Part 1 - Western Expansion

 

“You’re no war hero. Just a mass murderer who got drunk on power.”

“He should have just been executed for such incompetence.”

“What did you expect from a low-class baron? He was just lucky to rise to such a rank. Such filth should’ve been put in his place long ago. What was our king thinking?”

Many such jeers rang out as the sound of a whip tearing into flesh rang out in the colosseum. The one receiving the punishment made not a single sound as he stared with utter hatred. He would remember every voice that dug his name through shit and have his vengeance.

“One hundred whips have been carried out on the sinner. Now the punishment of burning shall commence, carried out by the families most affected by the sinner’s decisions. May the flames burn away the sin that he has committed!”

When the voice finished dozens of men and women came walking out the shadows carrying hot iron. The first to walk up was a young child of ten with tears in her eyes, her face pale and full of hatred, “For my brothers and father who promised they would come back alive!”

Hear the little girl's voice, the sinner spat out the leather-covered wood stopping him from biting his tongue. He gave the little girl a deadpan expression “Do it. Anderson, Mythis, Hoei, and Bap were fine men. In a week you’ll get their final letters, treasure them little one.”

“D-don’t think you can j-just say that and get out of this, you monster!”

“I’m not, now be a model citizen and deal out the punishment under the law of our great empire.” He turned his head to the crowd with his next words, “Unlike these spineless cowards, pieces of shit who can’t even cover a simple flank. Should be down here with me, for my men's blood are also on their hands!”

...

Sighing, Ubel opened his eyes and stared at the stone ceiling. Throwing off the fur blanket, he got out of bed and began a light workout before heading to the showers. It was ice-cold water, just how he liked it. The chill made him feel alive like this new life wasn’t some kind of illusion.

Drying off, Ubel put on his old uniform that was prim and proper thanks to the mages doing the laundry. Walking into the command room, he sat down in his chair and waited as the rest of the key personnel walked in.

He enjoyed his tea served by the waiting peasant as Urist, Volt, Ayil, Vlad, Vaikus, Helga, and Grim and others made their way in one by one. When all were seated Urist held his hand up to silence the room.

“As we’ve already discussed the plans for the western expansion yesterday, I’ll just go over the summary as to burn less sunlight. The hunters will be the vanguard with Volt and Helga taking up the flanks. They’ll have the peasant spearman and mages as backup. Which will then be protecting the earth mages and builders that are going to be setting up the walls. 

The reserve will be made up of me, Ubel, healers ready to be dispatched, and combatants to cover them. The hunters will head out first to kill any troublesome creatures, then the rest will head out. The expansion will be considered a success after we capture the land west until we hit the river. Does anyone have any questions before we move out?”

When only silence met his query, Urist nodded. “Then enough talk, let us act and reclaim the wilds!” 

War cries filled the room as the dwarfs rose from their seats and filed out of the mountain. Standing before them were the warriors all geared up and ready for the campaign. The hunters sailed out of the gates and took to the forest. A few minutes later, the army followed.

Not even minutes into the march sounds of beasts rang around the group, causing those who were weaker in will to feel their neck hair stand up in fright. Standing in front of the masses Urist turned to the crowd, “Fear not the beasts, for your fellow dwarf will be by your side! We shall reclaim this land for dwarven kind!”

“For dwarven kind!” The dwarfs, empowered by Urist’s words, cheered the words three times as they felt the pressure lift off their shoulders.

“Move out and kill the monsters of the night!”

Pushing up his glasses, Ubel watched on as the dwarfs moved out in their parties. 

Heh, if only those under me in my past life were so easy to rouse. 

…

Moving silently through the forest, the hunter squad didn't even move a hundred meters before they encountered their first ferocious creature. 

The strange being hung on a tree, its red skin pulsing erratically. Its arms and legs were larger than logs and dotted with swiveling twitching eyes. Worst of all the beast had no head but instead, the twisted demon had a face filled with wild yellow teeth and a mouth that spewed a constant stream of thick white gas.

