Phew *wipes away sweat on my brow*

Now I only need to finish the chapter for Yokai Academy tomorrow and my schdule is back on track.

I also managed to update the first chapter of Azalon (finally I know) so it is currently at a standard that I find acceptable, hope you check it out!

Anyways, without further ado here is the next exciting chapter!

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Chapter 69: Secret Endeavors

Completely caught off guard Makoto stared blankly at the spectacle before him and he wasn't the only one as other people on the streets started to notice the current events too.

Raising his hands in an attempt to calm down the chanting men, it took him a while to get a hold of the situation.

One of them, presumably their current leader, stepped forward and kneeled down in front of him while opening his mouth.

"Captain, we have decided to break away from the army as well as crown so we can instead serve under you after seeing what you did at the Stronghold. All of us here want to help House Forrowfell and wear the crimson spider on our chest with pride!"

Still somewhat stunned, Makoto asked Baltas to get his Uncle and explained the situation to him and his party that had also tagged along.

"Well then, seems like you really did go above and beyond duty if so many of the men you commanded are practically begging for you to do the same again."

Narkas said with a grin as he looked at the now silently kneeling men.

Noticing that his Uncle had taken control of the situation Makoto watched as he stepped forward.

"My name is Narkas Forrowfell and I am the head of this house as well as Uncle of your Captain, I can promise each and every one of you 2 Gold a month for your service and the only thing I ask of you is absolute loyalty to our house, you will be fed, receive weapons and gear and also go through training here so I have no use for those who are looking for an easy life.

You are in the line of duty and will represent the honor of our house so I expect absolute obedience while following orders.

Those of you who still want to serve, follow me!"

Turning around he gave Makoto a wink while leading a line of men to the back of the mansion.

Not a single one of them had left even after the speech, it seemed like they knew what they were getting into before arriving here.

Still somewhat interested in what would happen next, Makoto and his party followed the group and watched Narkas assign each and every one of the men to a different duty while also showing them their quarters where they could sleep if necessary or spend their free time.

After about 30 minutes Baltas was ordered to get an instructor from the City to help these men further expand on their military as well as combat knowledge.

With gleaming eyes his Uncle returned to Makoto and his group and they once again entered the main mansion.

"This can only be counted as a rare stroke of luck in our situation considering that we are in dire need of a force of our own and although they aren't much these men can definitely be used for a quick and decisive attack. Well done Makoto!"

Feeling like he hadn't really done anything at all he was patted on the shoulder by his smiling Uncle but before even getting a chance to respond, Baltas who had already been on his way, returned with hastened steps.

"Sir, there is a group of shady looking people waiting outside of the gate and the one leading them is mister Finn, it seems like he has some news for our young Makoto here."

Surprised by this sudden appearance all of them exchanged a look before this time hurriedly making their way to the front gate.

Knowing that he had ordered Finn to create a network and also hire some men, it felt like he was truly blessed today as one good news after the other arrived on their front door.

Seeing the small stature and big cloudy glasses wedged between a group of men and women in dark clothes Makoto couldn't help but smile as he greeted the other.

"Finn, it's good to see you again old friend. I am guessing you are here because of what I asked you to do? How about we talk about this inside and away from curious ears?"

Nodding at his words they all returned to the dining room and Baltas was rushing back and forth at top speed before excusing himself, after everyone had a glass of tea and some snacks, so he could finally go out and find a competent combat instructor.

Sipping on the rather big glass next to his small head, Finn glanced at Makoto's party for a second before his eyes returned to the man in question.

"I am here because I did what you asked me to do, I created a little network around the city and was also able to acquire 250 armed men to do your bidding, further 1000 are currently training to increase their strength and efficiency in working together but they should be finished and ready for combat in 2 months."

No one spoke a word after that as a stifling silence filled the room.

Gulping down some saliva, Makoto needed a moment to collect his thoughts as these news that Finn brought to the table had instantly changed everything.

"I-If I remember correctly I only asked for a small force but this... this is..."

"An army."

His Uncle finished for him while looking towards the small man with calculating eyes.

"How did you manage to get your hands on so many soldiers without alerting the king that something is wrong?"

Narkas asked and Finn couldn't help but let out an evil laughter that sent shivers down many spines in the room.

