Chapter 40: Two Ways to Win

With Marcus dead, the soldiers gathered up the remains of the soldier who had been unceremoniously beheaded by his own commander. As they started to walk away, leaving Kat, Bandit, Lupy, and the unnamed young man behind, Kat asked them what they were going to do about the knight’s corpse.

“Dunno. It’s a shame he ran off and got eaten by a bear or something.” The soldiers continued on, disappearing behind the trees and brush.

Kat couldn’t understand how their cover story would work when they got asked about the body they were bringing back, but it wasn’t a problem for her to worry about. She cast another healing spell on Lupy for good measure.

“Your arm…” The young man who had been gaping the whole time came back to his senses and approached Lupy.

“It’s fine.”

“It… It’s not fine. You got hurt protecting me when I should have been protecting you.”

Lupy tilted her head in confusion. “Why?”

“Well…” the young man hesitated, likely unsure of how to explain something so rudimentary. “I’m older, and I’m a guy, so it’s my job to keep you girls safe.”

“I don’t care about that,” Lupy replied. “I was the strongest, so I protected you.”

“I… I guess I can’t say anything to that. But what… will you do about your arm?”

Kat reached out with her arm to try to get Lupy’s attention, but to no avail.

“It’ll grow back.”

“…What?”

“You see!” Kat interjected. “We might know someone who can help… uh… attach the arm again, actually.”

“Attach it? Really!?” He glanced at the severed arm which was still sitting on the ground undisturbed. “You sure you don’t need to pick it up then?”

“Oh, silly me!” Kat jogged over to the arm and picked it up carefully, wrapping it in cloth. “We better hurry before it’s too late to attach it. You should get back to your party too.”

“Will you three be okay?”

“Of course! Nina here is almost as strong as Lupy, so we’ll be fine even if we run into more trouble.”

“Why are you all so strong? I mean, I’m not complaining! But that was amazing…”

“We… started training from a young age. Lupy’s also very talented!”

“Okay then…” He glanced at them over his shoulder as he walked away. “Thanks again…” The young man wore his guilt on his face. “Good luck!” He broke into a run.

“That was fun,” said Lupy.

“Fun?” Bandit wasn’t convinced. “You got your arm cut off. And that guy was a total—“

“Yeah, but it’ll grow back, right? Ever since DM gave us… reg… regenerate?”

“It should,” Kat agreed, now that there were no witnesses. “But remember Lupy, normally only certain monsters can regenerate. We need to keep secret the fact that we have that ability.”

“Why?”

“If people find out we have abilities that only monsters are supposed to have, they’ll ask us why and look into us. If they do, they may discover our secret connection to DM.”

“Oh, okay. Can I have that sword?” Lupy pointed at Marcus’s sword which had been left sitting on the ground next to him.

“I guess?” Kat wasn’t sure if that would cause a problem or not down the line.

“Good. I think I like swords now.” Lupy gathered it with her left arm. “How long will it take my right arm to grow back?”

“I don’t know?” Neither Kat nor anybody else in the party had experience with growing back entire body parts.

“Do you want to fight with two swords now?” asked Bandit.

“Nah. I like fighting with one ax and one sword. I can carry some extra swords and axes too!”

Bandit’s head recoiled back slightly. “How many weapons are you going to carry?”

“A lot.”

----------------------------------------

“I think it’s been long enough.” Andrei Vosk waved several people over. “It doesn’t seem like the Emperor’s going to act until we do. I’d like to start the assault before the reinforcements arrive from the north and over the water.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Chuck Burger stepped closer with his children in tow. “So we’ll send the monsters in first?”

“Yes,” Andrei replied. “Oh, bring the dungeon monster closer so that we can adjust the orders as necessary, will you Karen?”

“Hmph, all right.” She sauntered off and returned a couple of minutes later with DM following her. Ardreth the elf approached the group as well, with his party trailing behind him.

“Is it time to begin?”

“Ah, Ardreth, was it?” Andrei pointed to the capital’s southern gate. “Yes, that’s our target, right there.”

“So the humans will back up the monsters as they assault and break through the main gate?”

“Precisely. But don’t worry. I have something special planned, too.”

“Ah, good.” Ardreth allowed just the tiniest amount of emotion to show, contrary to his usual deadpan delivery. “We don’t want this to drag on.”

“Indeed. If things go as I’m planning, your counsel won’t even be necessary, but please, enjoy the show.”

“Lord Vosk, I’m not here for recreation. Our interests are simply aligned. Please do not consider our relationship anything beyond that.”

“Of course. Still, I believe cordial relations with the elves are of the utmost importance, so I’m glad we had the opportunity to work together.”

“In that case, I’ll stay out of your way so you can focus on resolving the issue of the throne.” Ardreth stepped back.

“You all, get to your positions.” At Vosk’s order, several people scattered into the ranks of soldiers. Vosk made some final arrangements regarding signal flags and horns for ordering his troops. He addressed his nearby allies as well as the soldiers who happened to be close enough to hear him. “It’s time to reclaim the throne from the usurper and restore order in the Empire!” He looked at Karen and nodded.

