Chapter 1: You’re safe now

Alenor observed all the corpses piled up in a perfect rectangle shape as if crushed and molded as such. She was sitting in front of the bonfire, it had been two days since she had any food, but She doubted she would be able to stomach anything with this overwhelming smell of blood and corpses. She looked at the person sitting in front of her Aquilae, the 8th warlord and youngest one in history. She was cooking meat of some bird monster, one whose name was not known to Alenor. She looked unfazed by corpses.Why would she be? It took her one spell to turn an Army into something so indescribable.  

Aquilae smelled roasted meat, and Alenor wondered how she could even think of eating anything in this situation, let alone smelling it. In this overwhelming scent of blood and flesh, Alenor doubted Aquilae could smell anything. It was not her place to question her, she should be dead anyways. And she would welcome it with open hands. It was Aquilae's kindness to let her live. She looked at her side to her client, who somehow misunderstood the situation and requested someone like her, a Tier II mercenary incapable of defending even herself in this situation. Celine Levis was her name, she looked winded, anyone would be in her circumstances. She was kind and warm, it was cruel for someone like to be here. One glance told her Celine blamed herself for every death even though they were mercenaries worth nothing more than one blue seal. She could buy 500 more and send them to their end, and everyone would walk into it, believing they would be the one to step out of it alive and with money worth more than anything they would ever own. She was shaking, Alenor thought to console her, but with her bloodied situation, anything she tried was likely to freak her out even more. Alenor had survived this hell with injuries, none of which are life-threatening for now at least.

"It's ready."

Alenor looked at Aquilae, she was younger than her yet more capable than she could ever hope to be, another thing she felt disappointed about. She hurriedly controlled herself. Searing pain ran through the crack in her body and made it hard for her to control her emotions. She did not how many times she lost control of herself over small things

You are reading story Paradise: Warlord & The Lady at novel35.com

"Are you okay..?"

Aquilae was holding a skewer, her eyes trained on her. Alenor nodded hastily, and regret sank into her shoulder. An arrow sticking to her shoulder had now awakened, and the pain was very much not appreciated. Her brow furrowed in agony.

"Calm down"

Celine softly whispered as she rubbed her back. Within a few breaths, Alenor was within control again. But, again, she wondered if she could have traded her life for someone else.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You're safe now. Try to eat something, or you'll pass out."

Aquilae said and those magical hard, immediately calmed her down. she had a bandage wrapped around her hand. One of the mages got a cheap shot, and how proud he would have felt dying knowing he bled a warlord. She was offering skewered meat, and Alenor took it hesitantly.

"I.. Thank you."

Alenor wanted to say no, but if she passed out, she would be even more of a burden. She stopped breathing. In this stench of fresh corpses and blood, she was more likely to throw up than to eat. She took a bite and swallowed it down. Immediately, she felt bile rising in her throat, but she forced it down. Throwing up was not an option.

"You... can't eat in this air?... First time seeing so many corpses?"

Aquilae asked. Alenor felt even more ashamed of herself and lowered her head. It was more of a statement than a question. It's not like she wanted to be here, and this was supposed to be a grade C request. She was more than incapable of handling this war, and it was not her fault. Her eyes blurred. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Great, now she was going to cry. Again, she asked herself if a monster would stand up, swallow her, and end this misery. She couldn't even wipe her tears with these bloodied clothes. Celine was also swallowing her food and looked even less comfortable than Alenor. Aquilae was not eating, she had food before she arrived, and they were the ones who should eat. She seemed so neutral, like this was not something out of the ordinary. Maybe, for her, it was not. After all, warlords are myths for ordinary people and monsters for those who cross swords with them. She wondered why someone like her was here for one person. Yet she did not ask. One of the unspoken norms in the mercenaries' guild was that if someone came to take over a request, they would kill the earlier group. No one wanted their glory to be shared. If they let them leave and live then, it would appear in records as a combined effort from both groups, an unnecessary blemish in their glory. All 50 of Alenor's partners knew they were more than likely to die when the request shot from "C" to "White" in one go, either while holding the fort or when the new group arrived, which would at least be Arcane I. Still, hopes were never zero, so between sitting and dying or at least protecting their client and dying, they chose the latter, and slowly their numbers started to decline…