Demon Hunters

Conclusions, Part V

Lucas sighed heavily as he eyed the reports that had been delivered to him. He had never believed that the coming war would be easy or quick yet seeing the reality of the situation never became any easier. The war had turned into a protracted slog, with neither side being able to gain a decisive advantage anywhere. Battles were fought, lost, and won – and tens of thousands of human lives were lost with nothing of substance gained. Lucas started reflecting on the mindlessness of war but quickly admonished himself.

I helped start this war with one purpose in mind: to quell the stranglehold the church has on the world. If I'm ever to see that future, I can't waver. I must stay resolute and see this war to its end, he thought.

This was easier said than done. Though the war had started well for the so-called 'reformists', those who stayed loyal to the church quickly managed to consolidate their defences and repulsed the initially successful thrusts into enemy territory. The reformists outnumbered the loyalists by a large margin, but this was merely an illusion – while the loyalists were united under the church's control, the reformist's leaders were constantly arguing with each other and trying to claim more power for themselves. Essentially, it was the very same atmosphere that had pervaded the church and sometimes Lucas wondered if the war would only replace one evil with another.

Most likely not. It is this fragmentation that will prevent the kings from unifying to oppress their subjects... Or, at the very least, that is what I hope for, Lucas mused, cursing the fact that Bruno had been assassinated.

The death of the former head inquisitor, one of the architects of this war, had been a severe blow to the reformist war effort. Lucas had been appointed to his position in short order – despite his protests – but it had quickly become apparent that he did not possess the strategic acumen of his predecessor. As such, Lucas's role in the plot had steadily decreased in importance and finally, he had been pawned off to oversee the siege of a large but strategically worthless city. The siege had lasted for a week already, but things were about to get worse, as the latest reports stated that a large-scale troop rearrangement would soon take place, leaving Lucas and his generals with an insufficient number of troops. That was to say, if Lucas couldn't pull off a miracle and take the city within a week, he would be stuck babysitting a dead operation for the foreseeable future.

If I wanted to, I could leverage the artillery to pulverize most of the city, but that would only create more cover for the defenders... Not to mention the amount of hostility it would breed in the people...

Lucas shook his head. The generals were mostly against attacking what they currently had, and he tended to agree. However, this meant that the army was stood still, waiting for a miracle. The morale, too, could use some improvement, as sitting in one place tended to throw the soldiers into alcoholism.

It is good that we managed to catch that smuggler earlier... With the valuables he had taken from the city, we should be able to pay the soldiers a small bonus.

Indeed, capturing the wagon full of valuables from the city had been the only positive development Lucas had experienced during his stay at the camp. Thus far only the inquisitors serving under him knew of the haul, and Lucas knew that he needed to quickly work out a way of divvying the loot up, lest he be accused of trying to keep the hoard for himself. Just as Lucas moved to recheck the reports from his scouts, someone opened the flap of his tent. The bald head of Klaus, his closest subordinate, peered into the dimly lit tent.

"I think you'll want to come and take a look, sir. We might have just caught something pretty interesting."

Without wasting a moment, Lucas got up and followed Klaus out of the tent. He knew Klaus's temperament and recognized the zeal in his voice: whatever they might have caught, it must have been important, especially since the man had come to get him in the middle of the night. As they walked through the dark camp, Lucas noticed that Klaus was carrying a large crossbow on his back – one he recognized.