Languished Life

by Patrik Mielonen

  Hmm, I see. We Leviathans never warred like humans, so the strategic maneuvers and such are novel to me.

  Are you impressed?

  The dragon laughs. Never, my friend. Humans will never impress me.

  Tenil smirks in irony. Liar. You were impressed by me. When you gave me your powers and I went berserk, my mind was linked with yours—which led me to behave like you—and thanks to that, I caught a glimpse of your thoughts.

  The dragon says no more, verbally beaten.

  ***

  2,000 knights plus the twelfth unit of the fourth regiment, led by Tenil, are marching South to intercept the invading armies threatening to take Utock. Strategically, it’s an important fortress the kingdom can’t afford to lose.

  With two nations at their throats, the siege of Utock has become a pivotal battle. If the fortress falls, the empire is most definitely going to march North and siege Teckton from two directions, efficiently conquering the border area. While that’d happen, the federation would be marching Northeast where Ivymn is located. If Utock were lost, only one fortress would stand between the capital and the federation. Not just that, the kingdom doesn’t have the numbers to fight off the massive empire while keeping the federation at bay, should Roshia go on the offensive at full power.

  The fifth regiment of the royal division was assembled only recently, which is why the numbers aren’t as big as in the other regiments. Ireine and Lerrot update Tenil about the events of the past two weeks. The empire had launched a bigger assault on Teckton after she left, only to retreat five hours later. Unit twelve lost 44 knights in the battle.

  Fortress Utock stands at a shore of a river, built to block an invasion from advancing across a bridge it protects. The current is strong for miles, and because of that, the united armies are forced to take the fortress, or to march East where they’d eventually meet yet another defense line and die of starvation.

  It takes days to get there, but when they do, Tenil halts the march one mile away from Utock.

  “Lerrot, take two archers with you and scout the battlefield. All I want to know is that whether the battle is at a ceasefire or at its worst. Also, I want to know if the enemy is aware of us or not, but if you cannot gather such intel, come back to report what you can. Now, move out!”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  As Lerrot and two others head out to scout the battle, Tenil checks the condition of her men. They’re all ready, but anyone can read the grim atmosphere. After all, they’re up against two armies. The best outcome they can hope for is a few hundred survivors out of 2,200.

  In no time, Lerrot returns with the others. “Sir, the battle is raging. From the looks of it, they’re expecting us. Empire’s army is located on the Northern side of the field, the federation to South. If we attack from this angle, we’ll be up against the empire.”

  “Noted. Alright men, we are rolling in!” Tenil shouts.

  “Sir, may I suggest something?” Ireine speaks.

  “Go ahead.”

  “We should raise the red flag we have been sewing. It would lower the morale of the enemy soldiers.”

  “What flag?” Tenil asks.

  “While you were away, I sewed a red flag with a white rose. It was Sergeant Lerrot’s idea, Sir.”

  “I agree with Ireine’s proposal, Sir,” Lerrot fills in. “The red flag we left behind at Renyil has become a well-known rumor in the empire’s ranks. If we raise one now, the enemy soldiers’ morale will plummet most likely. After all, they’re up against the Red Demon.”

  “Proposal accepted. Raise the flag, Knights in Red!”

  ““Yes, Sir!””

  The army led by Tenil starts advancing with the red flag fluttering, snow hindering them ever so slightly.

  Can’t wait! The dragon exclaims.

  Sure.

  Should I enhance you right away?

  If possible, I won’t take it, unless you can control your inner desire to kill humans. I’d only end up slaughtering anyone and everyone, allies included.

  Then maybe I’ll just give you a portion? How ‘bout that?

  As long as we win the battle so that we won’t lose the war, I don’t care how it’ll turn out. Of course, I want to live to tell the tale.

  Splendid. In that case, I’ll be helping you slightly if you promise to kill a lot.

  I most definitely will.

  Oorah! The dragon tries to imitate the warcry.

  Do me a favor and never roar like that ever again, Tenil complains, as the ‘oorah’ sounds more like a roar of a beast than a human warcry.

