Chapter 23: Brief History Lesson

 

“Lord Klauna you dummy! What have you done!? Aaaahhhhhh….. We are doomed....” Harbin yelped in despair as she fell to the ground in an exaggerated manner.

The officers of the Seventh Army gave a deadpan stare at Harbin. Kazakiel could be seen massaging his temple. Cera had explained what happened in the general’s meeting. In a way, they were in awe that Klauna talked back against that Demon Lord. At the same time, they were scared of the fact that Klauna talked back. Sylendri was the de facto leader of the entire Kingdom. The whole army could be disbanded because of her actions.

Harbin clutched the grimoire of the Analyst and shivered in place. “Wh-wh-what’s going to happen to us now? Uuuuuuu.” 

“You are taking this way out of proportion Harbin,” Yuupiecca commented.

“But, but! Lord Klauna drank a whole bottle in front of everyone and tossed it at the demon lord herself. Ahhhhh!!!” Harbin let out a silent scream.

Yupiecca let out a sigh at her response.

“I must admit. I too am quite worried about what’s going to happen,” Medica said as she bent down to pat Harbin on the head.

The other officers nodded, curious about what will command will do to them now that Klauna had angered the demon lord.

“Nothing will happen. At worst, Command will merely cut off supplies to us. Not that it matters anyways. They can cut us off and we will still be able to operate for a long time. I made sure of it,” Klauna responded.

“What do you mean that nothing will happen?” Kazakiel asked.

“The trash and her incompetent generals are preparing for their ‘Decisive Battle’. They got neither time nor the resources to deal with us.”

“Wh-what happens after this decisive battle? Will they come for us then?” Harbin asked.

“Nothing. This assault will end in failure, a massive defeat for the fools. Command will not risk losing a whole army when that time comes.”

“A defeat? How are you so certain that the Kingdom will lose in the battle at the Plains of Fate?” The Watchtower Warrior asked. 

“Yeah. The Demon Lord will be fighting as well won’t she?” an officer asked.
“They are all gathered in one area, the generals can just blow them all away in one stroke.” Another demon gave his assessment.

They cannot fathom how this many generals and armies would lose to the humans. Sure they outnumber the demons, but they will fight on equal footing. The Seventh Army themselves have fought an elite human army that outnumbers them four times.

Klauna was confused as well, unable to fathom why the other officers would think that way. 

“Why are you so sure that we will win? The result is obvious as day to me. A fight of the scale that will happen is much different than the ones you are used to. You will understand what I mean when the time comes.”

“Is that so…” The Watchtower Warrior replied.

“Believe me when I say that they will lose. For now, I want the army to prepare for the next engagement. I need the new recruits to be integrated as soon as possible. Those that cannot be added to existing battalions and squads, reassign them to Yuupiecca.”

“Under me?” Yuupiecca asked.

“I want most of the Analysts to be under you. Balestra and his group of rogues will be assigned under me. The elites will be under Harbin. I want the whole army to be sortie ready within a week.”

“Noted,” Yuupieca responded.
“Yes, Lord Klauna,” Harbin gave a salute.

“This will be the plan for the next operation,” Klauna said as she opened the map of the entire area.

She then put a bunch of pieces on the map. A special blue piece was placed on Prashyufa, this is to mark the location of the Seventh Army. Klauna then placed a whole bunch of red pieces on the fated plains. Rather, she just dumped the pieces there without arranging them. Some of the pieces even fell to the floor because of how she tossed the pieces. 

She then took three flag pieces and placed them at three spots on the map. “These are the strategic points around the Plains of Fate. Kazakiel, I need your men to gather information about these locations and secure them ahead of time. Kill any humans that you encounter in the area.”

Kazakiel nodded in response. 

Klauna gave back a nod before opening the button to her shirt.

‘Eh? What?’ Harbin thought to herself and gave a weird look.

Klauna took a bottle out and popped the cork right in front of everyone. “*Gulp I need these places scouted as well. Blackmask you are t—”

Her words were cut when Harbin grabbed the bottle from Klauna as she was drinking. “Don’t drink while you are doing this!” Harbin handed the bottle to Cera before proceeding to inspect Klauna’s body for any more bottles.

