[Smite Happens] 6 - Sir Wilhelm Fancy Pants Attacks

Wilhelm Fenril of Golden Glade

Wilhelm mulled over the wisdom of their mission while waiting for word on the movement of their target. He wasn’t afraid of being cursed for killing a Chosen Bestowed. His grandfather slew one during the Grand Tournament held by the Solven Empire thirty-seven years ago, and nothing untoward happened to him or their family.

That was an honorable battle, proudly recorded in their family history books, compared to the disgraceful ambush Wilhelm was about to execute. But he wouldn’t lose sleep over this. Much better that the new Chosen Bestowed went to none of the Great Houses instead of throwing the delicate balance of power in disarray.

What he was conflicted about was losing a Chosen Bestowed during such troubled times. The kingdom needed every source of strength, as the children of the Tyrant Dragon to the east threatened to expand their territory. To the west, the Revocators Republic was poised to claw control of the Goldvein Peaks to mine for resources for their golems.

But those threats pale in comparison to those coming within the kingdom of Meriven. Infighting of the Great Houses would tear the kingdom apart. They’d all claim the Chosen Bestowed, especially if it turned out that she was blessed by a newly manifested god.

“A new god?” Wilhelm had asked Gideon when he told them of their mission a few days ago.

“A possible new god,” Gideon replied, clicking the rings of his index and middle fingers together, as he usually did when anxious. “It could also be a god kept secret by a different country. What I do know is that the reported veloyce readings—an additional rank in Constitution and a smattering of Vitality attunement—do not correspond to any Boon in the records. Either way, she is valuable… Very valuable and very unlikely we’d get her.”

“Any chance that a farmgirl could’ve achieved those by working hard on the fields?” Wilhelm asked with a hesitant chuckle, knowing the answer. “Could she be naturally gifted by blood?”

Gideon didn’t bother replying to his question. “Remember that even our own family should not know of this. The farmgirl is killed by bandits—that’s all there is to the story. Some may suspect machinations at play, but they’ll have no proof if no one says anything. Let suspicion fall on the other Great Houses. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t tell your wife. Well, I am saying it.”

Wilhelm nodded. “My lips are sealed, lest my ancestors disown me.”

And so, Wilhelm gathered men to ambush the Chosen Bestowed and make sure that she didn’t join with the knights of the Silver Order. If she did, her way to the capital would be all but assured. Wilhem brought only two sternial wielders with him; both were Dualinkers. Mobilizing stronger warriors would risk suspicion. Although Rallos and Cantor were both capable of using Advanced Cores, he forbade them from doing so. All of them, Wilhelm included, had to switch their preferred combat Cores for lower-quality ones, like those used by bandits.

They had to be careful of the traces they’d leave behind. If this were exposed, they’d make enemies of the Confederation of Churches. And the other Great Houses would fan the flames to outcast their family. Nothing should go wrong.  

“Sire, they are coming,” said Rallos. He sat cross-legged on the ground, his arms folded across his chest, and his eyes closed. “One wagon. Three horsemen. The same group that had entered the farmgirl’s village.”

“I was skeptical of crafted Cores when alchemists first touted them,” Wilhelm said, “but your Sharesense seems to be working with no issues. Anything of note?”   

“None, sire. I’ll bring down my familiar for a closer look. They maintain a leisurely pace as they—oh! They suddenly picked up speed.”

“What?” A sense of foreboding grasped Wilhelm’s heart.

“The three riders have tightened their formation around the wagon. And there’s a green dome forming. This should be the priest’s doing.”

Cantor clicked his tongue. “Makes our job more troublesome, doesn’t it? We failed to dispatch the priest before he used his shields. We don’t have archers who can get through a Vitality Barrier.”

“What’s the reason for their actions?” Wilhelm stared down at Rallos, then at Cantor to his right. “It’s as if they knew that we—”

“There’s no traitor among us, sire,” Cantor cut in with bristling indignation. “I know that I’m not. I’d bet my left testicle that Rallos isn’t one either.” 

“It begs repeating my question,” said Wilhelm. “Our targets shouldn’t suspect any harm about to befall them.” Someone had opened their mouth. That much, Wilhelm was sure. But he also didn’t want to cast doubt on the companions he had hand-picked.

“If information leaked, I’d blame the higher-ups,” said Cantor. “We’re simple soldiers here, following orders. We don’t play the games of intrigue like Gideon and his thumb-fiddling fellows.”

“I doubt they specifically know about us, sire,” Rallos said, his eyes still closed. “If I were in their place and got tipped off about an ambush, I would’ve stayed in the village and sent out a messenger to call for aid. Or I’d leave a different way and head to the hills down south. The monastery of Saint Gregory is a suitable refuge.”

“Are they planning to outrun us?” Cantor wondered. “Perhaps they know we’re here but think they can get past.”

“Not with a wagon,” Wilhelm said. “Rallos is right that they wouldn’t have come here if our presence had been made known to them. This leaves us with no answer for their odd behavior. It can’t be that they knew about us only a few moments ago and could no longer turn back.”

“Could… Could a god have warned them?” Rallos asked in a whisper.

“Don’t bring ancient tales into our mission,” said Wilhelm with a snort. “Gods don’t commune with men without contact.”

“We’re making this complicated,” Cantore said. “I’m betting my right testicle that they just think this is a dangerous part of the forest. Nothing more to it.”

Wilhelm raised a brow. Cantor was right. “No matter the oddity of their actions, our mission remains the same—nothing more to it. If we have a rat infestation, all the more reason we should succeed now because we might not have another chance again. Leave a rider alive to be questioned before we kill him. Rallos, break the Sharesense. We’re heading out.”

