After a long night, preparations were made for the upcoming day.
Caspus received the good news of the successful elimination of all 500 mercenaries, with only a total of 2 casualties for the Legion. Barely any of the mercenaries were prepared for such an attack, and even the ones who were couldn't win against others who outnumbered them.
No external forces stepped in.
However, there was also no received news of any way into the underground cavern.
'It seems I will have to send a unit into the breach today... just how many should I send... I suppose a sacrificial force of 50 should be fine.'
Caspus got up from his own bed, and walked out into the encampment to gather the Colonels and issue out orders.
'While it might have been better to allow the mercenaries to do this, keeping them around too long might have bit me in the back. Better to eliminate threats when you have a chance rather than try to milk every last bit of use out of them.'
Caspus made his way through the camp, barking out orders to nearby soldiers to gather the Colonels outside his tent, so that he could meet with them.
He then went back into his own tent and relaxed until he heard a rustling outside.
He then heard a voice.
"Legion Commander Caspus, we have all gathered as you ordered."
It was Colonel Algerth.
Caspus then dramatically shoved the curtain of his tent out of the way, showing his face before the line of Colonels. All ten of them had been gathered, as the one who was supposed to be scouting had finished up late last night, and as such was prepared to report his findings.
"Colonel Keras, I assigned you to scout the area. List your findings."
"Yes, Legion Commander Caspus.", he said with a salute, pumping his fist to his chest. "To begin, we have not found any signs of life anywhere above ground. It appears that all fishmen have either fled the town, or they remain in the underground cavern."
"I see....", Caspus said with a hand to his chin. "And what of the underground cavern? Are there no alternate entrances?"
The man bowed.
"Forgive me, but we searched high and low, and ensured to pay close attention to every possible location, however we could not find any alternate entrance."
Caspus began to think.
This was both good news and bad news.
It meant that they would have to either enter through the one and only entrance, which was likely laid with traps or an ambush force, or they would have to dig their way in.
The most problematic thing was that if they took the underwater entrance, they would have to abandon any ideas of going in with armor, and only light weapons would be acceptable even for the strongest swimmers, else they would be weighed down by them.
"In that case, send a unit of 50 to enter through the underwater cavern. Whether these 50 men are your strongest soldiers or your weakest pawns.... I will leave that to your discretion."
Keras held his hands together with a "Yes, Sir!"
Caspus then turned to the other 9 Colonels.
"As for the rest of us.... Colonel Fernop, have a squad of 100 men retrieve the mining supplies from the ships, and begin excavations. If we can make our way into the underground village through mining, then we might be able to launch a surprise invasion."
Something then hit Caspus.
What if the entire village was underwater?
'If that is the case, then it will be impossible to take over without a massive project...'
He then thought of an idea.
'But, if that truly is the case, perhaps we would be able to excavate a drainage site, and completely remove the water.... it would be a massive project, and it would require the manpower of my entire legion, however it would be a possibility.'
Caspus decided to first gather information before planning out an enormous project based merely on speculation.
"As for the rest of you, I wish for you all to simply remain vigilant. Colonel Merbus, head over to the outer edges of the village and set up an encampment with your unit. I am aware that watchtowers exist within close proximity to the village, so take them over and use them to ensure that no other groups are approaching."
One of the Colonel's saluted and bowed his head.
"The rest of you, remain here. We need to be prepared in the case that fishmen come out of the cavern in a last ditch attack. That is all."
The rest of the colonels saluted, and the entire group moved out in all different directions.
Caspus returned to his tent, and began to once more wish that he had brought his personal servants along with him.
'Ah, how lonely it is without them. Next time I return, I will bring them with me.'
----
Lance, Melody, Pierre, and Charlotte woke up in a hotel room.
The four were all around the room. Lance was on the floor, with his legs spread out, and only a blanket underneath him. Pierre was in a similar position. Charlotte and Melody had each taken a bed, and were lying comfortably in it.
The only person who remembered what happened last night was Melody.
The other three had thrown caution to the wind, and gotten so drunk that they probably wouldn't even remember where they were.
'Ah, how troublesome. They always need me to look after them.', Melody thought as she got up and looked around the room at the three who were fast asleep.
