Beruka swung her axe with such force that the weapon cleaved through the bronze sword that was put forth to try to defend against it, not losing that much momentum afterward since it proceeded to cleanly end the life of the lone Hoshidan who tried to stop her. A few meters away, similarly grisly fates were being inflicted by the Nohrians soldiers upon the fallen soldier's compatriots, though since a few of them were still putting up a fight, Beruka quickly moved past her most recent victim and ran across several meters before cleaving a man almost in half, in a powerful display of agility and might.
The young woman glanced at her surroundings, but everywhere around her, the remaining enemies were dropping like flies or being caught before they could attempt to go out on their terms. Soon, the remaining hostiles found themselves overwhelmed and outnumbered, and the hostilities ended. Soon, Katekura town's flag was replaced by a Nohrian one, to the awe and audible terror of some of its inhabitants. None of them, however, dared to try to stand up against the Nohrians, and a small contingent of soldiers was sent to quickly get them to return to their respective homes.
Beruka pulled out a handkerchief and began to clean her ax, wiping away blood and other chunks from her weapon. Everywhere around her, people were dragging the captured Hoshidan away for interrogation or were dragging their corpses out of the streets of the dainty little town that became, in the span of one noon, the theater of yet another ruthless battle between Hoshido and Nohr. She didn't quite dwell on that though, and simply cleaned her ax some more, raising the flat of the weapon to see if she could contemplate herself within it. Vain, perhaps, but it was a good way to see if it was in a proper state.
All of a sudden, she hears footsteps in her dead angle, and Beruka turned around immediately to face the person who was coming up to her left, even raising her ax in case it turned out to be a ninja or a desperate townsfolk willing to sacrifice himself to try to get rid of an "invader". Luckily, it was neither, though Niles's head came dangerously close to being separated from his body nonetheless. Not that the outlaw minded it: He simply looked down at the weapon in curiosity and then moved it away with one finger, smirking slyly.
"You'd think sneaking into a forest filled with ninjas and highly-territorial fox monsters would deepen our bond." He quipped slightly. "There's no reason to act like this towards a concerned friend, my dear Beruka. What would I need to do to earn your favor?"
"Get out of my sight."
The Nohrian outlaw thought a little and his victorious little grin indicated that he concocted a nasty little plan. "Ah, if it's that simple!" And, without further ado, he moved right into her dead angle, out of sight of her right eye. "Well, now that I'm out of your sight, let's resume the conversation. Where was I? Oh, yes. How's your eye doing?"
"…" Beruka thought about saying "better than yours" and punching him directly in the remaining eye, but that was something that Peri would do. Instead, she brought her hand to her brand new eyepatch, so generously bestowed upon her by Niles. It had that eccentric star design, which she rather disliked, but it filled its purpose nicely. Having to regularly clean it and take care of the wound was a bit of a change, on top of the general problems that came with having a wound on the eye, but she wasn't going to complain about this. The wound was temporary, after all. As described by one of the healers, the injury was thankfully shallow and the eye would be fine after some days. Said healer than immediately recommended not approaching the frontline, since having to adapt to her new depth perception while fighting for her life on a battlefield would be rather challenging, but she didn't see fit to listen to them.
"So?" He said, folding his arms. "Are you lost in thoughts?"
"No. It's doing well. I will give you the eyepatch back once it's successfully healed." She said, before walking away. Niles saluted, and then left. They wouldn't stay in the town for more than a few minutes, since they had to lead the invasion, so the Nohrians had little business sticking around in its streets. Since they were numerous enough, a few soldiers were dropped to keep the town in place and prevent a sudden uprising while a smaller squad would take care of the occupation.
"Tsk." Complained one soldier in particular, glancing at the fading town. "Those guys are pretty lucky. They're just going to have to fight the boredom while we're going to the stronghold."
"Pussy." Replied his neighbor. "A true Nohrian would relish the opportunity to write his name on the history books. You're going to see sights our ancestors have long since dreamed of!" He raised his fist and continued his rather passionate speech. "The wall of Suzanoh broken by our unstoppable march, for instance, or even the Hoshidan capital with a Nohrian flag hoisted over it! Ain't that true glory? To be able to fight in battles that will change the fate of Dreiz?!"
"Like we're going to live through those things."
The second man spat on the ground, and their subsequent exchange became lost amongst the rest of the chatter. Tello, who was leading along with Xander, looked upon the chatter rather disapprovingly, casting his famous glare upon his soldier. At the battle of Goemon's Trap, he had taken some nasty injuries to the head, the likes of which would remain with him all his life even with healing magic, but that only made him look even more intimidating. And besides, he argued that for a soldier, scars were like souvenirs. In the future, when his grandchildren would ask him about his past, he could point to these and say that he participated in the great Nohrian offensive.
However, his blissful ideas weren't of importance now. The general, before he could speak of that war, had to win it after all.
"The Hoshidans sure aren't going to give away their ground easily." He spoke. "I thought that taking Goemon's Trap would strike a blow in their morale but they're as determined as ever!"
"Hoshidans are taught not to give up." Piped in Corrin. He had opted to lead the charge as well, instead of being at his "castle" all the time. "They will fight on their last bit of available territory, even if… once we gather at the door of the capital altogether, they will never quit." He said. "It's a bit like us, don't you think?"
