Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 5

9th Day, Upper Wind Month, 1 CE, 1900 Hours

Olga’s hacking filled the air as a thick cloud of dust blew over them. Raul’s coughing joined hers shortly after.

“The books never said anything about this,” he croaked.

She wiped away her tears and blew her runny nose. When it came to moving armies around, the books talked about roads, terrain, logistics and other things. They never talked about giant clouds of dust, the sun beating down on their heads or her sore butt.

The Death Cavalier leading her mount – well, its mount – looked over its shoulder.

“Are you alright?” It asked.

“I’m fine,” she answered. “But it’d be nice if it rained a bit.”

“That, um...I didn’t mean to ask you to change the weather. I was just thinking it’d be nice.”

It was evening by the time their march from the Draconic Kingdom’s capital brought them to the coast. Even with the regular Zombies using the river current to help them get along faster, they were still pretty slow. The Zombies were now in the process of leaving the river to encircle the encirclement of the southern part of Seagate. In doing so, they kicked up great clouds of dust as they crossed the road to get to their places.

“Why don’t these Beastmen notice all the dust?” Olga murmured.

“Look behind us,” Raul said.

Olga twisted in her seat, looking back towards the east. Beyond the horizon was the capital of the Draconic Kingdom. Above it and drifting on the wind were the dust clouds that were probably created by the huge Beastman army that had been there before.

“They think these clouds are those clouds?”

“Maybe,” Raul replied. “We’re pretty far away from Seagate and this cloud of dust is only from the road, so maybe it’s hard for them to tell the difference. Lady Zahradnik said something about the Beastmen being single-minded and easy to distract, too.”

“Are the cat Beastmen in Warden’s Vale like that?”

“How would I know? I’ve only seen them like…once.”

When it came to war, Lady Zahradnik was super tricky. They had marched on the road with the Death-series Squads and their Squire Zombies throughout the sunny day and their enemies didn’t even notice the Undead coming straight at them. Rather than enemies, it was more like everyone was her victim. They were Humans pouncing on predators who were too busy pouncing on Humans to notice.

Olga looked up at the azure sky, releasing a wistful sigh. The Baroness was amazing. She wanted to join the Royal Army and become a great Commander just like her.

“So slow,” Raul grumbled. “One Death Knight is enough to wipe them all out, right? Why don’t we just go in and smash them?”

The Death Knights nearby turned their gaze at the officer apprentice, their crimson eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“Because if we just ‘go in and smash them’,” Olga told him, “they’ll go all over the place! Then we’ll spend forever chasing them around and they’ll be eating people everywhere.”

If it was a small village, they could probably do as Raul said. There were enough Death Knights to encircle something like that without leaving spaces in their area taunt coverage. A big town like Seagate, however, was way too big. They needed to create a net just in case Beastmen tried to escape.

Her stomach growled. It was around dinner time and she hadn’t had any snacks like they usually did during league battles. She rummaged around in her bag, pulling out some of the jerky that her parents had packed for her. They were shocked when Lady Zahradnik appeared at their house and even more shocked when she told them that they were going to war in some far-off place.

Olga tore a chunk out of her strip of jerky, sucking the flavour out of it as she scanned their surroundings.

The Draconic Kingdom was flat: even flatter than the land that they had lived in before fleeing to E-Rantel. With the sun setting and the land cooling down, the wind blew over them from the inland sea or giant lake or whatever it was. On their way to Seagate, they passed through many villages emptied of both people, their livestock and their stuff by marauding Beastmen. The buildings of those villages used the same wattle-and-daub construction as most of Re-Estize, so it was as if their own villages from before had been stripped bare by Demihuman raids.

“Do you think it’ll be like this everywhere?” Olga looked up the dusty road with a frown.

“Maybe,” Raul replied. “That’s why we gotta go fast, yeah? If we go around the entire country at Zombie speed, lots of people will be eaten.”

“I’m sure Lady Zahradnik has a plan for that,” Olga said. “She said she just needs to see enough of what they do.”

They knew the major objectives, but the specifics of everything were still vague. Things only became solid once they were almost ready to happen. It wasn’t like the books where it was all in the past and the Sages could write down exactly what was going on.

Sunlight was replaced by moonlight as the evening fell into a cloudless night. Olga shivered despite wearing a brooch with Endure Elements. The fields of grass were just tall enough to hide someone and she kept imagining a Beastman’s eyes staring at her from somewhere nearby.

