《Gloria The Warlocks Chaos》


 1. Beginnings

    1. Beginnings


    Madakos Isilik had relatively low mana, in a society where having lots of mana could change your life; the Human kingdoms in particular valued magic extremely, Sumar, Ilar and Lin all would heap massive rewards for being a strong magic user. There was of course aristocracy and merchants who did business in the background, but many aristocrats were related to the magically gifted, and new magically gifted people were often awarded lands. Madakos was not such a person, his father had a small hut in Lin, a sharecropper who needed assistance. Madakos had other siblings, one worked as a clerk in Lin and sent silver coins to his father Aspar. With Madakos approaching the age of 27, he wondered if this was his life now, to drudge for others until the end of time.


    A medium height, black hair, multi coloured eyes that would seem green to any who didn¡¯t stare too long, smelling of sweat or the smell of freshly washed clothes, which usually devolved into him smelling of sweat again.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get married soon, I can organise something if you like?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ok,¡± Madakos laughed, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind organising my own marriage.¡±


    His father smelled worried, he had a downcast eyes, he knew he couldn¡¯t do more, he could only do so much; his mother was worse, she did what she could and could quite clearly be seen worrying, but that was better than not worrying at all. Huts made of thatched roofs were hardly expensive, his older brother Alex sent a few coins that the Isilik family could have more than meagre rations. This whole situation was a shame for Madakos, who being 27 years old seemed to almost slot into the monotony of his destiny. Till the land, grow the crops, sell a bunch, live off the rest, do chores, eat, sleep, maybe have a wife, and then in the end die. Madakos seeing the end in sight decided to choose something different. All stories have a beginning, middle and end, and all lives share common beginnings and endings; Madakos therefore quibbled his middle, much to the detriment of the world around him.


    942 cc (common calendar), a bright late winter/early spring day, he had finished tilling the land, his calloused hands and feet used to tiredness, a hard existence made harder by a lack of rain the previous year. The Kingdom of Lin was the political border, a government run by the Archbishop, an ecclesiastical government rather than a feudal monarchy like Ilar or Sumar, but nonetheless it was feudal in nature. Walking down the flat ground away from the farm, there was a forest, it was technically prohibited to hunt there except for days in the year when the Lord was feeling generous. Strapped boots felt the pain of standing all day, the dirt caulked in the soles of his feet, the smell of sweat that was so common and constant that it was not even noticed by Madakos; he could taste his own spit, and the smell of flowers, swivelling to see a wolf staring at him, his shirt a thin linen shirt, his trousers likewise thin and linen suddenly felt like it was not enough. The wolf was not interested and scampered off, a sensation other than monotony, other than tiredness: fear. The fear was greater when the wolf disappeared, for where could it be? That made Madakos turn his head around, wondering where danger would lie.


    It does not matter, I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m here. Destiny, I can¡¯t live the same way, I can¡¯t continue like I am.


    Maybe five minutes, maybe ten, Madakos walked to some strange cave, a hillock, overgrown moss making it look like it was shrubbery from afar, but there was an entrance, an entrance dark to the eyes and smelt of dampness. There was scrawl on the walls, spiders crawled on the entrances, there seemed to be a dark purple glow to some of it. The air outside was considerably warmer than in there, and despite this he drew sweat on his scalp, he felt the pressure of the structure, a nervous sweat formed on his legs as well. There was only one legible phrase in the entire building:


    ¡°Give all mana?¡± Madakos read aloud.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He had a minuscule to give, and wondered whether it would even do anything, and he did. He fell down on his knees, feeling the mana drain from him, and then a sharp pain and purple writing appeared before him like an instruction manual.


    MY NAME IS NERIDIM THE FIRST WARLOCK, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I AM DEAD. I INVENTED A MAGIC SYSTEM THAT IS INFINITE. THE KINGDOM OF LIN, AND THOSE INFERNAL UNDEAD CONSPIRED TO KILL ME. IN THE YEAR 200 OF THE COMMON CALENDAR THEY DID SO; THIS IS MY WILL AND TESTAMENT. AVENGE ME.


    The letters vanished, and another set came up.


    ¡°To gather Zira you must meditate or build constructs?¡± Madakos repeated.


    You require 7200 Zira in order to create a construct. The construct will create Zira for you.


    As such, Madakos meditated for two hours, letting the weird magical energy fill up inside him, before then attempting to make the magical construct. It had a strange silvery metallic stand wrapping around a special purple crystal in the middle, the energy could be felt pulsating inside of him. It vaguely looked like an hour glass, without the sand, and instead a purple crystal in the middle.


    The energy required for combat is large, but unlike mana there is no limits to Zira. Avenge me. A voice said inside his head.


    He waited another hour and put another construct, they were both about a metre wide, two constructs inside the cave was all the space he could spare for now, he wandered around in the dark, seen by a man with red eyes, his eyes visible in the dark of night, a crazed madman, a sympathiser with the Undead, who ran at him with a grin and a hatchet. Madakos fumbled for something, a thin shot of Zira went straight through the madman¡¯s head. The grass was now red with the man¡¯s blood, Madakos reached for the man¡¯s brown coat, bugs immediately feasted on the Human, Madakos shook his own head as he fumbled through the coat to find a note in the man¡¯s pocket. Scrawl, but legible.


