Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 110

Dante stepped forward on the trodden path that separated the canvas tents on either side of him, his dark eyes constantly scanning for any indication of a threat.

Thus far, he had managed to avoid a majority of the guards that were out on patrol. Any time he thought that he would cross paths with one, he would almost immediately change his direction to circumvent them. Completely avoiding all of the guards was impossible though, especially when he noticed them too late.

When he saw them first, walking away preemptively without drawing too much attention was a simple thing. But when noticed him first, a quick change of direction was impossible. In those circumstances, quickly avoiding them would have only brought suspicion.

Dante would greet each guard when stopped, changing his expression to match whichever excuse he gave at the time. Sometimes he would be hurrying on his way to a latrine, sometimes he had an urgent message to pass on to another captain, and other times he would be suffering some punishment that was dealt out by his own captain. No matter which excuse he chose, he would stick to it. At least until he had the need to change his clothing and enter a new faction’s section of the camp. Only then would he change the excuse he used. The last thing he needed was the guards talking on break and discovering that something was amiss when his story didn’t line up.

Unfortunately, walking through the camp so cautiously brought its own downsides. His pace was beyond slow, and by the time he made it to his second target’s camp several hours had already passed. A fact that was made obvious by the late-night chill that seemed to penetrate through his skin, despite his above average constitution.

Dante rubbed his arms, using the friction to take the bite out of the chill. He should have been sleeping happily in his warm bed, wrapped in the expensive furs he bought in Sloria with shade slumbering by his side. It was all that stupid Warlord’s fault. What idiot sent his son to fight on the frontlines, then blamed the person who killed him?

Dante broke himself out of his irritated thought as he sullenly looked over the camp of his second target. The leader of the mercenary group – who he now knew to be Captain Lawrence from the conversation he previously overheard in the tent – was nowhere near as lax as his previous target. At least a third of the mercenaries within the camp were still awake, despite the late hour, and at least four of those mercenaries were carefully keeping watch.

Not only did they not heavily rely on the patrolling guards to alert them, but even the mercenaries sitting by the campfires in a relaxed manner seemed alert. Their conversation was sparse, alcohol was entirely nonexistent, and the way that they all had a weapon within reach made it clear that they were ready for an attack.

Captain Lawrence appeared to be a far more rigid and cautious leader than his first target. Which made sense. Skirmishes led by Captain Lawrence had the fewest casualties, on both sides. This captain never took the slightest risk in battle.

Dante continued to walk nonchalantly as he studied the mercenary group from a distance, carefully walking through areas of low light to obscure his features. This was going to be problematic.

He had taken a uniform to fit into Captain Lawrence’s mercenary group, but using it wasn’t an option. The guards watching the camp would immediately see that he was a fraud.

Dante walked away from the mercenary group until he was out of sight, then ducked behind a large tent to block the view of any watching eyes. After achieving some modicum of privacy, Dante quickly tore off his shirt as he took out the uniform that belonged to his first target’s mercenary group. After swapping outfits, Dante stored his discarded clothing and walked in the opposite direction, taking him away from any guards that might have seen him previously.

He then walked toward Captain Lawrence’s mercenary group in a roundabout fashion so that he would approach from the opposite direction of where he had earlier, trying to remember the name of the captain he had killed as he did so. It only took him a moment to pull a name from the various reports he had scanned through over the past months – Captain Kloss.

Dante walked up to Captain Lawrence’s camp, making his intention of entering clear to the mercenaries on watch. His appearance was met with a sharp whistle from one of the four guards. None of the four moved, but all of the mercenaries sitting by the campfires nearby looked up. Seeing him trying to enter the camp, two of them stood and walked over to him. Both were rugged men, yet as groomed as possible in the harsh army camp.

As the two walked up to him, Dante noticed that the four guards on watch had returned their attention to where it was previously, watching for new disturbances. Aside from them, every eye in the camp was trained on him, and every hand was touching a weapon.

Captain Lawrence ran a surprisingly well-organized camp.

The two that walked up to him had the most intense gazes. They didn’t look like they had ill intentions, but were wary of him. One stood in front of him, the other stood to his left, placing himself in the most advantageous position if Dante became a threat.

The mercenary directly in front of him spoke, his tone even. “What brings you here?”

Dante looked between the two mercenaries. The one in front looked him directly in the eye, but the one on the left was watching for the slightest movement, paying close attention to his hands.

Maintaining a neutral expression that was neither servile nor overbearing, Dante spoke. “Captain Kloss sent me with a message for Captain Lawrence. It’s urgent.”

The mercenaries glanced at each other, almost questioningly. Then the mercenary that had spoken previously looked back at him. “Give me your message, I’ll deliver it.”

Dante looked uncertain. “I’m supposed to deliver this personally, captain’s orders.”

The mercenary hesitated. He likely wouldn’t have paused at any other time, but the developments earlier that day had thrown things into disarray, and the usual protocols might not apply any longer. “Wait here with Sven, I’ll be right back.”

The mercenary walked toward the large tent that was in the direct center of Captain Lawrence’s camp, leaving him with a very silent Sven who was still standing directly to his left. Fortunately, most of the other mercenaries no longer perceived him as a potential threat. Only a few of them were still eyeing him with a hand on their weapon.

Neither he or Sven were interested in speaking, so they waited in silence for the mercenary to come back. Thankfully, he came back almost immediately.

Dante was immediately motioned forward by the mercenary. “Captain says to bring you over.”

