Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 7

Another Death Knight crumbled to pieces amidst the cheers of Rol’en’gorek’s warriors. Mitra moved with the growing number of freed-up guards to dispatch the next. Several defenders from clan Ki’ra filled the space that they left, cautiously examining the remains of the Undead warrior as they dissipated in the wind.

“I still can’t wrap my head around the existence of the Undead,” Rana Saj said. “How can something so substantial just become…dust?”

“You’ve encountered elementals before, haven’t you?” Saraca asked.

“Of course,” Rana Saj answered. “Most are Water Elementals that dwell in the rivers. We also have Air and Earth Elementals in the mountains. But the Undead have blades that cleave flesh and armour that can turn tooth and claw. I’ve heard that Humans gird themselves for battle similarly, yet the Undead leave nothing behind.”

“I suppose your confusion is in how you frame their existence,” Saraca said. “As a living being, one tends to match what they see to what they are familiar with. Most tend to view clothing, accessories, combat equipment and vehicles as separate from the individuals that use them. For the Undead, however, it is a part of their being.

"The Undead are often compared to Elementals because, despite their appearance, they come into existence as a ‘complete’ concept. Here, you have Undead from Human-dominated realms, so they appear much as Humans of different vocations do. A Death Knight comes into existence complete with the equipment of a ‘knight’, and that equipment disappears with it.”

Of course, any acquisitions that the Undead made over the course of that existence wouldn’t disintegrate with them if they were destroyed. The fact that the Undead they were facing were summons neatly explained why they didn’t have anything like that. Summoners rarely equipped their summons, after all.

The question now was how they were being summoned. Undead such as Death Knights couldn’t be created through a generic summon-line spell. Groups of Necromancers didn't simply perform rituals to create Elder Liches for research work. If it was possible, Cabals of Elder Liches would just grow non-stop through the mass production of more Elder Liches by their members. The world would be a very different place if that were the case.

Another Death Knight crumbled to dust. Now over their elation that the rout had been decisively stemmed, the battle’s spectators appeared to be eagerly studying how the remaining Undead were being dispatched. They wouldn’t be able to handle them as easily as Saraca’s entourage, but with so many of them, all they needed were suitable champions and mystics to support them to make the outcome slow, but inevitable.

The main Undead offensive was starting to enter the ravine, but the steady demise of the detachment sent to attack the rear had clearly given them pause. No Death Knights came charging up the slope, nor did any Elder Liches appear to try and bombard the fortifications.

“Kasturi,” he said. “Can you see what’s going on down there?”

“They’re consolidating under cover on the far side of the ravine,” the Gladestalker replied. “It looks like they’re using weaker Undead to probe the way ahead. Would you like us to get in close and attack them?”

“No, our field defences should get rid of all those weaklings,” Saraca said. “Keep attacking the powerful Undead that you can see. If they end up not doing anything, take the opportunity to rest.”

The more we fight, the more that Undead Commander learns. If we let it get away…

“Karuvaki.” Saraca asked, “Assuming that these Undead have been summoned or created as summons, how long would it take for them to replace this force we’re facing?”

“That would depend on how they’re being made,” Karuvaki replied. “Elder Liches – the naturally-manifested ones that we know of, at least – can create permanent Undead out of corpses. There is a limit to how many they can control, and the ‘hordes’ that defend their lairs are numbered strictly within those limits. Field studies have noted that, even with plentiful corpses, they appear to be limited to creating twenty per day. The strength is dependent on the caster, but nothing much stronger than a Bone Vulture or Skeleton Warrior has been observed to be raised. All types of Undead raised in this fashion are mindless, so no Lesser Vampires, Mummies, or the like.”

“What about spells?”

“They can bolster those numbers with summoning spells, but summon-line spells are limited in duration, That makes any buildup through them impossible. As for other methods…Skeletal Dragons are created through a series of rituals much like Golems are, and I doubt anyone would be enforcing any laws against it where they come from.”

“How long does that take?”

“The main delays come from the availability of animating force to bind to the construct. In addition to several months of binding rituals, we have to capture Earth Elementals of suitable strength to power our Golems. No one would think of creating Undead with similar rituals in most places because negative energy is so limited that it would take lifetimes to complete a single Skeletal Dragon.”

“Your people attempted such a thing?” Rana Saj asked

“It was centuries ago when conflict along the Confederacy’s borders was far more frequent,” Karuvaki said. “Some of our Necromancers proposed that the negative energy generated from warfare could be captured and put to use by animating necromantic constructs like Skeletal Dragons. The product would then be put to use as an economic or military asset.”