"Corrin's right." Said Xander. "I fear that the Hoshidans will fight to the last man. The soldiers in that town refused to surrender even when they were grossly outnumbered. We will need to take over the entire country, or a significant portion of it, to get them to stop fighting. While I stand opposed to them, I can respect that kind of attitude. Remaining determined and eager to defend's one country even when all seems lost…"
"Are you thinking about joining them?" Said Tello, perhaps the only man brave enough to outright say this, even as a joke, to the crown prince. Xander chuckled and stroked his chin.
"Hmm, I fear that you've pierced my disguise." He said, before resuming his serious air. "On the subject of the invasion, we will be at the territory of the Wind Tribe soon. This should prevent Hoshido from constantly attacking us."
"We need to prepare in case of a trap." Said Leo. "They are neutral but might dislike Nohr enough to decide to team up with Hoshido. Fuga seemingly appreciate our leader, yes, but surely other high-ranking members of the tribe think differently."
"No, they won't. Tello shook his head. "The way the tribe is ruled, there's one leader who says what he wants to say, and some trusted underlings to help things going, but the people are the ones who determine the ruler's stance. If most of them, or more than half, agree on a topic, then the ruler will adapt to their wish. It's a pretty… weird system, that can often be rigged, and it's how the ruler is elected, too." Tello shook his finger. "Once the older leader passes away, then some underlings step up and the people get to decide who will be leading them… And the two winners are required to fight, because, well, the wind tribe think that strength is what matters, but heh."
"Hm… an interesting system. The leader lacks royal blood, but he can still nonetheless rise to govern others." Contemplated Xander.
"Well, it's easy to rig if you ask me, but enough about the politics. The bad thing is that the people of the wind tribe don't like us much, to be honest. The good news is that they trust Fuga. If he let us enter, then I doubt that we'll see attacks from the locals."
"I see..; This is reassuring. But while I hate to be the pessimist, we need to prepare for a scenario where our entrance is denied. This is a full-blown war, we need to be prepared for anything. And as you've pointed out, general Tello, the people of the tribe seem to dislike us, the chances of us being rejected are higher than most of us would be comfortable with."
"A good point, brother." Corrin looked overjoyed in the background but managed to keep a straight face, barely betraying a proud smirk. "If we are rejected, then we will need to carry on until we reach Fort Jinya, there will be towns for us to resupply, as we did with the last one." Said Xander. "Hoshido's resources are a great asset, so we will turn it against them to prevail. We will also need to keep the Rat Catchers vigilant all day, for I suspect that ninjas will be infiltrating our division to try to sabotage things from the inside."
"A good point for both. Those towns will be of great help… Although, what if the Hoshidans decide to take all the resources inside or, if we dwell too near, attempt to outright destroy them? Yes, such an idea may seem insane, but consider that they can afford those losses. I've heard that they don't even know what to do with their food at times, despite their population." Said Tello. "They may decide to sacrifice lesser towns and thoroughly prepare their bigger cities for sieges, in an attempt to stall the war."
"Hm… a reasonable idea, and one that may come to pass… Hmm, speaking of that, I do believe that there is a town nearby." Informed Xander. "Rather small, from what I've heard. I suggest that we send a small contingent of soldiers to put it under Nohr's control. Though, of course, there shall be no violence." He said. "We will take what we need, but no more, and we'll leave them alone."
"Hm… this might be a trap, though. The Hoshidans have been attacking us for a while. With all due respect, you should be careful about sending a group away from the main army. They may be ambushed."
Xander prepared to answer, but a shadow loomed over him, and Camilla emerged. Corrin frowned instantly upon noticing the solemn look on her face, and got Jagen closer so that he may hear better… Then, he remembered that he had his good hearing and chided himself for his reflex.
"Camilla? You bid bad news, it seems… Inform us of it, if you please."
"Father has sent me a message." She said, from atop her wyvern. "Iago has… permitted the use of Faceless to sweep across Hoshidan territory. They've already released quite the horde ahead."
Xander balked in answer, but kept himself composed nonetheless. "What?! Why would Iago do this? The Faceless are still uncontrollable beasts! If they stumble upon a town, they'll destroy it beyond recognition!"
"Of course, but Iago has said that they could stumble upon traps, or force Hoshido to play their hands or even waste its resources getting rid of them… They've already managed to lay waste to a nearby town, animals…"
Xander clenched his fists and looked down. "That scum… Is… is there anything else I should know, Camilla?"
"Yes. The wind tribe will allow us to pass through, but only the group that includes us and Corrin." She said. "They won't allow the rest to simply pass through, and we can't just gather other Nohrians and move into the territory at once. They've barely accepted having the rest of General Tello's group move in."
"Hm… That's a problem."
"I see, well, those are good news nonetheless… At least we'll be able to use the stairway to get into Hoshidan territory more easily. Is there any other news?"
"… Father has made landfall on Hoshido."
The others gasped, and Tello looked up at Camilla. "King Garon has arrived?!"
"Yes, he's just reached Mokushu. He's here to help with "cleaning-up", as he said. He's still pretty far behind us, so far, oh, and Father wants to congratulate everyone." She looked up at the sky and tried to remember the exact wording. "We proved our worth by defeating a thousand enemies in a battle that will mark the history books forever, and each of us within the army have imprinted the world with our legacy."
