I waited a few hours to give Sylvanas time to integrate into the armies below. Unfortunately, I lost sight of her rather quickly and couldn't tell if her mission had been successful or not. Thus I ran into a second problem... I was bored. Waiting till dawn was a terrible idea.
I realized that I didn't have to wait till dawn to do something. I could infiltrate the enemy army and then sneak around to find a good spot for my assassination. I looked towards the sun, its steady descent nearing some distant mountain range. It would be night soon. I started climbing down the cliff face toward the valley below.
The windswept fields were laid fallow from the tramplings of horses and undead. I avoided scout regiments and, using ‘Shadow Meld’, quickly found myself in the center of the enemy horde. The air smelled of rot, feces, and mold. I pulled my mask over my nose, trying to keep the smell out, but there was only so much I could do; the air was saturated.
The average monster in the army looked to be a basic skeleton knight, armed with shield and sword. Each stood between five and six feet tall, and they provided plenty of shadows for me to leap through. The skeletons bones were a dark gray in color, almost like ash, and bore decaying flesh.
Several troops of the skeleton monsters were armed with bows, and they seemed to be the troublesome unit here. Their longbows were fashioned with the femurs of monstrous creatures, and had to weigh several hundred pounds. Their arrows were made of bone as well.
Occasionally larger skeletons or even zombies would be mixed into the fray, each seemingly stronger than the creatures around them, much like Squad Leaders or Captains.
A rain of arrows from both sides and the constant movement of the monster formations made my job incredibly difficult. I realized then, unfortunately, that waiting for dawn in the thick of this mess would be unnerving and probably impossible. I could reach the General rather quickly, but I certainly didn’t want to hover around him for hours on end and give him or his stronger minions a chance to sense my presence.
I felt a terrible pull towards the leader of the undead whenever he moved his staff. He was clearly communicating to his officers through spells, since nothing verbal was transmitted. The strange thing, though, was just how unique his mana felt… It felt like the peel to a banana, as if it were simply a shedding thrown off from the true source. It seemed as if a shadow was standing behind the General Lich, holding him in its grasp.
I realized, then, that the Lich in charge of this army was but a puppet. Its equipment seemed strong enough, and it was probably a physical manifestation at worst, but it wasn’t real. Someone was controlling it from safety, telling it what commands to give… And this someone had a mana pool rivaling my own. I could almost feel their aura prickle against my skin due to how thick it permeated in the air...
Suddenly, as if on queue, the General Lich’s head turned on a dime and its eyes locked onto my location. I stared back into its empty skull, the eye sockets filled with burning obsidian, and felt my soul tremble.
“You are strong, child,” a voice said, the tremors and tone coming from the ambient mana itself as if it were alive.
“What are you?” I asked, my tone subdued and my posture shrinking back. I could feel the mana using the Lich as a conduit, vibrating the air to create sound.
“It has been a long time since someone asked that. Most of the people in this world simply call me The Demon Lord,” the voice replied, its tone sonorous and powerful.
“I don’t care what they call you,” I retorted, my strength returning a bit and my voice growing powerful, “I asked what you are.”
“I am, perhaps, what you could call an antagonist to The Divine. I was summoned by The Old Gods to be their champion. Child of the Pantheon, would you care to join my army? I will treat you well. It would be a shame to kill someone of your caliber.”
“What? No! I just want to adventure and explore a cool fantasy world in peace! Maybe meet some handsome prince, save him from distress, and become a princess by proxy. Go to a magic academy, explore ancient ruins…”
I quickly became absorbed in my fantasies, completely disregarding the Demon Lord I was currently having a conversation with.
“GAH, SILENCE!” Boomed the voice, causing the air itself to shake. “Fine. Don’t join my army, but you’ll regret it. You are strong, but I am beyond strength. You may be able to fight against this piddling display, but when I step onto the battlefield in all my glory you will fear the name Baraxus. Lich, kill her.”
It was at that moment I remembered something very important: I was dead center in the middle of the largest undead army I had ever seen...
“Oh shit!”
Every single skeleton turned towards me, and my Shadow Melding faded like the glittering of stars in sunrise.
“Oh hi, skeletons guys… Can we maybe talk about this? You know, it’s all just a big misunderstanding…”
“Kill her,” Ordered the General Lich, using his voice for the first time. Immediately a swath of arrows made their way towards me. I focused my mana and, repeating what I did in the forest, jumped forward.
Like a cannonball I blasted straight through the wall of skeletons in front of me and landed directly in front of the General. With teetering steps, I drew my blade and slashed at my foe. I realized after speaking with the Demon Lord that this puppet of his contained only a small portion of his power. By killing it I could strike a blow to him and his stupid arrogant pride. It would be a small blow, but a blow nonetheless.
Unfortunately for me, the General Lich was far stronger than any monster I had yet to face. It raised its staff and, with the glow and buzz of mana reinforcement, blocked my katana. The General’s feet slid back a few steps, but it still laughed.
“The surprise on your face is delicious, Child,” the General Lich said, his voice creepier than the Demon Lords. “Did you expect me to be as weak as the other skeletons here? I have been given power from The Lord Baraxus! I will not be…”
I focused mana into my sword this time and swung it again. The General Lich was blown backwards hard into his throne, several bones on his body cracking like twigs.
