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Chapter 100 - Return of the Queen
🕑 Added 2018-06-15 21:24:23 +0000 UTC Chapter 100!As a celebration, you get a triple-length chapter in one go. This marks the beginning of the last volume of Chaos Part 1 (or season 1).
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"What do you think of this Black Valkyrie?" General Ophalen looks across the Fields of Huwinn that surround Arkaim, the capital of the dominion, and asks into the room behind him.
"I hear that she is a black-winged Fata, and witnesses report that she has killed almost two dozen of her kin already." Markor, leader of the Bakari clan, replies with a thoughtful expression.
"Speaking of kin, there's the Kinslayer Dragon. Some say she's been sighted alongside the Black Valkyrie every single time." Nilotec scratches his chin and adds to the conversation.
"That is my point." The old humanoid crocodile turns around and regards the people gathered in the meeting room. There are only four of the top military brass remaining in the capital since the human invasion has progressed to the point where all the marshals had to be mobilized in the field. "Why has she not come here and talked to us, yet? It has been seven moons since she first appeared in Gaislaic, but nobody knows where she and her pet dragon disappear to after every battle."
"What harm is there in not knowing where she goes to rest after helping out." Athilacia, leader of the Lamia clan, says while shrugging.
"I prefer to know all the factors that could influence this war." With every other step he takes the sound of metal hitting rock rings through the room. For a day now, he has been feeling phantom pain in his missing right foot, a sign that a storm is coming. "It could all be a human ploy, to make us let down our guards and welcome those two with open arms."
"Would they sacrifice their precious Fatas and dragons for that?" Nilotec questions his father's concerns. "We all know how symbolic those winged people are to humans. Watching their deaths has oftentimes demoralized the enemies so thoroughly that they even gave up their overwhelming advantage."
"Maybe you're just paranoid." The lamia flicks her split tongue across her ironically smiling lips and states in an offhand tone.
"Maybe..." Ophalen mutters and looks out the window again, down into the crowded courtyard. Currently, the capital's garrison consists of the Petsobek, and as many of the Kirali clan as its leader could spare, Markor's personal army, Athilacia's elite skirmishers, as well as a small contingent of ajura left behind by Chandra, under the leadership of her deputy Taragasura.
Yesterday the former moved out with the bulk of the army that had been gathering over the past few weeks in Arkaim, to reinforce the city of Erbilan, which was projected to take the brunt of the human spearhead advancing across the continent.
To say that Arkaim was lightly protected was an overstatement.
While the Petsobek under General Ophalen have always been counted among the most elite warriors of the Dominion, they don't have enough members to man the castle walls, let alone the walls of the entire city. The same is true for the Ajura clan members, although they are arguably the most formidable force among all of demonkind. The numerous members of the Bakari clan are fierce warriors but are generally considered barely on par with human elites. Finally, the Lamia clan provides exceptional archers, but they also barely number in the five hundred.
All in all, the troops remaining in the capital numbered barely eight thousand. Reinforcements from deeper inland were on their way, but if an attack were to happen here, they would be hard-pressed to defend the city long enough for those to arrive on time.
"... what is that?" The old general waves over his son and points towards the west, where Chandra's troops had disappeared over the horizon only yesterday. A strange shimmer, like the heat in a desert, was visible in the distance. However, the temperature was far too low for that to happen, and such a phenomenon is unheard of on the Fields of Huwinn.
"I don't know. Should I send scouts?" Nilotec comes up to his father's side and turns his head to look where he's being pointed towards.
"Yes. And sound the alarm." Ophalen growls and stares into the distance. "I have a bad feeling about this."
When the strange shimmer was halfway across the fields and approached the city of Arkaim, it became more and more apparent that it was something artificial. It began to spread out as if moving to encircle the city. Nilotec's scouts reported that they could ride into it without a problem, although it would part for them and avoid being touched.
The entire city is now on high alert. Archers man the walls, bows and crossbows ready in case the phenomenon proves to be some kind of human machination. With a steady pace, the translucent glow is beginning to envelop the city on all sides like an otherworldly mist.
"Catapult loose!" West gate captain Gargulan bellows this order when the shimmer passes the threshold General Ophalen set before it would be considered hostile. Behind the wall a dozen wooden catapults launch their heavy projectiles over the gate, raining the deadly payload down on the strange glow.
Before they impact the intended target, the rocks shatter in midair, and their remains roll down an invisible slope as if a giant shield was angled over the shimmer. That's when dark blots begin to appear and reveal what has been hidden underneath.
From within a massive human army emerges, immediately rushing towards Arkaim's walls carrying siege ladders. Due to the surprise, it takes the demons some time to react, and even Gargulan is rendered speechless at the suddenness of events. There had been no reports that such a large army had made it past Erbilan, which is over six hundred leagues from the capital.
A shower of arrows comes down on the besiegers when members of the Lamia clan are the first to recover from the shock. The invisible shield that stopped the boulders before don't seem to work this time, and the human soldiers fall by droves. However, the shimmer is still being lifted and the army emerging from it seems to have no end.
"How many?" Nilotec, acting as field commander and watching from the western watchtower looming over the wall, asks the lookout.
"It would appear that the bulk of the forces are right here before us, but I estimate the entire army to number over one hundred thousand..." The Argos demon Meos speaks in a tone of fatality while blinking the one hundred eyes in his head at different times. The other members of the staff begin to mutter nervously.
"What are you all so afraid for? We're the ones on the wall, and they only outnumber us fifteen to one." The humanoid crocodile spins around to the others and snarls. "They might have blindsided us with this strange magic, but we're still at an advantage."