Corrin stared at… nowhere, exactly, eyes wide, mouth agape. The Faceless being unleashed and destroying a town (with many more being doomed to such a grisly fate) was already hard to take in, but somehow, the presence of Garon was even more concerning to him. Of course, the old king had promised that he'd eventually arrive himself, but the young prince never thought that he'd arrive so soon! Would he be there to help break through the lines of defense? Had he dragged those psychotic thugs with him to help?
"… W-wonderful news! I'm… I'm sorry, I'm just a bit surprised about this." Said Corrin. Behind him, the soldiers were unconcerned with his reaction, since they all had their conversations going, but he was still worried at his less-than-enthusiastic reaction to the news being seen even by a foot soldier. "We will need to surpass ourselves to offer father a country ready to be taken."
"Hm… Yes." Xander glanced. "Thank you for the news, Camilla. We should prepare a camp soon. We're close to the frontier with the Wind Tribe already, and we will need to rest before we head into it. The winds within are quite violent and our soldiers will need to recover their strength before they enter it."
"Good idea. "I'll give out the order then." Said Tello. "We'll need to organize to avoid sabotage. Let's pull a few soldiers out of that… crystal."
"Right."
Leo headed towards the wagon containing the crystal (which was guarded ruthlessly by Odin, Niles, and quite a few high-placed soldiers) while Corrin was left to ponder.
…
The process to mount a camp that could house a hundred men and women were complicated, but Nohrians were disciplined and never one to back away from a challenge. Before the sun settled, they already built tents and settled a guarded perimeter, along with some extra protection from the rat catchers. Plenty of soldiers, however, didn't care much for caution. Yes, they were carrying their weapons (which, given their drunken state, probably did the opposite of reassuring their superiors) but once they set up their inhabitations and the rest, the soldiers promptly decided to use some of their recently acquired Hoshidan ale, inviting other curious soldiers to try it out.
Corrin was sitting amongst such a group, with a little smile. He wasn't one to party, but he had a few questions to ask. And besides, he figured that it'd help if he tried to get close to the men and women who were about to die in the name of his "father" and the mad campaign of his against Hoshido. The soldiers seemed to behave a little more around him, to his regret. One of them even briefly shook off his inhibited state to politely hand him over a drink, full of Hoshidan alcohol. Corrin politely declined in answer, since alcohol had little effects on him and he wasn't interested in tasting it.
The soldiers didn't bother to ask him to try it out, perhaps being glad that they'd have one more drink to consume by the end of the night.
"To all our brothers and sisters!" The soldier's triumphant announcement was somewhat botched by his hiccup, causing quite a few soldiers to laugh. "TO ALL OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS! WHO DIED SO THAT WE COULD EARN GREENER PASTUUUURRREESSSSSSSSS!" He said, with much more emphasis, to silence the laughter. He then, impressively, downed his drink, causing cheers from the on-going crowd. They all drank as well, and a few vomited. Corrin looked at them and drank from his strawberry juice drink, attempting to look as determined as the men and women next to him.
"Y-y-yeah!" Said the man next to him. "And we won thanks to them! And a-a-a-also thanks to Lord C-corrin! He transformed into a huge dragon and went, and went… BAAMMMM!" He described, with enthusiasm.
"Could I transform into a dragon too?" Pondered a female soldier. She wasn't stuttering, but her pink cheek, vacant smile, and slurred voice indicated that she was just as inhibited. "Heehee, I'd just go flying. I'd fly soo high… I'd leave the clouds… and I'd go to see the sun!"
"Well, ya don't need to be a dragon to see the sun!" Laughed her neighbor, who was visibly less drunk. "We can see it from here! Isn't that great?" The crowd responded with a bunch of fracas that he couldn't quite decipher, but it seemed to agree.
"I rarely saw the sun until now." Pondered a nearby knight, who refused to take his armor off and took quite someplace. His heavy swaying, caused by his consumption of alcohol through a small hole in the armor, prompted his neighbors to wisely take some distance. "It's… wonderful. I don't think I'm going to go back to Nohr, after this. I'm just going to farm here and finally eat some vegetation that isn't all twisted."
"Same. Nohr is a blighted country. I don't think I'm going back there when the war's done. But, you know, I think that we won't have to. I mean, we're the ones who invaded Hoshido, right? Why'd we need to go back when we fought for that piece of land? I'm just going to settle down and if some noble come at me with a certificate, well, I'm going to tell them where to stick it!" Said an enthusiastic blond soldier.
"Hmmm, in their pocket?"
"No. Up his ass." Explained the young man, speaking as though he was sharing some worldly wisdom. His interlocutor's immediate "ooo" answer immediately made him look even more like a sage.
"Wait, shit! We're all saying this in front of the prince!" Realized a dark mage. "Lord Corrin, we love Nohr, don't worry!" He said. "My favorite place in the world!"
"Haha… Don't worry, I won't share." Said Corrin. "… But I'm curious, though. Is all of Nohr this bad? What would we need to do for you to get back in?" Seeing the soldiers' incomprehension, probably because of their drunken stupor, Corrin laid his drink down and leaned forward, putting his hands together. He was sitting on a little wooden bench, near the campfire, so it illuminated his face just a little. "If you had to give us royals something to change, what would it be? What would we need to change or even remove before you all decide that Nohr is a good place to live? I mean, barring the obvious."