Without much thought, Valkus made a hand signal to his group, telling them to surround the demented thing. Unfortunately for him and his group, Arben, still not used to being a hunter, had snapped a stick and made the red thing twitch. 

Suddenly all its sickening eyes opened wide and swiveled towards the group of dwarfs. Its mouth opened wide in a horrid grin, showing off its large shark-like teeth. The beast gave off an inhuman scream as its four limbs cracked and split apart, instantly doubling its number of limbs.

The creature’s screech caused most of the hunters to drop their weapons and cover their ears, shouting in pain.  With even the senior hunters distracted, the beast dug its claws into the tree and launched itself at Arben with blinding speed. It opened its mouth wide, intent on taking a large chunk out of the young hunter.

Flustered and dazed, Arben tried to pick up his weapon to defend himself. Only the beast was too fast. Just as he touched his bow a shadow loomed over him and razor-sharp teeth were closing upon his body.

Time seemed to slow as Arben’s thoughts raced.

Is this how I die? Because of a fucking twig?

As he said his prayers, a fist came right out of left field and smashed into the beast's midsection, blasting the creature into a small tree and breaking it in half. Arben didn’t get to say a word before he was pushed away by a large hand.

“More. Training. Later. Prepare.” Valkus said with a snort as he moved forth to do battle. The red beast crawled up with a roar, shaking splinters off its body and seemingly unharmed.

“Tough. Bastard. Aren’t. You.” Cracking a grin Valkus moved forth, intent on dealing with this challenge head-on.

 

Part 2 - Red Ripper

 

Valkus smashed the ground with his foot and readied his short spear and battle knife, intent on piercing through the red monstrosity. The beast saw his actions and opened its mouth, swallowing down the air to make its body expand three times over.

The action caused Valkus to sense danger so without any hesitation he yelled back to the hunters, “RUN!”  

The moment the word left his mouth, he kicked off the ground and pushed himself to the right, away from the creature. Reaver reacted first and ordered her tigers and scale wolves to pick up her teammates, then leapt onto Rex and rushed away from the area. Before the hunters managed to leave the area the red monster expelled the air in his lungs, firing a conical wave of white gas after the fleeing dwarfs.

 

Emu noticed the rapidly approaching smoke and began chanting from the back of a wolf. Before the fog reached the slowest moving wolf, he cast a blast of wind that forced the smoke back towards the monster. His spell succeeded in pushing the gas back but before he could celebrate, he saw the mist hit some of the trees and bamboo they passed moments before.

 

The greenery melted rapidly, and within moments turned from lush plants to a revolting, foul-smelling sludge. Emu trembled at the sight of the smoke's effect, instantly deciding to tweak his spell a bit to contain the gas within the affected area.

As he tried to funnel the gas towards the sludge the vile red creature rushed out of the smoke, grinning wildly as the beast made its way right towards unlucky him. The red monster shot out like a cannon, brushing against the wolf Emu rode.

The scales from the wolf's right side scattered in the air as a large gash appeared on Emu's right leg. In deep pain, the wolf tripped over a rock, knocking Emu off its back launching him into a tree. A crack could be heard as Emu’s right arm took the brunt of the force, instantly causing his forearm to break. 

The pain made his vision go white for a moment. Then he started to scream, clutching his broken arm and forcing himself into a sitting position. He would've kept screaming if he didn’t hear the tree branches snap in front of him.

Emu grew silent as his eyes focused on the red creature creeping towards him on all eight appendages. Instead of blasting forth, the beast moved on at a leisurely pace, seemingly intent on playing with its food. Emu watched in pure horror as the red monster opened its mouth, revealing its fanged teeth. Teeth that slowly ripped apart and exposed the terrors inside. Teeth that were opening wider and wider as they stretched towards his face.

Emu sputtered, fear clawing at his mind as he tried to form and cast a spell with his unbroken arm. No matter how he tried, his spell refused to from within his shaking fingers. A yellow stain gradually appeared between his legs.

I-I-I d-don’t w-want t-to die. I h-haven’t even g-gotten a g-girlfriend.

