Chapter 40: Uninvited Guests

I stood on the deck of the ship as we moved across the waves. We have been sailing for almost half a day and we should reach the halfway mark soon. I looked over the waves and looked to see the small escort ship sailing beside my ship. One of the sailors looked up from his post at a scorpion and caught my gaze. He placed a fist over his heart in salute and I raised my hand to eyebrow and returned the salute. His eyes filled with purpose at my salute and he returned to scanning the skies.

The common soldiers across this world are much like the soldiers back in my world. Obeying the orders of high command even when the orders very clearly put you in grave danger. If this convoy was attacked these men would have to screen my ship. Their lives would be forfeit in the worst case scenario, their fate to die at sea, their bodies to be picked clean by the creatures of the sea. Their families forced to bury an empty coffin and no final farewell to those they hold most dear.

I turned my head and I saw Bovarian calmly looking at the same ship. He was now wearing gleaming plate armor and a fine sword at his waist. I promised him better war gear to fight demons and I ensured that Regus delivered. Now it was his turn to uphold his end of the bargain. The Bronze Bulls seemed to be good soldiers but I still can’t help but distrust men who march to war for coin. Afterall you can’t spend coin when you’re dead.

“You know I almost became a sailor.” Bovarian said as he turned to face me.

“Really? Why didn’t you become one?” I asked as I turned around and leaned against the railing.

“Back when I first became a man I wanted to get out of my little village. A world where there were only about twenty houses is fucking dull. At first the idea of the sailor came to me because you would get to travel around you know.

But as I thought more about it, I realised mercenary work paid better. The Lupus and the Dwargon are greater threats, the Alvs never leave their island and pirates aren’t that much of a threat with House Orien’s fleet prowling the waves.

So obviously mercenary work would pay more, afterall mercenaries only get contracted when things start looking ugly.” Bovarian said.

I raised an eyebrow at his words, you know I never would have thought Bovarian would know a little about economics. What is in demand and difficult to do is inherently valuable. Anyone can be a sailor as long as their levels aren't total garbage. But to be a mercenary and fight the Lupus and Dwargon? That is an entirely different ball game…

“You fought the Lupus?” I asked.

“Yeah a few times, the Bronze Bulls were contracted to deal with the Lupus at the border of the Searing Wastes. I can tell you the Lupus are some of the most fearsome warriors I have ever seen. They howl as they charge and try to carve us to bits with their glaives. The same kind one of your Lupus girls uses. Honestly after fighting with them I don’t think our encounter was war to them, it feels like they view it as more sport than war.” Bovarian replied with a chuckle.

“How well do you think they would fare against the demons?” I ask.

“Oh really well, they almost seem fearless. They fight in packs with pairs of them working together. The only way to beat them is create a shield wall, once they start getting inside the formation they start wreaking havoc. The worst part of their little pair system is that I suspect the pairs are lovers. Always one male and one female. So if one dies the other goes absolutely berserk, usually it takes about four men to kill two of them.

The Lupus are also physically stronger and faster than most humans. The only reason we humans have beaten them is because they have horrible ranged capabilities. Their ranged magic is weak and none of them use bows, preferring to throw their spears. Although they hit a lot harder, they don’t have good range. Ideally we would wear them down from a distance before engaging in melee.” Bovarian said.

“What would you think of humans as a front line shieldwall, Alven archers at the rear and Lupus soldiers at the sides as flanking troops?” I asked, at those words Bovarian let out a booming laugh.

“I’ll just say there’s not enough coin in the world to make me fight against that. Do you know why humans could beat all the other races?” Bovarian asked with a smile.

“Why?” I ask.

“We are flexible, we can do a bit of everything. The Lupus lacks range so we pummel them from a distance. The Alves can’t match us in melee so we charge them. The Kitsupali lack endurance, they tire easily because of their use of magic. So we spread out to limit the effectiveness of their magic and wear them down. The Dwargon are immobile, preferring to hide behind their armoured shield walls and pummel us from a distance with their war machines. So we use cavalry to move mages close enough to their lines and blast their tightly packed formations.

Regus wins by dividing the races, making sure they can never unite to cover their weaknesses. This way Regus can divide and conquer.” Bovarian said.

