Vol[2]Chapter#14 Time For Battle

[Toren]

Tolm rubbed his chin for a moment before contemplating something.

"Toren, where have I heard that name before?"

Tolm thought and thought but for the life of him, he couldn't remember, it was then that Glen leaned over and whispered a few words into his ear.

"Sir, I believe Toren is that small Nobel family in the east. You once met the old patriarch of that family. If I recall he was a very stubborn person, set in his ways just like yourself and you two couldn't really get along."

Tolm shoved Glen's face away before shouting.

"Ok ok I got it, no need to breathe in my ear like that, are you a woman or something?"

Glen wasn't upset, he knew his commander was uncomfortable and became easily irritable with being too close to anyone, instead, he looked back and forth a few times between his commander and Lowen. He had reminded his commander of the Toren name and if his commander wished to bring it up with Lowen then that was between the two of them. Glen was curious as to why this small boy possessed the Toren sword but only slightly and nothing more.

With Glen's words, Tolm began to recall a hazy memory of an old stubborn goat who was way too prideful for someone so weak. Looking at the small yet powerful kid in front of him, he couldn't picture the two having any relation towards each other whatsoever.

(This kid and that old man are nothing alike, there's no way they're related, no way. Plus, even if they were related, why in the hell would they allow a member of their family with such talent and potential to roam so far away from home without even so much of a bodyguard. If this kid was a member of my family, I'd have him under lock and key, guarded by experts until he was fully grown and his potential was completely developed. Why then does he have this sword?)

Tolm was contemplating whether or not to just ask Lowen if he was related to the Toren household but more and more thoughts were flooding in.

(Wait, if he is related to the Toren household then that would make him a noble. Why then would he not claim his status as nobility? Most problems in life can be solved by simply throwing that card on the table. Even when he was in town and my guards had him surrounded if he had just mentioned he was nobility, the guards would have at least hesitated and called a higher up over to figure things out.)

Although Glen had whispered, Lowen had clearly heard Glen mention an old Noble with a similar name and wondered about his body's past. When Lowen first arrived in this world, he had gained some of this body's memories but not all of them. He knew that in this world, his father was Ken Toren and his mother was Lana but beyond that, familial wise, nothing came to mind. The only other real clue he had gotten was his sword. With a name placed on it, as well as inscriptions, Lowen had found out that it most likely was a sword made for either someone incredibly wealthy or someone of noble status. Roland had taught Lowen that inscriptions were not cheap and one with only three inscriptions carved into it could easily cost a small fortune. The inscriptions placed upon Lowen's sword seemed useless to many and even Lowen after learning of the many inscriptions in the world found the two on his sword to be wasteful. The only thing that made sense was that they were meant to be a form of decoration or a symbol for something. Who else would put such inscriptions on a sword but a Noble?

Lowen could see the hesitation and questions practically bubbling over from Tolm's face.

"If you have something you wish to ask me just say it, that hesitation doesn't seem to suit you."

Tolm's expression relaxed a bit.

(This kid.)

"Haha your right, I'm not the type to dawdle about. Right, that name, your sword, Lowen...are you a noble?"

Lowen knew he would ask this but still didn't know for sure himself. In the end, Lowen just went with honesty.

"I don't really know, my mom and dad never mentioned such things to me. The name on the sword is my father's last name but besides that though, I've never met anyone else that has that name. I don't know about any other family and I don't really care."

Lowen then went on to tell them about how his parents had died on the mountains at the hands of some bandits and how he's basically been living ever since, of course leaving out details that he felt they didn't need to know.

Tolm grumbled a bit under his breath before asking.

"So you don't wish to know anything about the Toren name or even where they are located?"

Lowen shook his head. To him, the only connection he held with this supposed noble family was blood but what did that even mean. He held no memories of them and no feelings of ill will or positivity, in the end, he just felt nothing towards them what so ever so why even bother. That wasn't all though.

"Can I ask why? With a nobles status, you can gain wealth and power without lifting so much as a finger. You've already admitted to me that you seek riches, traveling back to your family and claiming your nobility, the gold will rain down upon you with no effort, so again why?"

"Everything you say is true or not. I don't know why my parents left the family all on their own but they left with very little and had almost no possessions. You ask why, tell me, does it sound like my father and mother left amicably? For them to leave with nothing and travel so far away to the outskirts of this country and to do so with a child no less. I'm afraid even if I went back, there would be no good blood between us. It's probably better for both sides if I simply stay away. As for gold, power, status, I plan to achieve all of it through my own means, without having to rely on who I'm related to."

Tolm nodded in agreement and let out a long sigh.

