Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 4

“Squads Four and Five, push to meet with Raul’s advance. Squad Six, advance one kilometre straight ahead.”

Ludmila observed silently as Olga directed her forces to isolate the salient forming from Raul’s river assault. The clamour of battle below rolled forward as the two spearheads cut deep into Beastman-controlled territory, obliterating the warbands that thought to stand in their path. Most prudently did not, but that prudence served the Royal Army’s purposes just as well. Within a half hour, the offensive resolved into a solid encirclement that isolated a six-square-kilometre pocket of Beastmen.

“Squads Two and Three,” Olga said, “begin cleanup. Sergeants, make sure your forces don’t get split up.”

Olga’s gaze crossed to the southwest of the encirclement. There, the Beastmen forces had drawn back from her thrust and were locked into a defensive posture by the threatening advance of Squad Six. The apprentice nodded once to herself before looking back at the pocket.

“Raul’s going to keep going,” she said.

“Do you think so?” Ludmila asked.

“He’s always like that, Captain,” Olga answered. “Once he figures out how to make something work, he tries to make it work more. Instead of withdrawing to the river to plan another assault, he’s just going to cut straight across from where he is and make another pocket or something.”

Ludmila’s lips turned up in a slight smile as Olga issued orders in anticipation of Raul’s move. The evaluations of their league matches indicated as much and she supposed that, as Raul’s only opponent for months, Olga would also understand this.

The histories always spoke of famous Commanders in a singularly brilliant light. Things like camaraderie, complementary personalities, and threads of a shared destiny were always attributed to the Great Captains of legend. Realistically, however, she thought it should also be the case for Commanders – especially ones that were raised or trained together. In fact, the Imperial Army undeniably proved this to be the case though they generally blurred the line between the two roles.

Maybe we need some legends of our own to promote the officer corps of the Royal Army…

It seemed more her friends’ field. Maybe they would help if she asked.

“Captain,” Raul said as his Skeletal Dragon settled in beside them, “I’d like to create a second pocket from here. You said we’d be able to do this twice before morning, but, with how slowly information gets around down there, doing it again right away should get us the same results.”

Ludmila exchanged a grin with Olga before replying.

“How far do you plan on going?” Ludmila asked.

“About the same as before,” he answered. “That’s as much as four squads can hold back anyway.”

“Very well,” she said. “Let’s see how far we can take this. Make sure you’re doing it on both ends. Once each pocket is done, keep going and watch for any changes in the Beastmen’s behaviour.”

Raul’s Skeletal Dragon banked away. Ludmila wondered if he noticed that Olga had already prepared in advance for his proposal.

Fifteen minutes later, she watched as the squads under her two apprentices worked in tandem to tighten the encirclement further. Their first attempt had taken roughly three hours, things were steadily getting faster as both Commanders and soldiers became accustomed to the manoeuvre.

“Continued success with this tactic should see us at the walls of Eastwatch by tonight,” Saiko noted.

“I still doubt that will be the case,” Ludmila said. “Does the general staff have anything to say about our progress?”

“There are currently no recommendations or amendments to our operations.”

Maybe any ‘data’ was fine. As for her own ‘studies’, she was still conflicted over the notion that she was gathering wisps of negative energy like some sort of flying spindle. Lady Shalltear only spoke of it as a wonderful thing, but Ludmila still wanted to ask the Sorcerer King about it. She wondered if it was appropriate to place personal questions into his ‘suggestion box’.

One thing was certain even without any answers from His Majesty, however. Using her ‘licence for atrocity’ was making Ludmila stronger. That strength came in the sudden bursts that indicated that she had gained a Racial Class Level. She didn’t have time for thorough testing, never mind the development of anything new, but ‘little things’ here and there could be noticed, as well.

Her sensory perception – which had already been boosted to that of an Adamantite Ranger by her equipment – was getting even better. She didn’t have to fly as low as before to observe the battlefield, which in turn offered her a greater field of view. Her ability to track had similarly improved, as had her natural insights as a Ranger. That was something she wanted to keep Liane from finding out, or she’d hear no end to her calling her a ‘Death Ranger’.

