The blood-red points were surrounded by mountains tracking them all along the way on the left, their peaks surpassing even the clouds in the sky, and on their right, by lands where no one lived due to the war that had lasted for decades.
Following the points advancing unceasingly by taking a step with every breath, a single mechanical vehicle was coming. On the ground worn out by the steps of twenty thousand people, the vehicle with one orc and nine druids was gliding smoothly.
"Blood God Nafız, are we not going to participate in the war?"
Siomha, as the new leader of the Elemental Ten, was speaking on behalf of her other friends too. While heading to a war whose details they had a minimal grasp of, it could be sensed that they had some doubts inside. Nafız, parting the thick velvet curtain in front of the mechanical device's window, began to watch outside; obviously, the directed question didn't interest her as much as the mountain ranges.
"Ma'am!"
"I heard, don't burst. The thing I hate the most is passengers asking things during a journey. I don't know if it's my fate or what, but I couldn't get rid of naggers in either world!"
Nafız, silencing the dissenting voices in the cabin of the mechanical vehicle, continued her interrupted pleasure as much as she wished; Siomha and the eight druid warriors didn't dare to insist following her outburst, whose meaning they couldn't understand. Nafız, finally closing the curtain after half an hour, turned her little finger-thick teeth to them and started speaking.
"Unless necessary, I don't intend to show myself; the enemy making a plan only over what they see and trying to control the flow of the war accordingly will work to our advantage. Of course, this is a situation valid for a well-known name like me. Since eight druids, whose origins or identities are unknown, appearing on the front won't mean anything to the opposing side, you guys can participate in the war from its beginning!"
The Elemental Ten members, regretting what they asked and what they would ask, didn't think of speaking for the rest of the journey, they were at least silent until they arrived at the place they would spend the night and pulled aside. The person who was with them when embarking on this adventure and whom they chose to lead was no longer there.
When Nafız also said they would be alone on the battlefield in the early hours of the day, their steps were leaving traces of panic on the ground.
Even though they were in the inner ring of the Hell Realm Army deployed in four intertwined circles, their uneasiness was noticeable; after pitching the tent where they would spend the night, they quickly started a meeting without even getting their food.
"Siomha, what are we going to do?"
While the water element user, delicate-faced druid warrior asked her question, her large breasts were heaving up and down. They knew their duties involved dangers when they went outside the Orc Military Academy, they were sure of themselves while destroying the border units together with Nafız, but now, while traveling together with twenty thousand Hell Realm Warriors, they couldn't help being uneasy.
"What do you mean what are we going to do? We will continue to do what we always do, and when we arrive at the battlefield, we will act in line with the directives of whoever has the command!"
The words of the woman using the dark element were ambiguous; whatever they did until today, they had done by listening to the words of either Alator or Nafız, but now neither of them was there. Circumstances were changing, adapting to this was something they would experience for the first time, and judging by them grabbing their staffs the moment the tent's door opened, they were at least ready to fight.
"I was a bit uneasy when Nafız said you had no reservations regarding war, but it seems the passive-aggressive attitude of your compatriots hasn't reflected on you at all!"
When the tall man entering inside an ordinary soldier's armor took off the helmet hiding his face, the nine druids jumped up from where they sat; the Hell Realm King was inside their tent. Jashua, sitting on the empty spot he found without waiting for the others as if he came and went all the time, gestured with his hand for the green-robed ones, who stood even though seconds passed, to join him.
"There is no need for you to be surprised, we are going to enter a great war together, and we will meet frequently from now on. In this first meeting of ours, or rather our first acquaintance, please be at ease, I am here not as the Hell King but as the commander at the head of the army!"
Even though Jashua thought he would put those opposite him at ease by throwing away his king title, the commander of twenty thousand people wasn't something to be underestimated either. Still, together with his relaxed attitude and soft tone of voice contrary to what they witnessed before, he was able to disperse the clouds of hesitation over the nine druids a bit.
"King, I mean commander Jashua, how can we help you?"
Siomha was the only one who spoke; even though druids were an egalitarian race possessing an independent nature, the training of the Orc Military Academy had ensured the formation of an unshakable hierarchy within the Elemental Ten. When left alone they could converse comfortably and even dare to demand an account, but they wouldn't break their superior-subordinate relations next to someone else.
"Nafız didn't tell much. You must be the new leader, may I learn your name?"
"Siomha, my name is Siomha."
"Your element?"
Jashua, adding another one right after receiving the answer to his first question, met the questioning eyes of the druid warrior with short hair but a beauty clear as water. First he frowned, began to take rapid breaths, but when ten seconds passed, a big smile spread across his face.
"Even though I say I am not here as king, it means the habits acquired for five years cannot be so easily ignored?"
Jashua, who took over after fighting against the Hell Queen Eyshan, the Generals of the Mercenaries, and ultimately the Master inside the massive, boundless garden of the Hell Palace, was actually a young man who had just entered his twenties.
To consolidate his authority and leave no room for doubt about himself, he had chosen to ruthlessly shed blood and rule like a tyrant. It could be seen that these methods made him achieve his goal, but it was also clear they had begun to deform his character.
"For a long time, I hadn't felt the need to explain why I asked a question; those I rule might see this as a weakness, but only we are here. I am sure what is experienced and spoken will stay between us, even Blood God Nafız will only be able to get information superficially."
When Siomha showed she understood his sensitivities by nodding her head, Jashua trapped a deep breath inside his broad torso and continued to speak from where he left off.
"For me to make use of you during the war, I need to know your powers, that is, which element you dominate. There are mages who are citizens of the Lands of Light among our enemies, and I plan to counter them with you.
I must confess I would have preferred a druid team fighting in accordance with the general character of your race over you for this war. This way I wouldn't need to worry regarding the attacks of the Lands of Light mages, but when Nafız claimed you were much more, I wanted to come and meet you myself.
Actually, I had the chance to meet members of your race before too; I had saved your compatriots held captive in the hands of the enemy during the Two-Year Wars, but I would never have thought those who wanted to rewrite their destiny from scratch like me would emerge from among you.
Now, would you share the element you dominate and the types of attacks you can perform with me?"
Many messages were hidden in the subtexts of the Hell King's words; since the druids possessed the education and knowledge level to understand these, they could clearly see what Jashua wanted to say.
They were radicals, the ones who dared to abandon a whole set of traditions; even if the abilities of the others were known by the allies, they were still a closed box. If they couldn't prove they were at least as useful as their compatriots specialized in defensive spells, perhaps they would only be present on the battlefield as spectators.
Furthermore, King Jashua, specifying that the history of his tie with the Orc Empire and Nafız went back to the Two-Year Wars, was signaling that their alliance wasn't a tie formed yesterday.
With all the dark spots they needed to be suspicious of illuminated, Siomha, not feeling the need to wait any longer, took priority as usual.
"I am Siomha, my element is Darkness, and I possess an attack that affects everyone within a limited area!"