Chapter 264 – And the Action Starts

*** Yuki ***

Nothing happened all night or day. The patrols never ventured into the forest, so we all had plenty of rest and little reason to follow my plan of scouting more. It's hard to be mad about that; this at least saves me from having to deal with Victoria's bullshit for longer than I have to.

Soon, I'll be by Alzi's side, pregnant and cuddling with her in our bed. Victoria can lounge somewhere else with her foul mouth.

I have to bring these damn wards down. Then Victoria throws the illusion break potion, and the killing starts.

Let the house drown in their own blood.

But first, the wards.

This must have been done by the women of the house. None of them are working together; there are just layers of single-purpose wards. The alarm wards go down first, followed by the few traps, before I whisper into Victoria's ear, "Go."

The potion splashes down, and we launch forward. When the first three guards fall, all three of us are invisible. The others don't even know what happened yet, and they never will.

Victoria rushes to the house, following the path the guards wore into the ground. I start to clear the sideyard, careful to catch the guards in the short moment when nobody is watching them. Cautious to avoid the blood splatter, I mask their final words and screams, and they hit the ground without anyone knowing.

My feet move carefully and quickly, my tails flowing behind me as I begin my revenge. They caused Alzi, Mai, and even me a lot of pain, and I'm ready to close this chapter and open up the next with Alzi. Everything I need is with her.

I kill the last of the guards in the sideyard and move to the servant's entrance. Victoria jumps over me, drinks the speed potion, and takes over killing the outside guards while I begin working on getting us a way in.

These wards were done correctly, so it'll take longer. But I have to wait until they've finished with the guards outside before I actually get it open. Still, I should have more than enough time.

Three alarms, two traps, and the lock.

Each alarm is just tied to one of the traps or lock wards. Strange. Am I missing another alarm?

Fuck! I don't have time for this.

Where are you, stupid master alarm? I know you weren't at the edge of the yard, and I know they have one. People as careful as this don't go without it.

Fucking hell, let me just grab a key off a body. I hope they don't require their mana to operate them.

I start ruffling through the nearest guard's pockets and find the damn key. Nothing about it seems to require mana to work, but I'll keep working on the wards.

Time ticks away as I look for the master alarm. They must have spent a fortune to get the woman to hide the alarm so well. I even used a potion to make it easier to find, but all I have are hints that it exists.

Well, that would explain it. There is no master alarm. All six wards have to be taken down together, or they will trigger an alarm.

Can't make my revenge easy, can you?

I get to work, weaving my mana into six streams. The real reason I practiced so hard was to play multiple instruments, and I doubt even Nakuma can hold as many streams of mana simultaneously as I can.

Nakuma and Victoria should be on their way back by now, but I think I can get it done before then. I'm sure these wards cover more than just this door.

"Done, bossy bitch?" Victoria whispers.

"One second. Strange ward," I mutter. Nakuma must be cleaning up the bodies right now to not have beaten Victoria in getting back here. "There, where's Nakuma?"

"Here, love," Nakuma says. "Fan out and strike true, women."

"Of course," Victoria says, taking point. She slowly enters, careful in case I missed a trap, yet nothing triggers when she crosses the threshold. But someone must have been inside as she leaps across and into a hidden corner. I conceal whatever sounds she may be making and follow her in while Nakuma closes the door behind us.

"Just a damn servant," Victoria says, wiping off her blade. Once again, she moves first. Nothing new happens, so I follow and turn right with her. Nakuma takes the left, and we start going through the doors, alternating which room we get. Most are empty, just appliance rooms that only see use during the day.

Finally, I make it to a large bedroom—the servants' quarters—where ten women are ready to die in their sleep.

I pull out a knife and walk to the first bed. A wood elf is sleeping peacefully for a few moments before her throat is slit. Down the line I go, slitting their throats, and then back up the other row. I watch to make sure they all stop breathing before I leave. No need to let one of them play hero because I was impatient.