Dante needed no further prodding. He quickly followed after the mercenary and was led to the large tent in center of the camp. The tent flap was opened for him, and Dante stepped through.

As soon as Dante walked into the tent he was greeted by a voice. “Please sit”

The large tent was multiroomed, and the section he stepped into was like a small office. Other than the desk – and the man sitting behind it – the room was covered in small oddities. He didn’t recognize most of the items, but recognized some. Those were parts of different creatures, enchanted items, and even artificed items.

It was hard to judge the worth of the items, but the best enchantment on display was a tier 2. That didn’t make him too optimistic about the other items’ quality.

The man behind the desk was Captain Lawrence. Easily identifiable by his distinct features; the long nose and wide eyes that Jayden had previously identified him by. Other than those two things, Captain Lawrence was rather unremarkable. He was clean shaven with short brown hair that was carefully combed into place. Also worth mentioning was the captain’s nasally voice. Which, in combination with his strict persona, gave him an almost pretentiously authoritarian air. He reminded Dante of the teacher that taught mana manipulation at the academy.

Killing him was already sounding quite delightful.

Dante accepted the invitation to sit, immediately becoming aware of the fact that the two mercenaries that escorted him into the tent didn’t leave. That was problematic.

“What did Adrian send you for?” Captain Lawrence had his elbows resting on the desk, fingers interlaced in a manner that looked both contemplative and condescending. It was obvious that he had already been awake, despite the late hour.

Dante reflected for the briefest moment. None of the reports he had read regarding Captain Kloss mentioned his first name. It was possible that Captain Lawrence was testing him, feeling out if he was really sent by Captain Kloss by using a false name, but he thought it unlikely. Or at least less likely. Dante pointedly glanced back at the two mercenaries that followed him into the tent. “The subject matter is rather… delicate.”

Captain Lawrence wasn’t bothered by their presence. “I am already wasting my time with this nonsense, just come out with it.”

The ‘nonsense’ that Captain Lawrence was talking about was likely their pending agreement with the new Warlord. In all likeliness, Captain Lawrence was under assumption that he had come to gauge his position.

That was actually the excuse he was going to use to get Captain Lawrence alone. Obviously, that wouldn’t work. Captain Lawrence didn’t look bothered to discuss that matter in front of his mercenaries.

“This really should be handled carefully.” As Dante spoke his mind was racing, thinking up different reasons for being there and trying to deduce which would have the best outcome if used.

Captain Lawrence spoke, irritation seeping into his voice. “Speak or leave.”

Dante briefly looked back at the two mercenaries with apprehension. “Captain Kloss was contacted by the enemy commander.”

Captain Lawrence’s gaze sharpened, then he looked down at his interlaced fingers in contemplation. After several seconds his eyes shifted back to Dante. “Leave us, say nothing of what you’ve heard.”

No further command was needed, the two mercenaries silently shuffled out of the tent. During the entire process Captain Lawrence didn’t take his eyes off of Dante. The captain was likely trying to intimidate him, but he found it hard to be fearful of someone he was preparing to kill. “Explain yourself.”

Admittedly, Dante was fond of the concise way Captain Lawrence spoke. There were no extra words spoken, and he got right to the point. It was a shame that his nasally voice was almost unbearable to listen to. “The captain has received two offers tonight. One from Captain Kinton, and one from the enemy commander. He sent me to ask if you had received similar offers, and what your intentions are. My Captain believes that it would be in your best interest, and his, to work together in this matter.”

As he spoke, Captain Lawrence tensed. It was slight, but Dante noticed. Prior to the new information Captain Kloss’ decision was a given. He would side with the new Warlord and Captain Lawrence. The three would then work together to eliminate Captain Williams. The overall power of the army would fracture, but they would still be in a strong position. But if Captain Kloss turned traitor, Captain Lawrence’s position was nowhere near as stable. It was even in danger. If he had received the same offer the decision would at least be in his hands. But now his fate was up to Captain Kloss to decide.

Despite tensing slightly, Captain Lawrence’s expression remained unchanged. “Tell Captain Kloss that I am still considering the matter. A rash decision now would only lead to calamity when there are so many eyes looking in from outside.”

Dante stopped himself from physically reacting to the captain’s words. “What do you mean by that?”

Captain Lawrence unlaced his fingers to wave dismissively at him. “Tell your captain what I said. Naturally, he will understand.”

Dante nodded and stood. Questioning the captain further wasn’t a possibility, no matter how much he would have liked to. Dante turned toward the tent’s flap. Then, when his body was positioned correctly, Blinked behind Captain Lawrence as he created a dagger.

One hand wrapped around the captain’s mouth, silencing him, the other hand plunged a dagger through the captain’s ribs and into his heart. It was the assassination method Victoria had taught him. It wasn’t the quickest method when it came to killing, but it was the cleanest without breaking his target's neck or suffucating them.

Dante repeated his earlier actions, moving the body to the captain’s bed and cleaning the blood while storing any evidence of the captain’s death.

It was more than likely that Captain Lawrence’s body would be discovered by one of his mercenaries, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Not only did they think he was a part of Captain Kloss’ mercenary group, but the two mercenaries that were inside of the tent previously thought that Captain Kloss was in the midst of negotiations with the enemy. The obvious conclusion, or suspicion, would be that Captain Kloss had turned traitor and sent an assassin. That would be disproven when they found his body, but by then it would be impossible to sift through the chaos.

He just needed to kill his last target before that happened.