Beyond that, ‘Ranger’ things weren’t the only thing she was getting better at. The range of her ‘Voice of Authority’ continued to grow, as was her ability at managing people or troops, implying that she was also growing as a Commander, Captain or Noble. The effect that Tira noticed in Rivergarden was probably some form of battlefield aura.

It was all a bit strange, as Lord Mare’s continued work with the Adventurer Guild showed that level gains for Humans didn’t work that way. Back when she was still a Human, growing stronger as a Commander didn’t improve her abilities as a Ranger, though it was proven that she was some sort of ‘Noble Fighter’ that improved as a Commander, Fighter and administrator – the last part was only a guess on her part as the Adventurer Guild didn’t measure administrative ability – at the same time.

The only thing she could think of to explain it was what some had suggested, which was that she had ‘become what she was’. Her Undead self was the ‘concept’ of Ludmila Zahradnik, or the ‘Noble-Commander-Ranger’ that Lady Shalltear and Lady Aura had decided she was about a year previous. All packaged into something called a ‘Revenant’.

Level-wise, a quick check proved that she now could reserve five Focus Levels for Martial Arts without harming herself. Studies from the Adventurer Guild pointed to warriors gaining one Focus Level every five ‘warrior levels’, and the increase in strength she had experienced after discovering this placed her total warrior levels at twenty-six. As Heteromorphs were much stronger than Humanoids and Demihumans at what Lord Mare considered ‘low levels’, that meant that she was also much stronger than her level suggested.

Once she accounted for her equipment, she effectively ended up in the Realm of Heroes. Not that she felt very heroic overseeing an ‘Undead horde’ as it overran a whole country.

Her new source of strength also served as an uncomfortable reminder of how inhuman she had become. Or just how Undead she had become. Instead of a living thing that matured and grew in strength, she ‘matured’ through a process similar to how Elder Liches were speculated to gain in power.

Ludmila didn’t disagree with the notion that she might exist to regulate the generation of negative energy and thus make whatever necessary conflicts that the Sorcerous Kingdom had to engage in ‘clean’, but something told her that being able to was no excuse to commit an endless string of atrocities. Knowing Lady Shalltear, she was heavily biased by her nature as a Vampire when it came to her interpretation of Ludmila ‘feeding’ on negative energy. Consuming as much as one could was a good thing, from her point of view.

I should really ask the Katze Cabal about that at some point…

There was a growing list of ‘at some points’ that Ludmila never had the time to get around to. Hopefully, the end of the Draconic Kingdom campaign and its residual tasks would leave her with some free time to take care of it.

A flash of brilliant light came from the direction of Eastwatch, and she turned her head to find four bright columns rising from the city to illuminate the countryside.

『Olga; Raul: withdraw into the clouds, now!』

Ludmila rose alongside Olga’s Skeletal Dragon. Raul joined them a few minutes later. Even from their distance, the light was bright enough for Humans to see at night with.

“What is that?” Olga asked.

“I have no idea,” Ludmila answered. “Saiko, do you know anything about this?”

“This one has not been briefed on any such phenomena, Captain,” the Elder Lich replied. “Queries from the sergeants are being submitted. Your orders?”

“Have them maintain their defensive stance, for now. The squads on offensive manoeuvres are to continue what they’re doing. Analyse servitor performance and identify any debilitating effects against the Undead.”

She turned her attention to Saiko, who was turning its open hand in front of its skeletal face. Revenants were immune to turning, holy water and other similar effects, so she wouldn’t be able to feel anything of the sort. The Life Essence and Mana Essence enchantments from her ear clip didn’t indicate any damage or mana loss.

“How are you feeling, Saiko?”

“No debilitating effects have been identified,” the Elder Lich told her. “What were your concerns?”

“It was just unexpected, I suppose. Usually, light is attributed with anti-Undead properties. Maybe we’re outside the effective radius of whatever it does. Did any of the squads on interdiction duty say anything?”

Those squads were operating within a few kilometres of the city, so if the light did do something, they would be the ones most likely subjected to its effects.

“There have been no–”

Saiko cut itself off. Ludmila frowned.

“Correction,” the Elder Lich said. “Squad Twenty-Six has lost one Death Knight.”

“What?!” Raul nearly shouted.

