“Looks like they really have been working on some big upgrades to the defenses of the city…” said Akira as he lowered the collapsible spyglass.
He and the mishmash army that was made up of werewolves, humans, and Ogres were currently standing on a decent-sized hill to the east and well out of the range of the enemy’s attacks.
Begus Dekus’ main city had either used manual labor or special demigod skills to create what looked like a defensive rock field all around the city. Many of the rocks were tall enough to hide an adult male while others only came up to the waist. The rock field would cause a few issues for the cavalry but unlike a human army which used horses, Kodria’s Garg mounts were nimble enough to traverse through such terrain.
“I saw some of the demigods that were at the new fort the other day, lurking around those rocks,” said Orud Mun pointing at a small section of the rock field.
“It seems that several smaller groups have joined up and are camped around the city as well as inside. This won’t be an easy fight.”
“The most troubling part is the maze of rocks, although it does not block our path completely it is easy for them to hide and ambush us…” said Akira as he scanned the area trying to think of a way to break through with the least amount of casualties.
“Should we wait for Jerora?” asked one of the infantry officers.
“Yap!”
“That won’t work. The enemy knows we are here, the longer we wait, the more disadvantageous it is for us as there may be more demigods that show up to support the city or attack us. With the added humans and Ogres, our supplies will not last long enough for a siege. The reinforcements from Kodria will probably arrive around the same time or earlier since the ships allow for faster travel up the river.”
“Then why don’t me and you just charge right up and clear the rocks of those sneaky guys and smash the wall down!” said Balue.
Before Akira could answer, a loud nearby shout caught everyone’s attention.
“Fresh food! Hot drinks! Clean bandages! Materials to repair and keep your armor and weapons in their best shape! All this and more can be bought from me, the best wandering merchant!”
A young man with horns on both sides of his head, obviously someone from the Elkman demon race, was walking in from the north. He was now entering the no man’s land between the fortified Begus Dekus city and the army under Akira’s control.
Everyone from both sides of the conflict was silent as they watched the young man clear the snow on a small patch of snow then plant a flag in the frozen ground and place several bags on the ground.
“What is this idiot doing?”
“Is he trying to get killed?”
“That or he has some massive…”
Akira waved for one of the message runners to come to him, “Go warn him of the current situation and help him off the battlefield.”
“…and if he refuses?” asked the young messenger.
“Drag him off,” commanded Akira.
Everyone watched as the message runner ran to the merchant who perked up at seeing a potential customer running to him.
They talked for several seconds before the merchant shook his head.
The message runner did not waste any more time and grabbed the merchant’s arm with one hand and his bags with the other and began dragging him away from the dangerous no man’s land.
The flailing Elkman grabbed his flag pole while shouting as he was dragged away.
Only seconds later several long-range skills landed a short distance away from where the wandering merchant was standing previously. The demigods had made up their minds and had launched attacks trying to cut down the two.
When the messenger returned to Akira, he let go of the merchant’s arm and his bags.
“What’s the meaning of such rough handling!? If you wanted to talk to me just come out and say hi to me. I don’t bite people like you guys!” said the merchant as he straightened his thick fur coat and grabbed his bags.
“You almost died out there,” said Red.
“Nonsense, who would want to kill me, the best wandering merchant!”
Akira pointed to the scorch marks in the snow where several fireballs had exploded. The merchant was too busy arguing with the messenger to notice how close he came to being cooked venison for the local wild monsters.
“Even so, I am a merchant. I must have an open mind and not take sides so that I can sell to everyone!”
“That’s quite an admirable belief, but I don’t know if you noticed, the north is in complete chaos due to the war between the demigods and the locals. You are just putting yourself in danger doing stuff like this,” said Akira.
“Oh, is that why sales are so bad right now? I thought it was just me,” said the merchant as if he just realized something for the first time.
“You’re in luck, we are in need of supplies to support everyone. Just get off the field and head to the rear of the army and you can talk to one of the penny pinchers,” said Akira pointing to the rear.
The merchant perked up when heard that and said, “GREAT! I’ll do just that!” before running off.
