Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (27 page)

Rightly chastised, he smiled and nodded to her.

“I’ll apologize when she comes back. Thank you, my beloved chancellor. I’d be lost without you. I’m afraid I act without thinking frequently.”

“I know, dear heart. We’re here to keep you safe. Even from yourself.”

The support he’d sent had caught up to the vanguard and was working diligently to prevent casualties and eliminate the enemy.

Much of the battle devolved into pockets of fighting. Small groups working to get the attention of mounted warriors and bring them down effectively.

The lessons they had learned in the pass were paying off. For every person he had lost, he hoped to save ten with the experience those deaths taught.

That’s what being a veteran meant. Using your past experience to leverage the present.

Katarina acted as the center, bolstering and holding the line while pulling more and more enemies in to fight her. Isabelle ranged far and wide on the edges. She utilized her bow for high-value targets. Losing officers tended to end battles much more swiftly.

Runner spotted what looked like the officer in charge in the rear. Apparently no one had told the poor fool that no one would be joining them.

The man brought order to the chaos on his side. Runner targeted him and lifted his left hand. Runner then started to channel the large variant of
Splatterhouse.
Mana bled from his bar rapidly, emptying it within seconds.

Downing a mana potion in a quick movement, Runner watched his mana bar. Blue-colored mana struggled to fill the empty bar as the spell drained it simultaneously.

Splitting his focus between his target and the mana bar, he watched both as best as he could. As the effects of the potion waned, his mana bar hit zero.

Activating the built-up spell, he felt his hand jerk backwards from the small back-blast it created. Cannoning out from his hand, the super-charged
Splatterhouse
shell shrieked through the air. Closing the distance in the blink of an eye, the projectile smashed into the officer.

Plasma scorched through the enemy ranks and blew upwards. As the fireball died, nothing remained of the officer or of those who stood around him.

Heh, I may be a one pump chump, but I can actually get it done in one.

As if their hands were tied to balloons, the remaining two hundred or so foes threw them up in surrender, offering no further resistance.

“I do not believe we discussed our position on prisoners,” Thana whispered from beside him. He had been considering the very same problem.

Katarina decided the situation herself before Runner could get a messenger down there. She rounded up everyone who remained of the opposition and started the trek up the hill.

Sighing, Runner thought quickly. Few things would guarantee their prisoners remaining as such. After all, it wasn’t as if they could disarm them without permission.

“Angel, time for some more theatrics,” Runner muttered.

Catching the eye of one of his messengers nearby, Runner beckoned him over.

“Find me a clearing and get back to me. Large enough to host all of those prisoners. Also take into account that people will probably want to watch. Go,” Runner said, then flicked his fingers at the man.

“Runner,” Nadine hissed at him. “Unless you wanted him to spread that they could watch, I don-n’t understand why you told him like that.”

“No, that’s my goal actually. Until the Barbarians are willing to sally forth, we’ll need to keep their army on their heels. They easily outnumber us. Even with today’s victory,” Runner affirmed.

Searching for the sergeant in the crowd of returning soldiers, Runner scanned faces and nameplates. After finding him near the rear of the mob, he moved to intercept him.

“I’ll be right back. If the messenger returns before I do, start making your way to wherever he found. I’ll follow your marker,” Runner called over his shoulder.

He worked his way to where the column passed into the camp, then eased himself to one side to bide his time as they marched by.

Runner slid up to the sergeant at the tail end of the line of weary men and women. Deliberately he cleared his throat to give the man a chance to notice him.

Flinching, the man turned his eyes towards Runner and then ducked his head.

“Ah, my lord Runner. My apologies, I didn’t see you approach,” said the startled sergeant.

“Come with me. I’d like to speak with you. I never caught your name,” Runner said by means of opening the conversation.

“Stefan, Stefan Rune, my lord.”

“I’m not your lord. You’ll address me as Runner or not at all. Stefan, I’m going to have you play a part in this war. I tell you this now so you’re not surprised as I reward you in advance. It wouldn’t do to have you dying before I can push you into the worldview,” Runner said with an easy smile. He guided Stefan back towards where Runner had started from.

“My lo—” Runner pierced Stefan with a glare, daring him to finish the word. “Runner. I wouldn’t begin to presume what your need of me is but it wouldn’t warran—”

Runner interrupted him as they passed where he’d left Thana and Nadine.

“You can stop right there. Isn’t what you’re doing right now. Well, not completely,” Runner rotated in position to see if he could spot his party. Giving up on it after a second he started moving towards the map marker for Nadine.

“It’s more about what you’ll be doing in the future. Which is killing a lot of Humans. I need you doing that with style, really. Style and perhaps with a name as your war cry instead of, well, whatever it was you were yelling.”

“I was just yelling, Lor-Runner,” explained Stefan.

“That makes it easy then. Any thoughts on a name to yell? Not mine. Nor your king’s. Who rules over a battlefield? Who in fact did you see watching over you today? Don’t answer me, think on it. Perhaps a name will come to you.”

Runner ended up having to force his way through a press of bodies. Making sure to drag Stefan with him, he pushed his way through and popped out into an open field.

Up front and center stood his party, minus Hannah, and arrayed out behind them were the prisoners. Squaring his shoulders, Runner walked heavily towards those who’d surrendered.

Working his charisma, he pushed on the idea that he radiated the promise of a swift death. That he wasn’t one to be crossed unless you didn’t value your life.

Focusing his attention on the woman at the head of the prisoners, he kept moving in a straight line for her. She looked like any other Natural Human. Brown hair, brown eyes, attractive, athletic. Like every other on the server. Beautiful was the new “cute” here.

