《Reincarnated as a Grunt in the Demon Lord's Army》Book 1, Part 16
Advertisement
“So,” said Kila, staring down at the bound, gagged, and very disgruntled prisoner. “What exactly is your plan here, Len. I let you talk me into holding on to him but do you really think you can make this work?”
“Eh, I’ve seen his type before. All fire and fury at first, but break a few of the bones in his feet and he’ll start changing his tune real quick. As an added perk, it makes it a lot harder for them to run away.”
Their prisoner’s eyes bulged at that.
“You sure you want to go with breaking them? Why not just cut them off and cauterize. The forge is right over there, and I’ve got lots of iron that wouldn’t mind an early taste of human blood.”
His eyes bulged even further and a trickle of sweat fell down his brow.
“Now now, Kila,” Len mock-chided. “No sense in escalating things too far too fast. He’s gonna have to refuse to do what we want several more times before we break out the real fun toys. How are those tongs doing, anyway?”
“Not quite glowing red just yet. You’re lucky I like you, those are one of my favorite pairs.”
“That’s good,” Len grinned. “I’d rather we not need them, but never hurts to be prepared. Shall we see what our friend has to say?”
“Oh yes, indeed,” Kila clapped. “I can’t wait to hear his thoughts on the matter.”
Kila plucked the gag from his mouth with a cheery wink.
“So, care to tell us how you found yourself in the middle of our woods deciding to try and kidnap my friend here? Can’t say you’ve earned yourself many points with me by doing that and, though I’m a pacifist at heart, I’m pretty tempted to try out some of the tricks my dad swore by when dealing with humans.”
Advertisement
The prisoner’s reaction was to spit in her face.
“Well that’s charming,” she said, wiping her face without any particular concern. “Now that you’ve gotten your mandatory act of defiance out of the way, let’s start by having your name.”
“I’m not telling you anything, Orc.”
“Well, that’s not true at all, you’re gonna tell me lots of things but first you’re gonna tell me your name. Unless you’d really prefer I just refer to you as ‘Prisoner 8472’ for the rest of your stay here. But, I suppose manners are in order, I’m Kilareth and this is my best friend in the whole world, Lenore. That friend who, I must remind you, you tried to kidnap without justification. The friend who I’d do anything in the world for, including all those thing you’ve heard that we Orcs like to do.”
He stared at her for a moment, processing the words before finally replying.
“Craig Venderbrandt,” he said reluctantly.
“Great to meet you, Craig. Now, let’s get on to that explanation of what in the fuck you were trying to do to my friend.”
Len was having a damn hard time keeping her face locked in a stern mask while she watched Kila work. Her friend was one of the bubbliest people she’d ever known in this life or her last, but anyone mistaking that cheer for carelessness was in for a big surprise. There was steel in her soul that put others to shame. Craig here, was unfortunate enough to have given her reason to show it.
“I… I needed her.”
“Well, that’s just about the creepiest way you could’ve phrased that. Elaborate.”
Craig tried to muster up some resistance to that, managed to stay quiet for all of 30 seconds or so but Kila’s unblinking gaze wore him down fast.
“To get into the initial trials to become a Crusader, you have to capture a prisoner from the enemy races. It can be anything from a goblin to an archdemon, so long as you capture it on your own. Better capture, better starting placement.”
Advertisement
“So your grand plan here was to slip into our lands and just kidnap some helpless individual? All to become some sort of knight? That’s pretty fucked up, man.”
“What would you know about it? I have to do this! My father’s a Crusader, his father before him was a Crusader. It is my legacy to become one.”
Len snorted at that. Shitty excuses for shitty behavior always sounded ridiculous, but man was this pushing the limits of her amusement.
“To be clear,” Kila said carefully. “Your entire reasoning for trying to kidnap a woman who was just minding her business in the woods was to get yourself a job interview? Hate to tell you this, bud, but your decision making skills are pretty lackluster. And even then, what the hell are you doing this far north?”
He mumbled something imperceptible.
“Wanna try that again?”
“I got lost, dammit! I thought I knew where I was going and before I knew it I was up here. Your friend was the first person I came across in a small enough group that I figured I could take. I was hoping she’d be able to lead me out of here safely. I’d have even let her go when we got to territory I knew.”
Len lost it at that and doubled over laughing (wincing slightly at the bruises she’d earned in her battle with him). The way this guy bounced between indignation over his situation to false promises that he’d have abandoned the instant he felt comfortable again was a sight to behold.
“Yeah, Craig,” she said, holding a hand up when Kila moved to ask more questions. “I don’t think I’ll be buying that line any time soon. So, on to more important issues. Tell me about that trick you used to beef yourself up.”
