V13: Chapter 4

  …

  Interlude: Rita

  …

  Before us lay a field of death and destruction.

  His majesty’s efforts made it so that it beset the Ascendant and not us.

  I wrenched a long arrow out of a still machine, and it came out bloody. It resembled a spider but with four legs and was black in color. The head wielded two automatic guns in the rifle caliber. Atop the abdomen was a series of lenses that wielded some sort of magic and technology that projected numerous blasts of light. The pilot was in the ‘head’ of the large machine.

  A head, which I handily pierced with a singular blow.

  Ilych, Morgan, and I had been ready for a battle that would see us in retreat. A force that would overwhelm us and see us scattered to numerous fortresses behind our lines. From those fortresses we were meant to coordinate a stiff resistance, working with militia, until armies a quarter of a day away arrived, surrounded the enemy, and killed them all through sheer weight of numbers.

  That fearsome army died without even reaching our gate.

  “I thought I’d be disappointed if his majesty was ever wrong; instead, I’m humbled once more.” Morgan stood atop the largest of the broken machines. The construction was like that which Riegert had faced. A champion had dwelled within it and arose after it was broken. Half-woman and half-tendrils of flesh feasting off dozens of slaves. Morgan had it smashed by artillery, and then when it escaped its shell, she struck it head-on with her full might. A crater surrounded the empty shell, while the former champion writhed at her feet. Her needles and strings were embedded in its brain, which was a grotesque thing that wrapped around its spine all the way to the small of its back. “He underestimated his efforts.”

  The sound of armor tearing emanated from Ilych. She lashed out at the smaller constructs, which were the size of large bulls. They had small-caliber guns for horns and carried single cannons on their backs. They were tanks, and she ripped through them with the same ease she would the merchant’s creations. They were in many pieces and strewn across the battlefield.

  “They are strong, but they were not ready.” Ilych stated simply in agreement, while I went to another quadrupedal machine and fetched my arrow. She carried her immense blade with one hand, and the other had her upgraded revolver. It was the length of her forearm, meaning it was nearly the length of my arm. The custom cartridges made by dedicated alchemists with Citadel materials at their beck and call had been able to pierce straight through the frontal armor of her foes, go through them, and pierce another from the front before exploding within it. “They will return, or worse: they will not.”

  Morgan gave a hum at that and wrenched her needles and wires out of the immense brain of the Ascendant Champion.

  She leapt off the mechanical cadaver of its shell, and a shockwave from her splattered the Champion into nothing before her boots hit the ground.

  “If they’re stymied here, they’ll head for the Guardians of the Moon. You’re correct, Ilych.” Morgan gave her a nod. “I expect his majesty will be telling us that soon enough… but do you think he will go to their aid?”

  She looked at me with a prodding grin.

  “There is no need to take their lands and citadels. They are at their highest possible capacity. They grow even now.” I told her, but her stare through her glasses remained. Extracting another arrow, I considered the question before allowing myself to sigh. “It would be more effective to have them under our control. A unified military command over the continent would be prudent as well.”

  Morgan gave a hum at my statement before gesturing at Ilych.

  “If one Citadel is under siege or threatened to be lost, the Guardians of the Moon cannot be permitted to retain it.” Ilych stated it bluntly, and Morgan smiled from ear to ear at her answer. “But until then we need not move. Let them throw their industry upon the enemy. Let them fight, and be assured we stand steadfast with them. When it is all over, we will sweep them aside with greater strength.”

  I bowed my head at those words.

  I had feared to speak them, but Ilych was trained as more than a mere combat champion now. She is a general and even a budding politician who can have entire regions entrusted to her for stewardship. I did not begrudge her for it, of course. We specialized into different paths. Mine lay in the dispatching of the elites of enemy forces by the dozen and slaying champions.

  Still, sometimes, I felt like the friend I once knew was but a mere memory.

  “Exactly the answer I want to hear. We might not be their enemies, but it would be foolish to be their stalwart allies.” Morgan stretched her hands out, skipped in the crater created from her battle, then spun on the tip of her toe on one boot. She did so on the spot where her foe had been mere moments ago. Dancing on her opponent’s grave. I was sure she was doing it to test my patience. The small smile suddenly aimed my way confirmed it, and she stopped immediately. Still, I was being tested by her… and I couldn’t fault her for it. “If they were led by a strong, capable ruler who could guide us in the future, I would gladly aid them. But they are not. Their government is ruled by political parties whose leashes are barely held by Celia. And, even if she had complete control, she doesn’t qualify.”

  I gave a grunt at her words but then spoke.

  “What if his majesty asks us to aid them, then? What shall you do, Morgan?” I asked her.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I shall obey to the fullest extent of my ability. Even if it costs my life, I will succeed in what he asks of me.” Morgan’s answer was without hesitation and without a hint of shame, despite her previous declaration. The smile on her face reminded me of a Merchant refugee several months ago. One who was told that the merchants have fallen and that their way of life is all but gone. On Morgan’s and the refugee’s faces was relief. “He has, after all, proven more times than I care to remember that he knows better.”

  I had more than a few misgivings regarding Morgan, but her absolute loyalty to his majesty was without question.

  Thanks to that, I could look past all my other concerns.

  Morgan was undoubtedly with Jack, and that was all I cared about.

  …

  After a day of rest from travel, I gathered with Rita, Ilych, and Morgan at the Ascendant front.

  The Ascendant-facing fortress there was the strongest and newest. Over four layers of overlapping sloped defensive walls from mountain to mountain, overlapping gun lines, artillery, entrenched infantry, and air support all backed by rail and air infrastructure. I could’ve built a Wonder instead of it, something on the scale of my continent-wide air delivery system, but seeing all the scrap we recovered with barely any losses made it worth it.