A ghostly figure appeared after the last of the twilight faded away.

“We’re clear to begin,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Death Cavaliers: get to your assigned positions beyond the encirclement. If any Beastmen break through, don’t hesitate to run them down. Infantry squads spread out and advance. Let’s tighten the noose.”

The Undead dispersed to carry out her orders. Saiko looked up from its clipboard after penning something out.

“Did the Beastman forces leave any sentries?”

“They did,” Lady Zahradnik nodded, “but they weren’t much stronger than the average Beastman we’ve encountered so far. The Shadow Demons had no problems locating and eliminating them. Nothing reacted to the attacks and I didn’t notice anything on my follow-up sweep, so if there are any exceptionally strong Beastmen here, they don’t want to be seen. We’ll find out soon enough – excellent stealth won’t keep a Zombie from tripping over them.”

“Then the Shadow Demons have moved onto the second phase of the attack?”

“Yes.”

Phase two of their attack involved eliminating any mystics discovered in the Beastman camps. This was important because they couldn’t afford Message spells or flying summons and familiars giving away what was going on. The Death-series servitors were powerful, but the Draconic Kingdom was huge. Their forces weren’t large enough to just fill the entire countryside in Undead.

Harsh barking echoed into the night as they drew closer.

『That’s our cue. Push in with Squire Zombies.』

A dark wave separated from the Zombie lines, sweeping over the fields. The barking from the Beastman camp increased in intensity, tinged in a tone that Olga figured was panic. By the time Lady Zahradnik’s field headquarters arrived at the camp, all was silent again. Hundreds of new Zombies had joined their army’s ranks. About five hundred metres away, she could see the lights of torches going back and forth on Seagate’s walls.

“Saiko, did your Wraiths note any changes across the river when we attacked?”

“Their activity indicates that they have been alerted to the noise. As Darkvision range is limited, it is doubtful that they saw what was going on.”

“What type of Beastmen are they?”

“The same Dog-type. I believe they refer to themselves as ‘Kao’?”

『Let’s move our forces across the river. Split them into two parts: infantry squads one and two will cross the river and emerge five kilometres east of their encirclement. The other infantry squads will go around off the shore and emerge five kilometres west of them. Shadow Demons, remove any sentries on the outside perimeter as our encirclement forms. Sergeants Message me if any unexpected contact is made while we prepare.』

The Undead started moving. Lady Zahradnik gestured to one of the infantry sergeants.

“Send twenty Kao Zombies directly across the river to attack their camp as quickly as possible. Stagger waves of between five and ten strong every five to ten minutes.”

“It will be done, my lady,” the Elder Lich saluted and left to carry out its orders.

“Might I know the reason for this, my lady?” Saiko asked.

“They’re alert to our disturbance here. We’re providing a form to their fears. If they’re just weak Zombies, they should relax after being attacked. The waves will serve to distract them while also dissuading them from using the river to escape when the real attack comes. Hmm…take your Wraiths and sweep our side of the river: something like that might have happened here too.”

Lady Zahradnik left to inspect the destroyed Beastman camps, leaving them to watch the Undead soldiers search the remains of the dwellings and makeshift facilities nearby. She returned about half an hour later, reaching into the pouch at her waist to retrieve a scroll with a red wax seal.

“Time to speak to the town here,” she said. “Olga and Raul: come with me. Saiko, stay and take these two Death Cavaliers. Keep sifting through the camps for anything useful. Documents, letters and maps, especially.”

A Death Cavalier came around to help Olga dismount from its tall…horse? It was an Undead horse, at least. She and Raul joined Lady Zahradnik and they walked down the road towards the town.

“That was over so fast,” Raul said. “We spent more time moving around than fighting.”

“It’s usually how it goes,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “Moving around takes time. If you are leading living forces, they have to rest. Supply trains have to be managed, considerations have to be made for the weather and, even if you can make it somewhere quickly, sometimes you just have to wait. The living can only fight for as long as they have stamina. Any real battles between armies that last hours don’t actually have people fighting nonstop for hours. There are pauses in battle and ranks take turns fighting.”

“But our soldiers are Undead.”

“They are, which allows us to ‘cheat’ in all sorts of ways. Just like how tireless soldiers that cannot be shaken as the living can provide a substantial advantage in battles, the Undead provide an even greater advantage in terms of upkeep and logistics, which makes up the vast majority of warfare.”

