Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 29

『Toisel, seal that gap!』

The Fourth Company’s lines closed an opening where three other companies hemmed in an Ogre tribe against a bare cliff overlooking one of the many small, unnamed rivers coursing through the southern wilderness. Captain Hawke and his men braced themselves on the other end of the encirclement, waiting to receive the Demihuman tribe’s charge. Ray waited until they were fifty metres from the Third Company.

『Now!』

Lady Zahradnik’s Demihuman ‘company’ shifted, its Ogres opening gaps in their shield wall. Thirteen Trolls rose from where they were hiding behind the makeshift barrier, charging into the encirclement and smashing straight into their opponents’ flank. The enemy tribe immediately buckled under the onslaught, their advance turning lopsided. Only the far end reached Captain Hawke’s men, who came together to confront them.

Lances? Swords? No, we just beat things to death with sticks.

The unsophisticated, yet deadly attacks of savage Demihumans were always something that Imperial Knights had to be mindful of, but it felt strange to be on the delivering end. Against similarly unsophisticated opponents, basic tactics and brute strength were all that one required.

Ray shook his head as two Ogres went arcing through the air from a single blow of her ‘champion’, a Mountain Troll who went by the name of ‘Ough’. The flying Ogres nearly buried a few of Captain Hawke’s heavy infantry at the end of their flight.

『Hawke, you’re in too deep! Give those Demis some space!』

It was certainly an element that the Imperial Army lacked. Each Troll struck with the force of a veteran Imperial Captain using Martial Arts, attacking with the fearless abandon afforded by the resilience and natural regeneration of their race. All they needed was a target, a big stick, and plenty of room.

Not long after, the tribe was literally bashed to bits. Ray withdrew his men and Goblins swarmed over the battlefield to scavenge the bodies for anything useful. He watched in morbid curiosity as the Trolls and Ogres settled down for lunch.

“I suppose you won’t need to worry about corpses now, Bennet…or does it work that way?"

The Cleric of Earth frowned at Ray’s macabre question.

“I have no idea about that, sir,” Bennet replied. “Our texts say nothing about the relationship between…eating and negative energy.”

“And how will the Temples feel if we continue on like this?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know,” the Cleric answered. “It’s a question for the High Priests.”

Ray suppressed a snort. More questions that needed answering. Every answer to every possibility presented by the Baroness seemed to only lead to ten more questions. He couldn’t wait to watch the bureaucrats in the capital scurry frantically about trying to figure out how to add all of these unprecedented pieces to their neat little schemes for the Empire.

“We’ll need about thirty minutes to pack things up,” Lady Zahradnik said as she came up the riverbank. “How are your men faring, Your Excellency?”

“I think they’re still digesting everything, my lady.”

“Not funny,” Bennet said.

“For my part,” Ray smirked, “I can see that they’re well-suited to these environs. Far more suited than Humans. Operations in the wilderness would benefit from having a contingent like this for each division.”

“But what about after?” Bennet asked, “Do we just release them back into the wild?”

Lady Zahradnik raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she levelled her cool gaze at the Cleric.

“That doesn’t seem like a civil answer, Priest Bennet. Humans who render valuable service to the Empire receive official honours, yet Demihumans who do the same are simply discarded after you use them?”

“My lady, surely you don’t mean that the Empire should honour them for this? Give them lands to live in like distinguished Imperial Knights?

“Ough and his tribe are my subjects, Priest Bennet. The Empire can’t have them.”

Bennet’s face twisted into a mix of confusion and horror.

“You…you don’t mean to keep them, do you?”

“Of course I do,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “I’m taking them home with me after this and they will be granted territory for their service. I don’t have any Mountain Trolls on my land, so I’d like to start a colony of them. Maybe I’ll have a Troll town one day.”

Never mind incorporating existing Demihuman populations into her fief, she was importing them. How did she plan to manage so many different races?

“While the military applications of the Demihumans you’ve taken in are clear,” Ray said, “Bennet’s concerns are still relevant. We must still consider how honours are distributed to the men. Those who join the expeditionary army expect to be rewarded for their efforts and every soldier at least retires to a pension set aside for them. The central administration will also demand that the acquired lands be utilised as efficiently as possible. Every square kilometre left undeveloped is a square kilometre not turned to taxable industry.”

“Is that truly required?” Lady Zahradnik asked, “Do you mean to flatten every hill and mountain; fell every forest and fill every marsh?”

“The alternative is rising levels of poverty and starvation,” he answered. “Or wars of expansion to prevent it.”

