Chapter 39: - Crusade of the 3 Kingdoms
Blood.
Steel.
Magic.
The echoes of war devastate the already decayed lands called the Aberrant Fields.
The previously murky waters are now dyed with the colors of human and demon blood.
Carcasses of horses, beasts, humans, and demons, litter the mud as the decadent flora were either torn by blades, crushed by the boulders from catapults, or burned by flames.
A hulking figure was riding a gigantic horse on top of a hill overseeing the battlefield.
"Report!" A soldier approached the figure and gave a military salute.
The hulking figure did not move his head as he responded: "Proceed!"
"Commander! Hekel has already penetrated the Northern fortress while Maald is struggling to break through the East. They are requesting our assistance. Sir!"
Looking at the battlefield, Drago played out scenarios in his head and chose the best course of action he could think of.
"Let Arissef cover Falna's sector. Tell Brius to Concentrate the artillery fire there. Falna shall take a 15,000 detachment and reinforce Maald from the South."
"Yes sir!" The soldier saluted and went on his way to relay the commands to the flagbearers.
Despite the battle seeming to be a back and forth between the opposing forces, Drago was feeling uneasy. In all the wars that he partook in, he never experienced having such an ominous feeling.
The demons constructed a castle deep with the Aberrant Fields. Three fortresses surround it in the formation of a triangle. Hekel was tasked to take the Northern Fortress. Maald was to take the Eastern Fortress. Grimley was now pushing to take the Southwestern Fortress. Among the three fronts, Hekel has progressed the deepest, followed by Grimley. Having the least military might of the three, Maald was having trouble taking the advantage.
However, a sudden development took the battlefield by storm.
Hekel's vanguard was wiped out!
...
"Commander! A wave of demons with 3 gigantic ones are charging towards Hekel's Center at full speed! They seem to have originated from the Northern Fortress." A messenger notified Drago about the situation on Hekel's side.
Drago narrowed his eyes as he assessed the situation. "Let Hevan and Caylin take 100,000 troops and reinforce Hekel. Send a messenger to Maald to slow down their pace and be on their guard. The rest of you, on me. We need to take the Southwestern fortress quickly!"
The appearance of those gigantic creatures confirmed his uneasy feeling earlier. The fortresses were traps. He believed that all of the fortresses held creatures similar in strength to the ones on Hekel's side.
When Drago ordered the charge, Arissef and Edge shifted gears and were pushing at their enemy. Arissef's light magic was easily able to wipe out huge clusters of demons in front of them while Edge was having it better with so much death energy lingering all over the battlefield, with an almost unlimited supply, he was decapitating demons like their necks were made of butter.
With Drago leading the charge alongside his dragoons and Brius's effective bombardments, they arrived at the fortress with ease. When Brius arrived with his explosives, they finally brought down the fortress gate, readying themselves for what awaited them inside.
Just like the Northern fortress, inside was a gigantic demon that was just released from its chains. When Edge and Arissef saw the creature, they put on a serious look and glanced at each other. The creature's form was smaller but its features were similar to the creature Barazi released from the amulet more than a decade ago. This reinforced their suspicion that the leader of these demons must have been that figure. When Drago saw the looks on their faces, he understood that this situation was not as simple as the 3 kingdoms thought it was.
Even Zex who was observing all of this from Drago's perspective was starting to get nervous. 'Is it really him?'
"Fan out! Keep your distance and support us when you can! Keep casualties to the minimum." Drago gave the order as the dragoons opened the boxes containing Avegar and Etherguard. As he equipped the weapons, Drago glanced at Edge, Arissef, and Brius. "Let's go!"
To these four, this was just another hunt! Despite the size, strength, and speed of the gigantic demon, it had no experience facing well-coordinated attacks. After only a few minutes, the demon fell and started crumbling to dust.
Drago then ordered the men to enter the fortress and take hold.
A few minutes later, a soldier approached Drago and made a salute. "Report!"
"Proceed!" Drago nodded.
"Commander! We cleared the interior of the fortress and found a dungeon below filled with human corpses. We also found a chamber that had a large and strange basin that was filled with blood... Human. Sir!" The soldier retold their discovery.
Drago glanced at Arissef after hearing those words. He then left Brius in charge of the fortifications and entered deep into the fortress with Edge and Arissef.
When they arrived at the chamber, they saw an intricately designed pool that looked exactly how the soldier described it. Drago felt the design was extremely similar to the platform under his mansion where the Ritual of the Dragon was conducted.
"I sense great magic within the pool. It resembles blood magic but the runes are of a higher degree to which I have never encountered before." Arissef explained.
Edge walked around the pool and was wearing a serious look. "The blood is oozing with death energy. However, it is not proportional to the amount of blood." He then stopped to look at Drago before continuing: "The demon we fought earlier was filled to the brim with death energy. Is it possible that this pool was involved in its creation?"
Drago looked at Arissef who nodded before raising his hand. "Destroy this pool. Arissef, if you can study the runes... We might need it in the future. Edge, gather as much death energy as you can, and replenish your strength. We will join Hekel's battlefield soon."
Everyone proceeded to comply with their orders as Drago moved deeper into the dungeon and saw the corpses. There were more than a hundred human corpses that were squeezed of their blood while bones were piled at the corners. Most of them looked like they were soldiers from Grimley who have fallen in battle. The rest must have been kidnapped from nearby settlements. "Clean this area up and bury the bodies. Refashion the dungeon as quarters for our men and leave some space for the injured to rest. This war may not be ending anytime soon."
There was a lot to consider when fighting a war. Logistics and shelter were only two of them. In just a week, Grimley alone lost around 100,000 troops just to take one fortress. This was a testament to the strength of demons being able to fight at least 8 humans each.
If Drago and the others did not kill the gigantic demon quickly, the casualties from its rampage would have risen to the hundreds or even thousands.
To ask for reinforcements and be granted more aid, Drago frequently sent messengers to notify the kingdoms of the situation. With the horrifying mess they found inside the fortress, he sent two messages this time around: One for each king and one for their respective churches.
He believed that this would spur those bystanders and observers to finally take action.
In every kingdom, nobles held great power. They had private armies that they could use for their own gain. This was the difference between fighting for a cause and fighting to gain land or conquer another kingdom. Merit alone would not attract their eyes, especially in battles where there was no clear understanding of the opponent's strength. These nobles will only spare a portion of their armies just to heed the call of the king but not enough that them being wiped out would nick their strength.
However, if the church got involved as well, these nobles might be forced to go all out. While the king held the greatest authority in the kingdom, the church held great power as the voice of faith. If a noble ignored the call of the church, they will be labeled as hypocrites and blasphemers, earning infamy and the ire of the people. As the people were the source of most of their income, a sway of opinion against them would hurt their fortune and may even inspire them to revolt.
Drago was sincerely hoping that the message would be effective. If the demons had more of these dungeons and pools in the main castle, he believed that this war would be as good as lost.
After all, he suspected that the reason why the Northern fortress had 3 gigantic demons instead of one... was that more Hekelian soldiers fell in battle than there were on Grimley's front.
Now, they were making their way to reinforce Hekel... hoping that Hevan and Caylin have helped alleviate the situation a bit.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone