Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Gorgon - Chapter Thirty Six

I saw Avalon's camp from miles away.

Forget about defenses or camouflage, their tents were thrown together from the most flashy colored fabrics I've seen. Two wagons lazily parked in the middle of the imperial road, and the rest of the encampment was randomly thrown around them. The old shaman shook his head in complete disbelief and complained.

"What a mess. It makes me wonder, how they survived for so long." He sat ahead of me, holding on to my wyvern's neck. "Are we really that short on skilled commanders, Captain Gorgon?"

"The Demon Lord regards him as a strategic prodigy, but Avalon is a rather problematic officer in my opinion," I explained, circling over their so-called camp. The Fire Witch flew on her beast, bringing most of our supplies. "I have to say, they marched quite far though."

Their fort was almost a hundred miles south. They must have only gotten my crow four or five days ago, but we had to fly all night to catch up with them at dawn. I pulled the reins, driving my mount into a dive.

There was no visible movement on the ground. They all seemed to be sleeping still, not even a guard posted. We touched down next to the carts, in the middle of their encampment, but it was hard to call it that. I dismounted and helped the elderly shaman as well when a goblin finally stuck his head out. He yawned without any sense of urgency.

"Captain Gorgon, you made it." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Did not strike me as a commander of a whole company, wearing nothing, but a loincloth. He jumped off the carriage to greet us. "Who are the others?"

"This is High Shaman Chaga, and that is Ember, the Fire Witch." I introduced him to the magicians sent by the Demon Lord. The old goblin just nodded, and Ember still circled above our heads.

"So I take it you are that famous Avalon." One goblin sized up the other. "What kind of security is this? No guards either?"

"I led a forced march all day, and it came at a cost, my Lord." The captain explained, scratching his round belly. "Our order was to travel as fast as possible, so at the end of the day, the soldiers were too tired to set up proper encampments. That said, our shaman burned incense to keep the wild animals away. It's not as bad as it looks."

"What about the locals though? They could have easily ambushed you at night." Chaga grumbled, showing absolutely no sympathy towards his peer. The other wyvern finally landed too, stirring strong winds around us.

"This is lizardmen territory." Avalon shrugged. "They are reptilians and can't stand the cold at night. But they are rather territorial, so the other races did not set foot in this area. It has been called Draconia lately."

"They proclaimed their kingdom?" I asked, somewhat surprised.

"What, what? Lizards have a kingdom now?" The Fire Witch joined, jumping off her wyvern. "Bullhead, you didn't say anything about that."

I struggled to understand the Demon Lord's choices.

While all beastfolk looked eternally young, this brunette cat girl was almost a child. Only six years old when the old capital disappeared, she was rumored to be the next one to be invited into the Magic Academy. Had things turned out differently, she might have become the successor of Alexandra, the first wizard of the Lesser Races. But that was not to be...

She was taught by the sorcerers of the New Order instead. And she had no issue overtaking them in the past decade. She displayed an outstanding affinity towards magic but was only interested in fire. Her red robes and large, pointy black hat were also full of fire motifs.

"I don't think that their country would be recognized by anyone, young Lady." Avalon bowed his head towards her, smiling widely. "But they gathered here from all over the continent. This area used to be empty."