“Even if you continue expanding,” the Baroness told him, “you will eventually run out of unclaimed territory. Maintaining your current rate of growth will result in mass poverty, starvation and war nonetheless. In the event of war, which form of the Imperial Army will be stronger?”

It seemed a rhetorical question, but only to those who already recognised the utility of specialised Demihuman contingents. Many imperial citizens – and even Nobles who should know better – seemed to believe that the Imperial Army was some abstract ‘value’ that pit itself against other abstract values representing their enemies. As the vast majority of imperial citizens were not familiar with strategic and tactical realities and would never need to be, this would unfortunately always be the case.

Compounding the problem was the sense of ‘identity’ fostered by the Empire’s monolithic institutions and propaganda. The idea that one was the citizen of a nation rather than a member of a village or the vassal of a Noble was a relatively foreign concept as far as ‘countries’ went. This sense of identity was powerful as it could unify people beyond immediate and practical concerns but it also resulted in all sorts of stupidity even in its nascent stages.

While it was not specifically exclusive of other races, the Empire’s identity was distinctly a ‘Human’ one. Furthermore, it promoted Human merits, applied Human-centric solutions to its problems and generally instilled pro-Human biases in thought and perception. As the Empire was a Human country, this was generally not seen as a problem. This same fact, however, made the sort of change that Lady Zahradnik was suggesting more difficult than she probably thought.

Even if the Empire started taking steps on the road to change, the idea of leaving lands undeveloped for Demihuman habitation felt impossible to implement. In times of peace and stability like those which lay ahead of the Empire, the desire for economic growth would overshadow strategic concerns.

There was no sovereign of unquestionable authority who would impose harmonious coexistence upon the Empire as the Sorcerer King had in the Sorcerous Kingdom, nor was the Empire filled with leaders like Baroness Zahradnik.

“If a soldier is being honest about it,” Ray said, “he will likely agree that they give us options previously unavailable to wholly Human armies. However, it is the Court Council that will have the final say in how these Demihumans are integrated into the Empire, if at all.”

“Integration is a dangerous word to use.”

“I beg your pardon, my lady?”

“When we use it,” Lady Zahradnik said, “it tends to imply that others are being made to conform to the dominant culture. But not everyone is Human; nor will they ever be. Understanding the nature of other races and finding common ground to create meaningful, lasting connections will gain you more than trying to put a Troll in finery.”

『General, this is Zade.』

『What do you have for me?』

『Our audience is back, sir.』

He turned his gaze up and to the south past the Dragoon Captain loitering overhead, but couldn’t see anything in the afternoon glare.

『Have they tried anything?』

『No, sir. I have no idea about their customs but it feels like they don't want us anywhere near that valley with all the sandstone pillars.』

『Any luck with Message spells?』

『They aren’t responding to any attempts at communication.』

『Then the orders regarding them stand. We’ll deal with them when the time comes.』

『Yes sir.』

Ray released a sigh, turning his gaze back to the Baroness.

“Did something happen?” She asked.

“Those Wyvern Riders are back,” he answered. “They still aren’t giving anything away. Does the Sorcerous Kingdom know anything about them?”

“I know that they exist,” Lady Zahradnik said. “If my government knows anything more about them, they have not seen fit to share that information with me.”

“Then there’s nothing to be done about them for now. Let’s move on.”

Following the meeting at the Fourth Division’s camp, Ray returned to his battalion to prepare while Lady Zahradnik and Captain Seris returned with their forces. The following morning, they set off from the lowest extent of Ray’s advance following the valley north. General Gregan sent half of the Sixth Legion’s flights to monitor the situation from overhead, trying to discern the location of the enemy Commander as Ray’s forces poked around.

This poking around at first consisted of picking up additional forces to fill out proper ranks for Lady Zahradnik’s company. It wasn’t long until her forces added a full third to his battalion’s total numbers. In all, she had the 13 Trolls, 50 Ogres and somewhere in the vicinity of 250 Goblins. Of the Goblins, ninety per cent were ‘Rangers’ while the rest were some form of mystic.

After putting together what she deemed to be a suitable force, their advance through the western valley of the highland plateau focused on trying to find the ‘main force’ of the enemy Commander. When he asked why she didn’t just keep gathering forces, Lady Zahradnik replied that what she had was as much as she could feed without bogging down their movements.

The logistics for the Demihuman force were enviably simplistic. They simply ate what they killed, chopping up the remains of their enemies and packing them for the march.

