Now it was Hadjar’s turn to squint. “I’m not sure about five thousand, but I can certainly deal with your three and a half thousand.”
Atikus didn’t react or show that he was ashamed of the accusation that he’d exaggerated. Any leader worth their salt always tried to bluff during negotiations. Especially when their bluff could still be backed by something impressive.
“I should clarify. Even if you survive, your soldiers surely won’t,” even Atikus’s voice sounded like he was cawing now. “But if you’d planned to fight us, you would’ve brought at least a quarter of a million soldiers with you. I see only a handful of royal dogs. That means I have to ask this question again: What are you doing here, Mad General?”
Again, there was only silence. Some thought that Hadjar was frightened, others hoped to see the rebel leader’s head roll across the snow. They were all wrong.
Hadjar was just putting on a performance. Fortunately, his five years spent in the freak show had made him a good actor because that skill had been very useful during his adventures.
“Would you believe me, General Atikus, if I told you that I want to join you?”
“You? Join us?” Atikus hadn’t been ready for such a drastic turn in the conversation. “I will admit, the offer is tempting. More than tempting, to be perfectly honest. A folk hero joining the resistance? That would be worth a lot.”
“I’ve never looked at it like that,” Hadjar shrugged again.
“But you have to understand, General Traves,” Atikus put his hands on his belt, near the handle of a long, simple blade. It was almost a copy of Moon Beam... Or vice versa... “It’s far too suspicious. You arrive immediately after a failed attempt on the King’s life, during which, according to certain rumors, you saved the usurper’s life yourself. On top of that, you’re not even accompanied by soldiers from your army, but by royal dogs.”
“I understand why you’d be concerned, General,” Hadjar nodded. “For my part, I can assure you that I wasn’t thinking of it as saving the King’s life. I saved the life of my friend’s father on the day of his wedding. What kind of a friend would I have been if I’d allowed you to sully that joyous occasion with such a thing?”
“Well, General Traves, how are you ever going to be one of us if your closest friend is Prince Eren?”
One downside of all those songs was that the whole country knew about the bond of friendship that the Prince and the Mad General shared.
“I hope this will convince you,” Hadjar took out a dagger from the folds of his clothes and slashed his palm with it. “I swear that I won’t rest until I kill King Primus.”
The wound on the General’s palm flared with a golden flame and immediately healed. The River of Energy had accepted his oath. Since he wasn’t currently on fire, he had been telling the truth.
“But then...” And Atikus finally understood everything. “You’re very devious, General Traves. Did you know in advance that the King would send this particular squad to accompany you?”
Hadjar nodded.
At that moment, O’Shekl understood everything as well. The Lieutenant, pale with fear, turned to the cannoneers and shouted “Fire!”
His last word ended in a wet gurgle as an arrow pierced his throat. From the forest, a rain of arrows came and snuffed out the lives of the remaining royal soldiers. The cannoneers tried to fire, but many of them fell on their cannons, dozens of arrows sticking out of them. They left bloodstains on the black metal of the cannons.
They didn’t get to retaliate. Hadjar had foreseen everything, and all this time, the cannons had never been loaded. This had almost resulted in their deaths, but Azrea had fortunately scared the giant creature away. Otherwise, gods only knew how that day would’ve ended.
Not a minute later, it was all over. The one hundred royal soldiers lay on the snow, bleeding to death. Their souls would go on to face the judgment of their forefathers, and from there, straight to the wheel of rebirth. They could only hope that they would have more luck in their next lives or that they wouldn’t make the kind of choices that would lead them to a similar fate once more.
“You brought them here like an offering.”
A sacrifice, more like it, Hadjar thought, but simply said: “They were a way to further prove my intention to join you.”
Atikus nodded and extended his hand.
“Please don’t try to kill me as we travel. That will end poorly for both of us.”
“Is there an easy way to reach your camp?”
“Nope. You can only do so with the help of this Technique. Otherwise, we would’ve been slaughtered long ago, even with all the dangers of the White Forest.”
Hadjar took hold of the outstretched hand. For a moment, he felt as if he’d been thrown off a cliff directly into icy water, and then he was standing on a wooden floor. The same floor he’d used to have in his General’s tent. Looking around, Hadjar found he was actually inside a spacious tent. However, he could never have imagined that, in addition to the usual cabinets, chests, beds, and tables with maps on them, he would also find a blade at his throat.
“Did you really think that I wouldn’t recognize you, my Prince?”
Atikus’s hand didn’t tremble, and there was no doubt in his eyes.
Chapter 237
Hadjar spent a few seconds trying to comprehend what was happening.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, my Prince,” Atikus said meaningfully. “If you think that you’ll be able to draw your sword, you’re mistaken. I’ll take your head off before your hands even move.”
“I’m pretty fast,” Hadjar smiled wryly.
“No doubt,” Atikus nodded.
They stood in the center of a huge tent. Hadjar noticed that this tent was about one and a half times larger than the one he’d lived in. Judging by the sounds that came from outside, they
