“Hold!” Sias commanded, as she stared intently through the underbrush of the forest. Even within the darkness, some of her scales shimmered lightly, catching glints of light from the flames raging a hundred meters ahead of them.

  The sharp tone of her voice, combined with the subtle shudder running the length of her serpentine body, were the only indicators of her displeasure. Countless shadows flanked her, as a muffled chorus of gasps and nameless whispers bandied about.

  The Bazael inched forward, as its numerous wormlike appendages pulsated back and forth.

  “Uselessss!” The naga glared, as a small squad of imps squirmed nearby. A particularly daring one of the bunch stepped forward, albeit cautiously.

  “M-my lady, we shall certainly improve upon our efforts! We shall ensure that better training is enforced for— Hieeek!” The creature shrieked, as a large, darksteel tipped harpoon flew past its grubby head and impaled itself halfway through the nearby tree.

  “Tormacsss missing, our insiders missing, the wretched daemon king is missing, and the humansss… those wretches were expecting ussss! So just tell the next damn general that you’ll train more!” Sias hissed through her teeth, and slammed the ground behind her with her tail.

  Then, after taking a deep breath, focused back on the city siege, as a wave of magic blasts rained into the forest channels not covered in flames. The thunderous bursts sent chunks of wood and dirt flying high into the air, with some shrapnel peppering through the canopy around their position.

  The naga sighed in slight relief. “Just make sure to follow my orders, and as long as nobody does anything sssstupid, it’ll be just a demotion and nobody will have to be tortured… much.”

  “Y-yes, my lady. Of course, we’ll do our utmost to trust your insight!” The imp chittered cheerfully, with a reassuring chorus from its pack mates. With a few weighty, blubbery, thumping steps, a Bauther plodded up behind the group of imps and joined in the chorus with its own celebratory roar, as it lifted up a large broken log and shook it triumphantly in the air.

  The cheer died down swiftly, however, as the Bazael made a strange, static-like noise. Then its gravelly voice rung out. “Deleagh’s southern flank has suffered severe casualties. The baron and a large portion of his force were caught in the artillery bombardment.”

  Sias howled, as she grabbed the unfortunate imp with each of her arms and proceeded to rip the creature in half, sending the rest of its pack scattering behind any nearby cover.

  “HOW?! WE ONLY SSSENT THE ARKHELLISKS TO CLEAR THE FOREST!” The naga stared in disbelief at the Bazael, which revealed nothing from its enigmatic countenance.

  “His adjutant reported that Deleagh ‘saw red and charged for glory’, although some of the slower demons avoided the bombardment. Deleagh was grievously wounded.”

  “THAT SSSSTUPID BULLHEAD!” Sias screeched. “Tell that shitty adjutant to flay that Minotaur and pin it, alive, to the nearest tree. And tell everyone else to hold, and to follow my next orders precisely!”

  The naga then slithered her way up the nearest tree, and retrieved her harpoon as she went. She watched and waited until the bombardment fell silent, analyzing the city walls.

  “First… Sssend the rest of our Arkhellisks to the southern forest. The southern flank will hold and kill anything that retreats. All other flanks… have the imps put out the flames and then pull back. Sssend some of their imps to the south, to replace the losses. Let them think nothing happened.” Sias then looked down at the imps below, before barking “That means you too.”

  Sias watched quietly, as the imps hurried forward. Within a few minutes, the walls of flame soon began to snuff out under a series of ritualistic chants, and a wave of frost burst over it. As soon as the flames went out, a series of lights launched from some of the wall towers, and were followed by another barrage of artillery, with the lights from the mana streaming outward from the harbor.

  The blasts this time were spread wide, along the tree line where the fires had just burned. She watched thoughtfully, as the bombardment quickly faltered again. Then she smiled calmly to herself.

  “They can’t see usss, and their mana supply is limited. The front line was just bait, then? If they are willing to sacrifice their own men, then…” Sias muttered to herself, as quiet fell across the battlefield.

  “Bazael, sssend my orders. We’re doing a new plan.”

  D crouched behind the tower’s wall, and watched cautiously over the top. He strained his eyes, watching for any movement.

  Even after casting night vision, it was… difficult, to put it bluntly. Between that and Far-sight, it was just enough for him to be able to make out the large shapes of the trees far from the city walls. It was also what made him one of the city’s spotters, scattered across the towers.

  “Hey, do ya think that got ‘em?” One of the guardsmen asked, looking out into the darkness below.

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  “Don’t get your hopes up.” D grunted back. He mounted his crossbow on the wall, and aimed it carefully down at the wood line. His hair was standing on end, and he felt something was off. The problem was just what.

  The soldier fidgeted in place, aiming his crossbow down into the dark field. “Do ya think these little light sticks are gonna work? I mean…” He motioned towards the flickering lights below.

  D froze, and turned his head towards the soldier in surprise. Although the soldier couldn’t recognize D’s expression, between his massive hat and reflective glasses.

  “Yeah, no, of course they’ll work… right.” He muttered.

  “Damn straight. It’s the best we got, now shut yer trap and wait fer the signal.” Another soldier grunted curtly, as he stared wide-eyed into the darkness beyond.

  “Shit.” D cursed, and yanked his crossbow off the wall. “He’s right, now hurry your asses up and unload your bolts! NOW!” With a deft action, he removed his bolt and tossed it back in the crate with the other soldiers following suit. D then began to pray as he gripped his talisman to Almalexia in his hand.