Before they started learning how to be Commanders, stories of exciting battles and powerful champions were all they knew when it came to war. When they started studying in the winter and participating in league battles, they saw a lot of what those stories didn’t talk about at all. Being a Commander went from something big and glamorous to real work. For some reason, Olga’s parents were adamantly against it up until she started talking about that stuff.

They stopped on the road about two hundred fifty metres from Seagate’s walls.

“Wait here for a moment,” Lady Zahradnik told them. “They may not react favourably to our appearance.”

“But we’re not Beastmen, my lady,” Olga said.

“People often only see what they want to see,” Lady Zahradnik said. “And frightened people can imagine rocks and bushes to be savage beasts and hungry monsters.”

Lady Zahradnik went a few dozen steps further before stopping. Not five seconds later, a bunch of arrows bounced off of the packed dirt road halfway from the wall, clattering to the ground.

“They’re as bad as Skeleton Archers,” Raul said.

“Hsst!” Olga scowled.

Baroness Zahradnik frowned at the spent arrows, then looked at the flag fluttering over her head. She reached into a pouch, pulled out a magical light and held it up below the flag. Olga deactivated her Darkvision item and peered at the flag. Even in the bright moonlight, it was probably hard to see from that far away.

“So they attack before they know who they’re attacking,” Olga grumbled. “How do they not kill their friends all the time?”

“Maybe they don’t not kill their friends all the time?” Raul offered, “It’s like Lady Zahradnik said, right? People see what they want to see. We’re probably all Beastmen until they decide we’re not.”

How did people wage war like that? Even Darkvision had limited range, so everyone would have the same problems. Maybe that’s why big battles happened during the day and stopped in the evening.

Lady Zahradnik went forward again. No more arrows came. She gestured for Olga and Raul to follow her. The magic light went to Raul, who held it high overhead.

A long row of heads in caps and helmets poked up from the wall, warily watching them as they approached. At about fifty metres from the gate, one of the heads atop the gatehouse shouted down at them.

“S-Stop right there!” A man’s voice echoed over the field. “Who are you?!”

“We’ve come from the capital,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “Their siege has been broken and so has yours. I am Baroness Ludmila Zahradnik, Commander of the forces removing the Beastmen in the area. To whom am I speaking?”

The heads on the wall turned to one another. Rather than looking happy that they weren’t under siege anymore, they looked confused. Murmurs drifted on the wind, but Olga couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“How do we know what you’re saying is true?” The man called out again, “Maybe you’re working with the Beastmen!”

Why would a Human work with people that ate Humans? That didn’t make sense.

“I have a writ from Queen Oriculus,” Lady Zahradnik said. “It’s probably a bit difficult to make out from here…”

The heads over the gate stopped to talk to each other again. After several minutes of unintelligible discussion and various gestures, the man spoke.

“Come up here alone! If those other two try any funny stuff, we’ll fill you all full of arrows!”

Just in case, Olga looked over herself. She wore a forest green mantle – which she liked very much because it looked like Lady Zahradnik’s mantle – over her whole body. There were no weapons in her hands or sticking out anywhere. She didn’t think her face looked very scary. Olga looked over at Raul.

“What?” Raul frowned.

“Nothing.”

Olga looked away. He was in a mantle too, and he had no visible weapons. Grown men could look scary but boys around her age weren’t very impressive.

The Baroness slowly walked up to the gate. A brief exchange ensued, which seemed to get nowhere since they wouldn’t let her in. Olga goggled as Lady Zahradnik jumped up onto the four-metre-tall gatehouse. The heads along the wall scattered.

“Do…do you think we’ll be able to jump that high one day?” Raul asked.

Olga shook her head. Her parents couldn’t jump anywhere near that high so she probably wouldn’t be able to either.

The gate finally opened five minutes later. Lady Zahradnik came out to get them. Raul frowned at the people on the wall as they walked towards the town.

“Why did they take so long?”

“They were probably being cautious,” the Baroness replied. “One bad misstep can cost everything. Assuming that the people inside are about the same as the city, the town mostly relies on the wall for defensive advantage. Losing it would mean the end for all of them.”

“You could’ve just jumped up there to begin with, my lady,” Olga said. "Once you get close, they’d be able to see the Royal writ.”

“That’s true,” Lady Zahradnik nodded, “but I also wanted to see how they would behave in these circumstances.”

“Why?”

