Tirius now stood at the top of the wall facing West, with the encampment laid out in front of him and the vast forest of the monster realm behind him.
Spread before him were eight units of 1000 men in squares that formed a 4x2 grid. Each unit had a Colonel at the head, and the two units which were not present were spread throughout the walls after having received their new assignment.
Going all in like this was without a doubt a risky move.
Even keeping 2000 men stationed at the wall, Tirius was filled with concern. As the Commander of this Legion, Tirius understood better than anyone that if another attack were to happen similar to the one a week prior, then the monster might be able to make it's way into the Empire with little resistance.
However, Tirius knew one thing for certain.
He could not afford to underestimate whatever enemy may have invaded in the slime village. Furthermore, even if there was no enemy to speak of, the other two legions were headed to war with the Kingdom.
Who knew how long it would be before any reinforcements were sent? Weeks? Months? Perhaps even years? For all Tirius knew, he might have to take the entire monster realm on his own.
But that would not stop him.
His orders from the Emperor were to take over the monster realm, saving humanity from the threat which had lay in their backyard for as long as humans existed.
It was a task that filled him with a burning patriotism, and one which made him wish to serve this new Emperor just as fervently as the last.
"Men. I understand that there may be many of you who hold great concern. It is now commonly known that the Emperor Percius IV has been slain, and as such two legions have gathered in the Capital and will soon enough go to war with the Kingdom."
Tirius stood forward with pride, yet held a serious demeanor that was far different from his usual eccentric patriotism.
"It fills my own heart with grief to even consider that our Emperor has died. Percius IV was by far the most revolutionary Emperor in the history of this Empire. He took great lengths to fight corruption, discrimination, and most importantly.... to produce the framework for the war on the monsters."
Percius grabbed his own breastplate where his heart would be, showing his soldiers his own sadness.
With his egg shaped helmet towering a foot over his own head, he looked up as it glimmered in the sunlight, which beamed on him from the North.
"Percius was killed. The reason? We do not know. However, we do know that it was a hero who performed the act. The very man who held the trust of humanity has assassinated the Emperor who gave his all fighting not only for the people of the Empire, but for every member of humanity. Percius was a true hero, and it is our duty to carry on this legacy which he started."
Looking around, Tirius saw the discomfort in the men of these armies. Their morale was clearly low, and they were not exactly excited to head into the monster realm. While the Colonels and Generals who had been present at the strategic meeting were smiling with excitement, the same could not be said for the other soldiers.
"To deepen matters, the first legion has failed in their attempt to establish a foothold in the village of fishmen. It seems that we have underestimated the monsters. Therefore, for this campaign, we will not attempt to head deep into the monster realm until we have obtained the proper information on those who exist there. We will begin by attacking the weakened village of slimes that is only a few miles from our border."
Some of the people began to perk up at hearing that the invasion would begin in an area that was considered to be safe even for small groups of humans, however Tirius had no intentions to fill his men with false hopes.
"HOWEVER! Evidence suggests that strange things have been going on within this village of slimes! We do not know for certain, but there is a high possibility that a powerful monster has taken over the slimes, and we may have to attack it. For that reason, we will be heading out as a force of 8000 strong to take over a village which would only require 10 men under normal circumstances!"
Many men began to whisper to themselves at hearing this.
'The Legion Commander is certainly being very cautious.'
'That's a good thing, isn't it? Caspus just went right in to the center of the realm and 10,000 men got wiped out. Better safe than sorry.'
Tirius then began to pace along the wall as he took the attention of the army.
"Men!!! As much as it pains me that the prior Emperor is now gone, I will say this. With the death of Percius, his son has taken the position of Emperor. With this new Emperor in place, we have been ordered for the first time in history to head into the monster realm. This is a new era!!!!! The time of old has passed, and we will now rush forward into this new age!!!! It is a new age for all of humanity, which we will grasp for ourselves!!!"
With exaggerated motions a smile came across the face of Tirius as he began to spout his own opinions.
