Arablest/ Prototype

“Well, Jeremy?”

We sat around a table in one of the rooms in fort Kae. The stench of battle, mainly the rotting flesh of the dead, was making me slightly nauseous, but at least I could still think clearly, and the army, after a night of celebration was now clearing away the dead.

“Explain what happened today. How did we manage to capture Fort Kae in just one day? No one knew the entire plan.”
“It could be possible that he’s a spy for Slazsk, and a victory like this would make us trust him more.” Durand said.
I silently cursed at Durand before deciding to explain my battle plan.

What happened was this. I had our elite soldiers that were great at surviving, or those who had the best armor and defenses, line up along the river’s edge. They were to make as much dust as they could, and the mages among them would help keep the dust there as well as help them survive. General Garrett was joining them in battle here, for he was known to be an impenetrable wall, and his skills would be very useful.

However, they would let the enemy know that they were there. The fact that they were fighting with the river’s edge would make the enemy more confident; if our soldiers retreated, they could force us against the river and slowly annihilate our soldiers there. I was counting on that, and when I had them retreat, they opened their gates to send in soldiers to ensure our soldier’s annihilation. In that time, General Joseph and ‘his’ soldiers would rush in, killing those as they made their way in through the now open gate under the cover of the dust clouds. They would quickly secure the fort, and with Fort Kae secured we claim victory.

In other words, General Garrett and his army were bait, and the enemy had fallen for it.

But if it hadn’t worked, then we would have lost many of our elite soldiers, a crippling blow to us.

Fortunately for me, it turned out that most of the solders against the river’s edge survived. Their defensive skills in battle, along with General Garrett, and General Joseph’s ability to quickly seize the fort allowed them enough time to survive until victory. After that it wasn’t survival any more, but to help ensure victory. I mean, seriously. General Garrett was an impenetrable wall, and General Joseph/Est was great at raiding on that horse of hers. She could easily hold her own, so I just took advantage of their skills in this battle.

However, many of those seated around the table stared at me in shock as I told them of my plan. Many of them hadn’t thought of such a plan for some reason. Surely there were smarter people than I was here, so why was I the only one who had thought of that?

Perhaps they were just intimidated by the massive army of Slazsk and that they had to retake an impenetrable fortress.

Or perhaps they thought it strange to use the main force, along with a general himself, as bait.

Well, it may be impenetrable, but anyone could walk in when the gate was open, so all we had to do was to make sure the gate was open and walk in undetected. It was that simple.

Fort Kae only had one gate that faced the river anyways, so it fit perfectly into my plan.

At any rate, we celebrated quite a lot that night. Our one day victory was an accomplished feat, and General Garrett and Joseph were immensely even more popular among the solders for keeping them alive in this battle, since I was technically only a tactical advisor. An advisor, mind you, and nothing more, which was exactly what I wanted. I don’t belong here. I would find my way back home, no longer how it took. I made sure not to make myself known in that celebration, going as far as to asking a favor from General Garrett and Joseph not to announce me.

I knew that that kind of thinking was irrational now; as every day passed my chances of going back were getting slimmer and slimmer. But still, I hung onto that hope that I would one day make it back, and that was what kept me going.

Later that night, in the private quarters of General Garrett and Joseph, they held a private celebration for me. There, I had them promise that no matter what happened, I would always stay the advisor. I didn’t want to be well known among the men, which they eventually reluctantly agreed to. They didn’t want to take the credit away from me, but I insisted.

The main reason why I insisted was because I don’t belong here, and I shouldn’t be remembered at all here, since I was sent here against my will. I was never here naturally, and I shouldn’t change this continent’s history just so that I can get home.

Then again, seizing Fort Kae in one day might have changed it already.

But no matter. I would help, nobody would know me, and I would go back home, and that was how I wanted it to be.

Of course, in times like these, happiness and celebrations were always quickly pushed aside for more serious matters.

The next morning General Ira bared her way into my room, panting.

