by Hyougetsu
“Hey Veight, how come canines are so good at smithing silver? I thought their hands made silver rot?” Fahn asked idly, twirling her ring between her fingers.
“That’s just nonsense humans made up.”
“Why?”
Fahn tilted her head in confusion, so I continued my explanation, “Human craftsmen can’t hope to match the canines in skill, so they started spreading unsavory rumors about them.”
That was why, in the past, the canines were driven from their mining towns and were forced to hide in the forests. A tragic tale, really. The fact that most canines didn’t even resent humans for the persecution they suffered just made them all the more pitiable. Anyway, I needed to get back on topic.
“Are things working out fine with the human merchants?”
“Yeah, everything’s great. They were pretty scared at first, but they got used to the canines in no time. Must be because they’re so cute.”
Upon closer inspection I noticed there were a few humans mingled in with the throng of canines. They still seemed a little nervous, but once one started negotiating prices they fit right in.
“I’m buying your whole set of fifty silver spoons, so don’t you think you could at least knock the price of five off of them?”
“Three’s as high as I’m willing to go.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Excuse me, sir canine. But don’t you think some coastal sea salt would be a wonderful product to sell back home?”
“Well, most of us like sugar more than salt.”
“You’re in luck, then. I’ve got plenty of sugar too, though it’ll cost you.”
Yeah, things are definitely going well here. Though they might not have much value as fighters, I was still glad I’d brought the canines with me. I saw Fahn drooling as she eyed some of the other silver jewelry on sale, so I reminded her again, just in case.
“Remember, if a dispute breaks out, make sure you report it to Ryunheit’s merchant guild. Do not, under any circumstances, take matters into your own hands.”
“Yeeeeah, yeah.”
Though her tone was frivolous, I knew Fahn had a strong sense of responsibility. Everything would be just fine. I hope.
I decided to take a short break and bought myself a couple of tropical fruits one of the traders had brought. I bit into one that looked similar to a pineapple but with green flesh.
“Do these really taste good?”
“Mmm, I like them at least.”
The Porzoi-faced canine watched me curiously as I paid him for the fruit. They had a wonderful aroma, and weren’t overly sweet. It made me realize most of the fruit in my old life had had way too much sugar. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know what this green pineapple-thing is called. As I was musing over such things, the canines and werewolves in the market suddenly started to get rowdy.
“What’s going on?”
My ears sensed the source of the disturbance even before I got my reply. Someone had blown the emergency dog whistle. Three blasts, and they’d come from the northern gate. That meant an enemy attack. Before I could even start giving orders, Fahn got to work.
“Get everyone inside! Shut the gates!”
I gulped down the pineapple-thing inside my mouth and transformed on the spot.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
That sent the nearby humans into a panic, but I didn’t have time to worry about them right now. I needed to be in this form to howl orders.
“AWOOOOOOOOO!”
At my order to assemble, everyone began to move. They all recognized my distinctive roar. I swept my gaze over the men stationed at the southern gate and picked a few out.
“Jerrick, Monza, Hamaam, get your squads and follow me! The rest of you, wait here until I give further orders! Protect the citizens!”
At my command, the three squads I’d picked out transformed. Even more people started screaming, but there was no time to waste.
“We move!”
With 3 squads, totaling 12 werewolves in number, following behind me, I headed north. As we made our way across the rooftops, I heard a few other roared messages.
“Enemies.”
“Close.”
“Strong.”
Looks like we really are under attack. Only werewolves could communicate instantly over long distances like this. However, because of how simple the howls were, more nuanced information like tense or verb conjugations couldn’t really be conveyed. For example, the message I’d heard that said ‘strong’ could have meant anything from “The enemy’s strong, I’ve fought them,” to “The enemy looks strong.” Please don’t tell me the fighting’s already started. As I passed by the viceroy’s manner, I took another 3 squads with me. I now had 24 werewolves behind me, almost half our total force. As I arrived at the northern gate, I found the canines on watch cowering in fear.
