Chương 55: Chapter 53 - Sowing and Reaping

"Lysandra," I slid a plate filled with cooked boar into the wooden cage as her blue eyes watched me warily, "How are your injuries?" The woman grimaced, gingerly picking up a fork." Haela," I hit her with a healing spell, causing the sorceress to sigh in relief. It did not heal much, but her flesh was revitalised and her pain lessened. It'd still be a while before she was in top shape. I was rather annoyed with her, but I did not let it show. She was largely clueless, and I believed her.

I wasn't the most experienced with mind magic, but even I could tell that her memory was not normal.

"Thanks," she muttered, managing to get a bit of the meat to her mouth.

"You are welcome. I am quite busy, so I will skip straight to the point. You are a mercenary. I have money."

"I don't think your soldiers would like that," Lysandra responded after chewing.

"While walking freely around camp may be slightly hazardous to your health, you are an illusionist," I pointed out.

"I can't," she responded.

"Even though they have manipulated your mind and memory? You have realised by now, no?" The sorceress nodded slightly.

"Very well. I cannot say I am too surprised, considering the numerical disparity. We shall revisit this conversation once your friends are dead. You will discover that I am a much more generous employer."

"Your Majesty," I bowed to the King as I approached him. He stood near one of the training fields, watching the soldiers drill.

"Degurechaff," He turned to me, "How are your preparations?"

"I believe I am ready to move to the next step. I thought you might be interested in observing," I told him frankly. That the King had developed a fascination was a stroke of good fortune I intended to make use of.

"Oho! What will it be? A monstrous eagle, big enough to carry a score of men? A bear the size of a castle, perhaps?"

"A dog, Your Majesty," I replied.

"A dog," the King repeated with a disappointed voice, "Well," he coughed once he noticed me looking, "I am sure it will be suitably, err, dog-like." I stared at him, "Yes. If you would follow me, Your Majesty." Roegnar of Ebbing nodded, following me to my makeshift laboratory. We entered the tent soon after. The monster corpses were gone, the place now mostly clean, though it did not really look like a laboratory.

Some of my equipment from Cintra was strewn about, but most of the tables and cages were put to the side, leaving the center of the tent empty, bar the dog obediently sitting there.

"Matheus, good work," I greeted the dog, whose tail immediately started wagging. I approached it, placing my hand on its head." Thar aev morn veth," I incanted, and the dog slumped. I spared a glance at the King, who was looking on with interest Since I had an influential guest, I might as well put on a bit of a show.

"Let us begin," I said, tapping the ground with the bottom of a staff, and causing it to light up." Dhu," I whispered, quietly enough that the King could not hear. Wisps of black smoke erupted from my staff, circling the unconscious dog. Though I had trouble understanding it at first, such theatrics were part of my education in Aretuza. Optics were a powerful weapon for mages here.

'Now, to actually begin,' I thought, drawing deep upon the Power of the Earth, I began whispering the chant, each word more and more thunderous as I moulded the Power with a precise purpose. Then it was done, "Alzur's Double Cross," I muttered for the King's benefit as I watched the animal transform in front of my eyes. The process was, as usual, slightly gruesome, making the King look away. I watched attentively. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road.

Please report it. A few minutes later, the spell was finished. What had once been a regular dog was now more. It was the height of a person, greatly increased in size, though much less than I knew the spell was capable of. Matheus would need to grow bigger, but that would come later, once I ascertained the success of my experiment. I ran my gauntleted hand over its fur, or at least tried to.

Less keratin and more metal, the once cuddly animal took on a steely colour, its fur sharp enough to hurt were I not wearing my armour. Matheus was still noticeably dog-like, at least as long as you ignored the skull that had replaced its head. I examined the former dog carefully, but found nothing amiss. No runaway mutations. I nodded to myself. All was as it was supposed to be.

"Awaken," I spoke softly, casting the appropriate spell. Two blue orbs lit up inside the skull, the animal gingerly getting to its feet. Ready to cast should it prove hostile, I watched Matheus carefully. We stared at each other for a moment. Then, the dog tilted its head, before its tail began wagging, powerfully enough for the displacement of the air to be heard.

"Sit," I commanded. Matheus obeyed immediately. I smiled. Remembering the King, I turned, "Step one is complete, Your-" I paused, my eyes landing on the man quite a few meters from where I last remembered him standing, "-Majesty."

"Erghm, good work, Degurechaff," he awkwardly patted his spotless breastplate, as if trying to dust it off.

"You are sure this is safe?"

"Preliminary results would suggest so, though the main purpose of the experiment is to find out, Your Majesty," I replied, though he did not seem reassured. This was usually the point I euthanised whatever animal I was experimenting on, as even though their mind seemed intact, I had no way to properly control them.

"Paw," I turned back to Matheus. The dog obediently raised its paw.