“That seems dangerous,” Rana Saj said. “The one thing that definitively limits warfare would instead become a reason to wage war.”

“That’s ultimately what led to the proposal’s rejection,” Karuvaki nodded. “But only after a decade of deliberation by the council. The answer may seem obvious to you, but advancement as a society can come with many illnesses. People who benefit from past growth and progress may start believing that growth and progress are objectively good things. This is especially the case if they are distanced from the costs. Our people have been forced to learn this lesson – often painfully – on several occasions.”

And some countries ignored those lessons entirely. The neighbouring Minos League was one such place: a colossus built from the heedless expansion of industry and economic exploitation in the pursuit of profit and technological progress. Whether through diplomacy or conquest, they invariably transformed the world for the worse.

“So which one is it?” Girika asked, “Are these Undead being created like an Elder Lich creates Skeletons and Zombies, or are they being assembled in some negative energy factory?”

“That’s impossible to say without extended study, and we can’t discount the possibility of an unknown process. Even if a Death Knight took the same time to create as a War Golem of equivalent strength, the Undead have all the time in the world to create them so long as they remain undisturbed. I can easily see that happening if they’re based in the centre of that giant negative energy zone.”

“In any case,” Saraca said, “it has to be stopped. No craft, technique, or knowledge possessed by these Undead can be allowed to exist. Thankfully, this…faction of Undead appears to be isolated from the rest of the world. They must be destroyed before any fruit of their effort can spread.”

He couldn’t imagine the catastrophe that would face them if it did. Powerful Undead were relatively rare outside of the Dreadlands, but there were still enough to cause a major crisis if they learned how to do the same thing as the Undead of the Katze Plains.

And if the Undead of the Dreadlands learn, the Crusader States will fall and half of the continent will go with them.

“Lesser Undead have crossed the river,” Kasturi said, “they should be running into the field defences any time now.”

“I’m going to set the Forbiddance zones with the others now,” Karuvaki said before stepping away.

Saraca went over to the western edge of the tower, trying to catch a glimpse of their approaching foes. In addition to the magical defences they had set, the ravine was a snarl of brush and trees. The sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches rose from below as the Undead clumsily forced their way through. Bullets started whistling through the air as the defenders attempted to stave off their advance.

“Waste of bullets,” Girika grumbled.

“It’s fine for now,” Saraca said. “If none of the defenders attacked, even the Undead would know that something was going on.”

『We’re done down here. Anything interesting happen?』

『No. Any sign of additional attacks along the shore?』

『Not that I can tell.』

『Strange…』

The Undead that were sent against him were very powerful by most people’s standards, but they had already been defeated a few times. If the enemy Commander wanted to assault the first real line of defence, they should have sent more.

“Ooh, looks like they’re here.”

Mitra came up to join them. She sat on her haunches at the edge of the tower, leaning forward for a better look.

“They’re in the Spike Growth, now,” Kasturi said.

The closest Undead that he could spot were starting to fall over. Ten minutes passed and nothing made it out of the brush at the bottom of the ravine.

“Is that spell truly so powerful?” Rana Saj said, “Some of our mystics do have it, but I’ve not seen it put to much practical use.”

“It’s good for when one knows where their opponents will traverse,” Saraca told him. “Your usual form of warfare is highly mobile and irregular, so Spike Growth is mostly useless in that situation. At most, one of your mystics might use it to hamper pursuit in a narrow area.”

“Yes, that’s what they mainly use it for. It doesn’t obliterate our enemies like this, though.”

“Most of the Zombies out there are much weaker than your foes on the Jorgulan Front. They aren’t strong enough to make it more than a few steps into the Spike Growth. Skeletal Undead are resistant to piercing damage so they should make it through, but Death Knights don’t raise Skeletons. Ghouls, Ghasts and Wights won’t make it much farther than the Zombies. Spectral Undead won’t be hit by the spikes, and Blood Meat Hulks will regenerate their way through.”

Whether the Undead Commander would try to force their way through after discovering what lay in store for their forces was still in question. When they came up with the defensive scheme, they still assumed that the opposing side was something along the lines of an Undead force directed by Elder Liches. Now, he wasn’t sure how cautious the enemy Commander would be.