"Whoever said I recruited Soldiers of the king? I would be more than a little stupid to try that with a number like this. Being in this kind of business for a long time now I know how to get my hands on people that no one is going to miss even if they disappeared. The reason there is only 250 for now is because I am still recruiting and the rest needs to be... properly educated before I am able to trust them with a weapon."

Seeing the way his guards nearly jumped out of their seats at those words Makoto didn't have to ask how Finn managed to keep so many men and women loyal to him.

"So they are what? Criminals?"

For the first time in this conversation did Finn turn his head towards Narkas who had been asking the questions while showing a reassuring smile.

"Criminals, Slaves, Mercenaries, Assassins, Murderers, you name it. All I can promise you is that no matter where they came from they will be absolutely loyal and obedient to house Forrowfell should you ever need them. Naturally I know that I might have overdone it a bit and I am sorry if I am creating a bit of trouble for your house.

I have already found different places where I can hide them and let them live fake lives in the city so they can be ready at any given mo-"

Cut off by a hand gesture from Narkas, Makoto exchanged a silent look with his Uncle before nodding.

And then they started to explain their plan to Finn and his group, naturally all of them had to promise beforehand not to let a single soul know about the contents of the following conversation.

Noticing the excited light behind those cloudy glasses and the big smile as he told the little man their secret rebellion, Makoto couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation too.

"Well if it's like that then I will have to recruit a lot more people and also get my hands on more resources as this is not going to be cheap anymore."

Finn finally said after listening to everything they had to say.

"Don't worry too much on how much it is going to cost, I can still provide for some of it, the rest we will need to acquire illegally but I think you know more about that kind of stuff than me."

Nodding to Narkas's words the little mole-like man quickly gave a few orders to 4 of his followers and they left the mansion with hurried steps.

"Is it possible to shorten the training of those 1000 from 2 months to only 1?"

Makoto asked as a sudden idea formed in his head after remembering what some of the soldiers he commanded at the Stronghold had gossiped about.

If his calculations were right...

Thinking for a moment, Finn nodded again and gave the simple command "get on it" to a man with dead eyes who nodded and just like the previous 4 left the room.

"Why exactly do you want to shorten their training time Makoto? It shouldn't really be a problem to take it slowly and haste could only ruin things."

His Uncle inquired but seeing the smile that slowly formed on Makoto's face he decided to wait for an explanation.

"We always had one big problem, no matter how many times we talked about it we always reached a dead end even while speculating with theoretical thousands of troops, how do we reach the king?"

Looking around in the room to make sure that everyone was following his words he continued.

"Even if we stormed the palace and knew the exact location of the king it would still always come down to actually getting our hands on him as there are many plans put in place to prevent exactly that, hidden rooms, secret exits and not to forget the most elite knights this kingdom has to offer.

Not only does the king rarely ever go outside, he doesn't even leave his room most of the time so assassination is practically impossible as there is many high leveled magic formations edged into the palace walls as far as I understood.

They only times the public and the rest of the world will be able to see the king is at new year in over nine months, but that isn't right is it?"

Looking at his Uncle he watched as it ever so slowly clicked.

"The Tournament... Each and every Tournament at the Colosseum is viewed by the king. The public might not see him but it is well known that he likes to watch the fights as it is a rare kind of entertainment for a man who is being protected all the time... and the next one is..."

"In one month."

Makoto said, finishing the sentence for Narkas.

"But even then the king is going to be protected by his guards right? So how do we reach him?"

Sharon asked, seemingly still confused as to how this information could help them.

"You are forgetting something I just mentioned, there are many plans in place to protect the king from harm in the palace, as long as he is outside we have a good chance and not only that, with the Tournament being such a big event there is going to be 10s of thousands of residents and foreigners coming to participate or to see it.

This means that we can easily mingle between those masses even with an entire army if we disguise ourselves right and if we can create a distraction during the Tournament itself..."

"Checkmate."

Finn spoke with a wide grin, showing a row of yellow teeth.

Silence filled the air once again as each and every one of them was deep in their own thoughts.

After a while Makoto's lips parted once again and immediately all attention was focused on him.

