Chapter 258: Abduction of a James

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I land in front of an abandoned workshop. No one is around to interrupt anything. This woman has stopped struggling, and it makes me curious why. The James family is notorious for being difficult, to say the least. We all enter the workshop, and Hailey guides us to the back room. She sets up a chair, and I place the woman on the chair. "I must say I'm surprised. You are a relatively quiet kidnapee. People usually fight and scream not to get taken." We all still have our hoods on, and for some reason. I feel like she knows who I am.

She looks up from the ground, and Hailey stands behind her. "There were talks that Slayer Zern was traveling with an ex-slave. The ex-slave was one of my fathers. She's Saliandra Orvello, right?" Color me impressed. I'm betting she isn't the only one that's come to this conclusion. "That means you're Slayer Zern. I wish we could've met under better circumstances, but maybe this is for the best." She has a cautious undertone in her voice. One that identifies that I can kill her in the blink of an eye. I wouldn't have thought a daughter would be in the James family.

I can be wrong, though. I decide to lift my hood since she already knows my identity. Sally and Hailey follow suit. "No need to hide our faces since you already know 2 out of 3. What's your name?" I want to know who I'm talking to. She might make this easy to the point that I won't have to torture her. All the information that I'm hoping to get from her will lead me to what I need. Namely, the information for the quest attached to Sally's past. She takes a small breath preparing her response. I can tell Sally is on edge too.

It must not be easy standing in front of one of the family members to your abuser and assaulter. "My name is Kelly James, and I'm the only daughter of the deceased Baron James. I'd say it's nice to meet all of you, but that's pointless with how you feel about my father and brothers. Hopefully, before you kill me, I can convince you I'm not like them." So that's what she's hoping for. She wants a chance to bargain for her life. I might be willing to discuss something along the lines of that. It really depends on how the following conversations go.

She looks at Sally and me, waiting for a sign that this is the case. "That's not up to me, Kelly James. That's up to Sally. She's the one that your family wronged." I look at Sally and see that she truly doesn't want to give this woman a chance, but I can see that she will regardless. "Before we walk down that road. You'll answer any questions that I have. You got that?" Kelly slowly nods her head, and now it's time to find out what I want to know. There are many places to start, but the best is at the head of it all. Who is in charge around here, for example.

While Cera and Sally begin questioning Kelly James, there is an emergency meeting happening between the church and the coalition. The reason for this is to discuss the war and where it's going. Cause with all the internal conflict on their side. The monsters are gaining ground and doing it fast. The one leading this meeting is Saintess Lucy. She is in charge of the armies of the church, after all. Not to mention that the retirement of Alexander Leopold has left a power gap in the church. One that won't be filled for a few months. Not until a player is selected for the job.

I look around the room, and I can see the many worried faces of the rulers. Two holograms aren't here. One is Jackson, and the other is the elven queen. They are radio silent right now and despite my best efforts to contact them. They're not responding. "Let's get this meeting underway, first things first. Where are we in terms of casualties?" There is no more time to waste thinking about who's not here. I look around the room, and everyone lists off their losses. While the losses are high, they aren't as high anymore.

This is due to the new people and their abilities to never die. Once they are killed, they get resurrected near the closest cathedral. The cathedrals are a mysterious thing. They appeared all over the world when the new people disappeared for a stretch of time. My best magicians and scientists can't figure out what they are or why they're here. Only that the new people use them to come back to life. They can't be destroyed either, and believe me. We tried everything to damage and remove the one in The Holy City. Nothing worked.

The last ruler finishes listing his casualties numbers, and I find myself a little lost since I wasn't paying attention. It's not like it matters, though. The death of a common soldier will not hurt our war efforts. The key to victory is the new people. "Saintess Lucy, the monsters are increasing in numbers with the continued capture of women. Every city they take, it's going to increase their forces." I raise my hand to stop him from speaking. There is no need to talk about that right now. Everyone here knows how the monsters reproduce, and it's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.

I sigh and stand up. The war has reached a tipping point. We were winning, but with the problems in the coalition, we lost the advantages we had. "I want all kingdoms to increase rewards for the new people. We can't win this war without them. I don't care how much it'll cost and what you have to give up. We are fighting for our lives. Understand?" The room is silent at my words. Everyone knows that they are true and that it's the last option we have. While the use of legendary items may work, it'll come at a grave cost. Something that every kingdom will never recover from.

As the meeting in The Holy City continues, there is a very secret meeting happening in Zenith. Jackson has called for his kingdom's best fighters and trackers. Be them from the adventurers guild or from his armies forces. The reason he's doing this is that he's finally found out who's attacking his wife. It turns out Bellvia is far more desperate than they let on. Their treasure vault was robbed of all valuable weapons and items. Now they're trying to steal what they can from other kingdoms. It's lighting a fire under the king. Now that an enemy has been identified.

I must say I'm surprised at the news that Bellvia was the one attacking my wife, and I know why they did it. It turns out during the time Slayer Zern was in Bellvia's capital. The treasure room was robbed. Do I think that's a coincidence? No. Do I care? No. Far as I'm concerned, Slayer Zern did us a favor. Now we know how weak Bellvia truly is. We can invade tomorrow, and they'd not be able to stop it. That's actually why I have called this secret meeting. To discuss the war proceedings and reach out to the Dryads and inform them we are moving on, Bellvia.

My many Generals are waiting for me to speak. I look like a zombie due to my lack of sleep. "We all know why I've called this meeting, and we all know that war is on the horizon. So let's not mince words. Elliot, I want you to reach out to the Dryads and inform them of the situation. Tell them they are invited to my campaign against Bellvia. I'm guessing they'll be quick to join us. After all, it's accelerating their timeline. They can't wait to get their hands on Bellvia, and neither can I." Elliot nods his head and stands up. He leaves the room to inform the Dryads in a private holo call.

The rest of the room waits for orders, and I dish them out accordingly. My forces and armies will be prepared, and we'll start moving as soon as I'm notified the armies are ready to move. I don't care which kingdom gets possession of Bellvia once we're done with it. All I want to do is stop the attacks on my wife, and I'm heading straight for the source of the attacks. "You all have your orders. Get a move on." My frustration leaks out, but they know not to take it personally. These last few days have been absolute hell for my wife and me. Tessa can't function, and I can barely function.