On one hand, they had just lost a squad of Death Knights on a fruitless attempt to break Rol’en’gorek’s defences despite the risk of loss being very real. On the other hand, they were using lesser Undead to investigate those same defences. It was more than a bit confusing, but Saraca supposed that he shouldn’t expect their opponent to think like any living race that he knew of.

Since they’re Undead from a Human-dominated region, can I use that as a thematic base to work off of?

He was already doing that, in part, working under the assumption that they were forming battle lines and using formations as Humans did. The thing was that, when the Undead went on the offensive, those formations dissolved and each Undead soldier operated independently as things devolved into a chaotic brawl.

Not that he was complaining. If anything, he was thankful that the Undead Commander hadn’t figured out how to use empowered formations and didn’t appear to be anywhere close.

“Blood Meat Hulk coming through,” Kasturi said.

A shadow in the undergrowth appeared several seconds later. The Blood Meat Hulk eventually struggled its way through the fields of Spike Growth. It left the brush and took one step before it disintegrated.

“Ouch,” Mitra said.

“What was that?” Rana Saj asked.

“It hit the Forbiddance field,” Karuvaki answered from behind them.

Several Wraiths hit the field, similarly disintegrating. It was joined by several Skeleton Warriors and some other assorted Undead.

“Will the Death Knights be destroyed the same way?”

“No,” Karuvaki said. “They can probably cross the field four or five times before being destroyed.”

“The question now is whether the enemy forces will be deterred by the effect,” Saraca said.

“The Undead, deterred?”

Saraca shifted slightly at Karuvaki’s tone.

“I know it’s a weird thing to consider, but it is what it is. An Undead Commander will have a Commander’s insights, though they admittedly might take advantage of them in a characteristically Undead way.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Girika said.

A high-pitched wail filled the air as dozens of Wraiths flew straight up the ravine. Many of the defenders stepped back at the unsettling scene, but most of the spectral Undead disintegrated the moment they hit the Forbiddance field. Saraca looked up at the few that had missed it by flying too high.

“Uh oh,” Mitra said.

『Air Elementals! Prepare to intercept!』

“「Summon Monster V」.”

The Druids and Sacred Claws in Saraca’s entourage summoned their Elementals just as an Undead Beast arced through the clear blue sky. It crashed to the ground a few dozen metres below the wall. More followed, and soon the sky was filled with cows, horses, sheep, goats, boars and other zombified animals. A few failed to make it over the defensive fields, but that number was getting lower as the seconds passed.

“We’re not stopping that with so few Elementals,” Karuvaki said.

“That’s not what they’re for,” Saraca replied. “Once they start consistently clearing the barrier, expect worse.”

Shouts rose along the walls. The Undead projectiles started coming apart in the air as Rol’en’gorek’s hunters intercepted them.

『Here they come…』

As expected, once whatever was launching the Undead over the defence fields figured out a safe height for the Undead to cross over, Death Knights started joining the rain of Undead Beasts. They were curled up on themselves as they ascended, looking like spiky black trebuchet rounds.

The first of the Death Knights stopped at the vertex of its parabolic flight and was sent back in the opposite direction. It crashed back into the brush at the bottom of the ravine.

『Don’t send them straight back down. We want them to take as much damage as possible.』

The next Death Knight was caught and tossed further into the air. Still, even more made it through. They landed below the walls on either side of the bridge, raising their tower shields over their heads as a storm of bullets flew in to assail them.

“This is too many for my people to fight at once,” Rana Saj said.

“They don’t have to defeat them,” Saraca said. “Delaying tactics are fine. We’ll make our way around cleaning these up.”

Rana Saj descended the tower, bellowing out orders. Saraca hopped down onto the wall, grabbing the Death Knight that had landed there by the vambrace and flinging it back down the ravine. It hit the slope halfway to the bottom and tumbled into the trees.

『Gladestalkers, stay on the wall and knock any Undead that landed on top of them back down. Mitra, go with the warriors and take half of the Druids and Sacred Claws. I’ll be up on the wall with the Gladestalkers.』

One of his guards jumped off of the wall with a roar, knocking down a Death Knight scaling the ravine. He picked it up and hurled it back through the defensive fields and into the brush. More guards streamed past him, half of them sending Death Knights to the bottom of the ravine while the other half worked on destroying their opponents.

Saraca observed the surroundings as more Death Knights landed on the slope.

There’s no end to this…

Or, more accurately, they had no time. While they were at the part of the front that was having the most trouble, the fighting only involved a third of the enemy’s forces. If they were tied up for too long, their front would be the only ones standing while the rest of Rol’en’gorek’s forces were crushed.