“Creature, as we discussed, have your monsters march in as orderly a formation as you can toward the main gate.”

DM ordered the bulk of his monsters to proceed toward the city walls. He kept a few monsters in reserve, including the wyvern that was napping nearby. Karen hadn’t given him any specific instructions for what to do about reserves, but she hadn’t complained about his approach, either.

Vosk signaled, and several horns resounded across the battlefield. In unison, soldiers began marching after the monsters, with the cavalry matching pace. The siege weapons were falling behind, but that was expected.

Vosk turned back again. “Karen, perhaps I’m being unreasonable, but can’t those monsters maintain any semblance of a formation? They look like an unruly mob, especially compared to our well-trained soldiers.”

Karen sighed. “Andrei, you do know they’re monsters, right? The fact that they march along in any kind of formation is a testament to my… oh well, fine, I’ll do what I can.” Karen turned to DM. “Creature, can you improve their formation at all?”

“…Very well,” a morphling responded on DM’s behalf. DM didn’t move, but Karen assumed he was issuing more telepathic commands.

The monsters rapidly fell into orderly ranks, organized by type and size. Their footfalls synchronized. In just a few seconds, the mob of monsters assumed the presence of a world-famous ceremonial guard.

Rumors of an organized monster army had made their way from the Holy State to the Empire. However, the number of monsters involved this time was much greater. The sheer intensity with which the monsters stomped down in unison frightened friend and foe alike. The gap between monsters and soldiers grew as the humans trailing the monsters hesitated to keep pace.

Andrei, who was now distant from the marching monsters, didn’t fully appreciate the grandeur of their approach to the city. “Ah! Much better. Good work Karen! I have your next task.”

“What is it now?” she asked.

“Have the dungeon monster send the wyvern up high over the wall and toward the palace. It is to assault the throne room directly. If Noah is eliminated, then we can end the assault before it even begins.”

“How… direct. Very well.” Karen addressed DM again. “As you heard, send your wyvern directly to the throne room. You should be able to see it from the east side of the palace’s main tower at the base.”

The wyvern raised its head then ran over to DM’s location, alarming everyone nearby. Two kobolds climbed up the wyvern’s tail and sat down on its back as it lifted off and flew toward the city.

“Why did you bring those kobolds?” asked Karen.

“…Just in case they have some type of trap for the wyvern.”

“Ah.” Karen didn’t question it further.

“The gate!” someone yelled from nearby, causing everyone to turn and look. The main gate of the city, the one about to get assaulted by the marching monsters, opened on its own.

Vosk was the first to speak. “They’re… letting us in…?”

“Andrei, what, this isn’t the result of one of your schemes? One of your insiders, perhaps?”

“No, Chuck, I honestly have no idea what’s going on.”

“Do you think it’s a trap, then?”

“It must be… but I don’t see how that’s advantageous for them. They haven’t begun attacking us with ranged attacks yet, so it’s possible they are simply preparing to surrender, but…”

Karen spoke up. “Whatever you decide Andrei, choose fast. If we’re stopping the monsters, I need to order the creature right now.”

“Hm…” Andrei stroked his chin in an unhurried manner.

“Lord Vosk, just what are you doing?” Ardreth stepped forward again, approaching Andrei.

“Ardreth, I need to decide whether or not to continue the assault.”

“Decide?” Ardreth dramatically held his hands in front of him and raised them, palms up. “Just what is there to decide? Your goal was to break open the gate, and now the gate is open. Press your advantage. Vacate the throne.”

“You’re… You’re right. I shouldn’t second-guess myself. If I failed to take the city because the defenders did something unexpected but foolish I’d never live this day down. Very well. Karen, as you heard, we continue.”

“Hmph, all right.”

The monsters continued their approach, with humans lagging behind. Still, the defenders made no attempt to launch attacks against the invaders.

“Perhaps they gave up when they saw how disciplined the monsters were?” Chuck proposed.

“Could be,” said Andrei. “That would obviously be disregarding the orders of Noah, but I’m not sure I’d expect anything better. He’s hardly fit to rule.”

“Fitness aside, it’s his lack of legitimacy that brought us here,” Chuck noted.

“Yes, we must get someone legitimate on the throne as soon as possible.”

Just as Andrei finished his sentence, the first of the monsters began passing through the wide-open gate.

“Hm, perhaps our entire army can march straight to the palace. After all, someone will need to clean up the mess made in the throne room by that wyvern. It should be arriving about now, should it not?”

Karen turned to DM. “Has the wyvern spotted the entrance to the throne room?”

“…I believe I’ve spotted it, hold on.”

“Oh!” Andrei released an excited cheer.

“Sir, the last of the monsters are passing through the gate!” a soldier shouted from nearby.

“Very good!” Andrei was elated. “Having so many things happen at once sure is exhilarating!”

“Take a deep breath, my old friend.” Chuck tapped Andrei’s shoulder twice.

“Sure, Chuck. Now that the monsters are through, the first wave of soldiers can—huh?”

Everyone turned to look at the gate, which was apparently closing.