Devourer

Chapter 125: Aggressive Feeding

Montis stood firm as he gazed at the border, his brow furrowed and his lip curled in displeasure. He was right on the border Veria which was now basically a pariah state. Their so-called allies to the west have abandoned them. Veria in their infinite stupidity has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Volerian Protectorate and has branded it an illegal occupation. So that meant that they refused to maintain diplomatic relations, which by extension branded themselves as a hostile power to the Averlonian Empire.

The Empress did not go as far to blockade their sea routes but she did cut off all land trade to Veria. However, despite all that the problems were numerous and quite dangerous. First of all, Veria was only barely self-sufficient for food, so their food supply was not stable by any means. One bad harvest and they would have to import food.

Recently there was a blight that struck the region, the druids said it most likely came from the wave of rain that suddenly came a month prior. The druids have dubbed it “Fall Rot” because that was exactly what it did. It fell down from the sky and it caused the crops to rot. The worst part of this blight was that since it came with the rain and water, it even ended up getting into the food stores. Luckily for the Volerian Protectorate the druids sent over from the Empire were quick to detect the issue. They managed to save about two-thirds of the harvest but the food stores were mostly lost. This would have normally required strict rationing but the Empress simply ordered more food be sent over to Voleria to address the problem. So now the food stores were filled to the brim once again.

The other Volerian states were not so lucky, those within the Empire were struck with a mild inconvenience with the clerks and labourers grumbling slightly at having extra work. The other states however were facing famine. Vororia and Boria managed to trade with the Zarimans and the northern border states who were not affected by the Fall Rot.

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Veria was now facing a failed harvest and decimated food stores. This meant famine if food was not acquired from external sources. However, the land routes were closed which left the sea routes. The Empire was leaving their sea routes alone but the Empire was not only the thing prowling the waves. The Great Beast had recently expelled all the Naga from the Empire's waters which meant the Naga now had to find other sources of prey. The already weak Verian fleet now presented itself as a soft and easy target. So the situation now was that the land routes couldn’t be reopened because of the tensions and the sea was impassable thanks to the Naga.

Montis personally expected the Empress to just let the Verians starve and then order Montis to march right over the border. Instead she offered to reopen trade and even sell food to Veria at a discount in light of the famine. The Verian response however made Montis’s blood boil. Montis was not a temperamental man, he often chose diplomacy and dialogue over blood. But the Verian crowns actions showed a complete lack of regard for the lives of the people.

Even with such a generous deal the Verian crown had rejected the offer and continued to enforce their current stupid diplomatic policy. The Empress later even offered to just donate food in an indirect way by simply leaving food near the border and having the Verian soldiers “steal” the wagons. That way the diplomatic relations could remain tense on paper since there was no acknowledgement or actual collaboration. This too was rejected for some divine forsaken reason, with the response being that the “Great Verian state does not take charity from illegal occupiers.”

Now Montis was getting reports from the Spider’s spy network that the people were now starving and food riots were breaking out. The Verian crown responded by cracking down and slaughtering the rebelling populace. When Montis found out about that he almost wanted to mobilise his troops and just go over the border to take the royal family's head. The people might even welcome him as a liberator given the situation. Submitting to a foreign power was preferable to starving to death after all. As the old adage goes, “When the choice is to sign or to starve it is no choice at all.”

That however would require the Empress’s express permission so if he did so he could be tried for treason. Luckily for him the Empress ordered something else, an interesting solution honestly. It once again reminded Montis that the Empress was a shrewd politician.

She ordered the borders opened and dispatched Montis with 50 000 soldiers along with 30 000 “support personnel” and a Warbrood that served the Great Beast. They were to set up a refugee camp. The orders were that any Verian refugees that arrive over the border were to be given food, water, accommodations and any other aid required. The Empress even sent an expert who was very experienced with dealing with those who have been suffering from famines…

“This is a mess…” Montis heard the now familiar voice of Balder Frostfang say from behind him.

