***Somewhere in the Outer Walls, the northern border of the Kingdom of Cherwind…***
For two days now, the settlements within the territory of the Beastman Republic were restless. Refugees flooded from the other regions, warriors and their equipment clogged the roads on their way to the 'frontlines' where they were needed. The news of rampaging groundworms and leviathans reached every corner of the country, and the officials of the young state were embattled to keep the hordes away, and dealing with the issues of the displaced population.
The army of the young republic was already destroyed, scattered after the few days of battles as every soldier sought to protect their homes and families rather than to stand against the attacking monsters. Resistance now came from the kingdom's military units, sent in by the Royal Armed Forces of Cherwind to train the republican forces. The only ways to safety lay on traversing the mountain passes, where the refugees risked exposure to elements and freezing to death, or evacuating to the south, past the impenetrable Outer Walls—the northern boundary of the Kingdom of Cherwind.
In consideration for being members of the beastfolk, Ursura opened the borders for the surviving population to run to. There was no one to negotiate, as the leadership of the Beastman Republic immediately crumbled in the early days of the rampage. So, the monarch decided on her own. She also sent the Red Feathers on bombing runs, just to 'shave off' the numbers of the groundworms and leviathans before it set its eyes on her realm. The Red Feathers also doubled as beacons and protectors for the escaping folk to follow, as their abilities to fly meant they were relatively safe from the monsters.
As for the beastman queen herself, she never left the vicinity of the Outer Walls and summoned all military forces—including mercenaries and the armies of her vassals—to watch the entirety of the border. A few villages in the mountains sent their contingents to help with the fighting. As word came from the Holy Palatial Gardens that aid could take a while, Ursura held off from organizing expeditions to strike the hordes before arriving at the gates of the kingdom.
It is a good call that they strengthened the fortifications of the Outer Walls, even as the major conflicts in Cherwind died out.
Ursura could only sigh in relief. After founding the kingdom, the monarchy sought to repair the Outer Walls, and expand it, mostly in preparation for the battles against the loyalist forces of Lady Konka. Aside from a thicker wall and wider, as well as deeper, moat filled with the so-called 'Punji sticks' (Kuro had those installed when he was still reigning in Malvette), the Royal Army also built small fortresses embedded on the walls that divided the border into sections. The crenellated top bristled with artillery guns, meant to shred charging groundworms or leviathans. And to completely secure the borders by deterring flanking movements, human mages employed by the kingdom cast magic barriers that extended underground, so the groundworms would be kept off their territory.
At least, compared to the situation she heard from the Beastman Saint, Cherwind was in better position than her counterparts in Chersea and Cherwoods.
"Your Majesty!"
Ursura's thoughts were interrupted by her aide, who burst into her private chamber inside one of the Outer Walls' fortresses. As the dog-man heavily panted, the beastman queen could tell he ran long distance, to deliver her an urgent message. "Tell me the news and rest after," she advised. "I still need your services, so take care of yourself."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the aide took a deep breath, before continuing. "A contingent of dwarves arrived in Malvette earlier today. They claim to have been sent by His Majesty the Lord Kuro, and they are from the Dwarf Saint's personal guards' retinue."
There was a sudden rush of excitement in Ursura's chest, as she received the news, and a letter from the person she left in-charge in the kingdom's capital detailing the numbers of the dwarves that came to help them. "Tell me," she stood up and equipped her knuckles. "Where is this contingent now? Are they still in Malvette?"
"They are now marching to this fort, Your Majesty!" the dog-man revealed. "Before I set out, they are also preparing for a forced march, to get to the borders quick. His Most Holy Majesty will fight and protect us!"
"Yes!" Ursura held the aide by his shoulders. "Take heart! The Lord Kuro is with us!"
At once, the aide gave his salute and left with a few written instructions from his queen, to be sent after he was fully rested. From a distance, Ursura could hear heavy shuffling sounds, and the wine glass on her table began to stir. Soon, there were booming sounds from the wall cannons. It gradually increased as the shaking became stronger.
"!!!" There was a smirk on the Beastman Queen's lips as she removed her royal robes. While she ruled the Kingdom of Cherwind, fighting in those cumbersome clothes was difficult. She was a member of the Ursus tribe, and the mighty bears of the mountains fight without unnecessary dresses.
