Khal stood silent in a tent full of high ranking Rendaro.

The man holding the meeting was none other than Colonel Koráki himself and he eyed the map on the table keenly before looking up at everyone.

There were two sixths, two sevenths, one of which being Wolva who was also known as the Reaper for he wielded a golden scythe known as Aunil. Standing next to him were several scouts and a single Kommáti.

“We can’t risk charging in there even though their defenses are laughably terrible.” Koráki muttered.

“According to our Intel, the Berko are a rash silver knight legion which specializes in straight forward attacks and sieges. They are all space magicians and as of right now, we’ve only spotted four of them.”

A scout reported.

“I see. I think we should send a small, but strong group straight into the town to lure them out. We’ll then flank the town while waiting for them to reveal themselves and if they all come out, we’ll hit them from both sides, but if they stay in hiding, Wolva and his comrade will smoke them out.”

Everyone let out understanding hums after hearing Kuroki’s words.

“Any suggestions or questions?”

“Sir?” Khal called.

“Yes?”

“I would like to volunteer my troop for the initial frontal force.”

“Mmm… if I remember correctly your name is Khal and you have an impressive track record for sure.”

Khal’s chest filled wiry pride upon hearing the words.

“Unfortunately, this also means that I can’t have you down there when shit goes south. You’ll join Wolva and everyone else in flanking the town.” Koráki said.

Khal nodded.

“Good. Anything else?”

No one spoke.

“Then move out!”

Everyone left the room and Khal approached Wolva who sat against a crate while everyone else frantically prepared for battle.

They were in a patch of forest about a hundred kilometers east of Coh.

Richen was a few kilometers north and this land was technically a part of Lanceberg, but it was far too valuable a location to simply leave in Lanceberg’s hands.

“Ahem! I guess we’ll be working together.” Khal said while looking up at the extremely tall Rendaro.

His short white hair and dark eyes made him seem like a phantom or ghost. An effect that was emphasized by the grey morning sky’s light. His eyes were also extremely dark, to the point that it looked like two black vortexes existed in his irises.

Khal had learnt that these vortexes were the result of the extreme abortion of death.

Just being near a seventh or powerful death magician was akin to standing next to a natural culler of life.

“I suppose so.” Wolva wheezed.

Khal knew that Death magicians were affected quite drastically by their aspects.

Their hair turned white and they developed coughs.

“Should I get my men or…?” Khal asked but Wolva didn’t respond.

He simply stared at her with half closed baggy eyes.

“I’ll… I’ll go get them.” Khal said before weaving through the many tents set up by the UEF.

She eventually arrived at the tent where her men were.

“Lets go.” She said and in unison they followed her back to the Wolva.

She debriefed her men all while Wolva's comrade paced around her troop.

The seventh took of her helmet revealing that her face was covered in scars. Her hair was also white although her lips were a dark purple. She, like Wolva, had black vortexes in her eyes, only hers were lest turbulent.

“So… this is a renegade troop, huh?” She droned.

“Keep your sticky hands off of them otherwise I’ll take your legs.” Wolva said rather lazily.

“Aww… come on. They’re all so cute… and determined. It fills my heart with nothing but joy. Also, don’t act all noble. It’s enough to make me puke.” The woman said before walking up to Wolva who glared at her.

“Annoying short stacks like you shouldn’t he allowed to become soldiers.” Luno scoffed.

“Assholes like you shouldn’t be allowed to lead.”

“Shrimp.”

“Giraffe!”

The two glared at each Katherine for a moment before simultaneously sighing.

“One day I’m gonna kill ya.” Wolva’s comrade said as stood on her tippy toes with closed eyes.

Wolva sighed before gently pressing his forehead onto hers.

All Khal and her men could do was watch as the two reapers of death shared a tender moment but that moment was interrupted by the sounds of marching.

Khal wore her helmet before following Wolva who led them to the edge of a cliff several meters to the north.

She joined the seventh in looking out into the vast grassy plane that was southern Aurenia.