“Indeed it is.” Montis replied in a clipped tone as he listened to the begging and wailing just across the border. The civilians were begging to be let over the border but were being stopped by Verian soldiers. Some civilians have volunteered to go back over the border to spread the word so news has travelled quickly.

“Are you alright?” Balder asked kindly and Montis let out a sigh in response.

“Yes, yes I am.” Montis replied wearily as he shut his eyes for a moment.

“I can empathise Grand General, I know this pain all too well.” Balder said evenly.

Montis nodded in response, he knew if there was anyone who knew what it was like to watch your own people starve and suffer before your very eyes it was Balder Frostfang. Montis knew this was a test for him, if he performed well Montis expected him to be given Veria as a reward. It was a good fit, the people there were already thoroughly disenchanted with the crown. They would accept anyone else’s rule if it meant they had something to eat again. Balder was also very experienced with dealing with hunger considering his home in the north often faced famine.

Furthermore, geographically Veria was well suited for creating a naval power and it was also a good place to set up dry docks. The northmen were capable mariners so this made it an even better fit.

“My people stand ready in case anything goes wrong. I fear the soldiers are going to start attacking the civilians soon. A riot is not far away.” Balder said as he shifted his gaze beyond the border.

“Yes I think so too…” Montis muttered in response.

“What will you do? The Empress gave you autonomy to act as you see fit.” Balder said and Montis grimaced at those words.

This was not just a test for Balder, it was also a test for Montis. He had been given the autonomy to march over the border if need be. The Empress basically gave him the all clear to start a war if he judged it necessary. This was a heavy responsibility, one wrong decision and a lot of people are going to die…

“Act as I see fit…” Montis replied as he took a deep breath to steel himself.

Montis not only had access to his 50 000 soldiers, 20 000 of the support personnel were actually made up of Northmen. Of which 10 000 were soldiers, so his backline was well guarded by men who could dent a mithril shield with a swing of the axe. With the men he had he could invade Veria and he also had a Hive Warbrood at his disposal as well as a flight of six phoenixes.

The camp behind him was already caring for some refugees that have snuck across the border. But most of the Verian refugees were ahead of him, being held at sword point less than a hundred metres in front of him and his army. For the past week he has seen desperate civilians run for the border only to be shot by arrows or cut down by cavalry. But so far none of the Verians soldiers have dared to cross the border. The Phoenixes circling the area was a significant deterrent to any hostilities.

Then Montis heard a commotion as the begging slowly turned to curses and shout.

“Spyglass.” Balder ordered and one of his men brought over a mariner’s spyglass. He peered through it for a moment before handing it to Montis.

“A riot.” Balder said with a grimace.

Montis looked through the spyglass and saw Balder was right, stones were being thrown and the soldiers were shouting back at the civilians. Although interestingly the soldiers seemed extremely demotivated some were even backing off from the screaming civilians. From the infantry’s equipment they looked to be peasant soldiers that were drafted. This was a bad recipe, if the Verian soldiers devolved into infighting things would get messy.

Sure enough he saw the soldiers started to argue. Some of the infantry threw down their weapons and started to shove their officers, other’s didn’t even throw their weapons, they just pointed their weapons at their commanders. The noble commanders shouted as they raised their weapons, if Montis had to guess the officers were threatening the death penalty…

“Eavesdropper Worms.” Montis ordered as he turned to a nearby Hive Adjutant so that the order could be relayed to the hive underneath his feet. Eavesdropper Worms were small creatures that would unburrow slightly beneath the feet of the enemy so that they could overhear what they were speaking about.

Immediately the Adjutant raised one of its arms and a blue orb appeared. Montis turned and began to listen in, the worms were soon to be in position. Soon Montis could hear voices speaking.

As expected it sounded like an argument. From what he could gather the conscripted soldiers were on the verge of rebellion. From what he could tell many of the conscripts were on half rations for weeks, while the knights and officers were still wining and dining. So now with the officers demanding the conscripts to attack the desperate starving people something was starting to snap within them.

