BXBX NOVEL Chapter 275 274: Hollow Victory
Jahi PoV
Staring down at the sobbing form of Leone, I grew confused at my own emotions.
Usually a sight like this would elicit worry and spark my protectiveness of the Vampire, and yet here I stood, uncaring as she weeped; in fact, I was more annoyed that she was here...
Taking a deep breath, I felt worse as I acknowledged that fact, my heart in turmoil as it no longer understood what mattered most.
Casting one last glance at Leone, I looked over at Anput, who was staring at me with wide eyes, slight... fear permeating those obsidian orbs.
When my gaze met hers, the Jackalkin shivered slightly and even took a step back, creating some distance between us.
A sharp pang traveled through my heart, and I remained quiet as I turned away, heading instead towards Nirinia and Adelina.
I needed to take my mind off of what just happened, and the best thing for me would be to drown myself in the logistics needed for the Legion...
The Lioness\' Command Squad - what was left of it, anyways - gathered around their Commander and stared down at her with grief stricken gazes, the Wolfkin and Minotaurkin\'s eyes filled with unshed tears as they looked over the Djinn holding the weak Lioness.
Hearing my approach, the women all turned to stare at me, and Nirinia\'s jade eyes widened as she met my golden gaze.
"J-Jahi?"
Reaching them, I took in a deep breath and said "Kat\'s gone. Sariel Envoys had a scroll inscribed with a portal spell, and the location rune faltered. She could be anywhere."
The Djinn stared at me in shock at that, before her gaze unconsciously drifted towards the Lioness in her arms, who was gritting her teeth with a mixture of hatred and shame.
Most likely, the woman felt responsible for the actions of her traitorous subordinates and for the Envoy\'s actions, and that made her blame herself for what had happened to Kat.
"When the Knight arrives, I\'ll be returning to the Capital before I go and settle the score. Oh, and congratulations Adelina Leonisa. Your Legion has a new Contractor."
All four women stared at me in silence, before the Lioness coughed before asking "W-What do you mean a \'new contractor?\'"
Her voice was still weak and raspy, and it was a little grating to hear, but...
"When I do return to the Capital, the Sariel\'s won\'t be eligible for much, let alone a Legion. As such, House Asmodia will be buying your contract for the foreseeable future. After all, we have a war to win."
Nirinia stared at me in shock, her jade eyes widened as she repeated "A war to win? What..?"
The Djinn\'s confusion was also grating, and I turned my gaze towards her as I said "The Empire needs a distraction from the fact that a Ducal House and another large Elven Family has betrayed them; Julius himself was the one to order the twins to strike, the amount of Legion corpses around where Kat was taken and killed by her is rather large, and Matilda herself confirmed that she knew the Envoys had a plan for Kat. Therefor, they betrayed the Empire and will be purged.
With something like that, we need to distract the populace, to maintain their trust in the Nobility and in the Empress. Blame it on the Kingdoms, take the Kingdoms, and publicize that it was the Kingdoms fault. The Sariel\'s and Kameiel\'s slowly fade into the background before being forgotten, and we gain new land. Either way, I doubt the current Nobility wish to let the Kingdoms off anyways; it\'s a matter of principle and greed."
Silence descended around us again, and the heterochromatic Wolfkin asked "Why do you want the Legion under your House? What do you want from all this?"
"The reasoning is twofold. The first is the Gates that opened inside the Kingdom; they\'re a threat to everyone, and this way I\'ll know what they are and I can report it back to someone smarter then myself to research them and understand why they existed and how they were created.
The second reason is simple. I need something to do, and this is the perfect distraction for me. I get to... vent, learn, and gather experience, so most likely this is what would happen either way."
Narrowing her eyes at me, the Wolfkin stared at me before bluntly asking "So the Legion is just a toy to you then? Something to play with to distract yourself?"
Looking down at her, I smirked slightly as I said "A broken toy, yes. A toy that otherwise would be recycled into something else for the Empire\'s political machinations. A toy that harbored two high ranking traitors and the Envoys to a traitorous House. A toy that, without my interest, will be turned into something else. You should be thanking me, since you three would be subject to innumerable interrogations and would likely be stripped of all rank, possessions, and meaning. No more Legion for you, no more weapons for you, placed under constant supervision and constantly doubted. \'Are those three the traitors? Hey neighbor, did that Wolfkin look suspicious when she went out to buy groceries? Should we report her?\' By all means, if that\'s the life you wish to live I can take over another Legion if I need to."
The Wolfkin and Minotaurkin flinched at those last lines, understanding finally dawning in their eyes.