Then war drums pick up in the human army, and Nilotec looks back to the battle. The shimmer has finally disappeared completely and has revealed the full extent of the enemy's forces. Not only was Meos' estimate on the conservative side, but the humans also brought a large number of siege weapons.
One of them, a giant battering ram, is being pulled towards the gate by a dozen oxen. With one glance, anybody can tell that even the reinforced steel gates of Arkaim can't withstand something of that size for long.
"Order your archers to shoot the draft animals!" Nilotec roars towards Athilacia, who immediately looses a signal arrow. "Have the catapults target the ram!"
The message is quickly relayed to the artillery captain, who begins to readjust the firing angle of his unit. Meanwhile, the Lamia clan archers begin to rain down arrows on the oxen at the front, but strong gusts divert their otherwise perfect aim.
"There is a mage among the enemies." Meos' many eyes sweep across the battlefield to try and identify the one who's preventing the arrows from reaching the draft animals.
"With such a large force, I don't doubt they have more than one." Nilotec lets his fist crash onto the parapet and growls.
That's when the catapults begin to fling their rocks over the wall and towards the ram. The field commander watches as they perform an arc through the air and approach the large construct. Then the rocks hit an invisible wall and shatter, just like they have before. A murmur runs through the gathered staff as their only reliable means of destroying it has been neutralized.
"Let's go do somethin' 'bout it." Taragasura clicks her tongue and waves at her aide to follow her out.
"Wait, what are you planning?" Nilotec stops her and inquires with an intense gaze.
"I'm gonna lead my peeps out there an' take that thing out." The Ajura clan's deputy leader replies in the most natural tone without turning around.
Chandra is the most powerful warrior in the history of the ajura. She had surpassed her father even before he lost three of his six arms in his first and last clash against the previous demon lord, Aldeath. Some had rumored that she might even have been able to best Aldeath, but now nobody would ever know.
Taragasura may live in the shadow of Chandra, but her clan members know that she comes only second to their leader in power. Even Shugra, Chandra's longest-time personal aide, said that he could not hope to defeat her. The fact that she's his elder sister is completely irrelevant to his evaluation.
"Even if you're strong, you can't just run into that huge army with just one hundred men." Aware of her might after learning about it from Shugra, Nilotec still didn't think that she would be able to survive against the massive numbers outside - even if they are only normal human soldiers, which he seriously doubts.
"Oh, the cute lil' croc's worried 'bout me?" Shrugging, Taragasura mocks her commanding officer, showing as little respect as any member of her clan does to those weaker than they are. "Watch me."
With these words, she walks out of the room and descends the tower. The little crocodile in question grinds his teeth and turns to his aide.
"Tell Acutis to take three hundred men and follow her. Get her out of there when things go wrong." Nilotec gives him these orders and sends him away. He isn't motivated by personal feelings for the ajura, although he wouldn't be averse to the idea of lying with her. If she and her troops were to fall here, the morale among the defending army would drop significantly. After all, the Ajura clan is considered to be the most powerful among the demons, after the few remaining individuals of the Rangatira clan that Aldeath belonged to.
The crocodile turns around to look at the castle sitting on the floating mountain. There's still one Rangatira who hasn't grown weary of the world and retreated to become a hermit, but only an attack on the castle will make her move. Luckily, he was able to persuade his father to remain in there, since he's the supreme commander and too important to be so close to danger.
Peering down from the tower, Nilotec watches as Taragasura rallies her small force and leads them towards the ramparts rather than the gates.
"Huh, what are they trying to do?" He scratches his head and watches as the multi-armed people with blue and purple skin take several steps at once and quickly reach the battlements, before lining up and letting out a thunderous war cry.
Then they jump over the parapets and down the other side.
"What?!" As Nilotec leans out the tower window, his bewildered voice seems to resound across the entire city.
"These are just plain ol' human soldiers, sis." A female ajura warrior with six arms comments casually while slicing and dicing her way through the enemy soldiers with her curved swords. Even though the human soldiers are densely packed, the one hundred clan members easily cut through them as they head towards the battering ram.
"Dammit, and I was hopin' to meet one of 'em knights." Taragasura clicks her tongue. It's a tick she can't abandon even though many have told her that it makes her come across as spiteful.
"The boss'll wipe 'em humans out wherever she goes, so we ain't gonna see much more action than this here. You gotta take whatcha get." Swinging his four arms with one sword in each hand, a male ajura warrior teases his commander.
The small force of blue and purple-skinned demons cleaves a swath of death through the human army, making straight for the battering ram. Nobody can stop them, as even fully armored foot knights are swept aside like ragdolls, and they quickly reach the first of the draft animals.
Taragasura's instincts suddenly tell her that something is coming from her right, and she raises her sword purely by reflex. She feels an impact on her weapon but can't see what it was from. In the next moment, two of her ajura warriors fall over, beheaded at the exact same height as where her sword blocked something invisible.
"What the-" The shock only lasts for a split second, before all her clansmen are on high alert and go into a defensive formation. Taking the opportunity, the human soldiers form a circle around them and take a respectful distance from the demons at the center.
"That was dishonorable of you, Folke." A reprimanding male voice resounds across the opening and from the encirclement a slender man steps forward. His medium-length blue hair stands in stark contrast with his pure white armor and cape. In his left hand is a rapier held loosely, while his right holds a small buckler.
