Before chapter 9 starts, I want you to know that this is more of a... filler episode, with some semi-important information regarding Illuso, Risotto Nero, and the Black Dogs. With only 4081 words, this chapter is very short so I'm warning that this isn't going to be fun for some readers.
...
But no worries! Chapter 10 will come with Olga Discordia throwing up razor blades, revelations, decisions, bullying, killing, stomping, slapping, blackmail, philosophy, and more! So stay in touch my little readers. Put a little faith in West.
...
With that said... review time~!
Doppio Diavolo 666: Ah, it warms my heart that my work is inspiring others...
starscreamer11: Here's the next chapter you were waiting for!
Don Orbit: Christmas seems so far away... anyways, the explanation for Risotto's behaviors are described in this chapter. Hope you're satisfied~!
Mr. What If: Risotto's eyes won't be revealed in a few dozen chapters, according to my plot that I planned out. As for Olga's punishment... well, that's going to come out after a few chapters so... yeah, y'all would have to wait.
Just an IsekaI writer: Thank you. ... That... that's a compliment, right?
Moist pee pee good: Ah... a bit strange, but thank you nonetheless for a wholesome(?) review.
Guest: Sure.
123ABIR123: Tada~!
...
Now... let's get it!
"So… these are the assassins the old geezer recommended?" Questioned one mercenary with obvious distaste in his voice.
"Hey. It's Grave Levantine we're talking about. If I were to take anybody's suggestion seriously, it would most definitely be him"
"That doesn't help me from feeling shit… those assholes went up the goddamn ladder thanks to some high general prick from personally liking them. It's fucking unfair…"
"Betcha twelve silver coins that they wouldn't survive within the second week"
"I bet double of that amount that they'll stay alive for at least three weeks"
"That much?"
"Come on. Like I said before, Grave Levantine recommended them. Lucky assholes or not, they should be somewhat skilled"
"Bah. Skilled in fucking suburbs and slums, not in the frontlines. I bet ten silver coins that they die this week"
"You're digging your own grave over there. I doubt we'll even meet a goblin within a week"
"Those bastards…" Growled Ghiaccio as he trudged along the soil of the base camp of the Black Dogs. "I ought to freeze them to death…"
"Please don't" Grumbled Illuso as he rubbed his brows. "As much as they're annoying, we can't really blame them for their attitude. To have their respect, we should first earn it"
"Illuso is correct Ghiaccio. Be reminded that these mercenaries are our allies" Spoke Risotto sternly as Ghiaccio felt a needle pricking from underneath his skin. "It would be unwise to cause disruption between us so early. Make sure to keep your anger issues to yourself"
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Those cocksucking needles!" Hissed Ghiaccio as he rubbed his forearms as Risotto's Stand gave Ghiaccio a warning prick. "Not cool Risotto! Not cool!"
"Ah! Now finally meet the ones who Grave was talking about!" A voice came up front.
First thing Risotto noticed about the man was that he was with clothes and armor, it was easy to spot his chest bulging with muscles. Next came his toned arms, which looked like metal fibers that happened to be wrapped in human skin and very flexible.
'Must be the result of swinging that sword, more than one could count' Mused Risotto as his eyes lingered on the giant broadsword that was nearly as tall as the man carrying it. And what a large man he is, towering over the three assassins with his charisma oozing from his posture.
"Greetings" Spoke Risotto, politely as he stretched his hand.
Nobody can say that Risotto's hands were small nor soft. They were smooth, but rough in many edges as they had been through hard and dirty work that Risotto had done that didn't require his Stand. However, compared to Vault's Risotto wasn't ashamed to comment that his hand may just be that of a baby.
His hard grip easily overpowered Risotto's grip and Risotto had to keep his expressions in check as Vault shot him a smug look.
No need… for… aggression. He will prove their worth to the Black Dogs through experience and actions, and will win their respect.
