Mad God

After another failed siege attempt, Frode was sitting in his own tent with disheveled hair as he had already lost more than a third of his army. Worse still, most of the lost men popped up amongst the defenders, bolstering their numbers every time they initiated a battle.

"Even worse, they almost look happy! Like they are marching into freedom!" he moaned, tearing out his hair. He tried to contact Zelig, asking for help, yet no matter when he attempted to, no answer came from the other side. "It is getting worse and worse!"

"Your Majesty!" one of his soldiers rushed in. Seeing his white, pale face and terrified expression, Frode suddenly thought; he should not ask what had happened, yet he had to. In the end, the following few words shattered his remaining will: "Skarta has been captured!"

…
….
…..

"Something is not right…." Paoma said, standing atop the wall of his city, watching the army on the other side. Next to her stood Frenir, sharing the exact same thought as her.

"They have been moving since morning." Frenir nodded as he crossed his arms, "But still not attacking. Plus, their movements are erratic and weird. I already noticed multiple officers rushing from tent to tent. I assume we won."

"We… won?" Paoma shook, looking up at Frenir. "What do you mean by that?"

"Our allies must have finally conquered their capital city. It is time we start our counterattack!"

"..." she quickly fell silent, thinking about his words, then without hesitation, orders started to fly out from her lips. She was shouting at Ito to prepare the army to get ready for battle.

"You are quick to act!" Frenir followed her with a smile as she hurried down from the walls.

"Those who fail to act in time are left behind! Plus, you and your friends are faster than us; if you go out first, we could still fall back if it's a trap!"

"Hahaha, cold~! Would you leave us out like that?"

"Of course not! Only then the army would march out to rescue your sorry asses and not to beat the invaders!" She replied with a charming smile.

"You are a unique Queen, that is for sure!" Frenir flew up while speaking, leaving her with a chuckle as she looked after his figure in the sky.

"And you are an interesting man…." She bit softly into her lips before shaking her head, focusing on preparing the army to move out and attack the confused lines of their enemies.

"Is it time?" Lulu flew up, followed by the others, seeing Frenir high above the city.

"Yes." he nodded as he held a crystal in his hand, and a few seconds later, different voices could be heard from it as the connection stabilized.

"Do you hear us?" Zern's voice came through, a bit raspy and distant, distorted by a static noise.

"Yes," Frenir replied, followed by Lacuss's acknowledgment.

"Good! Everything is going as planned! Skarta has been captured. We are going to move on to phase two! Frenir, you will be the hammer; you need to cripple the main army at your side! The demons have already set up checkpoints in Nervadask; any groups that escape toward the back will end up in their net! We also move with Ludwigh's army from our side, pushing everyone back towards Heaven's Gate!" Zern said.

"We are also ready." came a fourth voice belonging to Yanda, drawing a smile onto Lulu's face, who was listening to the conversation, standing next to Frenir. "I'm here with the rest at the designated position, just waiting for you to herd Frode into our trap."

"No worries, hubby~" Lulu laughed, "We are just about to kick his ass! You may be left jobless if we can kill him here~."

"Easy there!" Yanda sighed at the other side. "We need him alive! Let the kings and queens deal with him after everything settles! Don't give any of them a chance to paint us in a conqueror's light and give any base to that delusional Zelig's words about us!"

"Okay, okay, I'll be careful~."

"We all will be!" Frenir added, "Then let's start; let us meet in the middle!"

"Sure!" said all of them simultaneously as the crystal dimmed and Frenir looked over his brothers and sister. "I'll take on the thickest part, all of you spread out and cause as much chaos as possible! Aim for the officers. Let the slave army surrender! They don't have to comply without one barking orders at them!"

When Frenir finished, he immediately flew out, heading towards where the army's main force was gathered. There, there were few slaves, and their warriors were all professional soldiers recruited and trained in Nervadask. Surprisingly nobody stopped him; no experts flew up, obstructing his way, and seeing the panicked soldiers, he knew something was up.

