Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"So… Ten of my soldiers were detained by the enemy and three have defected, only this Isilt remains of the fourteen I sent to the farmlands? That is a pitiful outcome" Alisart Cleavster spoke gravely.

The undercover operation was always meant as a sort of diversion, or at least, as a distraction, supposed to make the undeads believe that this was the best the south had to offer, but even then, Cleavster was greatly displeased knowing that some of his people had been captured, and he could not come out to try and negotiate something, as the secrecy of this place could not be compromised.

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"Did you get to see who exactly it was that betrayed us?"

"I got a good look at the eight that were unconscious, so yes, as I had picked those people myself, I remember clearly who they are… I have a hard time believing that they would turn to treachery" Aramap looked to the side, noticing someone else walking in, a knight that came to whisper something in his ear before leaving.

"One of the betrayers was the soldier in charge of receptioning any report delivered by the trainee I rescued… And it seems like he had delivered one of such reports before everything happened, so it is probably that anything he or his sister could tell us about the situation above ground will change drastically as a result" he then stated, they were just as they had started, blind and without clear idea of anything their enemy was doing.

They were well concealed at least, having dug and carved this cave before the vanguard set foot on the continent, but most importantly, was this abominable thing Derdlim Maulerd had gifted the south, never would have Alisart thought, not even in passing, that their feasting habits could lead to such result.

This being itself was not a feast or meal to be consumed, no, it had been created through forceful consumptions of feasts, it was hardly possible to tell what it had been at the start, and frankly, it was probably best to keep it a mystery.

But this warped existence had been granted several useful capabilities through this process, which allowed for this underground space to be concealed, and to grow its own flora, allowing for corneaus to be brought here, as well as light too through to bioluminescent moss.

The majority of the surviving forces of the south had been brought here, some had been brought back to the royal castle, where they maintained the illusion that everything was as it should be over there, and of course, fourteen had been sent back to the farmlands, only one of them having known the orders at the time, that particular soldier had been captured however.

Now, it was time for an entirely different matter, Alisart had tried being slick to little effect, he already knew that full-on confrontation was to his disadvantage, he would have preferred to have somewhat of an idea of the situation before enacting this part of the plan, but it was what it was.

"I suppose it's time for a true counterattack… Is everything ready?" asked the warking, leaning back in the simple chair he was seated upon, the thing creaking intensely under the weight of his armoured body.

"It should be in just a few more days, My Lord" Aramap quickly responded.

"Very well then, it might not be what we are used to, but combat suits us better than information gathering, what was it called again?" standing up, Cleavster stretched his shoulders, the distinct sounds of cracking resonating from them.

"The westerners called it 'guerilla warfare', if my memory serves well"

"We'll make Ourlst regret to have chosen a battle without an end rooted in time" the king spoke with resolution, even as he knew that he held no true advantage over the enemy, he only dreamt of victory.

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"Alright, your prediction came true, but what's next, lieutenant? The livings are still at large and the mark Frenand left on that youth turned out to be meaningless, the mean that they are using to hide themselves is too potent to track it down" Sari was the first to speak, her silver armour as bright and reflective as always.

"Indeed, one of theirs appeared to aid the captured spies, but that did not give us any insight on how to find their hiding spot" followed Erestel, his arms crossed.

"Though, I do wonder how that Aramap knew where to look or even how he could have possibly known about what was happening…" Frenand wondered aloud.

"Well, we could presume that he had used one of those meals to conceal his presence since you didn't notice him until he began throwing his javelins, so he could have gone unnoticed whilst he could have sensed your strong presence inside of this abandoned barn, it does not take a genius to guess that this would be where action is occurring… As for how he could have known we were going to capture the spies at that particular time…" the vampiress tilted her to the side, not finding a reasonable explanation on the spot.

"He couldn't have just been hiding amongst the population all this time, he is too much of an asset, and if he had been, the other spies would have just been superfluous anyways, so I guess he had just received word of it? We did seize those boxes from the seven that were meant to receive the reports" the grasping knight pointed to the boxes in question, which looked more like tubes with a mouth attached.

According to the more cooperative one, any reports received were to be shoved into this thing, which had to be fed on the regular, since it was a living being, with a very faint life force, which had allowed them to remain well concealed within homes filled with livings.

Considering what they were putting their reports in, it was natural to assume that it had a special property.

"What this all tells me, is that Aramap and by extension, most certainly Alisart Cleavster, are not currently residing within the royal castle" Ourlst finally spoke up.

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have elaborated such a complicated process, it would have been much safer and simple to have their reports delivered by the people, or even simply hidden amidst the provisions that are delivered to the castle every so often, but instead, they risked the lives of fourteen of their people for a process that is much less efficient, and one that aims to keep those things a secret" he grabbed one of the so-called boxes.

"Now that we have dismantled this, they'll surely want to react quickly and move on to something else… Whilst those are being investigated, be on your guard"