    Kill! Kill! Kill! Must kill. Blood. Kill.


    Madakos turned around and there were other madmen who perhaps caught a whiff of the blood. He ran through the forest, feeling the Zira accumulate, but accumulate it did not do fast enough. Running through the forest away from the panting of crazed friends of the Undead. He tripped up on a tree root, immediately bruising his leg, but somehow managed to continue his run, pushing himself off the ground before nearly being stabbed in the chest. Pushing the Dina sympathiser down, before running through the forest. In truth, Madakos was hopelessly lost, having gone deeper and deeper, going into a strange ravine. Madakos was cornered by one of the men before he shot two pathetic shots of Zira that nonetheless singed and slowed down his pursuers. Wolves came from nowhere biting and killing one of the lunatics while Madakos continued running into the night. He found himself in the nearest village, scrambling around, eyes glittering from the forest. His leg muscles felt strained, but the overawing terror made him sprint at a max speed. Madakos ended up near a Lin watchtower, as Undead skeletons clashed with sleepy guards. A light mage used light to dissolve the skeletons; their eyes full of determination as they reflected their brilliant light. Madakos was covered in scrapes, sweat; sweat that smelled of anxiety, the saline quality somehow producing a unique distinctive scent.


    Hours passed and he finally found himself on his family farm, after many hours of traversing roads and forests. Madakos approached his father, his father neared him. Worry in his face, his nose crinkled with sweat, a big greek nose and kind green eyes.


    ¡°My son your brother Alex has sent a few more coins, we are going to buy a small plot of our own land,¡± he was proud and worried at the same time, both emotions carrying through in his voice.


    Isabel Isilik stared at her son, seeing straight through him, brown haired with a smaller greek shaped nose, thick eyebrows, smelling of herbal fragrances and having a white smile due to various teeth cleaning products.


    ¡°You want to say something, don¡¯t you?¡± The mother intervened.


    ¡°I will make my own way in the world now¡­¡± Madakos uttered. It will be safer for both of you, if I leave.


    Both mother and father were slightly shocked, but there was a smile on both.


    ¡°We both love you,¡± the father said, ¡°always.¡±


    They both hugged him, his mother kissing his head.


    ¡°God you¡¯re sweaty and filthy,¡± his mother laughed, ¡°where have you been? No never mind. You¡¯ll tell us when you want to.¡±


    Madakos welled up, nodding, tears in his eyes.


    I will try to make you proud.


    The morning air was frosty, but the sunlight shone through warmly producing a bit more sweat. Madakos brought a minimal change of clothes and drank the last bit of water from his flask and refilled it from the well, he strapped a satchel to carry some basic items. He took in the last sight of his home; the hut, his parents, the land and the nearby forests. His destination was westward, to the ocean.

 2. Journey (p.1)

    2. Journey


    There were no clouds in the sky and the grass was pine green. For his safety, for his parents safety he had decided to leave. The Undead sympathisers did not seem squeamish about killing, and perhaps they wouldn¡¯t care if he wasn¡¯t around; they were drawn to him, not his parents.


    ¡°True glory cannot be won sitting in a country village, true glory can it be won?¡± He muttered to himself.


    There was a road worn into the ground through footprints and carts, but not exactly constructed, on either side there seemed to be small cave like structures. Madakos wandered wondrously into one of the derelict ones and placed his construct. A large amount of Zira, 7200 was invested, but now the income of Zira was 3 a second instead of 2. The cave was damp and creepy and so Madakos left relatively soon. He spotted a bandit camp nearby, avoiding the road, as he was suspicious of their intentions. Wandering through hills he found another cave, a bear sat on its rear guarding the entrance. The trees were all conifers, potentially hiding dangerous men and animals. Traversing through the woodlands, he saw some ruins of what was once a village, while staring at the moss and weed covered structures, derelict and abandoned, he trod and fell into an abandoned well, caught by vines that cushioned his fall; he attempted to clamber up them, but it was too late, he was stuck five metres deep, with no obvious way out.


    Only the constructs.


    He put one on the floor, sat on it and subsequently meditated while he waited. 24 minutes before he put another one on top, it started raining, the water levels of the cool well began to rise and the temperature began to cool. The sweat cooled and the grime rolled off uncomfortably, meanwhile rain pattered from above. 20 more minutes passed by and he created another, with 6 constructs he could clamber out of the well. He waited another 20 minutes, observing his surroundings for any danger, he did not dare to meditate as he put another construct, then using magic he buried the well and his constructs underneath earth. 7 Zira a second, he could feel the magic pulse into him, having been stripped of mana, the sensation of Zira was so different.


    It is unnatural, and that is why it will change everything. I think. Probably. I hope.


    He used it to heat himself up and then attempted to locate a village; it took a good five minutes but he found a town. There were watchtowers and guards, and lumber jacks. The sawing and hacking of wood was quite audible, some people had pigs and goats, but most seemed to live off off the wood trade. A priest commanded tax collectors. The town seemed to be well run nonetheless, and moderately prosperous. When Madakos approached a guard they immediately pointed a pike in his direction.


