My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 251: Jewel Of The North

"It was. Nothing. Shadow was just. Testing her. Combat capabilities. He wanted to. Know that. She could handle. Herself." Grugda replied to Kace's furious question.

Shadow looked like he wanted to smack the Eljein upside his head. Like he had lost all sense of reason. To be honest, he felt slightly betrayed. 'Why aren't you telling him about the danger she poses!' It was needless to say that Shadow was still fixated on killing the Dryad before she managed to do anything else to Kace. 

"Is that right?" Kace asked as he slowly fixed each of them with his steely gaze. 

"Yes, Shadow here was kind enough to demonstrate how an assassin might come at me. Since I don't really have any combat experience, his pointers were most beneficial." Lilly quickly managed to look like she was sincere as she lied through her teeth.

Shadow looked back and forth between Grugda and Lilly. His mind conjured up strange images of the two of them working together in their nefarious plot to control Kace. When Kace's eyes landed on him, Shadow wanted to tell the truth. However, instead, he shook these paranoid thoughts from his head. 'Grugda's not like that. I don't know what's going on. But I can trust him to do what's best for my Lord.'

"It's true, my Lord. I humbly apologise if we disturbed you." Shadow replied to Kace's gaze as he bowed his head, dispelling his shadow scythe in the process.

"Hm, well if that's all it is then there's nothing to worry about. You were just trying to help her out." Kace replied as a smile broke out across his face. He was relieved it was not something more serious. "You heard them, Captain. The problem is resolved. Let's get moving."

"Yes, sir." The Captain did not look convinced at all, as she kept casting worried looks at the trio in question. She sincerely hoped that they would not cause any more problems in flight that could cause a crash. "Alright folks, get to work. I want this ship in the air in five minutes!"

The crew grumbled as they rushed to perform their tasks. Some of them were hoping for an all-out brawl to occur, just for the chance to see Kace intervene. Silent bets started going around the airship amongst the crew over who would win in a fight between the four of them. For obvious reasons, almost all of them bet on Kace.

Sure he seemed relatively calm and approachable right now, but a few of the crew had seen him in action before. They knew what kind of monster hid underneath that friendly facade. Although not all of the preparations were complete in time, the Captain kept to her word. The airship let out a soft vibration as the magic that made the whole thing work flared to life. 

Lilly was fascinated with the idea of air travel. She could not help herself from clinging to the railings as she watched the whole process of the airship launching. She practically revelled in the feeling of freedom that came with it. The air rushed through her hair and over her skin as the city slowly became smaller beneath them.

Grugda, on the other hand, quickly said a few apologies as he made his way to his cabin. He still hated any form of travel that kept his feet away from the ground. Instead, he was surprised that Lilly did not have the same reaction. She should have been roughly the same as him, at her strongest when connected to the land. 

Shadow watched the Eljein disappear below deck before turning his sights on the Dryad. He studied how she was standing as he contemplated whether he would be able to kill her right now. 'I could push her over?' Shadow quickly dismissed this idea. She might be able to catch hold of the ship during the fall. He needed something that ensured her end. 

'There must be a reason Grugda is protecting her, though. Does she have some use that isn't obvious?' For the life of him, Shadow could not figure out what was going through Grugda's head. He only hoped that the Eljein had not made a fatal mistake by letting her stick around.

The journey passed by quietly, aside from Shadow keeping a wary eye on Lilly. Vast plains, rolling hills and even a couple of mountains made for idyllic sightseeing. Eventually, the first sight of what was considered to be the North came into view.

Grassy plains gave way to a rolling desert and canyons. Kace leaned over the railings and stared at the landscape. 'I don't know why, but I was expecting snow for some reason. I wonder if Sophia is handling the heat?'

Both Grugda and Shadow did not look too comfortable with the new environment. For Shadow, he discovered that he felt relatively weak beneath so much sunlight. Grugda, on the other hand, loathed the lack of fresh soil and good earth that he could use.

"Kace. This is different. To what we're. Used to." Grugda complained.

"True." Kace cast his eye over the horizon, "What's even worth fighting over here?"

Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but sand and rocky canyons. As far as he could see, there was not even a town or a city. 'If there's something here, then it must be precious to commit such a large army to the area.'

Another week passed by with the same uninterrupted scenery. By this point, Kace's group had grown bored. They spent most of their time sleeping or idly talking. Kace was currently laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling when a loud knock sounded against his cabin door.

"Sir! We're here." A young goblins voice called out.

"About time!" Kace grumbled as he swung himself off of the wooden bed. He stretched his arms up over his head as the sound of his back cracking could be heard. "Any longer and I would have died of boredom."

Kace took his time in making his way up on to the deck. He knew that the crew member was only warning him that they were approaching their destination, so he still had a bit of time to kill.

When the sight of their destination came into view, Kace gasped. There was a lavish city built around a massive oasis at its centre. The buildings were made of sandstone but painted with patterns in gold and blue. The whole thing gave of the impression of a jewel in the desert.

"Is that where we're going?" Kace gasped as he started at the city.

"Yes, sir. This city is called Ja'Fandun. You actually received an invitation from the ruler some time ago. Unfortunately, you were unavailable, so this is the best time to make use of it since you're here anyway." The female captain replied.

"Why did nobody tell me I had received an invitation?" Kace queried with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not privy to that information sir. But the gossip is that the king was reluctant to send you here while Lord Elderbeard advocated in favour of it. In the end, His Majesty won but as you can see, that doesn't really matter now."

Kace glanced over the sight once more. He was excited to get his feet on the ground and experience the city for what it was. He never got to travel much in his old life, so this was already plenty exciting for him.

There was no fanfare or anything awaiting their arrival. Instead, Kace grew concerned when he noticed that Sophia and the army were missing as well.

"Are you sure they're expecting us?" Kace asked the captain as the others joined him from below.

"They should be sir. I told them to expect you sometime soon when I dropped off Her ladyship. To be honest, I'm not sure what's going on either. Do you want us to send in some reconnaissance first?"

Kace studied the empty streets, or what looked to be empty as they continued their approach. Eventually, he shook his head to deny it.

"No need. If the heroes have taken the city, then I could use the exercise." Kace grinned wolfishly making the captain shudder.

"As you wish sir."

The captain corrected their heading towards an open space beside the city. She had misgivings about going ahead. So she used her own authority to set down outside of the city instead in the plaza she used before.

Even as the airship landed and created its own small sandstorm, nobody appeared. Kace was beginning to believe that there really was a threat waiting for them inside of the city itself. As the sand settled, Kace could finally get a good look at the nearest buildings.

As the crew prepared the boarding ramp for them to disembark, Kace noted all the signs of battle on the buildings. There was one thing wrong with it though. Each mark looked extremely old. There were no signs of a recent fight.

"What happened here..."