Chapter 13: D. Diplomatie

Afternoon Later

We lost forty-six men killed and about a hundred more wounded. And quarter of that number will remain disabled. The girls in the infirmary work miracles, rapidly healing wounds and even preventing infection, but even they can't regrow a lost limb. Only Celestine is strong enough to do this, but she says she would faint from overexertion after a dozen arms or legs were raised back in place. I was in the tower, and it took an enormous amount of magical energy to assemble my body from scratch, which had been stored in that ancient building for God knows how many years. In that case, there is nothing to talk about one single woman, no matter how many times she may be a goddess incarnate.

The dead creatures were counted at a little under a thousand. A good exchange, at first glance. But let us not forget that we had experienced fighters who had fought many times before against lesser monsters, while the Vult had sent us their meat, armed with whatever they had, and left the most efficient troops for later, so that they could roll over us fresh and rested, taking advantage of the weaknesses in the city's defense, which they had uncovered by watching the cannon fodder die.

Fortunately, they don't know how much more interesting things we have in store for them already in the city limits. There will be a surprise for them. But even so, I feel I'll have to jump around the city like a saiga to keep our defenses from crumbling before their time.

And then it would be up to Olga.

While Alicia was resting, I had time to walk around and check the condition of our soldiers. Everything was more or less normal: the damaged equipment was repaired, if possible, and morale was high. True, this mainly concerned only the young men among the garrison and the militia. Those who are more experienced also guessed that the biggest ass was yet to come, and that what had been recently - so, the seed.

I met Maya. The girl was grimmer than a cloud, but she kept a straight face and was unharmed in the fight. The same was true of everyone else who was in the command staff, so there was no need to worry about that for the time being. Those who had been involved in or witnessed the battle for the wall looked at me with awe and apprehension after the show I had put on. I could understand that - it wasn't every day you saw someone throwing a bunch of opponents around with just his arms and legs. It's about the same kind of look the guys and I collected on Earth when we first interacted with regular humans. But if it was accepted relatively quickly there, here I heard more and more whispers behind my back. Most of the gossip was that I had come with dark elves, and they tried to tie it to my abilities. Equally popular was the theory that I was blessed by the goddess Larentia. I wasn't thrilled with the latter, which was only natural.

I paid no attention to all this chatter. Here and now was the beginning of my reputation. And I was going to need it, if I was going to help my Queen in saving her people. And as it happens, I have become closely associated with the highest circles of local society: princesses, queens, priestesses, and other knights. So I could use a name. I wonder what the gossip of superstitious people living by the harsh laws of the Middle Ages will lead to, if a day later real conspiracy theories are being built around me.

The night passed in relative peace. If that's what you can call the tense anticipation of a new attack. But there was none. But at dawn a guard came running to headquarters, reporting that a small group had separated from the enemy army with a large white cloth attached to a pole. Negotiators.

"I wonder what it is they want to tell us?" - Tapping her fingers on the table she was sitting at, Olga asked as the messenger was sent out the door. Besides her, there were me, Chloe, Maya, and Alicia. Celestine and Prim stayed with the wounded, and the lower-ranking commanders were with the troops.

We had had breakfast recently, and we sat around the sturdy oak table and did what we did. It was mostly the women's talk, while I laid out the riffle in front of me on a piece of cloth, carefully checking every detail, while attracting interested glances from the human girls. True, Alicia's strange behavior next to me, which began yesterday, remained. For some reason she tried not to cross her gaze with mine. I have my suspicions, for what reason, that both flatter me and make me feel uncomfortable.

"Probably offering to surrender." - Without taking my eyes off the class, I suggested the most obvious one. - "So, look how tough and wonderful we are, and how weak you are. They will promise not to hurt anyone, behave well, or any other bullshit."

"And they won't fulfill any of their promises." - The Princess had a thought. She's a quick learner. But you can see by her how much she is "satisfied" with this state of affairs. Though I've managed to beat the false notions of nobility and honor out of her, she still believes in them, and the fact that someone just breaks them like that makes her furious.

Well, at least now she won't get caught in it.

"Naturally. Why would they do that if the city would be in their hands?" - Chloe looked at her like she was Captain Obvious. To the blonde dark elf, these words were something natural.

There was no need to explain what would happen next. Everyone understands everything as it is. Some of us understand even too well.