"Huh.. well, without the Blight, I think I'd suggest… erm." The paladin took a swing of his drink. "Let's remove the nobles, but not… you or the others, because you're nice, but there's a lot of those assholes sitting there, and... they're all assholes… sitting there."
"Yeah… the nobles have been observing us from their ivory thrones, and unlike you or the rest of the royals, they ain't coming down here to fight with us. When we win, they'll come out for sure though, to try and take everything." The soldier who spoke, a wyvern rider, gestured downwards. "It's how they do things. I say, if you want to please us, then force them down their towers, give 'em a weapon and tell them that if they want their fancy cottages and emerald hills, well, they'll have to get it the Nohrian way!" She folded her arms and looked up, proudly, as she received quite the enthusiastic answer from her audience.
"I see…" Said Corrin. "Noted about the nobles. Is there anyone else? The slums, maybe?" The young man snapped his fingers. "Hey, the slums! We'll work to banish them."
To his surprise, the soldiers greeted the news with confusion and surprise rather than joy. "The slums? Oh… Yeah, those." Pondered a soldier. "I didn't grow up in 'em, so I can't say what they're like."
"They're pretty hellish. You've got to fight early if you want to leave them." Described a fellow. "It's nasty, for sure, but it forges a soul as well as it forges a body." The man didn't seem to notice Corrin's concerned gaze. "I mean, it culls the meek and the weak, right? You fight tooth and nail for the right to live. That way, when you join the army, you're already good at fighting. Hardly need all that training." He described, attempting to draw in more than some affirmative nods. "Ain't I right? Come on."
"Heh…" Said his closest neighbor. "A lot of the dogs of war." At the mention of the name, the other Nohrians put their drinks down, or simply fell silent. "They grew up in the slums. Sure, it culls the weak, but it also results in total fucking psychos." Said the man. "See, I wanna beat Hoshido, but I don't think that I should burn down the place, because that's where I'm gonna live and you don't shit where you eat. But those morons? They're going to burn the place down till there's nothing, and all that is because they grew up in those hellholes."
"Yeah, but it's the spirits in their heads." Said a cleric, gesturing to his head. "They were already present when they were born. And the spirits are what tell them to do evil deeds. They're evil at birth, man."
"Well, you could smash their head and get the spirit out." Wisely suggested a man clad in some bony armor. The soldiers then left the previous discussion and proceeded to discuss the best way to get rid of spirits. Corrin, figuring out that the troops would be too busy, decided to call it quit and got up, leaving the little congregation. Some figures observed him from within the group that he was leaving but he failed to notice them on time as he began his nightly stroll, his mind still full of questions.
He didn't feel like going to sleep, but at the same time, he wanted to be ready for the trip to the wind tribe… What could he do? Perhaps he could fetch Nyx to ask him to put him under some sort of sleeping trance? No, she'd probably chide him for having lousy sleeping habits in the first place, and was hard to find thanks to her wards. Perhaps he could just lay down? No, his mind would end up wandering.
"Lord Corrin?" The prince tensed a bit and turned around to see one of the female soldiers approach him. "Are you alright? You looked troubled!" As she approached, he could see her facial features a bit better. The woman had long brown hair, pale skin, black eyes and had clothing fitting of a paladin, she was also pretty large on top of that, being about his size.
"When you asked those questions about the slums, I was so impressed!" She said, putting her hand on his arm. "You sure are asking the good questions! All the other generals, don't mind me, they wouldn't bother hanging out with us like that! Well, Tello did but not tonight… I guess he's extra busy!"
"He works hard, doesn't he?" Said Corrin. The woman nodded and then got a bit closer. Not really knowing how to respond, he just froze in place and put his hands in his armor's pocket, to look in control. "Hey, Lord Corrin, how about we try to see if they're drinking somewhere else in the camp? I bet that if we get the right people, they won't be drunk enough to just wander off like that. It's so rude of them to just diverge mid-transformation!" She shook her head. "Anyway, my name is Lourine! I hope you won't mind if I accompany you! You know, I've always venerated you!"
Rather overwhelmed, Corrin put up a token "uh-uh" before opting to speak up. "Well, sure. I think there's a smaller crowd, and they're not making as much noise."
"Ohhh sweet!" She wrapped her arm around his own, and he realized that she was probably flirting with him. Or she was a spy who was about to try to bury a knife in his stomach, perhaps! Before he could try to ask her if she was a Hoshidan spy who meant to take his life though, a figure stepped out of the shadow of a nearby tent, and Beruka appeared. Her sole eye gazed upon them both, with such force that the paladin opted to let go of his arm in an instant. "Huuhh, huuhhh my dog is lost in the woods, I'm off to find him!" She said, as a justification, before promptly running off. He turned around, but she was long gone, so he turned to see Beruka. Remembering how things looked like, he raised both hands. "I'm-I'm, there was nothing. I was about to ask if she meant to stab me because she was a spy and, if she wasn't, I'd tell her…"
Beruka glanced at him, her gaze betraying confusion. With the presence of her eyepatch, she looked just a bit more intimidating. At the same time, he was weirdly appreciative of it in a way, but he opted not to share it with the others since it'd be kind of weird to flat-out say it. "I care little about that." She said. "I merely wished to discuss some matters with you, if you do not mind."