“Sir Veight, enemies!”
“Yeah, I got that. You don’t have to keep blowing the whistle. Where are they?”
I jumped up to the lookout tower on the walls. The other werewolves found their own spots to observe the enemy from. Hamaam, the werewolf with dark-brown fur was the first to spot them. He’d come from a desert region, so his eyesight was better than other werewolves.
“Commander. Judging from their banners, that appears to be Meraldia’s army. My guess is they came from Thuvan.”
Thuvan was the industrial city to the north of Ryunheit. Their archers were supposedly some of the best. However, it made no sense for them to attack. Monza, who had a rather laid-back personality, casually tilted her head.
“But Thuvan isn’t that big, is it? And from the looks of it, between their infantry and cavalry they have around four hundred soldiers total.”
“They don’t have any siege weapons either,” Jerrick, the blacksmith’s son, pointed out.
Ryunheit was much bigger than its population suggested. A mere 400 troops wouldn’t even be able to surround all the walls, and they didn’t seem to be carrying anything to break down the gates with either. But unless they were led by a madman, they hadn’t come here just to die. If they were planning to fight, it was because they thought there was a way to win with their relatively low numbers. I could think of only one possible scheme.
“Monza, Scuzi, take your units and guard the gates! If anyone attempts anything suspicious, apprehend them!”
“Roger!”
“Yes, sir!”
Eight of my werewolves dropped down to the gate below. I really hope I’m wrong about this... I still wasn’t sure this was the right decision, but I decided to bring out my trump card just in case. I ordered the rest of my men to be on alert, and then I started chanting.
“You who have returned from the Gate of Gevina, you who have been barred from the Gate of Haurun, behold. In my right hand, I hold the frozen sun.”
My body was enveloped in a swirl of mana, and my right hand began glowing with a cold light. This was one of necromancy’s most basic spells. One that allowed you to give orders to undead under your command. The spell itself was akin to flipping a switch with your mana, so even someone like me could use it. I raised my right hand high, and ordered the Bone Spears hidden in the forest to advance.
Mobilizing 2000 undead soldiers against an army of 400 might have been overkill. To be honest, I’d wanted to hide their existence until the decisive battle with Meraldia. But I’d rather be doubly sure than hold back my forces and potentially let the enemy into the city. Better to just remain vigilant and crush this army with all our might.
Unfortunately, the one drawback to undead soldiers was that they were slow. Their top speed was a slightly fast marching pace, which was why they were best suited for ambushes. As expected, the Meraldia army saw the Bone Spears long before they closed in. Yeah, there’s no way they’re catching up in time... The enemy broke out of marching formation and reformed into battle lines with their cavalry at the fore. It looked like they were planning to charge the city in one go. Are they seriously
going to just abandon their infantry? The infantry had picked up the pace as well, but they were still slow enough that the Bone Spears would reach them first. I’d be able to crush their formation.
As he watched the army approach, Hamaam muttered, “They’ve got about...fifty cavalry.”
Not too much, then. Cavalry were expensive, after all. Especially horse archers.
“What’s the plan, Vice-Commander? I don’t think horse archers alone can get through the gates, but...”
Hamaam would have preferred to sit and watch, but I shook my head. I turned to the 16 werewolves still on the walls and shouted, “Intercept those archers before they make it to the gates! Hamaam, Vodd, Slain, Jerrick, take your squads and follow my lead!”
The other werewolves looked at me in surprise, but they knew the pack leader’s orders were absolute. They nodded resolutely and leapt off the city walls after me. Though the wall rose a good four stories high, all of us landed softly on the ground. Everyone got into their four-man squads and prepared for battle.
“Hamaam, Vodd, Jerrick, you’ve got the left! Circle around and flank the enemy on their right!”
Right-handed archers held their bows with their left hands. That meant firing to their right, especially on horseback, was difficult. My men responded instantly and dashed off toward the enemy’s right.