Sitting quite bluntly in the middle of the grassland was the town of Richen. A fairly small town consisting of small, wooden buildings and warehouses.

Khal saw a group of twenty soldiers making their way down the hill to her right.

Those were the Rendaro who would try and draw out the knights.

According to the Intel she’d gotten, the town was occupied by a force of about two hundred soldiers.

Colonel Koráki countered his numerical disadvantage by sending a group made almost entirely of magicians.

Wolva pointed at a certain spot west of the town.

“Lets set up a bunch of ballistae there and if things go too badly in town, we’ll lead the knights there and take them out. Got it?”

“Yes, Sir!”

Everyone responded.

“Good. Move out!” He said before jumping off the thirty meter high cliff edge.

He landed with a loud thud before being followed by his comrade.

Everyone else took the long way round and eventually joined Wolva by the spot he’d picked.

“Set them up all around and have space magicians hide them. Even if they see us setting the ballistae up, I don’t want them just sitting there.” He instructed and like that, several Rendaro went to work in setting up the ballistae.

It wasn’t too difficult.

They came in two pieces: the tripod and the firing mechanism.

The problem was that if it wasn’t fastened to the ground properly, the recoil from firing could knock the entire thing down and take its operator with it.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Khal and her men watched keenly as the other soldiers worked.

A certain face then appeared next to her.

Wolva’s comrade stared at her unblinkingly for a moment.

Another moment passed and Khal did her best to avoid looking at the strange Rendaro.

“Deöra!” Wolva snapped prompting her to hop to his side.

“What?” She asked.

“Focus. It’s begun.” Wolva said as the sounds of explosions filled the air.

“You two, follow me. Everyone else, stay here.” Wolva said before leading Khal and Deöra towards the town.

Khal glanced at his scythe as they walked.

It was a large golden weapon and from its blade, wisps of white smoke rose.

Deöra, on the other hand, had a standard issue dark sword.

Everyone wore their helmets before rushing towards a nearby building.

They then skulked into town and eventually saw the small group of Rendaro fighting countless human soldiers.

A few Rendaro created barriers of warped space above themselves to block incoming arrows while others engaged in a brutal melee with their enemies.

Khal let out a faint drone upon seeing that none of the silver knights had revealed themselves.

The battle at the center waged on, but just as the numbers of the human soldiers fell into the double digits, a knight suddenly appeared in the middle of the group of Rendaro but just as they raised their hand, a Kommáti suddenly appeared behind them.

The knight didn’t even make a sound as the Kommáti shoved it’s sword into their neck.

Three more knights appeared around the Rendaro.

Khal stepped forward to attack but Wolva stopped her.

“Wait.” He whispered as the silver knights cleaved apart the Rendaro with their absurdly large swords.

The Kommáti did its best to defend its Rendaro brethren, but it wasn’t strong enough to deal with three knights alone and so it disappeared, leaving the last of the Rendaro to die.

The knights stood at the center of the street, crushing the corpses of friend and foe alike beneath their silver boots.

They then looked at the corpse of their fallen brethren.

“Where is the last one?” Wolva muttered.

“Mmm… let’s get their attention and led them out of town, but keep an eye out for the fifth knight. He has yet to reveal himself.” Wolva said before dashing out of cover along with Khal and Deöra.

The knights noticed the Rendaro and with glowing eyes they raised their swords.

“Come out and face us, detestable worms!”

One of them yelled but Wolva simply spread his arms.

“Come get us, whoreson dogs!” He yelled and before Khal could even blink, one of the knights teleported above Wolva while swinging his sword downwards.

Wolva dashed backwards, narrowly avoiding getting cleaved in half.

“Run!” He yelled while running away.

Khal ran after him only for a knight to appear in front of her while swinging his sword horizontally.

Khal desperately slid down, narrowly avoiding decapitation and grabbed the knights leg before transferring so much cold into it that the entire limb snapped off his body.

“AHHHHH!” The knight screamed as Khal desperately crawled away.

She then saw that Deöra and Wolva were fighting with a separate knight, who had managed to grab Deöra.

