Wearily I lean back against the wall and, covering my face with my hands, I conclude weightily. — "Idiots. I would say that there is no worse enemy than a stipid ally, but they screwed up here too and decided to fight too late, in the wrong direction and with the wrong hands. Hope for the honesty of medieval mercenaries? Not serious."
"You don't know yet that Celestine has the gift of providence. Now imagine what a fool she is, if she managed to run her business like that." — Olga drove the last nail into the coffin of my faith in all good things. Yes, we managed to switch to "you", while she listened with the keenest interest to me tell something about the Earth.
There was silence for a few minutes, during which each of us pondered what we had heard. I personally am not particularly surprised by human stupidity, but the fact that monsters need women of other species to reproduce seemed to me extremely unnatural. As if someone had created them on purpose, as a weapon. After all, you will agree — it is convenient when your army is replenished at the expense of the enemy, and when that is done, it will rest by itself.
While we was sitting, the ear caught the sounds of someone's footsteps from outside the cage. I turn on my thermal vision, run my eyes along the walls and find a procession of four people moving in our direction. Three thermal silhouettes were quite normal, but the fourth was larger, about two and a half meters tall and proportionally wider in the shoulders. Probably some kind of monster.
— "Someone is coming to us."
"Who's coming?" — The girls immediately picked up.
"Three people and someone big." — I replied, continuing to stare at the wall. I can imagine how funny it might look from the outside.
"Ogre," — Chloe said with confidence in her voice. — "But how did you know?"
"I saw it." — I turned to the elves and pointed my finger at my eye, and then explained when I saw the mute question on their faces. — "These eyes allow me to distinguish the heat coming from the bodies."
While I was explaining, a very colorful company drove up to us: two ordinary gopniks in leather pants and vests, each with a sword hanging on their belts, and a nasty grin froze on their unshaven faces. The "big one" turned out to be a hefty, pot-bellied scarecrow with light brown skin, small angry red eyes, two pairs of yellowed fangs in hisr mouth. The smell from this creature distributed for a few meters and was similar to sour mixed with shit, so the girls wrinkle their noses. The fourth was a cute bespectacled man in a hoodie and with such an expression on his face as if everything around him was dirt under his feet. This guy came forward, stopped in front of the bars of the cage, glanced at the elves, grinned and was about to open his mouth to start talking when he was interrupted.
"Harry Potter, is that you?! So it turns out I'm at Hogwarts!" — I exclaimed, immediately capturing everyone's attention. — "Hey, where's Dumbledore? Is he still dabbling in lemon slices?"
"And what happened to Ronnie?" — I waved my head in the direction of the ogre. — "Has he eaten too many frogs again? Uhhhh, you don't taking care of him, however."
"Kin, is he crazy?" — One of the soldiers asked.
"It doesn't matter." — This guy answered, standing in front of me. — "Welcome to the Dark Citadel, mysterious stranger. How do you like our hospitality?"
— "Well, for a C grade." — I answer, shrugging my shoulders. — Service is shit. There are no amenities in the room, no refrigerator with a TV, and even no windows with sea views."
I shook my head. — "You're underworking. Only the company saves, and it would be sad at all."
"Wonderful." — The bespectacled man forced a smile. — "Tell me. Would you like to improve the conditions?"
"Hmm, Maybe." — pretending to think, I answered after a second. — "And what do you suggest?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Olga's attentive gaze directed at me. Does she think I can join them? In vain, but from her point of view it would be logical on my part.
— "Oh, just a little. You see, when we found you, you had several interesting items with you, some of which are probably weapons. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to use them. can you clarify this question?"
Well, yes, I'll tell you everything and show you, and then you'll waste me. Each of you has written on your face that you are cattle and moral freaks."
"That's it?" — I raised an eyebrow. — "And what will I get for it?"
"You can join us." — The bespectacled man nodded to one of the escorts, who took out the keys, opened the cage and their whole gang entered the cell. — "You look like you're a warrior, I've got enough of an eye to tell. With us you will gain fame, wealth and women as much as you want.
He pointed to the girls sitting next to him. — "Including these. Really, heh, in the order of the queue."
"Don't you dare advertise us as a product, you jerk!" — Chloe tried to jump up, but was hit in the stomach, collapsing to the floor.
"What are you talking about? — Kin turned to her and two bandits at his direction lifted her up by the chains. — "Isn't that customary for you, slave?"
"I'm not a slave!" — Chloe shouted in his face, to which he only grinned, roughly grabbed her chin and slapped her in the face, causing a painful cry.
Motherfucker. I'm definitely not on my way with you, bastards. And I have already figured out how to leave your "highly cultured" society.
"Tell that to Sir Mendeville, bitch." — The shit-eater said, continuing to hold Chloe. — "Wait a bit, as soon as we have solved our little business with my new friend, you will refresh your memory. And your... queen" — he pronounced the last word with a fair amount of irony. — "Gonna join you."
Chloe gritted her teeth, glaring at him, but there was nothing she could do. Olga was silent, boring the bespectacled man with an unkind look.
"I agree. I say." — There is nothing to see how the girl is being tortured, i should let them pay attention to me and take me to the equipment as soon as possible.
"Here. I can immediately see a smart person. Kin nodded, releasing Chloe, whose evil gaze was already directed at me. — "You have made an equal decision. Release him."
— An ordinary bastard. What else to expect from a human." — Chloe said, continuing to hang on the chains that the mercenaries hold.