"They're demons. Honor is wasted on them." Next to the knight another man in a ragtag outfit befitting of a mercenary's choice of equipment emerges from thin air, his gauntleted hand seemingly sweeping aside a curtain with a print of reality on it. His youthful face is tanned, suggesting a life on the road, as opposed to his companion's fair skin.
"Please excuse my colleague's behavior." With a nod, the white knight offers an apology. "He was not trained in chiv-"
"Ya talk too much." Taragasura lunges forward and spins around herself with all six of her curved swords performing a slash at a different height, turning herself into a whirlwind of blades.
However, they create sparks on an invisible wall a step away from the white knight but don't penetrate the barrier.
"No manners, as expected of a demon. Alas, I shall not lower my standards to match those of yours." Without flinching at the sudden and powerful attack, the knight in white brings the hilt of his rapier to his chest, before bowing gracefully. "My name is Colart. They call me the Knight of the Iron Veil."
"I don't care." The Ajura commander clicks her tongue and thrusts a sword at the man, but it's deflected again.
"My uncouth companion is Folke, the Mirage Knight." Colart continues while ignoring Taragasura's dismissive attitude, introducing the man in the mismatched armor since he wouldn't do it for himself.
Taragasura immediately understands the situation and why these two are paired up. The one who just called himself the Knight of the Iron Veil must be using magic to create a barrier and the Mirage Knight must be turning it invisible.
Then realization hits her; the Mirage Knight must be the one responsible for hiding the entire army under that strange shimmer. Maybe because it covered such a large area, he couldn't do it as perfectly as it is hiding the wall of his companion right now. And the Knight of the Iron Veil must have been the one who blocked the catapult shots directed at the battering ram.
In other words, if she takes either of these two out, the flow of battle will change greatly in the demons' favor. However, the difficulty lies in how she can achieve that.
Taragasura suddenly throws a sword upwards. Everybody's eyes follow it, except for hers and Colart's, who stare each other down. Then, the sound of the blade hitting something in midair causes the former to look up after all. The weapon is sliding down an invisible slope and coming back towards her. Catching it with her free hand, she clicks her tongue audibly again.
Considering the soldiers surrounding them don't show any gaps, the barrier should only cover the open space between the two and the ajura warriors. But maybe this knight has the power to shape his wall however he wants to.
How is either of them doing it? They aren't using incantations, and there are no runic circles on their equipment or at their feet. Magic without chanting is something only demons are born with, but these two are very clearly humans; no demon that has sided with humans has ever been found on the battlefield fighting against their own kind.
For the ajura, who have no talent for magic, such opponents are the most troublesome to deal with. Usually, they would cut their way through those guarding the mages and kill them before they finish their incantations, but that's not possible against these two.
"I guess this is a challenge." Clicking her tongue, Taragasura remarks with a frown. Then a fearless grin appears on her lips.
Arkaim was built around the floating royal castle, which had been there long before the demon lord came into existence and claimed it as their own. As such, the location wasn't chosen because of its easy access to natural resources like a river or a nearby forest. In fact, the city was known for being hard to defend, and none would live in it if not for the fact that it was the capital where the demon lord resided. Without Queen Pelomyx, however, the city was only a badly designed death trap now that it had become surrounded.
But even such a place had a silver lining. The walls were too sturdy to tear down, and there were no weak points in them other than the heavy steel gates in the four cardinal directions. The massive gatehouses had enough tar stocked to soil an entire lake, and there were a hundred arrows on hand for every human participating in the siege.
What the city lacked were soldiers.
The sheer amount of ladders were beginning to overwhelm the defenders in several sections of the walls. Although eight thousand could man all the gates, there were gaps along the walls which only archers were keeping closed with overlapping ranges. Without the Bakari clan members and their fire magic, many sections would have fallen already. While their range was very limited, they were able to create explosions powerful enough to knock siege ladders down quickly.
However, due to the constant rain of arrows, the demons were becoming increasingly pinned behind the parapets. Soon, the first human soldiers made it to the top of the ladders and began to engage the demons at close range. Nilotec had the foresight to spread out his elite troops, posting just a squad of four Petsobek on every wall section across the entire city. They were mighty warriors in a melee and experts at holding positions. With the speed and power of the crocodiles they were based on, they made quick work of those who spearheaded the human assault on the walls.
When they looked across the Fields of Huwinn, despair slowly but steadily began to grip the hearts of the physically weaker defenders. The crawling masses of human soldiers were hundreds of men deep in all directions, the encirclement so complete and thorough that not a single rat could pass through them.
Then the message that Taragasura's assault on the battering ram outside the western gate had been repelled spread like wildfire, causing the morale of the demons to plummet further. Soon after, the western gate fell.
"What were you thinking?" Nilotec growls at Taragasura as she plops down in her seat at the command table. He doesn't mean for his tone to sound angry, but his people have a small vocal range, and they always come across as aggressive. She's pressing bloodied cloths onto the stumps the lower two of her left arms have been reduced to just below the elbow.
"Mind yer own business." The Ajura deputy leader clicks her tongue. Despite having lost two arms, her face shows rage rather than pain. Her attitude derives from the fact that she was bested by those human knights and lost almost half of her people, and then she even had to be saved by Nilotec's troops.
The western gate was broken down by the battering ram shortly after, and now the demons on the inside have to fight the human soldiers flooding into the city in a messy melee. The Petsobek are somewhat weaker than the ajura warriors while they have ten times their numbers, but even they won't stand a chance against tens of thousands of humans.