Two more Death Knights dropped onto the wall ahead of them. His entourage shifted forward to tie them up. Saraca narrowed his eyes, looking over his shoulder.

『We’re being drawn away from the bridge. Reduce the number of opponents and hold here.』

Several Undead went tumbling down the slope, but they were replaced by more. Saraca looked around, trying to figure out what the enemy Commander was trying to do. Getting knocked back down into the ravine through the field defences wasn’t something that the Undead could keep up with for long, so if it was a delaying tactic, it wasn’t a very effective one. If there was a trap being set, he couldn’t see it.

“Kasturi,” he said, “can you see what’s going on in the north?”

“It’s over the horizon,” the Gladestalker replied. “There isn’t a vantage around here high enough to let me see that far. The portions of the front that I can see are still holding.”

Zombies started to appear ahead of them as the Death Knights that they were ignoring turned on Rol’en’gorek’s defenders. Several attempts to hold its attention failed before someone strong enough appeared. The other warriors closed in to pick the Death Knight apart, but, then, droplets of hissing black bile rained over them. A Weep landed shortly after, adding to the cries of dismay as it slashed at everything it could reach.

『Take down that Weep! Keep an eye out for more.』

Everywhere warriors gathered to take on the Death Knights, a Weep landed. Saraca’s Gladestalkers worked on destroying any they could get a clean angle of attack on. More and more fell to repeat the same scene across the front, and Saraca furrowed his brow.

“Didn’t we focus on taking the Weeps down while they were on their way here?”

“We did,” Kasturi replied.

“Then why are there so many landing on us now?”

“They may be summons,” Karuvaki said. “The temporary sort. Summon Undead V should be able to produce them.”

“Even so,” Saraca said, “this is way too many.”

Another Weep landed, this time amidst Mitra’s group. They turned away from the Death Knight they were working on to destroy it.

『Is everyone alright down there?』

『We’re good. The other defenders probably aren’t, though.』

He was well aware of that, but they didn’t have the mana to cure thousands of warriors afflicted by the poisonous bile. If things continued as they were, Rol’en’gorek’s mystics would be completely out of mana if they tried to cure everyone. If they didn’t, their forces would slowly weaken and die from the poison. Not only was the use of Weeps a bid to disrupt the defenders, but they were also being used to nullify the Beastman forces’ mana advantage.

The Undead wouldn’t need any clever tactics to secure victory in that case. Once the defenders were out of mana, they wouldn’t be able to sustain much of anything and the Undead wouldn’t allow anyone the time they needed to rest. While it very much had the feel of a first battle between Rol’en’gorek’s combined forces and the Undead, it was in reality the only battle – one that would stretch on until the defenders were exhausted and collapsed.

“Report! Erm, you’re Saraca, right?”

“I am,” he glanced at the young Baagh runner.

“Rana Saj says that the Undead are moving to secure the bridge. Their numbers are too great to hold back.”

So, they were trying to position us away from their objective…

“Let Rana Saj know we’re on our way,” Saraca said.

『Throw those Undead into the ravine: we’re heading back to the bridge.』

His bodyguard complied, but the moment they moved toward the highway, two Death Knights came to taunt them. Saraca broke his subordinates out of the effect, but the Death Knights continued to hound their withdrawal. Past the Death Knights, the defenders sent worried looks toward him as they struggled against their own opponents. He wondered how many would survive, but if a decisive victory wasn’t achieved by the evening, none of them would.

By the time they reached the bridge, both sides were under Undead control. Clan Ki’ra had been pushed east past the tower. Several warbands alternated between engaging and avoiding their foes, using the combination of Entangle and Freedom that Saraca had mentioned.

『Prepare to form up! Gladestalkers can continue fighting from the wall. Take down those casters supporting from the rear.』

Saraca hopped down and kicked away one of the pesky Death Knights on his guards’ tails. He sent the other one tumbling at it, then turned to take advantage of the opening.

『Shyena-vyuha! Push the Undead back down the bridge!』

His entourage rapidly formed a battle line with six warriors on each wing. Mitra stood at the tip of the ‘beak’ of the hawk formation, while Saraca stood at the neck. The Druids and Sacred Claws formed the body. Within three seconds of Saraca issuing his orders, they charged and smashed into the flank of the Undead spearhead, closing the distance in a blink.

『Keep pushing! Burn in six!』

The violent impact compacted the Undead ranks. Karuvaki and the other casters raised their hands.

