The Colonels who were gathered around the table didn't even have the time to shout out orders before ten birdmen swooped in like eagles, picking each and every executive up by their shoulders.
"AGH!!!!"
"Let go!!!!"
The men screamed and struggled as the birdmen flew high into the air with the soldiers in their talons, looking down at the prey which they carried with delight.
"AHAHA!!!! This is what you get for trying to serve the antiheroes!!!! WE WILL SLAUGHTER EVERY LAST SLAVE OF THEIRS!!!! AHAHAHAH!!!!!"
The men were too overcome by nausea and terror to comprehend the mad ravings of the humanoid birds who carried them high into the sky, and their screams echoed through the lands.
"Agh!!!!!"
"HELP!!!!!"
"You monsters!!!!!"
"Let go!!!!!!"
While the birdmen swooped in to grab up a number of men, the snakemen had begun their advance on the front lines.
"KILL!!!!"
"KILL THEM ALL!!!! AHAHAHHA!!!!!"
The Generals who were left without superior officers to order them quickly took charge of the units.
"MEN!!!! It looks like we've been spotted and the people of that city have sent a unit after us!!! We eliminate them here and now and then perform a full retreat!!! Archers and magicians, take out the aerial units!!!! Everyone else, take down the infantry!!! For the sake of the Legion Commander and the Emperor, move forward!!!!"
This order was met with a frenzied battle cry from each and every one of the thousands of men who had just before witnessed their Commander fall to the ground, his head removed from his shoulders.
What ensued then was chaos.
The snakemen used their own clawed hands as weapons, slicing down everyone within their vicinity as the men of the legion charged with their spears pointed forward.
With thick skin that functioned as armor and deflected the stabs with only some dents, the snakemen ripped into the forces of the Legion with satisfaction on their faces.
"DIE, SCUM!!!! YOU CHOSE THE WRONG MASTERS TO SERVE!!!!!"
"FOR THE PROVIDER!!!!!!"
Meanwhile, as if a bomb had been dropped from the sky, explosions began to occur in the middle of the rankings of the legion.
Body parts and blood seemed to spray with excessive force as objects started pelting the units at extreme speeds.
These objects were the soldiers that had been picked up, armor and all.
"LET GO!!!!!!"
"HAHAHAH!!!! NOT UNTIL WE GET A LITTLE HIGHER!!!! I'LL DROP YOU FROM SO HIGH THAT YOU EXPLODE ON YOUR OWN MEN, TAKING THEM WITH YOU!!!!"
"AGH!!!! STOP!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!"
The birdmen continued swooping in on the men, picking them up and raising them high into the sky before dropping them like aerial assaults onto the troops.
The speeds at which the men reached by the time they hit the ground was enough to completely crush the men they landed on, leaving nothing more than a pile of blood and guts.
Many jumped back from the human cannonballs that were dropped near them, slowing the advances of the soldiers.
"Our own men...."
"These monsters are using our own men as ammunition....."
"THESE MONSTERS!!!! ARCHERS!!!! FIRE!!!!"
Volleys of arrows were fired at the birdmen accompanied by a number of magical spells. Bolts of elemental energy flashed through the sky, of which every inch was covered in projectiles.
"DO YOU THINK THESE PATHETIC WEAPONS CAN HARM US!?!?! AHAHA!!! THE ANTIHEROES ARE DUMBER THAN I THOUGHT!!! OR MAYBE THEY DIDN'T THINK WE COULD BE THIS STRONG!!!! AHAHAHHA!!!!", Erasalis shouted while swooping down as the arrows and magical bolts riddled his body.
They bounced off without doing much damage, yet light wounds did begin to form on him. Slight cuts and burn marks from the magic developed, yet in his own rage he ignored this completely, swooping down to the ground.
Many birdmen landed beside him as they began to fight on the ground surrounded by men, tearing their talons into all who approached.
"We have them surrounded now!!! All men forward!!! Don't miss this opportunity!! We cannot let them escape through flight!!!", one General shouted while pointing forward to the group.
With these words a number of soldiers charged at the birdmen, thrusting their spears all at once.