As the jaw of death was about to rip into him, scale wolves and tigers descended upon the red beast with a fury. They dug their teeth into the creature’s limbs, pulling in all directions. With its immense strength, the beast attempted to pry its limbs out of their mouths, almost succeeding when a shadow appeared upon the creature’s back.

Emu looked up to see Valkus descend with a battle knife in hand. The giant dwarf ruthlessly smashed his feet into the monster’s spine, breaking the beast's bones with an ease you wouldn't suspect from its large frame. Not wasting any time, Valkus’ knife glowed a faint green as he swiped forth, cutting through the monster's limbs like butter. Purple blood gushed out as the creature screamed hysterically, its horrifying fangs wiggling in pain.

The tigers and scale wolves began to devour the creature's severed limbs in a fever, some of the more courageous ones even going for the beast’s main body. Valkus walked from the limbless monster, avoiding the beasts making a meal of it, and strode over to Emu. He held out his hand, “Stand. Up.”

Dazed, Emu grabbed Valkus' hand with his unbroken one. Shakily, he gathered his will and stood up, gritting his teeth in pain. When he was on his feet Valkus released his hand and walked over to the dismembered monster struggling to crawl away from the wolves and tigers like a slug.

Valkus grabbed the beast by the scruff of its neck, pulling the monster away from the tigers and wolves gnawing at it, and turned to Emu, causing him to tremble. Seeing the fear on the mage's face, Valkus motioned again and said, “Kill. It.”

“W-what?”

Being questioned made the hunter leader scowl, “Kill. It. Now. Or. Leave. Forever.”

Emu, who was confused by the pain and the wetness of his pants, took a bit to comprehend what Valkus was trying to get across. When it all clicked together, his pain seemed to fade away, gracing him with a moment of clarity.

‘If I don’t kill this thing I’ll always live in fear because of it. If I live in fear what use am I to the hunters who need to face such creatures every day? Letting this beast ruin my life isn’t something I can allow. People now respect me, look up to me, and are proud of me. Losing my position as a hunter means that I’ll lose all of that and the chance to finally hook up with a girl because of where I stand.’

“Fuck that. Not dying a virgin.” As the words left his mouth Emu held up his hand and chanted a simple spell, “Wind shot.”

A spear of wind formed and sliced into the red creature, making it scream like a pig, but for Emu, it was music to his ears. He kept chanting. One after another he chanted, “Wind. shot. Wind shot. Wind shot.”

With each spell cast, Emu’s voice grew louder and the beast’s screams grew quieter.

“Wind shot. Wind shot. Wind shot! Wind shot! WIND SHOT! WINDDDDD SHOTTTTTT!!!”

By the third wind shot, Valkus released the red creature and watched on the side as Emu drilled holes into its wiggling form. At the height of his scream, Emu was breathing heavily and emptied of all his mana. He had a pounding headache, a swollen arm, and a bleeding leg, yet he was smiling happily with tears streaking down his face as he gazed down at the bloody mess of flesh that was the monster. Feeling drained, Emu lost the willpower to stand and collapsed sideways. 

Instead of hitting the ground as he expected, Valkus caught him with ease. With the last of his strength, Emu forced his eyes open and mumbled, “T-thanks leader…”

Valkus just returned him a grin, “Sleep. Well. Hunter.”

As Emu lost consciousness, Valkus turned to the waiting hunters and his eyes met with Reaver.

“Tigers. Carry. Healers.”

Reaver nodded and looked over to her tiger, Rama, who came over and sat down next to Valkus. He laid Emu’s body on top of the tiger, and a few hunters grabbed some rope out of their backpacks and tied him onto her. Although the rider would chafe a bit, it was the fastest method on hand. The wounded scaled wolf also headed back home without any help needed as its wound wasn’t life-threatening. 

After tying up Emu and sending him on his way, Valkus turned to his hunters.

“Let’s. Keep. Hunting.”

 

Part 3 - Tensions Rise

 

 Standing in the center of the forest Urist turned to Ubel, “So. How are we progressing?”

