CEO in a Fantasy World 3

by Tristan H Brown

  Five or so arrows impaled the ice about 2 inches deep, resulting in the group of trolls to look at Caesar with astonishment.

  "I-Ice magician? I thought those were all extinct?" The troll leader asked with bafflement.

  Caesar, of course, didn't answer him and immediately charged forward, he hurled the shield of ice at the remnant troll archers and stopped them from firing another wave of arrows.

  Each of the trolls took out their curved blades from their waist and prepared for impact. They used their abnormally long limbs as an advantage to strike Caesar from afar.

  Caesar slightly squinted his eyes as he barely tilted his head and evaded the first blade, he ducked below the next two blades and brought both of his hands to their wrists, immediately, one of the bodies turned into an ice sculpture. At the same time, the other one withered away at a visible pace.

  "Grr, I'm going to rip your bones out, you bastard" The troll leader, who was a head taller than the rest, struck down toward Caesar with a scimitar.

  Caesar grabbed one of the curved blades by his side and brought the weapon up to meet the troll leader's sword.

  Both swords hit each other and the sound of metal hitting metal reverberated throughout the surroundings, Caesar was quite surprised at the physical strength this troll possessed. Still, the troll was even more astonished at Caesar's physical power.

  Their clash didn't last very long. However, Caesar moved his lower body and swept the troll off his feet. He quickly jumped on top of the fallen troll and moved his right hand to his neck.

  "G-get off our leader, you scum!" A few nearby trolls roared in a mad craze and attacked Caesar to interrupt him from killing their leader.

  "Tsk"

  Caesar clicked his tongue in displeasure and hopped off the troll's body. He created a few pieces of ice and launched them downward while in mid-air.

  The three trolls that had attacked him, now had regret reflect in their eyes as they held their neck to stop their blood from spilling out, alas their efforts were in vain.

  Caesar landed on the ground a few meters or so away from the trolls, they looked at him warily, and their previous arrogance was nowhere to be found.

  Caesar licked the blood that was on his mouth and smiled widely. He turned his body slightly to face the carts behind him.

  "Are you just going to let me fight the trolls alone? I had thought the fox-kin men were a prideful race," Caesar shouted sarcastically, his words immediately igniting a fire in the eyes of the fox-kin currently hiding behind the carts.

  The elites slowly walked out from behind the wagons and enveloped their swords with flames, their killing intent permeated from their bodies as they strode forward… It was clear they held a tremendous amount of hatred for the trolls.

  The trolls, now without their previous superior numbers nor with the Ceros, started sweating profusely, they took a few small steps back every time the fox-kin men took a step forward.

  "OOOHHHHHH"

  Suddenly, the fox-kin men charged forward, and the trolls knew they were no match for their speed, so they put up their weapons and prepared for battle.

  The fox-kin elites passed by Caesar, they clearly only had the trolls in sight, as the fox-kin men charged, Caesar leisurely walked forward as if he was taking a stroll in his garden.

  His eyes were only gazing at the troll leader who was also looking at him with fear apparent in his eyes.

  Screams echoed across the forest, but sound and time appeared to stop as Caesar slowly walked toward the troll leader. A playful smile danced on his lips.

  "Y-you monster, get away from me" The troll leader hurried back with his hands and roared out in fear.

  The fox-kin had naturally left him for Caesar to handle while they took care of the rest, he kicked off the ground and almost instantaneously appeared in front of the troll leader, he swiftly picked him up by the neck and brought him to a nearby tree.

  The troll leader attempted to resist and flailed with his arms; however, Caesar didn't flinch one bit and pushed his back against a nearby tree.

  Caesar brought his mouth closer to the trolls ear and whispered, "I wonder how you knew your men were going to be ambushed here?" he asked.

  "Haha, why would I tell you?" The troll asked with a bloody smile.

  Caesar didn't hesitate to break one of the troll's fingers and ask once again, "you seemed to have told me you were going to rip my bones out? It's considered courtesy where I'm from to repay the favor," Caesar spoke nonchalantly…

  He paused for a second and continued.

  "Alas, if you tell me the information I want to hear… Perhaps, we could think of a different alternative."

  "Y-you won't be able to break me… I will never rat out my clan. We're not weak like the fox-kin," the troll laughed wildly, but the large beads of sweat trailing down his face told a different story.

  "Is that so?"

  Caesar broke every finger the poor troll had. Deep agony appeared in the eyes of the troll as he looked at Caesar with dread.

  "T-torture is looked down upon in both of our clans… y-you monster," The troll snarled.

  "I've lived for a long time, and as time has passed, I have learned many things… such as freezing and cauterizing a wound to stop bleeding out, or maybe even sticking needles under the nails." Caesar paused.