"Turn around. Follow. Bark." One after the other, I continued testing the various commands Matheus had learned over his life. Half an hour later, I was scratching the dog's skull while it happily wagged its tail.

"Incredible," The King breathed out, "Large and obedient. Though I would have loved to see the serpent, this is no less impressive."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I replied, "Now, let us move on to the second step, though it will be best to do so outside."

"Second step?" the King muttered quietly.

"Follow," I told Matheus, the dog obeying without issue. The three of us made it outside, where the present Royal Guards immediately tensed.

"Lady Degurechaff, Your Majesty," Roderic greeted us, "What is… that?"

"One of my hounds. Matheus. Greet." The dog monster sat, giving its paw to Roderic, who grabbed it on instinct, before freezing. He stared at the paw, then raised his eyes towards the skull, staring at the two blue orbs inside.

"I... see," the knight said, before stepping back and quickly organising the guards around us. I eyed the new additions, including Aevinne. Their gear wasn't up to par, and excluding the elven woman, their skills were similarly lacking. Right now, they worked as a sort of pseudo-squires, each assigned to a proper royal guard, who was responsible for furthering their training. Excluding Aevinne, of course. My lessons with her continued, proving rather illuminating.

To call the elf blunt was an understatement, though her personality had proven a rather unexpected boon, even if my ego did not escape unscathed. My past experience just wasn't really transferable when it came to close-quarters combat, as my feet were either planted on the ground or in stirrups, instead of in the air. I shook my head, my thoughts returning to the matter at hand as I turned back to Matheus. My mouth was compressed into a thin line as I regarded the dog.

Triangle Within a Triangle was necessary if I wanted to turn Matheus into a real formation breaker, but the spell itself was a lot less controlled than Alzur's Double Cross, and that was saying something.

"Matheus, sit," I commanded, "The rest of you, make room, and ready yourselves. Your Majesty, it might be best if you move a bit further away." Roegnar grumbled, but obeyed, moving even further than I would have thought necessary. I approached the dog, putting it to sleep once more, before closing my eyes and focusing. I did not gather the Power from the environment, utilising what I had stored instead to minimize distractions.

The chant left my mouth slowly, as I held the Power in an iron grip, drip-feeding it into the animal. Slowly, Matheus grew. Sweat started beading on my brow. This was the step where things tended to go wrong. Oh, the subject would grow, but the resulting creature would not be capable of long-term survival. Cancer and disharmonious enhancement of the inner organs tended to be the two main reasons. A few minutes later, it was done.

I breathed out before noticing that everyone seemed to have moved a few steps backwards. I shook my head, returning to Matheus. The dog was now around the size of a large elephant, or perhaps a mammoth, but it was otherwise remarkably similar to its previous appearance. However, the final test still remained.

"Prepare yourselves, I will wake him up now," I spoke, before doing just that. Two blue orbs appeared inside the skull's eyeholes, then the behemoth slowly rose to its feet. It tilted its head questioningly, looking around, before sitting down and looking at me.

"Howl," I said, clasping my hands behind my back. Matheus obeyed. The sound split the air, while the ground itself seemed to hum in response, as if the beast's voice resonated through the soil. The men staggered back, clutching at their ears, while a smile bloomed on my face. This was not victory, not yet. There were only four other dogs I had prepared and trained, though realistically, transforming more than three in total would likely be a misstep.

Despite the lack of a normal head, the transformed animals still ate, sometimes even more ravenously than their size would suggest. Keeping even just one mammoth-sized carnivore fed would be no small feat. I circled the elephant-sized beast, examining it more carefully, but there truly seemed to be no issues. Despite the logistical price, Matheus and his siblings would be well worth it.

"Ho ho!" The King exclaimed, elbowing his way to the front past the gaping soldiers, "You certainly do not do anything by half, Degurechaff. That's a dog all right," he laughed.

"The mind has been preserved," I concurred, though my thoughts were already adrift with possibilities. Using large war beasts was, surprisingly, a foreign idea in this world, or at least in the Northern Kingdoms. The most famous example from the history of my first world was likely Hannibal Barca's use of elephants, though I had to wonder how much of that was applicable here. For one, while Matheus may have been a regular animal once, he was now a monster and Power coursed through his veins.

I would have to test his limits later, but I found it unlikely that ordinary arrows or spears could pierce his hide. Once I transformed the other two, more training would be required. The dogs would have to get properly accustomed to their new large bodies, and if my hunch regarding their resilience proved true, then making them realise that fact before their first battle would be more than worth it. I doubted they'd be eager to throw themselves at a wall of pikes otherwise. Monck would have to wait a bit.

Apparently, there are downsides to your beasts not being mad with rage. Who would have thought? The King approached slowly, raising his hand, before glancing at me. At my nod, he ran his hand through Matheus' fur, "Magnificent. Have you named these beasts?"

"War Hounds."