Locking his eyes to hers, he stared into her. Weighed her. Judged her and found her wanting.

Stopping a pace from her, he said nothing. Seconds ticked by and still he was silent. Perhaps thirty seconds slid by on the clock before he finally moved again.

Turning, he put his back to the enemy and took several steps from her before rounding to address the group as a whole.

“You’ve surrendered your lives to me. By the grace of Ernsta you may yet live through this day. You have one avenue open to you that will result in your continued existence. Swear to Ernsta that your service is at an end, that you will offer no aid in any way going forward to the Human army in this war, that you surrender your soul upon the breach of this compact. After you swear, you will be released on your own recognizance.”

Runner waited a beat before continuing.

“Understand, should you break this covenant, Ernsta will collect your soul and do with it as she pleases. She could use it as flooring for her horse’s stall, to empower her own strength, or maybe shred it up and use it as a topping for tomorrow’s lunch. Doesn’t matter, it’s hers.

“Your alternative is death. Now. I empower this man to act as the agent of death for you and execute you swiftly,” Runner said, gesturing towards Stefan.

“Ernsta, are you ready to witness their oaths?”

“I am,” boomed Ernsta’s voice from above.

“Let’s begin. You,” Runner said, pointing at the closest prisoner. Stepping forward, he grabbed the man by the breastplate and forced him to his knees. Staring down into the horror-stricken face of the prisoner, Runner loomed over him. “Swear or die.”

“I swear! I swear, Breaker, I swear!” bleated the man.

Rolling his eyes with a grunt Runner manhandled the soldier to his feet and shoved him aside. Runner moved to the woman he had stood in front of first for the next oath.

Seemingly released to his freedom, the prisoner who swore his oath collapsed to his knees. He hung his head and sobbed deeply.

So much for the soldiery of the Human kingdom.

Grabbing the woman by the breastplate, Runner smiled cruelly. Shoving her to her knees with a clank, he leaned over the top of her.

“Swear or die.”

And so the hour went, Runner collecting each prisoner’s oath. Stefan matched him pace for pace, his two-handed blade slung over his shoulder in a relaxed way.

No one refused. Ernsta held contract over them all by the end. As promised, they were briefly interrogated for information and then released. They were dispersed and told to do as they felt best.

Most went scuttling back to their own encampment. Some went south, clearly quitting the field entirely. A handful remained in Runner’s camp.

Considering they wouldn’t be able to provide intelligence to the enemy or harm his camp in any way, Runner cared little. They were officially noncombatants.

“I feared they would refuse. You’d make me an executioner as part of your plans?” asked Stefan hotly.

“No one was going to refuse. They all saw Ernsta riding over them during the initial attack. She has a keen interest in this war and its outcome. And no, my goal isn’t to have you as an executioner,” Runner replied. They had retired to the command tent. Runner was currently in the process of updating the map with new information gotten from the prisoners before they were released.

“Is that who you wou—”

“Stop. I cannot answer that. Your question is your own answer,” Runner interrupted. Isabelle happened to enter the tent at that very moment, followed by Thana, Katarina, and Nadine.

“Perfect timing.” Runner stood and moved to Isabelle. Bowing deeply at the waist, he took a breath. “First, I apologize, Belle. I dismissed you in an inappropriate way. I must ask your forgiveness,” Runner apologized. In retrospect, it really hadn’t been the best to send her off with a slap on the ass.

“No apology necessary, my lord. Though I will add this to the favor you already owe me. That’s now two,” said the Elf. Standing upright, he found she was grinning from pointed ear to pointed ear at him.

“Ah, so be it. I agree. I do have an actual quartermaster request of you though. Please outfit Stefan here in whatever you can that will keep him healthy and provide him the ability to destroy others.”

“Alright. Stefan, is it? With me, please.”

Moving back out the way she came in, Isabelle wasted no time at all. Stefan had to jog a few paces to catch up with her hasty departure.

“Thank you, Master Runner. I know you did not do it with poor intentions but that poor Elf is still discovering her world, let alone herself,” Thana remarked in passing. Walking by him, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and patted him on the shoulder as she made her way to the map.

“Oh. Where’s mine then?” demanded Katarina.

“Which, a kiss from me or a pat on the bottom from Runner?”

“The latter.”

“Katarin-na!”

“What? We’re adults. Consenting adults. What are you, a child?”

“N-no. But, I don’t wan-nt to watch that.”

“I didn’t ask. Thana would watch.”

“I would. Now, Master Runner,” Thana called, getting the confused man’s attention, “I assume your plan is that those you released would return back to their base camp and give sketchy, vague, and very unhelpful information. Should one actually break their word then they would drop dead in the middle of their own army. Is that about it?”

Runner felt his brain jump the tracks from sex to war. Which was becoming more and more difficult lately. It’d been a very long time since he’d actually bedded a woman, and lying next to Katarina and Thana night after night didn’t help matters.

“Correct. Best-case scenario a handful die in front of everyone as they try to talk about what happened here outside of the most general terms. Angel gets a power boost, we get our theatrics, and they get absolutely nothing.”

He expected some type of response from Ernsta but received none. Maybe he was losing his touch after all.

“Does Srit agree with your assessment? I wish I could speak with her. Actually, speaking of that. She sent me an e-mail earlier with some questions. If you’ve made a login for her, why hasn’t she logged into the game properly? I assume she could log in just like any other entity that exists outside the server,” Thana said, moving the cavalry where Hannah was currently located back and forth.

Runner was floored. He hadn’t even considered it really. Technically, her ability to log in was directly tied in to her profile. Which he made for her himself. By all rights she could easily log in.