“What about us, boss?”
Jerrick and his squad looked up at me. After judging the distance between us and the enemy, I confirmed with a reply. “Jerrick, you and your squad are going to be my bodyguards.”
“You got it, boss. We’ve got your back,” Jerrick said with a grin, his glossy gray fur standing on end.
Thuvan’s famed horse archers had continued galloping toward us while I was giving orders, and we were now within bowshot. However, none of them made any attempt to let loose. I had no idea why they weren’t firing, but that gave us an opportunity. I sucked in a deep breath and howled as loudly as I could, casting the spell I was most proficient in: Soul Shaker. But at this distance, even a mana-enhanced howl didn’t have much effect. At point blank, Soul Shaker would have left the soldiers cowering in fear, but they were far enough away that they didn’t even balk. Owing to the amount of stamina it took, it wasn’t a spell I could cast consecutively, either. I need to be more careful about how I use it in the future. Fortunately for me, these particular soldiers had been mounted. Though the soldiers were unaffected, their horses were not. They slowed to a walk, unwilling to get any closer. Some of them got so spooked they bucked their riders off. The sudden shift in speed caused some riders to crash into each other, and even more of them fell off their horses. Their formation was a mess. And I knew the twelve werewolves I’d sent to circle around wouldn’t let this chance pass them up. Now then, I guess I should help out.
“I’m going to start casting support magic. I need you guys to cover me.”
“You got it. We’ll keep those arrows off ya.”
Jerrick stepped protectively in front of me. The other three in his squad guarded my sides.
I began sucking in a series of deep breaths. With each one, I absorbed some of the mana in the air. Once I’d gathered enough, I converted it into a spell.
“O blood-drenched moon, grace these crazed warriors with thine light.”
The surrounding area grew dim. A second later, the mana swirling around the battlefield gathered around the werewolves.
“Ooooh... Here it comes.”
Jerrick wagged his tail happily. The rest of his squad looked expectant as well. I could feel the power welling up inside me as well. A cool breeze wafted over the plains, and suddenly we all felt protected by something. This was another one of the strengthening magic spells I was proficient in: Blood Moon. It wrapped all of my allies in a shroud of mana, offering some protection against enemy attacks. The twelve werewolves I’d sent ahead were close enough that they were affected too. Now that my spells were in place, it was time we joined the fray as well.
“Let’s go, men! Wipe them all out!”
“Yes, sir!”
Since joining the demon army, this was the first fight in which they’d been allowed to kill with abandon. The werewolves trembled in anticipation.
“Guoooooh!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The Meraldian archers fell into a panic. The werewolves rushed in faster than a galloping horse, barely giving the soldiers time to fire back. The advantage of having mounted archers was their increased mobility and range, but with their horses panicking, they were no different from infantry. And since shortbows were more suited to archery from horseback, their bows didn’t even have the force of a yeoman’s longbow. All of their advantages had been stripped away. However, it still wouldn’t do to underestimate them. I dodged the few arrows that came my way and rushed into the knot of archers. Because of how fast I was going and how fast arrows flew, it was actually a difficult task to dodge while maintaining speed. Though I made it out unscathed, one of Jerrick’s men took an arrow and went down. A few members of the flanking team had been shot as well. Don’t any of you die on me now. I didn’t have time to turn around and see how everyone else was doing, though. We needed to bring the battle into close quarters as fast as possible, or we might still get picked off.
“Graaaaaaah!”
With a mighty roar, I swept up at the bowman closest to me. My talons shredded right through his chainmail, and a fountain of blood erupted from his chest. He let out a gargled scream, then fell silent. I tossed his limp body aside and moved on to the next foe. This one had an arrow to his cheek and was aiming at another werewolf further away.
“Not on my watch!”
