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“You understand me well. Exactly. Now, give them those orders.”

 

Eve bowed and sent the orcs in.

 

Orcs were an inherently greedy species and had a knack for finding treasure. And stealing was second nature to them.

 

They too did not need detailed orders.

 

The only thing to be careful of was to make sure they did not try to keep what they took.

 

But Eve was watching them with a careful eye, and so it was left to me to aid the golems.

 

The golems were turning the place upside-down, but their numbers were too few.

They were surrounded by enemy goblins and orcs in no time, and arms and legs were severed.

It was possible that they would be crushed before my plan had time to succeed.

As their lord, I needed to protect them.

And so I poured magic into the skeletons that we had carried with us in the carriage.

 

The skeletons began to rattle and move until they returned to human form. Of course, the flesh they once had did not reappear.

 

The skeleton soldiers picked up their swords and shields and marched into the castle to join the fray.

 

Skeletons were weak among monsters, but they had no fear of death.

They were already dead, after all. And so they did nothing but advance and fall on the enemy.

And that was a threat to orcs, goblins and other monsters with a degree of intelligence.

Not only that, but these skeletons were special, as I was controlling them with magic.

And so these demi-humans were no match for them.

The morale of the enemy had gone up after they had pushed the golems to the brink, but now they were feeling a sense of panic.

And it was easy to push them further with some supplementary fireballs, ice spears, and wind blades.

The enemy soon lost heart, and they started to flee the castle, one by one.

 

“Well done, my master.”

 

Eve offered, but I didn’t have time to acknowledge her compliment.

 

Our forces were still small, and we could still be put in a dangerous position if the castle soldiers somehow regained their composure.

 

Things could get even worse if Sabnac’s main force returned early.

Even I, the king, may find himself captured.

And that was something that must be avoided at all cost.

And so I quickly asked Eve:

 

“How many more minutes will it take until we have finished raiding the storage?”

 

“I would say nearly five minutes.”

 

“Very well. I will continue to draw attention to me. When you are done taking the materials and treasures, take command of the orcs and return at once.”

 

“Yes, my lord.”

 

“We will meet in the forest that we came through on our way here. If I do not return shortly, that will be the end of the Ashtaroth army. You might as well offer the treasures and materials to the orcs as retirement money.”

 

Eve narrowed her eyebrows at this. But I just smiled.

 

“There is a ten thousand to one chance. I don’t really believe that it will happen. Do you want proof?”

 

And so I chanted the words and created a fireball.

I launched this at a group of kobolds and sent them flying with a burst of flames.

Those blasted dogs.

 

Eve looked comforted by this display. And she was a strategist, after all. She knew that time was important, and she quickly returned to commanding the orcs.

 

I left the woman who bravely took command while still in her maid uniform, and unleashed more magic.

I would spare nothing in this fight.

A lot depended on this plan working.

If we failed, it would be the end of me.

There was no reason at all to reserve magic or any abilities.

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