"Well then… soon-to-be brothers-in-arms" Grinned Vault as he addressed Illuso and Ghiaccio along with Risotto. "We'll be marching north at dusk. Get your horses and your luggage ready and let's kill some greenskins"
Chapter 9: Brothers-in-arms
It has been four days since the Black Dogs and the assassins marched north, and now the green trees were already out of sight. Before, the mercenaries had the pleasure of treading the soft moist soil. Now, the ground had become a rough unforgiving surface where dust and pebbles replaced the dirt.
They have reached the badlands. This was quite an impressive feat. Usually it would take more days for such a large number of people to orderly make their way to the badlands. But the Black Dogs accomplished this within four days with only about 700 people.
With the sun setting fast, the men have set up the tents and set a perimeter around the camp while choosing the sentries for tonight. Inside the largest tent, which happened to be Vault's, a round wooden desk was surrounded by four people: Vault, Hicks, Kin, and Risotto Nero. On the desk was a map that had the location of the badlands and the four men had just finished their discussion of the route they would have to take.
Risotto Nero, being cautious and careful all the time, suggested that they take the long route to the Black Fortress, avoiding any possible orc chieftains, and places where the inhabitants pledged themselves to Olga Discordia. Doing this may take time, but Risotto argued that by doing so their safety from the dark elf would be guaranteed. For if she ever finds out before the Black Dogs were close enough to the Black Fortress, the mission would become an absolute failure.
Hicks, on the other hand, chose the opposite strategy. With Olga Discordia greatly weakened by whatever made her weak, Hicks believed that the dark elf had less control over the orcs and monsters that lived in the north. So even if their presence were known to the enemy, their army was in too much disarray to properly defeat the Black Dogs. Thus, rather than avoiding orc areas, Hicks suggested going straight on invading each chieftain's areas, after all by doing so they could easily get to the Black Fortress in no time. Although this was a bold move that may tire out the mercenaries, Hicks argued that going the long way around would be more of a waste of everybody's resources and stamina. In fact, raiding the orc's lairs would provide them with more resources and information of the surrounding badlands that would come in handy for the Black Dogs' mission. Plus, the decreasing Olga's disarrayed army was another advantage they could take.
Kin also had a different idea of action in his head. The Black Dogs' only mage, and perhaps the most competent magician in all of Eostia, proposed to move as fast as possible to their destination, but at the same time trying their best to not alert the dark elf of their whereabouts. By going through the mountain masses, Kin estimated that it would take a total of two weeks for them to be within the boundaries of the Black Fortress. However, with the chances of ambush high(along with many other perils), Vault would have to use his scouts to the maximum, searching for residing camps of monsters and orcs, and taking them out. If the numbers were too massive, they would simply find the second nearest mountain pass to get to the Black Fortress as soon as possible.
With each one stubbornly firm with their decisions, it was up to Vault to break the tie and bring it to consensus.
He chose Kin's strategy and the other three men complied.
After all, the commander's decision was final and absolute.
"Alright… now this part is where you people get to shine" Spoke Vault as he rubbed his hands.
It was two more days after they had their debate of their course of action, and now they were only a few kilometers away from enemy territory. The time was before sunrise, and the Black Dogs were getting ready for their first battle. Yesterday, Hicks and his band of scouts have already scouted the areas of potential orc camps and found several.
"Usually I'll be against this since we do not know your capabilities as scouts. However, since it was Graves Levantine himself that recommended you to be part of this expedition, I'll trust his judgement and hand you to take the glory of scouting the enemy"
Now, with those words, Vault put his attention to the map of the badlands as he pointed to five areas.
"Now according to the information we have and Hick's scouting group, we are sure that there are five orc camps in this area. But this one is the most dangerous orc camp" Emphasized Vault as he pointed to a certain point on the map. "The chieftain is one tough son of a bitch called Yagnar, and one of Olga's direct commanders. I need you to get a grasp of the numbers, especially the ones that Yagnar has under his command. Unfortunately, it was too dark and too risky for Hicks to get the approximation. Oh, and if you can, assassinate the green son of a bitch. Even if his subordinates realize that their leader is dead, I doubt they'll be on guard for enemies. They're more likely to fight amongst themselves to become the next leader who gets the privilege of the first fuck whenever he likes"
"Duly noted" Acknowledged Risotto as he stood up, preparing to leave the base camp. And, as he was about to leave the tent he added one more comment.
