Snippet #2549887

Darius extended his hand, smiling. "Sounds like a deal to me. Now, would you mind calling off the guards before Fera finds himself full of holes? Or he's forced to kill someone?"

***

"Six months, Dios," Oblivion said, turning to the one who called himself Despair. "It has been six months, and you have yet to find the colony. You have yet to capture Tera Roth and Wing. I begin to wonder at your subordinates' willingness to complete their tasks."

"Hmm," Dios said, smiling. "Well, I'm sure they're all very willing, but as you might remember, you ordered us to stay within our boundaries, so as to keep things, ahhhh, organized." He lifted the glass of wine to his lips and swallowed the blood red liquid. "And I'm afraid to say that Tera Roth and Wing have been jumping from world to world so randomly that, ahhh well, they make it hard to track without crossing boundaries."

"And the colony?" Oblivion asked. "Your excuse there?"

"I have none!" Dios cackled. "I haven't even bothered looking."

"Well at least you're honest," Oblivion said, smiling. "In that case, you should have the manpower to move forward on all fronts. Relay to Echelon that I require him to do the same." Oblivion seated himself in his black throne, and rested his chin on his hand. "From now on, I am giving your generals and high captains leave to participate in the battles... However, I want this regulated. There's no sense in obliterating our opponents at this point in the game."

"Just ahh, curious, you might say," Dios said, twisting his head sideways as he looked at Oblivion cross-eyed. "But when will Samurai join the war? He commands a full third of our forces."

"Do you see a point in him joining?" Oblivion asked, raising an eyebrow. "Neither you nor Echelon are using your full strength and are progressing at a steady, if slow, pace. No, it's better this way." Oblivion's smile did not touch his eyes. "Let the pawns kill each other. It will leave more room for the other pieces on the board to battle."

"As you command, my lord," Dios said, bowing. "As you, ahh, command..."