Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 18

Floating high in the night sky above the first encampment in their path, Ludmila went over her attack plan with the four Elder Lich commanders. They were entirely silent during the entire meeting, leaving her wondering whether they were actually heeding her instructions or not. Based on her experience with the Elder Liches assigned to administer Warden’s Vale, they would efficiently carry out her directives and policies, but the vague sense that they looked down on the regular subjects of the Sorcerous Kingdom didn’t lend to that idea.

The plan was straightforward, consisting of procedures meant to be repeated throughout the night as the Elder Liches directed their respective attacks. The commanders would work in pairs, taking turns to attack each enemy position with their forces. Unlike the previous night, she would leave the clearing of each camp’s picket to the Shadow Demons – they were much faster at it, anyways – while she observed things from overhead. The rest was similar to the previous night’s actions: one Elder Lich would oversee the encirclement of the target encampment, while the other would direct half of its Death Knights to clear the interior.

Since there were only four commanders, each would be able to accrue substantial experience from all of the positions they would be clearing. The first three encampments, which stretched out from the northern branch of the Goblin army, were awkwardly placed due to the extremely rugged terrain, so they would be taken out one at a time. Ludmila would lead the first attack to provide an example for the Elder Liches to study, then each pair of commanders would make their own attacks on the other two. If all went well, they would move down into the valley where the rest of the night’s targets awaited them.

A Shadow Demon flew up before her, yellow light leering from its eyes and mouth as it reported in.

“Preparations are complete,” its voice was a whisper. “The sleeping lie slain.”

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary down there?” Ludmila asked.

The Shadow Demon tilted its head, falling silent for several moments before answering.

“There are more Demihumans than the camp we attacked yesterday. They do not appear to be aware of our actions.”

“Good work,” Ludmila decided that it meant nothing was amiss. “Head down and get in position for the main assault.”

It descended again, and Ludmila twisted around to look down at the west bank of the gorge below the encampment, where their ground forces awaited. She ordered them across the bare trickle of a creek at the bottom, directing them to encircle the encampment before closing in. As they did so, she directed Nonna and the other Elder Liches down to a position directly over the camp.

After some thought about how flying casters could be best positioned to support forces on the ground, she had decided to test a more open approach. Since the range of a Demihuman’s natural Darkvision was limited, they might not even need the cover of trees or other obstacles to hamper retaliation against attacks at night. All they needed to do was figure out the range of the enemy’s Darkvision, then stay above their ability to clearly see them at night. An Elder Lich flying high above in black robes with the night as a backdrop would be extremely difficult to detect without the senses of an advanced scout.

As the ring of Undead closed in, several Goblins below raised their heads to sniff at the wind.

『Looks like they’re starting to notice that something is wrong. Once the Death Knights enter the camp, cast Darkness on their central bonfires.』

Ludmila ordered the Death Knights waiting to the west to begin their assault, and they crashed through the brush between the trees. Several Hobgoblins at a campfire near the perimeter rose to their feet in alarm at the noise and were subsequently cut down by an explosion of splinters as the Death Knights smashed through the barricade.

『Bring in the encirclement – do not try to cross the perimeter.』

She looked down in satisfaction as she repeated her orders to each quarter of the encirclement, and the ring of Zombies moved forward in unison. The orders were issued to the Squire Zombies, who in turn could manage the Zombies near to them. Once they had completed their task, Ludmila ordered the Squire Zombies to enter the encirclement and begin clearing away the Demihumans milling about in confusion around the edges of the camp. She had more than enough regular Zombies now to provide a barrier against panicking individuals, but they needed a second group to work with the other team that would eventually split off and work their own route.

The large, central bonfire was blotted out by Nonna’s Darkness spell, and Ludmila looked down. She felt that they were fairly low over the ground, but it appeared that no one had noticed them yet. It probably helped that the Undead forces were wreaking havoc all over the place.

Over the next few minutes, the number of Demihumans in the camp diminished rapidly. Only the core force of Hobgoblins remained in the end. Instead of surrounding them this time, she had the Death Knights array themselves across the centre of the camp from the Demihuman formation.