    ¡°By the light state your business!¡± A guard said.


    ¡°I am a traveller who wishes to help your adventurers guild, I need coin to traverse the seas.¡±


    The guards both looked at each other than stared at the newcomer. They had goatees and smelled of beer, but were nonetheless vigilant. They tapped their fingers on their linen trousers, one of them fiddling and gripping theirs.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°The adventurers guild has some work, mostly cleaning jobs if you know what I mean,¡± one of the guards said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you could do. But it doesn¡¯t hurt to try. Nonetheless we will be vigilant.¡±


    Of you mostly. What does an outsider want here anyway? The guard thought.


    ¡°I will not be here long,¡± Madakos explained.


    ¡°Even more reason to be vigilant,¡± another soldier explained.


    A man with a keen blue eyes, hawkish in their stare examined Madakos and nodded reluctantly. They acquiesced, and let him in. The town was chestnut in its colour, brown and green seemed to be the dominant colours in the neighbourhoods, people stared at the newcomer like he was a plague. Eyes not exactly friendly stared him down, and wondered what and who he was. The only outsiders the town seemed comfortable with were merchants and soldiers, soldiers more so than merchants, a man with nothing seemed like trouble and everyone¡¯s anxious looks confirmed as much. Madakos came to the door of the tavern, two saloon swinging doors that had to be pushed to enter or leave. Immediately thirty faces stared at Madakos. There were light mages, others were rangers armed with bows, and others still equipped with throwing knives, some were knights that had less armour, but still had enough on at the moment; the conversation had died down, as Madakos walked slowly to the bar. Heads swivelled, and tutting was heard.


    ¡°I hear there are rewards for adventuring, I hear this is where you¡¯re supposed to come?¡± Madakos said inquisitively.


    A ginger haired woman behind the bar, instinctively polished the wood with a cloth, before eyeing the new adventurer.


    ¡°You do huh?¡± She laughed, ¡°well our top quest involves destroying a bandit camp. There¡¯s a good many of them. Alternatively you can kill wolves or bears. There¡¯s some ferrying tasks if you like. But you don¡¯t have a horse do you?¡±


    Madakos nodded. Paper with rewards were put in front of his face.


    ¡°What?¡± He began, he said dazzled by the paper.


    The paper was fresh, with a special reward for the bandit captain.


    10 gold coins. How cheap is a Human life? Oh well, he is probably scum. Probably. Fuck.


    His face scowled. He had no money to spend, and he needed some for living expenses as well as travel costs. Morality was expensive and against his immediate goals.


    I wonder how much a boat costs anyway?


    He wandered out of the tavern, and out of the town to the confusion of everyone.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to take on that task?¡± A woman armed with knives said, ¡°how?¡±


    I can¡¯t sense any mana. This fool is going to get himself killed.


    She let him go as Madakos went into the woods. He felt the Zira accumulate inside of him, he had enough to make 3 constructs but he had no idea where he could place them without arousing suspicion. The town had ramparts and towers so he certainly couldn¡¯t place them near the town, but in the forest it could be destroyed by nature, or worse appropriated by someone else. How Zira worked was still somewhat of a mystery to him. He saw the bandit camp, and he had suspicions that the town might be lying, but almost immediately as that thought entered Madakos¡¯s head, a girl was being stripped by some thugs. Without thinking purple flaming tendrils killed the two responsible, the woman using the opportunity to make a break for it in the confusion. Madakos knew his magic energy was limited but he nonetheless set fire to the camp from afar, the flames killing much of the bandits. Others streamed out to find out where the attacker was. Madakos used Zira to enhance his vision, zooming in on the location before he sent a last few tendrils to kill some bandits. He circled the camp endlessly, hiding in the trees and brush before repeating his attack. It would take a day but the camp was a smouldering heap and the guards and the bandit boss a corpse.


    He did it himself. But that¡¯s no ordinary fire magic. He is not an Ilar, he¡¯s not black for one thing. But I¡¯ve seen Ilar do fire magic it is red and occasionally orange, not purple.

 Chapter 2 (p.2)

    The woman he had saved earlier came back with mounted knights who looked at Madakos and reluctantly nodded. One of the Knights piped up:


    ¡°Well done lad, you will get your due reward,¡± the knight said, with a hearty laugh over his bushy moustache.


    The woman merely observed the adventurer who had saved her from defilement. They returned to the town, and disbelieving eyes examined him, many a whisper repeated the events. Madakos immediately used his 110 gold coin earnings to go the best inn. He got enough for a bath, a large wooden tub, before eating a large meal of broth with venison as well as various root vegetables, he then proceeded to brush his teeth. He smelt like soap and was sufficiently full. He slept for a full day, the innkeeper had taken the time to wash his clothes, and even gifted him another set. He had overspent, giving her 20 gold coins. The middle aged woman looked with keen interest at the adventurer, short hair done in a pixie cut and was a comfortable weight. Nonetheless Madakos left in the night, amicably saying goodbye to his host.


    ¡°I must make my journey now,¡± he said, ¡°I have a long journey to the coast.¡±


    He left the town, and the guards were a lot more polite now, simply nodding, and some even smiling at him.


