About an hour from Stormhaven was a small village in a narrow valley deep in the mountains. On the outside of the valley was a series of paddy fields leading up the hill to a narrow entrance. From there they had a clear view of any enemies within sixty feet. After that, it was a dense forest giving off an eerie aura, and everyone expected red eyes to illuminate the darkness any minute.
Cerebus had a series of soldiers surrounding the only route into the valley, and behind them were villagers armed with weapons. The children and elders were already moved to a secure location. Protecting them were women armed with farming tools or ancestral swords. Their village may not be large, but it survived in this valley for several centuries and refused to go down without a fight.
Harald was leading a group of fifteen raiders to the frontline to assist Kintaro. All of the raiders were wearing similar gear to Harald and were all massive men. Kintaro took notice of them earlier during the strategy meeting. He was well aware of their heritage due to the tattoos on some of the men.
They all belonged to a tribe in the neutral territory. It was a lawless land unaffected by the treaties resulting in constant conflict. All of the human tribes who managed to survive there evolved to be hardy warriors, and experts in combat.
The soil at Harald's home isn't suitable for farming giving them limited options for survival. Because of this Harald's village must rely on mercenary work or raiding among the coasts to support their family. Other than that they had to rely on the little livestock they could raise in harsh conditions.
"Where are the rest of your men?" Harald asked.
"We reveal ourselves when necessary. Mind if I ask you something personal?" Kintaro replied.
"I always prefer being direct so ask away," Harald said while watching the treeline.
"Why do you stay in that land of death? I understand your draw to the sea, but surely you can find that somewhere else. There are many places that would allow you to live off the land, and you could even claim that land as your own without conflict. With the current treaty, you would be safe to prosper. Why you stay is something that's always puzzled us." Kintaro asked.
Harald never expected Kintaro to know his background. Their village is a well-kept secret, and not many people willingly visit the neutral territory. For someone to have detailed information about his location, and their struggles caught him off guard.
The only person in the guild who knew was Vicente, and he wouldn't tell anyone. There was only one answer Harald could come up with. His grandfather would tell him stories of a shinobi organization they battled against long ago. Harald has done battle in multiple territories, and never witness them before he assumed they were a myth.
The Koga clan took all sorts of contracts so long as they weren't malicious. and it's how they funded their work throughout history. This caused the two factions to have several clashes in the past when they were tasked with protecting cities from their raids. With time the two clans made peace, but they always kept tabs on them.
"Our ancestors settled that land long ago, and many have given their lives to keep it. Leaving the land would make their sacrifice mean nothing." Harald replied.
"That is understandable, but repeating the same tragedy helps no one. Why not gain their assistance? They can grow crops in the dead of winter so I'm sure they could figure something out to improve your scenario." Kintaro stated as he sensed something passing their barrier.
Harald saw the serious look sweep Kintaro's face and called forth his battleax walking in front of his men. They saw Harald with his weapon and they all took the shields from their back. A series of dim red lights appeared through the forest and closed in rapidly. Leading the vampire assault was a feral named Luthor, and he noticed the defense lying in wait.
"They have more fighters than expected. Foolish mercs about to die over a payday they will never get to spend." Luthor smirked as he directed them forward.
Vampires began walking from the treeline and as always the ferals charged in recklessly without a worry. Kintaro's hands were fidgeting with excitement. The battle coming could prove to be fatal, but he had shurikens that were grade five artifacts.
The best Kintaro's ever had was some enchanted steel for durability. Four ferals were nearing their position, and each of them had a shuriken buried into their chest. It went through their steel armor like it was butter, but the ferals seemed unbothered by the damage pushing forward.
Kintaro activated the ability as they were incinerated instantly, and the vampires halted in their tracks in confusion. They saw no flames yet they were burned instantly. Examining the bodies it resembled a body being exposed to the sun.
Before they could debate the possibility more shurikens came flying in their direction. Having so many bound to him to recall at will granted Kintaro endless ammo. Those around Kintaro watched in amazement as the barrage of shurikens ensued.
"Don't let them hit you, and someone hit that man already!" Luthor shouted.
All the vampires with weapons attempted to deflect the shurikens, but they would disappear back into his hand. The ones capable of magic gathered long-range attacks aiming them for Kintaro. As the attacks were forming Harald got in line with his men. The blasts were unleashed roaring towards them.
"Shield wall!" Harald shouted.
All of them connected their shields with eight facing outwards, and eight upwards. On the rivet of their shields, a series of runes began to glow. A powerful barrier of pure mana formed between them forming a shell around Kintaro. The barrage of magical attacks barely cracked the shell, but more attacks began to gather launching one after another, and they were slowly wearing down the barrier.
"Keep it up, and be ready to swarm that bastard once it's down!" Luthor ordered.
Harald and his men began chanting in Norse as they clanged on the back of their shields. Their runes began to shine brighter as a loud ringing ensued. The cracks began healing as they marched forward slowly.
Kintaro understood at that moment why the Koga clan considered them an A-ranked threat in the past. An entire army of them would be a true threat to any nation, but their clans don't stay allied for long.
"You can attack, and exit freely," Harald said as they pushed forward.
Kintaro prepared his next attack. He crossed his arms as six shurikens appeared between his fingers. All of them went flying towards the vampires. They were dodged but weren't paying attention to the second set that followed behind them. When they clashed with the other shurikens it changed the trajectory.
Kintaro kept three types of shuriken to help them bounce off each other. Some of the vampires managed to jump away, but a group of them didn't see it. The shurikens placed spell circles on the ground surrounding the ten vampires. Kintaro reached out to his comrades mentally.
"Hit as many casters as possible, and then retreat to my position." Kintaro relayed.
Kintaro raised his fingers activating the circles, and the vampires were trapped in a cage of flames. Before they could think of a counter the bars expanded closing them in a box. The box shrank to they were forced to touch the walls incinerating the vampires inside. The box began to flicker as Kintaro formed a hand sign with both hands, and the box exploded engulfing a few more in the process.
To prepare that large of attack would require a lot of preparation, but with the shurikens' abilities, it was easy to set up on the spot. The drain on Kintaro's magic was greater as a result, but it would allow him to maintain his cover.
During the commotion, while the dust was settling three figures moved swiftly through it. The sound of flesh cutting and bodies thudding could be heard. Another vampire was nearly cut down, but Luthor swiped off his attacker's arm.
"Clear the dust and expose the culprits!" Luthor ordered.