*sigh*

"Good, those that rely on the will of others can never claim to be a real man. If you don't wish to return, you'll hear no arguments from me, hahaha. Though, for them to lose such a young genius, hahaha, what wrong deeds have they committed in their previous life to acquire such a twist of fate I wonder."

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[10 miles outside of the ruins of Dizhen.]

The carriages had come to a stop and soldier after soldier was running about, not in a chaotic manner but instead quite orderly. After commander Tolm and the others stepped down from the carriage, Glen shouted a few orders.

"Attention!"

Every soldier suddenly came to a screeching halt and stood at attention.

Commander Tolm stepped forward and didn't mince words.

"Men, as you all know, we'll soon reach Dizhen. When we arrive I'll split the forces in two, half with me, and half with Glen. When everything starts, there will be no time for bullshit. If you listen to me and keep your heads, then you might just make it back. If you don't, then you will die."

The men hearing these dower statements had no change in their expression. They knew what they were signing up for and they also knew how their commander was. He would never sugar coat it and would only give it to you straight. Every word he said might have sounded cruel or harsh but they new, out of every commander they've ever followed, Tolm was the one that truly cared. For them, he would put himself out there and they respected that. In return, they would risk their life, because that's what soldiers do.

Tolm stared hard at his men and roared out.

"Back to it!"

The men, like the soldiers they were, once more rushed about in preparation.

The soldiers unloaded several black cannons and inspected each one, checking for cracks or dents before cleaning them thoroughly. After that, they then inspected the cannon balls and Lowen noticed each one had an inscription on them. Glen saw his intrigue and briefly explained.

"Each of those cannonballs cost around 10-15 gold and has a certain inscription and magical energy stored within. Once fired, the damage they will inflict will be 3-4 times what a normal cannonball can do. With that though comes a caveat, the cannons themselves can only take so much of a beating and will be no more than scrap after firing less than 25-30 times."

A few of the soldiers passing by heard that and sucked in a cold breath. To know that each cannonball was equal to a full years salary was quite disheartening.

Lowen looked over more of the soldiers and noticed some of them slowly and carefully unrolling a metallic net with sharp barbed hooks poking out from it. This, along with the cannonballs were the important bits of the plan. After everything was unpacked, inspected, cleaned and maintained, it was then carefully put back and loaded into the carriages once more. Tolm didn't like to spend time doing such things but he understood perfectly well the importance of making sure everything was maintained and in order, usually though he would leave this type of work for Glen to do. Glen wasn't in the least bothered, this was what he enjoyed, making sure everything was perfect and in its place.

Once more the soldiers were on the move.

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As Lowen and the rest arrived, a small group of scouts rushed over and made their report.

"Sir, the Mantha has burrowed underground beneath the ruins and is currently resting after shedding. Its last movements were 10 hours ago and its length...its length is."

The man's words began to trail off and his knees began to shake. The soldiers of the scouting squad were nothing like the elites. They were meant to move about fast and gather information quickly, they were not the fighting type. There was a clear fear in his eyes, yet he still managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Its 70 feet at least."

Everyone sucked in a cold breath and Lowen looked at Gale questioningly.

"Gale you didn't say it was that big, how could you leave out a detail so important?"

Gale however paled.

"I didn't know. After I accidentally awoke it, I turned tail and ran. How could I measure it properly whilst running for my life at the same time."

While the two conversed, commander Tolm, Glen, and even the scout stared at them in confusion. All they heard were growls coming from the two but it clearly seemed to be communicating with Lowen.

"Lowen my boy, you can understand this ghoul?"

Lowen only now noticed that he had been talking in the ghoul's language and switched back.

"Yes somewhat, it's still difficult but I can tell basically what its intentions are."

The three looked at Lowen and all had the same thoughts.

(Incredible, how, why?)

Lowen quickly brushed it aside.

"That's not important right now. What's important is this Mantha snakes location as well as the plan. Nothings changed correct?"

Tolm looked at this boy in mystery before answering back.

"Right, nothing changed, actually all the better. With its larger size, it may be stronger but that also means its slower. Scout, show me the map."

The scout pulled a long rolled up parchment from inside his chest pocket and unrolled it. Seeing as there was no table, the scout stood behind the map and held it in the air, revealing the entire ruins of Dizhen and even a bit of the underground as well.

"Sir, if you look at the top left of the map you'll see a red mark. That's where the previous church stood and underneath is a labyrinth of tunnels, that's where the Mantha resides."

After going over a few more things with the scout, Tolm nodded his head.

"Good, Glen, tell the men, its time for battle."

Glen gave a nod and jumped out from the carriage and went into action. With orders thrown left and right, the soldiers moved in unison. Everything was again unloaded and soldiers began to split into groups and got to work.

With worry that could be seen a mile away, Gale continued to look at the map and wondered.

(Why, why is it there?)