Montis shifted his gaze back to the mass of shouting soldiers in the distance as he listened to the angry voices crackling out of the magic orb.

I WILL HAVE ALL OF YOU EXECUTED FOR TREASON!

FUCK YOU!

Montis grit his teeth as he listened to the rage in the voices rise. Then he saw weapons being drawn. Things were going to boil over soon and Montis had to make a decision. If he intervened now he would have to use the Hive. His soldiers were spread out across the border so he didn’t have enough men to rush in. But if he used the hive it would terrify the people and they may scatter. Then he would have to use the hive to detain them, if they scattered to the winds many will not survive. Many monsters rove the plains and the forest to the east. The Great Beast had cleaned up the monsters in the Volerian Protectorate but the other Volerian states that had yet to join the protectorate did not have this benefit. Surprisingly the Great Beast seems to respect the borders rather strictly under normal circumtances, which was more than Montis could say for the actual humans who drew the borders in the first place…

At times Montis wonders if the Hive mind structure was the right way to go, no conflict, no pain. Just perfect order and harmony. But questions like these were for the philosophers, Montis was a soldier. It wasn’t his place to answer such questions, especially now that he had a more pressing problem ahead of him.

“Ready the men. We may have a fight on our hands.” Montis said and a nearby officer nodded before running off.

“If we march forward the conscripts may think we are attacking and turn to resist. We can wait for the situation to get more bloody before intervening but then people will die.” Balder said and Montis nodded silently in response.

“People are going to die regardless, what matters is what comes after.” Montis replied bitterly.

“I suppose that is true, this world is not so kind as to give perfect solutions. My father used to say if one held all the power in the world then all suffering could be ended. The beasts can be hunted to extinction, food can be plentiful and we can want for nothing. Providing the one with all the power is benevolent of course.” Balder said.

“All the power in the world…” Montis muttered as his mind wandered to the Great Beast. Perhaps he could ask for some advice…

Most in high positions would find the concept of asking for help in such a way to be unacceptable. It after all showed weakness and would raise questions of competence but one of Montis’s greatest abilities was the ability to delegate and to seek help when he needed it. He knew what he did know and what he didn’t and right now he wasn’t that sure of the full capabilities of the Hive lying under his feet. Also he was unsure on how to proceed, the last thing he wanted to cause a diplomatic incident that spiralled into war.

The Hive tasked to him was ruled but Broodmother Nafas and the Hive was none other than Warbrood Prime. Warbrood Prime was the largest and the most powerful brood. Montis was once on the wrong end of the claw of Warbrood Prime. This was apparently the Warbrood that led the ambush against his army in Elysia. Though he had fought this Warbrood before, he still knew little of it. To be fair, calling what happened to his army a fight would be giving both himself and his army too much credit. They just marched into a gaping maw and were swiftly cut in half.

Well if Montis had to choose between his pride and saving more lives he would take the lives. Afterall the real power on the continent was the Great Beast a little humanity from the Grand General of the Volerian Protectorate would actually be beneficial. It lowers the chance of resistance movements and rebellions.

“Adjutant, I wish to speak with the Great Beast, is he available?” Montis asked as he turned to the adjutant who nodded before it stilled for a moment, no doubt sending a message into the Hive Mind.

It didn’t take long, soon the ground in front of Montis bowled upwards as none other than Broodmother Nafas emerged from the ground and with her was brought a cocoon.

Montis looked on in mute surprise as the cocoon opened up revealing a particularly well designed adjutant.

“Ah it’s nice to stretch my legs, not that I have any originally but still mixing it up once in a while is fun.” the adjutant said in a sarcastic tone that Montis instantly recognised. The voice was different but the manner of speech was unmistakable. The swagger of supreme self confidence and the subtly condescending tone.

“Greetings my king.” Nafas said with a bow, it was an odd sight to see such a large creature bowing to a small humanoid.

The Broodmothers took after the great beast with the same snake-like tail and similar shaped head. The difference lies in that the snake tail was significantly thicker, it looked almost bloated. Unlike the combat forces the queen didn’t have any arm blades, instead they had four arms with grasper hands. Although they did have the spines on the shoulder like the Great Beast and they were also heavily armoured. It was clear that this was a defensive design.