"If you can talk back like that, you seem to be fine." Glancing at the two missing forearms, Nilotec is somewhat reluctant to call her fine, but he's grasping at straws to loosen the tension of the situation. The truth of the matter is that none of the ajura are in any fighting condition after this failed foray.
"Fatas!" One loud voice yells over the din of battle, and several others pick it up. Dread fills the hearts of the defenders as those who have the leeway to do so look up into the sky.
Flying overhead, circling like vultures eyeing a carcass under the sun, are nine figures with snow-white wings. Each one summons a spear of light in their hands and throws them at the Lamia clan members on the gatehouse, who have been raining down arrows on the humans scrambling to push into the city.
Every single spear claims a life, but the well-disciplined lamia archers immediately return fire. However, no arrows reach the Fatas as they are flying too high up and with the sun in their backs.
"Where's our air support?" Nilotec roars. He's referring to the Gargoyles of Arkaim.
"They are not awake at this hour of the day, commander!" One of his aides replies.
"I know that!" Smashing his fist on the heavy wooden table, the humanoid crocodile snarls in response. The gargoyles turn to stone on the spot they stand in shortly after the sun rises and only awaken in the late afternoon when it nears the horizon. They used to stay statues as long as the sun was out, but it slowly changed in recent times.
It's clear that the humans picked this time of the day to attack knowing that the largest aerial force in the capital is unable to act.
More and more archers on the walls fall to the magic of the Fatas, and the humans flooding in through the broken gate slowly push the defenders back. Unlike Rodens, Arkaim doesn't have layered walls. The only place they could fall back to would be the castle, but it can't hold the entire population of the city. Since this attack was a complete surprise, the civilians didn't have the time to evacuate and are holed up in their homes shaking in fear.
The situation is dire, and it looks like it could result in a repetition of what happened over one summer ago when the gods attacked the city through the transportation network.
"We need to close that gate." With a glance across the walls, Nilotec can tell that they're still holding out well. But if the humans are allowed to spread out in the city, they will be able to climb onto the battlements and take out the defenders from behind. "Follow me."
The commander descends the tower with his aides and picks up his weapon, a giant curved blade with handles on both ends and one in the center. Its form is meant to be used in both close range and against enemies with polearms, and it's the preferred tool of war for the Petsobek.
At the bottom of the tower, Nilotec peers across the square just behind the gate, where the humans are slowly pushing back the demon defenders by employing long pikes in large numbers. His troops are unable to fight at their full potential under these circumstances, especially when they are surrounded by weaker demons they might hurt if they went all-out.
"I guess every clan training on their own has led us to this day..." The humanoid crocodile comments to himself, but it's overheard by his entourage, who exchange glances with each other. "Nothing, just thinking out loud."
He turns around towards the humanoid statue let into the side of the tower, glancing up at it reluctantly. Its appearance is strangely unrefined, and unlike the beautiful hand-crafted ones standing deeper inside the city, this one prioritizes function over form.
"Ghann, wake up!" Finally, Nilotec makes up his mind and roars up at the statue towering at five times his height, calling out a name. For a moment, his aides look at him in wonder, silently thinking that he must have lost his mind a little over the situation.
Then cracks suddenly begin to form on the surface of the statue, and the ground begins to shake. Light fills those cracks and runs all the way up to the eyes before the entire figure begins to move. The colossus steps forward and creates a tremor that travels across the entire square. Both humans and demons stop their fighting for a moment as they realize the spectacle that is unfolding.
"C-commander, what is that?!" One of Nilotec's aides point up at the living statue and asks him in utter bewilderment.
"That's Ghann. She's one of the four guardian golems of Arkaim." The commander takes the time to explain, as the golem in question looks down at him. "I just hope she hasn't gone senile after all this time..." He mutters to himself, before raising his voice and bellowing up to her. "It's time for you to fulfill your purpose! Seal the gate!"
For a moment, Ghann doesn't react and simply continues to stare down at the crocodilian. Then she raises her head and looks towards the gate, before seemingly realizing the situation the city is in. With a heavy step, she wordlessly steps forward with no regard for those under her feet. The commander and his men quickly step aside and make way for her, and so do the demons in her path.
When the humans realize that the golem is coming towards them, they begin to panic and push backward, trying to get away from this new threat. The Fatas above start raining down spears of light, but they barely scratch Ghann's surface, as she unerringly continues towards the broken gate, trampling the humans in her way. Her emergence immediately reinvigorates the demon army, which uses this distraction to tighten the half-circle around the humans that have made their way inside already.
"Stop that thing!" The voice of the human commander somewhere in the center of that half-circle exclaims. But none of the humans can offer any kind of resistance against the massive golem whose feet are barreling through their ranks.
Soon, Ghann reaches the gate and bends down slightly to fit under the archway. The humans still trying to pour into the city see her and their advance turns into a hasty retreat. Then the golem's form begins to dissolve as she melds with the surrounding walls.
Within moments, the passageway has been completely plugged by Ghann, whose original form is no longer visible. Instead, a solid wall of stone stands where the broken gate allowed the humans to flood into the city. Those still inside are cut off from any reinforcements and are hopelessly outmatched by the more powerful demon warriors.
"Phew... she remembered her duty..." Nilotec sighs in relief. Then he looks across the humans now trapped with no reinforcements from outside and no way to retreat. "Kill them all!"
His command echoes across the square and his troops double their efforts in exterminating the isolated enemies. The defensive battle has turned into a one-sided massacre.
They have managed to stem the tide, even if only for a moment.