"We'll be back in two hours"
"..."
"..."
"... wait, wait, wait!" Spoke Hicks, as he broke out of his stupor. "Two hours?! It took me and my boys three hours to complete scouting enemy territory!"
"Three and half" Piped up Kin, with a smirk, but he too had a doubtful face. Two hours…? Kin didn't know what kind of skills or abilities the three mercenaries possessed, but for only three of them to scout all five camps and come back with the correct information…
…
…
…
Was there a magic caster among them? But if so, how would that shorten up the time to two hours?
"Well… we'll see how it goes" Spoke Vault as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He, too, can't help but be curious. However, he doubted that these people would ever reveal their cards anytime soon. Even if they bonded as brothers in arms as time passed, Vault had a feeling that their skills and abilities would stay as a secret for a long time.
…
…
…
Unless they try and uncover it. Secrets always come out one way or another.
Illuso's mirror world, or should he say the mirror world of 『Man In The Mirror』 worked in a rather simple way, but when analyzing this and that, it was confusing like any Stand ability and sometimes made little sense. After getting impaled by the Stand arrow by that fat slob Polpo, the mirror world of 『Man In The Mirror』 was immediately created. As long as 『Man In The Mirror』 existed, that world, a world that defies all logic and physics, would exist too.
Now, about the world itself. First rule of the mirror world of 『Man In The Mirror』: this world was a place where it rejected all forms of life. It was just the way the world was when it was created. Based on the reality where the Stand user was living, it created a fake world, a husk of the world, and inside it there were no forms of life anywhere. Even with the sun shining, the rivers flowing, and other elements functioning normally, not even a small dandelion would grow in the richest earth. Not a single bateria, not a single germ, not a single plankton existed inside this world. And only 『Man In The Mirror』 had the authority to decide what poor soul was able to enter his domain… The domain that rejected all forms of life. This was the main reason why it took so much energy for Illuso to transport even a single limb across the mirror world or the other way around. However, transporting Illuso himself or 『Man In The Mirror』 across the mirror world hardly required any energy at all.
Second rule of the mirror world of 『Man In The Mirror』: every reflection is a tunnel. Or was a portal a better choice of words…? No, a gate was the perfect word to describe reflections. Without the existence of a gate it would be impossible to get to the other side… unless you ram into a wall and break through it. Anyways, a reflection was absolutely needed in order for 『Man In The Mirror』 to transport life forms into the other world. But not just any reflection. The smoother the surface is, the more easy it was for 『Man In The Mirror』 to transport living creatures to the mirror world, and most importantly it needed to be a flat surface. A flat surface that portrayed the exact shape of the mirror world. In fact, it was near impossible for him to even move himself to the mirror world by using the surfaces of churning water or even funny mirrors. Even using his eye reflection turned out to be useless as its curved shape couldn't properly show the exact world of the mirror world.
Third rule of the mirror world of 『Man In The Mirror』: objects held or close to a mammal cannot be copied within the mirror world. Thus explaining why there aren't a bundle of clothes or cars without drivers within the mirror world.
Fourth rule of the mirror world of 『Man In The Mirror』: although objects from the real world can be brought into the mirror world, nothing from the mirror world can be consumed or taken back into the real world. This rule sucked. When Illuso discovered his Stand and its abilities, his greedy mind immediately went for money. How easy would it be for him to use the mirror world to enter a bank and scoop all the money and run back to his home? Or entering a jewelry store and stealing all the riches and gold from it? Unfortunately, heaven didn't grant him that much power. All Illuso could do was to hold back his tears as he realized that those that belonged inside the mirror world were just fake copies that cannot exist in the real world. All those cash, gold, food, items that brought pleasure…!
Sulking from the sudden memories that invaded Illuso's mind, the pig-tailed assassin aimlessly kicked a pebble.
"God damnit… can't see shit here!"