A few Clerics questioned the ethics of having Demihumans fight and eat other Demihumans. The Baroness simply smiled and explained that it was not much different than a tribal migration and, in the grand scheme of things, the balance of nature was still preserved. Removing predators from an area meant that the populations of prey species would grow. This, in turn, meant that remaining predator populations would recover with the abundance of prey and things would naturally return to a state of equilibrium. It was an answer that spoke of principles that were fundamentally different to those held by the Clerics of the Four, who could only respond with mute shock and horror.

The Demihumans’ broken equipment was easily replaced and they lacked any complex armour to maintain. There was no need to secure supply lines, allowing them to forgo the telltale start-and-stop advance of the Imperial Army as they travelled, established outposts and secured supply lines.

While Ray’s men prepared their outposts, the Demihumans rested and trained. He wasn’t sure whether they were making any progress with training, as Lady Zahradnik expounded upon incomprehensible things that only Weapon Masters seemed to care about, but the Demihumans listened because she was their chief. It was a straightforward power relationship bereft of any guile and what amounted to their curious tribal culture was contained within her company.

“Has General Gregan discerned anything from local movements so far?” Lady Zahradnik asked.

“I haven’t heard from headquarters since noon,” Ray answered. “As far as it looks, they’re still reeling from our rapid response.”

Baroness Zahradnik nodded. A rueful sort of smile traced over her lips.

“This is something I’m going to have to learn,” she said.

“What is?”

“As you must have noticed by now,” Lady Zahradnik replied, “I have many similarities to the Empire’s martial aristocrats. The way I structure the battlefield is primarily defensive and even when I go on the offence I tend to do so methodically and ‘safely’. If risks are identified, my energy goes into mitigating those risks. You’re the opposite of that and your aggressive style can achieve things that I cannot. If I were to draw comparisons to other Commanders, you’re very much like a certain Frost Giant that I know.”

“I can’t say that I ever expected to be compared to a Demihuman,” Ray said. “At least not in a complimentary way…at least I think it was.”

“It was,” Lady Zahradnik smirked. “He wins three out of four field exercises whenever I get a chance to train with the northern army group. Most of the time, I can only cry inside about how he’s just using brute force to do it. What you’ve been doing here is similar, using speed and aggression to keep an enemy Commander struggling to organise constantly off balance and falling further and further behind.”

The other Commanders in the Imperial Army disliked exercises against Ray for that very same reason. He was well-versed in picking apart their primarily defensive methods and his strategies and tactics infuriated them to no end. This difference between Ray’s ‘style’ and the rest of the Imperial Army set them at odds outside of exercises, as well. Becoming the General of the Eighth Legion was a breath of fresh air and freedom from the stifling commands he had worked under, but that hadn’t lasted very long.

“With the power of the Undead,” Ray said. “I find it hard to imagine that you need to be defensive about anything. You’ve never assumed an offensive posture as a Commander before?”

“The closest that I’ve done to what you’re doing was fighting in Katze.”

“Ah, I see. The Undead just stand around until something attracts them and their behaviour is mindless, so even aggressive action is ‘safe’.”

“As expected of the General of the Eighth Legion – you’re well-experienced with operating in that environment.”

Ray cast a glance at the Baroness, bemused at the rapport they had built over the last few days. He wasn’t sure if this, too, was one of her tactics but, once he started taking a more direct approach everything seemed to just fall into place. Candid interactions were rewarded by tangible progress. Or maybe it was simply because she was actively participating in the operation, working towards a goal that was important to her.

『This is Griffon’s Nest.』

『Harrier here.』

『I think we got him. One of the large camps just packed up and started heading east; all of the other movements in the area are adjusting accordingly.』

『How far are they?』

『Directly east of you in the other valley. Ten kilometres.』

So close!

Ray looked to the low ridge running parallel to the river, wondering how he could approach their foe. It was reasonable that the battalion’s proximity had spurred the move, which also meant they had eyes on the battalion.

He reached into a belt pouch, pulling out his pocket watch.

Three hours to sunset, nine hours to midnight, full moon tonight…

『How fast are they moving?』

『They just broke camp, but they’re going at about two or three kilometres an hour towards the river on their side.』

『How are they organised? How many troops do they have?』

『Three columns. The Dragoons estimate about a thousand to a column.』

There was now little reason to doubt that Hobgoblins were organising the Demihumans. No other Demihuman species in the region would order their forces so neatly.

