General Azalia
"Half an hour passed," informed Irab.
I didn't turn away from the screen for a moment and look at the opaque screen in front of me, wishing for the hundredth time that it would be clear as before.
It has not.
"The time is a good sign," said Mage Aldridge. I could feel the hope in the old man's voice.
The last time the battle lasted for barely ten minutes, and this time, half an hour had passed. From the screen, I could see that many fuzzy shapes of people were still moving.
Though the group on the side is growing, the defeated golem's shapes are also moving to the side, but their numbers aren't as many as I had hoped.
This is not a good sign, but I have to trust the Colonel. It is the only thing I could do.
Minutes passed, and more and more moved to the side. Enough that I could feel my hopes crash down.
"You should have led it, General," warned Irab, while I sighed internally. If I had the confidence, I could win; I would have without a doubt, but I do not.
I genuinely believe Colonel Uram is the right choice for it. I took an enormous risk, and I stand by it.
In the battle against the Golem, the rules seemed simple. Defeating the golem means destroying the energy layer covering it.
The moment it disappears, the golems would freeze up for a moment before moving to the side.
I stared at the opaque screen for a moment more before looking at the file in my hand. It is the strategy Colonel Orok planned to use, but it's clear it had not worked as intended.
It was a great strategy. I don't think I could come up with a better one, but the strategy could only be considered good if it works.
…
Damon Hardt
"It's been over a day since Lord Silver came, but he is still in the mine," said the man in front of me.
He is a balding man in his mid-sixties, wearing a noble suit. He is Viscount Jolson Rossaliv, one of three nobles living in Panar. He wouldn't have come here on his own, but this man owes my father-in-law a lot of money.
He is an insufferable bastard, but his presence has been useful.
It is thanks to him that I could attract two other nobles and many wealthy people to the city. His presence also slightly improved the quality of classes in the city.
It is why I bear with his presence and agreed to meet, even when I am so damn busy.
"The monsters are powerful this time, Viscount, that we needed to call Lord Silver to help with them," I replied with a smile.
I am pretty sure others sent him; he came to meet me when the monsters attacked last time, and also about the sale of Drelthar and other things.
I know the other people he is in contact with, but the man is smart. He is keeping himself within limits.
He is not crossing them.
If he did, he would lose the house, the staff, and all the pretty privileges that the city is giving him. We might even throw him in jail if he dared to leak any sensitive information.
"He is the lord; he shouldn't deal with such things, I am sure. General Azalia and other powerhouses would be enough to deal with such things."
He is right; most nobles didn't jump first into danger, and it's likely why the Empire lost so many territories to its enemies. If half of the nobles could fight, with the weight of their class, we would have fared much better against the enemies.
It is why I didn't stop my daughter when she wished to learn to fight.
Merchants didn't need to fight, but nobles did. I have great hope for my daughter, and I want to give her all the tools she needs to succeed.
"There are people, but Lord Silver desires to fight. He was quite disappointed that he didn't get to last time," I replied, and it's the truth.
Scala had said that when she met him. He expressed his disappointment at being unable to fight the mutated shardmaws.
"Maybe that is why he can reach such a height so quickly," said the man with a despondent smile.
I could understand why he is feeling it. The man lost his territory, and the army he had mustered to regain his territory with the help of merchants had also lost badly.
The man had lost everything: his territory, his artifact, and all the money he had.
The only thing he has is his title.
"It's one of the things," I replied. He didn't say anything other than smiling.
A few minutes later, he left.
"It's pitiful what happened to this man; he lost everything," said Lia, before shuddering as if imagining something like this happening to her.
She has too much empathy. It's our fault; we had sheltered her too much.
"He is not pitiful, and he has not had everything taken. He still has his title and class. The old man could live on it for the rest of his life," replied a sharp voice.
Lorle, one of my two assistants. She is from Velvet Garden; she acts like a sweet woman with a soft smile and gentle voice, but she is not.
She is the opposite.
If not for Scala, bluntly telling her not to use her persona, she would smile sweetly and agree with my daughter. I shudder when I think of how I didn't recognize her true self, and I thought I was very good at recognizing people's true personalities.
I am, but these women from Velvet Garden are on another level.
"Still, imagine having so much and losing it all in a single night," said Lia, eyes filled with pity.
"Don't feel so much young, mistress, there are thousands who will kill for what he still has," replied Lorle bluntly.
My daughter took a liking to the woman; she idolizes her. I don't like it, but Scala thinks it would be good for her to be in the company of someone who had seen the worst of the world.
She is a whore; I had said, but Scala just shook her head.
Well, that was months ago, and now I too believe. Her company is good for my daughter. The woman is cynical, but also a realist. Most importantly, she is exceptionally capable and hardworking.
"What is the chatter in the city about the mine?" I asked.
She had developed connections with the powerful and their men. Many feed her the information.
"They are curious, but most believe it, and some are planning to escape the city, thinking it must be serious, that Lord Silver personally came to deal with it," she said.
Hearing that, I feel relieved.
Lord Silver had arrived and given me only one order. Control the information.
Only this aid, Scala, and I know they have found what they were digging for. As for what it is, we still do not know; they didn't inform us.
Though they will be dealing with it, it's why Lord Silver had come here personally.
I am a little irritated and angry that they didn't tell me, but I know how these things work. Once they deal with it, I will be the first person to know.
"Keep an ear out; we have to keep control over the information," she nodded and walked out of the office.
"These monsters, I hope, this will be the last of them," said Lia. "Me too," I replied.
I hope they will deal with whatever it is. So, I will be free to mine Drelthar.
There are huge orders that will take us years to fulfill with the amount we are planning to sell every year, and the orders are only increasing.
There is also the security cost, a part of which I started paying this month.
Once we deal with whatever it is they have found in the mine, it will lessen my new financial burden a lot. I hope there is something good in there; the city needs all the advantages we could have.
I was lost in my thoughts when the door opened, and Scala, my beautiful wife, walked inside.
"How is the meeting going?" I asked as she sat down on the couch. "It would have gone better if they had not been spooked by the things happening in the mine," she replied tiredly.
She was meeting with merchants interested in opening a crystal-refining factory in the city.
We have a good number of them, with the last one opening a week ago, but more are always welcome as we have opened new mines and are selling them.
"Is there any hope to salvage it?" I asked. "There is, if something bad didn't come out of the mine."
"It would also help if Lord Silver met them and assuaged their fear," I smiled, hearing that. I will ask him to meet the merchants when he comes back from the mine.
Though the question is when.
I had enquired, but his mage had informed me it might take days before he came out. It is why it has become very important to control the information. So, enemies and allies suspect nothing.
We have plans in place for it. We knew we would need it the moment we found it.
"Mom, are you planning to leave for Greltheven in the evening?" asked Lea. To that, she shook her head. "No, honey. I will not leave the city until we deal with the matter in the mine," she replied before turning to me.
"In my call with Lady Carla earlier, she mentioned her contact in the Empire would need Drelthar,"
"How much?" I asked. Hoping it would not be much. We have established strict rules for every year, and I don't want to go past them.
"Not much. Enough to contain something half a meter cube," she replied, and I felt relieved.
It is another use of drelthar: sealing and storing things. Because of its properties, it's very good at it, and many of the orders we are receiving are for it.
"Have you received communication from the mine?" she asked after a few seconds of silence. "Aside from the general one, no," I replied.
"I hope it won't take too long." She whispered.
I nodded at that. It is making many people jittery. We worked hard to achieve what we did. If it takes too long or something worse comes out, it could have consequences for the city.