I decide to stab them all once more in the heart to make sure I've completed my job, then walk out, closing the door quietly. Best to let the dead lie in peace.

The next few doors have more servants. The last one had a few that were still awake, but the maids here are hardly fighters and proved that I didn't need to catch them sleeping to do my job. And while my blade has been satisfying its bloodlust, my clothing is clean, as these women have been easy enough to deal with that I can even spend time dancing around their blood.

Victoria prefers to just let it cover her. By the end of this, I'm sure she'll look like she's been swimming in a lake of blood. She says it builds character, which could explain a few things about her.

"I think this is a wife," Victoria says. Why does she know so much about these elven manors? Her timing is spot on for there to be double the space in the back. She managed to grab most of the sleeping quarters, which I now think was on purpose, and now she knows where the wives may be sleeping?

"Shall we check together? I don't want to miss a chance to torture them," I say.

"I don't fucking care," Victoria says. Her hand slowly turns the handle, and we hear motion inside the room. I cut off the sound, and Victoria bursts in. She catches the maid by surprise, her eyes wide as her head flies across the room.

The wife is scrambling out of bed, but I have the chains out already. They shoot out and grab her limbs, and Victoria's sword rests over her neck, freezing the idiot.

"Well, well, well," I say, lifting my illusion. "I think you know me, right? Don't worry; this will be over soon. I have more to do, and you know yelling is pointless. Accept your mistakes."

*** Elora ***

"Are we ready?" I ask. Geta forced me to stay back for this fight. I'm only allowed to join if our lines start to collapse.

"Yes, the battalions are prepared, and everyone is ready to push forward. Just give the call," Geta says.

The sun hangs low in the sky. The northern winter days are short and cold. Today will feel long, but it will cement our position and let us begin the siege soon.

"Begin. Prove our strength," I say. The lieutenants and colonel have already given inspirational speeches. I would have preferred to do that myself, but they couldn't group up enough for me to give one. Getting close to one group is just asking for them to attack another in response. I'll give them one when this is over.

The flags rise, and the drums roll out the command, my women marching forward over the bloody fields. Forests separate each group, an annoyance and gift wrapped up together as nature helps us indirectly.

The enemy responds immediately, and even their nobles come running out.

"No need to wait," I say. "They want it big from the beginning. Put them in the ground."

"Yes, dear," Geta says. My wives move out and leave me sitting on a horse, watching everyone else fight.

Most of the nobles take their fights to the forest for the space. But I still don't see Princess Eirina. Is she waiting for me to go out or hoping I won't join? I've had plenty of practice against their ice mana, so I can handle her easily, even with the distance and pregnancy problems.

*** Princess Eirina ***

"Are they here?" I ask. Elora has been pushing forward like I was expecting—the woman looking to prove herself rather than show her ability to wait out the enemy. The question is whether she waited too long to act or if she'll beat me.

"Yes, they arrived just last night," my maid says. "They're ready to go as soon as you step onto the field."

"Oh, Elora, you should've decided what to do the second you got Azula De Vil," I say with a smile. "You'd have had me if you picked an option. Well, thank you. Let us see if we do the kidnapping correctly this time—in a way that should make the Goddess of Fertility happy. Tell the nobles to join the fight the second they commit. We're fighting to gain some space so we can retreat."

"Yes, Your Highness," my maid says, bowing out.

I just need to make sure you are committing, Elora, and then I'll join you.

*** Elora ***

An hour slips by, and Eirina stays put in her camp. The fighting continues, with neither side willing to give in. Our formation is still strong, but I'm surprised they have held on all fronts for this long.

Their nobles are giving it their all to keep the casualties equal for now. Alzi may decide this battle if she can find time to heal the nobles to full health and let them rejoin the fray.

Or maybe Eirina will stop hiding and let me end this instead.

"My Lady," Sedriresa says. "Is that Princess Eirina?" She points to the back. A single white horse is sprinting right into the middle of the fight.

"Yes, thank you, Sedriresa," I say, urging my horse forward so I can get ready to end this.