  Tch, I’m locked away and am not even allowed to do what I want!?

  I don’t care what you do in your prison, but when in my head, please behave.

  Fiiine.

  As soon as the knights under the red flag reach the edge of the woods, the battlefield is laid before them. On their left, the river with its raging current flows, the stone bridge Utock was built to defend swarming with empire’s men. On the other side of the field, the federation’s troops are operating catapults to shoot at the fortress on the other side of the water. Hails of arrows strike the empire’s soldiers as they try to cross the bridge.

  “Knights under the red flag,” Tenil begins, “aim for the heart of the enemy formation! Use whatever means necessary to achieve that goal! Crush or be crushed!”

  “““““OORAH!”””””

  “Chaarge!”

  Enemy commanders are issuing orders. The enemy formation is shifting to welcome the knights under the red flag. As they charge at the empire’s army, hails of arrows rain down upon them. Tenil uses the wide side of the dragon’s fang to block the arrows efficiently.

  May I? The dragon asks.

  Just make sure that the enemy is the one to die.

  Sure thing.

  Leading the charge at the forefront, Tenil dashes off faster than the other footmen behind her. The dragon’s blessing is different this time. She can feel a surge of power within, a burning sensation. The green fire of the black dragon is consuming her, emotions nil and sight colorless. She is the perfect weapon the kingdom needs: a killing machine.

  The snow around her melts in the blink of an eye, her eyes lizard-like. Her physical strength is many times greater, and hence she can dash faster than the footmen behind her. The frontline men preparing to welcome the knights under the red flag are confused by the solo charge, and thus react slowly as the Red Demon lunges at their ranks, green fire surrounding her.

  She swings the massive chunk of hulking iron in a wide arc as she approaches the enemy, delivering a devastating strike at the enemy spearmen with the weapon that has the length of a spear. The blade tears through the chainmail armor the empire’s men are wearing, sinking into the flesh and cutting it like butter, severing the spines along the way. The soldiers are but organic debris after such a blow. One spear grazes her side, however, wounding her badly. She cares not, the tip of the spear turning into cinders thanks to the green fire surrounding her.

  After two more decimating swings, her allies clash with the empire as well, and a bloodbath takes place on the field before Utock, soldiers of the kingdom providing support from the fortress.

  What Tenil sees is not gore nor humans. They’re but objects to her, objects she needs to destroy. The dragonic strength enhances her to the point she can still maintain her sanity, while gaining immense physical power. The massive chunk of iron weighs nothing now as if it were made of something really light, almost like air.

  Rather than calling it killing or slaying, it’s more like she’s terminating the empire’s men at the maximum efficiency. The red flag with the white rose is fluttering behind her, the sight of it alone terrorizing the enemy. Her eyes glitter like flames, her expression as nil of emotions as it can get. Those that manage to steal a glimpse of her face think she’s mocking them by having that look as if slaughtering the men of Valoria is a daily thing to do.

  “Follow the Goddess of War!!!” The footmen behind her fi
ght like berserkers, inspired to throw their lives by the Red Demon’s bloody performance.

  ““““““““““““““““““““““OORAH!!!”””””””””””””””””””””””

  The whole army thunders as one, their spirits fired up for battle. The knights of the red flag, the berserker warriors of the kingdom, dive into the enemy ranks earnestly. Despite all the arrows, spears, axes, and swords, the soldiers of Phyr are the ones to suffer the least. The empire’s men have lost their fighting spirit at the sight of The Red Devil, and seeing an army backing her, it’s only normal that they’re despairing, regardless of the numerical advantage they possess. They aren’t fighting in order to win anymore, but in order to survive.

  The dragon can only smile in its prison.

  It doesn’t end there. Utock’s gate opens in the middle of the battle, a small cavalry force charging from there to support the knights of the red flag. They crush the remaining strugglers on the bridge, then proceed to charge the main body that has begun to retreat from the fortress to intercept the knights under the red flag. The federation’s army begins to retreat as well.

