Chapter 1249: Awoken to the truth
Chapter 1249: Awoken to the truth
Michael understood one thing from his conversation with Caliburn. It was that the Oscorpe Conglomerate was leaving Earl to ruin, without any intention of leaving him any help at all. He wasn’t designed to win the succession from the very beginning, all because he was... weak.
Now, he didn’t care about what happened to Earl or to the Oscorpe succession. But he did care about the people that this was going to affect.
Earl was consigned to a lose by his parent company. And this meant that in all the wars he was going to participate in, he was going to lose.
This meant that there would be lives lost. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Maybe more.
All of those innocent lives will be gone just because they were following a leader who was destined to lose. Michael didn’t want that to happen. Especially since he knew that the people in Earl’s estate had no other choice but to follow their leader.
They were still under the assumption that Earl was supporting their family.
It was about time they learned the truth.
So, after Caliburn and the other Lionhearts left the room, Michael immediately asked the Orc Chieftains to start their project.
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Back in the Upper Echelon territories, Earl Oscorpe was in a dark cave amongst hundreds of other injured soldiers by his side.
They were currently hiding somewhere underground. Their fight had proven to be far too big for their own claws, and now, they were forced to flee for their lives or else they’d get taken in by their enemies.
"Lord Earl, our scouts have told us that your brother is continuing to march southwards. He’ll be able to catch us in a day or so," said one of his attendants.
Earl bit his lips, crazed. "Damn, damn, damn! I didn’t think they’d go this far," he said.
Yes, he was able to beat one of his brothers in a straight up war. In fact, he was even able to take one of his territories. However, he would have never expected that his siblings would immediately work together to force him out of his new position!
They had no choice but to flee and leave behind the territory they just won. It was frustrating.
"Damn!" Earl cursed. "We have no other choice. Let us retreat into the Kings region. They won’t find us there."
His attendants nodded. "Then what are we going to do after that, sir?"
"We’re going to finish our battle with Reborn."
At least, that’s what he thought.
About a day into their journey crossing the Upper Queens region, all the way to Metropolis, they had to eventually cross the large chasm that had been left there during the battle in New Sparta.
And it seemed that his enemies were waiting for him on each side of the chasm. Oscorpe check-points with armies were set up on the passing points on the left and right sides of the chasm.
Earl’s scouts immediately told him about the news. "Lord Earl, how should we cross this place?"
Curses echoed out of Earl’s carriage. "Damn it, we have no choice. We’ll plunge through the chasm!"
Thanks to their scouts, they figured out that there were some shallow parts of the chasm that they could cross, encircling all the way over to the other side.
This place was very narrow, just barely enough for one carriage, and each step was perilous.
However, it would help them steer clear away from the Oscorpe checkpoints.
"But sir. We’ve heard rumors that there are demi-humans prowling about under the chasms. We may run into them there," said one of his scouts.
But Earl was adamant. "Just a bunch of demi-humans. What we really need to worry about is my siblings. They’ll hunt me down!"
Earl would choose a perilous chasm and demi-humans over his siblings any other day.
There were some soldiers and some of his attendants that expressed their reluctance with this decision. However, they all fell to deaf ears in front of Earl. Even talk of peaceful surrender was not an option.
So, despite the dangers, Earl’s retreating army plunged into the darkness of the chasm.
It didn’t take long before they were ambushed by demi-humans. They came from out of nowhere. With speed and brutality unlike any army they’d ever faced.
Despite the advantages of having Maugnetics in their army, Earl found that they were completely getting demolished.
Those red, furry devils were weaving in and out, using guerilla tactics to whittle down their forces. Earl couldn’t sleep during the days they travelled through the chasm. Nightmares of the Red Mankeys kept haunting him both in his sleep and in real-life.
Eventually, Earl made a decision.
He commanded his entire army. Every single one of them, to attack the Red Mankey hideout.
This caused a lot of chaos and bloodshed, which Earl used to his advantage. He and a few of his attendants rushed through the chasm, reaching the other side and eventually climbing back up to the overworld.
Earl survived. But his thousand-man army was left behind, their fates unknown.
And so, Earl continued on forward. His survival was all that mattered, he thought. As long as he reconvened with the rest of his army stationed near the Kings region, he’d be fine.
At least, that’s what he thought.
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Meanwhile, battered and bloodied human soldiers were dragged down into the darkness of a cave down in the chasm.
The Red Mankeys didn’t kill the men. They kept them captive. Imprisoned them in wooden cages, hung on the ceiling. There were thousands of them in this large cavern.
And in the middle of this cavern, there was a large gathering of bones. They seemed to be positioned vertically, forming a throne that stretched into the very ceiling.
This was where the Monarch of the Demi-humans was staying.
Meanwhile, some of the Red Mankeys walked towards this throne, their heads bowed, and their hands outstretched to offer something to their monarch.
They took the soldier’s weapons. Their armor. Their clothes. Everything that could be reused by the demi-human army.
And this included the smart phones.
The Red Mankeys gave the weird, metal brick into their monarch, who graciously took it from them and began inspecting it.
The monarch’s eyes glistened as the light from the screen flashed open.
[Reborn Phone.]
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Michael was back in the Shadows’ headquarters, meeting with his officers and the Orc Chieftains.
In the large screen on the wall, they saw a first-person perspective of a shadow following the odyssey of one Earl Oscorpe as he finally reconvened with the rest of his army in the Kings region.
"He’s back," Michael said.
"BU TO TO! Yes, boss. They’ve only just arrived."
It was at this point that Michael noticed their severe lack of numbers. There were barely twenty of them left, and none were soldiers. They were attendants, butlers, and maids.
"Where’s the rest of our army?" Earl asked his attendants.
He was supposed to see the rest of his army here. There were at least a thousand men in reserve. That was why he was so confident in leaving his men to die in the chasm.
But now, they were nowhere to be seen.
Michael, watching this from afar, watched with a smile on his face. "Have you done it?"
And the two Orc Chieftains nodded at him with a smile. "Yes, sir."
The scene changed once again. This time, it showed a thousand soldiers marching into the camp where Earl had arrived.
"Ah! Yes, my army. Finally, you have arrived."
Some of the men immediately raised their questions. "Where’s the rest of our people? Our men?"
Earl frowned. These people never talked back to him before. But he didn’t care for now. Right now, he needed to act.
"They are doing something else. Don’t think about them," he said. "Right now, I want you all to ready your arms. We will storm the Reborn company first thing today!"
Almost immediately, this received negative reactions from the crowd. After all, these people had been in the Kings region the entire time. They’d been clashing with the armies of Reborn.
They knew just how powerful they were. And with their army only in the thousands, they knew they wouldn’t even be able to fight against Reborn’s allies, much less their entire nation.
"Go now!" Earl commanded them.
However, the soldiers refused to move.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?! I’LL HAVE YOU ALL PUNISHED FOR INSUBORDINATION!"
His threats meant nothing. The soldiers knew that Earl had no other army left alive. They were the only ones left.
Earl clicked his tongue, realizing his grip on his men slowly releasing. "Didn’t you forget that I’m the only reason your families are still alive? Without me, they won’t get any money to survive for the next month!"
It was at this point that one of the soldiers walked up. On his hand was a cellphone.
The screen had a picture of his family. Gaunt, house in disrepair, living in poverty. The complete opposite of what he’d promised them all this time.
Other soldiers raised their cellphones, revealing the same thing. Revealing that they’d awoken to the truth.