Planning Part 1 - Sudden Meeting

 

Valkus, Blink, Joy, and Quake the champion walked inside the room where Ubel currently sat.

“Please sit down and give me your report.”

As directed, the four hunters sat down with Blink and Quake sighing tiredly, having been worn out from all the running around.

Ubel glanced at their group and asked, “So, Valkus, what information did you learn? The wind mages in your squads might’ve told me already, but I want to hear from you directly.”

Blink rolled his eyes when his brother turned to him, but leaned in and listened to his whispers anyways. After listening to it all, he nodded and relayed the information.

“Valkus says that the undead move in formations, led by a controller type skeleton. These controller skeletons wield strange weapons that have been fused to their bodies, such as swords or barrels that pulse with sinister dark energy. The bone mechas we scanned seem to be about ten meters tall, but as they were kneeling down their height is just a guess.

“Of the sixteen bases we investigated, each base was fortified by bone walls at least three meters tall. The bases are also an even distance apart, as pictured on this map here.”

Blink handed a map over, and Ubel immediately began to study it. He didn’t show any expression, but nodded his head as if affirming something.

“Did you find any traps in the ground?”

“Our earth mage found nothing.”

“Anything else to report?”

“Yes, in fact, we located where the captured fox-kin are being held judging by the location of stationary targets. They are located underground in the center of the outpost. If you turn the map around it’ll show you their location, and also what path the controllers take. We figured we’d do a little extra since the mages noticed that all the outposts have the same set pattern. That is all we have to report.”

“Thank you for going above and beyond what I’ve asked. I’ll make sure you and your men are given good spots to sleep in the village. Now, Joy. Your report?”

The Lancer scratched her cheek and handed over her map, “It’s about the same as the other team reported. We also noticed the controllers, the hostage locations, and their patrol movements. We did the same thing and recorded their movements on the back of our map. Great minds think alike, heh. Oh. But we did see one necromancer just staring off into the distance thanks to our Hunter, who has an eye skill that allows him to see afar.”

Pulling out another paper, she handed it to Ubel, who was currently studying maps front and back to see if the formations matched. A light flickered in his eyes before he turned and received Joy’s sketch.

As he opened up the picture Ubel offhandedly remarked, “Were you spotted?”

She shook her head, “No, we were hidden in a patch of trees so the foliage hid us.”

“Good.”

Ubel stared at the necromancer’s sketched face for a long while before mumbling to himself and turning to the waiting hunters.

“You two have done well. With this information we’ll have a better shot at winning. Go see Old Crimson to get lodging for you and your men. You are dismissed for now and at ease until tomorrow.”

With a slight nod, the two hunters left with their seconds in tow, leaving Ubel alone.

The same formation, setup, base structure, and the same amount of enemies. What a fabrication someone set up for this event. And this picture…

Ubel studied the face once again, inwardly thankful that the sketch had been colored. The large black cracks, slitted eyes, pale lips. There was no mistake about it.

These aren’t living people. They’re offshoots of necromancers that were once real. More like puppets than the real deal. It’s like before, all those years ago. Which means… How many times have these dolls died?

But they should still have their spirit, in some fragmented way. Otherwise, the undead wouldn’t have such orderly movements. Meaning they should still react after we move, just that their judgment will be somewhat affected.

The time window would be… and I’ll need… Then I will have use of them...

…

Meanwhile, Urist was currently inside another house, facing off with a real headache. He leaned back in his chair, face to face with the bound young chieftain who was glaring daggers at him.

“You know we’re here to help you, right? Why don’t you work with us? If you just agree to help us we can increase morale and work better as a group.”

Sage spat on the ground and barked back, “If you didn’t have that man use strange magic to tie me down I would’ve kicked your face in! I don’t trust you, invader. Unlike that old coot of a grandpa, I can see through your lies!”

Leaning forward, Urist asked with curiosity, “Oh? And what lies would that be?”

The youth held her head up arrogantly, “My God has left a message for my people since ages past. God has said if invaders come to our land, to not trust you! And if God says so, then it's best to kill you! I'll be the one to save my people, not you outsiders who mean to use my clansmen as fodder!”