"W-well, I never mind Beruka." He said, slicking his hair back without really meaning to. She stared flatly at him before he spoke up. "You won't mind if we go for a little walk then, right? I'm sorry, but after spending a good chunk of hours on a horse, I think that I just want to move my legs a little, haha!"
"Hm… We'd need to remain within the camp though." Said Beruka. "In the darkness of Hoshido, only fools would wander out. Ninjas are trailing all around us, waiting for a chance to pick us off one per one. And even if there are none of them, then we would be attacked by a Faceless without a doubt."
Corrin let out a low sigh and smacked his hand against his forehead. "Ohhh, yeah, the Faceless too. I forgot about those." He said. "They've been released… Hm…" The young prince looked out at the horizon beyond the camp. The moon above illuminated a rather peaceful forest (and he could even somewhat see a small lake), and it was a shame to imagine that going there would be a death sentence because of the undead monsters that were roaming across the landscape, mindlessly smashing whatever they saw, including allies.
"Hm… wasn't there a village nearby?" Said Corrin, glancing at Beruka.
"Yes. There was." She put particular emphasis on the last word. "… You're thinking of going there?" Asked the assassin immediately. He was a bit surprised at just how easily she guessed his true intentions, but just smiled.
"Well, I can't just let those people die, right?"
"You can. It's war, you'd be exposing yourself to danger leaving this camp, all for the sake of a destroyed village." She argued. "We do not need to put you in danger, not when I… have concluded that your draconic powers make you a key asset." Beruka eyed some nearby soldiers passing through.
"I guess you're right, but… Well, our fields prevent ninjas from getting in, but what about the Faceless? They could smash through those." He said. "Those dumb monsters could end up slowing us down later, and they're nearby, so I think that…"
"Yes, we'll go to the village." Eventually said Beruka, shrugging a little. He stared at her as if she just argued that the sky was red, so she continued. "I know that you can't be dissuaded away from helping, and you will likely end up upset if denied. So, we're going to the village… And I'll be accompanying you to make sure you don't accidentally end up running off into a crowd of Faceless."
"O-oh, I see! Well, you're not forced to. It's pretty dangerous, and I don't want to drag others into that little journey. It's a little selfish of me to drag other people into this mission, after all."
"Yes, it'll remain between us." Said Beruka. Then, a shadow dropped behind her, and she glanced behind her, noticing that Kaze had just jumped in, with his usual smirk. She sighed.
"I guess it's not really between you two anymore." He said. "Apologies for intruding, but I was searching for Lord Corrin."
"Is there something you need to see me about?" Answered Corrin, leaning back a little. Kaze shook his head.
"I haven't been successful in approaching the other Nohrians unprompted. It is not a matter of being rejected, of course, but I find it… difficult to be accepted nonetheless, and some of their cruder comments on Hoshido and its people have convinced me that I should perhaps seek more sober companionship. I do apologize if I interrupted something."
"No, don't worry." Corrin frowned a little, and Beruka realized that some soldiers would probably get themselves a solid lecture. Then again, while she wouldn't be caught defending those dim-witted fools, she could understand their reluctance at dealing with a Hoshidan. For more than centuries, Hoshido had been their enemy for Nohr, so having to accept a deflector into their midst was a surprise. Not that deflectors weren't common through the years, but with the years and years of propaganda etched into their minds, or the difficulty that came with crossing Nohr in the case of a lucky slum-dweller, it was difficult to be a turncoat.
"Hm… If anything, Kaze, would you mind helping Beruka and I on a little mission?" He proposed. "There's a bunch of monsters, you know, the Faceless."
Kaze nodded. "Those sinister beasts… Yes. I've heard that they've been deployed in the landscape. You would wish to get rid of them? While I certainly commend such an action and promise to help you kill as many as we can, I have to wonder why you would get rid of them when they've been released by your Nohrians superiors."
"I'm a prince. I can always say that a few Faceless were getting too close to the camp and we decided that it'd be best to remove them." Said Corrin. There was an edge of a sort in his voice as he declared his status as a prince. "I don't want to sit by and watch while those degenerate monsters cause suffering amongst the innocent people of Hoshido. They're too stupid and disorganized to be a threat to the more well-armored infrastructure, after all, so their main victims are defenseless people."
"I see… Well, you have my support."
"And mine." Said Beruka.
"And mine."
"Alright, but you shouldn't listen to people like that, Shura!" Chided Corrin, glancing at Shura. The outlaw drank from a bottle of alcohol and shrugged. "What can I say? I'm not wanted around like green hair." He said. "People are not going to easily trust an outlaw who tried to rob them blind, who'd knew? There's also the whole ninja thing."
"Hm... We'll discuss this later, if you don't mind. We should at least head out to try and ensure that we'll be able to save at least one life in the village. Do you have any weapons on yourself?"
Beruka casually pulled an axe out from a little sheath on her thigh. She'd need a much deadlier axe to kill a Faceless, but with Corrin around, she figured that she could easily get into a position where she could finish them off. Shura, meanwhile, pulled out a little katana, taken from the battle at Goemon's trap, and Kaze pulled out a few daggers. Nothing impressive, to be honest, but it'd be a waste to acquire the bigger weapons when Corrin could tear the beasts apart with his bare hands anyway.