The monster hordes had finally arrived at her doorstep.
----------
The approaching monster hordes could be seen from afar, as the dust it whipped flew behind to the air. The panicked movements of the leviathans and groundworms also caused small tremors, enough to warn the entire garrisons of human and beastmen soldiers at the walls. By the time the monsters were a few miles away from the range of the cannons, the Royal Air Forces of Cherwind had already taken off, and was bombarding the groundworm and leviathans, trying to kill some of them before the artillery began its fire.
At the foot of the walls, on the inner side that faced the territory of the kingdom, were the main columns of soldiers led by the Queen Ursura herself. Reinforcing them were the new 'mechanized' regiments formed after the armored vehicle technology used by the Chersean Elvish Expeditionary Forces reached them. As the Royal Army of Cherwind had never used them in battle before, the generals thought these units would be placed in reserve, only to use it when the battle turned desperate.
"…"
Outside, and sitting in front of the barricades and the moat, was the Beastman Saint herself, Ruro of the Wolf. Standing behind her on the flanks were the members of the Black Feathers, the Kingdom of Cherwind's elite forces, led by their commander and one of their local heroes, the dog-boy Luka. While the defenders of the Outer Wall waited on the monster hordes to come to them, Ruro activated her god-powers, and sent tornadoes and hail tearing down on the leviathans and groundworms.
Everyone stood in complete silence, as the explosions from the cannon fires and foul weather, pierced the stillness of the surrounding area. One could feel the dread in the air, for even though almost every human and beastfolk in Cherwind had fought against a rampaging horde of leviathans or groundworms, it was still a different and completely new experience to fight against both of those monsters, and against a multitude of herds. And based from the reports of the soldiers from the Beastmen Republic, the hordes moved in unison, trampling and devouring everything in its way.
"…"
The soft, but hurried thuds drew closer, and the ground forces readied themselves. Bullets and spears were distributed, for many of the commanders reckoned that the 'small' bullets might be less effective now (compared to smaller rampaging hordes). Tanks were also positioned in defensive lines a few distance away from the walls, guns trained towards the direction of the monster, should the walls get breached. The infantry, however, would sally forth, in an attempt to prevent the hordes from reaching the fortifications, or at least, lessen its numbers for an easier defense by the mechanized regiments.
Ursura, who was never to lead from behind, watched from one of the Outer Walls' parapets. She could feel the suffocating tension from her warriors, as well as their apprehensions, yet she never showed her wavering emotions. The sight of one rampaging horde of monsters was already nerve-wracking; it seemed they were facing the entire population of groundworms and leviathans.
"Black Feathers! Take positions!"
"!!!"
The queen was brought to her senses by the voice of Luka. When the tornadoes and hailstorms subsided, he began to advance, following the lead of the Beastman Saint. His sister, Rumia, stood on the other parapet observing the movement of the Black Feathers, being the overall general in-charge of the armed forces, subordinate only to Ursura herself. Promoted to the commander of the Black Feathers, Luka never relinquished his leadership of its 2nd Regiment, and now, he was fighting with them once again…in front of the walls he stubbornly defended against the beastmen loyal to Lady Konka.
"!!!"
With one powerful roar, the Beastman Saint transformed into a grey wolf, and rushed forward to meet the advancing hordes. Taking her cue, the Black Feathers also charged, and took down the surviving monsters. The leviathans were easy targets, for its clumsy movements and large size meant that the attackers could hit it wherever they pleased. However, the groundworms were a different problem; while sometimes bigger than the leviathans, this monster could dig deep, and as such, much of it avoided the hailstorm, tornadoes, and artillery. To kill these creatures, the soldiers had to get up close and personal, trapping it above ground so as the cannons could finish it off.
Ruro had no issues cutting through the rampaging horde. Her great physical strength could dismember the monsters as if she was tearing paper, or pin it down for the artillery crews. Fangs and claws in her wolf form added to her lethality, combined with her unearthly speed. As such, the Beastman Saint alone contributed to a huge number of the hordes killed.