Fortunately, they had not caused any trouble, due to Melody bringing them here as soon as they got too rowdy, however if she had not done so Lance would likely have picked a fight with some lizardmen.
'Well, today is a big day. I better get them up, since we plan on going back with the fishmen and the lizardmen.... I wonder what were going to do from now on? I suppose our only option is to cling to the antiheroes. Well, that was my plan in the first place.'
Melody woke the other three up one by one.
None of them seemed to want to get up, however after a long session of shaking they eventually came to.
"Ugh..."
"Where am I?"
"I don't feel so good..."
Melody put her hand to her forehead in disappointment.
"You all need to wake up. You got too drunk last night."
Lance slowly got up, looking around and sobering up.
"Ah. Whoops."
"Sorry, Melody! You're always looking out for us!", Charlotte exclaimed.
Pierre simply started gathering his belongings.
"Look's like we had a bit too much fun last night..."
The three remembered where they were and started preparing on Melody's orders.
"We need to hurry up and get ready. We have a big day today."
"So this is the day we join the monsters and fight humans....heh heh heh.... today we betray our own kind, and we might even have to kill some people...", Lance whispered, still slightly tipsy. "Well, it's for a good reason, so I'm ready."
Charlotte nodded.
The four got up and went out, ready to fight.
----
Rocko stood with a force of 1000 lizardmen gathered in front of him.
Most of the warriors of the lizardmen village were brimming with excitement. Things just hadn't been the same ever since Rocko had returned from the slime village, and Arlo had decided to leave.
They all viewed this as a chance to return things to the way they were before. Even if this fight was something that had been approved by the antiheroes- those beings who were so ultimately powerful, and led by the Determined who had clearly demonstrated her power directly to the people of the lizardmen village- it was an opportunity which told the lizardmen village that their strength still held some sort of value in this world.
Just because there existed beings who were beyond their own comprehension when it came to strength didn't mean that their pride as warriors had to be shattered.
If they merely considered them to be anomalies, and did their own fighting in line with whatever the will of those beings was, then they could still continue to train and fight to their hearts content. So long as they did not provoke their interference, there would be no issues.
Rocko stood next to Ploritan in front of the lizardmen, who wielded all sorts of weapons. Wooden and metal clubs, scimitars made from the bones of animals, some even wielding axes and spears, and of course wearing the hardened pelts of animals crafted into fine leather armor.
"You know, even if your force is small, this is the first time that our tribes have ever allied for a campaign.", Rocko commented.
"Yeah. I never knew we had so much in common before this.", Ploritan responded.
The warriors were all becoming impatient, however bringing up a hand, Rocko quieted them down.
"Warriors of the lizardmen tribe!!! We are unsure as to why, but the humans have invaded the fishmen village with a force of over 10,000! It has been confirmed that our interference in this war will not go against the will of the antiheroes, and as such we will lend a hand to our fishmen brothers! If the humans are allowed to take over the fishmen village, then our village is likely to be next in their sights!"
The warriors began rumbling with the stomping of feet, and a low pitched cry began resounding through the area.
"Ohhhhhhhhhh...."
"We will show our worth now! We will beat back these humans, and prove that there is still meaning to our strength!!!!"
"OHHHHH!!!!!!"
The cries became louder as Rocko encouraged the warriors.
Ploritan saw the four humans jump into the back of the fray, and they too began shouting with joy and excitement.
"Yeah!!!"
"Let's go!!!"
Ploritan smiled.
Everyone was ready.
It almost brought him to tears that people of all different backgrounds had been united like this, for a single purpose- to save the people of his village.
And yet, there was only one reason why these different peoples had come to be united.
It was because every single person here either feared or respected the antiheroes, and were simply doing as they were ordered.
It was something which should never have occurred.
The antiheroes eliminated those who they deemed to be their enemies in an instant.
And yet, everyone here was still alive, for the exact reason that they did not go against the antiheroes.
Rocko turned to the crowd.
"Then, let us set out for the fishmen village!!!"
However just as he said this, a chill overcame the entire plaza.
It was as if the air itself had turned to ice.
Rocko knew this feeling.
He had felt it before.
His hands were shivering, and he could barely even move them.
He tried to calm his breathing, and slowly turned his head, however before he finished doing so, he heard a booming voice come from behind him.