"It's before sunrise Ghiaccio. That was to be expected and besides, it's not pitch black. You can see the tinge of the purple glint up in the sky"
"This is the part when I wish we at least had a modicum of advanced technology…"
Currently, the three assassins were inside Illuso's world. A world where no life was allowed to enter, which ultimately meant that the mountains that were supposed to have thick trees and beasts lingering in between them had vanished completely, leaving only dirt, rock, and fallen leaves. It was an uncanny feeling to walk such a barren place, and especially in the dark. Although light flooded in the background, Illuso couldn't help but wish for a flashlight.
"Psst… we're here" Spoke Illuso finally catching sight of the orcs through the shard of glass he was carrying.
"This is the last camp right…? And it took us about an hour to get here…"
With the lack of trees, and with Risotto's ability to… well, technically sense living beings around him using magnetic fields, they were able to quickly move from one camp to another. And thus, it only took them an hour to get to the camp where…
"So… this is the place where this Yagnar is, right?" Asked Illuso as he twirled his finger around one of his pigtails. "Well… let's have a look around shall we?"
And so they did. With a shard of glass in Illuso's hand, they peered into the reflection of the original world as they walked around the campsite. Clearly, this orc camp was superior compared to the other camps. They had better weapons, better orcs, better structures, and better organization among themselves. They even had larger pens where they kept women for one-sided sexual pleasures, something that La Squadra couldn't get used to.
As for Yagnar… well, the lazy son of a bitch was snoring loudly on his bed made of leather and furs of various animals, which included humans. On the bed were three women, and the three assassins didn't need to look further into the mirror to get what was going on.
…
…
…
The chemistry with monsters and their victims was strange for Risotto. It was strange not to see an orc raping women, but to see three victims of rape having such content expressions stretched upon their faces which were marred with fluids of their assailant… that was disturbing. During Melone's… research on the women residing in this universe, women tended to give in to carnal desires as much as men. It was strange how victims who were saved from being captives of orcs or other unsightly demons tended to crave a huge cock between their lips. Then of course, after a long period of time, the euphoric memories of being a rape victim gradually turns back into nightmares, but even so, the longing lingers in their bodies.
All that Risotto could say regarding this information was that the creators of humanity of this world were either malicious demons in disguise, or simply idiots to create such weak-willed, easily-corruptible minds. However… after being stuck in this place for too long… Risotto felt the changes taking over him as he too felt sudden primal urges to take his slave and have his way with her. Then there was also that day when he met the Goddess-Reborn, which gave him a moment of impure thoughts of her ravishing the high-elf's delicate, perfect body. Truly, Risotto wished that they would find a way back home so he could escape this torment of the wish for female flesh.
What he didn't know was that actually it was Ysildea who had deliberately showed her master her cleavage at any chance she got(and her left nipple), accidentally splashed cooking oil on her white thin maid clothes, left the bathroom door slightly opened and spreading her legs when she urinated, and sensually slurped on one of Ghiaccio's popsicles with her master right next to her.
To make things worse(more like gureto-daze), Illuso, Formaggio, and Melone were the ones who had been secretly plotting behind their leader's back in order to have him get laid. How could they not?! How could they not when the half-elf girl was obviously so attached to her master, and was just there begging to be screwed like a bitch in heat?! How could they not when Risotto was simply ignoring Ysildea's attempts of seducing him?! As friends and family members of Risotto Nero, they couldn't let this stand. They couldn't let their dickless leader simply devote his time solely on returning home! Sure, it was important and sure it was the main priority above anything else, but at least have some fun while doing it, Risotto Nero!
So the three assassins secretly handed Ysildea aphrodisiacs disguised as perfumes, silk lingeries, and so much more…! Just… just when would that damn leader break and give in?! Heck, even Prosciutto got laid with that witch!
In summary, it wasn't the world that was affecting Risotto as he was inducing. It was the immense efforts of his trusted ones that were acting against him that was forcing his carnal urges to reawaken and unknown to Risotto, it was working.
Poor Risotto and poor Ysildea. Both are suffering from very different reasons, but one day maybe the three assassin's ploys would come to fruition.