"So, shall we accept the offer?" - I asked, looking around. - "I'm telling you right now, if we do, then the three of us are definitely not going. It's not like we're even here. I'm sure Vult may know otherwise, or at least he may have some idea. But it's not a good idea to give him 100% confirmation."

"Then I'll go." - Alicia stood up from her desk, looking resolute. - "I'm in charge of this city, and I'm in charge of the defense. So I'm in charge of negotiating, too."

"Makes sense." - I nodded, accepting her point of view. - "Then let's call the messenger, and..."

"I'll go too." - Maya followed the blonde out of her seat. - "I have to do this."

She looked nervous. Her eyes flickered, her hands couldn't find their way around, and her legs trembled slightly. Her morale had been questionable for a long time, and letting her out now would be dangerous. She could do all sorts of things, up to and including turning in her former buddies.

On the other hand, it might be worth letting her face-to-face with some of her former comrades, and I'm sure one of them will come to negotiate. So that she, from the front lines, so to speak, will be finally convinced that it is no longer her way with them.

I was not alone in my observations; the others also noticed the former mercenary's condition.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" - Olga sat with her head bowed to the side, studying the girl carefully. Her voice was clearly skeptical.

"Yes." - Maya tried to give herself a more confident look. - "I'm sure. They're my former team. I may not know them as well as I used to, but I'll still be useful."

"Good." - I slammed it on the table. - "But don't do any tricks, okay?"

Maya looked at me with displeasure, but nodded in agreement.

"Then let's not stall." - For the Princess it was enough to get into action. - "Let's go, Maya."

The girls quickly scurried out, they still needed to put on their armor and take their guards with them before the meeting.

"And another thing." - Suddenly I added to their backs as I began to assemble my gun. I'll have to cover them from the wall. - "Whatever you've got in your little red head in the meantime, it's not your fault."

Maya stopped, and, turning around, rewarded me with a long and complicated look, but then, without answering anything, walked out the door.

 

***

In order to finally resolve the issue of negotiation, it was necessary to contact Celestine. Still, no important decisions should be made without her. At the very least, I should have let her know. Especially since it took only a few minutes, because she had one of the radios I had. The priestess was not against it, though she expressed her concern for the safety of her subordinates and asked them to be careful, to which she got oaths from the girls not to go to the trouble, and from me a promise to look after them and protect them if something goes wrong.

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Once the decision was finally made, the messenger, who patiently waited for us, went back to the wall, with the instruction to give our opponents a message that the meeting would take place in an hour. The first thing that went out to the army was an order of readiness, so that, in case of a possible battle, which might well end the negotiations, we would be fully armed. The captain of the knights and the deputy princesses were to see control it. Chloe remained next to Olga, who had nothing much to do in this situation, except to be in touch and react if force majeure happened.

I searched for a suitable position with a good view, from where I could comfortably shoot. The search did not take long. The gatehouse was high enough to see far, and the loopholes in it allowed me to remain unnoticed. From here I could see the enemy camp, where mercs and monsters were active. They were not modest and behaved like masters. In the short time that I watched them there was even a fight, around which a crowd quickly gathered, whose cries easily reached the wall.

I spent the rest of my preparation time watching the behavior of exotic species in their natural habitat.

"This is Alicia, we're ready." - The princess contacted everyone. She and Maya had another transmitter with them. This way we can listen to the conversations at once, without having to learn everything from the girls.

"Be careful, my children." - Celestina gave them one last word of advice. - "May the Goddess protect you."

Today I am replacing her.

The iron gates leading outside the city swung open, letting our delegation out. From inside, I could hear the lifting mechanism working nearby, lowering the steel bars behind Alicia and Maia, who, accompanied by four knights on horseback, rode outside the wall and began to move slowly forward. Towards them, from the side of the enemy troops, also on horseback advanced a dozen armed men. A little ahead of them all rode their, apparently, leader and the one who would speak. I decided to get a better look at him, and zoomed in to see more detail. He looked like a man with his hair slicked back, his vest unbuttoned over his bare body, and an expression so smug that I wanted to put a brick in his very face. Or at least a lemon. So he wouldn't smile for nothing.

"Maya. The bouncer who's in charge. You know him?" - I went to the most reliable source of information we have.

"Yes." - The girl answered after a second's delay. - "That's Hicks. Vult's right-hand man."

- "What can you tell me about him?"

