Chapter 1066 (2/2)

But she would be damned if she didn’t show up and stick Lord Miln’s feet to the fire for the recent string of attacks they were suffering. It was exactly what Iellaya had been waiting for; proof that his wait and see approach to the battle was not working. In the face of these results, perhaps some of the other Commanders would support her ideas for a more proactive stance.

Iellaya made sure all her feathers were immaculately groomed and oiled before she walked out of her tent. Then, with the teleporter from the rapidly repaired staging area, she was spirited immediately across the battlefield to stand on the rocky outcropping that dominated the landscape.

When she arrived, the first thing Iellaya did was to glance across the battle. Her mouth twisted into a frown. Of course, although the Nether did unleash token attacks against the other camps, the bulk of the invading forces had made landfall near the camps at the edge of the line. That is, her own camp and the camp of the previously attacked Commander Thrall.

Although she was able to repel the invaders, she could see even from here that Thrall had struggled to do the same. After all, she had been forewarned by his own loss and didn’t have any of the lingering damage he was dealing with. Iellaya had prowled about the staging area until the Nether Well finally arrived. It had been almost child’s play to squish it out of existence and then turn her full attention toward the attacking forces. But it had been an infuriating exercise in patience.

A more aggressive stance would lead to more casualties, of course, but that was only in the short term. Once her strategy had time to get its legs under it, it would begin to pay dividends. Allowing the forces of Nether free reign was a mistake. The dominant opinion of the Nexus was that the beings of Nether were wild savages, but it was clear that there was something out there that had a plan for the distribution of the Nether forces.

They were slowly and surely ceding strategic space to the Nether forces. Despite the fact that most considered Nether Beasts to be little more than monsters, no one denied that the Nether was capable of creating great arrays that it used to concentrate its Nether into dangerous weapons. Even high command couldn’t deny that danger. Which was why the battle for control of space was originally offered as an option.

And yet, Lord Miln…!

Iellaya’s face was impassive as she walked into Lord Miln’s rather plain meeting tent. To her disgust, all ten of the other Commanders were already present. Even Commander Thrall had someone managed to beat her to the meeting.

Iellaya’s eyebrow twitched. Although I suppose if I had abandoned my camp to the worst of the Nether threat, it would be possible to have made it over here so quickly. But I shudder to think the grievous losses we would have endured if that were the case… I suppose I need look no farther than Thrall’s own camp to see what would result.

“Ah, Lady Iellaya,” Lord Miln said with a smile. He gestured to her chair. “Please, join us. We were about to discuss the rising threat of the Nether.”

That sentence, at least, did a little to pique her curiosity. As Iellaya walked over to the long wooden table and took her seat at the end, she tempered her expectations. After all, she had been endlessly disappointed by Lord Miln’s avoidance of responsibility in the past. But it was true that the attacks were coming more and more frequently.

“As you all know, the unending forces of Nether have long crashed almost pointlessly against the iron bulwark of our defense,” Lord Miln began. Even though what they were currently seeing was just a projection of his actual body, the projection also mimicked the strange trait of being completely glued to a single spot. Lord Miln leaned forward over the table. “However, they have recently began assembling their forces for a concerted attack. This is… dangerous, even for us.”

Despite the fact that Iellaya had allowed a small glimmer of interest to build in her heart, even she was shocked at the sudden about-face of Lord Miln’s stance. Had she missed something crucial occurring during the attack?

Suddenly he was taking the threat seriously?

“Generally, we strike at the vast empty space of the Nether’s territory, forcefully destabilizing the flow of Nether,” Lord Miln continued. “That is no longer tenable. Instead, I believe their current aggression requires that we teach these monsters a firm lesson. To that end, we shall be launching an attack on a Nether Gatekeeper. A key one, which will completely scramble their network. One order of business for this meeting, then, is to seek out a volunteer among you Commanders to arrange such an expedition.”

WHAT!?! Assault a Nether Gatekeeper directly?! It’s suicide to attack a Nether Gatekeeper that is enshrined on a throne of Nether! Iellaya’s hands tightened on the table. It was only when the table creaked ominously that she realized how strong her grip was. The Nether Gatekeepers are the equivalent of our Commanders. Unless several of us mount an assault together, we are going to sustain heavy losses without any guarantee of success.

Does he honestly believe that a single Commander would volunteer for this…? Its the equivalent of-

“Actually…”

Iellaya looked sharply up at the Commander next to her, Terith. She wasn’t familiar with the man, but he was known to be a notoriously a stickler for regulations. The fact that such a conservative man volunteered was quite the surprise.

Commander Terith cleared his throat. “I have some insubordinate elements within my camp… I think an assault on a Nether Gatekeeper is the perfect way to handle them.”

Lord Miln smiled. “Just what I was waiting to hear. Excellent. I suppose that is that. Now, on to other business...”

Iellaya’s face twitched in frustration. So it was just a front. Lord Miln won’t address the problem, but this will buy him time. But the real purpose… was to get Terith involved? Why?

What’s going on behind the scenes?