"The humans aren't letting up, and are doubling their efforts to scale the walls with siege ladders." General Ophalen remarks while looking out the window, towards the western side of the city, where the battle is fought the hardest. Fires have broken out among the houses due to enemy catapults employing explosive barrels, and the walls have been painted red with blood both on the outside and the inside.
"They are the ones with a time limit. Once the gargoyles awaken, they will be able to destroy their siege weapons from the sky, and nine Fatas will not be able to stop them." Markor states in a hopeful tone.
"The crippling of the ajura so early in the siege is a hard blow for us." The general doesn't let optimism take hold, as he gauges every little detail.
"Taragasura says that they will be ready for battle again after some rest." But the Bakari clan leader prefers to look at the positive aspects of things. "As long as the walls hold, we can wait for reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? I left only a small garrison of five hundred in Rodens, all the capable fighters from Gorgonai have been drawn towards the line of defense near Erbilan, Adagiran stands almost completely empty. And the reinforcements from inland won't arrive until a fortnight from now." Turning to the Markor, Ophalen growls in a low and menacing tone, although he's only trying to sound bitter.
"Chandra is still close. The messenger should have reached her by now." Scratching his goatee, Markor tries to argue, knowing that the old crocodile would be able to find some fault in it, too.
"Yes, Chandra..." Looking out the window again, the general stares at the distant horizon, where he hopes to see a cloud of dust that would denote the Ajura clan's return. In his heart, he fears that Chandra won't be able to win against the two knights that Taragasura failed to defeat. And in all likelihood, there are more of them among the besiegers at the other gates of the city.
The Chosen Knights are a novelty the humans cooked up soon after Queen Pelomyx passed away. Rumor has it that they wield magic just like demons do, requiring no incantations or runes, but each one of them specializes in strange spells previously unheard of.
According to the reports, those that Taragasura encountered were called the Knight of the Iron Veil and the Mirage Knight. With those two, there were now twelve confirmed Chosen Knights, and it's highly likely that there are many more still on their way from the Empire of Terminus.
"Milady, what do you think?" Ophalen turns to the tall maid standing at attention near the door. "How should we proceed?"
"I am but a simple maid, Lord Ophalen. I do not presume to know the subtleties of war." Bowing her head, Rewera speaks in a neutral tone. She's a master at holding back her emotions, which are surely running rampant inside her at the prospect of humans invading the capital once more. They already breached the gate on the western side once, and as things stand, they will most likely succeed again elsewhere.
"Please, milady. Do not humble yourself. You are... the wisest person in the capital right now." Holding himself back from saying that she's the oldest, the crocodilian hobbles over to the maid and lowers his head before her. She's the sister of Aldeath and the only Rangatira whose whereabouts are known.
"My age does not worry me if you wish to mention it, milord." Rewera doesn't smile, although her voice bears a hint of amicability. "My brother was the strategically gifted one. I have no education in the art of war."
Ophalen sighs and begins to turn away when the giant maid - albeit still smaller than the general - continues to speak.
"But consider what I say at your own discretion. The enemy will not sit by idly until the gargoyles awaken. Now that Ghann has closed the western gate, they will concentrate on penetrating elsewhere." She says in a manner that makes it seem like she is only talking to herself. Like every Rangatira, she chose her way and is seeing it through regardless of what others think of it. In her case, it was to become the maid leader of the demon castle after her brother's death, so that she could stay close to his final resting place.
"I see..." Ophalen already suspected that the humans wouldn't just continue to try and scale the walls with siege ladders mindlessly. But there's one golem for every gate, so even if they broke through elsewhere, the same would happen again.
"Enlist the people of the city." Finally, Rewera makes a definitive statement, in a tone and manner unlike the ones she spoke with before.
It's a thought Ophalen has been playing with since the start of the battle. When Pelomyx became the queen, demons with individual powers awakened one after another. However, at the same time, many standing armies have been reduced because of her overwhelming might on the battlefield. Whenever she went to war, she would only bring a token army with her since she could annihilate thousands of humans alone.
Now that the queen is no longer, maybe it's time to reinstate the system of conscription that was used under Aldeath.
Thus, under General Ophalen's orders, and while the city was still under siege, civilians were given military equipment and sent to defend the walls. Many were fearful, as they belonged to races that were physically weaker than humans, but others were eager to fight for the survival of the city. Even before the order went through, there had been many volunteers, and now the entire citizenry was slowly coming to life.
The fewer than eight thousand members of the regular army were bolstered by tens of thousands of civilians now, and the situation started to look far less bleak. After the humans failed to take the west gate, and they had been pushed back, morale was high. Now it was rising further when more and more demons appeared on the walls to hold them against the invaders.
However, the humans didn't lose heart and achieved small victories in some places while sustaining heavy losses in others. The siege looked to be evenly matched for both sides, especially since the Fatas left the battlefield after the western gate was sealed again. Of course, the demon command suspected a ploy and kept their most skilled archers on high alert.
Time passed, and the battle developed into a stalemate, but it was nearing the moment when the Gargoyles of Arkaim would awaken. If they did, the demons would achieve air superiority and rain death onto the humans outside the walls who are unable to join the battle.
Shortly before the time came to pass, the nine Fatas reappeared over the city and started to shoot their spears of light at all winged statues they could find. Many that weren't gargoyles were destroyed, but among them were also ones who would have come to life - now forever silenced in their shattered forms.
The defenders had no means to counter the aerial assault, as there were very few winged demons who were also powerful enough to fight in midair. Many had already left the city to defend the dominion against the invasion elsewhere on the continent, so just a handful of Fatas was steadily decimating the demons' greatest hope.