    ¡°What a strange guy,¡± a villager said.


    ¡°He probably just did it for the money.¡±


    ¡°Still good though.¡±


    The conversations could be all be heard if Madakos bothered to listen, but he had to travel now. His satchel now had relatively heavy bags of golden coins. 100 Iron coins were equal to a silver, and 10 silver were equal to a gold. The bandits had been a particular nuisance so he had been given a fairly large sum; 5 small bags of coins, each with 20 apart from one that had 10, 90 gold coins in total.


    If they rattle it might attract bandits. Oh perhaps that might not matter. My goodness death is not something I should get so used to.


    He was being stalked by the adventurer woman. Braided brunette with knives in her trousers and extra knives in her jacket. Tamura was an adventurer, but in truth was somewhat of an opportunist, she was curious about who this man was. She saw him seek out caves and crevices which made her glower at him.


    Is he a Necromancer? No. Necromancer magic has a dark residue not purple. What the hell is he? I don¡¯t think the Orcs or the Ogres have magic like that either? Perhaps¡­ no I shouldn¡¯t speculate.


    Undulating hills, and grasslands gave way to a clearing of sorts. In a suitable cave 2 constructs were placed, giving to a total of 9. He went to another cave to increase his total to 11. 11 Zira a second. Returning to the clearing, he made a rudimentary campfire which initially was a purple flame, that soon blazed into a normal red coloured camp fire, turning around to see Tamura right behind him, and completely losing his balance.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°For fucks sake!¡± Madakos said, falling over.


    ¡°Wait! I¡¯m not going to hurt you, I saw you lay waste to those bandits and I want to see where you end up.¡±


    ¡°You want to travel with me?¡± Madakos asked wondering what this woman wanted, ¡°I am going to the Continent of Sand.¡±


    He dusted himself off, and stood back up.


    ¡°The shadow lands?¡± The woman said aghast, ¡°what could you possibly want there?¡±


    ¡°Peace,¡± Madakos spat.


    ¡°There are giant ants and scorpions that could devour you? Peace?¡±


    ¡°If I trust you enough, I¡¯ll divulge exactly what my situation is.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she said.


    Another figure with red eyes and who wore a crazed expression, ran at them with an axe, Madakos shot the fellow in the face. The man now smelled of smouldering flesh, twitching muscles spasmed made Madakos not take his eyes off the corpse.


    ¡°These Necromancers are crazed,¡± Madakos whispered, ¡°it¡¯s not the first one I¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t seem too friendly I have to admit,¡± she said with fear in her eyes.


    She had a slim body, muscular to do her job properly. She cut a piece of pocket out, revealing some letters of the Necromancer ally. She tossed it into the fire.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked, ¡°I think we should make our way to town before resting.¡±


    ¡°You think?¡± Madakos said.


    The forest might have had eyes glinting from the bushes. Bushes rustled, and the occasional twig broke, this made Madakos and Tamura get ready to dart away; their muscles tense, their toes crunched up, ready to spring up from the ground to sprint away.


    ¡°This does not seem like a good place to sleep after all, what was I thinking. I thought I was just unfortunate before¡­¡± Madakos said aloud.


    ¡°What?¡± Tamura demanded.


    They continued in relative silence, the sound of stalkers in the distance. She was not that much shorter than him, looking backwards and seeing faces in among the trees, blood on some of their gums, nonetheless they continued ahead. The dirt on the ground was damp enough to get stuck on their boots as they continued fleeing away from the Dina agents.


    ¡°That note I burnt,¡± Tamura said, ¡°it said something about killing ¡®the threat.¡¯¡±


    ¡°The threat?¡± Madakos repeated breathlessly, ¡°let¡¯s just continue.¡±


    So it¡¯s him? He¡¯s a bit too transparent.


    Skeletons and Zombies could be heard clashing with knights up ahead. A knight came thundering ahead looking at the two figures.


    ¡°For the light!¡± A knight said, ¡°Die fiend!¡±


    A friend of the Undead threw an axe that took out the knight, the Lin soldiers now thought of Tamura and Madakos as enemies, allies of the Undead. Madakos shot purple fiery tendrils at the Dina agents but it made no difference, they were enemies of both now. The flag of Lin could be seen fluttering, a white flag with a golden sun on the top with golden beaming rays down, a majestic flag befitting of a polity of light; now chasing them with pikes and archers.


    ¡°Hahaha! Our kill, their kill!¡± One friend of the Necromancer¡¯s said.


    ¡°Dina will be happy if he is killed. But only when he is killed. The Lich council will not be pleased if he somehow survives,¡± the Necromancer seethed, ¡°dissolve away from this pointless fight, maybe those fools will do our work for us.¡±

 2. (p.3)

    The last skeletons and Zombies were destroyed before the Dina agents fizzled into the forests beyond. Tamura and Madakos were panting, trying to lose the Lin troops that were now convinced they were in fact Necromancers. Madakos and Tamura entered other forests, in desperate panic before falling down on one forest floor panting and sweating.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if my lungs can keep up with this,¡± Tamura panted breathlessly, ¡°everyone wants to fucking kill you!¡± She said huffing at him.


    ¡°Why would that be?¡± A Drake said.