“Squad Twenty-Six has lost one Death Knight.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Do they know what happened?” Ludmila asked.

“Shortly before the appearance of the light,” Saiko said, “Squad Twenty-Six encountered resistance near the harbour. Attempts were made to recover one of the disabled vessels. An engagement with an unknown assailant ensued.”

An unknown assailant in the water…

“A Water Elemental?”

“One of a few possibilities,” Saiko said. “The engagement was inconclusive and the squad withdrew after destroying the vessel and taking the crew.”

Fighting an Elemental in its native element was generally a bad idea, as it conferred tremendous advantages to the Elemental. A Water Elemental in the water was just as invisible as an Air Elemental flying around in the sky. The Death-series Servitors weren’t suited for underwater combat, either. They were fine for destroying helpless vessels and dealing with next-to-helpless Beastmen in the water, but there hadn’t been any precedent established in regards to aquatic combat from what had happened so far.

“What happened after that?”

“Once the light appeared, another attempt at retrieving a different vessel was made. One of the Death Knights was thrown out of the water and into the air. After returning to the water, it went to attack an individual on the shore and was destroyed. Analysis suggests that a taunt was used while the Death Knight was in the air.”

“It sounds like it got Vortexed out of the water,” Raul said. “That ability is annoying in league matches if a unit gets caught.”

“Was any attempt made to recover the Death Knight?” Ludmila asked.

“No,” Saiko said. “The taunts that the local Beastmen use can be maintained indefinitely and our forces do not possess the means to free taunted servitors from the effect. Furthermore, the effects of the light were unknown and there was a substantial number of Beastmen on the wharf. The sergeant of Squad Twenty-Six decided that too many risks were present and chose to abandon the servitor.”

Though Saiko was only presenting the facts of the matter, Ludmila still felt like it was her fault in some way. The leaders of the opposing army had the means to free their subordinates from taunt effects, yet the Sorcerous Kingdom’s Royal Army did not. As a Captain who was supposed to be leading on the front lines, she hadn’t the slightest idea how it was achieved.

“How has it affected our interdiction efforts?” Ludmila asked.

“The appropriate adjustments have been made,” Saiko answered. “Vessels drifting downriver have had their courses altered in advance so they come no closer than three hundred metres to shore. Those undergoing retrieval will not be challenged inside of known taunt ranges.”

And if they have a better taunt, we’ll find out. Was the unspoken implication.

Ludmila knew how they saw things as summoned servitors, but she still didn’t like how they seemed to see their expendability as something to be taken advantage of in every conceivable situation. They were intelligent beings who could have ‘lives’ – very long ones, at that – and Ludmila felt that they should develop a sense of appreciation for their existence.

“Were any vessels conveying Humans discovered?”

“None, thus far.”

Since the entire purpose of crippling the vessels was to keep the Draconic Kingdom’s citizens from being shipped off to the jungle, it didn’t actually matter whether the Beastmen made it to shore or not. Their ships were damaged and they were ultimately stuck. Any repairs made would simply be undone on the way out again. The general staff made an exercise out of it anyway.

“I’m making an amendment to the original interdiction order,” Ludmila said. “Since they appear to be keeping the Draconic Kingdom’s citizens around Eastwatch, we’ll allow inbound traffic to reach the city. The more supplies reach the Beastmen, the less of a chance any Humans will be eaten.”

The general staff would probably be happy to have more ‘test subjects’, as well. Olga and Raul had gone through tens of thousands of Beastmen already and they appeared to be well on their way to shrinking the encirclement by a third, so the arrival of additional forces didn’t seem so imminently threatening anymore.

“Captain,” Saiko said, “one hour remains until the scheduled meeting.”

Ludmila checked her clock. The light from Eastwatch had obscured the advance of the dawn.

“Continue your current offensive,” she told Olga and Raul. “You may drop back below the cloud cover, but make sure you stay at least two kilometres back from the front lines. If you manage to get your forces to meet in the middle, don’t initiate any new offensives to shrink the encirclement any further. Raul may continue to conduct raids, but stay aware of the disposition and general attitude of the Beastman forces. We don’t want a mass panic that may bring harm to the Draconic Kingdom’s citizens.”

