Page 231 of The War God’s Favorite

The man may have kept his tongue tied, in other circumstances. If the War God hadn’t been absolutely terrifying, in his black armor and murderous eyes, for example. The man was shivering, already exhausted by the fights, and the struggle he had put into not being captured.

“I know nothing! I...”

One of his legs was loudly broken. The man screamed in pain, but no one else flinched. The men present were all highly trained, and would not offend their Commander with any mistake.

“Last chance,” warned Kairen.

“We... We got the information from here! A messenger arrived with a lot of information! Our King agreed to his terms!”

“Who was that?” Asked Kairen.

“I don’t know! I really don’t know! They only said if we could kill the War God and his army, the new Emperor would give us all the South and North territories, and a hundred chests of gold!”

Kairen glared even more. Some rat had sold out his own Empire for his head.

“Who is that new Emperor they talked about!” roared one of the Generals. “How dare they, when our beloved Imperial Dragon is still healthy as a young dragon!”

“How dare they, indeed,” said Kairen.

The Prince took out his sword, and with one blow, sent the prisoner’s head flying.

“Your Highness! That man might have had more information.”

Kairen didn’t answer and left the building without explanation. He didn’t care about the prisoner. He already knew this rat would have been way too smart to leave any information behind. The faster way was to send word to his father, and end things quickly here.

He looked down at all the blood dripping off his armor. The black metal had turned a reddish, horrid color over the last few days. Kairen didn’t even have time to wash it. He looked around him. The fight was dying. The remaining Eastern Army soldiers were all killed or taken as prisoners by his men.

To his surprise, the city people had even helped a bit, providing food and shelter to the soldiers who needed it. This was a first for the Imperial Army. Aside from the Capital, most cities were terrified by the Emperor’s Army. They had never seen the Imperial Military, aside from their own City militia, and the rumors about the Imperial Family held everyone in fear. However, Kairen himself had been surprised to see how things had changed lately. First, the news of him freeing the previous City was enough to have the War God’s arrival celebrated whenever they reached another one. Plus, he didn’t know how, but the people already knew that, unlike the Eastern Army who did not care, the War God forbade his men from assaulting or injuring any women or children. That was enough to have all the locals support the Imperial Army anywhere they showed up.

Cassandra’s shadow was also everywhere. Not only were the soldiers delighted by the medical kits that had already saved many lives, but the story of a former slave turned Concubine and an Imperial Physician was running like a legend in the streets. As soon as they saw the medical kits, the common people treated it like a treasure, looking incredibly grateful when the soldiers used it on the innocent people who had been injured.

Strangely, Kairen was feeling incredibly proud of his Concubine’s doings. It was as if Cassandra was there on the battlefield, supporting him with her own strength.

As he walked back to the little building where his army had established themselves during this battle, he witnessed more soldiers using the little kits, now perfectly familiar with all the contents. He had even seen some of his men discussing with the accountants and the men watching the supplies about what they were running out of the fastest, and using the empty compartments to store food.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” asked one of the Generals as Kairen walked in the building.

Of course, he was alright. He didn’t bother to answer and instead, took off his bloodied armor. His bare torso was perfectly fine except for a couple of scratches. Kairen walked upstairs, finding the little room they had prepared quickly for him. The War God could only afford to take short naps, but this was plenty enough for him. He laid on the bed, but instead of trying to sleep, his hand reached for the little box on the bedside table.

Kairen had kept one of those for himself. He probably wouldn’t ever need what was inside, but having one of those boxes was meaningful enough for him. He opened it. The supplies hadn’t moved, but on top of the compartments, he grabbed the letter he had already read many, many times. Cassandra’s handwriting was pretty and delicate. As he was re-reading, he touched her hair tied with his. He could easily imagine her gentle voice saying each word. The War God sighed, imagining his Concubine as she wrote every line, thinking of him. He could fight a hundred wars, but he never would have imagined that being away from her for so long would be so hard. Back at the North Army Camp, he could see her at the end of the day, so he hadn’t really stopped to think about even missing her.

Now, this war was getting too annoyingly long, and Cassandra wasn’t anywhere near. It was better this way. He didn’t want to see the fear he witnessed in the innocent villager women’s eyes everyday, in her beautiful emerald-colored irises. She was so sick just from the smell of blood. This place would have been an utter nightmare for her.

He tried sleeping for a bit, just a couple of hours. He had done most of the job in fighting off the Eastern Army, his generals were competent enough to finish whatever was left in his absence. Most of them were smart enough not to disturb the War God’s few hours of rest.

When Kairen got up, a full plate of food was ready for him. He ate while listening to several reports, but all in all, this City was now free, and they should move on to the next one. Finally. They were about to reach the last City the Eastern Army had been able to establish a decent siege on. The final fight would occur soon, and then, he was free to go back to his Concubine. Kairen left the building once he was satiated, and his men were done talking. He went outside to join Krai, who was laying in the middle of an abandoned garden of a wealthy villa. That was one of the only spots large enough for the Dragon to sit comfortably, as most of the City had been ravaged by the attacks.

The large black dragon was obviously bored by this war. The Eastern Army had done great by locking themselves inside the City, where it was hard for him to access the narrow streets, and unless Kairen and his men pushed them outside or in areas he could reach, the big dragon literally didn’t have much to put its fangs or claws in. Hence, Krai was looking even more depressed and ignored the Prince walking its way.

“Stop sulking, we’re almost done.”

The answer came as an angry growl. Krai turned its head away, and kept growling, terrorizing the poor soldiers who just happened to be walking by. Kairen sighed and leaned against its big body. Both turned their heads in the same direction, where the Diamond Palace stood, miles and miles away. Kairen promised himself to fly there the minute he would be done with this war. He had already had enough.

Suddenly, Krai moved, pushing the War God and hiding its head under its black wing. Kairen glared at his wilful beast that was now showing him its rear.

“I miss them too, you know.”

Another pissed growl came. Kairen couldn’t blame him. They were both dying to fly back and meet their babies. His son and the Baby Dragon. Kairen had a feeling that the birth had already happened, from the way Krai was acting. His dragon had acted all agitated, two nights ago, but they were right in the middle of the raging battle. However, his angry dragon’s attitude had been even worse since then, and now, Kairen could tell the dragon wasn’t only just missing Cassandra.

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