"He and Vult started out together, and they have a strong friendship and trust in each other. He's respected among the other mercenaries. He's insolent most of the time, but he rarely gets out of line..." - She sounded a little less sure of herself at the last word, and then she corrected herself. - "Well... he used to be so, now I'm not so sure..." - She paused for a moment, and after catching her breath, Maya continued. - "Not a bad fighter, not weaker than me. Likes to use dirty tricks and all sorts of tricks..."

"I got it, Maya, thank you." - I stopped the girl. She told me enough to know that this guy is a big shot among the mercenaries, and eliminating him would make our lives a lot easier.

"I suggest we kill him." - Olga was of the same opinion as me, only she was not ashamed to say it out loud.

[Sustained. Destroying this individual, who occupies a high position in the enemy's hierarchy, will increase the chances of winning by 14.891 percent and make it easier to complete the priority task.] - And Martha, yes. Every time she speaks her mind, it happens quite unexpectedly, because most of the time this electronic partisan is silent, and gives signs of life only to say something important, like now, or something embarrassing, like... almost always.

"How bloodthirsty you two are." - I smiled, though I remained serious. - "I agree on the whole thing, but let's hear what he's talking about, for start. I can always feed him an olive."

The two delegations, meanwhile, met about two hundred meters from the gate. Ordinary warriors on both sides lagged a little behind, while the leaders came forward, stopping about five meters from each other. Whip was the first to speak, stretching his lips in a welcoming grin and tilting his head to the side:

"Hicks..." - Maya hissed at the sight of the old acquaintance.

"Maya! Long time no see!" - Then he turned to the Princess and gave a crooked imitation of a bow. - "Your Highness. Rumors of your beauty are quite an understatement, I tell you."

"Drop the flattery, mercenary. "- Alicia cut her off dryly. I couldn't see her facial expressions from behind, but I'd wager she kept a stony face, as befitting a royal. - "By what right do you attack my city?"

"By the right of the strongest, of course!" - The merc grinned back. His retinue added a booming laugh that made the outnumbered defenders of the city sharply tense. - "I hope you enjoyed our demonstration yesterday. And I guarantee you, it was just a taste. If we take you seriously, your city will burn, so..." - He paused for some reason. - "I suggest you surrender. Then our lord will spare you, and no one will be hurt."

"What the hell, Hicks?!" - Maya growled in response. - "What's the meaning of this?"

I couldn't help it, though, and I lost my temper. It's hard to blame her for anything, but the situation began to escalate, faster than it could have. That's why the riffle, which had been hanging in its grip until then, was already looking directly into the forehead of the toothy mercenary.

- [Martha, calculate my shot trajectory so I can put a bullet right between his eyes...]

- [I'm on it.]

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Maya?" - Hicks grinned, leaning back in his saddle. - "And really, why should u. You never became one of us, in spite of all the time you've spent in our ranks. And you traded us in for your little order the first chance you got." - He was provoking her, trying to get her to be rude. So they were originally planning to provoke a conflict and Maya just happened to be an easy target. - "We were tired of being run errands by a half-witted fool and dying for pennies. We completed our last mission, defeated the queen of the dark elves, and we're going after our reward. And our reward is all you have."

"So that's it..." - There was bitterness and resentment in Maia's voice. - "I can't believe I thought I was friends with scum like you. So much battle and blood has been spilled, only to have your own hands destroy everything you defend, eh?" - With each new word, the volume of her speech increased until it almost turned to shouting. - "You even brought monsters here! How many of our comrades have fallen at their hands, and now you are in league with them?!"

"You have no comrades among us, Maya, ever since you betrayed us and became one of those arrogant bitches." - Finished the girl off Hicks - "Though you can still try to earn our forgiveness..." - He gave the warrior a greasy stare, to the chuckle of his suckers. The sound of her teeth grinding was clearly audible even through a microphone not designed to catch sounds of that tone. - "And as for our new friends... they deserve a reward, too. After all, they helped us win and avoid great losses. They made a significant contribution to the common cause!"

"Don't you have anything else to say?" - In contrast to her friend, Alicia remained calm and remained silent for most of the conversation, right up to this moment.

"Perhaps, no, there is nothing." - The mercenary nodded, and then reiterated his demands, only this time adding threats: - "I repeat once more, Princess. Surrender. You cannot overpower us, and if you resist, you will regret it."

- "I refuse."

-"Sad." - Hicks sighed, as if he were really upset. - "In that case... take the girls alive and kill the others."

After these words the echo of a shot rang around, and a split second before Hicks's head burst like a ripe watermelon...

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