On one side were twenty fully armed Valkyries.
On the other side are two epic adventurers and a ferocious dodo.
Yeah, that's not fair. Poor ladies have no idea how backward they are.
Victor examines the flock and realizes that many of them have been killed on the island. Yet they formed a battle line before him. "You can also resurrect yourself." The minister guessed. "That's why you know I captured her soul."
"We Valkyries can collect worthy warriors who wish to fight forever in the halls of Lord Wotan. This is what we (Ei
he
ja
)Ability. "The new leader of the flock, a dark-haired girl wielding a spear of light, landed on the beach in front of the Prime Minister. She pointed the weapon at his head. "But you have Sigrun trapped, we can't take her bring back. Let her go immediately. "
"I don't understand everything, but it's useless for you to threaten me." Kia raised her sword, surrounded by light.
"This is none of your business, human," Valkyrie replied, completely forgetting the [Paladin]'s true identity. "We have no quarrel with you."
Kia and Victo
Neither took it seriously. Since Golenich and Winkel were nearby, their group had the advantage. Even Dodorian looked calmly at the flock, calm and serene.
Still, the vizier wished to avoid a battle if possible. "I think we all need to calm down."
"Let our sister go, and we will be on our way," insisted the leader of the Valkyries. "We will take her back by force if necessary."
"Wait," Victor understood. "Are you willing to negotiate for her release peacefully?"
The female warriors exchanged glances, and their leader frowned at him. "Why did you give her back without resisting?" The concept of peaceful discussion was almost foreign to her. Apparently she was making the request just to be polite.
"I don't know, because threats and violence don't solve everything?"
Charisma check successful!
"So what do you want, dragon slave?"
"I know your master is still alive," Victor said. He learned from Ahenapepe that no matter how tight the seal, every buried demon would escape at some point. "I hope he doesn't come to us again. I advise him not to do it."
"No way," the woman shook her head. "Lord Wotan swore to the Fairy Queen that he would bring the dragon's head to her."
"Once he makes a promise, he never breaks it," added Sigrun's shadow proudly, only Victor saw him. "Unlike you cunning mortals."
A respectable fairy? Fine, the Prime Minister would agree. "What are the exact wordings?"
"Give me the head of Knight Baine, and I will give you the soul you desire."
Just as he thought, he discovered an obvious loophole. "Then, this is my condition." Victor said. "I will release the soul on three conditions. First, you will answer all our questions as best you can. Second, when we are finished, you will leave the island peacefully. Third, if Wotan comes to see us again, I will You convince him to negotiate instead of attacking him as soon as you see him. If he wants to fight Fankel in the future, he's screwed, but I want him to sit down and talk to us for ten minutes."
Charisma check…
successful!
The leader of the Valkyries considered his offer carefully before answering. "I can't promise that your lordship will listen, but otherwise...we promise you." We will answer your questions, get out of here without hurting anyone, and we will bring your message to Lord Wotan. As long as you let our sister go. "
Finally a villain with common sense appears.
"Are you sure, Vic?" Chia whispered to him, too low even for the fairy slave to hear. The Paladin didn't relax at all, her sword pointed firmly at the flock. "We can defeat them. If you free that soul and let them go, that means there will be problems later."
"Maybe, but we won't have many opportunities to learn about the actions of our predecessors," the prime minister responded. "I think it's worth the risk."
"Stop whispering and ask questions," the leader of the Valkyries ordered. "I don't want to be on this island any longer than necessary."
Right, right. "What's your name?" Victor asked the leader.
"B
y
hild
.”
"Brynhild, who is the Fairy Queen who sent your master after us?" He had already guessed the answer, but he wanted to confirm it and see if the ladies were lying to him.
"We know she is Mel Odius," Brynhildr replied matter-of-factly. It's clear that while the Valkyries are loyal to their masters, they care little for their other ancestors. "She looks like you humans, but is nothing like you. She is a cruel beast with great power, and many fairy lords have made her their queen."
"Only in times of war do citizens elect common leaders," Kia noted. "They are too proud to stand before a higher authority. What do you mean by many?"
"Many of the fairy lords of Pryden and Mistral are on their knees, in addition to our own lord Baba Yaga, and lone rangers like Jack the Lantern. She sends messengers from north to west and east to south , travel all over the world to find u
seelie, yokai and
aksasas, exchanging power for loyalty. "
"For what purpose?" Victor asked seriously.
The entire group of Valkyries looked at him as if he was an idiot for asking such a question. "Destroy humanity."
He walked right into that.
"But Lord Wotan said no," Brynhildr admitted.
Victor frowned. "He refused?"
"There is no honor in killing creatures that cannot kill you in turn," she replied with great pride. "A true warrior's worth is determined by the courage of his enemies."
"Lord Wotan coexists with the people of your Winter Kingdom." Another battle girl added. "As long as they don't disturb him and don't interfere with his dragon hunting, he won't disturb them either."
"You don't make me believe that a robot cares about humans," Kia retorted.
"Lord Wotan doesn't care," Brynhildr admitted. "But he also doesn't enjoy killing your kind. He only seeks the blood of dragons and other enemies. While his kind attacks civilians to gain levels, he hunts lizards and dragons in preparation for yours."
Victor speculates that, just like on Earth, not all psychopaths are genocidal serial killers. "In the volcano, I heard him speak of Bara'ul's expedition. He said it was a threat to his own race."
"Yes." Brynhildr nodded, and after hearing this, Kia became stiff. "Lord Wotan thinks this war is pointless, and time has proven him right. There used to be few, now there are even fewer. Unlike you mortals, they cannot easily replenish their numbers. Since he will not kneel, Rather than serve in her army, the Fairy Queen sent him to hunt down your Dragon King as her gift.”