Divide and conquer… the oldest and most universally applicable tactic. Divide where you can then defeat the pieces one by one. A timeless tactic, one I have used extensively in Sapporo. Catch a Russian patrol here, hit an isolated position there. With that my platoon can slowly chip down an entire company. There is a reason why my platoon has the best record among all the auxiliary platoons. Shuji’s smarts when combined with my guts and ruthlessness made sure we hit hard and did the maximum amount of damage to the enemy.

The worst operations were always during combined operations when high command wanted to move the line forward. When retreating we did well, hiding amongst the rubble and laying ambushes to buy time, booby trapping the rubble to catch the advancing Russians, using prisoners as shields or tying explosives to them and making them run back to the enemy as walking bombs...

“You know the two Lupus girls following you around don’t look to be a pure blood Lupus.” Bovarian said.

“Really?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, the Lupus girls I’ve seen have a lot more fur. They have fur covering their shoulders, arms and legs. Your girls only have fur on their forearms and shins. Not only that, the Lupus girls usually aren’t as curvy as the ones you have and their jugs aren't as big as the ones you own.” Bovarian said.

“I don’t own Volva and Alfie.” I reply with a scowl.

“From what I heard you bought them and now they serve you. What would you call it?” Bovarian replied with a snort.

“They are my allies and friends. They can leave whenever they want.” I say as I cross my arms.

“Leave whenever they want?” Bovarian said with a laugh.

“Do you have any idea what would happen to them if they just left?” Bovarian said as soon as he stifled his laughter.

“Let me tell you a little something about this world boss. The humans here love two things, power and sex. The female Lupus are the most popular slaves in this nation. The Dwargon girls have beards so that's a no, they are mostly used as labourers in the mines and smithys. The Alves are so goddamn hard to get our hands on so there's barely any available. The Kitsupali have a tendency to catch fire when they get agitated so yeah not that popular either. They are pretty so most use them as domestic servants, after all they can heat food and light hearths quite easily using their fire magic.

The Lupus however look pretty good and there is an interesting thing about their nethers.” Bovarian said with a smirk.

“What?” I reply starting to feel uncomfortable with this line of conversation.

“You know how they have tails?” Bovarian asked.

“Yeah, why?” I ask as I narrow my eyes.

“Well you see boss, when you're doing the deed you can yank on their tails and they instantly tighten around you. The whore houses call it pleasure lever.” Bovarian said with a laugh.

“Have you ever done this?” I ask.

“Once or twice I think, let me tell you something boss, Lupus slaves aren’t cheap and the ones you have will cost more coin than I will ever make in my life. You know in a whore house the Lupus slaves cost more than the human whores.” Bovarian said.

“Why?” I ask as I take in that information. The slaves don’t take a cut of the earnings so shouldn’t they cost less?

“The slaves need to make back their initial costs and not only that the slaves can be imprinted with a fertility seal. So no contraception potions required. Also the slaves that are usually bought by whore houses are also the ones that look best, which means they cost more.” Bovarian said.

“I see, on that topic I wanted to talk to you about your men.” I say.

“Hmm what?” Bovarian asked.

“Listen, we need the Alvs to help us, I want you to keep your men in order. No stealing, looting and keeping your hands to yourselves. I don’t want anyone trying to stick their sausage in the wrong pantry.” I say.

“Ah of course boss, I already had a word with my men. Don’t worry they know the stakes.” Bovarian said.

“Do they now? That’s good, but just in case they aren’t clear, tell them I will shoot anyone that steps out of line.” I reply calmly but with a slight edge in my voice.

“Oh then what about those shining knights?” Bovarian asked as he raised a brow.

“Bullets kill nobles just as well as do commoners. All men die, I can expedite their departure from this mortal coil if anyone wants to test me. You see Bovarian, I run a tight ship, I have no use for soldiers who can’t follow simple instructions.” I replied.

“Understood boss, but don’t worry I run a tight ship too. If anyone steps out of line I’ll drag him to you myself. If you can’t be bothered I’ll gut him myself.” Bovarian said with a smile.

“Have you ever killed any of your own?” Bovarian asked curiously.

“Yes, cowards and deserters.” I replied.

“You enjoy it?” Bovarian asked as he raised a brow.

