Chapter 11: War of Thorns Part 9
Soon after, they departed for the enemy base. They passed the torched land where tens of thousands died after Lance had succesfully completed his mission.
The smell of burned flesh was still dominating the area, that had become a feeding ground for the crows and other scavangers. With a silent prayer Lance kept chasing after the Count who didn't even bother turning his head.
As they got further into Willow Forest, Lance asked the Count a few questions to pass the time.
“What is the story behind you and Olga?” Lance asked.
“She is a girl I saved from these blue bloods, when they first started their war.” The Count began telling his story as they continued moving at a steady pace through the forest.
“Even though she was human, she had a supernatural heritage which allowed her to be stronger than a normal human. But that strength was what got her into trouble.”
“Believe it or not, she hated the supernatural and even wanted to join the ranks of the blue blooded army.” The Count laughed ironically.
“Let me guess! They found out about her heritage and condemned her to death?” Lance stated with a monotone voice.
“Indeed, when she was told what they were going to do to her, she went on a rampage killing rows of enemies before fainting after losing too much blood.”
“By the time I got there, she was already half-dead. Luckily her body accepted my blood without turning her into one of our kind.”
“But there was one side-effect, having taken my blood she couldn’t help herself be loyal to me.” Even though Lance couldn’t see his face, he knew he was making a sour looking face.
“And that’s bad?” Asked Lance.
“You saw how she reacted when I told her that I am leaving her behind, right?” The Count asked as he suddenly stopped and turned towards Lance.
“Yeah…?” Surprised by the sudden movement, Lance gave a half-opened response.
“I am like a drug to her! Unless I disappear, she will start losing her self-awareness and become something that will serve me without even thinking.” The Count responded, almost shouting as he did.
“And she knew that as well, didn’t she?” Lance asked as he saw how serious the count was.
“Yes, even now she is probably struggling with the urge to chase after us.”
Just as the Count said, Olga had locked herself in the darkest of dungeon cells where she has been banging her head against the wall to resist the urge of chasing after him.
“AGHHHHHH! “
“I understand!” As if he had heard Olga’s scream, Lance turned his head back for a second before moving once more through the forest.
“How many are we fighting?” Lance asked.
“Probably between 4 and 500 enemies.” The Count said
“Why is there such a big difference in the possible numbers that we may encounter?” Perplexed by the answer, Lance was forced to ask another question.
“It’s thanks to you, the bulk of their army was destroyed and the remaining reserves are being eliminated by my forces.” As he said this, he raised one hand with four fingers up.
“What’s left is just Inquisitor Ball, a demon called Nostrafere, an angel Archaeon, and the leader of the sect.” As the Count said the name of each of the four, the fingers went down one by one.
