Drodosis had studied it meticulously, under the guidance of his biochip, and his path of erudition was only beginning, as he always followed his biochip's morning lessons.
In the past 4 days, Drodosis also grew accustomed to the presence of his four bodyguards.
Ofaris was a big barbaric-like man, almost two meters' tall, with a build similar to bodybuilders back on Earth. However, although his physique was impressive, he didn't train as a body refinement acolyte, instead choosing the conventional water element mastery path, highly recommended by Elder Gale. His affinity was quite high as well, even better than Drodosis', and he had focused his studies on only two spells, despite being on the verge of becoming an intermediate acolyte, with his 8 points of spirit: Ice Arrow and nova.
Drodosis knew these two spells. In his quick stay at the Water fortress, he made sure to scan most of the spells he could find, including Ice Arrow and nova, as well as 36 other water-elemental spells. However, learning a spell was time consuming, or costly in term of evolution points. Drodosis was lacking both at the moment.
Maria was a silver-haired beauty, whose face was always hidden under the dark hood of the family's uniform. Her eyes were dark, and her body quite enticing. She was a support acolyte, specifically groomed by the family. Unlike the Ivory tower, where 90% of the acolytes were well-rounded, both in defence and offence, adept families made sure to groom a few support acolyte. Some would focus on healing, others in arrays, crafts or alchemy. They weren't strong in fights, but really useful in wars.
Maria had mastered two spells: Tracking, and Minor divination. She had the rare fate affinity, enabling her to catch a glimpse into the vast and mysterious river of fate. If she became an adept, she might see what would happen in the future, thus becoming a prophet. However, with her weak 6 points of spirit, getting an unclear answer to her questions or a sixth sense which could be used to guess whether she was in danger or not was the extent of her abilities. Her tracking spell, in comparison, was much more useful, as it could be used from kilometres around.
The two other bodyguards were Rolf and Jon, two twin brothers, both 16-years-old. The two of them had similar talent, and average water element affinities, which was the bare requirement to be taught by Elder Gale. They studied very hard to master three spells: Water Grasp, Ice Spike and Ice barrier. Rolf possessed 8 points of spirit, while his brother was a little bit weaker, with only 6 points of spirit.
Their group of 5 was quite balanced. Their offensive power was great, and they could even track down their enemies. Coupled with their magical beasts, they were similar to a balanced a.s.sa.s.sin squad!
Drodosis went directly to the castle. A butler opened the gate for him when he showed the Thornfield family badge, and they were escorted by three knights, who didn't say a word.
”This is as far as I can guide you, honourable sir”, the butler said apologetically.
”I understand”, Drodosis answered. Seconds later, he opened the door which would lead him to the Lord's strategy room while ordering his companions to stay put, ”feed the beasts, and take a look at our surroundings. Make sure not to cause any commotions. If you have any issue, show your badges and call me only if it's an urgency.”
When Drodosis entered, he saw the Baron Rio Arson sitting on a throne. In front of him, there were a few dozen knights, most of them being novice knights. However, their scars and age gave them a fearsome appearance, one which would make anyone gasp in surprise.
Drodosis didn't blink the eye though. The cold stare and narrowing eyes from baron Rio Arson didn't escape Drodosis' sight, even though it only lasted for a few seconds. Did he do anything do anger him? The respect Drodosis had for this n.o.bleman vanished in a second.
”Hi, I am here to report to Baron Rio Arson. I am Drodosis Thornfield, and I am here as a representative tasked to help you win the conflict with the Gloom and Chase Families. I hope we will be able to cooperate”, Drodosis said in a voice void of emotions. The military discipline was still fresh from his harsh education in his childhood.
”Hi, Drodosis. I am sorry we didn't prepare a banquet to celebrate your arrival as we didn't expect you so soon. How about we plan one for tomorrow night?”, Baron Rio said in a courteous voice.
Drodosis couldn't believe his ears. Did this n.o.bleman really think he had come here to eat and find women to pa.s.s time? First he looked at him as if he wanted to fight, and then, he wanted to drag him out of this room! This was too much. The baron had overstepped the his boundaries.
”It won't be necessary. I demand a quick summary of the situation”, he said coldly.
”Right away, sir acolyte. The ceasefire with the Chase and Gloom families expired a few months ago, and spies reported suspicious individuals in the neighbouring territories. They purchased huge number of weapons, and hired mercenaries. I am afraid that they have already begun to march towards our barony”, an old man said. He only had one arm left, but he was one of the only veteran knights in the room. Drodosis didn't dare underestimate his status, much less his words.
”Is this the map of the region?”, Drodosis asked
”Yes, sir”, the baron answered.
Somehow, there was a lot of tension in the room. Maybe it was because they didn't believe that a mere 13-years-old kid had his place in this room, or because they felt angered at the family they worked their a.s.s for, and rewarded them with…a kid! The baron's att.i.tude was the most hateful, so unfaithful to the conventional etiquette that Drodosis found it suspicious, but dismissed this idea for while.
”Alright…So this is the famous Hawk Mountain Range, huh. Bringing their armies into our territories through the mountain range should take around two weeks, right? Do you have any proof that they started to march towards the barony?”
”Yes, sir acolyte. More than a thousand soldiers vanished in one night, along with the few acolyte descendants they had summoned back from various academies. It was 5 days ago.”
”Mm, interesting. Marching towards us…knowing we have spies. This is really interesting. They must be confident in their skills, as if your territory is only a stepping stone in their eyes”, Drodosis said scornfully.
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”This is enough! I won't stand here, watching a kid disrespect our beloved lord with…”, a hot-tempered novice knight said what he had to say, but the baron himself cut him short.
”SHUT UP! Adrien, apologise right now!”
”…but”, the knight Adrien Arson said. He was actually the baron's nephew.
”Right now!”
”Sorry for interrupting you, sir”, the knight finally said.