“「Maximise Magic – Flame Strike」!”

Six columns of divine fire fell from the heavens and washed over the Undead. Unlike the living, who would have surely flinched and scattered away, the Undead continued forward through the tremendous damage, focusing solely on their objective. This, however, worked to Saraca’s advantage.

『Again!』

“「Maximise Magic – Flame Strike」!”

Lack of fear and the capability to ignore staggering pain and crippling injuries were often touted as an advantage that the Undead had over the living. Here, however, it was being used to keep them in an ideal arrangement for area-of-effect spells.

The Death Knight in front of Mitra fell apart. For those that survived, arms and legs were still seared away and the resistance of the Undead ranks crumbled. Rana Saj’s forces joined the push across the bridge. When they crossed the threshold of the Forbiddance spell, a full third of the Undead disintegrated. After that, the surviving Undead put up resistance again, though it was because they were being slowed by the Stone Spikes – a higher-tier version of Spike Growth for stony terrain –and Entangle fields behind the Forbiddance spell.

『Dispel the Stone Spikes on the bridge. Don’t push them off, destroy every last one of them!』

Saraca’s attention went from the violence in front of him to the fields beyond. The Undead forces were reacting to the turnaround on the bridge by bringing in forces to cover the hole. Several squads of Undead came out of the river, as well as forces from all around as they reacted to the sudden development. His eyes narrowed as they moved toward a contingent of Death Knights that were still in the same position where he had seen them at the beginning of the advance.

Why are those still there…

His gaze went past the contingent, following the highway as it passed between the Rol’en’gorek and a small hill. His eyes stopped at the hill, which was topped by a single tree.

『Gladestalkers, come and join us.』

Kasturi and the others hopped down to join him. The defenders on the walls were still embroiled in their battle with the Death Knights, but no more could be seen being lobbed through the sky. To either side, the Undead were still rushing to form up with the ones stationed on the highway.

“Rana Saj!” Saraca called out to the Baagh Lord as he checked over his warriors.

“What is it?” Rana Saj came jogging up to him.

“We’re going on the offensive.”

“On the offensive where?”

Saraca made an inconspicuous gesture with his head.

“See that hill over there?” He said, “The Undead are positioned to protect it.”

“Are you saying that the enemy Commander is using it as a vantage?”

“It’s an opportunity that we can’t give up,” Saraca said. “Gather your clan. We may be able to put a stop to the Undead in one decisive move.”

Rana Saj called for his forces, but Saraca only waited for as long as it took his entourage to refresh their enchantments. They had to move before the Undead finished reconsolidating their lines. As the hill slowly came closer, he turned to Kasturi.

“Kasturi,” Saraca said. “That hill over there: what do you see?”

The Gladestalker shaded her eyes with a paw.

“One female Human child sitting at a small wooden table…that’s not weird at all.”

“The Undead of Katze are Human-themed,” Saraca said. “A real Human certainly wouldn’t be calmly sitting behind the Undead lines. Rana Saj: we’re going to punch through that escort and overwhelm her position.”

“Do you think it will be a difficult fight?”

“It might be. Or she could try and run away before we get there. Between all of us, however, we should come out on top.”

The Undead escort had bulked up somewhat by the time they came within five hundred metres. Saraca called for a tighter formation.

“My forces will create the opening you need to get through,” he told Rana Saj. “After we break through, spread out to cover the hill just in case she tries to run away. Once we get close, we’ll have our hunters run ahead and begin harassing the target. If she’s a Necromancer of some sort, they may destroy her outright.”

“I hope this works out,” Rana Saj said. “I don’t think our forces could survive to nightfall otherwise.”

Their pace increased as contact with the Undead escort grew imminent. A wall of black tower shields faced them, but it wouldn’t help in any way.

『Scatter them!』

“「Turn Undead」!”

The members of the Undead escort fled in every direction. Between Karuvaki and the other Sacred Claws, it was an inevitable outcome. The only exceptions were the three Death Knights that turned to dust on the spot. Clan Ki’ra flowed around and past the broken position.

“This is it!” Saraca shouted, “Go!”

Even as he urged Rana Saj and his Clan forward, a sense of foreboding swept over him. Then, a solitary figure fell out of the sky to land on the highway in front of them. Her voice resounded in the air with crystal clarity.

“Stand your ground!”

As one, the Undead stopped. They immediately turned around and converged on Saraca and his allies.

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