"Alright, I'll be offering an excuse to leave the camp, hm… I've got a good one."
…
"You were feeling like taking a walk but you'd need us around because you're scared of the dark? Really?" Said Shura.
"Well, I'm a bit scared of the dark, so it's not a lie!" Said Corrin, defending himself against the outlaw's accusation.
The four Nohrians were walking on an empty hill, with the wind occasionally howling. Beruka, uninterested in the discussion, was glancing at the horizon and the green pastures ahead of her (though she could see, in the distance, the tall mountains of the wind tribe). A few years ago, perhaps, she would've shrugged off the sight, but seeing the kilometers worth of grass ahead awakened something in the assassin, like… awe.
It was everything that she had yearned to see back in the slums, everything that the story-tellers described in their tales of emerald mountains and azure skies. And if she wanted to, she could very well settle in, give the finger to the nobles and accomplish her childhood dream of "freedom" by living in those beautiful green fields, away from the sinister landscape of Nohr and its inhabitants… But then, she remembered that she didn't even know what she'd do if she even decided to retire. As much as she disliked to admit it, there was a small thrill to killing. Every time she managed to track down a target and drive a knife unto their heart, she felt a bit warmer, a bit more alive at times. Would that feeling vanish if she were to retire?
Working with the King's shadows would grant her a work similar to her old one and she'd at least be able to do something instead of wasting away in some house, but she'd abandon her identity entirely and would truly accept her role as a pawn of the new monarch. Sure, Xander would probably change that, since he seemed determined to change Nohr from top to bottom, but would his elite guard take priority over all of Dreiz? He'd probably change the way the Shadows worked later, and she would probably be "gone" by then, and unable to simply resume her old identity.
She'd need to give up and bid farewell to Camilla, Selena, and Corrin. And while it would be a no-brainer to do so if you asked her about a year ago, that frustrating hesitation kept cropping up now. Beruka needed to talk to Corrin about this. She needed to do it now, and she was almost angered at Kaze and Shura for the crime of being there or Corrin himself for deciding to go on some nightly expedition that could endanger him if he overestimated his powers or the numbers of Faceless there.
"Is there something wrong, Beruka?" Asked Kaze, uninvolved in the current debate.
"… Am I thinking about the battle, nothing more." She said. "… You seem fine with the idea of invading Hoshido."
"We already had this conversation, with all due respect. I know that I would need to assist in my country's invasion, eventually. I had some months to steel myself to this eventuality. And I know that the generals who lead this army are good people who will not let their soldiers commit wanton brutality upon Hoshido's people." He said. "Though it is rather concerning that they weren't consulted about the attack of the Faceless. Those brainless abominations could very well end up being more of a bother than anything."
"Yes. But Iago is the grand general. This position allows him to answer to none other than King Garon. While he cowers in front of the siblings, he cares little about their opinion now that he's half a country away from them." She said.
"Hm… I see. Truthfully, I was hoping that deflecting would allow me to see for myself why King Garon would surround himself with such…"
"You can be honest, for once." Said Beruka.
"Right. Why such pieces of garbage would be hired by him." He said. "Yukimura, his direct counterpart if I may say, is a far more honorable man… Oh, though I reassure you, I do not plan on defecting back." Assured Kaze.
"Iago is powerful. Moreso than the other mages. This is why he was hired." She said. "Nohrian society works like that. If you are strong and can at least lead and answer to the King, you can occupy a high position. Someone with a weak body can ascend, but it's better to be physically or magically strong." Beruka flexed her arm a little, but not out of pride. "I'm the servant of Lady Camilla because of my strength, for instance. I will not say that I own my position only due to it, but every Nohrian is expected to have the strength to fell their enemies, and the willpower to use it."
"I see… In Hoshido, it is more of a matter of proving oneself, and age." He said. "In Hoshido, elders must be respected and honored. Even the Queen, depending on their age, may be forced to listen to the council of the elders." Kaze seemed to be pretty pleased at the information, and Beruka reminded herself that interrupting someone mid-conversation was rude, so she decided to let him speak. "Of course, some in Hoshido sees it as bad. For them, the future's country is shaped by old men, who seek to increase their already considerable power even further, and care little about the fate of the younger inhabitants… And while age will inevitably catch up to them, though some will meet a blade instead, there will always be someone eager to fill that void."
"I was led to believe that the royal family was the supreme leader of a sort. Some cabal is leading Hoshido all of a sudden?"
"It is more of a cooperation. The regent is the spiritual ruler, lead the armies, take care of the citizens and preserve the weapons while the elders help with all of those. At any point, the regent could decide to ignore them, or even attempt to recuperate their power by killing them, but that would result in resistance, and the regent would soon be identified as a tyrant." Said Kaze. "This "power-split" allows both leading parties to work together without overtaking the other, and allow one to stop the other if they need to, but of course, they have both tried to go through loopholes to acquire more power than the other. Thus far, I've heard that they're busy trying to defeat Nohr, though."
"Hm… in Nohr." She admitted. "The nobles rule over the country, but are weaker than the royal family." Beruka twirled her axe. "Surely, you're aware of the great massacre at the Forlorn Forest, hm?"
"Yes. This made them subordinate to the state, right? The council of elders got quite afraid after hearing about it, and this led to an attempt to consolidate their powers. This caused the young King Sumeragi to have a difficult time." He said. "But from your description, no one grows old in Nohr, right?"
