The air stood still in anticipation.
In the flatlands outside the village, hundreds of siths, all armed to the teeth with glistening mythril, gathered around their two goddesses.
The smaller of the two, hardly any taller than the monsters, attracted all the attention as she gave her brief to her underlings.
The girl’s fan clacked shut. “So, all that’s left is to organize the home guard and make sure the village can hold out while our army is away.”
“Bow. It will be done, dear Goddess!” The sith in charge of the village’s defenses stood up and gave a salute.
“Good. And make sure to assign messengers, so we’ll know right away if something comes up.” Sylphia then turned to a sith with multiple brown spots over its face. “And how goes the stockpiling of food?”
“Wow! We have collected enough food to last three dinners. Wow! I’m afraid this is the limit to our food production.”
“Hmm...” She stroked her chin. “Make an emergency announcement - for the next week, all food within the village is to be rationed to the bare minimum! Because we don’t have enough food, we need to stretch out our supply!”
“W-wow!” The dogman gave a stiff salute. “I shall ask the elders to convince the people!”
“Please do.” Finally, she turned to Letty, “Still nothing for medical supplies?”
She replied, “M-Magical or medicinal herbs don’t grow within this cavern... I experimented with some local plants and mushrooms, but none really do anything. So we only have whatever supplies we carried with us...”
Sylphia sighed. “That’s not good...”
At the very least, the Siths’ bodies are tough, and they are able to heal by themselves given some time. But if the same is true with the kobolds, it doesn’t look good for maintaining our numbers throughout the war...
The scribe hung her head in shame. “Sorry...”
“We have no choice...” Sylphia looked to the Sith in charge of defending the village. “Issue an immediate draft. All Siths who are capable of fighting - even children, are to receive military training!”
“Bow. D-dear Goddess,” The Sith jolted back. “even the children!?”
“Yes.” Sylphia bit onto her nail. “If anything, it’s a matter of last resort, but should this war not go our way...” Sylphia’s eyes focused sharply on him. “...then I assume you would rather not look on and let your children be left defenseless, am I right?”
“Bow...” He lowered his head into the ground. “Of course. Bow, forgive my lack of foresight, my Goddess...”
“Wow!” The brown sith interjected. “But in terms of weapons, we do not have enough to supply everyone....”
“That’s true.” Sylphia started tapping her feet. “You,” She jabbed her finger at the snout of the sith with the brown spots. “go over to the weaponsmiths and order them to push out weapons much faster. I want the entire village armed in three days, I don’t care how. Skimp on the material, use discarded pieces, stop creating armor. Whatever it takes!”
“Wow! Absolutely!”
Her orders whipped up a veritable storm within the village. In no time at all, the easygoing siths, living their quiet, if impoverished, lives in their tiny village scrambled out of their houses. Hounded by Sylphia’s agents, each one was brought out, put to training and given their assigned duties.
There will be no civilians in this conflict. To live, or to die, everyone will dive into the mud and claw their way out.
She clenched her fists.
To defeat the kobolds, we will fight to the very last sith.
“Now!” Sylphia raised Sebastian and waved it in front of her. “Go!”
“Awoo! Awoo!” Her army gave their warcry.
And so, it begins...
The ground trembled where the siths marched. Their thick armor plates clanked to their every movement, and the pikemen in particular, took to striking the rear end of their weapons against the ground as they walked, adding a further rumble to their approach.
They were the very image of heavy infantry.
“Sylphie...” Letty laid her hands on the girl’s shoulder.
“It won’t be long now.” She replied, clasping the hand on her left shoulder and rubbing his underside. “We’ll save them.”
The corners of her mouth curled up into a modest smile. “Be careful.”
“Mm,” she gently closed her eyes and whispered, “I’ll see you later.”
Thus, the Goddess of War marched out with her army, and left Letty, and the village, behind.