The weapons didn't do much damage, but it was clear that the damage was not completely minimal.
"Keep attacking!!! We can wear them down with our numbers!!!!"
A flurry of spear thrusts were the results of these orders, and Erasalis didn't take kindly to this.
"TO THINK THAT THEY WOULD ACCEPT LOWLY HUMANS INTO THEIR MIDST!?!?! I WILL SLAUGHTER EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!"
With fury he and the birdmen around him rushed forward, slaughtering any who came near.
His rush was met with a number more attacks which he shook off, continuing to rip the heads off anyone who attacked, with speeds that were just barely visible.
"Behold these thighs!!! This is the result of the culture of the birdmen!!! The culture which your leaders destroyed!!!!", Erasalis shouted as he used his own talons to slice a number of men's torsos, their bodies now split into two pieces.
"We cannot give in, men!!! Keep moving forward!!!! For the Emperor!!!"
"Yeah!!!"
"That's right!!!"
"For the Emperor!!!!"
The snakemen who were fighting their way through the people were being slowed down, however they continued rampaging, bursting through the lines.
Already, over 1000 men had been slaughtered.
One of the Generals from the back row who had a clear view of the scene realized something.
'My goodness.....'
Having witnessed the Legion Commander and all of the Colonels killed off within mere moments of the beginning of the attack, he knew that the chain of command had been disrupted.
It was as if the birdmen and snakemen who were attacking had an instinctual sense for exactly how to disrupt the lines.
They had attacked out of nowhere, catching everyone by surprise. The Legion Commander and the Colonels had been in a perfect position to pick off first.
'These monsters.... they must have intelligence.....'
Watching from these back lines, he witnessed as the men were pushed back by these beasts.
They were damaging them, but it was minimal.
It would take a hundred blows before even a single beast was killed.
'They have intelligence.... yet the raging fury in their eyes..... they are nothing more than beasts..... they are monsters.... is this what has laid within the monster realm this entire time!?! THIS!?!? That demonic fortress in the distance, and raging beasts that have this much power within them!?!? Just how many more are contained within those walls!?!? Are they all of this level of strength!?!'
Holding his own head with a look of terror on his eyes, this General heard a voice in his mind that soothed his thoughts.
His worries were dispelled, as if he had been given a sedative.
[Don't misunderstand. These creatures are nothing more than pathetically weak animals. Among the inhabitants of the city in front of you.... even a slave could take care of every last one of them.]
----
'What was that voice....'
The General looked around with confusion, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice, yet he could not.
'Did it come from that city? Or somewhere else? Did someone just speak into my mind!?!'
[Please watch with interest, my good General. Our slaves will now make their move. And as soon as they do, checkmate will already be ensured.]
Not knowing who the voice belonged to, the General would normally have been filled with terror and concern, yet there was a certain soothing element to it that he simply could not resist.
As if he was being lulled into submission just by the mere sound of the voice, a passive calmness came over him.
He was no longer worried.
He was assured.
Everything would be alright.
He did not know why or how. But he knew this within the very depths of his being.
With a smile, the man relaxed his arms.
He ceased any orders towards the men, and simply stood still with lulled eyes.
"Don't worry men."
"General? Is something wrong?"
"Why do you look so relaxed!?! Look at what is happening on the front!!"
"They're tearing right through our forces!!!"
Looking up to the two Captains who were now pointing him towards the action, he laughed.
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."
"What do you mean by that, General!?"
"Do you have a plan!?!?"
"The Legion Commander was slain!!! How can you say that in this situation!?!?!?!?"
The man laughed, and sat down onto the ground.
"What are you doing, General!?!?!?"
"I told you, didn't I? Everything will be fine. The voice told me."
The Captains standing by the General stood back with fear.
"Oi oi... something is wrong....."
"The General must have gone mad at seeing this....."
"Men!!! Keep attacking!!! We have to eliminate them!!!!"
At this point many of the birdmen and snakemen who had been forcing their way through had been severely injured, and some others had even been killed.
"We're making progress!!! We can kill them!!!! Keep fighting to your last breath!!!!!"