"So, if I follow," Kia said. "This Odius can somehow give souls to ancestors and thus gain access to the system in exchange for their services. How does she do that?"
"Meg Mel, father of Odius, created a new crown from the blood and bones of dragons: the Soul Crown. It empowers our Lord's Soul"
Bones and blood? "Kidnapped dragon!" Kia immediately guessed the obvious reason.
"Grandpa told Fankel that ancient dragon magic can create souls," Victor complained, putting a hand in his hair. "Damn, Mag Mel must have reverse engineered it somehow."
"I'm not familiar with that term," Valkyrie admitted. "I don't know how it works either. I leave the magic to the caster."
"How many Soul Crowns does Odius have?" Victor asked.
"One. But unlike your system's badges, it can be given to as many warriors as needed."
Victor didn't know what was going on. On the one hand, reliance on an artifact means that destroying it could cripple the fairies' war effort. On the other hand, this prop could reasonably give an entire former race access to the system for a short period of time. "Where's that badge?"
"I don't know," Valkyrie replied. "I have only seen it once in a stone circle in Prydan, and that was during our Lord's soul sending ceremony."
"Meg Mel may have kept it close at hand." "Many of his experiments in the past have backfired, making it impossible to keep the artifact out of sight."
"Do you know what Odius is planning?" Victor inquired.
"She said she would summon 'Arrows of Light' on Samhain, the night when fairy magic is at its peak. Arrows shot by the metal men from their great bows would burn all the enemies of their ancestors to ashes. Lord Wotan ignored her, So I don’t know the details.”
So the slime prophecy predicted. Victor may well have found the "nasty man" he was supposed to help Winkle defeat. "What will they do after they have these arrows?" the minister asked. "Attack Ga
demag
e?"
"Not Gadmani," Brynhildr said, looking directly into the minister's eyes.
…
"Beep".
"You were the first to declare war."
"Where is Odius?" Kia asked, frowning when Wotan's servants came up with no answer. "Mag intervention?"
"Probably Prydan," Brynhildr replied vaguely.
"Can you give us any clues?"
"We do know the whereabouts of their relative, Merlin the Piper. The Fairy Queen put him in charge of a place where the orcs could level up quickly, near what you call the Jade Empire. The Stables, I presume."
"(Exp Fa
m), B
y
hild
," said the other Valkyrie. "That's its name. "
Somehow the title sent shivers down Victor's spine. "What do you know about that place?"
"It's just that Lord Wotan doesn't want to have anything to do with this matter."
"That Mel Lin was probably the piper who helped the Night Blades and then let them die," Kia said. The two demanded more details, but Valkyrie didn't know much. It turns out that Wotan's attack on Winkle was a one-time favor.
Since the proud Lightning King never swore allegiance, Odius did not involve him in her plans. The Valkyries knew nothing of Prydan's defenses, the Faerie Queen's army, or even Odeus' abilities.
"Do you have any more questions, mortal?" Brynhildr asked, growing impatient with the questioning. Victor and Kia exchanged glances, sharing his concern, but they didn't know what else to ask. Valkyrie has given this team a lot to think about.
"We kept our word," the Valkyries pointed their weapons at the two, "now it's your turn."
A part of the vizier, the one who often went to Shuromance to deal with demons, felt no obligation to fulfill the agreement he made with a group that was trying to kill him. Now that they knew enough, he and Kea might be able to massacre the group now and not have to fight them again in the future.
On the other hand, I had something else in mind, and if there was even the slightest chance of realizing it...
"Well, Sigrun, I was going to say we had a great time," the minister said to the soul with his scythe, "but that would be a lie."
"I hope Odius kills you," the ghostly Valkyrie replied without any remorse. She made Victor miss Freebon even more than before.
"Great, but she's already done that."
Victor used the skills he learned in Shilin to free her soul, and the ghostly shadow turned into a small point of light and escaped from the prison. Brynhildr immediately grabbed it with her free hand and looked at the [Death] silently. "Accident?" he asked her.
"A little," Brynhildr replied, clutching her sister's soul in her hands. "But next time we meet, it won't be as friends."
"Are we really leaving, Brynhildr?" a girl asked her captain, considering going back on her word like Victor. "He and his cohorts can kill us forever."
"As for the 'leaving' part of our agreement, I have a way to make you comply..." Victor cleared his throat, then shouted. "GORYNYCH!"
"Yes, Master!" The horse immediately sprinted towards the beach, Manuvacel struggling not to fall off his back; just as he emerged, the rain began, blocking out the sun, much to Kia's chagrin.
The three-headed dragon noticed the Valkyrie, and its tail immediately stood up, like a dog spotting a rabbit.
Victor pointed his finger at the frightened female warrior. "Princess!"
Even the fearless Valkyrie flinched in the face of an inbred three-headed dragon charging at them, throwing sand everywhere. "Retreat!" Brynhildr fled, and so did her companions, and Golenich spread his wings and pursued them, throwing Novacher off his back in his haste. "retreat!"
Congratulations! For successfully performing a non-violent exchange with a slave and obtaining valuable information, you will receive +2 Charisma points.
"So?" Victor asked, watching his mount chase the Valkyrie through the sea of whiskey.
"This is bad," [Paladin] replied. "This is really bad. Samhai
It's Halloween, so we...what, two months before the former tribe attacked the Whisperers?"
"Unless we can catch Odius and nip this new century war in the cradle," Victor said, Kia gave him a strange look, "I'm sorry, I stayed with the devil for too long."
"Where do we start?" We don't know where she and Mag Mell will be after leaving Prydan. As for that (Exp Fa
m), we could spend years exploring Serica without ever finding its location. "
"B
y
hild
Yokai was mentioned. "
Kia considered his words and put her hands to her face. "I hate Japan."
