“Are there any issues?” Archduke Goldenmouth asked once he arrived and saw the guards had already finished the inspection. Despite the number of floors cleared Ajax had already used up everything he collected beforehand not wanting to give away his better boon.
“Just the corpse of an extremely toxic frog.” The guard answered.
“I’ll handle it from here then, if you’d follow me please Lord Hearthbound.” The archduke said as he led the way away from the dungeon.
“Did something happen?” Ajax asked as his social Skills let him pick up on the odd vibe he had been getting the entire time.
“I’ll explain more once we reach my manor.” The archduke answered as he and Ajax entered a carriage while Aurexion simply flew ahead towards the archduke’s manor.
“How valuable is this frog?” Ajax felt compelled to ask, seeing as despite it being the only thing he pulled out of the dungeon he was still getting a ride to the archduke’s manor.
“Not as valuable as you think.” Goldenmouth replied cryptically .
The rest of the short journey was spent in silence before they arrived at the manor and joined Aurexion who had already made himself comfortable on the patio.
“So if this isn’t about the frog what is it about?” Ajax asked once the privacy formation all around them was activated.
“It’s about getting you back in the war as soon as possible.” The archduke confirmed. “Judging just by your Aura alone your time in the dungeons has been quite the boon, and that is something the beastkin had also probably figured out based on your absence.”
“They changed their approach again?” Ajax asked, surprised to hear that their new tactics had not even lasted a month.
“Not changed.” The archduke shook his head. “They decided to go all in.”
Over the next five minutes Ajax was informed of how the Republic as well as its allies had adapted to the change in the way the war played out. The large battlefields favoured the beastkin who had more champions and while the Republic had been slowly losing the ground they made with Gryndor joining their side before the few times champions were killed had always been an even trade at best for the beastkin.
“As of last week there is only a single champion we are confident the beastkin have who has not joined the battle, and that is their king.” The archduke let out a long breath. “The reason the guards were so scared when you exited the dungeon was that if anything followed you out it would have been a real struggle even with the defensive arrays around the dungeon to contain even a few level one hundred and eighty creatures breaking out.”
Ajax remembered well how powerful the defenses around a dungeon near a capital were, but he had to agree that against powerful monsters above level one hundred and fifty they would do little more than delay them unless some powerful people were there to also help deal with them. That the Republic had been forced to send all of their powerful people to help with the war meant the beastkin had started pressing them hard.
“It’s a good thing we’re rested.” Aurexion chuckled. “Maybe the fights will get a little more interesting now.”
Ajax could actually feel some excitement through the bond with the dragon. The fight against the elemental and gaining a level had clearly reawakened the dragon’s sense for excitement and progression.
“What about the frog?” Ajax asked.
“You can keep it or I can buy it on credit.” The archduke answered. “As long as you head out to the battlefield as soon as possible.
“Sell it.” Aurexion answered for them.
Aurexion knew what he was doing despite not having observed humanoids for long. By selling the frog on credit now he could get its full value later as the Republic would surely not want to try to cheat Ajax after the war was over, but if they used the frog poison in the war to great effect it would obviously increase its value when it was calculated at a later date. The only issue with such a deal was if the Republic lost the war but that was something Aurexion and Ajax were about to head out to make sure didn’t happen.
“Don’t look at me.” Ajax said when he saw the archduke turn to him as he pulled out the frog corpse and placed it on the grass nearby, its potent toxins already killing the grass and turning it a sickly shade of purple. “We’re equals he said sell, so we sell.”
Ajax knew he was overstating things here but it wasn’t by much. Over something so minor the will of his bond will obviously be what matters most. This was also a good moment to establish that Aurexion could and would make decisions for them both on an international level, after all few would approach a dragon about reconsidering his position compared to a duke. Even a powerful duke could be bothered over his stance on certain topics but the people willing to argue over those decisions would be much more reluctant to bring their complaints to a dragon.
“We will have our alchemists work on refining the poison.” The archduke promised as he pulled the corpse into his spacial ring. “If you’d make your way over to the army headquarters you’ll be sent to the appropriate battlefield.”
“Lets move quickly” Ajax said as he climbed on Aurexion’s neck and the pair took flight. “From the sounds of it there hasn’t yet been a big battle but it probably won’t be long until one takes place and I want to rejoin the rest of Gryndor’s champions before that happens.”
It took less than an hour to make it to the command tent but Ajax was surprised to find it a lot emptier than it had been before.
“Where is the archduke?” Ajax questioned as he entered the main tent.
“Much like all other combatants around level one hundred and fifty he has been forced to take a position around the front lines.” The answer came from one of the generals after they took a moment to see who was asking the question.
“Lord Hearthbound!” The rest of the command tent also noticed his presence and to say he was a sight for sore eyes was clearly an understatement considering Ajax could feel the mood lifting. “So good to have you rejoin the battle, I hope your delving was fruitful.”
“It was fine, which way towards Gryndor’s forces.” Ajax asked knowing time was of the essence.
“I’m not sure if that is the best place for you and your bond to reinforce.” He could see the generals starting to scramble to figure out where he would be best deployed to, considering how strong he and Aurexion were even as individuals they were clearly trying to find a way to get them to split up and reinforce different positions. “If you and Aurexion co-”
That was as far as Ajax let them get before he interrupted them. “Aurexion and I exited the dungeon a few days before it was planned and I have been apprised of the situation we are currently in.” Ajax shut down the request quickly. “My bond and I will not be splitting up and we will be heading towards the rest of Gryndor’s forces. Once there and assured they are fine we can see about further redeployment. Now where are they?”
Ajax could see the generals wanted to argue but all of them knew how pointless that would be. Most powerful champions were hard to argue with at the best of times and Ajax’s concerns were actually valid, they simply didn’t place the Republic's interests first. In the end the generals gave him directions while at the same time sending out messages about Ajax and Aurexion rejoining the war and where they are heading to.
“Best hold on.” Aurexion warned once they had their general direction and the two of them were taking flight once again. “I’ll be flying fast and high.”
“Why the rush?” Ajax knew Aurexion would really be putting in the effort if he was warning him to hold on, the invested Stamina seemed like a bad idea to him.
“They are certainly moving champions away from Gryndor’s position as we speak now that we are heading there.” Aurexion pointed out. “The enemy might notice them leaving and that might give them the opportunity to attack. We want to arrive before they have the time to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Ajax was mad at himself for not coming to the same realization and entered [Meditation] as he started using Wind Mana to create some tailwind to speed Aurexion up further. Considering the distance they would need to travel it would be about a day.