Pushing his glasses up, Ubel responded, “So far so good. Although some have been hurt and one person lost an arm, we haven’t had anyone die yet. The most notable has been Emu, the wind mage of the hunter team, who is their communication member. Right now wolves are being used to keep in contact with them, but it’s slower communication.

“Such a thing is unacceptable to me, we’ll need to find a more reliable way of communication. But enough of that. So far we’ve taken about two-fifths of land and walled off one fifth. The new beasts in this forest have made it much harder to advance, and by my estimation, it’ll take us the rest of the day before we finish up with basic defenses.”

“Who lost an arm?”

“Just some peasant, nothing to cry over. One of our light mages is trying to attach it before we cauterize it to stop blood loss. I hope that rope trick you taught the medics is useful and not a waste of time.”

Urist snorted, “It will work and if they listen to my lessons they should be able to save it. I should go out and make this faster.”

...

“What the fuck are you doing? Just stab it and stop being pussies.” Volt sighed as he watched his peasant spearmen fail to kill a wounded creature dragging its feet, clawing and biting at them. He had already severed its spine, the least they could do was finish it off.

Seeing their pitiful display, he couldn’t bear to watch and sliced its head off in a single swing.

In a fowl mood Volt yelled at them, “Seeing as you can’t fucking kill something that is half dead, you fuckers are doing more training. I’m going to work you to the point that you won’t be able to feel your legs for a week as you puke your guts out!

…

Helga’s side was going even slower than Volt’s as she held back her most powerful summon, instead choosing to summon a ring of halberds. Like missiles, she sent them out one by one, impaling creatures to trees. 

Some were one-hit kills while others were a crafty bunch that had to be dealt with by the mages and spearmen in tandem as they predicted her movements. This annoyed her greatly as she decided to hold off on using the Alabasker records in case of an emergency.

As she impaled her halberd into the head of a beast she thought to herself. I need to train with these, don’t I? Tsk, what a chore.

Unknowingly to Helga, her troops were whispering to each other, scared shitless. By the end of the day, they all decided on a moniker for their silent leader.

Helga “The Impaler” 

…

Time passed quickly as the dwarfs warred with the forest, fighting for every inch of land tooth and nail as they were attacked by strange and dangerous creatures. Many spear-wielding dwarfs would’ve lost their lives and many more limbs if it wasn’t for the heavy hitter's stalwart defense.

Urist was grateful for the blood mages and medics were able to bind fragments of splintered bones and close the skin of those wounded. Still, of those twenty wounded, five lost limbs, and of them two permanently lost limbs. 

For these two dwarfs, Urist treated them and the other wounded as heroes, bringing out wine and a feast. He had the two leave the army and gave them jobs at the base, one with crafting and the other taking up the path of a scholar.

Through these efforts, the scared and disheartened dwarfs felt a new lease on life and wept on Urist's shoulder, filled with thanks. He drank with the two until they passed out after a drunken binge.

As all the dwarfs sat around the fire pits, licked their wounds and made merry. Urist and co. headed inside to discuss their progress for the day. Sitting at the table the mood was heavy as the dwarfs looked at Urist’s and Ubels' frowning expressions.

Both of them sat across from one another and talked at the same time.

“Not enough progress was made.”

“Too many people were injured.”

“I told you we should have been more aggressive in taking land. Thanks to that, we only have two-fifth of the walls put up. If we pushed harder we could've made it to the water, walled it off, and not have to worry about so many creatures sneaking in.”

“And I told you, if you let me go out I could’ve reduced the time and injuries.”

“We talked about this, you’re too important to be used wastefully. If something terrifying comes up you’re there to deal with it. Plus it keeps you from doing stupid stuff and risking your life.”

Urist gritted his teeth, smashing the table with his fist, “Wastefully? Is that what you think about peasant lives? If I helped I could’ve prevented them from losing limbs! What use is power if you don’t use it!”

