15. Chapter 14: Clash of opinions

CHAPTER 14: CLASH OF OPINIONS

"And that is how your troops will be placed in the eventuality of a battle."

"I see…" Answered one of the kings. He was from a far away country, having finally arrived at Alnus only yesterday, and at every meeting the places of each king's troops were determined around the Gate. Duran's army was on the eastern side, he was the one who had decided it as he was the first king to arrive at Alnus. In the untold rule of "first come first serve" he chose the flattest terrain the hill around the Gate could offer, giving a much stronger impact on cavalry charges from his troops, as well as avoiding his infantry from tiring too fast should they climb up the hill.

In that regard, he let go of the initiative for the post-battle loot distribution, but he didn't really mind. Firstly, the Elbian lands were plenty rich thanks to the almost infinite number of mines of various ores scattered all over the country, and secondly, he preferred his troops not to accumulate loot too quickly. A soldier who already had his sack full of riches wouldn't have as much motivation to fight as a soldier who looked up to getting loot and slaves.

Of course, all of that was in the eventuality that a battle would happen on Alnus hill, and that this battle would be won by the allied armies.

They still had no clue on what was on the other side.

Duran himself had sent a few soldiers through the Gate, but all of them had come back absolutely terrified, saying that Hardy's demons haunted the void between the Gates. All of them had categorically refused to go further and suffer Hardy's punishment.

Duran's train of thought was interrupted as another king raised from his chair. If he remembered correctly, this one was named Volgrim, a lord residing in a land of perpetual cold, where the earth unfroze only for summer and meagre crops could be grown.

Volgrim was quite old, his hair completely grey and his skin wrinkled. However, the attire he wore consisting of mainly mail, fur and few golden jewelleries did little to hide his muscles. His eyes as well revealed a vitality that simply wasn't usually found in people of his age. The apparent weight of his elaborate maul balanced against the table showed that he was no simple old man.

The Emperors of Sadera could have invaded the lands of perpetual cold at any time, but it simply wasn't worth it. As a result, imperial law wasn't even forced there, the imperial senate only asking for a yearly tribute. And because of that, Volgrim barely spoke any Saderan. He started speaking in his tongue, and an interpreter at his side translated his words.

"Lord Volgrim would like to voice some of his concerns regarding king Duran of Elbe."

Duran showed a surprised face for a moment, before nodding to Volgrim to show he was listening.

"Lord Volgrim is grateful that you provide supplies in the particular position the allied armies find themselves in, however he thinks you are using the situation to enrich yourself."

A short silence ensued, before the tent exploded in chatter. They didn't speak loudly. But close to fifteen people speaking at the same time would always generate a lot of noise. Another king, one that Duran didn't know, raised as well.

"I think so too! You squeezed the area dry of resources, and then you sell them to us at inflated prices when there's nothing left!"

Another king raised.

"Me too!"

And another one. And another. In the end, it was ten kings out of the fifteen that deemed Duran was profiting from the situation.

However, you don't insult a lion and expect it to take it freely.

"YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!" He shouted, banging the table with his fist and raising from his chair as well. "I DID ALL OF THAT TO KEEP THE ALLIED ARMIES FROM IMPLODING ON THEMSELVES! SHOULD I GIVE AWAY MY SUPPLIES FREELY?"

He pointed his finger at all the men accusing him.

"AM I ASKING FOR THE RESOURCES YOU PILLAGED FROM ALL THE VILLAGES ON YOUR WAY? I AM SAVING ALL OF YOU HERE!"

The cries of protest died down a bit as the various kings could see his reasoning. Also, because Duran wasn't nicknamed "The Lion of Elbe" for nothing. His face and his roar intimidated the less experienced kings who had gotten emboldened by the numerical superiority.

"Yes, I took all the supplies there was to take." He resumed, in a quieter tone. "But that was because I knew that the allied armies would find themselves in the situation we are right now. I took my precautions, because none of you took the effort to stock up on more than a week worth of supplies for your armies! Should I be the one blamed here? Or should you?! Where are the caravans coming from Toumaren, Alguna, League and other nearby countries?! Because I see none!"

Of course, it wasn't that there weren't any caravans at all. Just that there were nowhere near enough to feed everyone. The reliance on Duran's supplies was huge. But a large part of the kings could be excused, as their home country was so far they couldn't realistically maintain a supply line. It wasn't the case for the countries Duran mentioned, and a few other who only had to cross a single border to reach Alnus.

And while the Emperor could tolerate a few villages getting pillaged by the allied armies, he wouldn't tolerate a complete region being sucked dry, especially a region so close to Italica.

However, Volgrim didn't back down, as well as two other kings who had stayed up. Duran may be the Lion of Elbe, but Volgrim was the Bear of the Frozen Wastes.

And the bear fears none.

He pointed his finger at Duran at spoke in his language, while the interpreter at his side tried to convey the meaning without repeating the grave insults thrown at Duran.

