My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 151: Rising Shadows

"Hmm, is this information reliable?" 

Lorget kept his eyes on the floor, he did not dare to look Kace in the eyes. 'What the fuck happened while I was away?' This was the first time Lorget saw Kace since his evolution. Everything about him was screaming danger to the goblin. At the same time, he felt a strange sense of pride for serving such an existence.

"I-it really is." Lorget stammered, "I overheard some vampire nobles talking about it."

Kace's eyes flashed with the light of cold malice. 'Here I was, thinking Grugda abandoned me. Turns out these bastards already had him in chains.' He began to drum his fingers on the cold, stone armrest of his throne as he contemplated their next move.

"Shadow, take a few others. Find out where they are holding Grugda." Kace commanded with a serious tone.

"At once, my Lord. We shall not fail you." Shadow replied before vanishing from sight.

"There's something else. I don't know if it's of any use, but there seems to be an army marching on the city." Lorget suddenly blurted out, cursing his own stupidity for not mentioning it earlier.

Kace's eyes seemed like daggers when they fixed themselves on Lorget again. The small figure trembled slightly, praying against all hope that he had not just signed his own death warrant. The silence was deafening, and Lorget felt his knees beginning to buckle under the pressure that Kace was emanating.

"Who is the assaulting force?" Kace asked in a calm, cold tone. He already had a guess, but considering nothing had been mentioned of them since he arrived here. Well, he did not want to jump the gun, so to speak.

"They were Heroes, my Lord," Lorget replied while lowering his head even further. "The vampires don't seem to be aware of their approach either."

Kace mulled over these words carefully, it was exactly as he expected when Lorget told him about the army. 'Heroes, eh? So they really are here as well then.' A few faces passed by in his memories, making him pull an unpleasant face. 'I wonder if any of them are here?' Of course, he was thinking of Phillip and Sarah, who had not given him any peace for over a year.

"Hm, how many are there?"

"Tens of thousands, my Lord." Lorget eventually replied after thinking about it for a while.

Kace was taken aback by this number. It was more than he had ever dealt with before. Looking around at the tribe members that were gathered, he realised something. 'I don't have the numbers to deal with them alone. If the city falls, we could be next. Besides, I still need someone to tell me how to open the gate back.'

As he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that he still needed the vampires. Probably just as much as they needed him, and his tribe. The battle would be a particularly harsh one. With those kinds of numbers involved, he could not even guess who would win.

'The heroes should already know the strength of the vampires. Thinking along those lines then, they must be confident in succeeding.' Kace was perplexed at the thought of this. It would mean that there had to be combatants amongst the army capable of going head to head with the strongest vampires.

Kace knew all to well the strength that Sonja possessed when she held back. Even now, he could not fathom how much she was still hiding. For them to be confident in taking her down, well, he held no illusions. If they brought someone with that kind of strength, then he had no chance if he crossed their path. On the other hand, they might very well be planning to just drown her in numbers.

'I'm going to have to speak with the queen. Once the heroes have been dealt with, we can settle our own problem. Well, after I have Grugda that is.' Although he was willing to stand on the vampire's side in the upcoming conflict, he was unwilling to do so while still keeping Grugda captive. Sure, they might take it badly when he bust him out from jail. However, would they really expect him to come to the negotiating table while they held all the chips? Dream on.

"Lorget, get everyone prepared for war," Kace stated without a hint of anxiety. There was really no need for Lorget to do anything once he said these words. As everyone in the chamber heard him loud and clear.

The tribe immediately went into a bloodthirsty uproar. They began shouting and laughing with glee at the thought of going to the battlefield. It was an exciting thing for this bunch that had remained hidden for so long. Many of them disappeared in black puffs of shadows, presumably going to acquire whatever weaponry and the likes that they had stored away.

Lorget could only let out a sad smile as he backed away from the throne. He knew all to well what war would mean. Death. Most likely for those he cared about. He still thought about the last war from time to time. Watching his friends, and his old Lord fall to the heroes. 'This time, I won't let it happen.'

Kace smiled at their enthusiasm from atop his throne. He watched them leave the chamber one by one. Right now, all he could do was wait. He needed solid intel from Shadow's group before he could make his move. With any luck, Shadow would be able to save Grugda without him making a move personally. It would be ideal for keeping his new appearance and strength a secret until it came time to talk with the queen. 

If she knew about his upgrade in advance, then she would most likely prepare countermeasures for him. This was definitely one of those times it was better to catch the opponent unaware. He smiled playfully as he thought about how wretched her face would look when she noticed that he was no longer the same as before. During his melancholy, he suddenly heard a familiar voice within his head.

'What did I miss, Kace?' Sylvan had finally returned