Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 392: One Fell, Then Two

Chapter 392: One Fell, Then Two

The sound of shovels digging through layers of dirt and mud was an unmistakable sound. Nereus had heard it a thousand times before and tonight, it was just another addition to his experience.

He hid behind a huge tree trunk, a single blue eye piercing through the night. With night vision as powerful as his, it wasn’t difficult to observe the bunch of no-gooders even under the veil of the night.

"The King ordered these bodies be burned," one man said, his voice a hushed whisper. It wasn’t too difficult for Nereus to pick up, however, considering how his sense of hearing was much stronger than an average human’s. "So why are we burying them?"

"The pit is for the burning, idiot," the second man said. "The bones aren’t going to burn through in such a short span of time and we can’t have the fire up for too long. It will raise suspicion. Just get the bodies burned enough so that they can’t be recognized and we’ll need to go."

They were dressed in uniform. Specifically, the uniform that knights from Vramid’s royal cavalry wore. Yet, just a short distance away from the royal palace of Reaweth, in a discrete part of the forest, these two men were desecrating another kingdom’s land.

Nereus had no idea who they were burying or burning. All he knew was that those dead bodies definitely did not belong to Vramidians. There was a stench that came off of them, far beyond the rotting of a corpse. These men had been stumbling and tumbling in filth for so long that it had already coated their very bones and soul.

No good knight would have such a dark aura surrounding them, even after death. As a dark creature, these were things plain to see for Nereus. On the other hand, a human such as Daphne would never be able to tell with the naked eye.

The bodies that these real knights were burying were those that belonged to murderers and criminals.

"Do you reckon it might rain?" the first guy asked. "I can smell it in the air."

"Don’t jinx it," said the second man. "If the bodies are found tomorrow by anyone, or worse yet, the Queen, we’re as good as dead. The King will not let us keep our heads."

That simple threat was enough to get them digging at a faster pace. In no time at all, a deep pit had been formed and the bodies were all thrown into it. With a swish, they lighted a torch, using the light of the flame to peer into the pit.

The first man grimaced.

"Do you think we’ll get haunted after this?"

"Why do you always believe in such ridiculous things, Otto?" The second man rolled his eyes. "There are no such things as ghosts. Just throw the damn torch in so we can head back and get some sleep."

Otto gulped. He took one last glance at the bodies below before he loosened his grip, allowing the lighted torch in his hand to drop into the pit of bodies below. The flames caught on the clothes of the deceased, quickly igniting and spreading to the other carcasses. Slowly, a string of smoke began to rise into the air.

"How long do we let it burn for?" Otto asked.

"Half an hour? That should be enough to at least disfigure the bodies. It will be hard to recognize them that way. We can seal up the pit after."

Seal up the pit? Disfigure the bodies? Nereus frowned. He couldn’t let them destroy all the evidence so quickly, not when he had been given explicit instructions from Daphne to retrieve the truth.

His one eye began to glow, its luminance only barely shielded by the trees and shrubbery that he hid behind. With the other eye gone, it was difficult to muster enough power to create a huge tidal wave like before. However, commanding just a bit of rain above this particular spot in the forest wasn’t too difficult.

Beads of perspiration began to build up across Nereus’s forehead as he concentrated. Every muscle in his body was flexed as he stared hard, willing for the dark clouds to gather.

Slowly, booms of thunder echoed across the skies. There was no lightning visible but the moon and stars quickly disappeared from the heavens, hidden by the layer of clouds that drifted over seemingly without warning.

"Ah shit," the second man said. "Now you’ve gone and done it."

Before Otto could even react, rain began to fall. One drop, then two, then it was a drizzle that heightened to a roaring torrential downpour. The two men’s hands quickly flew to their heads, attempting and sorely failing at trying to shield themselves from the rain.

"Get the bodies! Quickly, before the rain floods and washes them away!"

However, the two men never got the chance.

With the amount of rain pouring down on them, their visions were badly blurred. Even with their hands stretched out in front of them, it was hard to tell how many fingers were held up. Nereus took the chance to creep further in, using the back of his hand to quickly hit against the back of their necks.

One fell, then two. They collapsed onto the ground, their faces smushing in the sticky mud, unconscious.

The heavy rain made quick work of the fire, putting it out before it even had the chance to burn through most of the clothing. That was more than enough.

Nereus raised his hand and his eye glowed again. The blue of his irises brightened into an electric shade, piercing through the night. Immediately, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed, revealing the moon once more.

Using the water that had gathered in the pit and mud, Nereus furled his fingers into a fist, gritting his teeth. An action that was once effortless now caused him to break out in cold sweat just to barely manage. The loss of one eye had crippled him too badly; it felt horrible to be as weak as a human.

Thankfully, however, at least it was sufficient. Nereus used the water in his surroundings to move the bodies up from the pit, neatly piling them on one side.

He needed to get out of there as soon as possible before these two woke up.

Just in case they did, Nereus needed to take additional precautions. He dragged the two men by their collars — they weren’t worth his magic — and tossed them straight into the pit. With the water removed, they remained dry inside with no worries of possibly drowning in floods, especially since their faces were pressed against the mud.

Truthfully, even if they did perish, Nereus did not care.

All he knew was that he had gotten the bodies for Daphne, as per requested. She was going to be so proud of him. That thought alone put a smile on his face.

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