“What if they attack us, Captain?” Olga asked.

“Then defend,” Ludmila answered. “Hold the line, but we have room for a bit of flexibility now. Raul’s forces remain a threat even if they attack, so any of their offensives should be conducted with that in mind. Rol’en’gorek’s Commanders are highly competent within the bounds of what they have available to them, so it’s a good opportunity to learn from experienced opponents. I’m not going too far, so I’ll be on hand if anything major happens. Saiko, have the reserve forces shift forward to within five hundred metres of the new front line. That should make everything seem much more substantial to the Beastmen.”

She left her apprentices to their tasks, ascending to eventually surface above the clouds. The light emanating from Eastwatch similarly pierced through, continuing upward into heaven’s sparkling field. Despite the task at hand, Ludmila’s thoughts strayed at the sight. She idly wondered if the light led those who followed it to some other place…or beckoned for others to come from beyond.

“Shall we dispatch an investigation team, Captain?” Saiko asked.

“Let’s see if anyone knows about this before we decide to send any Undead into the light,” Ludmila answered.

They re-entered the clouds, descending rapidly to a small hill overlooking the Oriculon. Ludmila circled the area as she decelerated, searching for any Beastmen that might have evaded detection. Once she was satisfied with her findings, she alighted beside an ancient cypress crowning the hill.

“Oh, it looks like Saiko’s still in one piece.”

Tira appeared with the sound of her voice. The Grandmaster of Ijaniya was leaning against the tree, arms crossed over her midriff.

“Have you seen anything like it before?” Ludmila asked.

“Nope,” Tira answered. “I figured the Beastmen slapped together some big ritual to help deal with the Undead.”

“Does something like that exist?”

“Yeah,” the Ninja replied, “but they’re not as flashy, as far as I know. Uh, the most commonly ‘known’ one is Hallow – you know, that thing that makes temples and holy sites seem sanctified or whatever. I guess it’s not common in Re-Estize and the Empire since it’s a Fifth-tier spell and they don’t use ritual magic, but places that do use ritual magic use it everywhere that their temples see fit.”

“Are there any examples of the spell in the Draconic Kingdom?”

“The Temple of Storms. If I have it right, Crystal Tear’s Cleric was one of theirs so they had a Fifth-tier caster available to maintain the enchantment on their urban facilities across the country.”

“Across the country?” Ludmila frowned as she reached into her Infinite Haversack, “That sounds like a lot of work.”

“Not really,” Tira shrugged. “Hallow lasts for a year, so she could’ve just taken care of it while her team was going around the country doing jobs. It’s kinda weird: people in this region make magic out to be both more and less complicated than it actually is at the same time. Magic casters play along with it, too…or maybe they want it to be seen the way it is so they get paid more or something.”

Did that mean that she was paying the casters working in her companies too much? Then again, it probably didn’t matter since the rates were made to be competitive with the rest of the region. Lowering them because they were ‘too much’ didn’t matter if everywhere else didn’t think the same.

Ludmila produced a preservation container filled with food prepared in Corrin-on-the-Lake. Tira straightened from the tree, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” she grinned. “A job with fresh, hot meals delivered to agents on the field. I couldn’t’ve imagined it just a few months ago.”

“Just so you know, this food is actually–”

“Psstht!” Tira held up her index fingers in front of her, “Don’t ruin it! It’s all about the feeling.The experience.”

Ludmila smiled and rolled her eyes. After a moment’s thought, she brought out a folding table and chair, setting them up in a dry, flat spot under the tree. She placed a pure white tablecloth atop it and set out utensils before presenting the meal.

“Breakfast is served, my lady,” she swept her hand out in a polite bow.

“Yeah, that’s more like it!” Tira settled into her seat, “You know, I’ve posed as a Maid on jobs before, but never as a Noble.”

“Posing as a Maid sounds difficult,” Ludmila said.

“Something like the scullery or a hall girl’s pretty easy. A position on the senior staff’s impossible. Even if you somehow get in, you still need the practical qualifications for the post.”

“But aren’t you technically something like a Noble?” Ludmila asked, “Lady Tira of House Ijaniya.”

If something like a Noble-Commander-Ranger could exist, then surely a Noble-Ninja could.