"Men!! To those of you who are concerned about the direction which the Emperor has sent us in, I ask you this. If the crew of a ship lazes about, doing nothing in the midst of the storm, will the captain ever be able to steer the ship to safety!? NO! Of course not! The captain holds the responsibility for the ship, and should the ship go down it is the duty of the captain to go down with the ship. However, right now we are acting as the crew."
Spreading his arms with a smile, Tirius laid his eyes on the fields of men before him.
"We are the crew members of this ship!! Our captain has set the course, and it is now our duty to see that the ship is well tended to! If we do not haul in the sails during the time of the storm, then how can we claim that it is the captains fault that the ship was driven to wreck!? If we sit idly by while water fills the deck, can we truly blame the captain for leading us into the rough seas!?!?! NO!"
Unsheathing his own sword from his side, Tirius raised it to the skies.
"It is our duty as crew members to ensure that the ship does not sink!! We must obey the orders of the captain, even sailing through the storm so that we may safely land in the end!! Has any one of you lived a life where the seas were always calm, or where unexpected weather never came about!?!? Of course not!!!! And the grander the journey, the harsher the weather will become!!! The new Emperor has a goal far grander than even that of his own father!!!! Many may see him as rash and hotheaded, but I tell you that you are incorrect!!!!"
Pointing his sword behind him towards the monster realm, Tirius grinned.
"We have been ordered to conquer those raging seas of green beyond the walls. Those lush forests of madness, filled with all sorts of creatures and beasts which humanity has struggled against from time immemorial. Some may claim that this is ridiculous or impossible, but I tell you that is incorrect!! For it is up to us, the crew, to ensure the success of our own duties!! We will rush out, and we will brave those seas with courageous hearts!!"
Looking around, Tirius noticed that many of the men were becoming swept up by his speech.
"Are there not those among you who have lost comrades to the monsters? Today is the day, my soldiers! Today is the day that we humans take our stance, and a stance of resistance it will be!! We will tell those beasts that they can no longer control our lives!!! We will no longer live in fear of them, waiting behind these walls so that we may pick them off from afar!!! For in this new age, a path has been cleared for us! Not a single person in this army has ever clung to their life! And I thank each and every one of you for your loyalty to the Empire, and to our great Emperor."
Turning around, Tirius now faced the forest with his back to the men.
"It is time, men. It is time to show the very world and all the people of the Empire that our new Emperor is not a fool who has sent our Legion off on an impossible task, but rather a grand leader by who's order we beat back the monsters for good. He is our captain, and as the crew it is our time to stand by his direction and defend the ship of this Empire with our very lives."
As soon as Tirius said this, an explosion of cheers could be heard from behind him.
With a smile, he looked onto the forests before him, gazing into them.
'Just what lies out there, we do not know. But we cannot shy away. This is our duty, and we will fulfill it to the last detail.'
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
It was then that the drawbridges which were anchored on the 2nd story of the wall were lowered, allowing the thousands of men to cross into the monster realm with ease. Tirius took the center of the forces among a unit of elites riding horses, and they began their trek through the forest of the monster realm.
Tirius had no plans to attempt something beyond the capabilities of his army.
He intended to take over the small slime village and then gain information on every group of enemies he would face, ensuring that he could ensnare them and defeat them using whatever means possible.
War was based on deception, and knowing more than your opponent was critical.
However, there was a single piece of knowledge which had completely slipped by Tirius.
One which would have been impossible for his scouts to obtain, for any who went near the slime village had disappeared without a trace.
Tirius would soon realize the grave mistake he made, in failing to obtain information.
----
Vex came to the village of the birdmen to see each and every one of the raging humanoids waiting outside the walls, rearing for a fight.
Some foamed at the mouth and their eyes were bloodshot. Their veins bulges and their bodies had been strangely distorted as if they had taken steroids.
Vex flew ahead of the snakemen to land between the two groups.
The orange demon glanced at his own watch once more before tapping his foot, waiting for the snakemen to catch up, which they did momentarily.
Holding up his own hands on both sides of him, the raging glares and comments ceased, and he became the center of attention.
"Now then! Everyone here is someone who holds a desire for revenge against the antiheroes. Both the snakemen and the birdmen have their own reasons, but I would like you to work together for the sake of this attack."
Erasalis stood forward with pounding steps as Vex said this.