Khal got up and struck the knights leg with her whip and although the whip itself did very little to the Golden armor, Khal transferred an incredible amount of cold into the leg, freezing it instantly.

All this also led to the air becoming so hot that it hurt to breath.

Khal tried dashing towards Wolva and Deöra who mercilessly tore apart the knight beneath them, but let out a gross squawk as a large sword stabbed through her back before bursting out of her chest.

“NO!” Wolva cried before send forth a torrent of white smoke that shot past Khal’s head.

She fell to the side all while pained screams filled the air.

“Grab her and take her back!” Wolva yelled as jets of white smoke shot out of his fingers.

The knight who had stabbed Khal fell to his knees as his body shriveled up.

“AHHHHHH!”

The knight screamed while Wolva raised his scythe.

“Above you!” Deöra cried while dragging Khal away.

Wolva dashed backwards just before a hulking knight crashed into the ground.

The Knight was about twice as tall as his comrades and wielded a sword twice as large as the largest Wolva had ever seen.

The Ash Wraith ran to Deöra’s side all while facing the giant knight who walked towards them with steps that shook the ground.

Wolva and Deöra eventually arrived at the spot where the other soldiers awaited and while Deöra and Khal made their way towards a group of healers, Wolva stood face to face with the juggernaut of a knight.

“Worms… can you not see that we are here to help you?” The knight asked as his eyes glowed green.

“With drawn swords? Sounds less like help and more like a pitiful attempt at conquest.” Wolva hissed.

“Call it what you will. The truth remains that life beneath the moon would be prosperous and peaceful, but what did I expect from the likes of you.”

“Are you done?” Wolva asked.

“Yes. Come, worm!” The knight barked prompting Wolva to raise his scythe.

The knight dashed towards all while letting out a ear shaking battle cry, but before he could come within ten meters of Wolva, a meter long bolt struck his shoulder.

Wolva’s eyes widened as the knight continued his charge towards him.

The Ash Wraith scoffed before coating his scythe's blade with so much death that the blade appeared entirely white.

He then dashed towards the knight who raised his large sword.

Wolva grabbed his scythe tightly and just as the knight swung his sword, Wolva used his scythe to block the attack but the force from this interaction broke almost all the bones in his arms and sent him flying backward.

Wolva spat out a ton of blood as he hit the ground, but before the knight could ready his next attack, another bolt struck the knight and it shot through his belly.

Another bolt struck him and it wasn’t long before seven bolts were embedded in his body.

The knight’s eyes brightened and he slowly walked towards a pulverized Wolva.

Blood oozed out of the knights many wounds but regardless he walked towards Wolva before raising his foot to crush the Wraith.

Several soldiers then charged toward and tackled the knight.

They tried pushing him backwards but they it was like children trying to fell a tree with their bare hands.

“Someone shoot him in the head!”

A soldiers cried as they desperately tried keeping the knight’s leg up.

“GET AWAY FRON HIM!” Deöra cried before sending forth a torrents of white smoke into the knight’s body.

The knight’s body trembled as he lost strength and thanks to Deöra’s efforts, he finally stepped backwards and just as the soldiers beneath gained the upper hand, another bolt shot through the air before piercing the knight’s head.

His body then fell and the soldiers all cheered as the knight finally fell, but Deöra let out horrified shrieks as she ran to Wolva’s side.

“SOMEONE COME HELP HIM!” She cried and it wasn’t long before two healers arrived.

They restlessly poured life energy into him all while Deöra trembled by his side.

She watched in horror as his body grossly put itself together and her eyes widened as he sat up with a gasp.

“Wolva!” She cried before pushing away the healers and hugging a bloody Wolva.

He gently hugged her back while eying the corpse of the knight with trembling eyes.

“W-where is the F-Foph woman-?” He stuttered as the two healers ripped Deöra away.

“She’s fine! What about you? How are you feeling?” She asked as the healers poured more life into him.

“I-I… I’m fine.” Wolva said before crawling onto his feet.

He then walked towards one of the soldiers even though various bits of his armor were shattered and loosely hung by mere threads.