“Technically,” Tira answered. “My upbringing’s different, though. Sort of like how martial Nobles are different from the softer variety. Then there’s the whole ‘live in the shadows and die in the shadows’ thing…”

“That was out of necessity as an Assassin organisation, yes? Now that you’re a part of the Sorcerous Kingdom, you should operate within the framework of its laws. Your people may work in the shadows, but there’s no need for them to stay there when they’re not. You’ll collect mould.”

“Mmh…being a Noble sounds like a pain, though. All of the politics and pageantry…not that the pageantry part doesn’t sound fun once in a while.”

“My take on it would be that Ijaniya would be a martial house of a different variety from mine,” Ludmila said. “I hardly care about politics outside of my duties and people rarely bother me about it. To be honest, after seeing how the Draconic Kingdom functions, I think it would be to the Sorcerous Kingdom’s benefit to have a loyal house that has a high degree of familiarity and involvement with what some would consider the shadier parts of society. It’s a role that Ijaniya would fill eminently well, and you’re already doing it anyway as members of the intelligence division.”

A house of shadows. Florine would probably latch onto the concept and turn it into something if she already hadn’t after seeing the Draconic Kingdom’s ‘families’. For Ludmila’s part, she thought it would be nice if she wasn’t the only one that the other Nobles were wary of.

“I guess it’s worth considering, at least,” Tira said. “Ugh…now you got me thinking about the founder’s legacy and having kids and all that.”

“You don’t want a family?”

“Oh, I do. I really want one. Having four or five little Ninjas running around terrorising the world would be great. But having a family seems a lot scarier to me than being an Assassin.”

“If I may ask,” Ludmila said, “how does it work for Ijaniya?”

“The common sense way,” Tira replied. “There are a bunch of branch families descended from the founder. The strongest member of those branches is the heir to Ijaniya: the Grandmaster. People seek out the strongest partners that they can reasonably get together with. I’m no exception.”

“Do you have anyone in mind?”

“There are a few ‘kinda-maybes’, but no one that’s a clear ‘yes’ yet. Speaking of which, how much do you know about Momon? That Nabe sticks to him like glue, but maybe I can borrow him for a bit…”

“…”

“…what? You aiming for him, too?”

“Almost every woman, some of the men, and a bunch of the Demihumans in E-Rantel see him as a desirable partner, but no. Also, I consider myself Nabe’s friend, so I can’t in good conscience assist you in your venture.”

“I see. Oh – looks like our guest of honour has arrived.”

It took Ludmila several moments to spot the barge coming from downriver. Evidently, Tira’s detection was superior to hers even with the equipment bestowed upon Ludmila by His Majesty.

“Tira,” Ludmila asked, “do you have any equipment that aids with detection?”

“Nope,” Tira replied. “Barely anyone can beat me in stealth and detection without any of that. Dragons and other crazy things don’t count. Figured it’d be better to use items that helped with other aspects of work.”

Ludmila detached the cowl from her mantle, holding it out toward Tira.

“Perform another check of the surroundings using this. Make sure our guest has a safe path from their landing.”

The Ninja used a Trooper’s Towel before taking the cowl in hand. She put it on and peered at the approaching vessel.

“Ooh…I can count all the buttons on Lord Tian’s shirt now. I always wondered how your detection was so good despite being a Noble.”

“It improves general stealth ability as well,” Ludmila said.

“That explains that part, too. Maybe having something like this isn’t such a bad idea now that I’ve got a way to carry extra gear around…”

Tira dashed off, completely vanishing at twenty metres. Ludmila cleaned up the table, putting away the remains of the Ninja’s breakfast. She left the table and chair where they were just in case Queen Oriculus needed them. Tira returned just before the Queen arrived.

“Find anything?” Ludmila asked.

“Not a soul,” Tira removed the cowl and handed it back to her. “The Queen’s lookin’ pretty ominous, though.”

Queen Oriculus came into view, walking up the trail on the western side of the hill with Lord Tian at her shoulder. She was in the same dark garb as Ludmila had last seen her in, and her demeanour was relatively unchanged from that time.

“Your Majesty,” Ludmila nodded in greeting. “Lord Tian.”