"Bow down."
It was the voice of the elf.
Rocko felt his body move on it's own as he quickly fell to the ground, prostrate.
It was not just him however.
The thousands of lizardmen, Ploritan, and the fishmen had all instinctively bowed down to that single voice.
The only people who were not currently bowing were the four humans in the back, who were standing around dumbfounded at why all the other lizardmen had bowed down.
In order to avoid standing out, they too took submissive positions and bowed as well.
"What's going on?", Lance whispered.
"I don't know...", Charlotte responded.
However, Melody knew exactly what was happening.
She cracked a smile which reeked of insanity.
'Ah, the hosts have arrived.'
----
Sitting in seats made from a glassy substance, floating in the air, were four beings.
Each and every one of them sat in a different way, however they all had the heir of complete and absolute rulers.
Fear was instilled into the hearts of every single lizardman and fishman in the plaza, as Ashley allowed an excessively small amount of her magical pressure to flow throughout the area. Just enough to completely prevent any and all movement from the terribly weak beings before her.
However, she ensured that the four mercenaries would not feel it.
Why?
To mess with them.
Ashley wanted to see their expressions as these thousands of soldiers bowed to them and shivered in fear for no apparent reason other than the fact that they existed.
However, they too began bowing.
'Ah, that's no fun.', she thought.
Trevor stood up in midair, supported by Ashley's magic, and began to pace around while looking down on the hundreds of soldiers.
With a voice that was not necessarily loud, yet completely overarching, he spoke.
"Hello, and welcome, insignificant mortals. Gathered here today are all those who have been chosen by us in order to do our bidding. Ploritan. Lift your head."
Ploritan slowly looked up, to see the tremendous figures before him, and Ashley lowered the pressure on him in particular.
"The fishmen rejected our advice before under a foolish leader, and attempted to solve their own problems through brute force, as opposed to relying on a sound and firm strategy. By allowing the humans to take over the entrance to the village and abandoning his people in their time of need, Kota lost his privileges to call himself a leader. He was nothing more than a self centered, idealizing fool who considered himself to be chivalrous, while deluding himself. The Determined extended a generous offer of assistance before to the fishmen, and they rejected it. We then offered him a second chance, and he proceeded to reject that as well. I think our generosity in this matter speaks for itself."
Samantha then began to speak from her seat, and Trevor sat back down while staring intensely at Ploritan.
"Fortunately for you, we are gracious rulers, and we do not punish an entire group for the misdeeds of a single man. We consider the individual merit, and as such you and those who have followed you have been spared- due to your agreement with our conditions. You have worked together with those humans, and overcome any sense of prejudice out of your respect for us. And that is to be rewarded.", she said with a lovely smile.
Garett took over from here.
"However, the fact still remains that the fishmen rejected our gracious offer, out of loyalty for their chief. As such, our offer's graciousness has decreased, and the conditions of our assistance have increased."
Many of the fishmen felt the pressure on them increase as Garett said this, to the point where they could barely hold themselves up with their own arm strength. Many fell completely to the ground, with their arms spread out as a result of being unable to hold up their own weight.
Ashley then spoke in a crackling voice, while enjoying herself.
"We now offer you another chance. We have already lent you our assistance once, however that was merely to remove your current leader, and destroy those idiots who followed him. If you all are willing to become our slaves, then we will wipe out the humans who occupy your village on our own. I shouldn't need to explain that it can be done in an instant."
Many of the lizardmen became disappointed upon hearing this, however the pressure which they were under was so great that they were unable to voice any form of displeasure.
'If they wipe out the humans on our own, then we won't even get a chance to fight...'
'Are we doomed to be nothing more than useless pawns, stripped of our titles as warriors?'
'Why have these beings come here.... is it to take over our village? Has the time finally come? Is this the end of the world??'
'I can't even hear what they're saying.... I'm too focused on just trying to not be crushed under this pressure....'
'I have to bow further!! I won't survive if I have myself lifted higher than the others!!'
There was one lizardman in particular who refused to accept this.
'You've got to be messing with me!! How dare these people come in here and try to make us, the proud lizardmen warriors bow before them! And then they try to steal our prey from us? If nobody else is going to stand up against them, then I will!''