However, the rampaging monsters seemed endless. And they cut a wide swath of destruction across the Plains of Cherwind, impeded only by the Outer Walls and its defenses. While many watched Ruro destroy monsters with relative ease, those who were on the ground knew that their holy lady would get exhausted at some point later. Thus, they needed to do their share as well.
"Spears!"
Once they reached their positions, the Black Feathers—many of whom were beastmen of the Avinus tribes—raised their spears in command. Then, their dog-tribe commander brought down his hand, to which they followed by hurling their deadly projectiles to the approaching hordes. Those weapons were imbued with magic spells meant to spread nets, etched on the handles and blades. Together with the artillery shells, the spears skewered the monsters unfortunate enough to be caught in the 'hail' of spears and magic nets. Then, the cannons finished the trapped creatures.
"We are pushing those damned monsters back!" cried some of the army commanders watching the spectacle. However, Ursura thought that it was too premature to celebrate, given that the hordes still kept on coming, the Beastman Saint had been fighting for a while now, and the Black Feathers were already committed in the fight.
"…"
And no matter how much has been killed, the monsters inched their way to the wall. Looks like the fight will be solved by everyone deploying.
"Your Majesty!"
"!!!" Ursura saw the Beastman Saint standing on the parapet, back to her normal form, and was obviously spent.
"My god-powers are already used up," Ruro told her, as the saint fell on her knees. Fortunately, Ursura was quick to catch her. "With that, I can't fight any longer, at least, until after I take a rest."
"Ah, please, you've done enough, Your Holiness," the queen helped her steady her feet. "The barracks is the safest place right now."
"Thanks!" Ordering one of her aides to help the saint, soon Ruro disappeared into the fortress' barracks.
The Black Feathers remained on the offensive, doing the same routine of trapping monsters via spears, and letting the artillery killed those while they moved to their next victim. The horrible screams of the pained creatures while they get shredded echoed throughout the battlefield, giving even those who were veterans of battles against them the fright. This went on for two more waves of spears, before the Black Feathers were forced to retreat as the horde crashed through the defensive positions outside the walls. By this time, they let the surviving monsters fall into the moats, and into the punji sticks waiting for it beneath the waters.
Once again, the artillery sprang into action, shredding those who were trapped, and the Black Feathers closing in for the kill with their swords, bayonets and bolt-heaters. The groundworms had a grisly feast of leviathan flesh, before the creatures were also killed by cannon fire and melee.
"Red Feathers!"
The magicians in-charge of the signals then called in the beastmen bombers, already in-flight as the battle raged. From their aerial spots, the Eagles and Falcons dropped their 'barrel bombs', hitting the incoming hordes and giving the artillery on the walls and the Black Feathers engaged on the outskirts a brief respite. As each 'bomber' carried a pair of bombs, once they ditched their payloads, the Red Feathers returned to their bases for reload.
Yet, the monsters continued to attack.
While the artillery rested and the bombers were yet to return, it fell on the ground forces to defend the borders. The Black Feathers, while they were trained for assault operations, were only tasked to skirmish, and retreat when their positions became untenable. Nevertheless, they killed once the opportunity presented itself. As the monster hordes kept battering the Outer Walls, soon the moat was filled with monster flesh, enabling the creatures to 'bridge' the gap between northern Cherwind and the kingdom's territory. The leviathans kept pounding the walls, bashing their heads into the stones and eventually killing themselves. The groundworms would feed on the dead flesh, yet as they converged in one place, the corpses piled up, endangering the defenders on the parapets.
"My queen," an aide came to Ursura. "The mage regiments are asking for help. They are about to exhaust their mana, and the hordes still kept on attacking."
The beastman queen was silent. From there, she had two options: first, a retreat from the walls and into the makeshift defenses below. However, the lines with the tanks were flimsy compared to the Outer Walls, and the fortifications itself hadn't fallen just yet. Second, she could order a general advance, then have some people remove the corpses as they keep the monster hordes away. But the second choice was risky as well, and who would make the effort to ran across the walls to take the pile ups away?
"Big sis," it was Rumia. "The magicians we have are hard-pressed. We have to give them a respite, or our defenses will fall."
