Haru’s previous bloodlust and anger were completely gone and the spirit of the captain within him took charge, leading the nearby troops to provide support for the forces at the breached gate, almost forgetting Adam’s existence for a brief moment.

“change of plans, the city is on lockdown until the enemy has been dealt with and the breach is repaired. I’ll have someone guide you to your quarter—”

“that’s not going to happen.”

Haru was in a hurry, his mind too preoccupied with saving the soldiers that were undoubtedly being slaughtered by the dozen. He couldn’t care less about the needs or demands of the visitors he didn’t even want to have, thus he ignored Adam and started walking away with his soldiers following suit.

“fine, then I’ll just poke a hole in this wall here and walk out, that should be okay right?”

Haru looked back, anger and disdain clearly drawn on his face.

“you wouldn’t dare.”

Shiira jumped into their very charged exchange before Adam had the time to demonstrate how daring he truly was. She stood between the two and suggested another solution, one that would satisfy them both.

“p-please calm down you two, there is no need to get so worked up over nothing. Captain Haru, you wish to keep the city on lockdown for your soldier’s safety, I understand that, but our mission is also of the utmost importance.”

Haru took a deep breath and signaled his soldiers to march on without him as he resumed talks with Shiira.

“I can’t open another gate for you, and I definitely can’t let you poke a hole through one of our walls either. I can promise that this matter will be resolved swiftly, that’s the best I can do for you.”

“how about the gate that is being attacked right now? It’s open, isn’t it? we can leave quickly and destroy any enemies we encounter on our way, depending on the size of the terrorist force, we might be even able to deal enough damage to drive them away.”

Haru took a second to ponder in silence before giving his answer, a disgruntled and visibly conflicted nod.

“we expect a heavy assault with thousands of crimson dragons laying siege to the northern gate. The battle leading to the breach will have exhausted the battalions stationed there already so we must hurry, I need to lead the counterattack personally…I’m hoping you’ll provide support while I coordinate with my troops.”

“of course, we wi—”

“I apologize miss Shiira, but you are merely a guide. he is the one who must decide.”

Shiira had nothing to say. She understood that Haru spoke the truth and that everything resided in what Adam was about to say, and concerningly he wasn’t one for diplomacy.

Her eyes shifted toward Adam, awaiting his decision with cold sweat dripping down her forehead. She knew that a fight was inevitable if he was to refuse, a fight that wasn’t only going to delay and likely compromise the mission she was sent on by the demon lord himself, but also one that would lead to the demise of every demon in the city.

“…fine, lead the way.”

“excellent, we need to move quickly, I don’t know how the situation is—”

Haru started marching as soon as Adam voiced his approval, however, he did not follow.

“but remember…I’m not here to fight your war for you, so you better not expect me to.”

Haru looked back and nodded before the three moved in unison, making their way toward the breached gate.

********************************

Swords, flames, lightning, and ice all clashed against each other on a battlefield marred by the blood of countless dead demons. Some sounded war cries as they fell, and others went down as quietly as a feather falling on fresh snow. It was hell on earth, a hell that Adam felt right at home in.

The three stood atop a watchtower, overlooking the northern gate and the miniature war unfolding right beyond its massive metallic doors.

Defensive lines protected the partially destroyed gate, lines made of soldiers taking refuge behind layers of magic barriers and makeshift stone fences spanning miles.

Haru was shocked at the sight, he expected and planned for the worst, yet the battle unfolding in front of his eyes shattered all expectations. To those like Adam, who witnessed the true horror of the old war, it seemed rather mundane if not a little underwhelming.

they looked on from the distance as the miniature war raged on. Silently watching as thousands of crimson dragons clashed against thousands of Dra’ig warriors, throwing their lives for the mere chance of breaking through their defenses.

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“huh, now this is rather interesting.”

Adam was the first one to break the silence, his face bearing a curious, almost amused expression in total contrast to the horrified faces of the others.

“my men are being slaughtered and that’s what you have to say?”

Haru glared at Adam with spiteful eyes, disgusted at the half smile that adorned his face while watching such a horrific scene.

“your soldiers must’ve won back the gate after it was breached, they barricaded and formed multiple defensive lines beyond it and even within the city itself…impressive. but the really interesting part is how the dragon-whatever guys are responding.”

The spite on Haru’s face subsided and curiosity started to emerge. He was a high-ranking demon, one adept at the art of war, especially when it comes to defense and siege tactics, but he wasn’t one to let his ego control him.

Adam was a soldier from another time, one who fought in the great war, where legends and great spirits themselves are rumored to have walked the battlefield. Haru understood that such a man, as despicable and egotistical as he appeared, had valuable knowledge that far surpasses his own, and thus he elected to keep quiet and listen.