I leapt onto a fleeing horse and snapped his bowstring as I passed. My claws took a few of his fingers with it, and the soldier screamed in agony. Sorry, but you’re the ones who started this fight. I left the fingerless soldier alone and went to find another enemy still capable of fighting. I pushed further into the enemy ranks and laid about with my talons. Archers dropped like flies, their light armor offering no protection against me. Before long, even I’d become swept up in the thrill of the fight. Then, all too soon, it was over. No enemies were left standing. The only things left alive were a few horses.
“It’s over, boss.”
Jerrick turned to me with a smile. His fur was slick with blood. Throughout the fight, he’d continued guarding me diligently. It was thanks to him that I was unscathed.
Looking out into the distance, I could see my Bone Spears had intercepted the enemy infantry. Because of the overwhelming difference in numbers, it was more of a slaughter than a battle. To be honest, I would have preferred letting them escape, but I couldn’t allow anyone who’d seen our werewolf forms to leave alive. I didn’t want anyone informing Meraldia of our presence here. Even without orders, the Bone Spears would win the battle, but I still raised my right arm and said, “Surround them.”
They switched from a defensive formation to an elimination one. The Bone Spears formed walls of soldiers to box in the enemy on all sides. Once they’d maneuvered skeletons to the enemy’s rear, the Bone Spears began their advance. There was nowhere left for the Meraldian army to run. All that was left was to use our superior numbers and coordination to grind them into dust. The sounds of battle continued for a few minutes longer, but eventually the battlefield fell silent. Skeleton warriors took no prisoners. So long as their designated enemies continued to draw breath, they wouldn’t stop. With this, the first battle to defend Ryunheit ended with our overwhelming victory.
Despite that, this battle left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t regret my choice to leave no survivors; as one of the Demon Lord’s commanders, that had been the right decision. But that didn’t mean I’d enjoyed such a brutal elimination. That being said, it was obvious from their equipment and numbers that they hadn’t come here to negotiate. If I could have just peacefully convinced them to go home, I would have. But even if it had been necessary, that didn’t stop me from being depressed over it. W
hat kind of idiot general ordered such a reckless attack anyway?
On our side, we’d only had three injured werewolves. The ones who’d been hit by arrows.
“The three of you fought bravely. Don’t worry, with my magic you’ll be fine in no time.”
I praised them for their valor while healing their injuries. A couple other werewolves had taken minor scratches and bumps, but they were fine, for the most part. I suppose I should have expected as much from werewolves. I left the rest to Jerrick and hurried back to the castle gates. There was one thing bothering me about this attack.
“Ah, Commander.”
Monza greeted me with a troubled expression. Looks like I guessed right.
“Over here. We found these guys hanging around with knives in their hands.”
She pointed to a group of men sitting on the floor. There were silver knives stacked on the ground next to them. Their faces were a bloody mess, and I timidly asked Monza, “Don’t you think you went overboard?”
“They tried to run, so I just made them a little more obedient.”
Monza grinned. She may have had a laid-back personality, but that also meant she could torture others with a carefree smile on her face.
I turned to the men and asked, “Who are you guys?”
The three of them flared up.
“We just came to see what all the commotion was about!”
“Yeah, all your infernal howling just made us scared!”
“You’re the one who needs to explain himself!”
How stubborn.
“Okay, so why were you all carrying around knives, then?”
They fell silent. Ryunheit’s laws forbade citizens from bearing arms. Of course, small knives like that were necessary for cooking and the like so it wasn’t strange for someone to own one. I took one of the knives and drew it from its embroidered silver sheath.
“I see.”
The blade, too, was made of silver, with a carving of a flower inlaid into the flat of the blade. Canine work, for sure. All of the other knives were made of silver as well. Silver was both heavy and soft. It wasn’t suitable building material for tools. However, humans were under the misconception that only silver could hurt werewolves. Unlike the rumor that canine hands made silver rot, this rumor hadn’t been spread by people. It had been spread by us werewolves. In order to convince people to attack us with soft, pliable weapons. I glared at the men and pressed further.