Sadly for them, that was the future that awaited them if House Asmodia didn\'t take over their contract.
Constant supervision to make sure they aren\'t traitors, constant suspicious and doubt that they are, a life set to be miserable when their sole meaning and purpose was stripped away because of their \'friends\' mistakes.
No longer soldiers, but just above being criminals; in the public eye, they were reprehensible for not knowing that they were harboring such malicious intent towards the Empire in their Envoys and Comrades.
In fact, the Legion would be disbanded and the common soldier inside this Legion would face the same discrimination, considering a large portion died due to committing treason against the Empire by joining the Sariel\'s.
Most would likely find the blow to their morale too heavy to bear; many wouldn\'t be able to stand the looks of derision sent their way...
Most would take their lives in shame of what a few did inside the Legion, and the few that remained strong would live terrible lives.
Their children and family would be subject to scorn and ridicule, all for a crime their relatives never committed, nor even knew was happening around them.
Legally, all these soldiers were innocent and heroes, but in the court of public opinion?
They weren\'t so lucky.
Was I being magnanimous by offering to \'own\' them all, thus protecting them from those terrible fates?
No.
No I wasn\'t.
They were just a toy to me, a tool to use to distract myself from the void inside my heart.
With that said, I went back to Leone and Anput, joining the two as they began to rest.
Waiting for the Knight to arrive took a bit, roughly an hour and a half, and when they did arrive, what greeted them was a corpse filled castle and a broken command structure.
The Knight in question was a female Scorpionkin, her black chitinous skin and long, sharp tail giving away who she was in an instant.
Most Knights were famous and well known, and this woman was both loved and feared as a cruel poison master, her signature weapon being a hollow headed Gurz, which was a long mace with spikes on every cardinal direction.
The large sphere that formed the head of the Gurz was filled with a sloshing liquid, which was the poison that she herself brewed, and that was sent into the enemies body via the spikes.
If you didn\'t die from blunt force trauma first.
Making her way over to Nirinia, I gathered Leone and Anput and made my way over as well, getting a brief nod from her.
"So... what happened here?"
Her raspy voice displayed her curiosity as she looked around, her black sclera eyes locking onto Adelina for a moment before she focused on Nirinia.
"Lady Sker, the Westerners colluded with House Sariel and betrayed the Empire..."
Nodding, the Scorpionkin seemed uncaring of that information, before she turned towards me and asked "Lady Asmodia, is it true?"
"It is, Lady Sker. The Envoys from House Sariel made direct actions against me and my fiancees, as well as aiding the Western Army. The two twins in Commander Adelina Leonisa\'s Command Squad turned traitor as well, but Nirinia dealt with them rather swiftly. Justiciar Julius is also dead, by Nirinia\'s hand as well."
Lady Sker returned her hard gaze to the Djinn, who met her stare without an ounce of fear, though she did clench Adelina\'s hand.
"I expect a detailed report from both of you, Nirinia, Adelina. For the moment, the Ash Legion is to remain situated on the border to dissuade further attacks, where it will then be replaced with the Flametongue Legion."
"Lady Sker, if I may, I would like to keep the Ash Legion here and bolster them with willing conscripts, and I\'ll talk with my parents about taking over their contract. Then I would like to request an audience with the Empress, her Court, and the Knights to put forward a request to start a Crusade aimed at occupying the Western Kingdoms."
Letting out a sharp peal of laughter, the Scorpionkin smirked at me as she nodded, her black and red eyes narrowed with joy as she said "Aye, that\'s fine with me. Been awhile since anythings happened..."
Hefting her Gurz, she laid the heavy mace on her shoulder before making her way towards the gate, leaving behind some parting words as she walked.
"You take after the Marquess quite a bit, Jahi Asmodia. The Knights all have rather high expectations of you, so don\'t disappoint."
With that, she went to stand guard at the gate, allowing the Legion to rest and recuperate.
Nirinia breathed a sigh of relief as she looked down at Adelina, before returning her gaze towards me, a complicated mix of emotions in those jade orbs.
"Jahi... I..."
Shaking my head, I said "Don\'t, Nirinia. We\'re going to return to the Capital, and I suggest Adelina return with us to get further treatment. We\'ll be back in a few days, and then we\'ll begin to prepare for this Crusade of ours..."
With that, I too left, leaving the Djinn and the Commander to talk amongst themselves as I took Leone and Anput with me.
Reaching a secluded area, I sighed as the pain in my heart continued to grow.
Turning around, I pulled the two women towards my chest and buried my face into their hair, squeezing them close to me as I leaned against a wall, my body weak.