“This is preposterous, to say the least. We cannot and should not help them.”

Evelyn, as was her wont, was the first to object to Halric’s ridiculous offer. Although she didn’t explicitly state any reason, there really wasn’t a need for one considering current circumstances.

“I don’t know what a Seat is, but he mentioned an army, right? I’m with Evelyn.”

Isabella looked at Arthur and shrugged her shoulders.

“Charles?”

When called by the Parasite, the young apothecary raised his head and hesitantly voiced his opinion,

“I think it’s dangerous. We should leave.”

“It’s not like we can go back to the tunnels or simply exit the city. Staying in this city and not helping is an option… if said armies weren’t going to blast this place to smithereens. Still, I don’t think we should refuse the offer outright. We have enough time to plan ahead.”

Arthur smiled at Chris, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as he was.

“Chris is right. Even if we agree to help, only me and Evelyn would be of any use. Therefore, we should prioritise our survival and escape above all else.”

Arthur paused for a brief moment as all eyes were on him,

“Slipping through is difficult but not unfeasible, especially with Chris’ Teleportation Spell. Of course, we’d have to be outside of Halric’s barrier and not be attacked by the armies.”

“Going back to the Tunnels is better. The Fire Spirit is strong, but we’ve already succeeded in running away from it for a prolonged period of time. It’s possible to return to the ruins beneath the desert.”-Evelyn

“The Fire Spirit is growing stronger. Being trapped in an empty and big city is much better than those tunnels.”-Arthur

The maid furrowed her brow but didn’t disagree.

“We need to learn more about those Seats and their armies, which means we’ll have to agree to that kid’s offer, even if it’s just a pretence. After that, we plan accordingly and make sure we are closely grouped up once outside the city.”-Chris

“That’s easier said than done. There will be total chaos, and once you are outside, you could be hit or captured. Furthermore, we’re not going to be fighting against mindless monsters but actual mages and knights. They will come in great numbers and that’s not something any of you could contend with.”-Arthur

“More than one plan, then. We need to know where to find each other in case we get separated.”

Arthur silently nodded his head.

The conversation continued for half an hour with each member of the team either voicing agreement or disagreement.

Charles and Evelyn proposed some things while Isabella mostly kept to herself and listened.

…

(2 days later)

21th of the Black Star

1 day before the assault on Blackcrest

Atop the pitch-black castle, above the Seat of War, Terden Sidus.

“Three Seats along with their armies: Seat of Protection, Hector of Raziwon, along with his personal army of 500 infantry soldiers and 150 Cavalry Knights.

The Seat of Order, Sulong Blue Grass, and his personal army of a thousand well-armored soldiers and 50 mages. In particular, the mages would be the ones preparing a destructive Fire-aspected Spell to destroy Blackcrest.

Lastly, the Seat of Power, Gerard Kemb, along with his personal army of 1250 soldiers and 100 Shield Knights.”

Halric stood next to Arthur and The Duke while introducing the armies currently stationed around the city.

“Hector’s army is the one on the West, Sulong’s on the East, and Gerard’s on the North.”

“What about that small army in the South?”

“That’s Viscount Kirn Sparrow’s forces, probably sent to lend assistance. They will not be much trouble, at least compared to the other three.”

The young-looking Alchemist let out a heavy sigh, “In total, they number 2050.”

“It’s a lot less than I expected.” Commented the Parasite as he stared at the banners far away.

“The Lion Legion alone is made up of 10,000 veteran soldiers. However, the Three Seats only brought their own armies, not the actual military of the nation. Publicly, they’re just mobilising their forces to eradicate a plague by destroying Blackcrest, so they don’t want to attract more attention than they already have. In fact, what we’re seeing now is an overkill.”

Halric half-turned his body and looked at Arthur,

“The troublesome ones are the 50 mages of Sulong and Hector’s Knights. What I want from you is to deal with the former. Defeating them, or even delaying them would help us a lot.”

“And?” Arthur glanced at the silent Duke, “You’re not going to fight their entire armies by yourselves, are you?”

“I will conjure and summon many familiars. The Duke will be busy with Hector, who’s surely going to be the real thorn in our side. Our top priority is keeping the Protection Charm active until the Blight Demon appears.”

“Then what?”

“The Blight Demon cannot literally appear here. It will be His avatar…or something like a realistic simulacrum of His, strong, but not equipped with the power of an actual Demon Lord. The Protection Charm - If it’s not destroyed-, along with my magic, should suffice in fending off against Him. After all, He will not be able to remain in this world for a long time.”

“Let’s suppose this whole plan of theirs fails, what’s stopping them from doing it again?”