“Tsk.”

“Don’t you click your tongue at me! Hand over the rest of the bottles! I know you have more on you!”

“...I don’t. Can I get back to explaining the plan now?”

Harbin gave Klauna a sceptical look, before motioning her two hands to her eyes and back to Klauna’s eyes, signifying that Harbin is watching. Everyone else in the tent just let out a wry smile at their antics. They have gotten used to this by now.

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“This is rather… unorthodox to say the least,” Kazakiel commented after having been told the plan.

“A standard plan is just a slow defeat. At least with a crazy plan—”

“There is a chance for victory…” Medica finished Klauna’s words. “We know that, but this is rather....”

“It is the one where the least of us are in danger. I don’t intend to lose men here.”

“... If you say so,” Medica responded. Her head rested on her hand in a tired state. “All this meaningless slaughter for a relic…”

'Hmm?' Klauna took interest in Medica’s words.  “...Relic? What relic?” Klauna asked.

Some of the demons in the room could be seen rather curious about the matter as well.

“The reason why the Demon Lord waged war against the humans. It is to claim the Succour’s relic that was said to be buried deep within the Capital City of Serrora,” Cera explained to everyone in the room.

“There was such a reason? I thought it was because Venti the Fifth was killed by humans and Sylendri the Sixth wanted revenge,” Kazakiel gave out his thoughts.

“That’s most likely the reason. But the official reason given to folks is to gain the Succour’s relic. It’s why the Succours are very supportive of this war,” Cera explained further.

“...So this war is just because of that? She’s willing to murder hundreds of thousands of people just to satiate her lust for revenge? Hmmph, to think such a person could be in charge,” Klauna condemned Sylendri.

“Lord Klauna… Do you not know the reason why the war started in the first place...?” Harbin asked.

“I keep hearing about them. These five relics… what’s so special about them?” Klauna asked everyone a question.

“Don’t ignore me!” 

“This is before the ascension of the First Demon Lord and the unification of the Ak’hims. Each crest has one relic that was passed down from generation to generation. We don’t know how or where it came from, except that it is a Soul Weapon and that all five were created at the same time. Soul Weapons being something that I’ve explained before. Living sentient weapons. The First Demon Lord united every crest under his banner by duelling and obtaining these relics. With them, he commanded all the crests and formed the Demon Kingdom. The unique powers of each of the weapons made him almost undefeatable.” Cera explained a brief history of the relics.

“I see… Then he got betrayed and the Great Separation occurred…” Klauna recounted her knowledge.

“Yes. With the Great Separation came the Southern Demon Kingdom and the Northern Demon Kingdom. Two of the Five Relics, the Cunning’s Spear and the Saboteur’s Drill were acquired by the southern demons while the remaining three remained with the north. The southern demons were forced to leave the continent when the humans drove them away. Their fate is unknown. Academic professors said that the southern demons were completely annihilated. The relics are presumably lost with them."

“And what's left remained here?” The Watchtower Warrior asked.

“Yeah. That’s the brief history of our Kingdom and its relics,“ Cera finished her history lesson.

Harbin and Medica clapped their hands. “My, my. You’ll make a good teacher Cera!” Medica said. Meanwhile, Harbin was busy writing down notes onto the Grimoire.

“You are exaggerating, it’s nothing special,” Cera scratched her cheek in embarrassment, a slight blush on her face.

“So the relics are a symbol of power? Nothing else?” Klauna asked, ignoring the small celebration event.

“Yeah, pretty much. Though it’s far from a decoration. As with most Soul Weapons, each of them is nigh unbreakable and require little to no maintenance and other things you would expect of a living weapon. Other than the normal Soul Weapon traits, each relic also comes with a unique power. Though I guess that part is no different than other Soul Weapons as well.” Cera explained.

Medica moved forward to draw some sort of circle on a piece of paper. “This is a story passed down to me by my mother. The Succour’s relic is an orb that is said to be able to absorb and amplify any magic. It was lost during the reign of the Third Demon Lord,” Medica said as she recalled the details of the Succour’s relic.