"Lord Volgrim says… That you are all bark but no bite, King Duran. He says he doesn't fear you, and wants to duel you. If he wins, you will have to give away all your extra supplies. If you win, he will accept to continue to buy the supplies from you."

Of course, absolutely nothing forced Duran to accept. No law or rule told that he had to accept the duel. But two things had to be taken into account. The first thing was that if he fought Volgrim and won fair and square, then the opposition would disappear and he would be able to maintain the important resupplying line coming from Elbe.

And the second thing was that Duran was prideful. He was a proud warrior, a skilled commander and a good king.

And he would be damned to hell if he allowed someone to insult him publicly in front of all of the higher nobility of Falmart.

His intact eye glowed with a dangerous glint, and he put his hand on the handle of the sword at his waist.

"Are you sure about challenging me to a duel, Volgrim?"

No one mentioned the lack of title before the name, but all understood it was Duran's way to insult Volgrim as well. As soon as the interpreter finished speaking, he nodded to Duran, speaking in broken Saderan.

"Yes. I… Ask battle you."

The atmosphere was incredibly tense in the room. And the Sultan's voice was the one to break it.

"Then, by Emroy's will, I will order my men to find a fighting ground, as well as ask for a priest of Emroy to set up the rules. Kings, men of Falmart, come to the fighting ground in about thirty minutes, where the duel shall take place. The meeting is adjourned!"

As the various kings started to talk among each other, only Duran and Volgrim stayed silent, their glares fixated on one another.

Soon enough, both combatants found themselves in the forest, out of any king's camp. There were two reasons for that. The first was that by fighting on a neutral ground, the Sultan showed that he took no sides in this duel. The second was that it was a duel, not an arena battle. The goal wasn't to make a show for the common foot soldiers. Around were only allowed the kings, their retainers as well as five guards for protection each. Granted, as there were a lot of kings and retainers, it still made an audience of more than fifty people but most of them were guards stationed near to avoid curious onlookers.

A clearing had been chosen and long torches set on the ground to provide light in the night. The kings stood on the outer edge of the clearing while Duran and Volgrim stood in the center, separated by a few meters. At their side stood a man wearing a robe of black and red, the colors of Emroy, as well as holding a large two-handed sword in his hands, the blade stuck in the ground to anchor it.

The priest raised his hands to the sky.

"Emroy! Hear and witness the duel between King Duran, the Lion of Elbe and Lord Volgrim, the Bear of the Frozen Wastes! Let the winner earn your favour as per your wishes!"

He took out a curved knife from his belt and asked the two combatants to approach. He poked their fingers, letting exactly one drop of blood fall on the handle of the sword stuck in the ground, before letting them put back on whatever hand protection they had and go back to their position. The priest took a few seconds to observe how the drops of blood coursed on the sword's handle, and once he understood Emroy was watching he raised his arms once again.

"The ordeal is blessed and authorized by Emroy! The winner of the duel is the one to draw the first blood! Strikes to the head or vital areas are prohibited! You may begin once the blood touches the ground!"

All looked with different expressions as the drops of blood on the sword slowly coursed to the ground because of gravity. Duran took that moment to analyse the situation.

His opponent was Volgrim, a man who despite his age showed a vitality like no other. He wore a long chainmail on his body as well as a tabard showing his heraldry, a yellow bear head on a dark blue background. His limbs were protected by a few armor plates, and his head was covered by a helmet only leaving a T-shape opening from his eyes to his chin. In his hands, he held a heavy-looking elaborate maul, with a thick handle and on top a hammerhead on one side, and a short spike on the other.

Duran himself wore his heavy crimson plate armor which covered his body, and all he had on himself was an arming sword. He didn't expect a battle, so he didn't take anything else when going to the meeting. Considering his opponent, he was heavily disadvantaged. For one, he could wear all the armor in the world, Volgrim's maul would bust it open with a single good hit. After all, the pick on the head of the maul was designed precisely to pierce armor. And the hammerhead would cave in the plates. And as a second disadvantage, unless he slashed really hard, he wouldn't do anything against Volgrim's mail. And even then, he would do more damage to his own blade than to Volgrim himself. No, one of his only options was to stab at the joints. He couldn't aim at the head either, as it wasn't a duel to the death.

For that precise reason, he had borrowed one of his guard's spear. He would have much preferred his go-to battlefield weapon, a poleaxe, but no one here had that kind of weapon.

As the first blood drop finally touched the ground, Volgrim came yelling at Duran, launching a wide sweep with the maul.

He was the first opponent in quite some time Duran would have to take seriously.

Back on earth, same time.

In the last month, things had sped up quickly. After the "disaster at the gate" with the exploding truck and shots fired, the Japanese government was under heavy scrutiny. One soldier had died and a few other got injured, and the Japanese population was asking for answers.

And unfortunately, Prime minister Motoi had no clear answer to give. Of course, he himself knew what had happened. By crossing the reports of the recent murders in Tokyo and of the people that crossed the Gate back to the Special Region, it had been understood that these same had somehow sneaked in, stayed a few days in Tokyo then went back in their flashy and explosive escape. He just couldn't tell all the security measures had been breached by a mere commando of four people.