"What do you suggest, Rumia?" Ursura asked. Honestly, she was lost as to what to take. Back then, it was Kuro who took charge of the strategy, so she could focus on fighting. She could decide on some stuff, especially in smaller conflicts, like the ones she had with the beastmen villages before the founding of the Beastman republic. But this battle was the biggest she ever fought in; and the tension was getting into her.
"I'll send the Black Feathers to run along the entirety of the walls to remove the monster corpses," the dog-girl suggested. "Though, please order a general advance, so we can give them the allowance to maneuver, as well as make the magicians rest."
"…"
Not wishing to endanger the magic spells protecting the walls from being flanked underground, the queen finally ordered a general advance.
----------
Upon learning that they were to charge, the human and beastmen soldiers of the Royal Army of Cherwind silently prepared. As they were to fight the monster hordes, they were given spears and swords, as hacking through leviathan and groundworm flesh was effective than puncturing them with small bullets. Nevertheless, the tension the Beastman Queen felt herself was present among her warriors, especially after they witnessed the multitude of hordes they were about to fight.
"Beastmen and humans of Cherwind!" Ursura called out to her army before they marched. "As your queen, I know you are scared. I know you are intimidated by what you have been witnessing! I am the same as you! Ever since earlier, my legs are shivering, and been silently praying that the hordes stop before they reach the walls. But it didn't happen. Not even with the help of our most holy saint!"
The soldiers said nothing. Still, the beastman queen took that as a sign she could continue.
"Nevertheless, my friends…you know me. From a beastman nobody, I am now your queen. From nothing, I took every problem I encountered as a challenge! And this will be no different; for I have brave warriors with me! We will defend the fuck out of these walls! We will kill every monster that dare lay its dirty limbs on our lands! Those who die quick will be weak dumbasses! Are you with me, beastfolk and humans of Cherwind?"
At that point, her speech roused the feelings of the soldiers, and they responded with widespread cheers and acclaim. Deep inside, Ursura also directed that to herself. Once again, she repeated, this time with an even louder voice, "We will defend the fuck out of these walls! Whoever dies first is a freaking weak ass! Your queen and His Holy Majesty the Lord Kuro are with you!"
Her soldiers, used to her 'unusual' words, answered her with another resounding war cry that was heard from a few miles away, especially the cities nearest the border. At the signal of the Beastman Queen, her warriors surged forward climbing or jumping over the walls; guns firing, swords drawn, and bayonets pointed towards their targets. The leviathans and groundworms lashed, as it felt its bodies pierced, slashed and punctured. A few that were unlucky were devoured by the groundworms, or were crushed by the flailing leviathans, yet the warriors trudged on in a frenzy.
After all, once the Outer Walls got breached, it was a free rampage throughout the entire kingdom.
Not wishing to remain idle for the rest of the battle, the tanks supported the melee battle outside by firing their cannons. Not only did the sound unnerved the leviathans (like the cannons earlier), it also turned some of the monsters into mincemeat in quick succession.
----------
However, it was soon apparent that the monster hordes were not getting any fewer. While the Royal Army of Cherwind was holding off quite well, the longer the battle endured, the more exhausted everyone would be. The Black Feathers were already engaged in the fight earlier, running through the entirety of the Outer Walls to remove corpses and clear the moats so the monsters couldn't scale the parapets and endanger the artillery crews. Ursura had them withdrawn to rest. And the magicians maintaining the magical barriers were also getting tired of holding the spells up even as they rotated people to minimize exhaustion; the groundworms repeatedly tried to dig deep underground.
The cannons on the walls had a duration of use, as well as ammunition limits. Any more past its 'duration,' and it'll endanger both their crews and the entire defense.
While the Red Feathers returned to sortie many times, dropping bombs behind on the approaching hordes, the Eagles and Falcons were approaching their limits, too. To make matters worse, the corruption brought by the Seductress' miasma mutated a few of the groundworms. The Royal Army had encountered many of those monsters that was unusually bigger and moved faster, as the hordes died and was replaced by the Outer Walls. By then, Ursura's hopes lay on the dwarves coming to reinforce them.
"Any sign of those dwarves marching from Malvette?" she asked one of the Red Feathers, while their respective units rested inside the fortress built into the walls. Almost all the regiments had been rotated to fight, including the ones with tanks and the reserves. Ursura could see the fatigue in her soldiers' faces.