"Weird…" He stopped at the enormous royal tent, swiping his hand, tearing apart its top like a thin foil, and looking into its empty inside. "Huh… Coward." Frenir sighed, seeing how Frode had just left the army here, seemingly without a word. "No wonder they are in chaos, the King is gone, the experts are gone… they are running around like headless chickens!" he looked around, deciding to offer them a way out and not kill those who put down their weapons. "Speaking of chickens… the rest is up to you guys…." He murmured under his breath, looking towards the north.

…
….
…..

Yanda, Toobu, and Qeena were hiding alongside a road, the quickest of ways leading towards Nervadask. They were ready to intercept Frode if he decided to flee or try to return to support his own capital city. It was a bet to wait here but a bet made with confidence, banking on Frode's messy state of mind. Even if they fail to capture him and he escapes elsewhere, he would be powerless to avoid them for long.

"Someone is coming…." Qeena's head perked up, looking upwards from the treeline surrounding a wide road. As they followed her gaze, they saw a dozen flying figures, led by Frode, heading right toward them.

"Predictable bastard!" Toobu clicked his tongue, recognizing him.

"I'll lead the ambush, isolate his soldiers with Qeena, Toobu; you go and sap him from his energies and capture that dog of a king!" Yanda said, already locked in.

"Sure!" He agreed with eagerness in his eyes.

Frode, flying in the front, was too preoccupied with his thoughts to even perceive something flying up from the forest of trees below him. By the time his mind recognized the threat, a giant, shining fowl was smashing into the ranks of his guards, spewing flames from her body with every movement she made.

"A flying… chicken?" He murmured, looking back, seeing one of his men burst into bloody tears as, from nowhere, his skin started bubbling and protruding like someone with a pox-like infection. All the little bumps soon burst out, spewing his boiling blood everywhere as he died without knowing how, finished off by Yanda manipulating his blood flow. "What?" Frode gasped, his mind somewhat ignoring the ambush happening around him, looking at his men fighting back but dying at the hands of a much stronger party.

The difference in their cultivation and their methods showed their effects after all these years. No matter how rigorously they trained, every human member of the Immortal Wonders Sect who reached Harmony did so at the 9th stage of the Body Refinement Realm. There were no exceptions as it became an unspoken rule inside the Sect. Anyone even entertaining the idea of ascending before reaching the top of the 9th stage was looked down upon by their peers. Similar to the few demons who were now part of their Sect, the number of resources available to them, seeing how other disciples acted, ignited their pride to be just as prudent with their cultivation, aiming for the highest power possible.

Now meeting Harmony experts from the outside greatly made every disciple question the meaning behind the word 'expert.' Soon a phrase was spreading amongst the disciples that true Harmony is only in the Sect; what is outside of it is nothing more than people, part of the 'Fake Harmony Sect.' It was up to Aerthus to decide what this could lead to. Still, until everything settled down, he chose not to step in and let the Sect's name and prowess spread, truly establishing them as the number one choice if someone truly wanted to travel along the winding road of cultivation.

Frode was also lost in his own little mind, watching his men being obliterated. He felt like he was someone from the outside, looking into a glass house. He watched it as if it was a funny theater show playing out before his eyes, completely detaching himself from it. Deep inside, he knew he would not fare any better as he ascended into Harmony only at the 7th stage. Only one step higher than his guards.

"It seems you have given up." Toobu stepped behind him, placing his hand on his shoulders. The coldness that his touch spread alongside his body drew his mind back a little, but only for enough clarity to make him speak his thoughts.

"Given… up?" He looked backward, feeling his powers being sucked away slowly. "Oh… you are not one of mine…." Frode murmured, looking down at Toobu's hand on his shoulder. "I am captured."

"Yes. You are."

"I see. Yes… I give up… there is no reason not to…." He replied with a completely flat tone, "I don't need to worry about it anymore, do I?" he smiled, watching the last of his men die at the hands of Yanda, impaled onto his trident. "Great…" he closed his eyes, falling unconscious as his mind finally relaxed. Or broke… as it was hard to tell, making Toobu's mouth twitch as he held him up by his hand like a doll.