“It’s as I said earlier: people often only see what they want to see. That applies to us as well. Just because the Draconic Kingdom is populated by Humans doesn’t mean that they behave identically to Humans elsewhere. We know very little about their culture, thinking and non-instinctive behaviour. Even when it comes to allies, this sort of ignorance can cost one more than they know.”

“Does that even matter?” Raul asked, “Shouldn’t they be thankful that we helped them? They were all getting eaten and stuff.”

Baroness Zahradnik smiled slightly at Raul’s words, scanning the people looking down at them from Seagate’s wall.

“I’m sure most will be as grateful as they believe they should be,” Lady Zahradnik answered. “But being grateful can mean many different things, leading to actions and results that may not line up with one’s expectations. War is a rare opportunity to see facets of people that they would never expose in a normal situation. In the face of mortal peril, motivations and emotions are laid bare; pretence and posturing are stripped away.

“We need to understand these things and understand how to use them to our advantage. It also provides valuable insight into the character of a nation and its people for our strategic and diplomatic efforts. Those who see what goes on out here – Captains and field Commanders, in our case – have a duty to collect this sort of knowledge so that those not present can benefit from it. While the Sorcerous Kingdom can brute-force its way through much, effectively using all of the tools we have will more easily lead to the results that His Majesty desires. We aren’t mercenaries that seek only rewards and renown: we are instruments of national policy.”

They reached the gate, which was wide enough to allow a single wagon to pass through and maybe a half metre higher than the top of Lady Zahradnik’s head. A man in wrinkled formalwear stepped out from the line of men standing just inside. He wrung his hands and bobbed his head while offering his greeting.

“Baroness Zahradnik,” the man’s voice gave Olga an oily feeling. “I am Rolero Rorosero, master of the Seagate Merchant Guild. On behalf of Seagate and its citizens, I offer our most heartfelt thanks for the rescue of our dear town. We hope you understand that, given our circumstances, resources are scarce, but you and your men shall be offered what hospitality we can afford.”

“Our forces have already moved on, Guildmaster Rorosero,” Lady Zahradnik said. “We simply came by to remove the invaders and deliver instructions.”

The guildmaster looked up at her reply, confusion painted plainly on his face. Behind him, the men wore blank – or perhaps clueless – expressions.

“I-instructions, my lady?”

“That’s right. Before I issue them, why are the local administrators not present?”

“If you mean the Nobles, they have all perished. The ones who made it into the town either died overseeing the defence of the walls or were taken by raids over the past half year.”

“I see…what about the Temples?”

“Anyone that could be considered senior temple staff here have perished for the same reasons.”

“What about officers of the town’s militia?”

“The same, my lady. I am effectively the highest-ranking citizen of Seagate that still draws breath.”

Did the Beastmen target important individuals first? That’s what Olga would do, at least. Without leaders and strong combatants, the town’s defences would have a fraction of their effectiveness.

“In that case,” Lady Zahradnik asked, “who has been coordinating the operations of the town and its defences? All responsible persons should be present for these instructions so that everyone knows what is going on.”

Guildmaster Rorosero stared at the Baroness for a good while before turning and looking to the men behind him.

“You heard the Baroness,” he said. “Go and get them.”

The men scattered into the streets. Guildmaster Rorosero turned back to the Baroness with an ingratiating smile.

“Come, my lady, let us speak in the square – I’ve grown to dislike being close to the walls with all that’s happened.”

They followed the man deeper into the town. The gate boomed shut behind them. Men and women lined the street, watching them curiously from the fronts of their shophouses or out of the alleys.

“Is there anything we can get you, my lady? Refreshments or entertainment, perhaps?”

“What I would like is information,” Baroness Zahradnik replied. “As the master of the local Merchant Guild, you should have a broad idea of Seagate’s supply situation and the condition of its population and industries.”

Olga furrowed her brow as the man’s oily feeling receded and his expression turned serious.

“Not good, my lady,” his voice was grave. “The harvest was limited last autumn due to the marauding Beastmen. They also targeted our ships with their raids. We cannibalised some to repair others so we could fish for food, but the persistent raids meant that they didn’t stay seaworthy for long. The need for fuel this winter compounded the issue, as we had to salvage the ships for firewood. The most we can do these days is fish off of the piers.”

“How much longer can you last?”

“It depends on the daily catch, which is dwindling no matter how much chum we add to the water. The fishermen worry that the local aquatic Demihumans will begin to retaliate for our overfishing. As things are, I’d say we have three weeks. We weren’t able to sow this winter with so many hungry Beastmen out there. Well, never mind sowing crops, we won’t last until the summer harvest.”