  "Is it genuinely evil to kill an evil person, or is it heroic? Perhaps, it makes me evil as well… however, I have no qualms about becoming the villain if it means doing what's necessary.

  The troll gulped audibly.

  "I-I don't know who the s-spy is… b-b-b-but I know that he's close to your empress, m-my prince fancies your empress you see? All I-I know is that my prince promised that man a turn" The troll stuttered and was almost incoherent.

  "A turn?" Caesar asked coldly. His voice made the troll's spine shiver.

  "Y-y-yes, a turn," the troll adverted his eyes and replied.

  "What do you mean by a turn," Caesar asked once again, his voice growing colder… he had a premonition.

  "T-that is, a turn, in uhh, bed…" The troll finally explained, and Caesar's eyes became even more chilly.

  Caesar impaled the troll in the forehead and gave him a quick death. He wouldn't go back on his word and cause any more unnecessary pain for the troll. He had carefully examined the troll's facial expression and could quickly tell that he wasn't lying.

  He turned around, and the fox-kin elites were already waiting for him to finish, they looked calm, but a minimal amount of fear was discernible in their eyes.

  Caesar didn't pay much attention to the elites but instead, focused on the small, shivering figure in the middle of them — Charlie.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Caesar's gaze made Charlie feel as though he was a rabbit currently being dissected; his entire body trembled as he looked toward the ground in shame.

  The rest of the fox-kin elites that surrounded them didn't know how to feel about this scene, although they were loyal to Charlie and his father, the things they had overheard from that troll leader made them suspect Charlie for treason.

  Caesar leisurely walked towards Charlie until he was only a few inches away from him, his tall height made it look as if Caesar was talking to a mere child. He lifted his slender hand and lightly tapped Charlie on the face.

  "Calm down, brat, I'm not going to kill you," Caesar spoke apathetically, without a hint of emotion.

  Charlie looked up at Caesar with shock. He had thought this monster in sheep's clothing would have already pierced his head as he did with that troll.

  "You're not the one he was talking about. I would at least like to think your motive wasn't so petty," Caesar asked curiously, but he already knew the answer.

  "I-I look at Renee as if she was my elder sister, I would never want to s-s-sleep with her…" Charlie said while flushing red, his innocence was on full display for everyone present.

  "So why did you betray the clan then?" Caesar asked loudly so that all of the fox-ki
n around them could hear.

  Charlie gripped both of his hands tightly until his knuckles became white, "none of you understand how many trolls there really are, there is simply no way we can win… s-so that troll prince made me a deal, as long as I help them, my family and I will be allowed to leave safely" Charlie got louder with every word spoken until he was practically shouting by the end.

  The fox-kin elites that were around them shook their heads with disappointment, anger, and sadness. Many of their friends and family were killed in battle, all the while this child was relaying information to the trolls… he who they had once respected for being the son of Faust.

  "So, you willingly sacrificed your entire clan for the ones you loved most?" Caesar held his forehead while laughing wildly.

  His strange and loud laughter echoed out in the serene forest for a few seconds before it abruptly stopped, he looked at Charlie with a shrewd smile and once again patted him on the cheeks.

  "Don't worry, boy, although your actions were extremely scummy. They will pose useful to the clan in the long run!" Caesar said while patting Charlie on the shoulder and walking toward the troll bodies.

  "What do you mean by that mister strategist?" One of the fox-kin elites couldn't help but ask.

  The others nodded their heads in agreement and looked at Caesar with confusion. They were all confused as to how a traitor would pose to be useful to their clan.

  Caesar didn't answer them and crouched down next to a troll body, "Charlie, I want you to tell the trolls that the Kobold clan had helped your 30 elites and easily exterminated the group of trolls" he calmly explained while picking up the dead troll with his right hand.

  "Y-you want me to continue spying for them?" Charlie asked in astonishment.

  "You are, of course, not their main spy, how could they trust a meager child such as yourself to be their main source of information. However, if you feed them false information, we can perhaps, confuse them… This is your last chance to redeem yourself, Charlie" Caesar spoke casually and slowly manipulated an enemy chess piece to his side.

  "What will I get for doing this?" Charlie asked after a few seconds of contemplation.

  "Naturally, you will gain your life and victory," Caesar said while dragging the troll body to the kobold clan gates.

  "I'll do it only if you promise me that my father and mother will live," Charlie spoke with determination reflected in his eyes.

  "You are in no position to be making demands. Alas, I have taken a liking toward your father and mother, so for that, I will promise you, I suppose."

  Charlie fell to the ground with large droplets of tears streaming down his face… "t-thank you… I know I am a coward, b-but, I don't want my father and mother who put so many expectations on me to feel disappointed," Charlie said while choking on his tears.

  "Good wombs hath born bad sons,” Caesar whispered so that no one had heard him and gestured for everyone to follow him.