Or so he thought.
Samantha turned to Ashley.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Ally, there's someone who is being awful loud out there. Could you quiet him down a bit?"
"With pleasure.", Ashley said with a horrifying grin, and the eyes of a sadist.
"Third row from the front, 57th column from the left.", Samantha stated.
"Got it."
Ashley waved her hand, and a bolt of lightning came down upon one of the lizardmen in the crowd, killing him instantly.
The lizardmen around that one reeled back in fear, some of them only holding back their screams due to the fact that the pressure was so overwhelming that they physically were unable to make a noise.
The entire arrangement of lizardmen were filled with complete and utter fear, and not a single one of them even dared to think any more blasphemous thoughts.
However....
"That was the wrong one. I said 57th column from the left. Not the right. Left.", Samantha sighed.
"Your left or my left?", Ashley asked.
"Were both facing the same direction!!! I thought you were supposed to be always right!!"
"Well, yeah. Which is why I killed the 57th one from the right."
"My goodness... just kill the 57th one from the left now and lets get on with this..."
"Ok..."
Ashley raised her hand once more and brought down another lightning bolt on the lizardmen who had the aggressive thoughts, which had disappeared long before he was killed after witnessing this event.
'Heh heh... I just wanted to see his face before I killed him, after he saw what would happen to him...', Ashley thought.
"Could you all follow me for just a second?", Ashley asked, and the others all started floating behind her. Trevor seemed to be facepalming with annoyance at the fact that the presentation had been interrupted.
Ashley floated over to where the corpse of the dead lizardman was- the one who was not thinking the evil thoughts about her and her comrades, and she grabbed his soul, and stuffed it back into his body.
"Sorry about that. I hope you won't take it too personally."
The lizardman reeled in fear and pain, as his body was covered in burns, however he too couldn't let out any sounds due to the pressure Ashley was emitting. Samantha quickly healed the man up, and the four returned to their seats.
Rocko himself, was also shaken with fear.
'These are the antiheroes.... terrifying... they hold no concern for the lives of those below them... this is the same pressure from before... no, this is even less so.... she isn't angry right now like she was before... she is at least allowing us to move enough so that we may breathe, though nothing more than that.... how horrifying... have they come here just to speak with the fishmen, or is there something more to this? Do they wish to take over our village as well? If so.... ugh.... I can barely hold myself up... I'm going to crumble under this pressure... cough.... but if they truly have come to take over this village, then resistance is futile.... I will offer my entire village up to them! I will renounce my position as leader! Forgive me, people of my village! They are simply too powerful!'
'But it certainly is fortunate that I didn't turn these fishmen away at the gates.... if I had done so to the allies of the antiheroes, I would likely be suffering a fate far worse than this...'
Ploritan too was overcome by terror, however he was allowed to lift his head for now, and he did so to speak.
'Slaves.... are my people doomed to become slaves? If I agree to this, then just what will the repercussions be? No... I shouldn't think about that. I have already pledged my loyalty to these people, regardless of where they take me. I should gladly accept. Otherwise... we all may end up like that lizardman.'
Ashley once more spoke to enforce her own previous statement.
"Just remember, you fishmen all rejected us... and our assistance before, when we were simply offering to work with you. The price is now much higher after rejecting our offer not once, but twice. There will be no more chances after this. Will you become our slaves, or will you die here and now?"
Ploritan lifted his head and shouted.
"We will become your slaves!! Please allow us to come under your rule!!"
"Please allow us to come under your rule, YOUR EXCELLENCIES.", Trevor berated.
"Please allow us to come under your rule, your excellencies!!!.", Ploritan responded.
On hearing this, Trevor smiled with success, and Rocko looked over to Ploritan.
'How jealous I am.... if only they would offer me such a preposition.... should I ask myself? Should I offer that the lizardmen village become the property of these beings as well?'
Rocko was about to speak up, but couldn't.
The pressure on him was too great.
It was as if they were preventing him from speaking.
'Perhaps it would be better to stay quiet either way... they may slaughter me if I speak out of turn when they are busy...'
"Very well.", Trevor stated. "All the fishmen here are now our property. Lizardmen, fishmen, follow us back to the fishmen village. This is a spectacle I would like you all to witness."