Chương 771: 801 - MALL

Narses the White, now that the fighting was over and Narses the Black was dead, quickly took control over the situation at the blood farm. He had his security officers, several dozen in total, secure the castle, establish a watch over the docks to the west of the castle, and then start providing aid for the rescued captives. It would take some doing to get them back to civilization, but Leon had no doubts that Narses was up to the task of doing so.

He, on the other hand, got himself and his retainers out of the castle, both to stay out of Narses' hair and to inspect his weapons. One of the biggest upsets during Narses the Black's ambush was Leon's followers blasting enormous holes into the curtain wall and the gatehouse. This damage had been inflicted upon the castle by a single shot from one of three identical weapon platforms that Leon had brought with him.

As Narses got control of things in the castle, Leon walked toward the closest of these weapon platforms: a large, boxy carriage, heavily armored, bearing a third-generation Lighting Lance on top. Alix had dubbed it the 'MALL', or Mobile Armored Lightning Lance. Leon hadn't been that crazy about the name, but her suggestion had stuck with both his retainers and the engineering team that had designed the platform.

The platform was largely the result of the work his engineers had done in building a small, armored vehicle capable of carrying a squad and not be immediately destroyed by enemy Lances, arks, or mages.

Horseless, wheelless carriages were already part of the way there, but the problem was finding a way to not only get it sufficiently armored, but also sufficiently powered so that the enormous weight of the armor could be overcome, and so that the magic of the platform's passengers could be saved for other things rather than powering the mobility enchantments.

The engineers had, not long after Leon took over the project, recommended the removal of weapon systems from the platform, citing the need to conserve magic power for the needed armor and defensive wards, but Leon, after finishing up his design for his second-generation Lightning Lance, had disagreed. His new Lance designs were much more conservative with their power requirements, and with the help of thunder wood, Leon managed to get those requirements down even further for the third-generation Lightning Lances.

The three MALLs that he brought with him on this mission were the first prototypes of the design. Each one needed a crew of three—one driver, one weapon operator, and one commander—and could transport eight passengers within it if it needed to. As Leon approached, his retainers just behind him, the gunner and commander were both outside, the front door of the weapon platform open, doing a bit of maintenance.

"Chief Leon!" the commander, a sixth-tier mage, called out in greeting.

"How's it going?" Leon asked.

"This baby did its job!" the commander replied, slapping the vehicle's thick armor plating.

"It sucks up power like a back-alley whore, but by the gods is it powerful!"

"Uh, yes, Chief," the gunner added, his tone rather dull, as the commander jabbed him in the ribs.

"Strong weapon. One shot, broke wall."

"Is the platform still operational?" Leon asked.

"Plenty of power, Chief!" the commander responded.

"We only got off one shot, but we were ready with another in only a minute!" Leon heard Alix snickering behind him—presumably at some innuendo he was actively ignoring.

"And the range?" Leon asked.

"We've still got at least two hundred miles, and we'd cross them so quickly you'd think we were being chased by the cucked husbands of a hundred of our mistresses!"

"That's an interesting quantification," Gaius observed.

"What's the difference between a hundred cucked husbands and only fifty?"

"Fifty barely demands a light jog, but a hundred's got us bookin' it!"

"Right," Leon said, not so much in the mood for this banter.

"How about we get some more concrete numbers?" After that exchange, Leon's demeanor had the MALL commander straightening up and growing more serious. As a result, with him taking his report more seriously, Leon learned that they still had the magic power to travel two hundred miles at a sustained pace of about forty miles per hour. They also had another ninety-nine shots with their Lightning Lance, each one taking as much power as the MALL needed to travel at top speed for two minutes.

If the MALL ever ran out of power, its power crystal would need to be swapped out. They were fairly large things, and while the task commander could store spare crystals in their soul realms—Leon having made the regulation that there would be no task commanders below the sixth-tier—the power supply was, by the constraints of the design, buried too deeply in the vehicle to be quickly swapped out.