    The dragon like being, snarled in delight, it did not look friendly and Madakos did not particularly want to find out. It darted for Tamura with its talons before redirecting itself towards Madakos. Madakos eviscerated the creature with a hole through its chest.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Madakos exhaled, ¡°I am sorry, I am a dangerous man to be around.¡±


    ¡°You have to tell me why that is!¡± She said emphatically.


    ¡°I will in due course, but first we have to go the shadow lands, somewhere away from all this mess.¡±


    Her glare could bore a hole through him, her eyes demanded information, and her body language in general was filled with frustration. He clambered around rickety trees finding a small opening to put his 12th construct. Tamura gawked at the thing. All her facial expressions indicated how much she wanted an explanation. Finally out of discomfort, he realised he had to explain.


    ¡°I¡¯m a Warlock, that¡¯s why we have to get out of here,¡± he said frantically.


    ¡°Warlock? What does that even mean?¡±


    The construct was hidden from most buried in the sand near dense undergrowth and near hills. She stared to bore eyes through him, close to hitting him as she gesticulated aggressively. The Drake smouldered, its flesh burnt into cinders, the ash palpable.


    ¡°It¡¯s how I get my magic, now we have to hurry, there is no time,¡± he said, hurrying her with his hand gestures, and clearly rushing.


    They ran through forests, anywhere off of an official road. They were not that far away from the coast.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Dina agents snarled.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Madakos seethed, ¡°we have to get out of here.¡±


    Her eyes were now staring into his, a furious determination, they leapt through brush, cutting themselves on thorns and snagging vines and scraping through almost all the vegetation. There was sand up ahead.


    ¡°We need a boat!¡± Madakos growled.


    His head turned both sides, behind to see if there were any pursuers and to the sides to see if there were civilians. He jangled his satchel in front of the fisherman¡¯s face, putting the bags of coins in his hands. There was a dozy fisherman and two boats in his makeshift harbour, two pinnaces, the man seemed to be quite good with wood, Madakos did not think too much about that, tossing all his gold at him.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°90 gold coins good enough for a boat?¡± He said, rather impatiently.


    The fishermen simply nodded, confused, but intrigued, eyeing the bedraggled strangers with worry, which was soon overcome by greed.


    90 gold coins? Ah whatever like I care what someone who gives me that amount of money did it for. He could be a Demon Lord. All he wants is a boat, I¡¯ll give him a boat, he paid for 10.


    The man stared at them. Tamura clambered on, her face ripe with anxiety, and a sudden realisation entered her soul.


    I really didn¡¯t need to be here, or with him did I?


    Madakos clambered on, and the two of them rowed the pinnace away from the shore and into the sea. Madakos created his 13th construct on the ship itself, it was hardly a heavy thing, Tamura stared at it, and she managed to catch a fish, she watched as Madakos created wind to further the speed of the vessel. Any more than two passengers were uncomfortable, especially with this strange box like thing in the middle.


    ¡°It creates magic?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Zira, created by the first Warlock,¡± Madakos explained, ¡°it¡¯s why everyone is trying to kill me.¡±


    She stared at him again, getting a knife out.


    ¡°Is there a bounty on your head?¡± She asked with a most dangerous look, and calm cold voice.


    ¡°Are you trying to say something?¡± He snapped back.


    He was nearly ready to shoot her, but she assuaged his fears. Her hands up to catch physical blows, already ready to calm him down.


    ¡°I am also wanted remember,¡± she said, ¡°I have cast my lot with you.¡±


    A massive wave nearly drowned them, he cast Zira to aid in the wind that would pull them along. They mostly avoided it, but were still both drenched in salt water.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he muttered, spluttering the water off his lips and face.


    He could hardly open his eyes, but forced himself to despite the discomfort to see the direction of travel. Tamura killed a bunch of trout, keeping them in a barrel, looking at Madakos, who guided the pinnace. Still, even now, he was paranoid, looking around him. A giant sea monster rumbled beneath them as Madakos attempted to zigzag away from the thing. He did not dare attack it, or the various other sea monsters that lurked in the deep.


    My Zira will not be enough to fight said things. And if I fight one, more will surely follow, and this boat is fragile anyway. Madakos thought. No fucking way!


    A giant fish like thing hopped out of the water, it was perhaps 100 metres long, terrifyingly large and Madakos stared at it for a long moment, knowing exactly what it would do.


    When that thing flops on the surface it could very well sink us. We must be quick.


    Quicker than any sailing ship, Madakos manipulated wind and sea to race through the ocean currents, the ship was going dangerously fast, but as it so happened, Madakos probably wasn¡¯t going to reuse the ship, much. Still they sped along at an absurd speed. Tamura holding onto the rigging putting her bodyweight downwards in order to not fall off.


    ¡°Oi!¡± She shouted, ¡°this is absurd.¡± She muttered, barely audible to him. The sound of air and water overbearing.