“How did we do for Squire Zombies?” She asked Nonna.

“The participants have achieved their quotas,” the Elder Lich replied.

“In that case, drop down over there,” she indicated a place to the side of the formation. “I’m going over to speak to them.”

“This hardly seems necessary,” Nonna said as they drifted towards the ground. “We should trample them and move on.”

“Even if they are Demihumans,” Ludmila said, “it does not mean that we must stoop to their level. Besides, fear and respect are not mutually exclusive. The Sorcerous Kingdom is to become a bastion of civilization, so basic etiquette should at least be extended. I will offer them a single chance to surrender, like the other camp. Who knows; they might capitulate and provide us with some useful information.”

She got off of Nonna’s shoulders and made her way around to the line of Death Knights. En route, she called her new glaive into her hand, activating its enchantments. Dark energy pulsed over the blade, and Ludmila nodded. It was quite impressive looking – perhaps impressive enough to lend some weight to her words.

Coming to a stop in front of the four Death Knights, she ordered them to stop using their Skill.

“I would speak to your commander,” she called out to them.

“Hiiieee!”

“Hiiieee?”

The sound was very nearly a squeal, and whimpers rose from the ranks of Hobgoblins. What sort of commander acted so shamefully in front of their soldiers? She eyed the group before her – maybe they weren’t as disciplined as the previous ones? She couldn’t sense any that were as strong as those in the pass, reinforcing the notion that the first battle had been one with elites.

“…you do have a commander, yes?” She prompted.

“I-I’m the commander,” one of the taller Hobgoblins spoke. “What do you want, Undead?!”

Ludmila sighed. This again. Next, they would be insulting Surshana.

“I am not…” she scowled, “you know what, forget it – what you think I am does not change what I have to say. I am formally demanding your surrender.”

“Surrender?” The Hobgoblin commander laughed, “Thanks, but no thanks, Miss Undead. We’d rather our deaths be quick.”

“Death comes for everyone,” Ludmila said, “but why do you believe that a quick death is preferable to surrender in this case?”

The commander gave her an incredulous look, eyeing the various Undead standing around the camp.

“That should be pretty self-explanatory, don’t you think?” He said, “Those brutes of yours were just playing around with my troops, then…well, maybe you’ll get most of us, but some of us will still be able to die proper.”

“And if I said that you would simply be taken prisoner?” Ludmila asked.

“Then I would say that you’re a liar,” the commander answered.

“I see,” Ludmila said. “Is that your final decision?”

The commander swallowed and nodded. His trembling soldiers raised their shields, tightening their ranks.

“Your misguided resolve for a quick death is regrettable,” she told the Hobgoblin commander, “but I will respect it nonetheless.”

『Nonna.』

“「Twin Maximize Magic – Lightning」.”

Nonna’s spell tore into the side of the Hobgoblin formation. Crackling blue arcs of electricity danced their way across the entire line, jolting the Hobgoblins briefly before they fell to the ground in unison. An eerie silence filled the night air as an acrid stench rose from the two hundred Demihuman corpses. Ludmila looked up at the Elder Liches observing from above.

“Whose Death Knights were these?” She asked.

One of the Elder Liches raised a hand, and Ludmila gestured to it and one other.

“You and you,” she said. “The next camp is yours. Clear the pickets, kill off the resting Demihumans and approach with your forces from the west. I will catch up with you before you start the main assault.”

The Elder Liches lowered their heads in her direction before flying off to the southwest with their troops. Ludmila ordered the remaining Squire Zombies to begin delivering the corpses left over from her attack to the first camp. Over at the formation of fallen Hobgoblins, Nonna was slowly making her way from one end to the other with clipboard in hand.

“Investigating your theory?” Ludmila asked as she walked up to join the Elder Lich.

“Indeed,” Nonna answered. “By your estimation, what level were these Hobgoblins?”

“The commander was somewhere around Gold,” Ludmila said. “The rest of these Hobgoblins were Silver at most – some even lower…they probably ranged between Level 5 and 10, with the commander between Level 12 to 14.”

Nonna walked over to the corpse of the Hobgoblin commander and extended a hand.

