A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! ?? https://linktr.ee/donovel ??

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  "Those are the guards you asked for." Captain Aldis said came closer towards Jon, "That's 40 of our men under your disposal, sir…"

  "No." Jon replied, "Just 20."

  "What do you mean, sir?" Captain Aldis asked.

  "I am returning the 20 men I borrowed. I will enter the city with the other 20." Jon said, "They won't be recognized for the achievement of following Thane Bryling when she gets to be a Jarl but what is important is that she will surely recognize their hard work."

  "But why is all that? Why change the men you have with others?" The Captain couldn't understand what Jon wanted.

  "Recognition is the problem, Captain. I don't want the Imperial Legion's eyes to recognize them. It is part of a big plan." Jon said.

  A big plan… that's what Jon promised the court of Solitude. Only none of them anticipated how big this plan actually is.

  Jon was planning for this for months. Using the assassination attempt on Vittoria to assassinate Jarl Elisif, sending Jon Battle-Born and Olfina Greymane two months in advance to Cyrodiil without telling them why, manipulating the Dark Brotherhood through Serana as his agent, and giving leads on the Dark Brotherhood to the Imperial Intelligence Agency in order to cut loose ends once he is done with it.

  But why is he changing the 20 men that were following him and Thane Bryling with another 20 men? The answer is that he got the news that the Imperial Legion is going to disturb his operation by targeting those 20 men with all manner of methods.

  The 20 men that followed him and Thane Bryling were basically the witnesses of Liberating the Temple of Meridia, Acquiring the holy blade "Dawnbreaker", getting rid of the Necromancers that tried to resurrect the Wolf Queen "Potema", and getting rid of the ghost of the Wolf Queen.

  Those 4 Achievements are nothing short of Heroic to the people of Solitude since they display Courage, Leadership, Resourcefulness, and Strength.

  Jon found out that General Tullius was planning to undermine those achievements through all sorts of tricks and so he prepared in return. If the General plans to take away the witnesses, Jon will replace them with others which will make the rumors still flow. The guards may not be pleased that they are not getting recognized and their achievements will be taken by the other 20 guards but Jon personally explained to them what will happen and had to persuade them one by one.

  That is why he had to take a detour to go hunt some Hagravens and openly visit a Shrine of Talos. He needed a physical face for the evil that exists under the Hold and a little trap for the Imperials so that he can make a scene.

  Of course the trap was as obvious as day but he just needed to keep them occupied with something to be wary of. After all, he needed to extract as much information from the Commanding Chamber of the Imperial Legion where the General plots for his next move.

  Jon sent his best spy in there and she has already made the place her own. Nefertiti's power to occupy any place was never this good before.

  That aside, Jon was actually worried about Brina Merilis. The woman's character is as straight as a sword and her attitude is as sour as a whole sack of lemon especially towards him.

  Jon wanted to recruit that woman many times and make her move from Dawnstar to Winterhold but she didn't like his offers. Dawnstar was her proud home and despite the political childishness shown by Jarl Skald the Elder, she still remained loyal to her home.

  It is praiseworthy and all but the sour lemon between Jon Dare and Brina Merilis was only bound to grow into a lemon orchid after Jon completely took over the sea business.

  Originally in the game's plot, Brina Merilis was the opposition presence of the Stormcloaks in Dawnstar and she was to replace Jarl Skald if he was ever removed by the Imperial Legion.

  That, however, became a pipe dream and she was invited to Solitude in order to be the face of the Legion on Solitude's Jarl Throne. However, Jon didn't kill an innocent woman in order for the Imperial Legion to have its way with the city.

  And with that attitude in mind, Jon accompanied Thane Bryling back to Solitude on the head of 20 Guards, dragging 2 Hagravens, and carrying a visibly Magical Artifact.

  For that, a display of achievements was necessary but the Drama had to come first.

  "Hold it right there!"

  The Imperial Soldiers on the city gate stopped the group and seemed not willing to let things pass easily.

  "It's alright, boys. What's the matter?" Jon asked as he effortlessly descended from his Atronach Horse.

  "Sorry, Sir. But you can't roam around the city while dragging those monstrosities around." The Officer on the gate pointed towards the Hagravens that were brought in chains.

  Jon looked at the two old hideous things then back to the officer.

  "Really? Goddamn, Soldier. And here I thought some reinforced chains with state-of-the-art enchantments would stop them. Truly, I wouldn't have known what I could do without you." Jon replied, showing a slight grin to the officer.

  The Imperial Officer kept putting on a stern face under his plumed helmet and didn't get triggered by Jon. After all, he was specially placed here to annoy Jon within the bounds of law and he was the first of many along the way.

  "Hmmm, I get it, officer." Jon nodded, "These Hagravens are suspects of a hideous crime. In their cave, we found evidence that may be related to the murder of our late Jarl Elisif. We found an old comp that once belonged to the Jarl with a few strands of hair, sheets with blood spots, and many ugly trinkets that all scream Black Magic! We really wanted to burn those Witches in the public square."

  "I am sorry, Sir, but this is against the law." The Officer refused.

  "Ah! I see." Jon nodded again, "Then what do you think we should do, Officer?"

  "We shall behead them on the spot." The Officer responded and snapped his fingers.

  Suddenly and as if they were ready for this, a bunch of Imperial Soldiers showed up carrying a greatsword and intending to make fast work of the Hagravens.

