Thonur Household,
Nuxar, Daggerfall.
1:13 pm. 17th Banem, 1092.
Within one of the mansion's rooms, Rudega Farvulia glared at the beautiful wisben calmly seated by the window. His eyes burned with rage as he muttered, "This is not what you promised."
Brilith Loneheart, guild leader of Winter Leaf Clan, smiled as she regarded the angry dwarf with a pair of beautiful green eyes. "Farvulia-san, I promised I would help you unite the dwarfs under your banner. Nothing unites a group of people like a common enemy."
"Not like this!" Rudega angrily spat. "If we go to war with the orcs, regardless of if we win or not, there'll be nothing left of us! I needed your help to unite the dwarfs, not destroy us all!"
"Heh. And here I thought you were in it for the crown," Brilith chuckled. "I must apologize then, but what's done is done. You need my help to safely pass through this ordeal."
"Never." Rudega's eyes flashed. "I will not allow you to station any more troops this far north."
"Farvulia-san, you are dooming your people to death," Brilith teased. "Allow Ederwood to take the blade in your stead. You'll be praised as a hero and will surely gain the throne."
Rudega snorted. "You might have fooled me once, but I will not so easily fall for your trick a second time." The proud dwarf turned and walked to the door. "It was a mistake to have ever asked for your help." Rudega paused as he clasped the doorknob. "Thank you for your help so far, but I hope never to see your face again."
"On the contrary, Farvulia-san, I'm sure we'll have many more meetings shortly."
Rudega cursed and walked out of the room. Rage and self-doubt clouded his vision as he walked out of the mansion. He had asked for Brilith's help to unite the clans because of the chaos incited by the Dwarven King. Many houses had begun to secretly battle to claim the title: 'King in the West,' and he could see how this would further splinter the already divided dwarfs. He had sought to quickly unite them, not to gain the throne for himself, but to stabilize the current situation. Yet, it appeared he had brought a hungry wolf into their midst.
Rudega inwardly grumbled as he summoned his security detail and walked to the stables where a pack of barghests awaited them. The strange creatures looked like wild dogs with monstrous teeth and thin, black coats. They were one of the few animals in Daggerfall that were small enough for the dwarfs to use as mounts.
Rudega mounted his beast and cast a gaze at Brilith through the window. He gritted his teeth and swore, "I won't let you have your way." He issued a command with a determined expression, then quickly exited the city with his guards, headed for the meeting location assigned by the orcs.
"Please, don't let it be too late," Rudega pleaded to the gods.
Brilith Loneheart watched the company leave with a serene smile. "Just as Honne-chan said." Her gaze flittered to a corner of the room. "You know what to do."
For a brief moment, a silhouette turned visible, but it disappeared the very next second. "I do." A young woman's voice responded.
Brilith nodded, then looked out of the window. Her lips curled into a wide grin as she muttered, "Soon, this whole country will be mine."
Kirkcour Woods.
2:06 pm, 17th Banem 1092.
The afternoon sun shone down on a desperate battle within the forgotten forest. Hundreds of blights and small beasts surrounded a town, desperately trying to either tear down or jump over its high, wooden walls. A herd of brave centaurs lined the wall, vehemently shooting down arrows and spells at the invaders in a desperate bid to protect their home.
The blights did not take the assault kindly. They retaliated by shooting out sharp branches and needles to thin out the walls. Inexplicably, packs of direwolves were also involved in the attack, which was quite strange because animals were usually not affected by the blight. As if the situation was not bad enough, a loud screech rang out, and the warriors on the walls paled as massive Eagles descended onto the enemy army and picked up some of the blights and direwolves.
The warriors desperately changed targets and fired at the Eagles, but only a couple fell before the speedy birds of prey bypassed the city walls. The birds dropped dozens of blights and direwolves into the heart of the city, and the intruders immediately began to reap chaos. The defenders on the walls were instantly torn between rushing into the city to save the defenseless or maintaining their ground.