Before setting out, Leon had had the three crews that he'd brought with the weapon platforms train on them, and they'd managed to shave the power source swap down to about an hour. After speaking with that commander, Leon led his retainers to the other two MALLs, and after getting their similar reports, he let his people finally relax. He was quite happy with the weapons' performance.

Given the ability for mages to carry just about anything in their soul realm, there hadn't been much need for such weapons to carry themselves around in Imperial war doctrine, but Leon could easily see the use of having a mobile armored personal carrier with such a powerful weapon, especially since the vehicle could be piloted by just about anyone.

It couldn't fly any higher than about three feet off the ground, but that was more than enough to get over just about any obstacle, and could potentially augment the strength of any weaker forces he might pick up in the future. There were, of course, always improvements to be made. He'd taken note of how sluggishly the vehicle turned, and how well it performed when traveling over the swampy terrain of the Wetlands.

The drivers had all mentioned some stickiness in the controls, but everyone marveled at how quietly the vehicles ran. Before he could complete his notes, Leon found himself interrupted by Narses the White, who'd come over while Leon was getting his retainers and the MALLs organized. All three weapon platforms had been formed up in front of the destroyed gatehouse, while Leon had allowed his retainers to relax as they pleased.

Most of them remained outside, but Anna had climbed into the passenger compartment of the nearest MALL and collapsed, tears running down her face. Valeria had gone to keep her company, but Anna subsequently insisted on being alone.

"Leon," Narses said in greeting. Leon nodded back.

"I'd like to speak. Alone." Narses' tone was respectful, but insistent; Leon acquiesced, leaving Valeria in charge of the retinue as he walked off into the swamp with the Chief of Security where they wouldn't be overheard. Leon was curious about what Narses had to discuss alone since a progress report could be easily given in front of everyone else. However, when Narses came to a stop, he didn't establish any wards that might prevent eavesdropping.

Instead, he stopped at the edge of the swamp, staring out over the murky, dark green water, most of the region cast in darkness thanks to the thick leafy canopy. It seemed that Narses needed a moment to get to whatever it was that he needed to talk about, so Leon simply asked, "How're things going with the people we freed?"

"Hm? Ah, we've treated those who needed medical attention the most, and gotten everyone plenty of food and water."

"How're we going to get them back home? I can't imagine they're all from the Ilian Empire, but even if they were, we can't exactly escort them through this swamp safely…"

"When we leave later today, I was going to leave several of my people behind to take care of everyone. I'll have a larger delegation sent out when we get back to civilization. It shouldn't take more than a day or two for a larger task force to arrive at that castle and escort everyone to safety. I'll also keep the place under surveillance for a while to pick up any stragglers, and then have it demolished in… maybe a month or two? That should be enough time to catch anyone we missed."

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"Good. Wasn't looking forward to trying to defend such a large group from swamp monsters, or having to come back out here if more vampires move back in."

"You're a real humanitarian, aren't you, Leon?" Leon grinned sarcastically.

"I try."

"That's fuckin' sad, then, isn't it? By the gods I need a drink." In one swift motion, Narses conjured a bottle from his soul realm and brought it to his lips, taking several deep gulps before pulling the bottle away.

"I hate vampires. At this point, I'd rather they all do us a favor and die off."

"You're in like-minded company."

"I'm sure I am. These things have been after you for years, haven't they?" Leon nodded.

"All the more reason we should've taken the other Narses prisoner. The lesser Narses. The weaker Narses. The—""I think I get it. And I was prepared to take him prisoner, honestly. An interrogation would've gone well for us, especially if we were able to bribe him as we were with Valentina."

"Hm… How has she been working out, by the by?" Narses the White glanced over his shoulder at Leon's retinue, with whom Valentina was mingling.

"She's back to researching anti-magic, as was her passion before being assigned to blood magic. Why? Thinking of asking her for more than she's already given?"