Pushing up his glasses, Ubel's dead fish eyes stared at Urist before chuckling. “Peasant lives are a ‘resource’ Urist. They live and die for the betterment of dwarven kind. Besides, didn't you say you can bring them back to life? I don’t see the problem then, as the faster we move the faster those that die can be brought back.”

“This isn’t a fucking game Ubel. If you can’t show compassion for our people what makes you fit to lead the army?”

“Because I get results, Urist. I make the hard decisions that people like you can’t stomach. If you wanna bitch, strip me of my rank and do it yourself. If not, shut the fuck up.”

As tensions heated between the two and the room grew colder, Volt, Helga, and Valkus with his interpreter Blink stood up.

Such a motion made the two turn their eyes in their direction.

Volt was the first to speak, “My king and commander, you shouldn’t argue. It is my fault for not training these peasants better to deal with the dangers. After this campaign, I will work them harder in their training so that they can confidently return alive and well from the battlefield. The blame lies not in you two but my own incompetence.”

Before Urist or Ubel could speak, Valkus had finished whispering in Blink's ear.

“My brother also wishes to share the blame with Volt as he feels he didn’t train his hunters well enough. He wishes to train us to the point that we can single-handedly kill a ferocious beast. He says that within two weeks he’ll have this accomplished or offer his head as compensation.”

Helga then jumped in afterward, “Blame lies, with me. I wish for punishment. Will train harder.” 

That wasn’t all as one by one the dwarfs around the table stood up, wishing to share the punishment. This shocked not only Urist but also Ubel, who had never seen anything like this before in his entire life. 

Inwardly he smiled warmly. Fools, the lot of them sticking their necks on the chopping block. Where were you guys when I was in the army without allies?

Pressing his hands into the table, Ubel stood up and began to speak.

 

Part 4 - A Sudden Confession 

 

“Urist, the only one here to blame is me. These men and women followed my orders to the letter and only performed worse than I expected. Although I will admit Urist, I held you back for your safety.”

The moment Ubel took a breath, Urist asked, confused.

“My safety? My safety matters not when the people need my help!”

“And can you help when you're dead? No, you can't. How many close encounters with death have you had since I’ve known you? Too many to count. You’re not a champion, a general, or a peerless warrior. You're a king to almost two hundred dwarfs who depend on you to guide them. If you die I don’t have to spell out what would happen. Without a successor to take over, many people would die and even now there is no one to take over your position. The best place for you is to be safe is behind the walls while the army goes and fights the wars.”

Hearing this Urist shook his head, “I understand your reasoning Ubel, but I cannot accept such a thing.”

“Why not when it’s the best thing to do?”

“I am a firm believer in leading by example. I will bleed for my fellow dwarf. I will share the joys and sorrows of those under me. And I will not hide like a coward, like my past life, when I now have the power to make a difference. You will not hold me away from the battlefield and that is final. In fact, I figured out your punishment Ubel."

Seeing his serious face, everyone at the table held their breaths as Ubel readied himself mentally.

“Your punishment is that you will allow me to do battle on the front lines like everyone else and accept it. That is all, now let’s get back to the topic at hand: what you accomplished today.”

Confused, Ubel cut in, “How can that be considered a punishment?”

“I’m the king and since we lack rules my judgment is the law until we get around to setting them up. Now all of you sit down, for we have talks to finish.”

---

Although a tad awkward, the meeting finished with plans being drawn up about training and getting the walls put up by the next event.

Tired, Urist left his people and headed for his room only to see Uria sitting cross-legged on the ground. As he entered, her ear twitched before she turned her face toward his direction. Raising to her feet with confidence, she began walking towards him. 

Surprised, he just stood there as she sidestepped the bed and stood before him. Uria then placed her hands on his face and ran her hands down along his shoulders to his waist before drawing him into a hug.

Urist was choked on words, “H-how? How did you?”

Smirking Uria replied, “Humph, you think a little thing such as losing my sight will hold me back? While you’ve been off doing your thing, I’ve been training hard to learn this ability. I ‘see’ the sounds around me, allowing me to not be a liability anymore.”