"Damn… what the hell?" He clicked his tongue at the unexpected, quick success.

…
….
…..

When the news of the capture of King Frode spread, the battles slowly died down by themselves. Combined with the fact that their own capital city was conquered, the officials and higher-ups quickly realized the future of Nervadask was taken from their hands without them having a chance to grab after it. It was gone in a blink of an eye. They had no other option: to give up or be put to the sword. Those who were part of Heaven's Gate, unable to contact the Sect, soon either ditched their uniforms or identities, trying to blend into one of the kingdoms, or just fled back towards the city, hoping to fall back to shelter under Zelig's umbrella.

It took the armies only two weeks to completely eliminate the remaining resistance. After freeing most of the slaves, previous soldiers, and citizens of the disgraced and demolished Enjin Kingdom, they were eager to regain their name and home from Heaven's Gate, joining their side. Soon, around the old borders, the collective army of even the southern kingdoms was gathering, accompanied by most of the Immortal Wonders Sect disciples and elders.

The temporary headquarters for the armies were appointed into one of the Lotharinians' border fortresses, where now every King and Queen met in a chamber, accompanied by elders from not just the Immortal Wonders Sect but some of the High Council members from Thunder Valley. The most eye-catching duo was none other than the appearance of Aerthus, accompanied by the Queen of the foxes, Rumira. Their auras alone were enough to silence an army of almost a million souls, also counting the demons who now gathered here, mixed alongside humans.

"We should send out scouting troops before marching," Paoma suggested, looking at the others, especially on the side of Horthi, who was the only one from the fours to dare meet her eyes. In contrast, the others usually looked down at the table, trying to look invisible.

"I disagree." Horthi voiced his opinion, "It is highly alarming that there were no movements from their side. No news came out, no soldiers, no disciples, no civilians. Nothing. The whole ex-kingdom of the Enjins has fallen silent. We are completely in the dark as to what is going on in there, even as we surround it from all sides." he spoke calmly and clearly, looking at Paoma and then at the different demonic leaders on the other side of the table.

"That is why we should send out scouts." Seya echoed Paoma's words, "We need to get a grip on what is going on."

"It would be a waste of lives." Kaipan sighed, sitting next to Aerthus, surprisingly agreeing with Horthi. "This is Zelig's territory now. The only ones here to know what it means to be at that level are sitting amongst us." he looked to the left of him.

"It depends on whether we are actively looking for intruders." Aerthus said as he leaned back, "But yes, he could detect intruders quickly if he was watching. We would only send them to their deaths."

"Well…" Ludwigh leaned forward. "What if we send in people and use that opportunity to force Zelig to make a move so you two could take him on and end his existence?"

"We could do that." Rumira nodded. "We could fight him. But killing someone at that level is still dangerous. We can't be 100% sure we could do it quickly enough."

"Especially if he decides to not preserve his own life. Think of a cornered beast!" Aerthus nodded, "When killing someone in the Harmony stage, you must be quick and decisive. You have to overwhelm your enemy, or he can escape and come back later. In this stage that we are in is especially true… not to mention what happens when we fight without regard to our surroundings!"

"This is why we need information about what is happening inside their territory." Keina said, "Why not send in the captured Frode and his people? If you want, I can manipulate their memories to not remember they were captured!"

"That is a good idea!" Horthi nodded almost immediately.

"He is going to recognize that someone tampered with his mind." Aerthus cut in, tapping on the table. "He is the one who came up with the technique in the first place!"

"Even if he does," Paoma argued, "It is of no loss to us! He succeeds going back, and we get info on what is going on! If he disappears, we know something terrible is happening!"

"And even if he frees his mind, Frode amounts to not that much." Frenir smiled, watching his Master's expression.

"Let us vote." Rumira suggested with a soft smile, and soon more hands were in the air than not, agreeing to brainwash Frode and some of his men and send them "home" with the implanted memory of their successful escape and return to Heaven's Gate.