NOVEL NEXT Arc III Chapter 8
III
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Arc III Chapter 8
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27th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753
Aurora was pleased, but she had hoped for more. Learning local architecture was all well and good, but not exactly what her heart had desired.
"Do you have anything else to show me?" Aurora addressed her fluffballs.
Her loyal subjects nodded, and led the way, guiding her to an abandoned storage room. An ancient wooden door reinforced with metal plating blocked her path. Despite centuries passing, the wood showed little signs of rot.
Her fluffballs looked at her with hopeful eyes and a sense of expectation.
...
...
...
Aurora had a hunch of what they wanted from her. "Let me guess, there is something inside the storage room?"
"..." Her fluffballs danced in confirmation.
"And I presume that you want me to open the door for you, do you not?"
"..." Her fluffballs collectively averted their eyes, reluctant to meet her judging gaze.
"..." Aurora narrowed her eyes, dissatisfied. They were using her as a glorified door opener. Once again, Aurora felt deceived by her subjects! She was taken advantage of by a bunch of lazy bloodsuckers. After all, it was her who fought the giant hairy spider, while they were hiding behind her in a corner, shivering in fear!
Yet Aurora relented. swift kick resolved the issue, dispatching the renitent door with ease. One. Two. Three. Four. Amplified by her mana, her kick breached the door. Unable to resist her onslaught, the hinges failed the door. The dust of past centuries greeted her, together with a large stack of ... lightning ... crystals.
Her fluffballs danced in joy, and started to nibble on the pile of delicious crystals. They were hungry, and the crystals provided them with nutritious aether.
...
...
...
"... ... ..." Aurora, however, did not share their enthusiasm for crystals. Her mood deteriorated considerably, only to be replaced by an icy glare. Her subjects had abused her trust in the most heinous way imaginable! This was unforgivable! This was lèse majesté! This was high treason! Her pride demanded justice, punishment, executions, exile!
Her fluffballs had brought her all the way here just for some stupid, useless crystals! Ungrateful rascals! All of them! Only ever thinking about themselves and their voracious appetite! The sticky cobwebs, the spiders, the bugs, the dust, all for naught.
"..." Aurora crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed. Her eyebrow twitched. Her fluffballs summoned her divine wrath, and now, they were trembling in fear. Rightfully so. Hell hath no fury like a noble girl deceived. "You know your crime. How do you plead ..."
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Her doll interrupted her raging tirade.
"What, Dolly, you have located something of interest?" Aurora looked at her doll in surprise.
Her doll nodded, pointing behind her in a certain direction.
"..." Aurora followed her doll's gaze. Among all the rubble, among fallen stone and destruction, her eyes spotted a shimmering object. It was the shimmer of polished metal reflecting the incoming sunlight. The entire hall was littered with the remnants of weapons and armours. The hall was a battlefield.
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Quick and nimble on her feet, Aurora was occupied with scavenging the ancient battlefield. Terminology and the temporal factor aside, an ancient battlefield was not much different from a contemporary battlefield. Just fewer rotting corpses, and more skeletons, but their purpose remained the same. In the end, rich looters were happy looters, and a certain looting girl was a happy girl. The dead had little use for their former belongings, which would be put now to better use, namely enriching a poor little girl with limited funds. Their most gracious sacrifice shall never be forgotten. At least, not until tomorrow.
"..." Aurora offered a short prayer, a moment of silence for the deceased, a gesture of solemn respect before lining her deep pockets. Might their restless souls find peace in these accursed ruins.
Aurora continued her efforts, engaging in merry looting and plundering, assisted by her doll, in a display of superb teamwork. Her doll served as her scout, tasked with identifying worthwhile targets, whereas Aurora was scurrying across the battlefield. Skeleton after skeleton was identified and marked, investigated, and stripped of all valuables. Jewellery and coins, gems and precious metals were preferred due to weight and space constraints. It was now that Aurora realised that her pockets were not as deep as she would wish for. Even her satchels were already reaching their limit, filled to the brim with loot. So little space. So much loot.
Thus, a greedy girl was forced to make a tough choice, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The vast majority of loot turned out to be worthless junk, as the majority of weapons and armour fell prey to an insidious enemy, rust. Exposed to the sun and the elements and without any proper maintenance, corrosion made short work of all the weapons and armour. The tooth of time had turned even the toughest of steel into worthless scrap, but not all was lost. Fortunately, gold and silver cared little about rust.
Judging by her findings, the defenders must have fielded a sizeable force composed of militia and professional soldiers, of rich and poor, of commoners and nobles. A force composed of light and heavy infantry intermixed with mages and archers. It was a solid choice considering the nature of the ruins, ideal for defending narrow corridors and bottlenecks. Infantry and mages were always a good choice. The former offered solid defensive, the latter powerful offensive capabilities.
As their name suggested, the light infantry was lightly equipped. Protected by their shields, light mail, and linen, they were armed with spears, sword, axes, maces, bows. It was them who had formed the bulk of the defending forces, and also the bulk of the cannon fodder. They were men who carried little of value. Just some rusted copper and bronze coins here and there. Small coin used by the common man.
The heavy infantry by contrast proved far more worthwhile targets. Clad in heavy mail, these men formed the backbone of the defenders. They were warriors. They were soldiers. Men equipped and trained for war.
The sons and men of nobility had led them into battle, their remains now resting forever together with those they had once commanded. Gold and silver, coat of arms, crests, and emblems adorned their armours.
Much to Aurora's delight, the nobles and officer of old did not hesitate in the least to display their wealth and status on the battlefield, even in death. Ostentatious jewellery of all kind, precious rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, they were everywhere.
Aurora took them all, without the slightest hint of hesitation, even their gold teeth. Nothing was safe from her thieving fingers.
Apart from their earthly possessions, their weapons had also attracted her curiosity. Their weapons were clearly different from the rest that she had encountered so far. Unlike their rusted counterparts, the arms of nobility had withstood the test of time. Unlike the steel and iron of their brethren, the metal of their weapons showed no sign of corrosion or degradation.
Her hand retrieved one such weapon, a short sword. The blade was light and nimble, glimmering silver under the sun. The sword was forged out of an alloy unknown to her. The alloy resembled silver, yet it offered the hardness and resilience of steel ... Mythril.
The word occupied her mind as memories of the past resurfaced. The metal in her hand was mythril, the metal of legends. Light in weight and renowned for its high mana conductivity. Valued by smiths and forges across the realm. Easily worth its weight in gold. Her father had taught her so ... Her father ...
"..." Aurora reached for her forehead, her hand caressing her tired mind. As usual, a headache accompanied her flickering memories, but this time, at least, her past knowledge proved useful. Despite all her shortcomings, her former self was still a noble, and thus versed and educated in various matters.
Aurora injected her mana. As expected, the blade responded instantly. Her mana encountered little to no resistance. Her memories did not lie, mythril was indeed an excellent conductor, and an excellent catalyst. No wonder that the metal was sought after by mages and nobles alike.
Following her inspection, her most recent acquisition disappeared inside her satchel. Her lovely short sword barely fitted. Fortunately, her blade was on the shorter end even for a short sword to the point of having to be considered a dagger. After all, she had little interest in her sword being requisitioned by a certain moody adventurer. The blade was hers.
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