novelraw Chapter 53: Proving Themselves
Chapter 53: Proving Themselves
Jensen had just finished going through the information Herald had for him.
Apparently, the other bandits had realized something was wrong but after a few of their spies had been eliminated, they backed off.
They were more cautious now and kept their distance from the camp but that would most likely soon change.
Jensen was once again lying on a tree branch with his back rested against the trunk and one leg dangled over the side.
Once he had gotten the information from Herald, he sent him back to continue his patrol.
Resting on the tree Jensen did not have anything to do until he began eavesdropping on Galvin and Anna’s conversation.
And Jensen felt something he did not expect and couldn’t even put a name too... a strange ache in his chest and he began wondering.
He wondered if that was how his own parents would have been if his father had not changed after the tragedy.
He wondered how he would have turned out if his father had not changed.
He wondered how he would have turned out if the tragedy had never happened at all in the first place.
’Perhaps I would have lived a better life,’ he thought.
But did he want anything to change?
’No... absolutely not.’
If he had not lived such a life, would he have become who he was today?
Would he have become as strong as he currently was?
Would he have gained the vampyre bloodline that would most likely lead him to the peak of life?
He might have had a higher starting point, but his peak would not have been as high as it could be now in the future.
Besides, would he even be the same person without the same experiences?
It came back to the same old question.
’Would a person be the same person without the same experiences and memories?’
Jensen did not think so.
And for that reason, he would not change a single thing about himself.
He slowly rose from the tree in one smooth motion and dropped to the ground silently. Then he made his way to the command tent.
***
Inside the command tent, Talia, Roden, and Jim stood at attention while Jensen sat in front of them.
"As you know, the other tents are filled with resources for your use," he said. "But you will have to arrange them yourself."
"I do not have much time to spend here so whatever you have to do that may require my aid has to be done between now and the end of tomorrow."
He looked at each of them. "Anything to add?"
The only reason he had followed them here in the first place was so that Herald would not pulverize them on sight.
The thrall could only follow set command and the other was to kill anything that came close to the camp.
Even now when he got the information on the bandits’ reaction, it was by reading Herald’s memories.
Without Jensen present, everything would have gone wrong not to mention he also had to program Herald to listen to Talia.
But now that they were here, he might as well help them.
As much as he was testing Talia, he also did not wish for them to fail after all this involved his interests too.
Silence followed for a few seconds before Talia opened her mouth.
"My lord. To put your mind at ease, why do we not prove our ability?"
Jensen raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Without your help or Herald’s," Talia said, "we will destroy a bandit camp with one Level 3 by the end of tomorrow."
Jensen looked at her and a smile crept across his face. "I have my own set of requirements you must follow."
Talia bowed her head. "What are your wishes, my lord?"
"I want you to capture some alive." Jensen paused. "Especially the Level 3."
Talia fell silent and the smile faded from her face as her confidence wavered.
She was no longer sure if that was possible.
While Jensen had made killing Posey seem easy, it was not... He was different and more broken than most.
Yes, Noble vampyres were still strong but they were not as broken as Jensen.
Not to mention two of the three of them were not fighters and Roden, the only real combatant among them was still at mid-Level 1.
Even her father’s level had fallen from Level 2 to high-Level 1 after his transformation was complete.
Capturing a Level 3? Alive? That was a different kind of impossible.
"Can it not be done?" Jensen asked, smiling again like he already knew the answer.
Talia straightened her back. "No, my lord. We will try our best."
"Good." Jensen nodded. "Do you wish to get to work now or in the morning?"
"Now, my lord."
"Then feel free to get to work... Just call me when you are ready to begin."
Jensen rose from his seat and walked out of the tent making his way back to the tree where he climbed up and laid down on the branch again.
***
Once Jensen was outside, Roden immediately turned to his sister.
"You did not just do that." His voice was low. "How are we going to kill a Level 3, let alone capture one?"
He paced back and forth in the tent his hands instinctively reaching for his sword before releasing it.
He truly could not tell what his sister was thinking, promising Lord Jensen that kind of thing was basically suicide.
Jim sighed as he rubbed his temples with his fingers. "You keep forgetting that he can still hear us, right?"
Roden’s face changed as his eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut.
Jim shook his head. "Still... We have to help your sister as much as possible even if it seems impossible."
Roden nodded slowly before turned back to Talia.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Talia smiled and nodded at her brother, then she reached into her spatial ring and pulled out Posey’s data-pad.
She tapped through the files searching for information on the bandit groups around.
Of course, she had already gone through the files before, but she wanted to do it again to pick the perfect target.
She scrolled through the files and folders for a while before finally settling down on her choice.
’This is the one.’