Lord Tian nodded in reply, but his eyes quickly left her to sweep over the landscape. Queen Oriculus cupped her chin in hand, leaning forward as she peered at Tira.

“Have We seen you somewhere before?”

“Uh…I don’t think so?”

“Your Majesty,” Ludmila said, “this is–”

“A scion of Ijaniya,” Queen Oriculus said. “We remember now. Over two generations ago, your ancestor appeared in Our chambers to market your organisation’s services. You bear a striking resemblance to her.”

“M-market? Well, I guess it was around the time when we were still getting our name out there…”

“It pleases Us to once again meet one of Ijaniya’s line. Yours is a cherished heritage, and We hope you’ll do everything you can to see that it endures.”

Tira didn’t seem to have anything to say in reply, but she shot Ludmila a suspicious look.

“A coincidence,” Ludmila said.

“A coincidence?” Queen Oriculus tilted her head curiously.

“We were just talking about family,” Ludmila replied. “That probably seems strange in these circumstances.”

“Not at all,” the Queen said. “It is not strange for one’s thoughts to turn to family on the battlefield.”

I suppose I’m the strange one, then…

Her thoughts rarely strayed from her duties. When they did, it wasn’t for long. Ludmila cleared her throat.

“Tira and her subordinates participated in the liberation of Helama and Phelegia. After that, they infiltrated occupied territory to gather information. Tira is the one that first discovered that Laira was being used on your subjects. With our eastward advance, Ijaniya has switched to ensuring that liberated villages, towns and cities are completely free of Beastmen.”

“You have Our utmost gratitude for your role in the liberation of the Draconic Kingdom,” Queen Oriculus said. “Will you be staying to help with security?”

“Nah, I gotta get back to work. Nice meeting ya, though.”

With that, Tira vanished into her shadow. Queen Oriculus cast a bemused look at the spot where the Ninja once stood.

“Her ancestor did that as well,” she said. “We suppose some things never change.”

“Did she really ‘market’ Ijaniya’s services?” Ludmila asked.

“Something like that,” the Queen smiled at some distant memory. “She popped up in Our chambers and seemed shocked to discover that the Queen was but a child. Then she tried to impress Us with all sorts of tricks while looking extraordinarily guilty all the while. We felt so bad for her that We never hired them. We do believe that good people make the best Assassins, however. In many ways, We admire them. They understand the difference between can and should, and they are willing to do all of the necessary things that most good people would baulk at.”

“May I let Tira know that Your Majesty said so?”

“Of course. She might even need it at some point. Now, how are things in Eastwatch?”

Ludmila turned her attention to the fields around the city.

“As you can see, Your Majesty…actually, what is that?”

“A great big magic light.”

She stared at the Queen. The Queen stared back. Her lip twitched.

“Don’t tell Us that you thought it was some sort of anti-Undead weapon?”

“…yes, Your Majesty.”

The Royal Army of the Sorcerous Kingdom; held back by magical lighting.

Queen Oriculus let out a laugh. The gloom that seemed to shroud her lifted for a moment.

“We suppose you wouldn’t have seen one before,” she said. “It is a navigational beacon – a waypoint for traffic, so to speak.”

“But why is it so bright? It seems like overkill for river traffic.”

“Because their function demands it,” Queen Oriculus said. “Decades ago, a much more fanciful Queen Oriculus added it to Eastwatch. We had hoped to bring in travellers from afar. With it, We optimistically thought, would come prosperity and succour against the Beastmen.”

“What kind of travellers would something like this bring?”

“Other Dragon Lords. The vast air fleets of a mighty merchant empire. Valiant sky pirates. Visitors from the moon or perhaps beyond.”

The Queen plopped herself down on the chair made available with decidedly less-than-queenly grace.

“In the end,” she sighed, “no one came. As a consolation, it helps the people around here see at night. We never gave up, though. No more than Our people would give up. We kept improving things through endless setbacks, hoping that, one day, visitors would come and see that Our home was worth investing in.”

“Well,” Ludmila looked up at the column of light, “that effort may still very well pay off.”

“That is Our hope,” Queen Oriculus said, “but time and experience have proven that there are certain things that I alone must do.”

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