It was at this time that in the far distance, some of the soldiers noticed movement.
A drawbridge had been lowered, and filing out of it was a bright red blob.
Right now it was too far away to see closely, but behind the blob was a unit which appeared to be wearing grey uniforms, composed of soldiers who were either dark green or brown in color.
Filing out of this drawbridge, this unit walked forward and then took a turn towards the action.
"THEY- THEY'RE SENDING REINFORCEMENTS!!!!!"
"We.... we're doomed....."
"We have to perform a full retreat!!!!"
"NOW!!!!!"
Some of the men who witnessed this began shouting out, and as a result of these shouts a number of men hesitated, swiftly being offed by the snakemen who were furiously attacking.
"What do we do!?!?!?"
"Do we retreat!?!?!?"
"NO!!!! WE FIGHT UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH!!!!!", one man shouted while rushing forward, only to be met with the hand of a snakeman in his chest.
The men continued rushing forward, slowly but surely instilling damage on the birdmen and snakemen who attacked.
Right now, around 5000 men had been killed. The unit had been reduced to less than half of it's size. Only around 30 snakemen and 10 birdmen had been killed.
The Generals who remained looked at this scene with grief and horror, knowing that the campaign had already ended in failure.
'10,000 men.... was nowhere near enough. We would need at least 100,000.... or maybe even a million to take on the entire realm..... we couldn't even take the slime village.....', one thought.
With tears in his eyes, he held his forehead as if he had a migraine.
'Were we always this weak? Were we always this powerless? Was this the truth beyond the wall?'
Looking over to the city with terror, the man broke down onto his knees.
'Humanity..... were we only allowed to exist because these beasts never so much as tried to destroy us? Were we really within the palm of their hands.... the entire time?'
Pounding the soil which had been moistened with blood, this man looked up to see a snakeman above him, slicing down at him.
'I suppose that is all we were worth..... forgive me, Emperor. I couldn't do anything.'
His head lopped off the man's shoulders, further saturating the soil with the crimson fluid.
At this point, 2000 men remained.
Many faltered, leading to their quick deaths.
The ones who didn't were able to take a thrust at the monsters before them, doing a bit of damage before being quickly offed.
It was nothing less than a massacre.
"That group of reinforcements is getting closer. If they arrive we'll really be done for.....", one man said as he looked off into the distance.
Another man shook his head, choking back tears as he watched his brethren be slain.
"No.... even without those reinforcements.... we were already done for from the moment we stepped into this realm of death."
----
The bodies of thousands of men spread across the field.
Only a thousand remained, however their time was up.
If they ran, they would be hunted down like a rat in the clutches of a hawk.
If they fought, they would die the instant they took a step forward.
And so, these men froze in place.
Their fear had never been so deeply implanted within themselves as it was right now.
They feared their very existence.
They feared everything beyond these walls.
"What is the point in anything? What is the point in the border patrol? What is the point in the third legion? What is the point in defending humanity!?!? FROM THESE THINGS!!!!!"
"It's all over!!!! AGH!!!!"
"RUN AWAY!!!!"
Many began to run for their lives, only to be swept up by the snakemen.
"TRYING TO RUN!?!?!? AHAHAHAH!!!!! WE WILL NEVER LET YOU DO THAT!!!!! YOUR LEADERS KILLED OURS WITHOUT MERCY, AND SO WE WILL NOT SHOW MERCY TO ANY OF YOU!!!!!"
However, at this moment, with 800 men left in the field and roughly 30 birdmen, and 60 snakemen, a voice penetrated the minds of each and every single person on this battlefield.
[Do you fools dare to bring your fight onto our lawn?]
These words, spoken by an angelic voice, pierced the hearts of the people.
A shivering sensation of terror and awe rippled through every single person present, causing them to halt in their tracks.
[Trampling on our grass.... destroying our flower beds.... dirtying our property with your innards.... did you think that you would get away with this? Turn around.]
As if they were compelled by an unknown force, each and every person- human, snakeman, and birdman alike, found themselves moving on their own.