  In a few turns, I’ll have mechs of my own, or at least powerful artifacts pulled together from the scrap. In-game, defeating the Ascendant gave you scrap proportional to how large their armies are, and that scrap can be used for research at the start of the crisis. The research unlocks are wholly combat-focused but can range from artifacts and gear for Champions to units and even one-time-use weapons that cost scrap to make.

  I was eager to ship back all the scrap to my academies and have them take it all apart.

  For now, though, I was in one of its many utility rooms and bringing Morgan up to speed on the new plan.

  Who better to wreak terror and destruction upon the crises than the Demon Lord herself?

  “This is beyond audacious.” I told her simply after presenting the plan. “But I believe that you can do it.”

  Morgan looked over the plans with Ilych and Rita at her shoulders. Their champion apprentices will pick up the slack while they’re gone.

  Gathering up all the data and information that we gathered from our expeditions, I consolidated a blitz campaign that went through every single town and city on the demonic front. Every municipality that bordered the barren lands between our continent and their territory was marked as a target with priority. Three cities, ten towns, and dozens of villages sprawled across an area roughly a quarter the size of a continent.

  I wanted Morgan, Ilych, and Rita to lead almost a quarter million soldiers with all the flying castles we had, along with Eminent, to raze it all to the ground.

  “We’ll be sending roughly an equal number of Citadel Guardians to support you, but Eminent and Pinnacle will be your most essential supporters. Eminent has no issues reviving anything that dies to our weapons and tactics to fight for us. Pinnacle will provide materials for repairs and food.” I was going to leverage everything I got to hopefully knock out a crisis for several years. This was the equivalent of me dodging their first jabs, hitting them in the face, and then shooting them in the knee. “Riegert will support you as well, and his expeditionary corps will act as guides whenever possible.”

  “That is the bulk of our current force. None will man the defensive networks behind the Continental Line. We will be unable to assist the Guardians of the Moon in their own defense.” Morgan analyzed and pointed out facts I didn’t mention outright in my plan. I roughly had a week to make the little presentation with Ayah’s help. Sprawling maps and battle plans with figures along with documents detailing troop readiness and logistical capacity. “Not to mention you will be without a Divine Engine while the Guardians have their own, and you will be sending your most combat-oriented Champions away.”

  Thankfully, I had counterarguments prepared.

  “The mountain pass fortresses have held, and they will continue to hold. If they do not, the militias will be ready to man the defensive arrays behind them along with innumerable Citadel Guardians and the next batch of the new soldiers.” I pointed at the mountain passes and gestured at the reports that came from them. Three for three. Each one held and devastated the crises when they arrived. “This campaign I send you on now will double the distance between the closest demonic city and our lands, while leaving the lands you go through unusable and flooding them with refugees. The goal is to render it useless, burden the empire that remains, and increase the cost of any future expedition exponentially.”

  “The goals are unquestionably worthwhile, your majesty. However, I fear for your safety and that of the nation. New soldiers and militia can man the walls, but what if another threat arises?” Morgan argued, and she had a point. I was sending my most experienced troops and champions out there with both Pinnacle and Eminent to deal ludicrous amounts of damage. That was damage that I couldn’t call upon here. “Perhaps it would be prudent for one of us to stay, especially when the strongest champion you’ll be able to call upon is Sirena? A former foe?”

  “Sirena is the most capable at dispatching undead, and that is why she must remain.” Not to mention I could probably count on her to put down Khalai if things went sour with him. I had three layers of observers on him and observers on those observers just in case he managed to somehow charm the first set. Right now, he was staying nice and obedient, but I had no doubt he’d doom us all if the chance presented itself. “And, I have faith in the next generation and your apprentices. They cannot be forever in the shadows of their seniors, especially when their seniors have tasks of greater importance.”

  I tapped the war plan on the table again, and Morgan nodded.

  “This is sudden, but you will have time to prepare. Eight months where we will scout targets, train our soldiers, and prepare battle plans.” There was a shit ton of training that needed to be done. Most of our soldiers were trained to march and use trains. Flying around in cramped environments days at a time weighed on people heavily, even with the large size of our flying castles and the new transport-focused hulls. I had half a mind to have them march through no-man’s land, but they’d be detected. “Once you’ve landed, you will ravage their lands, scavenge for food, take their wealth, and tear all infrastructure you can find apart. You will burn fields in your passing, maim and injure as many as possible to burden our foes, and upturn every road and bridge.”

  I traced the entire section of the campaign map I made for them and gave it a single tap.

  I didn’t have a knife to make things any more dramatic.

  “This place will cease to exist to the benefit of our nation and people. Those who die here will do so and will be remembered forever. It will not only delay our encroaching foes but also show them our strength. Should they come here, they will be destroyed.” I finished my little speech and looked around the room. Ayah and the Iterants were still and quiet, but that’s how they always were. Ilych was nodding along with Rita, but Morgan was my main concern. She was the only one I could ask to do this, because I knew if she took over the continent, she’d win against all the other crises. A tyrant for thousands of years, ruling with an iron fist, but people lived under her rule nonetheless. “So, General Morgan, this shall be your mission if you choose to accept it. What say you?”

  I laid it on pretty thick there at the end, especially with that reference she won’t even understand, but eventually I was rewarded.

  “It is your will, your majesty.” She bowed her head and offered me a small smile. “It shall be done.”

  I gave a nod in return when I really wanted to start screeching like an idiot.

  Hey Demons, here’s the Demon Lord special, backed by literally the strongest and most veteran troops that I have!

  Have fucking fun!