“Trade will begin to flow before that,” Lady Zahradnik told him. “Make sure the people know so unrest over shortages doesn’t make your situation worse in the meantime.”

The man breathed a sigh of relief.

“What about your industries?” The Baroness asked.

“We lost about a third of the town’s citizens – we’re down to about eighteen hundred now,” the guildmaster replied. “Aside from what’s going on with our agriculture and fishing, our smithies were repeatedly damaged with every raid. They don’t like us making weapons, but that also means we can’t replace tools. We’re down to less than the basics here, I’m afraid.”

“It sounds like everything they’ve done aims to keep the town easy to suppress and raid. The town should be able to return to a semblance of normal operations soon, however.”

Guildmaster Rorosero led them to a platform by an empty billboard on one side of the town square. Men and women trickled in from the streets. When the people Baroness Zahradnik requested had lined up before them, she held up her royal writ for all to see.

“Your town is safe from the Beastman invaders for the time being,” she said in a clear voice that echoed off of the buildings. “But the invasion is not over yet. By order of Queen Oriculus, the following procedures are to be observed. First, no one is to leave the town until they are otherwise permitted to by officials from the capital.”

“B-but why?” Someone asked, “Didn’t you say it was safe?”

“The lands are safe from further incursions because there is no food in the vicinity of Seagate. If you leave in a desire to resume your seasonal activities, you will restock the land with food for the Beastmen and they will come. You will have a new siege shortly after that.”

Worried murmurs issued from the crowd. A woman’s voice sounded over them.

“We can’t survive another siege, but we barely have any supplies left!”

“This edict will only last as long as it is required to establish a secure perimeter,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Expect no more than a week before goods begin arriving in your town. Her Majesty’s government will brief you on further developments and deliver new instructions as time goes on. Also, please minimise the amount of fishing being done to sustain yourselves. We’ve relieved you of one Demihuman problem and you don’t want another.”

Lady Zahradnik continued issuing instructions, mostly concerning the maintenance of public order and calling for patience as control was restored over the surrounding territories.

“Before I leave,” she said, “I would speak to the representatives from the Temples and Pharmacist Guild.”

Despite her saying so, all of the townsfolk lingered. Several men and women came forward, looking up at the platform. Two of them were garbed in familiar priestly vestments and two were adorned as Alchemists, but the other three were wearing outfits that Olga hadn’t seen before.

“Which faiths do you represent?” Lady Zahradnik asked.

“The Faith of the Four.”

“The Path of Enlightenment.”

“The Temple of the Seas.”

“The Mistress of Bounty.”

“The Faith of the Six.”

The last person to speak visibly cringed under a barrage of resentful looks from the crowd.

“I’d like an overview of your public health situation,” Lady Zahradnik said. “Are there any problems with injuries, disease, sanitation or the general well-being of the people?”

“Raids don’t usually leave many injuries,” the Priest of the Four said. “People might get cuts and bruises here and there, but the Beastmen mostly come in and grab people or throw them off the wall before jumping back down and leaving. We’ve lost any capability to magically cure diseases.”

“What about the Alchemists?”

“Our Master Alchemists were picked off,” a woman in a tan leather apron said. “Just like the senior Priests. They went pretty early. Not that we could’ve made anything: our stockpiles of reagents were never very large.”

“Is anything getting out of hand?” The Baroness asked.

“No my lady, we…anyone that got really sick, we sent to the wall to fight the Beastmen. Hopefully, they got sick too.”

Many faces in the crowd turned down with guilty looks. Others wore defiant expressions. Lady Zahradnik showed no reaction to the woman’s words.

“How are the people faring overall?”

“If everything comes to pass as you’ve said, my lady, we should all be able to continue with our lives. The Temples will have work dealing with everything that comes after, but it’s better than watching people get dragged off to be eaten every day.”

“I see. In that case, please wait for word from the capital. Thank you for your hard work.”

The row of men and women nodded silently. Lady Zahradnik turned and led Olga and Raul back outside. It was about two hours after nightfall and the clear skies continued, allowing moonlight to flood the fallow fields. They reached the line of Beastmen encampments where Saiko and the two Death Cavaliers awaited them.

“The town has its instructions,” the Baroness said. “Find anything useful?”

“Some materials in the larger dwellings,” the Elder Lich replied. “They are written in an unknown language.”

“Let’s take a look.”