The Duke was the one who responded to this question. He let out a grunt and, with a loud voice, stated,

“Tens of thousands of civilians were driven away from Blackcrest. The public is not pleased with the Aristocratic Consortium’s decision. If Blackcrest remains standing, I can use that to my advantage and rally those willing to return here under my banner.”

“Terden is right. The other Seats wouldn’t want to risk a civil war. If their plan fails, they can’t just simply do it again. Nevermind the time and resources required for this, the populace, specifically those kicked out of Blackcrest, would start suspecting there is foul play and aggressively demand an explanation as well as compensation. Basically, the Consortium will have no choice but to pretend that the ‘plague’ was dealt with and that Blackcrest is safe again. Admittedly, the situation is and will be much more complicated than that, but that’s the gist of it, at least.”

“Where’s that woman? There’s still more preparation to be done!”

“She’s probably downstairs. She’s a bit-”

Halric couldn’t finish as the Duke stormed off, huffing and puffing as he stomped on the ground with angry steps. His sour disposition notwithstanding, Terden was quite grateful to her and even promised to let her stay in Blackcrest once this storm blew over.

“Your friends will manage the cannons on Southern walls. They will be safe from the Three Seats and will only have to hold the Viscount’s forces. They won’t have to engage in close combat or anything, so don’t worry about that. I will also give them protective magical artifacts.”

Arthur merely nodded as he kept staring at the armies, seemingly lost in thought.

“You are a strange Parasite.”

“Hm? How so?”

“Just the fact that you accepted my offer makes you strange. There’s also your friends, who are human. Parasites do not mingle with other races, not do they treat them like you.”

“...”

Even though Arthur maintained silence, Halric let out a soft chuckle,

“The general consensus is that Parasites are inherently evil and manipulative. I know that it’s not always the case, but seeing a different Parasite for a change is something I’m not against, especially not right now.”

“Maybe I’m just playing the part.”

“Regardless of your intentions, you agreed to help. Believe me when I say that it’s more than any other parasite would do. If it’s only you, I have no doubts that you can escape. You care and want to protect your companions and… that gives me hope that you will not bail on us at the last second.”

1 Kilometer West of Blackcrest

The Seat of Protection’s small army was camped in a small valley as the night fell.

Tomorrow was D-day, the scheduled arrival of the Blight Demon. It was previously agreed that the siege would begin in the morning, a short time before the Demon’s imminent attack.

The Three Seat’s objective was simple: Attack and destroy Blackcrest, thereby facilitating the Blight Demon’s job.

As discussed and stated by Olivia, Hellbringer Abrigel was after Halric, the Replicant.

There were two phases to this well-planned attack: Make sure the city’s defences were breached when the Blight Demon appeared, then completely obliterate it upon his departure.

Abrigel would undoubtedly unleash his deadly blight, and the only way to stop it from spreading was through a collective effort by the mages to cast an extremely powerful spell called ‘Meteor Fall’.

An Archmage well-versed in Fire Magic would be able to cast ‘Meteor Fall’ on their own, but the Militant Syndicate had no Archmages, unlike the Empire.

The Militant Syndicate was famed for its great number of strong and capable Knights. Some of the Ten Seats were also powerhouses on their own, individually capable of fighting against entire armies using their unique abilities.

“It’s a high-grade Protection Charm, Sir!”

A knight clad in silver armor saluted before reporting to Hector of Raziwon, the Seat of Protection.

The bearded and grizzly-looking 81-year-old man was in a foul mood. He tore his gaze away from the map and looked at his subordinate.

“What did Sulong’s mages say?”

“They can destroy it, but it will take time.”

“That’s not an answer! I want to know how much time it will take! Tell Sulong to start now if possibl-”

Hector was interrupted by a tremor that spread from Blackcrest. The old man ran outside only to see black and thorny vines, each several meters thick, rise from outside the city’s walls.

The vines rose in the air before intertwining together and forming a large birdcage that surrounded Blackcrest.

Right underneath the vines was the Protection Charm given by Vanessa. It was like a glowing white bubble, slightly similar to a standard barrier but much more resistant to Magic.

“What…. Is that?”

Hector’s direct subordinate, as well as the other knights, shuddered as they stared at the gargantuan birdcage made of wriggling pitch-black vines.

This was only the beginning as different types of plants and trees appeared outside of Blackcrest, rising from the soil and twisting into distinct shapes.

Some glowed with faint green lights as they took semi--humanoid shapes.

“Treants?”

Indeed, there were big black trees equipped with thorny legs that stood next to each other, forming a small and thin defensive line West of the city.

Just like the Three Seats, Halric also activated his defences and readied himself for a bloody battle.