The army soon entered territory occupied by the Kobolds. The hilly area once belonged to the siths and was home to another farm but a large invasion wrested it from their grasp. Past it, where the highlands and the lowlands met, was a vast flatland, and beyond that, one would enter the forests and swamps of the kobold’s home turf.
To support her upcoming campaign, she had previously armed the village’s scouts and ordered them to kill any kobold scouts they encountered. Though there were no fierce encounters that ensued from this, the steady toll of losses forced the kobolds to pull their scouts away from sith territory.
And her goal was now made manifest. She did not know how deeply they had pierced into kobold territory, but their forward scouts had not encountered a single patrol.
In short, they held the element of surprise.
Thus, Sylphia split her army into three and ordered each company to sack a different farm. She then stuck with Company A, an all-pike formation and followed them to their target.
Perched beside the river at the bottom of a shallow valley, the farm was similar to the sith’s in many ways. Neat rows of edible mushrooms sprouted from a tilled patch of land, ringed by a fence made of giant mushroom stalks. Then, on the far end, a small pier jutted out from the riverbank, with small spears littered across it. Working the land, a small community of kobolds lived in the handful of huts scattered around the farm.
Her lips perked up, forming a sadistic grin on her face. Like lambs to the slaughter.
The siths stared at her, weapon in hand and awaiting her orders. Their eyes, once empty and dull, flared with the fires of war. What was once a small ember she had lit in her hearts had grown into a furnace, and it desired one thing.
With a single graceful movement, she raised her fan, their God, in the air. “Now begins your vengeance!” Her black haze erupted from her body and enveloped each sith. “To teach these thieving cats a lesson - first, you must drive them out of your home!”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Leave none alive.”
All at once, siths crested the hill. With the instincts beaten into them by their Goddess, they formed battle lines and charged in unison.
Sylphia followed behind, strolling at a leisurely pace. She watched the kobold farmers stumble over themselves at the sight of the approaching sith army. Some hurried and ran while others took to their farming tools and attempted to resist. Few kobolds managed to escape, and those who tried to resist were slain on the spot.
The battle, if it could even be called as such, was over in an instant.
“Awoo!” The siths howled to celebrate their first victory.
Without missing a beat, Sylphia gave her next orders, “Plunder the farm! Take all the food you can carry! You know where to drop them off!”
All at once, the siths broke off their formation and spread out.
They plucked all the mushroom crops right off the ground, regardless of whether they were ready for harvest or not. Fresh produce, stored in kobold-sized baskets lined the farmhouse. They didn’t mind the burden on their backs as they carried their spoils away; after all, most of them had never seen so much food just lying around, waiting to be taken.
A few even spent a short time spearfishing with the equipment that the kobolds had left. Unlike this farm, theirs was nowhere close to the river, and thus did not have a pier. If they wanted to fish, they needed to get their coats wet and dive in themselves.
Soon enough, the farm was stripped clean.
A soldier approached Sylphia.
“Bowbow,” he barked, “Our Goddess!”
“What is it?”
“We have found two children hiding inside the farmhouse.”
“Hmm...?” Her eyelids fell. “I gave you your orders, didn’t I?”
“B-Bowbow...?”
She then furled her brows. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Realizing what she meant, the sith took a step back. “Bowbow! But they are just children, my Goddess!”
Her blood boiled. “So what if they‘re-“
But just as she was about to yell at the already frightened dogman, she recalled her promise to Letty. And so, she stopped and took a quick breath.
Then, letting out a sigh, she said, “Fine. Release them.”
At this point, their scouts have probably seen us anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
“Bowbow!” He saluted with a spring in his step. “Y-yes my Goddess!”
“Mm.”
She later watched the pair of kittens scamper out of the farmhouse and into the distance.
Cruel things, huh?
She sighed again.
How stupid.