But in their jubilant hubris, they committed a grave blunder; they attacked the gargoyles perching on the royal castle. During Pelomyx's reign, she had generously allowed the living statues to peruse any free space on the floating castle, as long as they kept everything tidy. Thus, during the day, hundreds of gargoyles would stay on the towers and battlements while striking amusing poses to delight the queen.
Now that they had come under fire, the guards of the castle would no longer sit still. Even though the Maid Corps, normally only consisting of exactly ninety-nine hand-picked girls from all kinds of clans - numbered fewer than seventy now - they contained about a dozen capable of aerial combat. And then there was the maid leader, Rewera.
The Fatas had stirred a hornet's nest.
From the roost where Aldeath's beloved manticores used to live, the winged members of the Maid Corps set off to dispose of the flying threat. Rewera flies at the very front, sporting a pair of powerful crimson wings with sharp claws at their tips that run counter to her otherwise straight-laced appearance.
Upon seeing the maids approaching with lances in their hands, the Fatas begin to chant their light spells. In response, the demon maids cast their own magic while performing evasive maneuvers. It quickly turns into a dogfight between nine with pure white wings and thirteen with variously shaped wings.
Soon, the Fatas are overwhelmed through the small but decisive difference in numbers, and they beat a hasty retreat. That's when Rewera decides to send a message by making a statement here.
She shoots forward on her wings that carry her through the air swiftly and bridges the gap to the Fata at the very back. Grabbing onto the woman's foot, the maid leader pulls her backward and takes hold of her neck. The others hear her scream and turn around.
"I advise you never to come back here again." Rewera's tone is serene, and she almost sounds polite.
For a second, the Fatas bear the hope that they may get their comrade back. Then the giant maid grabs onto the shoulders of the woman and rips her in two as effortlessly as one would do with a sheet of paper. Dropping the lifeless pieces carelessly, Rewera lets her gaze drift across the others, not the hint of an emotion in her dark red eyes.
With high-pitched screams of terror, they fly away as quickly as they can.
While Rewera had regained control in the airspace of the city, another human machination was coming into effect at the western gate.
The battering ram had tried to penetrate the wall Ghann turned into but given up after not even denting it with several dozen swings. Finally, the human army pulled away their siege ladders and retreated from the walls, when they realized that their efforts were in vain.
However, the demons knew that it was no reason to celebrate because shortly after, the Knight of the Iron Veil stepped forward alone and pointed his rapier at the walls. Nothing happened, but that was because the Mirage Knight must have been nearby and hid whatever the slender knight did under his cloak of invisibility.
Then a man on a horse wearing more colorful and decorated armor than those around him ordered a general charge. The demons were completely perplexed and watched as the human army trampled forward and past the knight in pure white, who stayed in place unmoving.
Thousands of humans began walking on thin air, ascending a slope towards the battlements, immediately opening up a wide front across a large stretch of the walls. All hitting at roughly the same time, a flood of soldiers crashed against the demons who were barely able to bring up their weapons in time due to their confusion at what just happened.
With just a single stratagem the besiegers had leveled the playing field. Now it was only a matter of numbers.
"The walls have fallen! Retreat to the western plaza!" Nilotec bellows across the battlefield. Demons are being pushed down the battlements and are falling to their deaths, while humans are gaining the upper hand everywhere through sheer numbers. Even with the hastily conscripted militia, they are still hopelessly outnumbered on every front. "Petsobek, on me!"
With a battle roar, the powerful crocodilians gather around their commander and form a loose line of defense, through which the fleeing demons escape. The humans that follow hot on their heels are shredded to pieces by the massive blades of the Petsobek, as they are now fighting on their own terms. Given enough space and when defending those who stand behind them, they are unparalleled warriors.
But human archers appear on the walls and start pelting the Petsobek with arrows. Most bounce off their hard scales, but some find their ways into weak spots such as eyes and joints. One after another the mighty warriors fall, and gaps open up in the final line of defense.
"Fall back!" Nilotec decides that they have bought enough time for even the slowest of the retreating demons, and orders his men to abandon the defense. He gnashes his teeth at the thought of how many of his troops, let alone of the militia and soldiers on the walls, just died. But if they can't consolidate their forces at the plaza and form a defensive perimeter, the entire city will fall, and they will all be slaughtered.
"The northern gate has been breached!" A messenger reports this disastrous news to the Petsobek commander.
"The gargoyles are awake!" One soldier points up, where hundreds of dark gray winged beings take to the skies all across the city.
They roar in anger at the losses they sustained during their sleep and sweep down at the invading humans with their powerful claws. Some come down into the streets and crush several enemies at once with their rock-hard bodies and wings, while others grab helplessly flailing victims and drop them from high up.
But their numbers are too few to hold back the flood of humans coming over the walls. In their wake, the enemies set houses on fire and kill civilians who were too late to escape. Throughout the city, on the large streets and in the small alleyways, demons are fighting for their lives against the overwhelming numbers of the invaders.
Outside the walls, many more are waiting to get their turn at massacring the demons, lining up impatiently to climb the ramp that Colart created. Even cavalry are making their way up and pouring into the paved streets of Arkaim.
All seems lost.
That is when a horn familiar to any demon warrior echoes across the city. Its powerful and deep tone sets the defenders' hearts ablaze and reinvigorates their bodies with newfound hope. The remaining ajura fighting in the streets to defend their wounded deputy begin to settle into a roaring cheer that confuses the humans.
"The boss is here!" Many of them exclaim, and the demons around them understand immediately.