"Holy shit, they're actually back" Muttered Hicks, his voice mixed with shock and horror. "They're actually back…"
"Now, now, all is not lost" Spoke Kin as he sweated slightly as one mercenary behind them fell flat on their back. "They… they must have skipped a few camps…! Right…? That's the… that's the only explanation, right?"
Meanwhile, unlike the Black Dogs that were sweating with anxiety, Vault was wearing a grin on his proud face as he greedily rubbed his hands.
"Well, well, well" He spoke as the blue and silver haired assassins made their way forward. "One hour and a half of that! Amazing! That old man Graves wasn't sprouting bullcrap!"
"I hoped he was going senile" Whimpered a Black Dog as he craddled his head in his hands.
"Well then… I suppose you've done your part in scouting I suppose?" Continued Vault as he grinned.
"Hell yeah we did" Spoke Ghiaccio, showing a more feral and deranged smile. "All five of them, with the exact number of each camp"
"... they're not lying" Groaned Kin as every member of the Black Dogs groaned and wailed along with the mage.
"Hah…? What's going on? What is this bullshit?!" Yelled Ghiaccio, caught off guard by the Black Dog's actions. "Oi, somebody tell me what the fuck is going on?!"
"Oh, nothing to worry about" Spoke Vault, the only Black Dog that seemed to be in a good mood. "These idiots and I had a bet… a bet to see if you La Squadra can really be back within two hours! Obviously I betted that you guys would return! I have an eye for men with great skills and conviction, so I knew you men could do it!"
"Thank you for your vote of confidence" Spoke Risotto dryly as he stared around the cacophony of mercenaries through his blindfold. As a shut-in assassin, such… noise was unfamiliar with Risotto. He preferred peace by sitting on the sofa and brooding while listening to metal rock bands with other people who share the same taste.
"Tch… it's quite a shame though… if you had killed Yagnar too, I would've gotten double" Muttered Vault.
"Yagnar? That fucker?" Asked Ghiaccio, a smile suddenly splitting his face into two. "Hah! You haven't noticed that haven't you?!"
Suddenly, every mercenary's attention surged towards the sack that Risotto was holding. At the bottom of the sack, red blood dribbled out from it, staining the grass with dark crimson.
"Holy shit… that… that can't be…!" Muttered Kin, his face going white.
"N-no! I mean…! How?!" Screamed Hicks as he pulled on clumps of his hair in an act of denial and desperation.
Vault's grin only got wider, and way more nastier as the rest of his crew wailed in despair. From Risotto Nero, he took the sack and when he opened it…
The orc Yagnar, so fearsome and vile that his notorious infamy was known throughout the ranks of soldiers of all seven Kingdoms, was now nothing but a heap of dead flesh that would become a good trophy when placed on a stake. Etched upon his face was a look of surprise, probably because he was wondering why the world was tilting in such a fast pace as its head lobbed clean off from his neck.
Vault cheered as the sound of a cash register rang somewhere, and his men cried as their hands reluctantly reached for their pouches. But, besides the shenanigans of the Black Dogs, one thing was established for sure.
Just as Illuso had said, they had to earn the Black Dogs' respect, and they have done it by accomplishing their first mission flawlessly. La Squadra was now respected by the Black Dogs. Their skills, their accomplished missions, and their contribution was finally recognized by the most famous mercenary band of Eostia. Now, they greeted the Italian assassins, not as competitors, but as brothers-in-arms.
…
…
…
But with Vault's plans for the future, the Black Dogs would stay back and watch carefully in the shadows, determining whether La Squadra would truly become their allies… or those who oppose their goal of swallowing Eosita. And if they were opposers… well, with all the good memories locked somewhere within their minds, they will slit their throats open with no hesitation.
However, what they didn't know was that as much as they were observing them, La Squadra was also observing them. Under the blackness, darker than shadows, the assassins will spy and observe the Black Dogs. And if they were to oppose their plans…
…
…
…
La Squadra would swallow them and spit them out as piles of ashes.
Collusion is inevitable. The battle of wits and resolve draws forth, and until then, both parties would cooperate until the revelations regarding the fate of Eostia.