The choice was an immensely difficult one. If the defenders gave up their advantage on the walls, the blights would overrun them and make their way into the city. However, if they let the intruders run free, their loved ones would be at the mercy of the blights and direwolves.
Gelarios Achas, chief of the Dora tribe, frowned with unease as he surveyed the combat situation from atop the wall. Try as he might, he could not see a way out of their current predicament. Worse even, he noticed the eagles had already begun to circle for another pass. If this were a regular invasion, he would have long since surrendered, but the enemy had not issued a word about surrendering. It was apparent their foe wanted to wipe them all out.
Gelarios could not understand why this was happening. The centaur tribe had always lived peaceful lives away from society. When did they gain such a powerful, relentless enemy?
Gelarios' eyes narrowed as the eagles swooped down to pick up the next round. "Fine! We'll fight to the last man! Archers, Mages! Forget the wall, bring down those damn birds! We'll show these bastards the pride of the Dora tribe!"
"OOOH!"
The ranged warriors prepared their projectiles as they watched the Eagles pick up the next batch of direwolves and blights. They chose to momentarily abandon the wall and take out the aerial threat.
Gelarios' expression hardened as the eagles took flight. If these monsters made one more pass, their village was as good as done. He raised his hand and prepared to give the order to fire.
Shunk! Shunk! Shunk!
Gelarios' eyes went wide with shock as a continuous barrage of arrows shot out from the forest and stabbed through the eagles' wings.
The majestic birds screeched in pain as they crashed to the earth along with their load as an oppressive, monstrous aura billowed onto the battlefield and pressured it into a heavy silence.
Gelarios shivered in fear and looked to the edge of the forest from which the heavy bloodlust erupted.
The monsters and warriors stared in shock as a majestic black stallion walked out of the forest. Its rider, a daeben dressed in a simple, sleeveless undershirt, lowered the bow in his left hand and coldly gazed upon the battlefield. Moments later, a pair of assassins on two horses flanked him on either side.
Gelarios' heart tightened, but he was unsure if these people were allies or people looking to fish in troubled waters. He did not have to fear for too long, though, as eleven centaurs ambled onto the field, spears at the ready.
Gelarios' heart quickened as he recognized one of the centaurs to be Darian, next-in-line of the Lymar tribe. His gaze sharpened sDarian raised his spear and twirled it in a distinct series of motions. The chief suddenly turned to the soldiers on the wall. "Prepare to open the gate!"
Across the battlefield, Darian observed the movements on the wall and nodded in appreciation of the Dora chief's trust. Now, he had to prove that the faith was well-placed. He looked at Kashi with a smile and said, "We will clear a path to the gate, Kashi-dono. What are your plans?"
Kashi surveyed the dense cluster of monsters with a cold smile. "Shadow and Larsial will accompany you to clear out the monsters already in the city."
"And you, Kashi-dono?"
"Oh, do not worry about me." A devilish grin spread across the daeben's face. "I was just looking for a good chance to level up quickly."
Darian shivered as he observed the daeben's expression. "Good luck, Kashi-dono." He called out to his troops as he brandished his spear horizontally in front of himself and galloped toward the monster horde. "[Sleipneir's Charge!]"
The centaurs mimicked his movements and charged behind him in an arrow-like formation. Golden ki surged from the tip of Darian's spear to his arms, then exploded outwards to merge with the other centaurs who emitted similar auras. The ki molded as they charged to form a bullet-shaped gold casing that wrapped around the charging centaurs. The ki roiled along the bullet, but most of its energy concentrated at the tip of Darian's spear.
The bullet formation smashed into the outer sections of the blight army and instantly blasted the raging monsters out of its path. The bullet tore through the monster army, clearing a straight path toward the village's gate. Shadow and Larsial galloped behind Darian's formation, leaving Kashi to bring up the rear.
The daeben ensured the monsters did not quickly close up the space left by the bullet. Arrows incessantly flew out, accurately striking down monsters as they attempted to chase after them.