“Kill those last knights and clear out the rest of the town but run as soon as you see even a hint of other knights.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldier said before rushing into the town with other soldiers.

Wolva let out a deep sigh and wrapped his arm around Deöra who stood next to him.

“I don’t think I can do this any more.” He said.

“What do you mean-?” Deöra stopped upon seeing Wolva’s trembling eyes.

She painfully swallowed before returning her eyes to the corpse of the knight which sat before her.

Meanwhile, Khal sat on a crate while her men endlessly checked to see if she was OK.

She pushed them all away before sighing.

“I’m fine! Go help everyone else with clearing the town.”

“But-“ Tinah tried saying only for Khal to pressed her ungloved hands over his mouth.

“I’m fine. Now go.” She instructed.

Her men all rushed towards the town except for Hanzani, who locked eyes with her for a moment.

He then followed the others into town but before Khal could even sigh in response, a soldier ran up to her.

“Ma’am, colonel Koráki is looking for you!”

Khal nodded before making her way back to the main camp where she entered Koráki’s tent as the sun slowly set.

She found Wolva and Deöra standing inside alongside a cross armed Koráki.

“I heard it was a mess down there.” The colonel said.

“That doesn’t even begin to describe it, sir.” Deöra said weakly.

“I see. Well, I just got a report saying that we’re needed back to the west. Sweep the town and-“

“May I speak freely, sir?” Wolva suddenly asked.

It’s here that Khal noticed that Deöra was the one holding his scythe.

“You interrupted me, so you might as well speak your mind.” Koráki said with a feint smile.

“I would like to be discharged.”

Everyone other than Koráki lightly gasped.

“Mmm… I can’t stop you, but still… losing you will hurt. And what about you? Do you also want to quit?” Koráki asked with a raised brow.

“Umm…” Deöra sounded while nervously looking at Wolva, but he simply blankly stared at the table.

“Y-yes. I too would like to be discharged.”

“What are you doing?” Wolva asked.

“I want to go with you.” Deöra said.

“Go where?”

“Wherever you end up going.”

“But-“

“Oi! I will not have you lovebirds quarreling in my tent. You have my permission to leave, but keep all… this away from me and my men.” Koráki said.

Wolva nodded before leaving the tent with Deöra in tow.

“and you? Don’t tell me you plan on leaving as well? I heard you got pretty badly beat down there, so I wouldn’t hold it against you.” Koráki said, but Khal shook her head.

“No, sir. Me and my boys are here to stay. Just give us the word.”

Koráki nodded before pointing at a certain spot on the map.

“There is a battalion of soldiers making their way south from here. I’ll ask Gunguo to send us some sevenths to replace those two, but we won’t wait for them to arrive. We’ll leave as soon as the town is clear. Relay my orders to everyone down there.”

“Yes, sir!” Khal said before being dismissed.

She then made her way down the cliff and she relayed Koráki’s orders to everyone.

Her men eventually returned and they sat by her side while they waited for the town to be cleared.

Hanzani and the others all stared at Khal, who changed into a new set of armor, since hers had been broken.

“What?” She asked. Her body lit by the small orb of light in front of her.

“Today was cutting it really close.” Tinah said.

“True. But we all came up here knowing that we may very well die. That being said, I’d prefer it if we didn’t linger on such thoughts. I survived. We survived. Let’s keep this up into the end, OK?”

“OK.”

Her men all said.

Khal smiled as she mentally prepared herself to lead her men into the next battlefield.

She then thought about the battle that would come after that and the one after.

All this, surprisingly, motivated her.

.

..

Wolva and Deöra stood attentively in front of Sah who had since acquired the name White Quietus.

He had also received Kommáti augmentation meaning he was taller and had no hair. He was also dressed in the MSDA-MKX which was made specifically for Kommáti.

He stared at Wolva and Deöra before sighing.

The three stood in Sah’s office which was in Startton.

“Alright. But… could I ask you for a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Please go to Cohval. Teach those who would tread where we have the horrors of war.”