We quietly moved through the building, even if we were fully equipped it was still too risky to get caught. I could still feel my left arm throbbing and I doubt I could properly use it in a fight, I I should be lucky that I’m still able to use it at all.

  I was thankful at least that my [Garments of the Night] were helping me sneak around if only by a bit more. But compared to me, Zephyrus was moving effortlessly that I could barely hear his movements at all. It’s obvious he had some experience doing these kinds of stuff before, so I opted to let him take the lead.

  I focused on keeping watch from our surroundings for any soldiers on patrol. My kobold instincts proved to be useful for this scenario. Whenever it started to kick in, I would let Zephyrus aware which proved to be helpful as that was when a guard would come by with us barely hiding in time.

  The vulture was considering taking one of his feathers and using it, but I stopped him. It was best we didn’t take this risk if we could help it after all, not wanting to alert them of our escape this early.

  Instead, I opted to keep to the shadows. Moving through the halls and sometimes examining some of the more intriguing rooms. Some of them had some coins surprisingly lying around. I decided to let Zephyrus keep it as a form of early payment for his employment.

  “Hehe thank you kindly bossman. ~” Was the vulture’s response as he happily stashed the coins in a hidden satchel under his wings.

  Still, this took too long. Just how big was this castle anyway? The more we maneuvered around the building the more I wished we had V’s [Map]. It felt like we were going around in circles, just barely avoiding getting caught multiple times. At this rate we were going to be caught soon.

  “This is ridiculous, how does anyone get around this place.” I started to complain out of annoyance.

  “Just a bit more Vlad, I’m pretty much got a good understanding of the layout of this place. Shouldn’t be too long now.” Zephyrus reassured me. I had no choice but to trust him on this as I wouldn’t fare any better otherwise.

  During moments of calmness I took the time to check on the followers list on my [Game Screen] to check on the health status of my followers. To my relief, it seemed like everyone was ok and was steadily recovering. Even Mordred seemed to be in better shape with his named now yellow orange. They must of somehow convinced him to take it easy. Still, I needed to get back to them soon before one of them decided to get reckless out of desperation.

  “Alright we should be reaching the main halls now.” The vulture stated, confident in his statement.

  Indeed, the next room they reached seemed to be a large room with multiple pillars holding it up in place. The place was unnecessarily shiny, almost like someone was trying to show off. There even was a large portrait of what I would assume was this kingdom’s ‘lovely’ king.

  He looked exactly as I assumed he would base on what I was told about him. A fat big bastard over bloated in his own ego. And it seemed Zephyrus agreed with me as he rolled his eyes.

  “How someone like him managed to establish a new kingdom I will never know.” Zephyrus questioned, and I had to agree with him there as I nodded with him.

  But for right now, we needed to find a way to get around here. There were multiple guards stationed here which would make sense. The large stairwell must lead to the throne room after all.

  We couldn’t just walk past by, but it was not like there was any other way to go. We had already checked this side of the castle. I looked around, seeing if there was an opening or something we could use. That’s when I remembered the various pillars that were supporting the halls, I looked up and was pleased to see that the edges of them had enough space on them for us to hang on to. They were so high up I doubt the soldiers would notice so long as we weren’t too loud.

  Ony problem would be trying to reach the top of the pillars. I could simply use [Material Forge] to help me fling towards it, but it would create too much noise. That’s when I looked at my vulture henchman and remembered that he had wings.

  “Say Zeph, think those wings could carry us both on top of that pillar?” I asked while pointing at the nearest one.

  Zephyrus put his fingers up to his chin as he thought on it, all the while letting his wings expand.

  “Let me think…. I should be able to fly us both up there with only a little struggle. It’s a good thing you’re a short little thing Vlad. ~” He answered while chuckling at his own joke.

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  Ok that was definitely uncalled for! If we weren’t in enemy territory right now, I would have plenty of words to say to him. I had to refrain from doing so for now.

  I reluctantly got on his back, making sure not to get in the way of his wings as we took off, all the while I struggled with my left claw which was still recovering. As he flew I noticed that his wings were quiet, he definitely had practice with this. The whole thing lasted no more than a second before we reached the edge of the pillar up high. I kept my grip on him despite dealing with the pain, I would just have to endure it a bit more.

  Once I was sure we were secured, I used [Material Forge] to reshape the section Zephyrus was hanging on to. Of course I warned him about what I was doing, didn’t need him to panic at the worst of times after all. After confirming that my makeshift platform was secured, we climbed on top and gave ourselves a moment to catch our breaths.