"She gave us a lot of good intel, but no, I'm sure she gave us all she had to give. Rather, I suppose I just regret letting this Narses die like that. Actually, 'regret' isn't quite strong enough: I'm fucking furious that your retainer took my prisoner!" Leon frowned as Narses' tone rose in anger. However, he stared unapologetically back at Narses.

"Her vengeance was hers to take," he said simply. Narses glared at him for a long moment, before grunting, "That it, huh? Letting such a valuable potential source of information go for the sake of vengeance?"

"I'm not happy about it," Leon responded.

"But neither am I all that broken up about it. A vampire's dead, Anna got her revenge for her family."

"And how's she taking it?" Leon glanced back at his retinue, noting that Anna was staring at the wall of the MALL she sat in, her eyes unfocused, prominent tear streaks still running down her cheeks.

"As well as anyone in her position, I think," Leon growled.

"That's the thing, isn't it? She has her vengeance, and in taking it, she has made us less prepared to deal with any more vampires later on. The intelligence that we could've taken from Narses could've been game-changing! He sacrificed a massive blood farm just to lure you into a trap, who knows what else he might've given up? We certainly don't know, because your retainer killed him!"

"And what would you have had me do?" Leon shot back.

"Let my retainer see the man who murdered her family walk free after giving up his allies? Tell her that her parents died for nothing? You're right, we don't know what we might've gotten from him; it could've been nothing at all!"

"Were you really fine with taking him prisoner?" Leon's tongue froze as Narses stared back at him, the Chief of Security's expression one of utmost seriousness. After a moment of thought, Leon just shrugged dismissively as he looked out over the swamp.

"What's done is done, no use in crying about it," he bitterly spat.

"But what hasn't been done still waits for us, Leon. And if you don't get a better grip on your retainers, then you're going to get into trouble. Listen, I respect you, I consider you an ally. But we're weaker now than we might've been without the weak leech's potential cooperation. And what has killing him brought her? Seems to me like it's nothing but pain." Leon glanced back at Anna, but after a moment, his eyes drifted in Valeria's direction.

"Leon," Narses continued, his tone turning tired, "this isn't a deal big enough to fight over. So, and also out of respect for you, I'll overlook this. But if I can give some unsolicited advice: don't let this fester. That girl needs some help, and not of the violent or magical kind.

"Now, if you don't mind me changing the subject, those MALLs you brought with you worked wonders. One shot from each punched holes in that wall! How quickly can you build more?" Leon stared at Valeria for just a second longer before replying, his tone rather neutral and devoid of any emotion, "Hard to say. Not for me to say, I think. Need to update the plans with some improvements, then I'll get the plans to Lady Emilie; she'll know more."

"Mm, right," Narses responded.

"I suppose Research and Development isn't the one to go to for production; innovation is your thing, and actually building what your mad researchers put together is for the rest of us, isn't it?" Leon shrugged noncommittally. Their conversation didn't last much longer with Leon's attention now much farther away, so only a couple minutes later, Leon and Narses emerged from the swamp and returned to the castle.

Leon waved to his retainers before heading in Anna's direction, sparing a loving smile for Valeria, who didn't hesitate to return it. Narses was right: he couldn't let this fester. He paused just outside of the MALL, leaning against the door in a place where Anna couldn't miss him. He stayed there for a full minute, waiting for her to tell him to go away and glancing in several times to make sure that she knew he intended to head on in.

When she didn't ask him to leave, he ducked inside and took a seat on one of the crude, if relatively comfortable benches along the walls of the compartment. He didn't immediately speak, but instead averted his eyes as Anna hurriedly wiped her face and tried to make it look like she hadn't broken down.

"L-Leon," she eventually said. Taking that as his cue to look back at her, Leon met her gaze. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and her recently-altered bright orange hair was a bit of a mess. Leon sighed and said, "We're not going to be staying here for too much longer. A couple of hours at most." Anna nodded.

"How're you doing?" Leon asked.

"F-Fine!" she insisted, a shaky smile plastered across her face. As Leon stared at her skeptically, her smile faltered, and she quickly said, "I'll be fine…" Leon hummed in acknowledgment.