  "Where are we going, mister strategist?" one of the fox-kin men asked while catching up to Caesar, who was currently dragging a troll by the hair.

  "Please refer to me as 'Sir' or 'General' from now, and we are naturally heading towards the kobold clan," Caesar answered curtly.

  "Why are we going to the kobold clan?" The fox-kin titled his head and asked.

  "Sigh, you don't need to ask so many questions, just follow my orders" Caesar spoke in exasperation.

  "Yes, General!" The fox-kin man replied respectfully and gave Caesar some space.

  The group of 32 soon made it to the decently sized kobold gates, the tall furry creatures atop the gates immediately alarmed the others once they caught sight of Caesar and the rest.

  The huge wooden doors opened up, and a relatively large group of kobolds presented themselves. They had roughly 200 male kobolds and eight or so females that were in the very front.

  An older kobold, presumably the clan head, walked forward and slammed his wooden staff on the ground.

  "We have already prepared the tribute that the trolls had asked for, please just take it and leave" the old man spoke sorrowfully, and the eight or so young girls shivered in fear.

  Caesar hurled the dead troll next to the old kobold's feet and smiled widely, "I'm not here for your women. I'm more interested in making a deal," he spoke loudly so that everyone could hear.

  The old kobold looked at the body in front of him, and his eyes opened wide in surprise, "t-this is a troll body… what have you done?" he asked fearfully.

  "We, of course, killed all of the trolls that came here to take your women, we are in dire need for allies to fight in the war with us… I figured you would be a great asset," Caesar calmly explained.

  "Do you know what you have done? The trolls will retaliate and kill you!" the old kobold spoke loudly while spitting out his saliva with every word.

  "The trolls happened to die only a few dozen meters away from your stronghold. Their first target would naturally be your clan… I don't think you have much of a choice in the matter," Caesar said coldly.

  "Y-you bastard, is this a threat?" the kobold chief asked angrily.

  "No, I had just thought your kobold clan was tired of being stripped from your pride, your lovers, and most of all, your homes… how do you think the women feel, being sacrificed for you and the others? Don't you want to fight back, take back your honor, your wives, your dignity, everything?" Caesar asked, his voice was like a devils whisper.

  All of the men and women present gripped their fists tightly. Even the kobold chief couldn't help but daydream of the day they had finally retaliated against the trolls.

  "Follow us to our stronghold. We will form a coalition with many other smaller clans and slowly gain the strength to defeat the trolls. Together we will destroy your biggest enemy" Caesar spoke up once again.

  The old kobold was extremely hesitant. After a few seconds, he finally raised his eyes and scrutinized Caesar.

  "How can we trust you?" he asked quietly.

  "We just killed the trolls ourselves, we are in the same boat, and besides, the enemy of my enemy is my ally."

  The old kobold swept his gaze around his ragged stronghold, and the hopeful expressions of the young girls entered into his sight one last time before. Finally, he nodded his head in consent...

  "Very well, however, you cannot order us to do anything that we don't want to do, this is an alliance, we won't pledge allegiance to you" the old kobold spoke up after a few seconds of hesitation.

  "Excellent, your decision will make the kobold clan prosper in the future… I also suggest moving your rations and people to the fox-kin stronghold as quickly as possible," Caesar abruptly suggested and turned around.

  "These 30 will lead you there, I'm going to leave first," Caesar explained toward the old kobold and almost instantaneously disappeared from everyone's sight.

  He hastily moved through the forest and made his way back to the fox-kin stronghold. He had fought three times in one day and was naturally exhausted… His mana reserves were practically nil. His expression, on the other hand, however, showed no signs of exhaustion. In fact, if someone looked closely, they would be able to see his wrath.

  "These trolls first mistake was angering me. Now, I will stop at nothing to destroy every...single... thing, that they hold dear," Caesar whispered coldly.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Caesar quickly made it back to the Fox-kin stronghold and easily snuck by the guards stationed at the gates. He stealthily moved toward the mansion that was in the middle of the area and looked for the room he was given.

  Once he reached the wooden hallways, he couldn't help but scratch his head in annoyance. He had forgotten where his room was.

  "Sigh, I suppose I can sleep in one of their rooms for tonight…" he sighed in exasperation and whispered to himself.

  He closed his eyes and sensed three familiar aura’s; one was naturally Renee's while the other was Joe's. Caesar remembered Joe's loud snoring during the trip, and his choice became
easy. He immediately walked toward the warmer aura, which was probably Renee's.

  He soon reached a fancy looking sliding door and quietly opened it, he walked inside and closed the door behind him. The room was pitch black, and only the sound of rhythmic breathing could be heard inside.

  Caesar smiled and slowly started to unbutton his shirt, belt, pants, and other layers of clothing until he was practically nude. He then ran his fingers through his long hair and shook his head to make it more comfortable before making his way to the bed.