“Jeremy, you might want to hear this. There’s this rumor that’s been going around recently.”
“General Ira? When did you get here?” I asked, yawning.
“Just now. Listen to me; I think you really should hear this. This rumor concerns the Crimson Demon.”
What more can be said about this guy? He’s a infamous legend that’s walking around, yes, whatever. Can I go back to sleep now?” I groaned, turning over under the covers. I admit, it’s nice to sleep in an actual bed in a long time
“Yeah, well, rumors also include that a girl that matches Iris’ description.”
“What?” Hearing this I leapt out of bed, nearly knocking a few things over. “What happened?”
General Ira reacted to my movements, throwing her hands out to prevent me from running into something, but I stopped myself in time.
“Woah, what’s with the reaction?” She asked, curious.
“Iris is a friend, and she promised to come back. That’s all. But if she met the Crimson Demon, then…”
“No, she’s not dead. Neither of them are dead, actually, if the rumors are true. I doubt the accuracy of the rumors myself, but I thought you should know.”

I stood there in silence, taking it all in.

“So… what do the rumors say?” I asked. I was rather curious, as apparently the rumors included Iris and neither of them were dead. But there was this sense of dread that I felt at the same time, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.

“Well, for one thing, they say that they’re working together now.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” I replied. “She hates the Crimson Demon.”
“That may be true, but remember that these are just rumors. What’s next is something that even I question, and I highly doubt anyone wouldn’t.”
“What’s so unbelievable now? Did Shin finally lose a fight?”
“On the contrary, no. Here, let me give you some background information first. Slazsk has been attacking other countries, as well. I don’t know why they are doing that, but that I can trust, because our scouts confirmed it.”
“Are they trying to aggravate every country on Lehrail or something?” I asked.
“Actually, yes, it does seem that way, although some of the countries seem untouched. In fact, they claim responsibility for the soldiers earlier. Remember the soldiers that attacked us when we were attempting to cross Thanti with the princess? Well, Slazsk has claimed responsibility for them, and that means they’ve attacked the Northern Isles, Thanti, and now Raalte as well as us. All this was confirmed by our scouts.”
“I see. So, what about the Crimson Demon and Iris?”
“Well, Slazsk sent a vanguard towards Raalte, and they happened to start their attack on the town they were staying at. And mind you, Slazsk fights with numbers. One of their vanguards can have twice as many soldiers as we would have in one of ours.”

There was some silence as Ira waited for a response. Getting none, she continued:

“Anyways, Iris fought first. She attacked the army recklessly by herself, taking out over a hundred soldiers before the Crimson Demon stepped in. As she was about to get hit, the Crimson Demon stepped in, pulled her out of the way, and shoved her toward the town before fighting the entire vanguard alone by himself. Mind you, there were still over nine thousand soldiers left alive, and after a few hours the Crimson Demon emerged, victorious.”
"Exactly how many soldiers did the Crimson Demon kill?"
"Its estimated to nearly reach ten thousand."
“That… that can’t be possible, can it? Surely he had help from the townsfolk, and rumors tend to exaggerate as well, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. How can one man take on so many and win?”
“And why would the Crimson Demon pull her to safety? That doesn’t make any sense. He doesn’t show anyone mercy, doesn’t he?”
“No, he doesn’t. In fact, after the battle they left together.”
“But Iris hates the Crimson Demon! She told me, and it didn’t sound like a lie. It was… quite emotional.”
“I see… A lot of this doesn’t make sense. But at the moment, we would rather avoid the Crimson Demon, which means we cannot go after Iris.”
“Perhaps Iris can give us information about him.”
“Perhaps,” she agreed, “But we all agreed that they are off limits now. We can’t afford to get near him or attract the Crimson Demon’s attention, not when nobody knows his full potential. And if Iris is with him, well, many of the lords are suspicious, and wouldn’t believe your words. Because of this no one is allowed to go after her either.”
“I understand.” I replied nonchalantly. “Under no circumstances am I allowed to approach Iris of the Crimson Demon at any times, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct. Thank you for understanding, Jeremy.”

General Ira left the room, leaving me standing facing the door. I wasn’t intending on breaking the rules, but I did wonder what was going on between Iris and the Crimson Demon.

What could it be?