“Trick? You mean my Mantra?”
“Is that what it’s called? I’ve never seen anything like that. Tell me more.”
“I don’t know much about it,” he said slowly. “It’s something that Crusaders get taught about extensively but no one outside the order is supposed to know.”
“So how is it that YOU know it, Craig?”
Again he mumbled something too low for the women to hear. They just glared down at him until he relented.
“My dad taught me. He wasn’t supposed to, but he wanted to give me an edge.”
“Well, that’s lucky for me, then. Because you’re gonna show me how to do it.”
“Like hell I am!” he exclaimed, finding a little fire in himself again.
“No, listen to me closely, friend of mine. You’re going to teach me how to do it because your knowledge of those spells and my goodwill are the only things keeping me from handing you over to the guards here in town. Do you really want to test how far my goodwill will go without that knowledge?”
“How am I supposed to believe that you won’t hand me over as soon as you’ve taught me?”
“Well, that’s the shitty part, isn’t it. You’ve got no more reason to believe it than I have when you say you’d have let me go as soon as you thought you were safe. You weren’t lying to me there, were you, Craig?”
That answer didn’t seem to do much to calm his fears, but she hadn’t really meant it to.
Advertisement
- In Serial240 Chapters
Returning To The Cultivation World Through A Game
Qin Tian, a genius in the cultivation world who failed to become a Heavenly Emperor, ended up dying at the hands of his enemy who succeeded in becoming a Heavenly Emperor.
8 554 - In Serial21 Chapters
Anathum: Quest for the End
As you wake up with no memories of your past, you are thrown into a world that defies all logic, will you be bested like all the others? Or will you... Anathum is a massive universe that is governed by a mysterious System, within this world, Damien must grow stronger in order to uncover the true purpose of the game everyone is forced to play. - I've always wanted to create a litrpg since I first started reading them a few years ago and today I decided what the hell, any feedback is graciously welcomed. I will try to do daily updates (I feel that if I put that into writing I will be forced to do it!)
8 186 - In Serial7 Chapters
Memories of a Certain Spiritual Hourglass
Xavier Wright never felt special because he could see ghosts. To him, interacting with the dead was no different than being a talented musician or athlete. However, for Gigi Amokachi, Xavier was the last piece of the puzzle regarding her family tradition and her life-long goal to become a spirit hunter. And yet, both of them could not possibly imagine the consequences of their desires, the dangers inherent in a witch's promise, the unforgiving flow of time, and the foolishness of a lover's regret.
8 140 - In Serial9 Chapters
Summoning India: Bhaarat Samman
Give Me Blood, and I Will Give You Freedom. Surrounded by the ruthless and communist foes, there exists a tale of a tiger known to be the world's fourth largest economy, and home to 1 Billion people. Now situated in a position which is considered impossible, India once more has a challenge to unravel the mystery of why the nation and it's people have been brought in a new world. Fortresses and Strongholds will fall beneath their power, none of the mountains and the seas can impede their path for they bring justice to a new world. By their hands, Nations will fall while new ones are born. What lies left is their story to be witnessed. Summoning India: An NHS inspired Fanfiction, where we follow the story of India from an Alternate History world. Cover art: CallMePlez (Daichi Suzuki) Also available in Royal Road, Scribblehub, Webnovel and Fanfic.net
8 224 - In Serial26 Chapters
Hollywood Politics {BoyxBoy}
{Completed}How do you keep a secret in Hollywood? Actor Max Stark, and Singer Ryan Connors know, they have been keeping their relationship a secret for over a year. Max is the bad boy, a serial dater, who has been dubbed 'The Hollywood Heartbreaker'. His world consists of dates with beautiful women and guest spots on television shows, but when no one is watching, he lets his walls down, and becomes the sweet guy who had always dreamed of a white picket fence type of life. Ryan is 'The Good Boy', who sings sweet love songs and hides his colourful personality behind endearing smiles and empty gestures. His relationship with Actress Claudia Grey allowed him to rise to the top, yet 'The Golden Couple' is anything but. He doesn't let people in easily and years of being told that the real him isn't enough to get to the top, have taken their toll. To the rest of the world, these boys don't even know each other, so when one of them wants to come clean and go public, what will happen?Will their relationship survive the obstacles or will the politics of Hollywood get the best of them?
8 89 - In Serial48 Chapters
World || P.J.M ✔️
World"Why should I say sorry for being a monster when no one apologizes for turning me into one? "His soul is dark and he never how love tastes like. Yet, he's still hoping for someone to help him out from this lonely world. start: 22nd November 2019 end: 14th March 2020Highest ranking; #1 in btslovestory#134 in jiminbts©prettygucci_ 2020
8 113