Jackal Among Snakes

Even though Emperor Ji Meng and his honor guard were beaten, a task of similar difficulty awaited in the next step. Though the head had been cut, the great beast that was the Imperial Navy still writhed in force. Argrave would need to ensure their surrender—or more likely, a simple truce. But Argrave had two things in his possession. One was a door and the other a key, metaphorically speaking.

As Argrave’s Veidimen honor guard secured these newly-acquired prisoners, Argrave walked to the key: Admiral Tan Shu. Anneliese had taken off her helmet and held both her hands to her face. It wasn’t a caring gesture—rather, Anneliese was sapping both Tan Shu’s magic and the effects of [Subjugate] using her A-rank ascension, [Life Cycle].

Ji Meng was bound in cuffs and had a shard of Ebonice embedded into his skin. The two S-rank spellcasters, though their spirits remained, had been subdued in a more mundane way; they merely ran out of magic. They were bound much the same way that Ji Meng was. Only the admiral would remain unbound, at least for now. But each and every defeated combatant was stripped of their divine armaments. It proved a very fruitful battle, but the damage to Argrave’s Veidimen honor guard had not been small. Seventy-two of the three hundred snow elves had perished—one of the worst losses percentage-wise that Argrave had endured.

Putting aside that grim thought, Argrave looked down at the unconscious admiral. Tan Shu looked like a stern woman—with short and wispy black hair, her face showed that she’d endured hardships but hadn’t quite lost her youthful vigor. Argrave looked at Anneliese. “Will it take long for her to awaken?”

“Not very,” Anneliese assured him.

The Brumesingers appeared at Argrave’s feet, manifesting from the mist swirling all around the quiet flagship. Though they had been black before this battle began, now the foxes were snow-white. All of their power was spent, and they heaved in exhaustion as they sought Anneliese for comfort. She looked sorely tempted to remove her hand from the admiral’s face to pet the creatures, but she kept up with her task. They contented themselves by sprawling out across her lap.

After some brief time coordinating things in this ghost ship, all of the prisoners were gathered on the front deck. The rest of the Sea Dragon was dreadfully empty. Argrave’s examination of the ship through his Brumesingers showed perhaps one hundred people that hadn’t succumbed to the fog—most either officers or the six other S-rank spellcasters. The army aboard this ship had been made blind, and the majority of them now struggled on the ground while coughing blood as their insides churned. It was a horrifying sight, and doubly so when Argrave had been the cause.

But they were alive. That, at least, was something.

Argrave ended the tyranny caused by his Brumesingers. The fog slowly faded, revealing the Sea Dragon to the rest of the world once again. Argrave walked to the front deck, peering out to the coast of Veiden. The continent somehow managed to seem small aboard this gigantic ship.

“Tell Galamon to be prepared,” Argrave spoke to Elenore through their connection.

Argrave stared out across the ocean, witnessing the destruction. This had been a terribly ugly battle, but it was clear that the Veidimen had been the victors by and large. Argrave turned and looked back, where a storm waned. He saw tremendous impacts in the water as Sataistador dealt with the three gods facilitating this voyage. The god of war had kept his word, and spared them the wrath of these sea gods.

As Argrave’s thoughts wandered, Admiral Tan Shu awoke. She screamed and struggled only for a few moments before she went eerily quiet. Argrave stepped away from the railings as she thrashed, restrained by two Veidimen and the iron shackles on her wrist. Then she went still, glancing toward her bident. Vera held it. Then, she looked up at Argrave.

“Your emperor and all his guard are beaten.” Argrave gestured toward them, bound, then looked back to Tan Shu. “You came here as invaders, and as such, all your rights are forfeit. Everything that you own belongs to us. The only thing you still possess, currently, is your life. That, too, will be lost if you don’t obey. And not only yours—the emperor’s, and every one of the thousands of men on this vessel.”

Tan Shu met his gaze with her dark brown eyes. Then, she spit at Argrave. He stepped away and dodged her phlegm. Argrave was annoyed and opened his mouth to say something, but one of the Veidimen struck her in the face. Argrave grew furious, and had a reprimand on the tip of his tongue… but these men had lost many of their closest comrades, and he could not afford to appear soft after the threat he’d just made. His command officer, however, was not so merciful. Grimalt ran forward and grabbed the offender, pushing him to the ground.

Grimalt shouted. “You’ll be

with a nod. He

knelt before Tan Shu where she had collapsed on the ground with a split lip. Her gaze was still strong, but there was something else in her gaze after she’d heard the words ‘His Majesty.’ Argrave couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but he stated his

the Imperial Navy to surrender. Then, you will bring this ship to dock at the coast.” He stared for a few moments,

her hand. He looked out across the ocean somberly, where the last remnants of bloodred fire on the ocean’s surface faded away. When he turned his head to the right, Admiral Tan Shu walked to the edge of the ship, shadowed by Veidimen guards. She stood at the front of the deck for a long while, looking out across the navy.

her escort disappeared beneath the deck, and half a minute later, the Sea Dragon began to move toward the coast.

flagship and pride of the Imperial Navy, the Sea Dragon, landed on the shores of Vasquer not as

#####

time to handle all of what laid within it. Its food stores alone were enough to feed a city for a week. They captured prisoners—in total, eleven thousand three hundred and thirty-four. Despite Admiral Tan Shu’s command to surrender, and the capture of the flagship, the Imperial Navy remained at sea. They didn’t attack, but they

lesser quality than those taken from Erlebnis’ vault. Even still, they provided unmatched strength to those who held them. Most of the divine armaments from Erlebnis’ vault had been given to Durran’s

wouldn’t benefit from them, so he distributed them to those who’d come with in this

Road. If

a massive amount of prisoners. After some discussion, everyone decided it was prudent to turn the Sea Dragon into a prison. Blind and lame prisoners weren’t much trouble to keep in line, but the officers and the

he walked around the

magic lamp. Crescent moons jutted out as decoration, and he ran his finger along them. “It’s a shame I couldn’t have come with you during

It was quite the heavy weapon, and he leaned it against his shoulder. “I have to speak with the emperor, now. But here. This belongs to you, I think.” Argrave hefted it, then held the flat of the blade as

the heavy blade, then at Argrave. “What is

Argrave declared. “Your wyvern bone glaive… it catches spells,

lit up as it received his magic. With a swing, a slash of flame roared outward, searing the

be able to use it best of everyone here,” Argrave noted, walking up to a wide-eyed Durran. He gave him the weapon and then left. Anneliese waited at the

him?” Anneliese

rubbed at the fox’s neck right alongside her. “I hope he hasn’t recovered all of his memories. If

at his neck in sympathy, then met his gaze with her amber eyes. “I don’t think Ji Meng is a man

of the Brumesingers from her arms. “We’ll see what he

where the emperor was kept imprisoned. They were shadowed by many Veidimen guards doing their best to keep

He crouched there, totally divested of magic, of divine armaments, and of all his power. Ji Meng looked forty, though for an S-rank spellcaster that meant little. The days of voyage to Vasquer had given him a small goatee and scruff on his face. He had hard eyes, and now that