"Yes. King aside, no one grows old in Nohr. When they do, they end up weak. At the mercy of paltry brigands that they could've easily blown away in their prime." Said Beruka. "Most Nohrians seek to have a glorious death or at least a glorious life before an assassination happens. In a way, it keeps the country fresh." She said. "Only the royals ever make it to old age, though there are exceptions, like Katerina."
"Ah yes… That was an exceptionally terrible period in Nohr."
"It was, but it was the King's foolishness that caused this. In his grief after Queen Katerina's death, he allowed all those women to get close to him, and when one of them, Arete, "won"… They tore each other apart." She said. "It was a golden age for assassins. Plenty of them were hired to commit murders, at a very high price, and some were subsequently hired to kill those who succeeded or simply the women or jealous nobles who hired them."
"Isn't it a little sinister, with all due respect, to deem such a period a golden age? I've come to understand that the royal family has come to suffer from it, and plenty of lives were lost."
Beruka pondered a little. "Not many would side with these women." She said. "The nobles in Nohr keep the population under their hell or at the slums, and ruthlessly fight to keep their shreds of power. When a noble die, few weep for them." Continued Beruka. "The concubine war involved a lot of nobles killing or crippling one another. The population obviously would enjoy that."
"I see… This hatred against the nobles seems to be prevalent, from what I've glanced. Say, what's your opinion on them?"
"They're targets. I was sent to kill a few of the more rebellious ones." Said Beruka. "Not all of them are stupid, but all are overconfident or so paranoid that they end up easy to approach and kill."
"I see… It is truly different from what I've envisioned. In Hoshido, the nobles and the old rule the country in harmony. In Nohr, they are hated and under the King's control."
"Didn't you already know that? Regardless, the others are distancing us. We should catch up to them, lest they end up too far away to rescue us from a sudden ambush by the Faceless, resulting in swift dismemberment and death." When Kaze chuckled in a very nervous manner, Beruka shook her head a little. "No. I'm not joking."
The two sped up in time to notice that Shura and Corrin were still discussing the merits of his plan. Tiring from the topic after one second of hearing it, Beruka approached the two and put her hands on their mouths. The right one clamped quite fiercely on Shura's jaw, to a degree where pressing just a little more would ensure that he wouldn't be talking for the rest of the war, but it was far softer on the young prince, though the surprise in having his mouth covered caused him to nearly leap to the moon and back.
"B-beruka!" He said. "You surprised me! H-hey, was my excuse bad?" He asked. "Hey, Kaze, help me as well."
"It was an awful excuse." She said.
"… Yes, I think I could've done a better one. With all due respect, of course!" Admits Kaze, laughing a little. "But I do not think that we should make too much noise while we're in the countryside." As he said that, Shura noticed something peering out of the snow and approached a little. "Ninjas may be outside, and it would be bad for us to get caught out. Furthermore, aren't Faceless drawn to noises? We shouldn't be making too much yelling."
"Yes."
"Heh. I don't think we need to worry about ninjas for the time being." Said Shura, poking at something at the ground with his feet. Whatever he saw, it was enough to get him to stop slouching and stand up straight. This prompted Beruka to approach, curious at whatever could get his attention, and the sight that appeared unto her eyes caused her to pause, for the briefest moment, and she moved to try to stop Corrin from getting closer, lifting her hand at the last moment to get him to stand back a little.
On the ground laid the remains of some unfortunate Hoshidan soldiers, who met with a terrible fate at the hands of the Faceless. Since she could still recognize the armors and some of the limbs that had been strewn about, she figured that they had been torn apart instead of merely pummeled to death. Kaze knelt close to the "bodies", sighed sadly, and got up. "Let the wings of death purify their bodies, and may the spirits of the afterlife smile upon those poor fools."
"I doubt that a vulture is getting anywhere close." Said Shura. "They're rotten beasts for sure, but even they know not to be around when the Faceless are nearby." To demonstrate his point, Shura pointed down, and then up. Indeed, the corpse-eaters had chosen to vacate the premise, perhaps eager that death would come swiftly upon them if they chose to dine nearby.
"What's going on?" Said Corrin, still spared from seeing the scene. He could always glance at it with his eyes, but he probably wasn't curious enough to do so.
"The Faceless's victims… We should be close to a village." Said Beruka. She quietly walked past the corpses and noticed that giant footsteps were on the ground. The Faceless came from up north, alone, and met a squad of roaming Hoshidans, it seemed. Then, once it was done, the beast moved away from the small crater caused by its attack and headed east, away from the camp. It was probably headed for that city, since the Faceless, while devoid of reasons, were made to be smart enough to target Hoshidan infrastructure over Nohrian ones. They would still happily tear apart humans, regardless of nationality, but if presented with two humans, one from Nohr and one from Hoshido, they would start with the latter.
Thus, the village was probably nearby. The Nohrians were making quite some noises and the lights were on, so the Faceless would've went for them unless it happened to smell a nearby Hoshido infrastructure.
"The village is nearby, and so are the Faceless." Said Beruka. "It appears that this particular Faceless joined the assault rather lately, it may still be standing. Or at least, still had humans within it." She stared at Corrin, who was being somewhat carefully led away from the gruesome sight by Kaze. "But it appears unlikely that they survived. It'd be best to go back to the camp and prepare some defenses. If the town has been destroyed, then the Faceless will head for the camp, unless there's a village further down to assault."
