Chương 42: Commander

Revel felt like the world came crashing down before it settled, then shattered like glass. The shards faded soon after. She was in a hallway. Stone walls surrounded her, lined with lit torches. The flames flickered, but no wind reached her. Edrin stood next to her, looking around as well. There was no path behind them, only a stone wall. There was only one path they could take, and it lay ahead of them, leading to what looked like a boss room.

The problem was that boss rooms were only found every ten rooms in a dungeon and they were barely at the third room. Or was it the fourth now? She wasn't sure if the illusion counted as a room, or if it had been caused by what lay ahead of them. There was only one way to find out.

"So?" Revel asked. Edrin paced around the hallway. He was probably looking for any clues that would help them conquer the dungeon or find his men.

"Not sure," he said, stopping in front of her.

"Taking a break would be the smart choice. Well, the obvious one. But I'm not sure if the obvious choice will work in our situation." His hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

"If we are still inside the third room, resting would let the creature recover. And if we don't hurry, we'll find ourselves in a similar situation. One we may not be able to escape from." She had similar thoughts about their situation. She just didn't know what the correct choice would be. Considering where they were, no choice would be correct. The dungeon was too abnormal.

"At least, we should recover for a bit, just so we can be in a better state for the next fight. Which will be very soon." He nodded.

"Five, then we move." She sat on the ground and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, then held it. Five seconds later, she exhaled. The breathing exercise her brother had taught her always calmed her and helped her focus. It was also a technique that aided mana recovery. A breathing technique passed down through House Morcant. It doubled her natural mana recovery. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Is it time?"

"Yeah. Almost ten minutes.," he said, extending his hand. She took it and stood.

"Anything happen?" He shook his head. There was one downside to using the technique to recover mana. It isolated her from the outside world. Her focus was drawn inward, pulling mana into her core, and the process dulled most of her senses. If anything major happened, she would still notice it. Physical touch. Loud noise. She felt safe around Edrin, so she allowed herself to recover.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Let's go," she answered as he started walking.

"Worried about them?" It took her a moment to answer.

"Yeah." She was worried. Terribly so. Dareth was capable, far more than she had thought. Clay was a good swordsman, but he was far from Edrin's level, and they had barely managed to escape the illusion. She didn't think their chances of making it out of the dungeon were good. Alive.

"I'm worried about my men too. But I believe they're capable enough to survive until we find them." He looked at her and smiled.

"That Dareth kid… he's far more powerful than I thought. I'm pretty sure they'll do fine."

"I hope you're right," she said. Putting her hand over her heart, she gave a silent prayer. They had to make it out alive. She wouldn't take unnecessary risks again. The corruption had blinded her to reason, and now there was a chance she would fail her mission. A mission meant to secure the future of her land and, if she was right, rid it of corruption. But first, she had to leave the dungeon with her party intact. Otherwise, she would leave her territory without a successor. That wasn't entirely true.

But her little brother wasn't fit to lead their land, not with the threat of corruption looming over it. He would be a good ruler, far better than her, but in times of peace, not war.

"Where did you find the kid?"

"Professor Lissandra. She recommended him for my party."

"Lucky. He is much more than he looks." She still wasn't certain if Dareth was even trying to hide his strength. Sometimes he acted like a fresh adventurer. Other times, he looked like he had been doing this for a decade. His decision-making and use of spells in combat were what someone with rich experience would have. Then there was the spell that wiped most of the wave. She still needed to know what Edrin thought about it. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"How so?" Revel asked.

"His perception," he said.

"He observed the whole fight with the trolls. He knew where he needed to intervene and who didn't need help in their battles. The whole fight seemed like a game to him. A child's game. Then there's the look in his eyes. He has the same eyes as veterans, but his are even more terrifying than those of the most experienced fighters and mages I know." She was well aware of it. Not as much as Edrin had noticed. The look he had was the same as the veterans who defended the North from the corruption.

The same people who had experienced the worst of the worst. She didn't even want to know what they had gone through there. The day would come when she would experience it herself, but thankfully, it wasn't soon. As much as she wanted to fight against the corruption, she was equally afraid of it. Perhaps more. Edrin continued, "Do you know anything about his master?" Revel shook her head.

"No, I haven't asked."

"You should. Since you're already preparing to recruit him, you might as well go for his master as well." She stopped and stared at him. Edrin chuckled.