[Now stand still. Since you've taken the luxury to paint our lawn red, then I suppose there is only one thing that can be done. The stains have already been made. They can no longer be washed out. So what should we do?]
Each and every person was commanded to stand perfectly still. Their thoughts were still their own, yet their bodies seemed to be controlled, moving- or in this case, not moving, against their very will.
The signals to move were sent from the brains of the people, yet somehow they were cut off and prevented from reaching the correct appendages.
Looking forward, they saw it.
In front of them was a demon.
Her scarlet hair draped down her body, and in her hand was a staff which had red orbs on either side.
She walked forward with an expression of extreme pleasure as she sensually rubbed two fingers behind her own ear.
[I suppose the only thing that can be done is to paint over the stains. It is time to dye the entire field red.]
'That voice....'
'I remember it....'
'That was the voice of the succubus!!!!'
'The teal demon who was a member of the antiheroes!!!!'
'That bitch!!!! WHERE IS SHE!?!?!? I MUST KILL HER!!!!'
'SHOW YOURSELF!!!!!!'
The birdmen and snakemen were filled with rage upon recognizing the voice of Samantha, yet they were frozen in place, unable to move.
'AND THAT GIRL!!!! SHE IS THE ONE WHO SLAUGHTERED THE PROVIDER!!!!!!!!!!!"
"KILL!!!!"
"KILLL!!!"
"WE MUST KILL HER!!!!!"
The rage of the snakemen boiled even greater than before as Melody stepped forward ever so casually, swinging her wand like a baton.
"You realize that blood is one of the most common ways that an infection spreads? When you come into contact with the blood of someone infected, you might contract that same infection. Especially so if it gets into a wound.", she said with a demented look as her hair fluttered.
Behind her stood a number of different people.
Humans, lizardmen, birdmen, and even a snakeman.
Approaching them ever so casually, she swung her wand with the lightest tap at the head of one of the raging snakemen before her.
The moment the orb came into contact with the head of the snakeman, it exploded, raining blood and guts.
The woman held out her hands, dropping her wand and closing her eyes with a demented smile, as if she was bathing in the shower of blood.
"How refreshing it is to cover myself in the blood of those who dare to defy the antiheroes."
----
A carriage currently rode through a series of extreme hills.
This carriage, which looked like a combination of flesh and bones, strolled through the lands at a casual pace. The people within it were clearly in no hurry to reach their destination.
Inside this carriage, the space did not match the size of the carriage.
The room within was larger than the actual amount of volume the carriage contained. It was a distorted space within another dimension.
Inside this carriage, four beings resided.
One was a girl with black messy hair, green eyes with dark lines underneath them, and transparent skin. Currently this girl was on the floor kicking her legs back and forth with a light smile.
In front of the girl's face was a screen, and she seemed to be watching something like a movie. There was some sort of war going on, and a military unit was being slaughtered by a group of crazed monsters.
"Ohh? Looks like the good guys are losing! Where's the hero to come and save the day, I wonder? Aren't they supposed to come BEFORE everyone dies?"
"Can anyone be called the 'good guys' in actuality?", an elven figure replied as he sat in a chair, hands folded and looking at his own screen. "They all trespassed on our property and then had the gall to fight on our very territory. An offense worthy of death, if you ask me."
"We can't let them live after they ruined our precious landscape. After all, the value of our property might decrease if the neighbors keep vandalizing everything."
The one who responded to this elven figure was a demonic succubus, who sat regally next to him while watching the same screen.
"You've learned well, woman.", the elf replied while pushing up his razor sharp glasses. "I'm proud to call you my woman."
With a bashful nod, the succubus looked down with an innocent smile.
"Mhm...."
Laying on a bench with his arms behind his head, a crimson demon too looked at a screen that floated above him.
"Haha.... it's too bad we couldn't get in on the action ourselves. Right, Ally?"
"It would have been fun.... to do that with you....", the ghostly figure replied.
"We will have our own enjoyment soon enough.", the elf stated. "For now, the video feed is satisfactory, no?"
"Heh heh... for now...", the ghostly figure snickered.