And the reports were worrying. A lot of items had been stolen by them, but one of their acts was to rob a library. However, they had only taken the maps displayed on the walls. That in itself wasn't wasn't that bad. But every weapon and ammunition had been looted on the corpses of the poor policemen who died to them. And that was very bad.

Now, they knew that on the other side someone had a map of the complete layout of Tokyo and knew at least a little bit about firearms. And on the other side of the Gate, was an army.

And he and the Japanese high command, knew as much as them, if not a little less.

Drones and rovers had been sent through in order to get an early scouting of the terrain. As radio and other signals somehow couldn't pass through the Gate, they had been programmed to roam around until their battery was used to half, then go back to earth. The rovers had been smashed without exception, but the drones were much more successful.

Motoi still remembered his dread when he saw the first footage that had been sent to him. An army, more than one hundred thousand men strong building a wooden wall all on the hill surrounding the Gate.

And as time passed, more and more men joined the growing army. To this day, it was reported that around two hundred and thirty thousand men was installed.

The pictures showed that it was more or less medieval society, with men in iron and steel armor fighting in formations. The military experts at Motoi's side had assured him that nothing they had could threaten Japanese armor, but there was one problem. The Gate wasn't very wide, and the camps surrounded the Gate from all sides.

If Japanese troops were to go through and get attacked, they would have a very short window of time to deploy their firepower before getting swarmed by tens of thousand of men. And that was also a problem for Motoi's plan:

To meet with the other side.

For two weeks now he had quietly raised the number of men and vehicles around the Gate, hoping that the press wouldn't catch on to that. But unfortunately, you don't just hide a tank in a city.

As a result, there were now four tanks stationed around the Gate, one on each cardinal direction with four more held in reserve. There was a garrison of about three hundred soldiers manning the various checkpoints leading to the Gate and patrolling the area. In the very front of the Gate, considering the possibility of a medieval army crossing through, heavy machinegun nests were placed and constantly manned.

And all of that couldn't be hid forever.

So tonight, he would address the Japanese population. Time was to meet the other world. To meet new people, and potential new allies.

They knew nothing of the other world, except that it was composed of seemingly medieval societies. But, and here was the important part, magic existed. In addition to the footage of the woman in the police headquarter that was still unconscious in a military hospital now, the drones took a few shots of… Well, "mages", or "wizards", as there was no other way to describe them.

One picture showed a man throwing a ball of fire from his palm on an archery target. Another short video showed a man who had been stabbed with a sword go from dying to perfectly healthy in a matter of minutes. Another showed a woman with pointy ears literally grow a tree from a sapling to a tree bustling with fruits in but a moment.

The usage of magic, if studied and used properly, would revolutionize the whole world!

Who would fear the Chinese and their constant dispute over rightfully owned Japanese territorial sea when you could summon a storm?

Who would fear the Fat Rocketman in Korea if a shield could be erected at any time?

They could even end world hunger! What need was there for ten square kilometres of rice plantations when vegetables could be grown overnight?!

They had no basis to know if these things could be done at all. But at the same time... Why not? Motoi was an optimistic man.

Magic wasn't the only thing. What about all the untouched resources? Oil? Gold? Hell, the Japanese would even be able to control the world economy if they put their hands on these…

The benefits were just too great, and Motoi would be sure that the Japanese population would be the first beneficiary to all of that.

As he read for the tenth time the speech he had prepared for tonight, the phone at his desk rang. Motoi picked it up when the now familiar voice of president Dirrel of the United States spoke.

"Prime minister Motoi, a pleasure to hear you…"

Motoi sighed. Once again, Dirrel would try to force American troops on the special region soil, for the very same reasons that Motoi wanted Japanese troops there. He didn't know how, but the American had managed to put his hands on the footage of the female wizard at the police station, as well as part of the footage of the drones. Under threat, Motoi had been forced to accept to send a copy of all the drones would capture.

But he still had the power to say no to the American.

And he would still say no even if it cost him his place of prime minister.

Hello there, author here,

I'll be moving to a new place next week, so I don't think I'm going to post a chapter. However, I think I'll be able to squeeze two chapters in two weeks. Maybe. I don't know, but I'll try.

rmarcano321: Well, Duran plays a role because he plays the "cool head" of the allied armies.

plasma123fire: It bugged me in the anime that men come literally from all the sides of an entire continent, yet they have the same culture. It didn't sit right to me, so I decided to introduce new cultures.The jeep that was toasted by the wyverns has been taken by the Emperor of course, he wouldn't have left something like that for the allied armies :). And yes, the allied armies do have some bigger war machines, but it's not things like trebuchets and such. Think more like scorpions. Well, they do have some "surprises" from all over the continent too.Detective Gennosuke and his aide, Kanamori are still characters I'll use, but as I've been focusing on the more "political" and "army" side of things I haven't got the occasion to focus on more "personal" stories. So don't worry, I haven't forgotten them.And thanks for your propositions!

Thanks again for the support!

See you next time!