Chandra Ajura has come with reinforcements.
"How did this..." Rankud, chieftain of the Minotaur clan looks over the army still outside the burning city and stares wide-eyed at their massive numbers. He hadn't seen so many humans in one place since the invasion three summers ago when he had helped evacuate the cities along the path of the coalition army of the humans and the elves.
"Hear me!" Chandra's voice pulls him out of his stupor. "Rankud, take yer men to the left an' strike 'em from behind."
"Understood!" He quickly moves to execute the commander's orders and runs over to his troops. There are three thousand minotaurs from many different tribes, and it fills him with a swell of pride to think that they are now all working together to repel the humans from the dominion.
"Kethorn, ride along the walls an' get 'em away from the ladders." The Ajura clan leader addresses a female centaur in heavy armor that extends all the way across her horse body. The red-haired woman wordlessly bangs her shield in response and gallops away to rally her troops consisting of heavy cavalry numbering five thousand. "Shugra, you're coming with me."
"Of course, boss." Expressionless as always, the bald ajura replies with a nod.
"We're going straight down the middle! Let's give 'em hell!" Not one for long speeches, especially considering the direness of the situation, Chandra raises her bladed trident. Then she begins to run forward, closely followed by her people, while Shugra blows the giant hollow dragon claw, the war horn of their clan.
The minotaurs join in with the horns of their ancestors, and with the roar of the centaurs, the announcement of their charge shakes the very air. Then thousands of hooves moving together evoke the illusion of a rolling earthquake, as the entire reinforcement army, ten thousand strong, is set in motion. They surge down the gentle southern slope of the Fields of Huwinn, towards the enemies at the gates of their capital.
The besiegers turn around and form ranks, placing pikes in the front and archers behind them, firing thousands of arrows at the approaching mass of muscles and hooves. But the rain of projectiles can't stop the relentless charge, and terror washes over the hearts of the humans.
Chandra is the first to reach the enemy lines, and with a single swing of her heavy trident, half a dozen humans are ripped to shreds. Not slowing down at all, the entire Ajura clan smashes through the pikes like a flash flood breaking through a flimsy dam. They slaughter the archers that were too slow to run and continue onward completely unhindered.
At that time, Rankud's troops crash into the rear of the human army with their spiked tower-shields. The giant humanoid bulls easily slam aside even the most heavily armored troops and fling them through the air like ragdolls. Cleaving the enemies into pieces with their massive axes, the minotaurs don't fall behind the ajura in their advance.
Kethorn's centaur kin have formed a cavalry charge, their powerful armored bodies turning into deadly rams. The front row, following their chieftain, locks their bladed lances into place, and they are soon upon the terrified humans. Like ships parting the sea, the centaurs blaze through the enemy lines and trample those who stand in their way under their hooves.
Thousands of humans perish within moments of the charge, and their morale is instantly shattered. Few try to stand and fight, and most run away like frightened children, dropping their weapons to lose any weight that could slow them down.
"Break 'em all!" Chandra's voice echoes across the battlefield and further raises the already skyrocketing morale of her troops.
But when hope seems restored at last, a new set of horns resounds across the battlefield and causes the demon reinforcements to stop and wonder. Since they are unfamiliar ones, it can only signal human reinforcements. The Ajura clan leader turns to look behind them, where a small contingent of riders seems to be approaching. Circling over them are eight Fatas, although they know to keep a respectful distance from the city now.
The men and women riding on the horses wear only light clothes and wield no weapons, except for the one that's leading them. She's a knight in armor painted pure crimson, carrying a massive lance too large for fighting with it on horseback. When she raises her weapon, the contingent comes to a stop, and they dismount, before sending their horses away.
"Form up!" Chandra bellows, understanding exactly what is about to happen next. She has heard reports of similar sightings and the subsequent turn of the tides of battle in each one of them.
The two dozen men and women who look like simple civilians begin to sprint forward before their bodies burst out into balls of fire. From within the fiery explosions, giant dragons emerge, their roars sending shivers down the spines of all who hear them. Their massive claws grind the dirt as they charge towards the demons on all fours rather than taking to the skies; they are the dragonkin, flightless magical amalgams of humans and dragons.
Within seconds, the dragonkin are upon the demon reinforcements, and this time the latter ones are helplessly flung through the air. Ajura, minotaurs and centaurs alike are but toys before the beasts in whose bodies flows the blood of the most ancient and powerful beings in the world. Belching flames that melt steel and flesh, they barrel through the demons like unstoppable juggernauts, their purpose to snuff out all hope for victory.
But Chandra laughs maniacally as she charges at the dragon closest to her. She rolls out of a flame breath's way, then dodges under a massive paw that sends half a dozen of her soldiers flying, before stabbing her trident into the giant creature's flank. It roars in pain and snaps its neck around to bite the ajura woman, but she lets go of her weapon and grabs the jaws with all six of her hands.
"This is more like it!" When she sees fire building inside the dragonkin's throat, she pulls it down and slams it face-first into the dirt. The flame breath explodes inside the beast's maw, and flames flare from its nostrils. "It wouldn't have been a challenge otherwise!"
Punching the side of the dragonkin's head, Chandra follows up by kicking up her trident and slashing at the leg it supports itself with. The beast falls on its side and exposes its vulnerable chest. With a powerful thrust, she drives her weapon between the visible ribs and into its heart. Squealing one last time, the dragonkin stops moving.
However, she has no time to celebrate her small victory, as another beast charges right at her. On its back, it's carrying the crimson knight, whose oversized lance makes much more sense now.