    Small fish flew past them, even such tiny objects colliding could be deadly, two fast forces could quite possibly kill both or at least stun both. The sea was spraying at them, of course it was, the air was totally full of ocean spray, the large sea monsters splashed the water and caused a massive tidal wave that Madakos only avoided because he was faster than the wave. The pinnace hurtled forwards at astonishing speeds, for two hours Madakos accumulated Zira, 13 Zira a second. Hurtling like a rocket, finally a beach was spotted, and suddenly Madakos stopped putting anything in the currents and the wind, instead breaking. Tamura was nearly flung out, stabbing the deck and hissing at Madakos, something inaudible but likely rude. The ship stabilised, rocking back and forth, before it slowly docked on the open desert beaches. Rocking, bobbing and creaking, Tamura threw a knife at the mast, making it tumble downwards. It creaked and broke in half.


    ¡°Fuck! What kind of sailing was that? That was insane! You fucking idiot! We could have died.¡±


    ¡°You are still very much alive,¡± he said matter of factly.

 2. (p.4)

    Tamura glared with much intensity, and a vitriol unmatched by most women.


    ¡°You might not be, if you keep talking¡­¡± she seethed pointing a knife at him, ¡°but I am as much wanted as you. And we¡¯re stuck on a fucking desert continent!¡± She seethed clasping her hand in fury, ¡°so without you, I¡¯m pretty much fucked.¡±


    Madakos nodded, which made her even more angry, he went to make 6 constructs near the beach. Looking around to see if anyone was watching. Tamura tried to pick up the 2 in the boat, getting her legs wet as she clambered back onto the boat, it did not budge, and she tried multiple times to move but it did not want to move even a millimetre. Madakos went over wading through the ocean water, getting himself totally drenched, picking up the constructs and put them by the others, Tamura clenched her fist into a ball and started sharpening one knife on another.


    It must be only someone with Zira who can lift it up. They both thought.


    He realised afterwards he must have said it aloud, because Tamura¡¯s anger seemed to have dissipated.


    ¡°Surely a very strong person could though?¡± She asked, curious more than anything.


    Her brown eyes gleamed at him, expecting some kind of answer that he did not have, nonetheless he humoured her with a simple:


    ¡°Perhaps?¡± He said, unsure himself.


    19 constructs in total became 20. He had 9 on this island, and as Tamura complained of thirst, small trickles of water were added to her water flask, she asked for more but Madakos asked her to be patient. He added 2 more, making his total 22. Energy flowed through him, but he noted a worse problem. Large Scorpion-Men and ants fought in the distance, then turned their heads at Madakos. The Scorpion-Men were more Human like, with blatant cognition, while the ants seemed to be more instinct driven. Madakos immediately hurled fire at them, killing the cluster that was there, a large ant emerging from the flames to charge them before Tamura stabbed it in the head multiple times, then across the body in a flurry of ruthless blows, before it collapsed and died. Again she stared at him, she smelled of salt water and now increasingly sweat crept into her saltiness, the sun beamed down, easily drying her, but the salt did not mask her fury. Madakos waited a good 5 and half minutes before putting another construct, and again some time later to make 24 constructs. Madakos meditated to make an extra creator of Zira, but Tamura interrupted him too often. She clasped her nose and sat down in the fine thin orange sand.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Create a flame will you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m expanding my magic capabilities, can you¡­¡±


    Her eyes glared upwards at him. She then wore a put on smile, and said:


    ¡°Oh I see, so you don¡¯t want to eat today, oh well. That¡¯s a shame.¡±


    ¡°Fine, get off my case,¡± he said creating a small grilling flame.


    She toasted two fish, nodding triumphantly as Madakos tutted. At the end of it she offered him one of them. It took longer this time to get more constructs, as he was being undermined by her persistent nagging. Nonetheless he ate his fish, picking out bones and spitting them, but enjoying the salty flavour and the grilled texture.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said graciously.


    Sayings thanks before being demanded to is probably a wise decision. He thought, sighing, a mere moment later.


    Madakos created flame and water, keeping Tamura¡¯s thirst at bay as he continually increased his magic. 24 constructs became 26, which soon became 30, which soon became 34, which became 38, by which time it was night. Madakos slept in his own clothes on the fine thin sand; Tamura likewise did the same thing. The din of night was peaceful, the cold of the night was not there, Tamura¡¯s eyes shot open, but she realised Madakos had spent a small bit of his magic fortune on a small open air hearth, heating them and keeping them from freezing in the night.

 3. Uncharted

    3. Uncharted


    They awoke to ten or so people staring at them, people with jagged ears and greyish to tanned creme faces, purple eyes armed with bows and daggers.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± One voice said simply, ¡°why are you on our shores? The ants or the Scorpion-Men could have killed you in your sleep, be glad we didn¡¯t.¡±


    Madakos squinted but he saw the Elf like features and nearly gasped.


    ¡°Stay there!¡± One woman said.


    She was absurdly gorgeous to Madakos, shapely beyond belief, but Madakos focused on the task at hand; staying alive.


    ¡°I am a Warlock, renegade to all, I do not wish to harm you. I am merely gathering my magical energy.¡±


    ¡°War-lock?¡± The woman said.


    They all looked at each other with great suspicion, these folks were washed and smelt nice, and by the looks of their shapely and muscly bodies they were not strangers to food either. Madakos sat up, rubbing the salt out of his eyes and looking at them.