“「All Appraisal Magic Item」.”

Ludmila waited for the Elder Lich’s assessment. Nonna looked up and shook her head.

“I believe the theory stands,” Nonna told her, “the equipment of this formation also appears to reflect your assessment.”

She looked down at the row of corpses. While some sported the finely-crafted plate mail armour, most of the others wore far cruder equipment – consisting of what one might expect out of primitive tribal Demihumans.

“I believe we will find that lower level Demihumans will come with lower quality equipment,” Nonna said.

“Rather than them ‘coming with lower quality equipment’,” Ludmila replied, “they’re sensibly allocating the best equipment to their strongest soldiers. I have the feeling that your theory is correct, but we will know for sure by the end of tonight – unless different parts of this army use different equipment schemes.”

Ludmila took one last look around the camp before getting back onto Nonna’s shoulders. As they rose into the air and headed off to catch up with the other Elder Liches, she mulled over what their findings so far might mean.

The first, most obvious, implication was that the Shadow Demons performing reconnaissance and supply disruption would be able to make an account of each camp’s equipment, which would in turn effectively let them know how strong and important the occupants were. They would know where the most vulnerable points in the Goblin army were, where their senior officers were most likely stationed, and what sort of resistance to expect before they attacked each camp. The reliable order and discipline of the Goblin army had become a weakness that she could exploit.

The second point that came with Nonna’s theory was more of a matter related to her demesne. Her ongoing conflict in the basin would mean an influx of not only corpses but the equipment and supplies stored in each camp. The finely crafted arms and armour were made from excellent steel that could be reforged into useful tools. While Humans didn’t eat Goblinoid flesh, it could still be stripped off and turned into animal feed or – as she discovered recently – important feed for the fish farms that the Lizardmen would be tending to in the future. If Lord Cocytus allowed the use of his demesne for storage, she could use the meat over a long period of time and leave the Skeletons for use as Undead Servitors.

Related to the second point was the discovery of magic items in the enemy army. Personally, she couldn’t use any of the rings that they found due to already wearing the Ring of Mental Fortitude and the Ring of Sustenance, but there were a number of other useful items in the collection that had been built up so far. The Hobgoblin that had loosed its crossbow at her had a set of magic items she had taken for herself. They included an Amulet of Health, which improved resistance against poison and disease, Gauntlets of Lesser Dexterity, a Belt of Lesser Strength, a Lesser Amulet of Natural Armour and a Mantle of Elemental Protection.

Of the items she didn’t use from the officer’s set were a Lesser Ring of Resistance and a Ring of Protection. There were also a pair of earrings that she couldn’t use, as her ears weren’t pierced. She didn’t like the idea of poking holes in herself, but it now appeared that she would have to for the sake of utility. Nonna noted that the set of magical items appeared ‘standard for her level’ when it came to what one could wear for magical accessories, but it seemed exorbitantly luxurious to her.

Amongst the rest of their current findings, she picked out a pair of Boots of Striding, which enabled her to move more quickly over land. Like all magical equipment, it adjusted to her size once she put them on. None of the armour recovered so far was magical, which was decidedly strange.

There were quite a few magic items left over, the majority of which were decidedly tribal in nature: being formed of bones and feathers and such. She supposed so many magical accessories could have simply been swept up as they made their way east, subjugating all of the tribes in their way and taking their treasures. They would all be stored for the future, where she would see if they could be used in magic item research.

In all, the invasion seemed to have become a great boon for her demesne. The colder, more calculating side of her noted just how profitable war could be – especially if one’s forces were composed of Undead with negligible maintenance costs in comparison to what had been gained. The Sorcerous Kingdom openly offered to lease its Undead servitors to all of their neighbours…would some warlord or expansionist power eventually come to take them up on that offer to the woe of their victims?

Nonna’s flight slowed as they approached the pair of Elder Lich commanders over the next camp.

“How are we doing here?” Ludmila asked.

“All is prepared,” one of them replied in a gravelly voice. “We await your permission to proceed with the assault.”

“Granted,” Ludmila nodded. “I look forward to your performance.”

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