62 Chapter 62 (1/2)

The chaotic battle continued to rage on as Kers and Inik stood up in their new undead forms. The goblins, hobgoblins, and vosk sat aboard the Abery ships with little to do yet Aerwyn was happy with this outcome. It meant that his worries were for naught and Earl Abery's words had swayed the men as not a single one tried to escape despite bearing witness to such a slaughter.

Aerwyn wasn't sure how the Earl had convinced them but it was clear that his men trusted him immensely. When Aerwyn inevitably sent him back to his territory he should be able to sway his subjects to Aerwyn's side should the need arise. It was important because the Abery territory was one of the two gateways into the world of Alduun from the forsaken lands according to Pontus. Now that he controlled the lord of one it opened up endless possibilities, the most important being information and trade.

As of now he didn't have much in the way of resources outside of the revarium vein the vosk found and he had no intention of arming his eventual enemies with any substantial amount of the metal but that wouldn't always be the case. The underground world beneath the forsaken lands was practically endless and surely he'd find something less threatening to trade with for the things he needed.

Marik and Semmy were good blacksmiths but eventually he'd outgrow their ability to produce what he required. He had planned to begin trading with the elven capital like Marik had suggested but now with Earl Abery, the merchant brothers, and two dozen ships, he would be the one unable to produce enough goods to trade between them all.

Aerwyn slapped his cheeks as he realized he was getting a little too giddy thinking about the future while a battle played out before his eyes. The Durani camp was in complete disarray as the zin beetles and trolls trampled everything in their path while the humans, tenri, and the few remaining brexil cats dealt swift blows to any living person they could find.

The spiders had already dealt with the minimal resistance on the ships and were beginning to join the battle on land without needing an order from him, which Aerwyn found interesting.

”Go rejoin the fight. Let's wrap this up quickly, there is much to do.” He said to Pontus.

”As my lord commands.” Pontus bowed before taking off with the others at a speed that seemed unnatural for a body as old as his. The men quickly found opponents as Pontus began firing off earth spikes much like the one that left Aerwyn's arm in such a sorry state.

The battle only lasted another ten minutes before the Durani men began to route in all directions. They didn't make it far as the unarmored fleeing humans were no match for the tenri's speed and ferocity. One of the fleeing humans made the mistake of fleeing in Aerwyn's direction and once the man entered Erit's range, a rusty sword shot out from her hand into the man's eye socket.

”Why are you still using those? There were plenty of better swords amongst the dead.” Aerwyn asked.

”Ah! How could i forsake a gift my master bestowed upon me for some rubbish on the ground. Rin tell him how hurtful he's being!” Erit acted appalled as she held the dagger he had given her closely to her chest as if Aerwyn was to take it from her.

”KWEEEEEE!” Rin turned to him with a never before seen serious face as if showing that she was in agreement.

”...When did you two become such good friends?” Aerwyn was confused. Rin and Ren were with him every second of every day whether he was sleeping or awake and yet Erit was talking like Rin was her old friend.

”I get bored when master sleeps so i play with little Rin at night. She likes it when i attach a strip of cloth to my webs and dangle it around for her.” Erit's words sounded unassuming yet she wore a grin that gave Aerwyn a chill.

”KWEE!” Rin protested as if Aerwyn was going to order Erit to stop playing with her at night.

”It's ok silly, i'm not going to stop Erit from playing with you.” Aerwyn said in a sweet voice before putting his hands over Rin's ears and looking to Erit.

”Don't you go corrupting my little innocent Rin.”

”I would never!” Erit still wore the same grin as she tried to act appalled by his implications.