Saiko reached into a hole in the air and retrieved a piece of crude vellum. It was closer to a large hide. Of what, Olga didn’t want to know. Lady Zahradnik held it out in front of her and Olga leaned over to see what was on it.

“These don’t even look like letters,” Raul furrowed his brow on the other side of the Baroness. “More like scratches.”

“It’s not the language of the Draconic Kingdom,” Lady Zahradnik said. “I suppose it’s whatever these Beastmen use. Continue to collect these and we’ll leave them for our specialists to analyse. Maybe someone in the capital is familiar with it. Did you find anything resembling a map?”

“Several,” Saiko replied. “They are crude compared to our own, but they do roughly match. All of the maps mark the same area around this town and to the south of it – roughly the size of a Human county.”

“How many Beastmen were present here?”

“Fourteen hundred ninety-three by our combined kill count.”

Baroness Zahradnik handed the document back to the Elder Lich, turning to look at the surroundings.

“That explains why the entire area is depopulated. The people remaining in the town couldn’t have lasted the Beastmen much more than another two weeks.”

“How do you know that, my lady?” Olga asked.

“The timeline of reports provided by Queen Oriculus is rough,” Lady Zahradnik answered, “but this area was occupied roughly a half-year ago. According to the Draconic Kingdom’s census data, around twenty thousand people were living in the lands here. Assuming that they are adhering to the territory marked by the map, the average Kao Beastman goes through an average Human’s worth of meat every two weeks. The Guildmaster said that there were eighteen hundred citizens left and there were fifteen hundred Beastmen in this camp.”

“I-isn’t that bad?” Raul said, “What if the rest of the country’s like this?!”

“I suspect that this belt of territory at the border of the ‘settled’ Beastman territories saw the worst of it. It would take them additional time to migrate northwest and I at least assume that the Draconic Kingdom was resisting the entire way. Even if the average Beastman overpowers the average Human, the difference isn’t so huge that it wouldn’t take months for disorganised tribes to reach the Deadmarch.”

They rode towards the nearby river estuary, which spanned three kilometres on the maps. Olga thought she could see the ‘other’ Seagate on the northern side. Lady Zahradnik flew Olga across the water on her back while Saiko brought Raul. The two Death Cavaliers simply rode underwater.

“What’s our progress with the northern town?” The Baroness asked.

“Our forces are still en route,” Saiko answered. “The diversionary forces should be arriving shortly.”

“Any changes to their disposition?”

“None,” Saiko replied. “They are still watching the river.”

Reports from the Zombie diversion started to arrive as they approached the opposite shore. The Beastmen shifted more of their attention to the river as Lady Zahradik’s army landed further inland.

“Lady Zahradnik,” Olga asked, “Why are they moving like that?”

“Moving like what?”

“It’s like they’re doing whatever you want them to,” Olga explained. “When we have our league matches, we never do what the other team wants us to. Not if we can help it.”

“I’m glad to know you’ve learned that much,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “But these Beastmen don’t even realise that something is fighting them. All they know is what they know and what they know is what we let them know. One can only act on the information one has, which includes the big picture that they can construct from it.”

The ‘big picture’ that Baroness Zahradnik and her general staff were painting for the Beastmen was that of a great big Undead attack. It was a great big Undead attack, but that wasn’t quite right.

People had expectations of the Undead, so they were playing to those expectations. To nearly everyone, the Undead were enemies that needed to be destroyed, plus most of the Undead were pretty dumb and predictable. They had an army that looked like what one would think an Undead army would look like coming in through the Deadmarch from the Katze Plains. This army slowly shuffled along, attracting attention and letting the Beastmen make up their minds about what was going on.

There were too many Undead for single tribes to deal with, so the Beastman tribes would team up with other tribes to protect their feeding grounds. This would collect the Beastmen for a series of decisive battles where they could be contained and eliminated.

Some Beastmen would likely escape, but they wanted them to spread the word of the coming invasion anyway. Their hope was that they could create a chain of decisive battles as they swept down from the northwest and pushed the Beastmen all the way back out of the Oriculon Reach.

Two hours later, they finished their encirclement and closed on the Kao Beastman tribes surrounding northern Seagate, using the same, methodical tactics as before. Unsurprisingly, the invaders were overrun and zombified. As they stopped at the broken camps of the besiegers, Lady Zahradnik looked over at the wall filled with fearful defenders and released a quiet sigh.

“Let’s get this over with,” she said. “We have a kingdom to reclaim.”

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