A massive rock pillar jutted out of the ground, extending all the way up to the ceiling. At the foot of this natural behemoth, the siths dropped the resources they plundered into a growing stack on the ground. Soldiers ran back and forth between the farm and the drop off point at Sylphia’s oversight. Food, tools, and everything else were plopped in one spot for Letty’s Supply Corps to then haul all the way back to the village.
At that moment, Sylphia remembered something important.
Ah, shit. She slapped herself on the forehead. Come to think of it, I should have taught them how to make a wheel! I wonder if it’s possible, with the kind of materials they got here. Oh well. Too late for that.
What they did have, however, were bags made of sinew, presumably from a mushroom, as usual, which they strapped all over their body, as well as baskets, which they carried over their heads.
After a short while, even the soldiers from the other companies appeared from the distance. Carrying even more spoils over their heads, they stacked more and more bounty on the pile for the Supply Corps to bring home.
Nice. Everything’s going smoothly.
By chance, she saw the Assault Team Captain and beckoned to him. “Ah, you, come here!”
“Arf! Yes, dear Goddess?” He stopped to face her.
“How many rounds do you need to bring all the food back here?”
“Arf! I’m afraid I do not know. Arf! There are very few of us, and there is much food to be taken.”
“Hm.” She nodded. “That’s fine. Since your target is the farthest, it’s also the riskiest. Bring all that you can for one more round and burn everything else.”
“Arf! Yes, my Goddess!”
Alright... if they’re gonna counterattack, they’ll probably come in from the lowlands. In that case, we have the advantage, since we can see them from a mile away. In the meantime, she just sat down and watched as the conveyor belt of loot passed by. A mountain of mushrooms and fish, stacked up to Sylphia’s chest, rose from the ground. Even as the Supply Corps came and hauled everything away as fast as they could, the inflow of stolen goods proved too much.
After a few hours, Company A had finished looting their target, and was just sitting around, or, as Sylphia called it, ‘on standby’.
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Sylphia rather enjoyed the opportunity to relax herself in the open grassland. She was just starting to enjoy the peace, however, when from the distance, one of the scouts ran straight towards her, yelling, “Raw! My Goddess, my Goddess! Catlings!”
“Oho?” Her eyes sparkled. “Number?”
“Raw! Dozens, maybe a hundred!”
“Hmph.” She stood up. “They underestimate us.”
Company A, an 80 man unit entirely composed of pikes, immediately arranged themselves before Sylphia.
Only about half of Company B, also composed of pikes, were present, as the other half had just departed to raze second farm.
Lastly, the entirety of the Assault Company had still not returned.
120 units. Give or take. One full, one half strength. Good enough. Assuming the kobolds still fight the same as they did the first time we entered this cavern... She grinned. We’ll never lose.
“All units, in formation! We won’t let them interrupt our resource flow!”
The siths barked as one and marched to her orders.
Sylphia arranged the two companies into lines before her. In front, the larger Company A formed along the foot of the pillar, squeezing one flank right at its wall. Thanks to this huge thing, I can completely secure the right flank for free. On the other side, Company B formed onto a tight square slightly behind A’s left flank.
Now, let’s see what the enemy does.
What appeared to be ants, scurrying out of the mushroom forests in the far distance, were actually a swarm of kobolds, approaching at tremendous speed.
Woah...
The kobolds ran on all fours, something she had never seen the siths do, and carried their weapons in their mouths. Some of them also came in Mythril armor, but those were few in number.
Will they use cavalry tactics? Well, too bad we’re on a hill, then.
From the direction they came out of the forest, they appeared to have been headed to the farm that Company A had just raided, but then, they suddenly shifted direction. The mass of fur curved inwards, changing their direction towards the siths’ center mass.
Hmph. Sylphia unfurled her fan. “Say, you aren’t going to be picky with what you eat, will you?”
“Huh?” Sebastian asked.
“I’m saying, you will drink your followers’ blood, won’t you?”
“Eh? Ah, sure. I don’t really care.”
She grinned. “Good. Get ready for the taste of blood you’ve been waiting for!”