  "No! No! Hold it right there." Jon waved his hands and stopped them immediately, "Believe me, you don't want to do that!"

  "What do you mean, Sir?" The Officer interfered fiercely, "These monstrosities are not entering the city nor will be allowed to be thrown back into the wilds. They must die here and now."

  "I know, I know. Just hold on for a damn second." He then approached the officer, put his arm on his shoulder, and pulled him closer, "It is truly depressing to say but you're worsening the situation for me here. Tell you what, you can have this and call yourself a champion of the gate."

  Jon suddenly called out a large sack and held it with one hand in front of the officer. The sack was both heavy and clicky indicating that its content was a ton of coins.

  The sight of Jon Dare attempting to bribe the City Gate Officer in broad daylight was just baffling and made the people gathered around whisper and look at each other weirdly.

  Even the City Gate Officer was stunned and didn't know what to do.

  He was told to hinder Jon Dare and strip him of his trump cards before he entered the city, he was told nothing about attempting to arrest Jon Dare who is one of the most powerful and influential men on the Continent.

  "Sir. I can't possibly think about or even consider this!" The Officer said.

  "Seriously, this is nothing at all. Just take it and then make your superior see it too. You may need it, guys." Jon said.

  Everyone's jaws simply dropped, Jon's bribery was even meant for this Officer's superior. And he just said this openly.

  "Sir… this is unthinkable." The Officer responded.

  "Deliver it for the General too. He's a man with keen eyes for such things." Jon added.

  Even bribing the General!? Jon Dare has just reached a level of boldness that was never seen in Skyrim and its history.

  "Sir! I am sure you know… you're someone important. But you can't do that. The Imperial Legion doesn't operate this way! We have our PRIDE!" The Officer couldn't stand it anymore.

  The situation seemed to take an unimaginable turn but seeing Thane Bryling not commenting on Jon's actions made many question her. The brave Officer who stood against bribery and turned down such a large sum was greatly admired especially in front of the imposing Jon Dare.

  Meanwhile, Jon Dare was making the face.

  "Bruh! What on God's green Nirn are you talking about?" Jon said and then tore the sack with his hand, "I really didn't want anyone to see it but here you go."

  What was inside the sack was no gold, silver, or gems. It was a Head.

  A Hagraven's severed Head… and the head was alive.

  The head was held by chains that covered it thoroughly and restricted its mouth. Those who saw the head could see its evil eye turning around and gazing at them with pure malice as she was unable to say anything. It was also understood that these chains are the things that gave the money Illusion.

  "I don't know about you, man, but I've never encountered a Hagraven that doesn't die if you cut its head. This thing is super unholy and we need a priest to purify the fuck out of it in order to make a proper execution." Jon said.

  He wasn't bribing the Officer, he was showing him the seriousness of the situation.

  The Officer felt like trying to process his situation as he was too close to Jon and could see the faint smile Jon had.

  It seems like Jon had him playing on his hand from the very beginning.

  "Alright, my Lord. We shall notify the High Priest right away." The Officer couldn't help but comply before turning around, "Open the Gate!"

  Passing the first hurdle on the way, Jon was simply warming up to bullshit his way through the city.

  The living head trick was a neat one though.

  ***

  It didn't just end with the lowly Gate Officer, the party was stopped right after entering by many other officers.

  The Legion Enlistment Officer was the first to drop by and claimed that 11 Guards of the ones who went on the raiding party seemed to have enlisted to join the Legion some time ago. Jon knew that this situation was true and not faked since many Guards tried to join the Legion at some point and he has no right to stop that.

  However, the thing he did yesterday night when he switched the guards secretly was for this. No matter which name the Enlistment Officer called, they were not present at Jon's party. The Officer checked again and again until he eventually gave up with a sour face. He seemed to have got the impression that when he requested the list of names from the Barracks earlier yesterday, the names he was given were not true.

  After that, a Thalmor Justiciar showed up to make trouble for the party but for some weird reason, that Justiciar had no idea that Jon Dare was the one leading the party at all. It seemed that the Imperial Legion ratted out on the party and carefully covered the fact that Jon Dare was a part of it. Jon didn't need any bullshit at this point since all he did was to raise his hand and wave it to slap the Justiciar but the Elf was fast enough to disappear from sight. It is known that Jon Dare treats the Thalmor as sworn enemies and kills them whenever he runs into them.

  The fourth hurdle by far was the most troublesome one. It seemed that the previous one was put to shake Bryling's momentum but this is where the showdown shall be.

  In Solitude's Central Plaza, General Tullius and Thane Brina Merilis along with a score of influential people all gathered to meet with Thane Bryling. The scene attracted the eyes of many people and it was obvious that a scheme was brewing.

  Those who know the inner workings of Solitude knew very well that both parties are of absolute power thus there won't be bloodshed in this scene. Moreover, the rumors that Thane Bryling conquered two Undead Crypts with Jon Dare were already flying around the city with no wings.

  Counter propaganda was also spread that Jon Dare was the one conquering while Thane Bryling was merely a spectator but that didn't go well as planned by the Imperials since Bryling has a fiery personality that everyone knows about.

  But what was surprising was the rumors spreading about Thane Brina Merilis who was said to have subjugated a gang of Pirates outside the city and seemed to be cracking on the location of the assassins of Jarl Elisif.

  It seemed that the two ladies were about to have a relentless argument that day.

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  A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! ?? https://linktr.ee/donovel ??