I parted from the commander and found a secure place within the fort. The other reason for the external fight was to draw all of the people inside out to the walls. They’d have no clue as the keep filled up with enemies. As for the animals, this diversion did have a time limit, since I ordered them to not show themselves. They seemed like more than they were. If they saw the attack was only about thirty monsters, they’d calm down.
This was an amount that would spread fear into any normal adventuring team, but these were soldiers behind a wall. The giant might cause some trouble, but in general, they’d be able to keep them at bay and might not even lose a single life. It was the fear I had put into them along with the effect the unseen creatures were having that had stirred the commander into acting rashly.
Once I was somewhere I was sure I wouldn’t be bothered, I raised my hands and opened a Portal. At this point, I tossed away the karma that identified me as a demon. I had taken the body with me outside the keep before pulling the karma from it and putting on the outfit. The length of time he had been dead might have been the reason that I didn’t get very much karma and didn’t know his name. Either way, I didn’t want to suddenly turn into an enemy captain in their eyes. Even though I still had my old karma, the two karma didn’t mix as it had with Commander Stone and Drakus. I also found I could expel it now that I had used it.
A few moments later, the skeletons began to walk through the Portal. I had told them where I’d be forming the Portal, and they likely had been waiting for me ready to march for the last few hours. Since I had stopped to tame a bunch of monsters, I was late in my execution. Captain Bones walked through after the first troop entered, which were the darkly dressed, quiet assassins of the group.
“Commander, you did it!” He said excitedly as he entered the room. “I’m amazed.”
“How fares our fort?” I asked worriedly.
“The attack has begun, but we’ve managed to hold them off well so far. They’d managed to use light signals to notify us of their situation every fifteen minutes. At the moment, the demons still haven’t breached the wall.”
“Good… I bet that Bernard isn’t knowledgeable about besieging a fort. He’s used to one on one combat. This sort of thing isn’t his forte at all.”
“Ah, nothing!” I coughed. “Rather, I think it’s time we took the battle into our own hands. I don’t want Bernard to grow despondent and then run away on us.”
I never saw myself as vindictive before, but then again, I had never met a guy who had made moves on one of my women. I didn’t notice it, but there was a gleam in my eye. I didn’t just want to stop Bernard or kick start the invasion. I wanted Bernard personally to pay.