Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!-Chapter 255: Salvador

"If it isn't Duke Salvador," Etaria muttered in a voice as happy as it was fake. She squinted her eyes and even went as far as to rise from the simple stool she was sitting at.

"My princess!" A man as wide as he was tall, stepped under the cloth of the open tent that protected the princess from the intense rays of the sun. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

If the princess was the epitome of beauty, the absolute that other humans could only ever hope to achieve, the duke would be on the exactly other end of the spectrum, presenting himself as the prime example of who parents would never want their child to turn into.

Stepping into the shade cast by the princess' tent, the duke pulled out an embroidered piece of cloth so finely made, that it likely cost as much as the equipment of one or two hundred of his soldiers.

Wiping his wide forehead from the sweat, the duke took some time to rest after the strenuous journey from several meters away where Etaria's guards disallowed his carriage to move any further.

"The pleasure is all mine," Etaria replied, quickly seating herself down on her stool.

There was a limit to how much courtesy an imperial princess and a damn supreme would show to a mere duke from the empire's outskirts.

'And here I thought the day couldn't get any worse…'

Contrary to how things had to look to the strange kid that come to meet her before, Etaria's massive force was nowhere as united as that kid likely assumed. And the fact that the leader of the three biggest armies scheduled to join could command his troops to go into the forest, just like that…

'Poor men,' Etaria thought, ignoring the huffing and puffing duke and turning her eyes back to the line of the trees nearby.

In her eyes, there still was some hope that soon, soon, the duke's troops would start coming out. There was a limit to how long they could keep running around the forest with the limited supplies they had on hand…

'Assuming they had any, given how they went for the forest straight from the road…'

"My princess, I keep wondering," the duke finally managed to clear his massive forehead from the fat drops of sweat only to discard the precious piece of embroidered cloth and pull out another one from his pocket. "When can I expect you to send your men to support my troops?"

Etaria didn't even bother to spare the man a single glance.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to do it at all," Etaria spoke softly before going against her own convictions and giving the man a short sideways glance.

"But my princess!"

The duke jumped up from the massive chair his servants brought. His massive, round arm shot in the direction of the treeline.

"Aren't we here to…"

"Shut it."

Etaria stood up from her stool, this time properly. Ignoring the duke and his protests, she moved a few steps ahead, all the way to the edge of the shadow her tent blessed everyone with.

'Is it just me, or…'

The distant fluctuation of aura alerted the princess to take a closer look at the forest. And soon enough, her feeling proved to be correct.

"People!" someone, far further into the golden legion's formation shouted. "People are coming out from the forest!"

Etaria squinted her eyes, quickly confirming the report with her own two eyes.

'They are returning…'

Heaving a sigh of relief, Etaria blinked her eyes a few times, only for the number of people getting out of the forest to rapidly grow from just a few to entire groups rushing ahead. Soon, it appeared as if the forest itself was moving when a sea of people ran outside and continued to make their way toward the nearby camp.

'Wait, they are not returning…' Etaria thought, her momentary relief taken over by suspicion.

Sure, Salvador's troops never achieved the level of discipline that imperial legions represented. In fact, even the smaller units of the local lords within the imperial faction could boast much greater coordination and organization than what Salvador's army showcased when he sent his troops off to the forest.

But now…

'They are not returning. They are running!'

More and more people emerged from beyond the trees, soon filling most of the open plain between the trees and the camp.

"Those damn cowards…"

The duke didn't even bother to raise his massive blob of fat he called his body from the equally as massive chair he sat on.

Still, with every inch expressing his dissatisfaction and outright anger… The duke couldn't really keep his angered attitude for long.

"I should've known better than to expect them to amount…"

*KREEEEEEEEEE*

An extremely loud, ear-piercing cry of some sort of beast filled the air.

'What now?!'

Etaria erased the duke from her mind, turning her attention back to the forest and the total chaos right in front of it.

'Is it their supreme? But she already spoke on how she won't directly engage unless I do…'

Torn by the lack of information and having only her own guesses to make up for it, Etaria gritted her teeth while doing her utmost to maintain a calm, composed look on her face. It was her duty as the leader of the entire campaign and the golden Legion especially to keep a stoic, unbothered look.

'Just run, you fools,' she thought when looking down at the masses of Salvador's unfortunate victims all frozen by the powerful scream coming from behind them. 'RUN!'

For a moment, everything appeared to come to a perfect standstill.

The forest remained as peaceful as it could be for someone looking at it from the outside. The crowd of Salvador's troops stood in place, acting as if even the tiniest movement would wake up the beast that uttered this bestial, terrifying cry. Find your next read at m_v l|e-novelbuddy.net

And Etaria stood in place while tightening her hands into fists, powerless to stop whatever was coming. And she could tell for sure, that something was indeed about to happen.

'Still, as pitiful as they are,' Etaria gave the stuck relatively nearby one more, pitying look. 'They might show me what sort of means that kid…'

The first of Salvador's men managed to reach more solid ground, climbing up from the shallow wetland at the edge of the forest. And he was now close enough for the princess to make out the shape of his lips.

"HELP!" he appeared to scream out in terror.

Pac.

A red rose appeared right in the middle of the man's chest. Looking down, the poor soldier noticed the bloody wound… before losing stability and falling down to the ground, dead upon impact.

And then all hell broke loose.