    ¡°Warlocks create their magic,¡± he pointed to the constructs, ¡°I wish you no harm, just wish to create my magic.¡±


    The words repeated inside the Elvish looking heads endlessly, it was not something common or regular. They looked at each other, their eyes glanced from side to side, their fingers twitching, one mouth fluttering and then another before one finally erupted:


    ¡°We should kill him!¡± One of the women said, ¡°what if he brings destruction to us!¡±


    ¡°He might bring¡­ wealth,¡± an older man suggested.


    They were blatantly Elves.


    ¡°Shadow Elves¡­¡± Tamura whispered, trying to educate Madakos.


    The Shadow Elves in question all looked around in confusion, they then proceeded to stare at Tamura, some even more prepared to use their weapons, the sound of metal coming out their scabbards, readying themselves to commit two executions.


    ¡°You know of us?¡± One of the Elves asked.


    ¡°A shadow of what you once were, you lost your forests, destined to live in deserts. You grow coconuts and fish,¡± Tamura said, not trying to be rude, it was the folk tale humans told, but it did put a sour taste in the Elves¡¯ mouths and made them scowl.


    A few of them tutted, some even laughed, but it was in snickers and derision. The Elves wore silk and cotton garments, many having jewellery on their ears and their necks, their eyes glinted, the metal rasped in debate, debating whether these Human lives were worth sparing.


    ¡°Yes coconuts and fish,¡± one of them said impatiently, ¡°we are not fond of Humans, you bring strife, nothing but strife,¡± an elder hissed.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°The only reason we haven¡¯t killed you. Warlock. Is because you were honest about your intentions and situation.¡±


    All the Shadow Elves eyes looked as deadly as daggers, their eyes almost as sharp as their blades, they looked down at the newcomers, the darkness shrouding their eyes, their killing intent not shrouded even a bit.


    ¡°If you prefer I can go away from your village,¡± Madakos said, ¡°I don¡¯t have to be near you.¡±


    There was now furious debate among the Shadow Elves, some staring; the stage whispers grew into outright shouting. Madakos¡¯s offer was too reasonable.


    ¡°We are the Ena clan,¡± one of them said, ¡°I think we have agreed that you will be outside our village. You can live.¡±


    ¡°I will always live,¡± Madakos whispered.


    The beautiful Shadow Elf that Madakos admired, tutted angrily, slamming her knife into the sand.


    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly!¡±


    ¡°He promises to leave us alone.¡±


    ¡°For now!¡± She said, her words lingered in anger, her stare more powerful than her words.


    She was wildly gesticulating, her hips were something, she had a relatively big nose, eyes that glowered at him with anger and hatred. It was prejudice beyond anything else, and Madakos chuckled to himself.


    I can hardly blame them. Humans are hardly pure creatures.


    ¡°Tamura, you are not cursed with my magic, so if you wish to go with them, if they desire-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The Shadow Elves all said unanimously, ¡°outsiders can trade but they can¡¯t live with us.¡±


    Their eyes stared at them, many faces stared at the two Humans, Madakos nodded.


    ¡°We. Or at least I respect your wishes,¡± Madakos whispered in reply, his reply did not matter.


    The Shadow Elves in question went back to their homes and Madakos simply continued his Zira collection. The most hateful Shadow Elf was at the back and she caught him glimpsing at her arse, the words ¡®kill him¡¯ were almost certainly uttered.


    38 constructs soon became 42, and then 46, and then 50, which soon became 56 and then 60. Tamura begged for water and Madakos gave it, the energy he siphoned was now a smidgeon to what he was creating. 11 were hidden on the other continent, the others were arrayed here in the sands next to the beach. Ants could be seen in the distance so Madakos built one simple tower, it shot fire at them if they came too close, while he continued his investments. Tamura grilled fish, which he happily ate.


    ¡°We need fruits as well, and vegetables, and some kind of starches,¡± she muttered, ¡°just my luck that I get involved with a fucking ¡®Warlock,¡¯ fuck me.¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± Madakos muttered humorously, getting a death glare in return.


    There was terrible silence after that. Madakos merely continued placing his constructs feeling the magical energy pulsate into him, remembering the Shadow Elf woman and getting all tingly. He grinned and Tamura¡¯s face was right in front of him, gleaning information off his face and sighing.


    ¡°Men are too easy¡­¡± she tutted and huffed, ¡°you would think you would learn. You are hungrier than a wolf. Incredible.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s hot what can I say,¡± Madakos whispered, ¡°hotter¡­¡±


    ¡°Hotter?¡± Tamura said, immediately getting the intended message, sparks of fury in her eyes.


    ¡°Damn is the sun getting hotter,¡± Madakos huffed, ¡°whew, what a day to collect magic.¡±


    Tamura sighed, her anger mitigated by his self awareness and stupidity, she watched constructs being erected every few minutes. Her water flask was filled, and a lone Scorpion-Man came by fried by the tower. It was an earthen construction with a crystal at the top beaming down purple flames; enough to defend against a few attackers but certainly not a large group, and definitely not a large coordinated group. Madakos piled up the constructs into a lattice, they seemingly compressed into a tight square that increased the density and therefore intensity of Zira flow. Despite only having 60 Constructs on the ground, it produced 90 Zira a second, Madakos put another 40 over the course of an hour while investing in water, mainly for Tamura, but also for himself. He had 111, producing 131 Zira, soon enough he had enough constructs to have another set of 60, once again the Zira density was increased by 50%, 191 Zira flowed inside of him, the magic was becoming a beacon for his enemies, creatures nearby becoming aware of him. Too aware.