  “DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF THE KINGDOM!” Tenil roars as she breaches the center of the empire’s formation.

  ***

  “Sir, Sergeant Major Tenil reporting for duty!” Tenil salutes before the colonel of Ivymn Brigade. She has entered the fortress and is now consulting the commanding officer, namely Harrol.

  Harrol has a complex face. He doesn’t know whether he should be happy or angry. He was saved by a young woman, but then again, she did save his men. They’ve been under heavy siege for days now, so his men are exhausted.

  Both enemy armies retreated as soon as Tenil’s knights breached the center of the empire’s formation. Half of the empire’s army was crushed in one fell swoop. The downside of the result is that Aoveon cannot grant her his powers in a while. She’ll have to crush the rest of the enemy with her strategic prowess alone.

  During the battle, Tenil noticed that the men of Valoria had chainmail armors, which is unusual for the empire’s soldiers. It might be that they’re trying to come up with counter measures for the Red Demon. Also, the federation doesn’t seem to care about its ally. They retreated as soon as the situation grew out of hand.

  “Well done, I suppose,” the colonel compliments insincerely. “But you and your two battalions raised an unknown flag during the battle, which is a crime that equals treason. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  “Sir, I was given a direct order to eliminate the whole enemy force here in South at any cost, and I am to return North as soon as possible. The order includes I may use whatever means necessary to achieve that goal. Therefore, Sir, raising the flag was not an act of treason, but a strategic move to terrorize the enemy,” Tenil speaks with a mocking face. “Also, I need your help with eliminating the enemy, Sir.”

  The colonel clicks his tongue. “What is your plan, Sergeant Major?”

  Tenil walks over to a wide table on which a strategic map is laid, trying to recall the things she’s learned from tactical military scrolls. “Sir, although the enemy armies are cooperating, they are not exactly allies. Even their camps are separated from each other, which means that if the other were attacked with an element of surprise, the other army would not be able to react immediately due to lack of trust and so forth. Since the empire is weakened greatly, I suggest we do a night raid into the empire’s camp and focus our attack on a pinpoint assault to breach their formation as fast as possible. We would aim for a battle of annihilation. In order to execute the decisive raid, we will need precise timing. We need two forces to attack two separate targets at the same time. In this case, Sir, you would take the other, whilst my knights would take the other. Also, we should not make it a battle of no quarter given, as we need pieces for negotiations with Roshia.”

  The colonel speaks his mind, “The way I see it, we should use fabian strategy. The night raid could end up being a pyrrhic victory, or worse, a decisive victory for the enemy.”

  “Negative,” Tenil denies the idea. “Sir, we are up against two armies, overall number of 15,000 soldiers at worst, and we have only this fortress we can retreat to, assuming we made an offensive move. We cannot win this war by fabian strategy at this point. We lack the space, if I may, Sir. Losing this fortress means that the marshal will have to rally the men to fight the empire and the federation in pitched battles all over the kingdom, which, in my opinion, is the worst scenario.”

  “Wrong. We can afford to lose Utock. We can use the winter to exhaust the enemy army as they try to advance, and then we can make it a battle of annihilation in one pivotal pitched battle. In fact, giving Utock for free would be a good idea, as we could use the space between the defense lines for fabian strategy.”

  “Negative,” Tenil keeps arguing. “It has been predicted that the spring will come early this year. In order to win the war with attrition warfare, we need at least half a year, maybe even more at worst, and hence we cannot rely on fabian strategy. Both the empire and the federation are countries with cold winters and warm summers. Therefore, they can adapt to the season. Once the snow is gone, they will act more aggressively, build better supply lines, and eventually conquer Phyr. We must eliminate either the federation or the empire before the spring in order to preserve our land.”

  The colonel holds his jaw for a while. “Fine, we will do the night raid.”

  ***

  I can’t take it anymore! A soldier of the empire cries out in his mind, standing guard at the center of their camp.

  10,000 Roshian soldiers have set a camp two hundred yards off to South. The kingdom’s fortress is in Northeast. The empire lost half of the division earlier today. They have only 4,500 soldiers left.

