Madam Gi stood atop the forbidden palace in Damon's body. She was dressed in black and white long-sleeved robes. Behind her was Hector, who watched the movements in the city below.
"They are coming." Madam Gi said calmly.
They made preparations for today for over a century now, there was obviously no way they could fail. Hector nodded in agreement before shifting his attention to Valysara's chamber window and frowned. He found it odd that Damon had been missing for the entire day and his sister had not thrown a tantrum.
She was meant to be Madam Gi's new host, but Damon ended up serving as her replacement. Even though she was basically powerless and weak, Hector still felt threatened by her existence.
If Madam Gi wasn't going to take her body, they should get rid of her.
"We will get rid of her after the battle. We can't afford to offend the remnants of her little faction in the middle of a crucial battle." Madam Gi assured Hector after sensing his worry.
Madam Gi was the fox queen before Valysara, whom Damon defeated. She hated her daughter because she fell in love with the man responsible for the defeat and enslavement of the fox spirit race.
She was determined to make the God of Death and Valysara pay for their crimes against her.
… 1 Hour Before Disaster ….
The Forbidden Palace was located in the northern part of the Valtheris. From its vantage point on the hill, one could get a good look at the rest of the city.
Soldiers silently moved through the streets of Valtheris, all converging in the direction of the Forbidden Palace. Beyond its massive walls, Duke Hail's soldiers began gathering.
Amongst these soldiers were Duke Hail and Michael Hail, riding horse-sized wolves. There were no beats of war drums, there were no war cries, just silence.
The entire kingdom of Valtheris was silent, as if it was aware of the chaos about to be unleashed.
…. 30 Minutes Before Disaster ….
Duke Hail's forces were made up of 30 Novars, 20 Adaptus, and one Arcanist. His soldiers were divided into five teams, each led by an Arcane Duelist which was basically the Adaptus level of a magic knight. With this, he had easily over five hundred soldiers gathered some distance away.
Duke Hail, Michael Hail, and a few personal guards stationed themselves at the rooftop of a building, with a table set up and tea presented to them.
From this position, they had a good view of the Forbidden Palace. This would allow them to command their soldiers properly.
"Well… well… well… I must say, I am excited to conduct my first war. All my knowledge of warfare comes from my predecessor's memories." Duke Hail said with a calm smile while picking up his cup of tea.
He ignored the soldiers, arranging the war drums and other things needed for the battle.
"You left a seventeen-year-old child in there. Even though he is not biologically yours, you should at least pretend to be worried about him." Michael complained.
Duke Hail chuckled at his words and chugged down the contents of his cup happily.
"Come on, you know I'm not a monster. I just can't help but trust the lad a lot. He has proven to be quite capable already." Duke Hail quickly defended himself.
Damon was a member of his pack, there was no way he would abandon one of his own. Michael rolled his eyes and focused his attention on the Forbidden Palace.
After a thousand years, they finally have the chance to destroy this cursed place.
"And the family heads?" Michael asked with a frown.
Even though they gave out warnings, the noble family leaders ignored their warnings and came to the forbidden palace earlier in the morning. They never returned to the Pride Inn since then, so Michael and Duke Hail were certain they were in there.
"Losing a few horny old men to get rid of the Griffith Empire's fox problem is an acceptable price to pay." Duke Hail shrugged, his gaze frosty and his voice decisive.
….. 5 Minutes Before Disaster …..
Over a hundred archers and ten Novars mounted the wall. Properly lined up in the mountain trials were nearly five hundred normal soldiers and five Adeptus.
While it may seem Duke Hail possessed greater quality soldiers, within three hundred out of the five hundred were souls of vicious soul spirits waiting to unleash their powers under the cover of war.
They had an extra two hundred fox spirits disguised as courtesans within the fox palace. They had four noble heads under their control, all were exceptional mages.
The strongest was Marquis Marlow, who was an Arcanist magus. The heads of the houses of Valen and Eldridge were powerful Adaptus rank mages. Meanwhile, the head of the dying Viscount Thornwell family was a mere Novar magus with decent combat skills.
Finally, there were two nine-tailed demon fox spirits on the side of the forbidden palace. After plotting for over a century now, they had stocked up enough food and supplies to last them months if necessary.
Both sides felt confident in their preparations, but only one was bound to come out victorious.