“Oh!” His face turned a bright yellow. “Really!? I can’t wait!”
“Me neither.” With a soft clack, she flicked her wrist and folded Sebastian once more.
I can’t wait to see what powers I’ll unlock after feeding him this many kobolds! With a powerful living weapon, I can finally live out my dream since coming into this world - becoming overpowered!
Unable to contain her excitement, she burst out laughing, “Wahahahaha! All units! The enemy advances! Give them no inch! No quarter!” She then unfurled her fan, lifted it in the air and yelled, “Slay every single one, and offer their blood to the Death God!”
“Awoo! Awoo!” The siths howled.
Despite fighting on higher ground, the hill‘s shallow incline was not enough to slow the kobolds down. But nevertheless, Sylphia proceeded with her battle plan.
Her commands summoned her black magic, covering her soldiers and seeping into their skins.
“Pike wall!” she shouted.
The siths presented their pikes forward. The mythril poles extended several feet in front before ending with a replaceable speartip held in place by bent iron rods. These pikes far outstripped the range of any weapon the kobolds had, even their spears.
Once the kobolds entered fighting distance, they hopped up on two feet and carried their weapons by hand. While most slowed down or turned away in face of the pike wall, a few still charged in with reckless abandon. They deflected the first layer of pikes away with their weapons and their shields, but the hedgehog spikes would prove too much.
The rest either stared the siths down and resorted to taunts, or otherwise ran towards either flank.
Hmph. Both my flanks are unassailable. She crossed her arms in growing complacence. This is what it means to be in ‘checkmate’.
She watched the battle as though it were light entertainment. Judging the battle to have been won, she even sat down on the hillside and stopped giving out commands.
That was when she noticed the kobolds running towards the rock pillar.
Tsk. Are they gonna run around? Shit, that’s gonna endanger the supply corps!
What a bother.
She vexedly stood up, patting the dirt off her dress and yelled, “Hey! I need 10 guys-“
But just as she was about to section off a small group to protect the Supply Corps, she then saw the kobolds running up the side of the rock pillar, using the crystal outcrops as leverage.
What the fuck!?
Quick on their feet, the kobolds ran right over Sylphia’s ‘secure’ flank and dove onto the siths below. In their daring assault, they managed to put that entire flank into disarray, though not without losing a few of their own. Some even landed directly on the pikes waiting below, impaling themselves mid-air. Nevertheless, the kobolds had created an opening.
Seizing the opportunity, the all other kobolds followed their bretheren up the pillar to push their advantage.
WHAT!? That’s cheating!
How are they allowed to do that!? Rather than being an asset, the pillar is nullifying my advantage! She bit into her nail. Shit! Shit! Calm down... This isn’t like a game anymore. Anything, anything goes!
With the kobolds landing right on top of them, the siths on the right flank were forced to use their backup weapons to defend themselves. Chaos immediately followed as the siths and kobolds clumped up and fought like they were used to.
“Meooooooow!” The kobolds screamed at the top of their lungs as they fought. It did not even sound like cats purring, but a voice similar to a high-pitched human’s, literally shouting that word at the top of his lungs.
In that case, I’ll do this!
“Company A! Split off! Right flank, drop the pikes! Left Flank, Square formation! Company B, reposition! On me! Double time!”
The quick succession of commands tossed up a dense black fog that covered the entire battlefield at once.
As she had ordered, Company A’s left flank quickly formed into a square, roughly 40 strong and ringed themselves with their pikes. They held off the emboldened kobolds who proceeded with flanking them on the left rather than join the rest up the pillar.
Meanwhile, Company B ran and formed themsleves around their commander, also presenting their pikes in a ring. Just like this, Sylphia took Company B and pushed them behind the embattled right flank.
Now squeezed on all sides, Company A’s right flank fought a brutal melee. While the kobolds assailed them from the front and from their right, Sylphia’s units supported them from the left and back.
