Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 164: Trapped

Kothar was crouched within a large clump of bushes, only a few meters away from a pair of soldiers, who were deep in conversation. It had been a few days since he had eliminated the Earl, and things had taken a turn for the worse.

"Who knew things could go to **** so quickly, and here I was, thinking that we were all fine and dandy with the Principality, and then go and declare war on us for murdering some backwater Earl, and we blame them for killing our Colonel Thames? I mean it did happen a few days later, but that strange masked man everyone's talking about didn't look like no Downenish  man I've ever seen." One of the soldiers said to his companion, who was currently peering toward the bushes, a torch held high in one hand. Kothar was thankful for the cool breeze that made the flame flicker, and also the fact that the Republic of Nevisse didn't have the funds to issue their soldiers with a Magic Crystal Lamp each.

"Why would a demon like that be skulking in some bushes, he'd surely be far far away right now, especially with how fast the rumors say he is." The other soldier bumped the one looking toward Kothar with his hip and, with a flick of his head, indicated that they should move on.

"You're right, I've got no clue why the General has us combing the countryside like this." The first soldier scoffed, and the pair of them strolled away, much to Kothar's relief.

[I'm beginning to suspect that Tam had more to his plans than us stirring up a little mischief all through the north. This should have taken much longer, but it was as if they knew they would be going to war soon. Their armies were at the ready and the borders were blockaded only a few days after I killed the Earl of Luon.] Kothar said to Silane, he was learning more and more of the depth of his father's plans as he grew more and more embroiled in this massive war.

[You're right, and the masks themselves, just like you were caught fleeing the barracks after eliminating the Colonel, some of the others must have been seen, it'll only add to the chaos and confusion. All the states will think that one of the others had secretly developed a trained group of assassins, and then they'll grow more and more battle hungry. As much as I hate to admit it, this plan to incite all these states to war will only succeed.] Silane's tone was one of begrudging admiration, Tam would have been a valued asset where he was in the Alliance, perhaps he would have even sat at the Council.

[His plan might be a success, but as for us getting out of here in one piece, I'm far more skeptical of that.] Silane grumbled, she had been chastising Kothar ever since his fight with the Captain a day ago had grown to such a scale that it had roused the entire camp, and Kothar had been left with no choice to attack him in full sight of the gathered soldiers.

And as much as Kothar had been a cold, calculating machine of destruction in his past life, the morality and emotion he had gained on Eclat would not allow him to indiscriminately slaughter the entire encampment of men just to hide his presence. 

Even if he had wanted to, there were many soldiers who, all fighting together, made him question his chances of victory, so his only option had been to flee, using his Lightning Aura to boost his speed to an extreme degree, disappearing like a bolt of lightning into the dark night.

[If you had just kept using your Spatial Magic we wouldn't have had this problem. I told you that all the noise lightning makes would be loud enough to rouse a light sleeper. Spatial Magic only makes that distorted noise, which isn't even that loud, and you can even open the destination portal right inside the target.] Silane launched into the complaints that Kothar had been hearing for almost a day of endless pursuit. He had decided to preserve his mana, rather than utilizing it all on magic to travel faster. 

His mana would leave more of a trace, and since the Colonel's surprising strength, Kothar wanted to be ready for any enemy he might run into. 

[Alright, I'll admit it, I was being reckless and foolish. I can't help that all the hormones this teenage brain is soaked in are messing with my decision making. Why doesn't it affect you?] Kothar finally gave in, and slowly started creeping out of the bush. Thankfully none of his pursuers could sense mana beyond the range he could see  with his Mana Sensing Lens, so he was easily able to keep a fair distance from the more powerful of the members of the Nevisse army.

[I don't think that's true Kothar, it's definitely made a difference to me.] Silane replied, her voice glum. While Kothar had to go through her to access the full reserve of his memories of their days in the Alliance, Silane had retained her AI capabilities, this meant that every engagement, suppression and negotiation was there to keep her company. 

Day by day, the guilt wore on her, its weight seeming to grow heavier, and she promised herself that when they returned to the Alliance, or whatever remained of it, she would bring true justice to the people of the Alliance, not the twisted shadow of justice that she had helped them enact for so many years.

While Kothar felt the complex emotions she processed, he was unaware of the full scale of things, neither her emotions about the Alliance nor the vast amount of information about their missions and their repercussions.

Silane chose to keep things this way, keeping perhaps the greatest victim of injustice, blissfully unaware, filled with dreams of returning to his people.

All the while, Kothar continued speeding through the forest, hunched over so that anyone who saw his movement would assume it was an animal, low to the ground.

As he ran, he drew in more and more mana, if he wanted to get to the Nighthawk's meetup point before their cut-off date, he would have to break through at least one blockade.