“Never, killing is necessary, at times enjoyable, but killing my own is never a pleasure, only a duty.” I reply as I narrow my eyes.

“Aye, you’re right about that. Had to do it once in a while as well. Once one of my men, some young idiot thought a sword in his hand and armor on his back meant he could do what he wanted. He raped some village girl, when I found out I hanged him in the village square. I paid the girl a few gold coins as well for her pain and suffering. Out of my own pocket of course.” Bovarian said.

“Do your men know this story?” I ask.

“Aye they do, I give beatings for back talking, what do you think I’ll do to people who disobey orders and commit crimes.” Bovarian replied with a laugh.

“Good, if your men prove to me they can be trusted… I can offer a little extra compensation…” I say as I give him a look.

“Aye, I assume you can do it more when you seal Rifts.” Bovarian replied with a smirk as he caught on easily.

With every Rift I get more [Rift Points] this means I can start boosting those I deem deserving. Of course this only makes sense to boost those at their level cap. Which is why I'm not boosting my party just yet, when they max out their levels I’ll boost their levels to allow them to grow stronger.

“Exactly.” I reply with a nod.

“You take care of us and I can tell you the boys will follow you anywhere. We’re a loyal bunch and with the things you are offering no one is going to give them a better deal than you. You have no idea what people will do for the things you are offering.” Bovarian said.

“That’s good to hear, I trust they don’t know about this hidden deal?” I ask.

“Of course, you said to keep it quiet and I have kept it quiet. I assume you want to test the boys first? See what they’ll do when you don’t have this great deal to keep them in line?” Bovarian asked.

“Yes, if they knew what I was offering they would eat my shoes if I commanded them to do so. Besides the simple fact is that I don’t need all of them, from what I can tell quality trumps quantity here.” I replied.

“Alright, although I just wanna warn you boss. My best guess is that at most only one or two of the boys will do something stupid, if any at all. The ones I have left are mostly veterans, our recruitments slowed down alot once the Rifts drew closer. Not that many young bloods willing to sign on as merc with demons at the gates.” Bovarian said.

“That’s fine, just keep them in line and we won’t have a problem.” I say.

At those words I heard footsteps approaching and I turned to see Charlotte, Ella and Jerome walking over.

“How’s the rest?” I asked as I thought back to the rest of my party who were lying in bed due to sea sickness.

“Still feeling a little down, Jacob is feeling slightly better but Ivan and the girls… are not doing so well.” Charlotte replied with a sigh.

“Hopefully we don’t get attacked. It’ll be problematic if most of the heroes and their party are down because of sea sickness.” Jerome said.

“Don’t jinx it.” I replied.

“So Ella how much further until we run into that serpent?” I ask as I look at her.

“We should meet her soon.” Ella replied.

“Her?” I ask.

“Yes, she is Alvuan’s guardian. You will meet her soon…” Ella said as she turned gaze towards the open sea.

“Have you checked the coffins in the cargo hold?” I ask.

“Yes, thank you for this gesture, you even returned the Moonweave sail of the ship.” Ella said as she looked back at me.

“You shouldn’t be thanking me, I didn’t tell you but it wasn’t me that got those bodies back. It was his sister.” I say as I gesture at Jerome.

“Ophelia always liked to do things on her own accord. I’ve lost count of the number of times she pulled a surprise out of thin air. I see she hasn’t changed one bit.” Jerome said with a chuckle.

“She has my thanks Sir Jerome.” Ella said with a small bow.

“No please there is no need for thanks. I cannot speak for the rest of Regus but House Orien holds no ill will toward the Alven people. Historically we were friends and trade partners, we would much rather resume our old trade relationship.” Jerome replied cordially.

“Hopefully that can be true in the future, I just hope the elders will listen to reason. All of them lived and fought during the war against Regus. The old hatreds still cast long shadows across my people. We know the heraldry of your house, the ship with golden sails. We still remember a time when ships like these once pulled into Alven ports...” Ella said with a small sigh.

“We’ll figure it out, we have to.” Charlotte said gently as she put a hand on Ella’s tense shoulder.

We chatted calmly for the next hour or so, surprisingly Bovarian got on rather well with Jerome. To his credit Jerome is a rather humble man, he may be a knight and high ranking one at that. However, he was always courteous and he never talked down to anyone. Not only that it was clear that he respected Bovarian and his men for holding the line at the first Rift. Then again I suppose respect and honour amongst capable soldiers is a given. We who walk this dark bloody road can only find understanding amongst those who walk the same path.