"Hm… a wise idea." Said Kaze. "With all due apology, lord Corrin, I doubt that there will be much to save, and it would be best for us not to get caught by surprise when the fiends head for the camp. They might be doing so right now."
Corrin stammered a little. "W-well, I'm not hearing them do so." He says, biting his lip a little. "But can we just… check on the village? Maybe they survived, right? Surely, the villages would get some measures to fend off these beasts?"
"Unfortunately, the best ways to avoid dying at the hands of a Faceless is to hide in a bigger city or put up spikes and the likes around the perimeters. The village that was attacked, and its inhabitants, was either too poor to do both or simply unwilling." Said Kaze. "We may get close, perhaps, but in hindsight, attempting to hunt the Faceless may be an ill-advised venture."
"Yeah, he's right." Shura jammed a thumb at Kaze. "I'm loyal to you, but we may wish not to step too much into Faceless territory with our regular weapons."
Corrin glanced at Beruka, with eyes akin to a pleading puppy. She stared at him, looked aside, and decided to walk past him. "Come. I'll take you." Ordered Beruka. "But we may only get close to see if there's a village left. When… if there is no one to save, we will go back, alright?"
"But… you all agreed… Alright. T-thanks Beruka." He said. He moved to grab his hand, but figured that she wouldn't accept it, so he just walked in synchronization with her. Behind them, Shura sighed and began following them.
"I sure do love putting my life in danger." He said.
"Well, I may as well remain with you then. If I were to head back alone, I could be attacked… or suspected of some horrible crime." He admitted. It was a good point: Kaze returning alone after taking aside Corrin, Shura, and Beruka would be seen as very suspicious. Thus, the young man didn't refute him. Instead, they went deeper into the Hoshidan landscape, though it took them barely four minutes to follow the Faceless's massive footsteps and see another troubling sight. Still, it got less of a rise out of the three more hardened members of the group.
The quiet Hoshidan town had been, indeed, leveled by the rampaging Faceless. Its rustic houses fell all too easily to fists that could shatter steel and stone without issues and the inhabitants aside had all been easily caught and slain by the Faceless. Speaking of those, the giant deformed monsters were in sight, with one having a spear lodged into its chest. Not that it minded, thanks to its immortal nature, or it was simply too dumb to even register it.
The Faceless were tall beasts, but no one could exactly make out what they were made out of. Some said that they were monstrosities made out of the corpses of the soldiers who fell in the war, powered by the soldier's remaining hatred. Dark wizards, meanwhile, sung tales of acquiring the flesh of dead Nohrians and stapling it together into a hideous, brainless mass. No one knew, since the process to make Faceless was known only to a tiny handful of mages and the average wizard could only really summon one. It worked into their mystic, of a sort.
The beasts had some rudimentary armor on them, by some complicated magic ritual, but were otherwise left out into the wild. They weren't excepted to do anything else but cause chaos and eventually die, so they relied on their supernatural strength and speed and sheer lack of any feeling of pain to brutally overwhelm their enemies until their spears eventually overwhelmed them. Right now though, they seemed oddly quiet, walking around the perimeter aimlessly, sometimes even lifting a single piece of wood and then continuing to walk. Some weren't even moving, merely standing still without so much as twitching a muscle.
Kaze clenched his fists upon seeing the destruction. "This village did nothing to deserve such destruction… I may be a traitor to Hoshido, but please, allow me to mourn the senseless murder of those innocent citizens."
"Yeah. Well, we better mourn it a few kilometers away. I don't know why the Faceless are that quiet, but I think I can live without finding out."
"The Faceless are made to exterminate, they will not move out unless some humans remains." Said Beruka. "But it seems odd, nonetheless. There must remain only one or two humans." The assassin contemplated her situation from their vantage point and frowned. "Even the Faceless move away from a post once it's been destroyed enough. Why would they remain here?"
"I guess you'll ask a mage once we're back at the place that isn't infested with hulking undead monsters." Said Shura, who glanced at the praying Kaze, shrugged and moved to leave, walking quietly. Beruka had to agree, and turned towards Corrin to put her hand on his shoulder. "We should leave. There must remain only one person in there, Corrin."
"… One person to save." He muttered, eyes wide and desperate. "I… I can't let something like that happens in front of me. Get back to the camp, I'll just save someone." The young prince moved and, before the three soldiers could make an attempt, moved to slide down the hill. He did so discreetly, but a nearby Faceless whipped around with great speed, instantly taking on a combat stance.
Beruka wished to yell at Corrin for putting himself in danger, but before she could do so, the Faceless threw his hulking mass forward with immense speed. Before the prince could be warned, the Faceless came up to him, raised its massive hands over its masked head, and slammed them down on him.
"Corrin!"
…
N/A: Hehe, kind of a filler chapter! Or not really, since it's a paralogue. But a bit changed, of course.
Indeed, Corrin's realizing what being an invader is, and as shown in this chapter, he's not taking it particularly well! It must be a bit tiring but the future fight with Fuga will involve him cutting down on the hesitancy, so don't worry!
How was the chapter? I sure do love reviews, so keep 'em coming, they're great!
See ya later!