  “O’ merciful mother, may you watch over our every step. Bring light to our way, and hope to our hearts, and grant us your favor. Bless. O’ mother of hope, we beseech you to watch over your children this day, and to repel the darkness that encroaches upon us. Protection from Evil.”

  The bolts in the crate glowed softly, as D completed his chants. It was faint, but he could feel it, as if Almalexia was reaching out to him again.

  “HURRY! RELOAD!” D shouted, his fervor bleeding over into the other soldiers.

  “READY!” Each soldier responded, one after the other for all five others in this tower as they mounted their crossbows on the wall.

  “AIM!” Sweat dripped from their faces, and flew off their beards in the cold wind.

  “Wait… but what about the—“ The surly soldier was cut off by another shout from D.

  “FIRE!”

  With a grimace, the surly soldier joined the chorus of twangs, their bolts flying into the darkness. And then, they flashed alight nearly halfway between their section of wall and the forest. The light shone bright in the dark, far stronger than any of the other lights in the city.

  “Goblins?!” One of the soldiers shouted, a mix of shock and a tinge of relief.

  “UNDEAD! FIRE! LAUNCH THE NEAR BARRAGE NOW!” D screamed, as panic overtook the soldiers’ faces.

  The surly soldier rushed to the rear of the tower, grabbed a red mana stone, and shoved it into a tube angled out into the sky over the city. It whooshed quietly into the sky, and burst in an equivalently red light.

  The other towers apparently launched their bolts too, as numerous weak lights popped up across the field.

  “Gods have mercy, we overlooked the damned lights!” D cursed, and was about to load another light-stick bolt, before switching to a heavy lead bolt with a glance back to the field.

  Something really fast passed the goblins, something large that stuck just outside the range of their light sticks, that he almost missed, distracted by the horde. And it was that something that leapt onto the base of the tower.

  The sound of claws tearing through wood rapidly approached the top of the tower.

  “Fall back! Get away from the wall!” D shouted again, as the roar of the ships cannons echoed from the harbor. D rushed to the rear of the tower and aimed over the top of the wall.

  Overdrive. Limit Break. Precise shot. Agility. Power Shot. Enhanced Shot.

  Four of the soldiers quickly rushed back and lined up with D as well, while the surly soldier leaned over the wall and fired his bolt down towards the base.

  The man hardly had a moment to shriek, before a large claw attached to a muscled mass crushed his hand, pinning it to the wood as a large mouth with a pair of large, blocky fangs crushed down on his head, severing it straight through the chain coat. The pink-blotched black skin on its eyeless face was ruffled like that of a hundred year old man, as whip-like whiskers bandied off its snout.

  Broken chunks of chain pinged off the towers roof and sides, as D watched the creature attempt to shove its way through the gap between the wall and roof.

  The other soldiers shrieked, firing their light-stick bolts, which flashed a bright, useless light as they pinged harmlessly off the creatures flesh and were flung into the darkness near the base of the wall.

  Even through limit break and over drive, the creature seemed to move with a supernatural speed, and it opened its mouth wide as it tore a hole in the wall. Then, with a twang, the heavy lead bolt blast into its mouth and hit with a wet thud in the back of the creatures’ throat.

  With a spasm, it fell with a heavy thud onto the ground below.

  “Heavens have mercy on us, of course they’re fucking hasted.” D cursed aloud, and bolted up.

  The near barrage worked almost well enough. It hit the undead goblin line and shredded their numbers down… but it was too damn late. Just from the shrieks alone, he could hear that the demons had made it to the other towers. Spells and arrows didn’t fly in an organized pattern outwards, but instead chaotically in all directions.

  Grendels had joined these rat-like creatures, and raced up the sides of the towers. Mages attempted to cast barriers, but they were quickly out maneuvered with the towers serving as a launching point to maul the troops below.

  “We’re retreating, now!” D shouted, and he sprinted down the stairs. D practically leapt a floor at a time. He jumped over a screaming guardsman who rolled on the ground, his hands covering bloodied eyes, and took another peek out the window. Noting the claw holes, he made sure to keep a respectable enough distance himself.

  From the tree line, a barrage of dark streaks of magic snuffed out their lights one by one. Then, his hair began to stand on end again.

  One of the soldiers caught up, breathing heavily.

  “Sir, change in plan?” He asked, glancing out the window himself.

  “Hey kid, what’s your name?”

  “What? Oh, uh, Gregory sir.”

  “Good. Gregory, those gloves are chain reinforced, yeah?”

  The soldier looked even more confused, as the others came wheezing behind him.

  “I… yes, why?!?”

  “Good. Grab on tight. We’re leaving faster now.” D reached over and fished a length of rope over from the center of the tower, and with a grunt shoved it into Gregory’s hand.

  As soon as the confused soldier gripped the rope, D shoved him over the side of the stairwell and leapt onto his back.

  Gregory shrieked as they flew down the tower, with the rope catapulting a small lift upwards past them.

  Agility. Toughened Body.

  D activated two more spells, and dove into a roll into the door as soon as they hit the ground. The impact burst it open, and D barely managed to land on his feet. He looked back at Gregory, as the young man slowly staggered to his own feet, his eyes wide open.

  “Fuck. At least one!” D cursed again, dashed back through the door, and yanked the soldier back out of the tower by the scruff of his neck. Then he felt a searing pain on his back, as a red flash illuminated the area around them. A feeling like a thousand pinpricks shortly followed, as the shrapnel cut through his coat and the reinforced padding beneath it.