Nothing seemed to be wrong until we heard a bell being rung from the top mast...

TARGETS ON THE HORIZON!

I felt a chill go down my spine as I turned and I saw a swarm of flyers approaching. Below them sailed three ships. I don’t think they are friendly, judging by that ominous green glow…

“Ella, are those Alven ships?” I asked.

“No… they are too large to be Alven ships…” Ella said shakily.

Then a blue orb floating up from the side of the ship.

“Heroes, I see demons on the horizon.” I heard Lady Scylla’s voice echo out from the orb.

“Do you know anything about the demons having ships?” I asked.

“No, I have reviewed the records before we left and none mention the demons having ships. Then again the last Rift was before Alvuan was split off from the continent, we have never had to engage the demons on the open sea.” Lady Scylla replied.

“So they are adapting?” I ask.

“Most likely Dark Hero, the records say the demons are slightly different each time.” Lady Scylla replied.

“Well shit, Lady Scylla, you and Davis get your ship ready for a fight.” I say.

“Yes, Dark Hero” Lady Scylla said as the blue orb disappeared.

“Bovarian, Jerome, get your men ready.” I say and the pair nod as they rush off.

“Charlotte, you think the rest can fight?” I ask as I turn to her.

“Jacob might be able to but the rest can barely stand.” Charlotte said as her face went pale.

“Then get Jacob.” I say curtly as I summon my rifle [Simuna’s Regards].

ALL HANDS TO BATTLESTATIONS!

I heard the captain shout and saw sailors swarm up from the lower decks. They started grabbing weapons and manning the scorpions and ballista on the deck. I looked over the side of the ship and saw the two escort ships had peeled away slightly from the ship and had all their weapons pointed in the direction of the demons.

This is a bad fight… we are outnumbered and we barely have any anti air. I just hope those flying demons are melee, if they drop down to fight it won’t be that bad. If they start strafing the deck with ranged attacks then our chances look really bad…

As I observed the demons I noticed some of the flyers were pulling ahead of the ships. Maybe they wanted to soften us up with a first wave. The flyers are moving much faster than the ships once cut loose they’ll be here soon...

“How long until that serpent shows up?” I ask as I turn to Ella.

“She should be here by now… she usually doesn’t wait so long, especially for a fleet of such a size…” Ella replied.

“Maybe she’s dealing with the demon’s ships?” I suggest as I turn and see the flyers are halfway here.

“I suspect so…” Ella said as held out her left hand.

“[Avis]” she intoned and a glowing purple spectral bow appeared in her hand.

“Do you need arrows?” I ask as I turn back to the demons.

“No…” Ella said as she drew the bow and a purple flaming arrow appeared. I turned to look at her face and I saw the whites of her eyes were now black and her pupils glowed an ominous red.

By now the Bronze Bulls and the Grey Eagles have already started moving on the deck weapons drawn. We were soon joined by Charlotte and a slightly green faced Jacob.

“Do you think we can do this?” Charlotte asked.

“Only one way to find out.” I say as I ready my rifle at the sight of the rapidly approaching demons.

“I hope they don’t take out the sails, if they do we’re dead in the water.” Jerome said with a grimace.

Finally, the demons were in range and I began firing up at the demons. The problem was this rifle has five rounds per magazine and I’m seeing about three hundred flying demons. We still outnumbered them but we are going to lose quite a few people…

I dropped five and as I reloaded the scorpions on the ships began firing. I saw the bolts fire out and strike some of the demons out of the air. Luckily they weren’t dodging they were just charging which meant most of the scorpion bolts hit something.

Then fired the net throwers and the arrows of sailor archers, the net throwers were reasonably effective, they managed to snag about three every time and the weighted nets splashed down, dragging their demonic cargo to the bottom of the sea.

“[Shatter Star Arrows]” I heard Ella intoned and she aimed her bow at the demons.

“[Fanning Barrage]” Ella intoned and a fan of three arrows shot out. The purple arrows flew out and when the arrows reached the demons they exploded shooting small glowing barbs in every direction. Her attack was reasonably effective; her attack downed at least ten demons.