"Dragon Knight Svanhild. Come and face your death, demon." The voice of the woman still holds youth, but her features can't be seen through the visor that covers her face. Her tone is firm and speaks of her resolve, as does her weapon pointed at Chandra.
"Oh my, a noble. I'm Chandra Ajura." Spinning the trident through all six of her hands, she smiles fearlessly and introduces herself. "Remember it well, cause I'll be the one to knock ya off yer fancy horsie."
Wordlessly, Svanhild raises her lance, and a powerful whirlwind begins to swirl around its entire length. The dragonkin she rides breathes fire at Chandra while charging forward. As the two clash, the other beasts wreak havoc all around them, and the humans rally their forces after almost routing completely just moments ago.
"What else can we do?" General Ophalen mutters as he watches over the situation unfolding inside and outside the gates from the meeting room in the castle tower. Even though Chandra has returned sooner than expected - evidently by leaving behind the bulk of her forces that consisted of infantry and only traveling with those who can make the journey quickly - the situation is still as dire as ever, if not worse. "Now would be a good time for the Kinslayer to appear..."
"I raise you by a Godslayer." Suddenly the voice of a young girl responds, and the old crocodile spins around in surprise.
One of the empty seats at the strategy table is now occupied by a doll with black hair that gradually turns to blonde and then to white towards their tips, marble-like blue eyes, and messily-cut and equally messily-stitched cheeks. Markor stares at it in confusion and Rewera immediately moves around to cover for the Great Clan leader.
"Who... what are you?" Ophalen growls menacingly.
"No no, who was right." The doll moves and shows that it's alive. "You can call me Chu- Senka... nice try." She turns around and mutters the last part into thin air.
"How did you get here?" Rewera asks, looking ready to pounce.
"That's not important." Waving her hand with a creaking sound that suggests wooden doll joints, Senka stands up on her seat and looks between the people present in the room. "You people have incredible luck... or should I say, you have a god in the machine?"
Baffled by her incomprehensible ramblings, nobody says anything.
"In either case, you're about to be saved." Pointing out the window towards the northwest, the doll girl steers their attention to the storm approaching unnaturally quickly from that direction. "That's what I meant with 'I raise you by a Godslayer', even though I don't even know what exactly that means."
Senka shrugs and sits back down, her cheeks cracking open in a smile as she looks genuinely happy at what's about to happen. To Ophalen and the others, her appearance is simply grotesque, and it reminds them of the self-mutilating kobolds living in the Ogely mountains.
"I can see something..." Rewera is staring into the storm intently and is the first to notice a small form floating in the sky. It looks like a ball and not like something that should be able to fly.
However, it's rapidly approaching alongside the storm, its size growing bigger and bigger by the second. Soon, she can see that it's a somewhat human skin-colored, elongated balloon with a large gondola at the bottom. A translucent window is at the front of that gondola like a single giant eye. Inside, the maid leader spots a person, and her heart jumps.
"T-that cannot be..." She rarely loses her composure, but this is one such rare occasion.
"What do you see?" Markor asks with concern in his voice.
"It is the princess..." Covering her mouth with a hand, Rewera breathes in awe. "No... the queen. Our queen has returned."
Chaos Side
They did it again. The humans attacked the capital again, and I'm arriving late; they have already breached the city and are killing the civilian population. There's a sizable force of demons fighting outside the walls, but two dozen dragons are rampaging in their midst. Those are clearly on the side of the humans, so I assume they must be ones like Dregana.
"Get ready. This isn't like Kairaki. We're here to protect the demons." I repeat the mission goal, especially for Korenga. "Don't attack those who have things humans don't, such as horns, multiple arms or wings. You can kill those dragons, though."
"Gotcha." The Black God pumps her fists and grins, ready for battle.
"Our top priority is to secure the city. You know what to do." I turn to Aurelia and Tokomaha. The former doesn't respond, but I don't really need confirmation from her. The latter replies with a nod and an eager look on her face.
On top of the Chaos carrier, I create another avatar of myself and look up into the roaring skies. Lightning flashes in the dark clouds looming just over my head and one bolt cuts through the air right in front of me, leaving behind a figure with long sky-blue hair.
"Let it rip, Tahiri." That's all I need to say to her.
Wordlessly, she turns into another lightning bolt and disappears into the sky. Her role is a pretty special one here because her presence is my declaration of war against the sorcerers. She is treading on the domain of Zenlith with her very existence, and he won't be able to sit by idly while she is in these lands.
"Get ready." Back inside the carrier, my avatar states while the airship quickly drops out of the sky and towards the ground. With a rough landing, we impact the dusty plains a short distance away from the action.
The instant Tokomaha's feet touch the ground, hundreds of clones rise from the dirt. At the same time, Aurelia performs a grand gesture at the clone army, and from the ground, sets of golden armors and weapons form to cover every single one of the naked little goddesses.
Korenga's skin turns black, and her eyes show her battle craze taking over, before she runs off on her own, straight into the human troops that have come to respond to our appearance. I hope she won't harm any demons, but I'll keep an eye on her just to make sure.
Finally, I pull the entire Chaos carrier together and form my normal human-sized self. Covering my body in dragon armor, I float up into the air, no longer confined by wind magic. Spreading superfluous wings just to make myself look menacing, I let the presence of a Crawling Chaos run wild. It expands from me in the form of a wave of terror, and the humans are left screaming in fear in its wake. Then I raise my voice across the entire battlefield with the power of a dragon's throat.
"I have returned!"