Kashi only absent-mindedly performed this task, as the bulk of his attention was on Darian's formation. He repeatedly played back and dissected the activation process in his mind.
First, was the momentum. Darian charged ahead, concentrating his ki at the tip of his spear. The concentrated ki was then released, and the centaur's forward momentum forced it to flow backward. Because it was released from a spear tip, the ki was sharp, creating a bullet-like structure that was perfect for penetration.
Furthermore, because his ki was much stronger than his companions', Darian's ki swallowed up the ki released by the other centaurs to further strengthen and magnify the effects of the formation.
Kashi's eyes gleamed, and he resolved to get the centaurs on his side no matter what. Drixlia's evolutions aside, Absalon's army would stand to rapidly develop if it picked up even an iota of the centaur tribe's tricks. "Heh, so that's how it was," Kashi inwardly muttered as realization struck.
Indeed, there were no useless races in this world. Every intelligent race had something to add to the world, and it was the job of the elite races to enhance those traits and give these weaker races a place in the world. Kashi let out a wistful grin as he thought about the drakul and the races in Serisis. It seemed he would have to reevaluate how he thought about these races. Their value was definitely not as simple as an extra war force. He would need to take his time to study the different races and draw out their unique charms.
However, before that...
"Open the Gate!"
Kashi looked up to see the village gate grudgingly slide open as Darian's formation neared. Inevitably, the monsters near the gate took the opportunity to rush in, but the centaurs were not stupid. They only partially opened the gate such that the monsters could only get in one or two at a time. The unlucky beasts were then promptly slaughtered by soldiers stationed behind the gate.
Kashi's brows furrowed as he observed the chokepoint. He understood the chief's plan. The Dora tribe would fully open its gate just before Darian entered. Then immediately, the group passes successfully, they would shut the gate. However, because they could not afford to let Darian's formation damage the gate, the Dora tribe would be forced to open the gate early to avoid any miscalculations.
Who knew how many monsters rush through the opening during that brief period?
Kashi had no desire to see that reality. He hastily shouted, "Darian-san! Single-line formation!"
Darian's brows jumped. Single-line? He instantly knew what Kashi intended. With a single line, the Dora tribe would not have to open the gates too wide, but didn't the daeben understand why they employed an arrow formation instead of a single line? The arrow formation pushed enemies toward the outside, creating a vacuum behind the charge. The larger the arrow, the more space the enemy troops would need to fill up to resume attacking the charging force.
Most importantly, however, the arrow formation pushed enemy troops outward, forcing them to hit their allies and disrupting their momentum. The single-file formtion also had the capability of piercing through the enemy, but in turn, sacrificed a lot of the disruption and placed a heavy burden on the lead.
Darian was okay with the burden of being the arrowhead, but his real fear was that the vacuum behind their formation would be lost. This vacuum created the safe space for Shadow, Larsial, and Kashi to follow behind the formation. Once Darian switched to a single file, Shadow, Larsial, and Kashi would instantly become vulnerable to the enemy's attacks.
"Don't worry about us!" Kashi yelled out before Darian could voice his thoughts. "I've got it covered!"
Darian hesitated for a moment but then recalled the daeben's performance against the marilith. That's right. It was that Kashi saying he had it covered. If he did not trust him, then why would he have come all the way out here with the daeben. Darian gritted his teeth and roared, "Single-Line!"
The centaurs obeyed his commands, and the arrow collapsed into a single line. Shadow and Larsial followed suit, with the silver-haired assassin in front and the daeben close in behind.
The monsters saw their opportunity and lunged at the trio, who were not under the formation's ki protection.
Kashi snorted as the monsters converged on them. He raised his right and flicked his middle finger at the beasts as he sentenced them to death. "[Gilgamesh]"
A thousand arrows shot out of a giant mandala that appeared behind the daeben's back. Curiously, the bolts did not attack randomly but flew on either side of Darian in an arrow-like formation. Each arrow rotated in place, emitting chaotic torrents of mana that destroyed everything in their path.