"I accept. We will do as you say, demon of wrath."
"We will work with them!! If the savior who the provider has sent us wishes us to work with outsiders, then we will do so!!", one snakeman shouted.
With a smile and a nod, Vex continued.
"Great! Hatred really does unite people, doesn't it? Listen up, everyone!! We're going to directly attack the antiheroes. Does anyone know where they would be located?"
Erasalis nodded.
"I have been to their capital beforehand. They are likely at that location."
"Oh, that's great! Then we will have you lead the way, birdmen. I will be right behind you all."
Of the roughly 50 birdmen and 100 snakemen who were present, Erasalis stood forward, stretching his calves before he prepared to take flight.
"Let's go!! We will take our revenge on the antiheroes!!!! We will destroy everything precious to them!!! We will kill those who hold loyalty to them, and we will show them the despair that they placed within us!!!!", Erasalis shouted.
"And the savior will show their people the despair of losing their leaders!!! We will not allow those dirty outsiders who dared to defile our great provider and bought ruin to our city to escape unharmed!!!!!", a snakeman shouted.
With many cheers and cries in agreement, Erasalis jumped up, taking flight. The birdmen and birdwomen followed him to the skies, and Vex flew up behind them. As the birdmen began to fly, the snakemen began to slither along the ground, following the airborne unit.
"Thank you Vex!!! Because of you we will be able to show the antiheroes the pain they have caused us!!!!!"
"It is because of you that we can face off against these enemies of terror!!!!"
"They likely never expected that they would have to face against a house leader!!!! Even if they are demons, they've gone too far to upset the rulers of this realm!!!!"
Many people shouted and laughed with victorious grins.
The 7 Hosts of Sin were known throughout the monster realm for being the greatest and most powerful demons in existence.
The legends said that even the antiheroes might find themselves struggling against the 7 households, should they rashly provoke them.
For the legends did not state anything about a victor.
They only spoke of possibilities.
The only thing that was certain was the chaos which the antiheroes would sew across the land.
When it came to who would actually stand victorious in the end, that much was still undetermined.
----
A purple smoke rose above the moats of poisonous liquid which surrounded the twisted walls of a horrible fortress.
This fortress contained buildings which appeared to be made from literal flesh and bones, and blood vessels seemed to run throughout the city, tangled with nerve endings to provide water and electricity to the buildings.
The tiles of the roadways were white and seemed to contain a spirit within each of them that floated above the city, putting it under constant watch.
Eyes with the wings of bats and the legs of chickens floated about the city, and the walls too were covered with eyes on each hexagonal tile.
Standing atop these walls was a woman who's scarlet hair draped down her body.
Her strange outfit made her look something like a robot with blaring LED lighting and a sleek aluminum material.
In her hand she held a wand with two red orbs- one on either end, and this woman who hid a deep scar behind her ear looked onward at hundreds of lizardmen who stood before her.
Eight people stood at the front of this army.
Three were humans. One was a girl with blonde, bob styled hair who wielded a sickle. The next was a man with a fancy outfit and a beret atop his long cut hair, with a whip at his side. The third was a man who wore a blue labcoat with spiked up brown hair.
Standing next to these people were three birdmen who had the forms of humans but the features of birds. One had the features of a woodpecker, the next a swan, and the final an owl.
The next was a man who had the lower body of a serpent and the upper body of a human, though his own facial features were sly and snakelike, and his skin was scaled. He wore a military outfit that looked like something straight out of WWII, and stood at attention before his new commander.
And finally, there was a lizardman who's muscles bulged as he held a spear in his right arm, which was significantly larger than his left.
These birdmen and lizardmen wore armor that appeared to have been made from bandages, however these bandages were no longer as haphazardly laid as they were previously. They now formed something which resembled chain mail, intricately patching up the cloth fibers in a crossed pattern.
"Lady Berith went out of her way to create this high quality armor after the last one tore.", Arlo stated while patting it with a fist. "And his excellency went ahead and strengthened it to be far superior than the previous ones."