“The Cunning’s relic is a dagger that gives true stealth to its wielder. It is able to cut the ‘sight’ of a foe. I don’t really understand the particulars, it’s history is a bit shrouded,” Kazakiel told the room of the Cunning’s relic.

“The Saboteur’s relic is a drill that can cause earthquakes and make tunnels under the ground,” Blackmask said about the Saboteur’s relic.

“Hmmm…. I see.” Klauna affirmed before staring at a relic— the one in her hands, the Warrior Spear Indominatus. The banner of the Seventh Army waved as Klauna inspects it. “What’s the power of this one?”

“...” Everyone kept quiet, unable to answer the question.

“What’s wrong?” Klauna asked.

“...we don’t know Indominatus’s true power,” Cera replied in shame.

“...why not?” Klauna tilts her head.

“We just don’t. The spear’s power was kept a secret by the First Demon Lord. Its secrets are erased over the course of the years. Only the ones who can communicate with the spear will know its true power at this point,” Cera answered.

“Hmm… “ Klauna looked at the spear before spinning it around to have a closer look at it. 

“Hey, spear. What’s your power?” Klauna asked the spear.

“...”

No response.

“I don’t think weapons can talk, Lord Klauna…” Harbin said, giving a sheepish smile.

“It seems so,” Klauna said before giving a look to Harbin and Yuupiecca, the two Analysts in the room. 

Klauna then pointed at the Grimoire clutched between Harbin’s hands.“What’s the power of that then?” 

“Hmm, I don’t really know its true power either. All I know is that you can store spells in it for quick use. But that’s not really that special.” Yuupiecca replied.

“Well, you are right that the Grimoire’s true power is nothing really special. When compared to the other relics at least,” Harbin commented.

“Oh? Harbin, you know the Grimoires true power?” Yuupiecca asked, a little excited to find out the relic’s power.

“Um. Its powers are written within the Grimoire and how to use it.”

“Damn! Tell us.” Yuupiecca said, his inventor soul burning.

“What is it? I’m curious to know as well,” Medica said as she moved closer to Harbin to inspect the book.

“Well, long story short, the Grimoire’s pages are not limited. You can make a number of pages if fed the materials to do so. Enough pages and you can even create another book."

All of a sudden, Harbin has an excited look on her face. "But here is the special part. Books made from the pages of the grimoire are still considered part of the Grimoire! The Grimoire shares a connection with each other, a spell in one book can appear in another book. You can cast three people worth of magic at the same time with multiple books. With the proper application, you can even cast spells from another location!” 

However, her excitement soon died down. “Though I say that. Most of the time, the effects that I can do are limited to a certain distance. The materials used to make the books are not recoverable as well. So it’s not really worth it if you lose a book. The Grimoire has master control of all the books, so other people can’t make use of its power if it’s not chosen or if the wielder is not within the loop.”

Harbin then let out a sigh. “Lame isn’t it? I know. I was a bit disappointed when I found out about it as well.”

“Wait… the grimoires are interconnected? That one book can communicate with the others?” Klauna asked.

“Um? Yeah. I need to be there though for it to work though. Unless another grimoire wielder is there. Quite unlikely as the grimoire is quite picky on who it chooses to be its wiel—”

Klauna moved closer to Harbin before giving her a knock to the head.

“Ngah! That hurts! What was that for?!” Harbin yelled in response.

“Why have you never told me about this?!” Klauna yelled back.

“Eeek? But it’s not that useful! I can’t even use it properly!” Harbin responded. Holding the bump on her head.

“Tsk, Yupiecca! Harbin! Get a detachment right now and work on duplicating as many copies of the grimoire as you can. Start research on how to transfer information over the Grimoires, preferably verbal communication.”  Klauna gave out an order to Harbin and Yupiecca which responded with a stiff salute over her sudden command.

If Klauna was right, the Grimoire of the Analysts could perhaps be the most powerful weapon out of the five relics.