"Nothing personal." — I got up after the collar was removed from me, but the shackles were left. — "Only business."
— Well said. The nerd chuckled and turned to the ogre. — "My friend, won't you guard our ladies until we finish?"
— "Yeah!" — This misunderstanding has been rumbled.
— "Then let's not waste time, the sooner we finish, the sooner we will start our celebration."
At these words, all the mercenaries began to smile, casting undressing glances in the direction of the girls. Leaving the cell, while no one is watching, I looked at the elves. Olga has a mask of indifference on her face, she is clearly disappointed, although she fully expected me to do so. Chloe burned me with her eyes, promising all the punishments of heaven. Heh, we'll look at you when I get back.
They threw a bag over my head and led me through the corridors of the fortress, taking me in a box. Two in the back, Kin and two more who were waiting not far in front. The journey did not take much time. After a couple of turns, the location of which I carefully memorized, focusing on the thermal signatures, there was a staircase by which we climbed to the floor above, where we soon found ourselves in a small room framed by torches. Along the way, I once met a patrol of three people and two security posts near the stairs from above and below.
"Here you are." — The bespectacled man outlined the room with his hand. He walked to the center of the room, and his escorts stood two on each side of me. — "I'm very interested in what you can tell me."
In the center of the room there is a table on which the elements of the medium armor set "Squad-5" Vest, greaves, hip plates and bracers are neatly laid out, one of which has a built-in short HF blade, and in the second a mini-computer with a hinged lid to control the functions of the armor. The whole set is put on over a poddospeshny suit, the pants from which are already on me, and the jacket is right there on the table. Armor functions include an autodoc, stimulators, and a system for quickly attaching armor elements. Only the helmet is nowhere to be seen, but his visor will calmly replace my eyes.
In addition, magazines for the 6 mm caseless KR-45 assault rifle and the good old USAS-12, 4 pieces each, are laid out on the table. The weapon itself is also here. A hiking backpack is attached to the side of the table. Private. Which is not surprising, because the lock there is magnetic, and no one will fucking open it. They will not be able to cut it either, here, at least, a circular with a diamond coating is needed, and it is better to have a high-frequency knife at all. Not bad, it's worth saying. The only thing that bothers me is that I didn't have a shotgun with me at the time of my death, and I lost my rifle. And the suit was cooler. It feels like someone gathered me, like a mother of a son in the first grade, and sent me here. It's worth thinking about it, but for now…
"You know, I changed my mind." — I said.
"What?" — Four-Eyes seems surprised. That's how it looks. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice how his suckers have strained.
"I'm saying that all of you here are stupid fuckers." — I smile, looking into his face. — "And Mommy doesn't let me get involved with bad company."
Links of a broken chain fell to the floor. While they haven't fallen yet, I kick one mercenary to the other end of the room. When his body crashed into the wall, spraying blood from the broken back of his head, I had already pulled the dagger from the belt of the second and sent it to the Kin. He didn't have enough reaction to dodge and felt to the floor trying to clamp his hands over his bleeding throat. The one from whom I took the knife, I quickly wring his neck. It took exactly a second for everything, and all the remaining two managed to do was draw their swords. I walk away from a skillful, but too slow blow, and with a step I hit his hip with my hand, knocking it out of the joint, forcing the mercenary to fall forward. An elbow to the head was the last one for him. The remaining opponent, seeing such a quick reprisal, rushed to run, but I caught up with him in one jump, pulled him by the collar, knocked him to the ground and forcefully lowered the shoe on his head. The freak's head burst like a balloon, and blood, brains and skull fragments splashed out from under the sole.
Too easy. They didn't even have time to really come to their senses, but I noticed for myself that indeed both the strength and the speed of movements with reaction are much higher than they should be. However, in my situation, it's a sin to complain about it. I stood for a couple of seconds, looking at the mess under my feet, and then looked up at the table. It's time to get to work.
A little later.
"Upset that he decided to join the Dogs?" — Olga asked her ward. The Queen was not at all surprised by this man's act. Indeed, who will go against an entire army when he is directly invited to join it?
"For a while it seemed to me that he was different. Not like these scum." — Young Chloe's mind was in a mess right now. Kins's words, reminding of years of pain and humiliation, lowered the already lousy mood to the very bottom. And this... this... traitor! Although, how can someone who has never been on the same side with her betray? But even understanding this for some reason did not help the girl to get rid of the feeling that she was given a mean stab in the back by those from whom you don't expect it at all.
"Chloe. You're still such a kid." — The mentor smiled sadly. — "You continue to believe in fairy tales."
"Shut up, females!" — The ogre left to guard them growled from behind the bars.
"Go to hell, brat!" — Chloe growled back.
"What?" — The giant clung to the bars, showering the girls with fetid breath. — "You have to open your mouth just to take a dick, female! I will…"
No one will ever know, what exactly he "will", because in the middle of the speech, someone's hands smoothly appeared from behind the ogre's back on the sides of his head. A quick movement accompanied by a crunch of vertebrae, and the smelly carcass slowly sinks to the ground in front of someone who was not expected to see here anymore. The same stranger, whom Chloe cursed inwardly, was now looking at the girls locked in the cell with a cheerful look of his strange glowing eyes, putting his foot on the dead carcass of an ogre.
— "Miss me?"
Chapters 5-16 are already on my pаtrеоn