  I didn’t sign up for this, the soldier keeps crying in his mind. I only came here to earn enough money to buy myself a farm! They promised a crushing victory, but what is this!? A battalion annihilated most of our men in one fell swoop! I saw The Demon, we cannot beat her. We’ll all die if we stay. Damn it! Those imbeciles are leading us to our deaths!

  It’s midnight soon. Clouds are veiling the Moon. The commander of the division has been planning to retreat after the crushing defeat.

  We knew the battalion was coming, but we didn’t know it was the Red Demon, not until the flag was raised. Damn it! Damn it! This isn’t fair!

  As he stands there, shivering, a small group of soldiers rushes past him in a hurry.

  “Spread the word, the scouts saw the kingdom’s men exit the fortress!” One of them tells the guard in haste.

  “What!?” His blurt is ignored.

  He isn’t allowed to leave his post, not without a good reason. Even if it’s to spread the word about the threat, it’s not enough since others are already doing it.

  Are they coming at us in the middle of the night!? And from what direction? The soldier’s heart is racing out of fear. What if he’ll have to face the Red Demon himself? He’s seen what the devil can do. She is a weapon designed to mow down humans.

  The soldiers in the empire’s camp are silently preparing and setting up formations. From the empire’s perspective, it’s clear that the kingdom might be aiming for a coup de main. With no moonlight to rely on, the kingdom’s knights can attack at any moment from any angle. Nights are extremely dark in the winter.

  Later after midnight, the empire’s warhorn is blown in the Northwestern area of the camp. The kingdom is attacking head-on. No sooner than that, another horn can be heard in South—the federation’s camp is under attack as well.

  They’re aiming for a battle of annihilation!? The soldier who’s been standing guard is both awed and horrified. If they are aiming for a battle of annihilation, then they won’t be taking any prisoners from the empire’s side. They need only the federation’s men to negotiate.

  Even during battle, the guard isn’t allowed to leave the post without a superior’s order. His mi
ssion is to protect the tent where the most important supplies are. In fact, he isn’t alone. There are two others as well around the tent.

  Soldiers are sprinting past the tent to reinforce the defense line. The cries the guard can hear speak of the horrors he cannot see. Even the thought of the gore the Red Demon spills to paint the snow makes the guard think of desertion.

  Before he even knows it, the sounds of battle are getting closer. Has the kingdom breached the defense line? The camp wasn’t set up for defense, but for offense. It’s not impossible for a battalion to pierce the poorly planned defense in a coup de main, especially with the Red Demon leading them.

  The camp is in chaos. Even if they manage to fight off the kingdom, they cannot continue the siege. They’ll have to retreat back to Valoria. And if they do, they’ll risk cavalry chase. They’d trample the snow as they retreat, and the kingdom’s pursuit would catch up in no time by following the trails. Of course, it’s possible to set up an ambush for the cavalry, but even so, it doesn’t guarantee a safe retreat.

  The worst part is that I can’t desert! There is nowhere to go in Phyr! No food, no shelter, I’d die of cold and hunger, the guard thinks.

  Loud clangs of metal can be heard very close. The guard’s heart begins to race even faster. It’s like some iron giant was crushing the soldiers nearby. The guard is preparing to defend himself. And soon, the killer appears, tearing through a tent, soaked in blood, the weapon garnished with pieces of guts.

  The guard starts running for his life, deserting his post. Nooo! I’m not dying here! Someone! Save me!

  The knight covered in blood dashes after him, her massive weapon maiming his legs. The guard falls down like a ragdoll with his legs dismembered. He still lives, but he’ll die of bleeding in no time.

  “Ah... AAAHHHH!” The guard cries in pain, the sight of his own legs lying on the snow a yard away making his mind go blank in horror. But despite his poor reasoning, he can read from his killer’s face an emotion he’s not seen before, at least not in a situation where one kills another—nay, calling it an emotion is wrong, for there is none. Nada. The devil doesn’t even look him in the eye. Why would she? There is more to be killed.