"Indeed. How graceful I look while wearing this.", Relu exclaimed. "Do you think Lady Berith will be alright as the new leader of those insectoids? Arlo, what do you think of that? Do you feel any regret? You were the one who fought Dern, and yet their excellencies went and killed him off like that. I didn't particularly care for him, and their excellencies decisions go above all, but what do you think?"
Arlo closed his eyes with a smile.
"I respected him as a warrior, but that was all. Warriors will die on the battlefield, and he picked the wrong opponent to face. He believed he could change their excellencies, and that alone is enough to justify his elimination."
Yirald nodded in complete agreement.
"He was far too idealistic. He would forgive even the most heinous of criminals without so much as a second thought. It is for this very reason that their excellencies viewed him as dangerous."
With nods of agreement, Arlo turned to the three humans.
"What about you lot? How did your expedition to the village of snakemen go? Based on those around us, I can already tell that it was successful."
With a smile, Lance replied quickly.
"It was a disaster there. There were a lot of people who were unsalvageable, but their excellencies managed to save those who they could."
Looking down with a slightly sad expression, Lance seemed to regret his own actions.
"The minds of those people had been broken, and it was their very leader who broke his people to the point where they were unable to be saved. Their excellencies have done a good thing by ridding that scum from this world."
Charlotte and Pierre nodded in agreement with serious demeanor. Adding onto Lance's statement, Charlotte began to speak.
"He treated his people worse than animals.... they worshiped him and praised him, yet he did nothing to be worthy of such praise. He raised himself on a pedestal far above the people, to the point where they viewed him as untouchable, and then did whatever he wanted. At his own whims, people would be subject to torment and slavery..... and his standards were ridiculous. He would tell you to do one thing and then yell at you for not doing the other."
Looking up with seriousness, Charlotte's eyes were filled with a deep hatred.
"He deserved to die."
Her words carried a great weight, as if it was the very existence of such an evil which made her so resolute.
"The antiheroes have done a great thing. Even if some of those people could not be saved, it was not the antiheroes who killed them. It was the man who wrecked their minds.", she stated without hesitation.
The other two nodded in agreement, however the eight were then called to attention by the appealing voice of the one who stood on the wall.
"Hello, everyone. You have all been called here by the orders of their excellencies. I have been appointed as the commander of this force, and their excellencies have given their orders."
The woman's red hair swayed in the wind as her voice pieced the hearts of those before her.
Her voice was filled with an infatuation, and when she spoke the name of her rulers she said it with great reverence and respect.
"We have been given the task of defending this capital. According to his excellency, there will be a number of attacks on this day. It seems that many parasites have been infected with some sort of disease of the mind. There must be something wrong with their brains if they are willing to face their excellencies and lead attacks on this city."
With a sadistic and fanatic smile, the redheaded woman looked forward with pleasure.
"It is our duty to show these pathetic worms that they picked the wrong enemies to deal with. We will crush them to the ground and grind their bodies into a paste. We will then apply this paste to the ones who remain alive, drowning them in it. Heh.... haha!!! We will show them..... we will show these germs that they are attempting to infect the wrong person.... for we have already been diseased with a virus so deadly that it will kill off any other virus that attempts to enter."
The woman was now holding the back of her own ear with a viscous grin.
"Is everyone here in agreement? Should we not infuse these people with explosions of energy so that their guts may rain upon one another!? Should we not torment them to the bitter end, ensuring that they regret ever coming into existence!?!?! HAHA!!! We should!!!! For going against this infection and submitting one self to another infection is unacceptable!!!! We will show these fools that their very existences were a mistake!!!!!"
The lizardmen in the armies behind the four began to smile.
"We will crush the opponents of their excellencies!!!!"
"We will make them pay for this direct disrespect!!!!"
The seven who stood in front too smiled as Melody began to devolve into insanity.
"Melody...."
"This is our purpose..."
"We will crush them. The enemies of the antiheroes do not hold human rights."
"We will ensure that they are aware of this."
"By going against their excellencies, they have given up the very right to exist in this world."
With sinister grins and evil thoughts, this army which was led by an infatuated fanatic gained the demented resolve to crush anyone who dared to approach their walls.
Yirald too stared forward with a serious face.
'I will destroy any who disrespect their excellencies.'