“look at their formation and tactics, it may appear like they are just suicide charging randomly at the outer defensive line with no hope of breaking through but that’s not the case at all… they are progressively weakening your soldiers while attacking consistently enough to greatly limit their ability to retreat, forcing others to come out of their positions within the inner lines to provide support.”

“what do you mean? I still don’t understand.”

Adam’s smile vanished and his tone grew colder, sending shivers down Shiira’s back.

“they are hollowing out the inner defensive lines from the outside…this same tactic was devised and used by non-augment soldiers during the war on a much bigger scale, and the objective was to weaken the inner defensive lines enough to allow for an elite augmented squad to punch right through. If I’m right, an elite team will attack soon…but how do they know of this strategy? they couldn’t have just stumbled on it by accident, something isn’t right here. didn’t you say they were more like mindless beasts than soldiers?”

Haru was shocked at the revelation Adam burdened him with so casually. He feared what this elite unite he spoke of could be, and what damage would it inflict on the city if they were successful in breaking through his soldier’s defenses.

He was so engrossed in his fears and worries that it took him more than a minute to even register Adam’s question and formulate a coherent answer.

“y-yes, they would attack the soldiers who venture outside the city or those bringing goods into it with reckless abandon, cutting supply lines for weeks or even months on end. every time we take a large enough force to drive them away we’d end up losing most of the soldiers and having even more injured ones to take care of.”

Haru bit down on his lip as he replayed past battles in his mind, remembering the faces of many of his fallen comrades and agonizing over the fact that there is a chance their deaths were meaningless.

“the battles were usually brief and hectic, they would attack in droves with no strategy beyond throwing out rudimentary, yet powerful spells and swinging their swords once they’ve gotten close enough. even when we managed to grab one of them alive they’d just grunt and scream like an animal before being put down.”

Adam gazed upon the battlefield with cold eyes, analyzing every move made by the supposed crazed terrorists, looking for answers, but ultimately finding none amidst the chaos and death.

As the three began their descent down the watchtower, a violent quake shook the very ground and Haru’s worst fear immediately manifested in his mind. A vision of the elite warriors arriving, and the fall of his city.

Their hurried footsteps turned into a sprint as they made their way out of the tower and toward the now dust-covered battlefield.

Once they reached the innermost defensive line multiple demons rushed toward Haru, all speaking at once, giving him different briefings, status reports, and asking for him to allow for more support to be directed from other gates.

Haru tried to tend to them but a messenger arrived bringing word from the outermost defensive line. Blood seeped from underneath his shredded armor as he spoke, his voice growing weaker with every breath he took. His words were a muddled mess of letters and moans of pain, it was nonsensical but it told Haru and the others all they needed to know, the outer line had fallen, and the elites have arrived.

The dust slowly settled in the distant battlefield, revealing the hardly visible yet clearly mangled bodies of those who held the first line of defense. Broken and bloodied, their copses served as a pedestal for three demons who were clearly different from the others.

Clad in long, dark robes and carrying ivory staffs, they appeared to be the only ones left standing in the distance. It was hard for Adam, Haru, or anyone else to make out any details from such a distance but they all felt the same way, they all felt their power and malice.

Adam waited for them to make a move, thinking they were going to hurl magic at them from a distance or perhaps await reinforcements to attack the next defensive line and crush it with brute force, but minutes passed and nothing happened. No magic was cast and no more demons appeared, the three remained motionless, only their long robes fluttering in the wind.

“I’m done waiting, if they refuse to come then I’ll go greet them my—what?”

The three demons suddenly vanished, leaving Adam shocked for a moment. But as he realized what happened, they had already reappeared, but they were no longer in far away in the distance, but right in front of his face.

Faint blue light engulfed Adam’s body and he took a defensive posture, preparing to dodge and counterattack if possible, but the three demons merely stood there with warm smiles and admiring eyes.

“kin of the gods, you have arrived sooner than expected, we are grateful to have met one such as yourself. Please find us soon, we will welcome you and offer you a seat atop your new kingdom, but for now, we must part ways, for our mission here is already finished. farewell, o’ ancient one.”

Adam analyzed as much as he could during the brief moment he had with them, but they were average looking as far as demons come, with the exception of one oddity they all had in common, their horns were sawed off at the root.

Many Dra’ig soldiers attacked but the three demons vanished before any spells hit them, leaving everyone confused and mortified, even Adam.

“impossible…they…teleported, but how? we drove that clan to extinction even before I joined the war, what is happening here? first the pale winds and now this?”

While Adam was pondering and speaking to himself in shock, Shiira was listening intently, making sure to remember and keep track of every single word leaving his mouth.