"There won't be any official fallout from this." Anna slumped back in her seat a little bit more than she was already.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Leon. I don't know what came over me…"

"I understand," Leon replied.

"You confronted the man who destroyed your family. He… did things that can't ever be forgotten. Things that can't ever be forgiven…" Anna sniffled back some new tears.

"Helen… I don't know how to tell her about this…"

"I can do it for you, if you want?" Leon didn't think she would, and he wasn't surprised when she quickly shook her head.

"No, no… that I have to do myself. My sister… she won't… she'll be disappointed, I think." Her voice broke up several times as she spoke. Leon looked at her, then slouched in his seat, propped his feet up on the bench across from him, and interlocked his fingers behind his head.

"No one ever wants to endorse vengeance, I think. Actually, I think a lot of people are just scared to. They don't want to think that they're that violent. That humans are capable of that much anger and hate. Most of these kinds of people never experience anything that instills that kind of fury. They'll never understand exactly why you did what you did…" Picking up on what he was saying, Anna finished his statement, "… but they'll judge me anyway, won't they?" She sounded tired and scared in equal measure.

"But Helen…"

"She's a good person," Leon said.

"Better than I could ever be, certainly. Forgiving, peaceful."

"She just wanted to move on," Anna stated.

"Forget that our parents were… that Casimir took our parents from us! That he was taking other people from their family! That he needed to be stopped!"

"So you don't regret what you did?" Leon asked. Anna paused what Leon thought was about to be quite the angry rant at her sister and her expression fell.

"I… He needed to be stopped…"

"That wasn't why you killed him, though." Leon immediately second-guessed his words, but by then they'd already been said. However, when he glanced at Anna, he found her staring at him with curiosity, her eyes silently asking him a question. Scowling, Leon looked away and asked, "How much do you know about my father?"

"That… he died a while ago," Anna said.

"Twenty-one years ago. A little more than that, actually. Murdered in our home. Killed the men who did it, but succumbed to his injuries. I left home intending to find the man who ordered it, and anyone else involved… but when I had the opportunity, I didn't take it. I had the man who ordered my father's death in my hands, my blade to his throat… and I didn't kill him." Anna stared at him and asked only, "Why?" Leon frowned. He didn't want to color her perception of Valeria.

"I'm not sure I want to say." Anna nodded slowly.

"I suppose I'm curious, then," Leon continued, shifting back to her.

"How does it feel? Knowing that your parents have been avenged by your hand? That the man who did so much harm is gone?" Anna frowned, her eyes still searching his own. But after a moment, she turned back to the wall as her eyes unfocused for a moment. She glanced down at her dominant hand, the one that had held her spear as she thrust it into Narses' chest.

"I don't…" she whispered.

"I… I suppose… I feel relief. A sense of closure. But I also…" She deeply sighed.

"My parents are gone, Leon. Nothing I do will ever change that. I'll never get back what Narses took. There's a pit in my stomach, and a bigger one in my heart. The one in my stomach is disgust—I lost control over myself and did something foolish. We should've taken Narses prisoner. Interrogated him and all that. That'll go away in time. But the hole in my heart is there forever. My mother and father are gone and will never return. Narses' death changes nothing." Leon nodded along in silence.

"I'm glad it's over," Anna said, her tone brightening just a hair.

"I don't… I don't like what I did. But it's over. I wish I could do as Helen did and put this behind me. Move on. But that pit hurts."

"Still?" Leon asked. Anna nodded, and they both fell into silence. After several long minutes, Anna eventually said, "I'll be fine, Leon. Narses needed to die, no doubt about that. If you'll still have me, I'll be good to go whenever you need me." Leon smiled at her, playfully leaned over to punch her shoulder, and then slid out of the MALL.

"We'll head out soon, then," he said.

"I'd like us to get home by tomorrow, if possible." Leon continued smiling, but deep down, he felt a deep sense of dread. His birthday party, planned only a month in advance, was rapidly approaching…