“Thank you once again for placing one of your vessels within my brood. It is a great honour.” Nafas said her voice filled with gratitude.

“Well I was thinking of sending Legiana but the dwarves needed her help. They are terrified of her, it’s really funny.” the Great Beast said with a laugh.

“Now then you should probably get back underground, queens aren’t supposed to be this exposed.” the Great Beast said and Nafas nodded before instantly burrowing underground. It was an interesting sight, most humans would have exchanged a few more pleasantries, but Nafas just instantly obeyed without question. Clearly showing the difference in command and control between a Hive and a band of independent individuals.

“Now then you should send the food wagons ahead first. Let them see the prize first, if you show them soldiers first they are going to freak out.” the Great Beast said as he turned to look at Montis answering his question before he even asked.

“How did you?” Montis began but the Great Beast cut him off by letting out a laugh.

“Why else would you ask to speak to me?” the Great Beast replied and Montis shifted his gaze pondering his words.

The Great Beast must have his personality pegged. Montis knew he certainly wouldn’t be short on information, it’s an open secret that both the Great Beast and the Spymaster spies on the population at all times. The adjutant next to him for instance could cloak itself so effectively there was no way to detect them. So there were invisible monsters walking around spying on the population, there were also other creatures like the Eavesdropper worms, some flying variants that could circle over population centres and now there were small insect-like flies that could observe and relay information. Combine that with the spies of the best spymaster in the world and the Empire had an iron grip on the information within their realm and beyond.

“You could have just had the adjutant reply. Why did you come in… person?” Montis said as he pondered if this counted as the Great Beast being personally here.

“Oh I’m doing something else at the same time. I can multitask multiple bodies without issue. But the main reason as to why I’m here is that I’m bored.” the Great Beast said with a grin.

“Bored? You came here because you’re bored.” Montis replied dryly. He didn’t believe that for one second, there was another reason he was here…

“I see, so will you be joining me?” Montis asked as he suppressed a sigh.

“Smart one aren’t you, come on let’s get over the border.” the Great Beast said as he looked behind Montis to see the soldiers forming up.

Montis still needed to get the food wagons ahead of the formation. However, he could hear shouts of alarm and confusion from behind him. Montis had an idea on what he was hearing and as he turned around he saw he was right. The food wagons were pulled by the beasts of the Hive, usually they would listen to the drivers. However, now he could see the beasts just moving on their own as they headed over to the front of the formation. He could see driverless wagons with drivers trying to get back on the wagon. He could see wagons with the drivers pulling on the reigns trying to get the beasts back under control but the beasts of course ignored them.

“You understand that if we cross the border even with the intent to feed the starving people on the other side this will be considered an invasion.” Montis said as he glanced at the Great Beast, who in turn just smiled.

“Borders are just lines you humans like to draw on a map. Borders mean nothing if you do not have the power to defend them. You probably don’t know this but a rebellion is only a few weeks away. Right now we have two choices: we let the entire region catch fire or we go in and crush the embers.

The people on the ground are not going to complain, you should know by now that my army has great restraint as far as civilians go. They are arguably better than humans at avoiding civilian deaths.” the Great Beast replied.

“That is true.” Montis said with a nod.

“Come on now, I know you want to go over there. I can read you humans like a book. Tell you what to think of it this way, this isn’t an invasion, this is a liberation.

Consider it a… peacekeeping operation in light of a potential future civil war.” the Great Beast said with a chuckle.

“If you think about it, we are just forcing those idiots to be fed.” the Great Beast added with a shrug.

“So we are crossing the border I presume.” Montis stated for final confirmation.

“Yes, don’t worry Grand General, this little incident is a small matter, there are larger games at play.” the Great Beast replied as he faced the border, some of the Verian knights noticed the movement on their side and were already trying to reorganise.

To put it simply

We are going to feed them whether they like it or not…

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