My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 157: Eve of War

The vampire council was in an uproar. The information that Kace had shared about the hero army that was almost on their doorstep was simply unbelievable! For them to have come that far meant that they had to have gotten past every patrol along the way. If Kace had chosen not to side with them well, they would have been caught with their pants down!

Nobody even tried to claim that he was lying. After all, as far as they knew he would not really gain anything unless it was the truth. It was also a big rush he had taken jumping straight into the heart of their power. They felt as though they finally understood why he had been so confident before. If things did not go his way, he could have slipped off and left them to deal with it independently.

Sonja had immediately sprung into action. Commanding the nobles to prepare the soldiers and make sure they had everything they needed. Another group was thinking of who amongst the civilian population had served before to draft them for this war. Nobody was sparing any animosity for Kace any more. In fact, most of the nobles that passed him took his hand and thanked him for this service.

'Wait till they discover I already have Grugda. I bet they won't be so happy with me then.' Kace scoffed in his mind. He hated how these nobles were able to change their views so quickly. As long as it benefitted themselves. Bells began to chime from somewhere within the castle, Kace assumed that this was the alarm for the army to gather and for the civilians to prepare for a siege.

It reminded Kace of the siege of Stonefall where they had come out victorious but at great costs. 'I wonder how many will die this time?' He took in as many faces as he could, a sort of curiosity had begun to develop within him. He was honestly intrigued to see if all these nobles returned. Since they should be the strongest vampires, he wanted to see if they would share the same fate of some of his closest friends.

As he was leaning against one of the room's pillars, someone took the opportunity to approach him. It was Dao, it seemed like somebody had fetched him since he had not been present originally. Dao stormed towards him with a furious look on his face. When he came within reach of Kace, he suddenly threw his arms out wide and embraced him. A soft laugh escaped from Dao's throat as if he were genuinely happy to see him.

"It's good to see you alive! They wouldn't tell me much about what was going on. Have to say, I'm digging your new style." Dao eyed his new looks while looking impressed. He was really he was trying to gauge Kace's new strength. By his estimates, Kace had made a significant leap in his capabilities. Which was quite worrying if they ever had to fight again.

"It's good to see you too, Dao," Kace replied while being genuinely happy. Dao had treated him better than any other vampire so far. So Kace could not extend the anger he felt to him as well. "Are you participating in this war?"

"What do you think?" Dao had a huge grin on his face when he said this. "I'm not a noble, so I don't get to hide behind the regular troops. Instead, I'll be a captain leading one of the groups under the queen's direct command."

Kace nodded his head in understanding. Dao was a powerful warrior, so it made sense to give him a position where they could make use of him properly. Whereas Kace would not be controlled by anyone. He did not even have to take part if he did not want to, but he saw it as an excellent chance to get his hands on some prime steak. Hopefully increasing his stats in the process.

Luckily he would be free to go anywhere on the battlefield that he desired. Nobody would be able to give him any trouble for it. His tribe and himself were an independent force in all of this. He smiled as he thought about all of the potential new abilities the heroes were bringing straight towards him. He would certainly need them as it looked like Sonja would unlikely train him now.

'That just makes me wonder what the hell happened to Josh and Raven. They would be pretty handy to have right about now.' Although Kace felt this way, he also hoped that the pair were in a safe place. If he got the chance, he would also try to help out the rest of Raven's crew. They were not such a bad bunch.

"Well, good luck to you Dao! Maybe I'll see you out there." 

"I'm sure you will! May you have good fortune in this battle. Though it looks like you'll probably be able to handle anything that they throw at you now, right!"

The pair laughed before saying their goodbyes, as soon as Dao was out of sight Kace returned to glaring around coldly. From the corner of his eye, he caught Sophia staring at him from time to time. 'Perhaps she has reservations of being stuck with me. I should check that she knows that she'll be coming with me during this battle. Not just after it.

Kace started to walk towards the vampire princess, keeping her figure keenly in his sights. He thought for a moment that he could see her squirming slightly beneath his gaze. 'Maybe she's just afraid after what I did. Still, she'll just have to put that behind her.' The closer that he got to her, the more uncomfortable that she seemed to become. Her features were becoming slightly red, and Kace had no idea why.

Sophia desperately tried not to make eye contact with Kace as she inched closer to her mother's throne. Sure she was scared of him, in fact, he was the only person besides her mother that she was afraid of. The problem was what seemed to come with the fear. That was the urge to kiss this man! Before it was a general interest in him, but after his evolution, his looks became far more appealing to her for some reason. 'Oh, gods! Please don't let me make a fool of myself!'