After her came a barrage of spells from the mages in the other ship a wave of [Spear] spells flew out and slammed into the demons this was the most effective attack so far, the sheer amount of piercing projectiles managed to take down almost a third of the clustered demons.

“[Aria of Mercy] [Shaper of Life]” Charlotte intoned and the ship was bathed in her buffs. It didn’t affect everyone, well that was to be expected even if not everyone could fit on the deck, there were still at least two hundred people here.

Then the demons reached us, to my surprise and horror all the demons dived not at the main ships but at the escorts. The demons swarmed down on the escorts, overwhelming them instantly. I swapped to the smg [Thousand Cuts] and began firing down at the escort. The archers and scorpions followed suit firing down on the escorts. Luckily the scorpions were on gimballed mounts allowing them to rotate easily.

When my [Thousand Cuts] ran out of ammo I swapped to [Van Hel’s Danse Macabre] and began firing down at the demons.

We can’t save those ships, the sailors on board are already dead… we might as well take the demons with them…

“DESTROY THOSE SHIPS! THEIR DONE FOR, TAKE THE DEMONS WITH THEM!” I shouted at the ballistas.

The sailors hesitated as they looked at me, unsure on what to do.

“YOU HEARD HIM, FIRE!” I heard the captain roar from the upper deck.

The ballistas shifted their aim downwards and then they fired. The ballista bolts each about as tall as a man slammed into the mass of demons swarming on the escorts. The bolts went clean through the layer of demons and slammed into the ship underneath. I saw the mast collapse but the concerted barrage had killed off almost half the remaining demons on the ship. The demons shrieked as the barrage of projectiles pummeled the massed groups of demons swarming all over the ship. Their shrieks were only interrupted by the sound of splintering and snapping wood as the ship’s wooden structure started to break apart.

Then I saw a barrage of [Bolt] spells fly out from the other ship and they blew the other escort ship into splinters. The demons there were reduced to gibbets as bits of them and the ship flew out in all directions. The remaining demons on the ship in front of me all began to fly off as soon as the escort ship began to list and sink.

The demons then surprisingly did not press the attack and began dodging the arrows and started to retreat back towards the demon’s in the distance.

“Those bastards just wanted out escorts…” Bovarian said with a growl.

“The next wave will be after us.” I reply as I swap back to [Simuna’s Regards]

Then the blue glowing ball returned as it floated up from the side of the ship.

“I assume that was your command, Dark Hero?” Lady Scylla said from the orb.

“Yeah, they were done for anyway. No way twenty men were fighting that off.” I replied as I kept an eye on the approaching demons.

“It was a wise decision, I’ll try to have my mages focus on their ships if they get in range. If that isn’t possible I’ll prioritise protecting my mages. They will be needed when we make landfall.” Lady Scylla said.

“Ok, you and Davis stay safe. See you on the other side.” I reply as I shift my gaze back to the orb.

“You as well, Onaga Katsuro. Fear not, I do not intend to meet Liana just yet.” Lady Syclla said as she dispelled the orb.

“Charlotte keep saving your spells, healing, support and self defence only. See if you can block the ships attacks if they have any.” I say as I turn to Charlotte who nodded in response.

“Ella stick with me and Charlotte. If we lose you then your little serpent will probably kill us all.” I say and Ella nods.

“Jacob focus on protecting Ella and Charlotte...” I say and falter as I see Ivan, Amethine and Momo walk unsteadily over to us.

“Are you all able to fight?” I ask the group.

“Yeah we can fight, not as well as usual but yes.” Ivan said with a grimace.

“Volva and Alfie?” I ask.

“Can’t even stand.” Ivan replied gruffly.

“Alright we stick together, I don’t want anyone being dragged off. Cover each other, we can do this.” I say with a nod and the rest all nod in response.

With that I turn and face the approaching ships, I look around and see Jerome and Bovarian organising their men. Looks like this will decide if we even step foot on Alvuan…

I look down at the floating debris of the two escorts as we left them behind, no survivors as far as I can tell. Looks like the escorts were lost with all hands. I guess we just need to make sure their sacrifice means something.

I took a deep breath, readied my rifle and said.

Let’s greet our uninvited guests shall we...