Listening to the young chieftain’s words, Urist didn’t laugh at the mention of a god. In fact, in the back of his head, something itched. As if something wanted him to profane the word god.

Scratching his chest where his heart was located, Urist replied, “Gods huh. Why does such a word piss me off? Tell me of your god then, Sage. I’m filled with curiosity over his demeanor.”

Sage’s eyes turned cold as she let out a chuckle.

“The story of our God has been passed down since the first ancestor. He is an elder god who has lived for countless years. He was against the ga-”

Eyes clouding over, Sage's fierce demeanor instantly turned expressionless as if the life was sucked out of her, making the hair on the back of Urist’s neck stand on end.

He was fascinated at Sage’s sudden change, especially when her cloudy eyes then suddenly turned sharp and began to glow with a golden hue.

What is this change of aura? It’s as if I’m facing a primordial beast.

As he tried to process this, a voice old, cold, and filled with unshakeable authority rang out.

“So you're that brat’s ‘Champion.’ Heh. Not the worst I’ve seen. You potential, treat my people well or I’ll torture your soul for all eternity.”

Before Urist could ask anything, Sage’s strange aura disappeared, her eyes going from cloudy back to clear as she shook her head to regain her bearings.

But Urist wasn’t paying attention to her as his thoughts were in chaos.

Champion? Brat? What was that? Did I just meet a god, and if so why appear now?

“Hey.”

Shaken out of his thoughts Urist turned to Sage, who held a solemn expression.

“My God has spoken. We are under your command. For now. Release me from my bonds… King.”

 

PSE - 02 - Planning Part 2 - Curt Speech

 

The night passed and morning came for the village as the dwarfs, rat-kin, and fox-kin awoke to a surprise. Standing in the center of the village was Urist, accompanied by an unbound Sage. Whispering overtook the fox-kin as they wondered what was about to happen.

Sage raised her hand to silence them then looked over to Urist. Nodding his head, Urist stepped aside, allowing her limelight .

Standing tall with her arms crossed in front of her nonexistent chest, Sage’s voice rang out within the crowd, “My kin, our God has sent me a divine message to pronounce this dwarf-”

She took a moment to point at Urist before continuing, “To be our King and follow under his command. As it is His will, we will follow this dwarf until our god says otherwise. We shall act as a united force to rescue our loved ones and kill the necromancers! FOR THE GLORY OF KYUU CLAN!”

Blood boiling, the fox-kin down below raised their hands with a roar chanting Kyuu Clan three times before Sage stepped back to let Urist take the stage.

Although slightly confused at the name Kyuu, Urist put it aside for now and took a small bow.

“Welcome, my new brothers and sisters, to the family. I’m sure your hearts still ache over losing your kin to the undead who hold them prisoner. But worry not as our Commander, Ubel, has come up with a plan to rescue them and kill the necromancers. I’ll now give him the grounds to speak.”

Walking over to Sage, Urist watched as Ubel strode out of a house with bloodshot eyes and made his way to the center of the crowd.

WIthout putting on airs he began to speak, “The operation will begin tomorrow, and we’ll finish the preparation today. The people who I call up will meet me in the command room for a job after breakfast. The rest of you will take down the tents, as we’ll be moving out sometime today.

“The first group to see me will be the leaders of the squads, the second group will be Bishop and Agate together with all gem and light mages. The third group, Sage and Old Crimson. The rest of you prepare for tomorrow. For we shall be going to war.”

Finished with his remarks, Ubel nodded his head and walked off without another word.This left those down below in a daze, making Urist curse under his breath. He shot a look at Unicy.

Hey, you go up and disperse the crowd.

Catching Urist’s signal, Unicy mumbled for a moment before shooting back a look of her own.

Are you kidding me? You’re the king, shouldn’t you do it?

Just do it. It’s awkward.

Cursing under her breath she began walking, “Your interest keeps piling up.”

Taking the stage, Unicy spoke loudly, “You heard the commander, you're all dismissed. Grub will be handed out shortly.”

…

Blink picked at his food while looking at the sky. All around him were people talking and chatting. The dwarfs in one area, the rat-kin in another, and the fox-kin in their own little world.