Akira turned back to Balue and said, “Your idea has its merits…with the large presence of demigods occupying the city and the rock field the humans and werewolf infantry will be under heavy attack and constant ambushes. The death count will be high due to the human’s low fighting power… we can only go in and quickly clear up those that are hiding in the rock field.”
Akira turned to Red, the champion of the Ogres, and asked, “Are you willing to join us as part of the first wave?”
“We have no fear! We must do this so that our families will be safe!”
Turning to the infantry officers Akira said, “The rest of you will need to provide ranged support for us. We need you to keep them pinned down behind the rocks so that we can reach them without too much hassle. When we are ready for you, I will send the signal. Do not hesitate and get to the rocks as quickly as possible and reform into squads to help fight through the maze of rocks.”
“We will do as you command!” shouted the officers as one.
Like a lightning bolt, the Gargs shot forward and charged toward the large ring of rocks at a speed that was faster than they had ever run before. Slightly trailing behind them were the large Ogres that had joined the first assault on the rock field.
The few random skills and arrows that were shot at Akira all missed since the defenders were not ready for the sudden charge.
When Akira and the other cavalrymen reached the rock field they hopped off the backs of their garg mounts to allow them to move more freely in the maze that was the ring of rocks. It also took the target off their back since sitting on top of the Garg’s backs raised them up high in the air, some could be above the stones which allowed the defenders to target them.
“Is everyone okay?” growled Akira as he hid behind one of the large stones and scanned over everyone that had made it.
“I saw a few fall down after getting hit by random attacks… I’m not sure if they were wounded or killed,” said a cavalryman near Akira.
“None of us died, but we did take a few arrow wounds,” said Red.
“No issues,” said Balue after he changed into a new cloak.
“Everyone patch up your wounds as best you can, the enemy will not allow us to stay here for long. We will have to fight with them soon!” growled Akira.
The rock field in front of the city was a good idea but also a double edge sword for the city since it also allowed their enemies to hide from the archers and demigods who were on the walls. It also allowed Akira and the others that had joined him to somewhat safely send their own ranged attacks back at those on the wall.
Even though the demigods and city guards could not see them they were still pouring attacks into the many stones that Akira and the others were hiding behind. They were under constant bombardment from AOE attacks and were unable to move forward without being hit by an attack.
While the demigods on the walls continued to bombard them several other small demigod groups that had allied with the BenDover guild exited the city each leading a few dozen human warriors and cautiously ran toward the large stones.
The plan to force demigods out of the city’s walls was going smoothly. The more they could lure out in the open where they were easier to kill the better it would be for Akira. It would allow them and them a better chance at assaulting the city after the defenders were thinned out a bit.
Akira could see several of the groups as he peeked around the corner of one of the large stones. With his sharp eyesight, he noticed one of the groups that had come out to fight was the Breakfast Club which he had fought outside of the dungeon not too long ago. Akira was still angry about that event and seeing them only stoked his anger!
“Awooo!” Akira let out a howl ordering the other werewolves near him to transform. A dark mist covered his body for a few seconds and the sounds of ripping and tearing could be heard as the werewolves all transformed.
After Akira transformed he activated [Darkness Domain] which spread out and covered everyone around him including the large rocks all around them.
“Let’s do this!” said an excited Balue.
“Fluffball, make sure to help everyone else, I can take care of myself,” growled Akira.
“Yap!”
With the darkness now covering a large portion of the rocky field in front of the city, the city guards were having a hard time aiming their attacks since they were afraid to shoot for fear of hitting their own allies. The demigods did not care and continued to rain down skills even if they would hit their own people.
Akira gave a silent hand signal ordering everyone to attack!
He rushed forward and pierced through the shabbily formed defense line that a demigod had hastily set up.
Egg, the demigod in charge of this group was surprised to be face to face with the enemy so quickly!
Before he could say or do anything… the world was spinning as his head tumbled to the ground followed by his body disappearing into light fragments and scattering into the sky.
Akira continued to jump in between the rocks dodging attacks from those with sharp eyes and ears while also trying to ambush the demigods that were leading the human warriors.