"We have a little over a month to get this show on the road, that means a lot of things could go wrong and no matter how well we plan it there is bound to be an unexpected situation. We have to make sure that we stay alive during the entire thing no matter what, as long as we are alive after messing up we get another shot at it, but once we die..."

Giving a sidelong glance towards the NPCs in the room he let out a sigh.

"Then it's game over. As I am a foreigner it won't matter too much to me but for a few here this could very well be too dangerous so I would suggest to keep your involvement while the Tournament is underway to a minimum."

Making sure that his Uncle and Finn understood that part they continued with their discussion.

Finn and his remaining followers left soon after to take care of a few preparations while Narkas also stormed out of the mansion to secure a few important assets.

Watching the back of his Uncle disappear in the distance he finally turned around to Sharon, Lilliana and Sanja.

"Alright guys I think we should log out for now, it's already early morning and Monday so there isn't really much choice in the matter.

Although time is of the essence me and Sharon won't log in until Tuesday afternoon because we are meeting up so we will have to leave you two alone for a bit."

Showing an apologetic smile to both girls he could see the disappointed look in Lilliana's eyes and the understanding smile on Sanja's face.

"Until we meet again I hope you guys manage to catch up with my own level as we are going to have to level a lot more in the coming week anyways if we want this plan to work... thanks by the way guys that you are helping. It means a lot to me even though the plan is a bit insane and they are just NPCs, it just doesn't feel right to leave things how they are."

"Well knowing you I can only agree that you would rather do something completely dumb and suicidal like trying to murder the king of a country instead of enjoying the game but that’s why we are here after all, to keep an eye on you."

Lilliana said with a smile even though it didn't really reach her eyes.

He naturally knew why she was currently not in a good mood, the news that not only would she not be able to see him for a while but that he was spending some Real Life time with Sharon was less than pleasant for her to hear, at the same time he couldn't really just ask her to tag along as this was something that Lilliana and Sharon had agreed upon before.

Makoto gave both of his girls a kiss and noticed that Lilliana tried to extend hers for as long as she could so he let her have her will for a little while before waving one last time and logging out.

While he disappeared he gave one last glance into Lilly's eyes again and a sudden longing feeling of love and care exploded in his head like never before when he saw the sadness that was visible on her face.

Completely stunned and confused he had no time to analyze where this burst of emotion was coming from as the world in front of him turned white.

.....

While returning to his real body he noticed that the emotions he just felt Ingame had completely disappeared without a trace.

Deep in thought he sat there for a while before exiting his capsule.

Makoto always knew that he felt something for Lilliana, that there was something more in his heart for the little Summoner than he wanted to admit but it had never been with the same or even close to how he felt for Sharon.

That was one of the reasons he had not tried to talk about it with his girlfriend or even mentioned it because it was worlds apart to how he felt for his angel, nowhere close to being the same but that last moment just now... had been different.

It had felt like the same intensity that he had for Sharon, the same depth and emotion, but how could it disappear just like that again?

Unable to find the answer to this mystery he decided to just shove it to the back of his head for now and shrug it off.

Human emotions were a complicated and delicate subject that many philosophers and scientists had been keen on exploring for many decades now but even then there was still a lot left unexplained, especially if you took his special circumstances into consideration.

Glancing at his phone he saw that he had about an hour left before he had to leave so he decided to hop under the shower for the first time in a while after which he got dressed and ready for College.

.....

Sharon couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

She had been Ingame for a few hours longer when everyone was already logged out to kill some time.

Dressed in a gorgeous outfit while also having put on a little bit of makeup she made her way to Makoto's place with her heart beating in excitement.

This would be the second time that they met outside of the game and she had been longing to see him for a long time now as it was still different to be with him outside than it was Ingame.

Skipping the last few steps to his apartment with a fluttering heart she stood still before a certain door.

Taking in a deep breath she knocked 2 times and waited.

It didn't take long before the door opened and a hand quickly pulled her inside as she found to herself again within a tight embrace.

Closing her eyes while burying her head into his shoulder she whispered a muffled "I missed you" as the door behind her closed shut and silence filled the outside corridor.

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And there we go, thats it!

As always if you find any mistakes please do comment them below.

PS: Still waiting for that next episode of Hellsing Abridged that should come out this month *eyes are filled with stars*

Abbadon out!