『How much support do they have around them?』

『That’s harder to say. There are four large groups within ten kilometres, but I doubt we’ve spotted all of the smaller ones. Anywhere between five and ten thousand within that radius.』

『I’ll get back to you.』

The Message spell ended. Could they pull it off? He had seven companies with him, plus Lady Zahradnik’s forces for a total of just over a thousand. Even if there were ten thousand Demihumans, numbers weren’t everything and there were ways to even the odds…

“Lady Zahradnik,” Ray said, “can ten thousand Demihumans survive on a twenty-kilometre radius?”

“In this type of environment, it depends on how they are organised. These highlands are nowhere near as plentiful as the valley you started in, but if they have camps spread around the area it would be easily managed as long as they migrate once or twice a month. Did the air wing find them?”

“There’s a high chance that they have. Ten kilometres to the east but they’re moving away from us. The main body is in three columns of a thousand.”

“Will you pursue them?”

“I’ll at least shadow them to see how they react. There’s something that’s been bothering me, though…”

The Baroness looked over at him.

“What is it?”

“That Mountain Troll, Ough. The reports estimate him to be roughly Difficulty Rating 75. If he was stationed at that pass, does that mean someone stronger put him there?”

“No, that alpine lake was their home. When I was speaking to Ough about events in the highlands, said that a recruiter came to speak with him.”

“What happened?”

“He ate the recruiter.”

For all of their demonstrable worth, having such powerful Demihumans around felt like a catastrophe waiting to happen. If Lady Zahradnik died, that meant Ough would be on top again and the Mountain Troll would do as he pleased.

The Empire’s usual recourse for dealing with powerful opponents was commissioning Adventurers or Workers. Threats beyond even Adventurers would be dealt with by the Head Court Magician. Relatively simple opponents like Ough could also be killed by the combined efforts of a Legion’s air wing. It was not something they had the luxury of doing at a moment’s notice, however – if the Empire was to incorporate tribal Demihumans into its ranks, something else had to ensure their cooperation and loyalty…which he supposed was Lady Zahradnik’s point about ‘integration’.

“How common are opponents of that strength?” Ray asked.

“Common enough, Your Excellency,” Lady Zahradnik answered. “At least in wilderness areas that remain undisturbed by efforts at removing them. I think that a good way to approach that question is assuming that all territory is the hunting range of something.”

“Could you elaborate on that, my lady?”

“Consider The Blister, for instance. The Viridian Dragon Lord’s domain was large enough to encompass the five cities around her lair. But people rarely saw her and most of her hunting was done within The Blister. While she responded to challenges, very few things could challenge her so the Empire didn’t have an Ancient Dragon plus whatever she was fighting rampaging everywhere on a regular basis. The struggles of ‘lesser beings’ were beneath her notice and millions could live in her territory almost entirely unaware of her existence.”

“Powerful Monsters, Magical Beasts and Demihuman Lords that require Orichalcum or Adamantite-rank teams to defeat are probably the threats that the Imperial Army has to worry the most about. You might encounter one of those every thousand square kilometres in naturally bountiful areas. An example would be the three former ‘rulers’ of the Great Forest of Tob: the Wise King of the Forest, the Giant of the East and the Demon Snake of the West. They all had territories that bordered one another and held each other ‘in check’ as beings that only Heroes could contend with.

“Below that point, what threats exist depends on what is above them and how they enforce their territorial dominance. The weaker the predator, the smaller the territory and the more frequent you can expect them to be. Having different food sources may cause their territories to overlap without issue. So, whenever you wander around in the wilderness like this, you should always assume that you’re in a powerful being’s domain. That being probably doesn’t care about you until you do something that it doesn’t like of you happen to be in reach when it’s hungry.”

“If that’s the case,” Ray said, “How have we been able to maintain our borders? The powerful beings that you describe could easily destroy the Imperial Army and lay waste to vast swathes of our territory. We’d be reduced to primitive tribes ourselves.”

“Because there is a ‘Dragon’ in this region of the world that has been protecting humanity for centuries, systematically eliminating all existential threats to Human populations and stymieing the development of species that you may consider rivals.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of anything like that.”

“I’m not surprised that it is,” Lady Zahradnik said, “but I am also not at liberty to go into detail about it. The existence of this carefully-tended ‘cradle’, however, is a large part of why I am doing what I am doing with you right now. The Sorcerous Kingdom has taken over the role of the previous ‘Dragon’ and our foreign policy does not favour Humans over any other race. As such, the cradle that has sheltered humanity for generations will revert to its natural state and the Empire will find that the world beyond that cradle is not what it currently believes it to be.”

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