Despite being considered one people, the racial divide seemed to be strong between the groups as there wasn’t any overlap between them.

Will we really be ok like this?

While lost in thought as he played with his rat jerky, a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Looking up he saw a dwarf clad in red holding a bowl filled with vegetable stew.

“May I sit with you Blink?”

Blink smiled, “It would be an honor, Magic Corps Leader Vlad.”

“Oh posh, when did you get so respectful? Just call me as you usually do, friend.”

Blink acted offended, “How could I act in such a manner?! If I don’t show you respect, the men will act the same!”

Rolling his eyes Vlad sat down next to him, “Oh please, it’s just a title nothing more. I’m sure some still fear me for being a blood mage. And well, learning of my past history of genetic experimentation. But enough about me, what's laying heavy on your mind? For as long as I’ve known you, you’re usually way more carefree. Even when you have to translate for that older brother of yours.”

Blink picked at his jerky, idly nibbling on it, “It’s nothing really. It’s just... look at them all. We’re supposed to be of one kingdom but nobody is crossing the lines and socializing. I mean, I know I’m a hunter but even I understand that this isn't a good situation to be in before a war hits.” 

Putting his hand on Blink's shoulder Vlad gave him a slight smile. 

“You’re right, it isn’t a good situation and it’ll heavily affect the upcoming morale. This isn’t like you and I, who had the time to build a good friendship. Sure, you guys brought the bodies back and we’d drain their blood. And sure it hasn’t been long, but at least we’ve gotten a little time to get to know each other. It’s the same for the rest of our dwarf brothers and sisters who have had time to make bonds. 

“But for the rat-kin, our people still remember the brutal siege and fear them. And for the fox-kin, we don’t know anything about them and vice versa. If we had a month or two of peace perhaps we could break down those barriers, but we don’t.”

“I know Vlad, but I feel like we should do something to make sure we’re on the same page.”

Taking a sip of his soup Vlad shrugged his shoulders, “There is nothing you can do here in this village to create bonds for our people. But don’t worry, we’ll have an opportunity soon to force those bonds to be forged. It’ll happen just the same as it did in my other life, when the praying mantis king doomed our kingdom.”

Blink stopped nibbling on his jerky to turn to Vlad, who was staring straight at him. “You don’t mean...”

“Yes, my friend. War is an excellent place to create bonds. Numerous times in my world’s history kingdoms joined together to fight a common enemy, and this is no different. Although we all are fighting for different things it doesn’t change the fact that we’ll be fighting the undead. And within that common interest lies the way forward. So if you wish to bring everyone together then fight your hardest to show them that we care for them.”

“I… I understand Vlad. Thank you for your words of wisdom.”

“No need to thank me, just do one thing for me.”

“Sure, what do you need?”

Vlad smiled, leaning forward with sparkling eyes, “If you kill a necromancer could you gather some of his blood? I’d like to experiment with it.”

Giving him a dull stare Blink rolled his eyes, “You never change do you Vlad.”

Eyes full of fake hurt Vlad recoiled, “It’s just a bit of blood. Right? It shouldn’t be too much trouble. Right?”

With a sigh and a slight smirk Blink went back to chewing his jerky, this time through with more of an appetite.

“Fine, fine. If I get my hands on one I’ll make sure to get you his blood.”

“You’re the best Blink!”

“You know it.”

 

Planning Part 3 - Setting Out

 

After eating the named dwarfs found Ubel to receive their orders. Like a whirlwind people came and went around the village. Things kicked into high gear, and it took four hours before everything was settled. Fifteen groups eventually moved out of the village, heading off in different directions.

Ubel watched them go with tired eyes, wishing he had something strong to drink to keep him up.

Everything will be decided tomorrow. If I had more resources it wouldn’t be such a half baked plan. If a few of them fuck up it’s game over, but the main weight will be put on this… girl.

Eyes half open, Ubel turned to Reaver, who was standing nearby pouting.

“Do I really need to stay here?”

“The plan hinges on you being here, Tamer. If I had more wind mages I’d let you go to the battlefield, but alas we lack the resources so you're the next best thing. I’ll have to ask Urist to get us more tamers when this is all over, it would be a far more economical way to spend points.”

