Chapter 898 (2/2)
“Indeed,” Mrs. Hamilton said. Then she cocked her head to the side with her eyelids half closed. Listening to messages from others, likely.
“Alana stopped Thea, who appeared to be heading toward the teleporter. Perhaps to interfere with the ambassadors from Zone Seven? Luckily they left so quickly that even we weren’t ready for it. No way the Nemesai could catch them out. Gods, that would have been a political disaster. As for the third group-”
There was a breath of wind, and then a gentle looking young man was standing next to them. When his gaze met Ed’s, Ed was slightly shocked for several seconds; the young man’s eyes were completely white.
“Simon, you are awake. What a pleasant surprise.” Mrs. Hamilton said.
Simon made a cutting motion with his hand. “I know I messed up. Now’s not the time for it. That Nemesis from Zone Seven, the Winged Serpent, is a master wizard. There is a large array set up for teleportation some distance from here. I cannot track Thea, but I can sense that it is gathering power right now to send them far away. I’ll delay them as long as I can, but-”
Mrs. Hamilton shut her eyes. “Shit. Kayle, Paolo? Take your Squads, follow Simon’s lead. What are they waiting for, I wonder? Why strike….?”
Her words trailed off to mumbles.
Pop.
All eyes turned instantly upward. Another flare had emerged, this time to the East of their position, toward-
“Shit. The Orders?” Regina muttered.
Mrs. Hamilton grimaced. “Shaking their faith in us would be hurtful but not-”
Then Mrs. Hamilton froze. “Faith…”
Ed literally had no idea what was going on. He spared a glance for the disheveled Slugworth. The other man was clearly out of his depth and was looking between the other people like a drowning man looking for a neon orange floatie. Ed coughed into his hand and stepped forward. All eyes turned to him.
Even if what he said wasn’t exactly right, just to make Slugworth know his lack of worth…! Ed needed to speak decisively here. “They never bothered with many guards… in the Religious District.”
“...and assuming they don’t just want to destabilize us… there is only one person with… tactical relevance in the Religious District.” Mrs. Hamilton had real fear in her eyes. “Fuck. That stupid, fool girl. Regina-”
“Glendel’s already there. It’s… the cathedral is collapsed. It was in the middle of the service…” Regina trailed off, panic in her eyes.
Suddenly, Ed very much regretted interfering with the conversation.
*****
“What did you just say?” Zuek Tuan said, gripping the belt of the frogling in front of him and dragging him closer. Their eyes were only a hair apart from each other. Furious, Zuek peered into this fool’s soul, attempting to sniff out any subterfuge.
But the frogling in front of him just trembled in fear. It was a young thing, talented but less than twenty rainy-seasons old. As if it were the only lifeline it had, the frogling repeated its prior words.
“Nirfik is dead. And as far as we can tell… the Demon Prince walked out without a scratch. No one saw how it happened… but-”
“Fuck.” Zuek tossed the frogling to the side. Then he stormed out of the longhouse and into the rain. Almost unwillingly, he raised his head and looked at the ominous castle on the mountain, high above their current position.
Even through the rain, a palpable aura of death radiated off of the stone ramparts. They hadn’t realized it at first, but the longer they spent in the shadow of the castle, the deeper the darkness it was able to cast over their hearts. Especially when the Demon King within was so inscrutable. Zuek gritted his teeth.
Nirfik wasn’t one of the strongest Toad Lords… but he was old and wily. He would not have acted without sufficient preparations… so why…
There was a possibility, one that Zuek didn’t want to admit. His master believed that the hyper-aggressive demons were acting this way because they were deeply afraid of the Frogpeople. Therefore, this was a perfect opportunity to allow them to run wild and observe their capabilities.
And yet…
Why did Toad Lords keep dying?