Putting the pike’s long reach to great effect, the supporting units drove some well-placed thrusts into the kobolds, easing the burden on their comrades just enough to reverse the momentum of battle.
Seeing their comrades slain by the dozens, and their inability to secure any further advantage, the kobolds soon eased off their assault and regrouped back downhill.
In the meantime, the siths evacuated their wounded and reformed their original formation, albeit diminished, and moved away from the pillar.
All things considered, the kill-death ratio is still in my favor... If only I considered the possibility that they’d run up the pillar, I might have gotten away with a perfect victory too... She clicked her tongue. Well, it doesn’t matter. Better to learn that early on.
Now heavily outnumbered, as well as out-armed, the kobolds shrank away from another attack, but were not quite ready to retreat.
Now, I should press my advantage.
In that moment, Sylphia saw a familiar glint in the distance.
Oho?
She smirked. Sweeping her hands forward, she then gave her command, “All units, merge into line!”
The remaining siths broke their formation and rearranged themselves into a long line, three ranks deep.
Just from seeing this, the kobolds fell into disarray. The ones trying to organize their line fell into dispute against the ones who trying to run away. In the end, they neither ran away nor organized their line, and instead clumped together in a loose circle.
Her lips then stretched out, forming a sinister grin. “Now, envelop them!”
Her black haze fell over the siths one by one, starting from both ends, progressing towards the middle.
In that order, the siths charged one after the other, collapsing their line into an inverted V as they crashed downhill.
It was only at this point that the kobolds finally decided as a group to escape. However, just as they were about to make a run for it, a dreadful howl resounded from the distance.
A small formation of siths appeared in between them and their escape route. These dogmen, armed not just with pikes, but with various weaponry, approached in a wedge formation. At its tip, a sith brandishing a cleaver made of solid mythril.
This sith raised his massive weapon, and growled, “Arf! Assault Company, crush the enemy!”
“Awoo!” his soldiers replied.
All at once, the sith charged with utmost fury. Their rabid snarls could be heard from as far back as where Sylphia stood, making her skin crawl.
“Aaaaaaarf!” The Assault Captain bellowed. With a single swing, his blade cleaved right through the two kobolds before him, cracking bone and tearing sinew as though they were never there. Behind him followed several spears. They thrusted ahead of him, stabbing through even mythril armor. Finally, the back line leapt over all of them. And as they fell back down, they swung their blades, their axes, and their hammers, and joined their Captain at the heart of the fray.
This three-punch combo utterly decimated hope the kobolds had to break through and escape.
The hammer…
Not to be outdone, the combined force of Company A and part of B raised their own voices and propelled themselves faster and faster downhill. They then lowered their pikes in front of them and, with a sickening thud, drove their pikes straight through their enemies.
...meets the anvil.
The two halves met, like two puzzle pieces. Their frenzied howls drowned the screams of those caught in the middle. Indeed, the kobolds were crushed. They were crushed so utterly that few even lifted their swords to protect themselves.
They merely stood there, frozen in despair, and waited for the inevitable.
As Sylphia walked back up into the highlands, she took a single look back. What were once farms now smoldered with hot ash, coughing putrid black smoke up into the ceiling. The smoke followed the wind down to the other side of the cavern where the river flowed back out, taking the otherwise stagnant air with it.
Her eyes turned to the farm nearest to them - the farm she personally oversaw the destruction of. The houses were gone, its fertile plots, trampled upon, and even the pier was dismantled. In front of its smoking carcass, a mound of ash, unrecognizable from the any of rest, remained.
She stared at it for a while, with a blank face, as if she were burning it into her retinas.
Letty...
Her eyes, long since glazed over, reflected the dying embers, as one by one, they, too were snuffed out, and nothing but a black mass remained.
...doesn’t need to know anything...
She then raised her voice and said, “All companies, march, faster!”
The victorious army marched back to their village, their backs loaded with more loot than they could carry.