"Was that a secret? You're not doing a good job of hiding it. The others too. Every single one of them has potential." He shrugged.

"But what's the plan with the Flaming Blade's kid? Marriage?" It wasn't that big of a secret. It was more that she had yet to recruit them. Well, maybe it was a small secret when it came to Dareth, with his healing magic and all. But for the others, she hadn't even offered terms yet. She had planned to do so halfway through the journey, to see where they stood. The deal with Clay was already set between their families. It was just a matter of time. Blaise's family had agreed, but he had yet to be informed…

given a choice. She also needed to get Dareth to sign before anyone else learned about his healing magic. Now that she thought about it, recruiting his master would be a great boon for the North. Lira had good potential as well. Maybe a little inexperienced, but that would show over the course of the journey, and she was already doing better than expected. Despite her problem.

She still didn't know how Lira was dealing with it, but she suspected Dareth was helping her, and that was most of the reason she was in the party. But she didn't mind. Lira could become a powerful mage in the future, and if she could, she would try to recruit her as well. She didn't say anything to that. There was no reason to.

"The front line?"

"It's getting worse." Edrin nodded.

"Father said they were in talks with Lord Morcant about sending a regiment to the front lines."

"Any help is welcomed."

"So?"

"Two more villages were lost beyond the front line. Fort Argosa as well." Edrin shook his head.

"The line is moving?"

"No," she said.

"At least not yet. But it's only a matter of time."

"Well, shit. Did anyone else pledge men?"

"No, but Count Velmuth could be swayed."

"Velmuth?" Edrin tilted his head.

"I don't think he's in a position to do much."

"The truth is out?" He nodded.

"We're working on it. If everything goes as planned, we should get his support."

"Eduard?" She didn't say anything more. It wasn't her place to, and Lissandra had made most of the plans anyway, so she wasn't certain how everything would play out. She had also promised them a dozen mages, enough to sway a sector of the line. Even more, if they were any good. They would help with the reclamation plan that was already in the making.

"And a dozen mages."

"The High Mage?" he asked, watching her reaction.

"She's always been good at getting people to owe her a favor or two." He paused.

"How did you get her on your side? Calling in most of her debts for you?" She just smiled and kept moving. Some time later, the hallway come to an end and opened into a large room. She had recovered some of her mana, enough to put up a fight, but not enough to be at her strongest. Edrin was the main attacker anyway. She could only hope to support him. If it was anything like the worm, she would focus on staying out of his way.

"Well, shit," he muttered.

"This looks like a boss room." They stopped where the hallway met the room's entrance. The stone floor ended, giving way to white marble. The walls inside were white as well. In the center of the room stood a half-giant of the corrupted race. Two and a half meters tall, with four arms, and four sheathed blades strapped across its body. Its eyes were closed, a subtle smirk on its face. The room was filled with corruption. It reeked of it. Edrin drew his blade and cracked his neck.

"Don't enter the room," he said, walking inside. Her whole body shook before she dropped to her knees. The killing intent that flooded the room nearly made her lose consciousness. Even outside it, she struggled to move. Anger burned within her, she wanted to enter the room and eradicate the corruption. It was becoming harder to think straight. The corrupted one was at least a Commander, and Edrin was alone against it. Her thoughts churned. How could she help him?

More importantly, how could she eradicate the corruption? She tried to lift her head. Then blades collided, and her face hit the floor again. She groaned. That was the corruption influencing her. She needed to get rid of it. It was affecting her and would get her killed if not for the killing intent suppressing her. But the only way she knew how to was to leave the area of its influence. Which she couldn't because of the suppression she was under. That left her trapped beneath both effects.

Until the corrupted one was killed, or Edrin. Time passed slowly as the two powerhouses fought. The ground trembled while corruption crawled across the room, inching closer as she tried her hardest to ignore it. Nothing worked. Then the pressure on her vanished. Just like that. The fight was still ongoing. She could tell from the tremors shaking the room every few seconds. She lifted her head and finally saw the battle. She wanted to tear the corrupted apart. Revel scrambled to her feet and took a step forward.

She couldn't move. She struggled again, panic rising, but her legs refused to obey. Then her mind cleared for a moment and she looked down. Crystal ice wrapped around her legs, reaching all the way to her knees. Dareth stood dangerously close to the fight, grinning with a stick in his hand.