Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

Latrot’s War of Starvation. Latrot
was experiencing a famine and invaded its neighbor, Mithra, to feed itself. The
Dragon’s Lair was called upon by both sides and, like proper mercenaries, they
fought for both sides depending on the member, time, and battle.
    One scene showed Captain Quando of Squad 3 directing a
contingent of Latrot’s army with his trio of living puppets. With their senses
synchronized, Quando positioned them at strategic points to keep himself
informed of the flow of battle. When he gave the command, they fired fearsome
spells on Mithra’s soldiers. Eric felt nothing for the dead on either side and
only pride in his squad captain. So much power and control of others matched
with compassion and control of himself; truly a more worthwhile role model than
Dengel.
    A second scene showed Basilard Bladi, his direct superior
and mentor, defending a Mithran famer’s homestead from Latrot soldiers. The
veteran mercenary was accompanied by three young adults that his human memories
recognized as Basilard'soriginal three
students: Sosuke Lokhin, Haru Tera, Kazuma Junao. His monster instincts decided
they were Basilard's children, which made them his siblings. Then another human
memory surfaced; they were killed soon after this conflict. The memory made him
sad and Kallen made sure that Talbot and the scientists noted this.
    A third scene showed the leader of the guild, Ridley the
Dragoness, confront an army by herself. Never before had Eric seen her in
action, but he always knew she was formidable. Now he watched her stomp the
army into the ground. Neither Latrot with its budding ordercrafter corps nor
Mithra with its forest super soldiers could stand against her in the field.
     “There’s no eating in these films,” Eric remarked. “Why
do the bodies simply lie there?”
    “There’s a different kind of eating,” Kallen replied.
“Looting.”
    Eric leapt to his feet and shouted, “Dragon’s Lair rule
number six: Not all that glitters is gold but it can still be valuable. This is
followed by number seven: Grab what does whenever you can! Oh yes, now I
remember! The guild and its rules and structure. YES, IT MAKES SENSE!”
    He hugged Kallen and so much peace and contentment
radiated through her at the contact that she swooned. Eric pulled back and
stared at her with wonder and happiness.
    “I get it now. I really get it now. Social organization,
family bonds, the cities, and how so many people can live there without killing
and eating each other. It’s all thanks to you!”
    He hugged her again and the second surge brought her
around to wakefulness.
    “I...I didn’t do anything. All I did was say the word
‘looting.’”
    “It’s a different kind of eating. You kill them and take
their stuff for your own use or to sell, which is the same thing as putting
their muscles and organs in one’s mouth. It put everything in context and I
could understand it.”
    “What about before?”
    Eric blinked. “Before? There’s a lot of ‘before.’”
    “With Talbot and the soldiers, you talked about how you
were a mercenary and how a mercenary was supposed to act. You mean to say you
didn’t understand then?”
    “That?” Eric shook his head shamefacedly. “I was
referencing my memories and making an educated guess about what was going on
and what I was supposed to say to neutralize the threat. I was acting like I
thought I would before. I didn’t really get it. It was like reading Najican from
a cue card and having no idea what I’m saying.”
    Kallen gestured to a camera watching them, urging them to
make sure they were recording this and paying attention. Then she asked another
question, “When you talked with your teammates, it was fluent and natural.”
    “My memories are clearest when it comes to my guild and no
one within the guild is designated as a ‘threat’...except for Hasina.”
    Both of them shivered at the thought of that mad
scientist. She made everyone else here appear as the