  I grabbed onto my pained arm as I let it calm down and settle. “We did it, now where should we go next?” I asked, my left claw already leaving my train of thought.

  “Hmm I highly doubt we could leave out the front door. They would more than likely be overwhelmed with guards. And going through the window is out of the question since that would attract too much noise.” Zephyrus stated.

  “So, what do you propose we do?” I asked, wanting to hear our options.

  The vulture then pointed higher up at the other side. “We go find a balcony, since we confirmed I can carry you on my back with no problem. The side we were on was probably for the prisoners and soldiers so they wouldn’t need such a thing. But the noble side of the castle should have one.”

  “Makes sense they keep the nobles separated from the rest us.” I stated all while rolling my eyes, to me such rankings mean little when I plan to conquer all.

  With a plan set we aimed for the other side of the hall, gliding down once we confirmed an opportunity to do so while I decided to return the pillar to its original state. I’d rather not leave a trail for them to locate us faster after all.

  We managed to land quietly without alerting the guards and immediately returned to hiding. Our next order of business was to locate the entrance to the balcony, Zephyrus reassured me it would be obvious once we see it.

  As we ventured through, I couldn’t help but notice that my kobold instincts weren’t as high alert as before. The idea of the nobles separating from the soldiers was starting to seem more likely. This just made it easier for us to maneuver around and we progressed our search a lot faster than anticipated.

  It didn’t take long before we managed to find the balcony and he was right. It was so easy to find it I would have to be blind not to see it. There was a large opening leading outside with a gaudy border as if whoever designed it wanted to show off how rich they were.

  We were practically running for the exit when we started to hear some noise from the room nearby. My curiosity was rather overwhelming as I couldn’t help but want to take a peek at the door. There were distinct flashes of light indicating that there was something currently at work.

  Noticing how I was getting distracted Zephyrus called out to me. “Hey, come on Vlad, we need to hurry.”

  But I ended up ignoring him, as I looked inside to see what was up. What I saw was multiple circles with intricate designs drawn on the ground as they glowed brightly, indicating magic at play.

  At the center of the circles there was a single kobold chained up to the ground as it struggled against its bindings. I almost panicked thinking for the worst, but I soon recognized that it wasn’t one of my minions. Still though I couldn’t help but be a bit upset, it was then that I started to notice some people come into view, one of which I recognized as the fat king from the portrait. I couldn’t help but start to listen to their conversation.

  “You better make it work this time!!” the king started to angrily declare; the people next to him clearly concerned over his temper.

  “U-understood your highness!” They fearfully replied as they all gathered around the center circle as the glow of it grew bright.

  The kobold at the center started to panic more, seemingly understanding what was happening to it as it desperately tugged at its chains and pleaded. “P-please stop this!!”

  Unfortunately, they all ignored the poor kobold as they continued. The glowing light enveloped the area as it overwhelmed the kobold who was screaming in pain.

  “S-sir it can’t take any more of this if it continues, they won’t survive.” One of them warned.

  But the damnable king only yelled back. “Do not defy me! Keep at it!”

  They had no choice but to comply and let the magic continue. Meanwhile my body started to move on its own, but not to run away as I had come to expect it but to inch closer. I guess even my own kobold instincts couldn’t stand what was happening.

  It didn’t take long before the light faded as the magic diminished, all those working on it fell on their knees exhausted. As for my poor fellow kobold…

  It lay on the ground, unmoving with its claws over its head. I couldn’t believe it, it was…. he was…

  The pig king only shook his head in disappointment as he motioned his hand to the others. “Bah, useless. Send in the next one!”

  Upon hearing what he said, I suddenly had my claw at the hilt of my blade, my body ready to charge right at the bastard!!

  But before I could move an inch through the door, I suddenly found my body pulled back. Behind me Zephyrus had me at his talon and dragging me off to the balcony while hushing at me to be quiet.

  “We can’t, I can guess how you feel but we need to leave now. You plan to conquer, don’t you? Then you need to know when to fall back.” The vulture told me.

  Damn it… Damn it, he’s right! I hate to do this, but I need to worry about escaping and returning back to my minions.

  As Zephyrus prepared to take off with me on his back I gave one look back at the crack of the door, I could make out them carrying off the limp kobold out.

  My body could barely keep itself together, it was shaking mad as we took off into the air. I noticed that it was nighttime, as the stars were shining brightly, this would make our flight escape easier.

  I thought back on what I saw earlier, I could feel my anger welling up, barely contained. I swear….

  I started to speak to myself quietly but loud enough for Zephyrus to hear. “I swear I’m going to make you pay you fat bastard!”