"We saw their column coming near the city of Netevren, Your Majesty."
"Damn, that's still too far!" the queen slammed her fists on one of the nearby tables. "Can't they come in any faster?"
"I'm afraid not, my queen," the Red Feather answered.
"Let me teleport them," Ruro, who was listening, offered.
The Red Feather shook his head. "The dwarves are asking not to hurry them, for they are bringing in some heavy weapons they wish to remain secret."
"Tch," the Beastman Saint never hid her annoyance. "Those little guys being secretive and all is hurting our chance to victory!"
"Ah, please calm down, Your Holiness! The Lord Kuro did ask them to come, so I guess we should just trust them and hold out for a little longer," Ursura turned to the holy lady before going back to the Red Feather. "Heavy weapons? What do you mean? Cannons?"
"I don't know, Your Majesty. Their leader asked me not to question her. But she did say it will help us with the monster hordes; they'll assemble it once they are near."
"Oh…" the queen took a deep breath, and a pause. Then, she cleaned the bloodied knuckles on her hands, before declaring, "I guess, we'll have to hold out a little—!!!"
Everyone in the fortress froze when they heard successive artillery volleys, followed by celebratory shouts and cheers. Ursura and her military aides rushed outside the barracks to check out on what was happening, only to be greeted by huge floating military dirigibles of the dwarf contingent. The banner of the Dwarf Saint was featured prominently on the sides of the airships, the sight of which gave the tired defenders a renewed motivation to fight. As the artillery volleys ceased to reload, it was replaced by the machine gun fires that peppered the monster hordes and kill off many of their number.
"…" the Beastman Queen could only watch in silent awe as her military commanders, buoyed by the new arrivals, cheered at the destruction those airships wrought against their enemies.
----------
***Cherflammen***
The silence of the surrounding desert was torn by the loud shriek that came from the Seductress' lips. The first of the miasma tentacles she used to connect to the worlds of Chersea, Cherwind, and Cherwoods suddenly got cut off, and she bled mana from that injury.
"What's going on?" she screamed once again, as pain climbed from her right hand, to the right shoulder. Much to the Void monster's shock, a flash of light came out of the cracks that formed on her limb, before it dissipated, forever losing the use of her right hand. "What's happening? My powers are not working!"
Inside her mind, the Overseer Saint watched as she writhed and curse in pain. "What a nice expression you're making now, Lady Arame. If only those people who suffered under you can see this," Seirna chuckled. "Now that one of the worlds you're trying to devour has fought back successfully against you, I'm sure it will be soon that you will die. A question of when, not if."
"You're an idiot!" the Seductress hissed. "If I die, you will die too!"
"Are you seriously trying to goad me into siding with you? Pfft! It's fine for me, you know, dying and dragging you with me. It's not like I'm really needed in Chersea; once I'm gone, life there will continue, under the new god. But yes, here, we will die together."
"You're crazy!"
"Aren't we all? Besides, I only learned from the best; you raised me, remember?" Seirna let out another laugh. "Your time has come, Lady Arame! You may have escaped before, when Gaius, Cassandra and I fought against you, but this time, we will make sure you can't return forever! And I'll savor every moment you despaired!"
"Ahhhh!!!" Sensing her doom, the Seductress lashed out, sending more miasma on the other connections that remained. She didn't know which one has her dreaded enemy, the 'other' Black God, Kuro, was in, so she made sure that the shadow children she sent in would be difficult to defeat. "I shall kill that man! I shall kill everyone you fought for, insolent child! And then, when everything was already destroyed, I shall devour your spirit as slowly as possible! I will make sure you suffer a hundred times over!"
"Empty threats," the Overseer Saint shrugged. "You can't even release yourself from the chains that bound you. And to think, the one who did that to you has long been dead."
"Yiiiiieeeeeaaahhhh!!!"
Seirna could only shake her head. While deep inside, there was a little ray of hope that the worlds under Kuro was resisting the influence of the Seductress, she never let it show on her face. She couldn't let her guard down; her mental fortitude was the only thing that held the Black God's curse and her spells together. As they neared victory, she had to endure a little more…though she knew she wouldn't live to see it.