Darian's eyes widened as the arrows annihilated the beasts. What in the hell was this daeben!? Was he a god? This strength should not belong to a common hume!
Kashi ignored the centaurs' distress. It was taking all he had to control the path of the arrows. Gilgamesh was designed to be a one-time skill, meant to fire its arrows at a single target or area.
However, Kashi had always experimented on using it to accomplish different things in different scenarios. In this case, he delayed the firing time of sections of arrows to create an arrow-like formation. He was also expending a lot of mana to slow down their speed, so they did not fly ahead of Darian.
Thankfully, Kashi did not have to slow down the arrows for too long. A few seconds later, when they were only a few meters from the gate, Kashi set a single homing target for all the arrows and stopped holding them back. The bolts instantly converged on a blight that was trying to force its way through the gate.
All one thousand arrows tore through the target, inadvertently clearing the area in front of the gate. However, one blessing only led to another damnation as the arrows tore through the beast and headed for the gate itself. It seemed like Kashi's attempt at saving the day had backfired.
Gelarios paled. "Is this the end?"
Darian continued to charge, but his grim expression revealed his unease.
Shadow's expression remained the same. For as long as he had known Kashi, the daeben had never been one to do something without considering the possibilities. Larsial was surprised by the calmness in her heart as the situation reached its climax. She wondered why she wasn't panicked and instinctively turned to look behind her.
"Ah, I understand." Larsial burst out in laughter as Kashi, with a relaxed grin on his face, winked at her.
"[Dimension Break]"
CRACK!
The onlookers present paled as a crack appeared in the air in front of the arrows. The crack smashed open to reveal a portal, which the arrows all entered with alarming speed.
Kashi flicked his thumb, and four similar portals appeared around the battlefield. The arrows zipped out of these and indiscriminately slaughtered everything in their path before the mana in them finally dissipated.
Dense silence pervaded the battlefield as Darian and his troops listlessly passed through the gate. In this world, there was such a thing as witnessing too much power. When someone was marginally better than you, you could convince yourself that with enough hard work, you would one day catch up to them. But that kind of drive was meaningless when faced with those with heaven-defying talents. When one gazed upon these heaven-sent beings, it would already be considered an achievement not to give up on your dream.
Darian and every single warrior on the wall were currently feeling a hollowness in their soul comparable to precisely that feeling of helplessness. This was not a question of mere strength anymore. It was the combination of skill, foresight, and power that made them feel so helpless.
Unfortunately, if just this much was already wrecking so much chaos in the warriors' hearts, what came next would utterly shatter their hearts.
"A-Are you not coming in?" Gelarios' heart thumped as he looked at the monster outside the gate.
Kashi looked up at the commander with a loose smile. "Close the gate, and make preparations to rout the enemy. I'll handle the rest. We shall speak more on my return." Kashi turned Drixlia, so they faced the monster army.
"Ah, I've really drained my mana this time," Kashi muttered as he patted Drixlia's fur. "I've only got my ki left, huh? Now, how did that stuff go again..."
BOOM!
Gelarios' eyes jumped in fright as a monstrous amount of dark ki exploded from the daeben's body. Faint traces of fire, wind, and water revolved around the daeben, scorching and destroying the earth around him. "It can't be!" Gelarios cried out as he grabbed the edge of the battlement and watched the disastrous ki slowly but surely condense around the daeben, becoming smaller but many times stronger.
The fire and wind traces slowly grew stronger as the mana continually condensed until it formed a tiny, minuscule ball, barely visible to the human eye.
Kashi grinned as the ball dropped onto Drixlia's forehead then spread down its forehead to form a faint red and blue line. "This might hurt a little, Drix, but bear with it for a bit."
"Monster," Gelarios would continuously mutter over the next couple of minutes. "He is a monster."