“Uria you were never a liability…”

Hearing that, Uria buried her face in his shirt and shook her head furiously.

“Don’t sweet talk me you dummy. You and I both know from our memories that I hated feeling useless, hated relying on others and most of all I hate being cooped up. Now I can be useful once again.”

Urist felt his heart being stabbed from her words. He lifted his left hand and started combing through her flaming hair, trying to resist the urge to cry, and held onto her tightly, “Uria. I never once thought of you as useless. You are my… my love and I would do anything for you. No matter in health or sickness, life or death, you and I will always be together. Remember this, I will never throw you away.”

“Urist…”

“Uria…”

As the two shared a moment, a figure outside the door clutched their chest as tears stained their cheeks. She tried to reach out with her other hand to touch Urist’s back only for the door to slam in front of her.

Bewildered Urist asked, “Why did you just shut the door Uria?”

“It was getting a bit chilly in here and I wanted to warm the place up. Nothing wrong with that, right?”

Resting his head on hers he mumbled, “Hmm... I do need to eventually install vents and heaters inside the cave. Thanks for reminding me of that, Uria.”

“No problem my love. Thank you for telling me what you truly felt. It has put my heart at ease and I feel like I can sleep at last. Shall we?”

“Lets.”

---

Silently the figure sat in a daze- looking up at the wall, not knowing what to do. They sat there for a while before someone came along. 

“Now, now, didn’t I tell you? Should've made your move faster, but you let them get closer as you stood on the sidelines.”

Huddling into a ball the figure replied, “But, Briana I… I let him get hurt because I wasn’t strong enough. Because of me, everyone hates her. What reason did I have to stand in their way? I thought I could forget about this feeling, but after seeing that... It's just so painful.”

Looking at them Briana sighed, “Man I wish I had a cig or some booze. Listen Uroa, everything is fair in love and war. No one ever got the man if they didn’t fight for it tooth and nail. In fact, as your big sister, I’ll help you out just this once. Luckily since I figured I’d find you here wallowing in despair, I brought a friend. Hey Thar, quit hiding and come on out.”

Out of the shadows, the fidgeting Earth Mage Thar appeared, surprising Uroa. “Eh?”

“Uh, hey there Uroa.”

“Nuff chit chat, I wanna go sleep.” Swaggering over without warning, Briana picked up her friend Uroa and kicked open Urist's door. Placing her shocked friend on the ground, she pointed at the stunned Urist, “Since I don’t wanna pussyfoot around I thought I’d deal with this directly. Boss, I’ll be leaving Uroa in your care till morning. Figure out your feelings by then, Little Sis.”

Without waiting for a reply Briana walked right out and motioned to Thar, “Block the room, we’re done here.”

Thar started sweating under the pressure of Briana, “I know you wanted to help Uroa, but isn’t this… A bit extreme?”

Walking up to Thar, Briana grabbed him by the shirt and raised him into the air, “Listen, you wanted a date with me and I wanted a favor. Now seal the door or your chances with me go up in flames.”

Thar became conflicted. On one hand, he felt like he was betraying his boss, and on the other, this was a chance to score a girlfriend. He immediately made up his mind when Briana kissed him on the cheek. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and the door was sealed with a massive stone.

He silently prayed. 

Boss, I wish for your forgiveness, but I know you would’ve made the same choice if you were in my position!”

…

A brother betrayed me for a girl?! Why... Why does this feel so familiar?

Urist’s thoughts quickly disappeared as he began to sweat. Trapped alone with two girls, one his past lives’ love, and the other a girl who seemed to have feelings for him.

“U-u-um… Urist! I’ve fallen in love with you!”

Scratch that she had fallen for him.

The room temperature instantly raised a few degrees as flames began to flicker along with Uria’s hair.

“Oh? This coward built up a spine after being cornered? Thought you knew your place when you started crying your eyes out in the hallway after we declared our love!”

Trapped in the newly sealed room, Urist mentally shook his fist in rage, If I survive the night, I swear I'll get Thar for this!

Edited by: KuroYousei and Ayame