The demigods were his main targets since they were far more dangerous. He let the rest of the werewolves, Garg, and Ogres take care of the humans that were running around crazily swinging their weapons with no purpose after their demigod officers were killed.
A large portion of these human guards fighting alongside the demigods were not innocent villagers or townspeople. Some of them were cold-blooded killers just as bad as the demigods, others just followed orders and had no issues fighting against the werewolves and Ogres. Akira would not hesitate to fight them if they continued fighting against them.
Akira could hear the sounds of battle all around him, the sounds were somewhat deceiving as it was echoing off the stones making it hard to tell where the battle was happening.
In all the commotion there were occasionally howls of pain as a demigod struck a fatal blow to one of the cavalrymen that were engaged in battle with the humans.
Bam!
A large fiery explosion slammed into the stone just above Akira’s head as he was about to charge out and launch another sneak attack.
“I know you’re there werewolf! You’re surrounded so give up!”
Akira sniffed the air and indeed smelled two other people moving to try and flank him.
He did not hesitate as he stabbed his sword into the ground and activated [Dark Shockwave] sending a rippling shock-wave out from where he stood, causing the snow-covered earth to crackle and buckle. A large stone caught in the attack fell and landed on the demigod that was hiding behind it while two other demigods’ legs were trapped in the cracks of the ground that opened up and quickly closed.
Akira moved fast and with a few quick slices and stabs from his sword he was able to finish off the trapped demigods who were cursing up a storm.
With each death of the demigods who were controlling the humans, the werewolves, Garg, and Ogre’s hold on the rocky defense ring was strengthened.
Akira continued to ambush unsuspecting demigods from the shadows with only minor inconveniences.
“Awooo!” a troubled howl rang out through the air.
It was a request for help! A group of werewolves had been surrounded by demigods and were now pinned down behind two rocks unable to leave the cover due to defenders on the city wall bombarding them as well.
“AWOOO!” Akira answered the call activating his AQS skill and ran on all four limbs heading toward the direction of the howl.
He slowed down when he reached the encirclement and from the shadows of another large rock, he activated his skill [Pounce] and leaped forward slamming into a demigod’s back as he was readying another skill… only to get his neck snapped as Akira grabbed his head and jerked it hard.
Even though the demigod was wearing a helmet it did nothing to protect him against Akira’s brute force.
The human warriors next to the demigod did not hesitate and stabbed their spears and swords at Akira trying to pierce his back… only to get their arms and weapons knocked away by his armored tail that swung behind him intercepting the attacks.
He swirled around and slashed out with his armored claws and grabbed two of the humans by the neck and pulled them close enough so that he could tear their necks apart with his sharp teeth and then dropped them to the ground.
One of the three remaining soldiers frightened by what he had just seen dropped his sword as he fell on his butt. The other two ran and hid behind another stone joining a different small group of guards under another demigod.
Right next to Akira an enemy soldier that had been hiding behind a rock and sending ranged attacks at Akira stuck his head above the rock only for his face to be pierced with a sword.
With Akira’s wild attacks taking the heat off of the werewolves that were surrounded, they were able to gather the courage to rush toward the opening Akira had made.
Even with Akira causing mayhem a short distance away many of the demigods did not want to let their prey go and launched attacks at the escaping werewolves heavily wounding many of them before they managed to dive behind another crop of large stones outside of the encirclement.
The full heated battle from the rocky field that ringed the city continued for another hour. There were only a few remaining pockets of enemy soldiers that were holding out. But for the most part, Akira and those with him held control of the area.
Akira had hoped that the city would send out more people to attack but they seemed to be content to stay inside the fortified walls.
“Awooooo!” Akira could not delay any longer and gave the signal for the rest of the armed forces to join them.
Although there would be losses from their charge toward the rocky field, it would not be as bad if they had joined Akira and the others in the first wave.
When Balue once again joined back up with Akira he stayed silent while he watched Akira helping treat the wounded werewolves behind one of the larger stones.
“Now that the easy part is finished, how do you plan to storm such a strong stone city wall and enter the city?” asked Balue when Akira turned to him.
“Easy? You call that easy?” asked one of the wounded Ogres.