“I have enough mana to compare to your master, little Lich,” I said, finally understanding my place in the hierarchy of this world. “I hadn’t used mana in my first strike because I intended to see just how far physical strength alone could take me.”
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Arrows flew at me like diving hawks, but none touched me. I simply swayed while walking forward, seemingly untouchable, my eyes locked onto the Lich.
“Tell your master that he should be begging to join -my- army.”
I raised my sword, the blade gleaming in the glow of dusk, and beheaded the General.
“I will remember this,” The Demon Lord’s voice echoed on the wind, but it faded as the connection to the Lich died and he lost his conduit.
I turned around and faced the, now leaderless, undead army. From the distance I could make out the glow of Sylvanas leading a cavalry charge through the enemy ranks, tearing a path towards me.
Without their leader, the skeletons grew erratic. The archers targeted random enemies, no longer benefitting from their precise group arrow strikes. The infantry formations fell apart, and the humans began to tear swathes through the horde like hot knives through butter.
The smell of fire and steel soon replaced the stench of rot.
I looked to my blade, a wicked grin on my face. Demon Lord? Bring it on! I was a broken cheat character in another world, after all. I wondered if I’d get to build a reverse harem too…
That thought made me think of Ogrebeard. He was, probably, about as strong as I was. His race was worth three gifts, after all. I didn’t know how many gifts Jacob or Marc had, but both of them were probably rather strong compared to the average of this world as well…
Perhaps us five were each equivalent to Demon Lords ourselves.
-
I started cutting my way towards Sylvanas, using the angles and shadows of war to keep swift time. We had overestimated the skeleton army when we discussed the original plan. Clearly I could have just jumped in, lopped off the general’s head, and then left on my own… But it was a bit more dramatic this way.
Dodging several arrows, I leaped over a third skeleton and landed firmly in the arms of my cousin. Sylvanas wrapped me into a terrific hug as horsemen dashed past us, clearing out all the nearby undead with ease.
“I never thought this would be so easy,” commented the most important looking horseman as he approached Sylvanas and me. “To break their siege in a mere hour… To think they were that reliant on their leadership.”
“Without the head the chicken can only struggle in vain before succumbing to death,” I said, trying to sound poetic. Instead I sounded savage, almost barbaric. That worked too.
“You must be the assassin Sylvanas here told us about. You have my thanks, hero Cassia,” said the man as he dismounted and performed a strange salute with his hands. His fingers intertwined and he held his hands to his chest, pointing his knuckles at me.
“Uhh, it was nothing really…” I said dismissively… “Sylvanas, you can let me go now.”
“No.” She replied curtly.
“Come now, you couldn’t have been -that- scared…”
“I watched as the entire skeleton army turned heel towards you, all at once. Cass, i thought I was going to lose you.” She said, her voice feeble.
“Come now, you know better than that. I’ve been in worse situations and come out okay…”
“Cass, this is real. This isn’t a video game anymore. If you die here you die in real life,” Sylvanas replied.
“I know that, Cuz, but I’m just trying to make the most out of all this…”
Just then I realized we had been speaking openly about all this stuff in front of the random important looking cavalry guy. Sylvanas saw my stare and laughed. “Don’t worry, they can only understand us when we’re speaking to them. Translation magic is weird in that way. When we’re talking together privately like this, it’s in good old English.”
“Excuse me, I don’t recognize that language you are both speaking at all. Sylvanas, when you saved my unit earlier you claimed to be from a far away country… Did you perhaps come from one of the Dark Continents?” Asked the man.
“We don’t know exactly where our home is,” I cut in, “We were working with a group of magicians on a new spell. Something went wrong and after a flash of light we found ourselves in the forest to the south. Is this not the American Continent?”
“Ameericun?” The man said, trying to imitate the word but finding it hard to say. “You must have been transported here by that failed experiment. You are in the Kingdom of Farndais on the Ramwolf Continent… We know other continents exist, but we’ve never actually traveled to them. It’s much too far for seatravel and is, generally, considered a one way trip. So I don’t know how to get back to the Ameericun Continent… Though with your strength you’re very welcome to stay in Farndais… Oh my, I never introduced myself did I!”
The man bowed, doing a strange flourish with his hands that ruffled his uniform in an odd manner. “Greetings, my ladies, my name is El’Thuzar Bellwood, second Prince in Farndais and leader of the 1st Cavalry.”
Internally I squealed with joy. The first inhabitant of this world… Well human inhabitant of this world, that I met was a prince. Already my prophecies about a lazy overpowered fantasy life were coming true! The prince wasn’t half bad looking… Though he was a bit thin for my tastes. He didn’t seem to have much in the way of musculature, though his fancy uniform was neat. Overall I would give him maybe a 6 out of 10…
“Lady Sylvanas, I have been truly astounded by both your strength and beauty. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to call out to me during your stay in Bellwood. I owe you a great debt, after all.”
Immediately my hopes crashed. Why the hell was the genderbending man getting hit on by the prince before the actual girl!? Dammit! Sylvanas was going to steal my reverse harem from me! Caleb made his avatar just too classically pretty! Clearly I needed to rearrange her face later tonight to remedy this problem.
The human army quickly murdered or chased off the remains of the undead hordes. The battle ending was rather anticlimactic all things considered... Perhaps I should have snuck in as a foot soldier or something and tried to do it the normal way... Nah, I was a ninja after all. I couldn't go against my Nindo: 'Abuse whatever and whoever you can to get what you want'.