Wilhelm, followed by Cantor and Rallos, strode to the clearing where the rest of the men waited with their horses. In total, there were eight of them. Wilhelm barked orders as everyone made last-minute preparations, making sure that their faces were covered, though they intended to leave no survivors.

“Cantor. Rallos. Will you be fine using Stygian Cores?” Wilhelm asked while wrapping his head with a red cloth. He then wore his helmet.

Bandits, by the nature of their chosen way of life, had an easier time Attuning with the darkness element. In fact, many of them preferred it since specializing in one element was best to raise Attunement. Wilhelm thought it wise to use Stygian Cores to leave traces of dark energies for the church’s investigators to find. Gideon had a stash of such Cores for missions like this one. However, Wilhelm and his warriors had almost zero Stygian Attunement.

“We’ll manage,” said Rallos. “If we strike together, we can break the priest’s Vitality Barrier in one go.”

“Take out the priest, and it’ll be easy cleaning up the rest,” Cantor added. “If only we had struck before the barrier was up. But, oh well. That’s that.”

Wilhelm stretched out his arms and addressed his men with a loud voice. “The peace of our land is at stake. If we fail, it’ll be thrown into further turmoil because of our actions. What we do may not be honorable, but it is necessary. Honor is personal, peace is for all of our kingdom. We put the people above us.”

“The people above us!” shouted his man, raising their fists.

“For the peace of the land!” Wilhelm roared.

They echoed him. “For the peace of the land!”

Thundering hooves reverberated through the trees. Wilhelm’s group expertly controlled their horses as they weaved through the trees. They charged at the gleam of green, the Vitality barrier in the distance.

Wilhelm drew his sword. His chest warmed as he willed his sternial to activate the Core of a Dire feldeer. Swirling shadows coated his blade, similar to the dark energies that covered the antlers of the magnificent creature that used to possess this Core. A feldeer could shred armor. A Dire one could inflict all manner of ailments if its horns stabbed flesh.

Rallos and Cantor did the same with their swords as they flanked Wilhelm. They were to attack other points of the barrier. The rest of the men were tasked with fighting the priest’s guards. Two guards were on this side of the wagon, and the other one was on the left. The barrier had grown, extending forward to protect the horses.

Wilhelm activated his second Core—an alchemist-crafted Enhancer that boosted his Prowess. This one, he had some experience with during his novice days. His decent Vitality Attunement should be enough to double his physical capabilities using this low-quality Enhancer.

But the opposing Vitality and Stygian energies clashed inside him, disrupting his concentration. His chest tightened as his sternial, unused to these Cores, began to burn. Damn it! Gideon couldn’t have found them better Cores? Wilhelm imagined this was what a heart seizure felt like.  

Endure it, Wilhelm urged himself. This would only be for a short moment.

They were several seconds away from contact when the guards on the right side of the wagon slowed down and let the wagon pull ahead. Then they went to the back of the wagon to the other side. It left the Vitality Barrier open for attack.

But Wilhelm wasn’t celebrating. Their targets did know they’d be attacked! They were even aware that the ambush would come from the east.

The only course of action was to press ahead!

“Let loose!” Wilhelm shouted. His archers sent arrows hurtling through the air. The arrows broke upon hitting the Vitality Barrier. The priest knew what he was doing.

Wilhelm roared as he was the first to leave the tree line. He slammed his sword on the translucent green dome that covered the wagon. Rallos and Cantor slashed at the barrier in tandem. Shadows streaked across the green surface.

But the barrier held firm, save for some cracks. The priest was more capable than they expected. Curses!

Wilhelm also blamed their nonexistent Stygian Attunement. If he were using his mastered Cores, he would’ve cleaved through this barrier and the wagon in one strike. Riding alongside the wagon, he continued to hack at its barrier with Rallos and Cantor.

They had no other choice. The priest was repairing the barrier. By keeping up their attacks, they were tiring the priest and preventing him from doing anything else. A few more seconds and they’d break through.

The rest of Wilhelm’s group moved to engage the priest’s guards. Two overtook the wagon and rounded its front. Three circled the wagon’s back. It was a pincer maneuver—five against the three guards.

“Hah!” Wilhelm’s sword shattered the Vitality Barrier.

Before he could move closer to strike the wagon’s wheels, he heard a shout. Looking left, he saw one of his men tumbling on the ground after getting knocked off his horse. Was there someone strong among the priest’s guards? And was that one of the guards riding away from them, heading back to the village?

The familiar orange tinge wrapping the guard indicated a Lesser Troll’s Might. Gideon didn’t tell them about a second sternial user! But that wasn’t the biggest problem. Behind the fleeing horseman was a woman wearing a peasant’s garb. A shawl covered her head. A gust of wind fluttered the ends of the cloth, revealing long, bright red hair underneath.

The Chosen Bestowed! Gideon had told him that the farmgirl had red hair, inherited from her father. Their family name was Pyrebraid. The sternial user was taking her away!

On the other hand, Wilhelm couldn’t let the priest be either—he had information about them. How to deal with this?

“Rallos! With me!” Wilhelm pointed with his sword at the Pyrebraid farmgirl. If things worsened, Wilhelm was prepared to use his last Core, which was his own. “Cantor, you’re in charge here. Eliminate everyone. Failure is not an option!”

(Author's Notes: Our first side character POV. I did the same thing with REND, where side POV chaps are third person. For isekai and fantasy stories in general, it's good to have side POVs for worldbuilding. It'll also be helpful once we come to the politics stuff. There are a lot of things that Emery doesn't know about this world yet. Wilhelm's POV even gives us hints about the power system of the world. With this, Wilhelm is drawn away. And next chapter, we'll see Emery fight.)