“Compared to what lies ahead of you. Yes,” said Balue. “Right now, although we have secured this area, everyone is still pinned down here at this rock field. We can not stay here forever.”
“You are right. We can only face them head-on…” said Akira.
“I may be able to help you with this problem!” said Balue.
With that said his human body started to shimmer like water in a lake when a stone is thrown in. As his body shimmered it began to change form and grow huge!
In only seconds a large blue scaly dragon was standing where Balue once stood!
“Ah… this feels much better! I always feel so cramped in that small body,” came the booming voice from the large blue dragon.
Everyone around Balue gave out shocked cries at seeing such a menacing dragon appear out of nowhere.
“Now I get it! Your human looks did remind me of some draconians I saw before!” said Akira as he looked at Balue up and down. Akira was a little shocked after the thought finally dawned on him who he had been chatting and hanging out with so leisurely over the past weeks.
“How dare you insult me in such a way! I am a dragon and not part of the lowly draconians! I will rip you apart!”
“Wait! There is no need to get angry! I am also friends with Fleur and Borra! You know them right? If my guess is right, you are one of their fathers?”
“Hmph…. well I guess I can let you off just this one time… Bora doesn’t have many friends so she would get very mad at me if I were to kill you.”
Akira wiped away the sweat on his face as he realized that he had just stepped on a taboo subject and just barely managed to advert a fallout with such a fierce person… or should he say dragon.
Balue still felt a bit angry so he let out a burst of icy fire at one of the nearby stones that a few demigods and soldiers were still hiding behind. With the icy fire washing over them they all froze to death not even knowing what happened.
“Let’s finish this battle now!” roared Balue as he shot up into the air and out of the Darkness domain which was hiding everyone.
“AWOOOO!” Arron gave the order to the Garg and Werewolves and then shouted out the order to attack in common for the Ogres and humans.
The remaining enemy soldiers outside of the city seeing such a large dragon emerge from the darkness all screamed in utter fright!
They soon heard the howls, growls, and war cries coming from the darkness, all of it heading right towards them! It was all too much and they lost all will to fight!
They ran towards the closed city gates and started to hammer them with their armored fists.
“Open the gates!” “Let us come in!” “Don’t abandon us!”
Their frightened shouts were all in vain as the gates stayed shut and did not open.
The demigods and humans manning the city defenses watched all this happen from high up on the walls and saw the darkness creep forward before it engulfed them soldiers banging on the gates. With their vision blocked, only the sound of pained cries could be heard as their own soldiers were cut down.
Soon no more armored fists were hammering on the gates or cries for help… Silence…
The demigods and guards were so occupied with what was happening that they did not notice Balue at first. Now that some were shouting out the alarm even if they wanted to help those below they were unable to!
Fwoooooosh! A large blue jet of icy fire raked the top of the walls, freezing tens of the guards and several of the demigods as the dragon shot past them and flapped his wings flying back into the sky well above their ranged attacks which were shot too late.
The demigods and human soldiers focused all their attacks on Balue who continued to dive down and rake the walls with jets of icy fire. But their attacks on the dragon were all but hopeless.
Even if they scratched his scales they were killed only a moment later.
The last straw that broke their will to fight was when…
CRACK!
… the city gates had been breached by the ogres who continued to ram into them with their large bodies!
Soon a major rout started as the human soldiers either laid down their weapons or ran away when the allied army of Humans, Werewolves, Gargs, and Oger warriors rushed into the city.
The demigods seeing this lashed out in anger killing several of the cowards. Seeing this the city guards gave up fighting the allied army and turned on the demigods next to them.
Many of the officers and city leaders were betrayed and arrested by their own guards who began them to the allied army. In doing this they hoped to be able to hand them over and be viewed in a less harsh light.
The battle for Begus Dekus was over far quicker than Akira had expected and with far fewer casualties. This was largely due to the help that Balue gave them.
All that was left to do now was to clean up the remaining resistance, recover and patch up the wounded from the battlefield, and count their dead. That last part he was not looking forward to as there were still many who had fallen in battle, Werewolf, Garg, Ogre, and humans they had all sacrificed themselves to free Begus Dekus.