“You really have a shit attitude.”

Ubel waved her off with a yawn, “So I’ve been told. Now come into the command room, we need to make sure everyone is set up before night hits.”

As the two headed inside to see the remaining wind mages and information members sitting around an enlarged map of the area.

Cracking his neck, Ubel stared at the map and picked a stone out of a box.

“Let’s get these pieces in position so I can catch some sleep.” 

“Yes!”

Note to self... I’ll need to tell Urist to get me some officers. After all, I can't carry all of the burden of command myself.

... 

In a forested area a small campsite was being set up. The air that was supposed to be filled with fighting spirit was currently filled with dread. Normally the morale wouldn’t be bad, if it wasn’t for Agate who was staring coldly at the people below him, causing them to shiver in fear.

A calm smile was plastered on his face, but his eyes were murderous. 

“God I hate being told what to do. If I wasn’t being paid so well I would just go send you all to die. Honestly, why did I even agree to this?” Agate said without remorse, berating those below him as no more than trash.

The rat-kin and fox-kin made not a peep, continuing their work. The rat-kin didn’t completely understand his trash talk, and the fox-kin seemed to be blocking out the noise as they dutifully helped set up the tents, but it was the dwarfs that felt their skin crawl at verbal abuse. 

 Particularly enraged was Elana, the earth mage twin sister of Thair. However, like with what she thought about Ubel, Elana didn’t make her thoughts known. Gritting her teeth, she helped reinforce an area that had lacking defences while Agate continued his rain of abuse. 

Until Agate crossed the line, deciding to focus his abuse on Tänzer, who was struggling to put his tent together, that is.

Still smiling, Agate’s words flew out like lashes, “That bastard can’t even get any good quality meats for me. How is this pansy considered a warrior if they can’t put up a proper tent? If this was Blood Mountain he’d be kicked into the ravine for being incompetent.

“A complete waste of air, food, and booze. I don’t know why they let a pretty boy like you live. If it were up to me I’d sell ya off to those fat nobles and get some gold out of it. At least the gold would’ve been more useful than you.”

Eyes laughing at Tänzer’s trembling, he continued, “Man what a noble would do to you. Dress you up maybe, like a girl, and have this-”

“Shut up.” Dusting the dirt off her clothes, Elana gave off a murderous air as she stood between Tänzer and Agate.

Finding it somewhat amusing, Agate leaned on his hand and made a gesture to continue. “Oh? So the little earth mage slut thinks she’s all that. Tell me, what gives you the confidence to stand up for this… honey trap? Is he what gets your knackers in a heat? Feel like if you stand up for him, you’ll get into his pants? But you and I both know that he swings for the other team. So why don’t you fu-”

Elana snorted, “Fuck off? Listen here shit bag, I don’t care if you're stronger than me. I’ve dealt with a lot of stronger condescending assholes and I don’t need to stand for it. If you're going to bitch then run off like the coward I know you are.

“You think you’re hot shit to be given command? You don’t have what it takes to be a leader, unlike that other prick Ubel. Even if he treats everyone like pawns he won’t talk shit to those ready to fight. So why do I have to respect you when you’ve never given us any? Go fuck off from whence you came, we have no need for someone speaking shit to comrades.”

The camp was silent as the group stared in awe at Elana’s outburst. They had never heard the usually quiet Elana lash out to anyone, making them unable to believe their own ears.

As the air filled with utter silence, Elana’s eyes carried a coldness while Agate’s carried their usual smile— although they contained a darkness hidden deep within.

The silence stretched on for what felt like an unbearable amount of time until Agate abruptly started to laugh

“Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHA.”

It took a bit for his laughing fit to end before he wiped away a tear and gazed at the confused Elana once more.

With a sigh, he leaned back lazily, “Finally someone with a pair of balls. Although a slut, at least you got some spine I can work with. Hey, everyone listen up. That earth mage, whatever her name is, is your second in command. If you need help with something go to her. I’m going to sleep.”

Elana watched with increasing confusion as Agate pulled out a pillow, laid down, and started snoring.

The only thing she could utter was just a weak, “Wha?”

Edited by:Kuro Yousei