 3. (P.2)

    30 kilometres away, a Necromancer, Ildrid commanded 13,000 skeletons which he raced along the shore. He wore a permanently tattered cloak, and smelled of bones and death, the bone general marched his skeletons up the shore, attempting to find the scent of the man he was supposed to track. A communication crystal lit up in his hand; a white see-through crystal that could communicate using magic; and a voice spoke to him, dark and without humanity.


    ¡°Find the Warlock, Ildrid, kill him no matter what it takes.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s on the Continent of Sand,¡± Ildrid said into the crystal.


    ¡°I will send reinforcements, do not fret,¡± the voice on the other end laughed darkly.


    Ildrid¡¯s bones clattered every time they moved, teeth chattered when they made sound, mechanically making the movements despite dark magic doing the actual talking. While marching along, he was assaulted by an ant army, the ants disturbed by the clattering of bones. Dina; the realm of the Undead and its minions created enmity wherever it went.


    ¡°Damn these pesky¡­¡± he shouted, ¡°kill them all!¡±


    The clattering of swords were heard, as the skeletons cut through the exoskeletons of the bugs that faced them. Skeletons were nonetheless being attacked, with more skeletons being raised from the energy of the dead, the ants would let up, retreating as Ildrid advanced forwards, intent on killing the Warlock who had eluded them. 10 Scorpion-Men shamans blasted sand in their faces, taking down many a skeleton as the skeletons rushed to fight the more organised Scorpion-Men.


    ¡°This is a waste of time,¡± Ildrid muttered angrily, ¡°but there¡¯s no way I can leave these to harass us.¡±


    The battle was intense, the Scorpion-Men not too intent to be too entangled with the skeletons, after a while they chose to retreat. They scuttled out of the way, fleeing into the dense sand, burrowing in the mostly inhospitable wastes that was the ¡®Continent of Sand¡¯, ¡®the abandoned continent¡¯, ¡®the shadow continent;¡¯ it went by many names, depending on the historiography.


    ¡°Continue the march!¡± Ildrid demanded.


    His words were not heard necessarily, but his will was felt throughout his minions, who immediately wheeled about stopping their chase and continued down the coastline. The choppy waters splashed on the shore, masking the sound of rustling sand. The perpetual grins of the skeletons skulls hid the soulless nature of Ildrid¡¯s army that now marched toward Madakos.


    ¡°Third royal fleet captain Roderic speaking, how can I help?¡± A deep voice said, attempting to mask the fact that he just arose from his slumber.


    ¡°Admiral Roderic, the Kingdom of Lin is complaining about a fugitive, a possible dark sorcerer-¡±


    ¡°Dark sorcerer?¡± Roderic repeated, interrupting the messenger on the other end.


    ¡°Let me finish Roderic.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said simply.


    ¡°The Dark Sorcerer is on the continent of Shadows. You are to locate and then destroy him if possible.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± Roderic said.


    ¡°That is all.¡±


    ¡°That is all?¡± Roderic repeated, confused.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Is there are an echo on the line commander? Don¡¯t make me repeat myself,¡± the messenger said, scolding him, ¡°you have your orders. Carry them out.¡±


    Roderic was a stocky short man, with dark hair and dark eyes, who had risen up from the ranks, commander of the third fleet, a fleet with 10 ships, a few marines, some summoners, and some regular troops. He had thick legs and thick arms and a muscly body, he himself could summon water elementals which helped fight against any roguish pirate, and any Mermen or Naga who didn¡¯t like where he floated his ships; and also aided his speed and directional ability of his ships. Roderic was vigilant with his flotilla, looking around for troublemakers, but despite his stern reputation he was nonetheless popular.


    ¡°We are catching a ¡®dark sorcerer,¡¯ apparently,¡± Roderic repeated in a doubtful voice.


    ¡°What does that mean sir?¡± Talida asked.


    ¡°Fuck knows, high command wishes for us to find it though, for some reason,¡± Roderic explained, the tone woefully unsure of why.


    Nina a short woman, with short blonde hair, and angry eyes, who summoned gryphons was joined by Talida who summoned air elementals, a vital role for navigation of the ships. Talida was wiry looking, a thin woman with muscles that seemed to focus on speed rather than strength; just like the things she summoned, she was quick and agile, and adept at air magic herself. The other summoners were on guard, the non magic users sharpened their spears and swords. Battle was to commence soon. They didn¡¯t really know why, but their fleet sailed toward the sand continent.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the sand continent a dangerous place?¡± A sailor asked captain Roderic, ¡°why are we going there?¡±


    Roderic stared at the man, mainly to collect his thoughts, to think of an answer, he looked at the sailor, the sailor of course looked back, surprised at the lack of forthcoming words. The sailor had brown empty eyes, perhaps he was tired, finally voice came from the back of Roderic¡¯s throat.


    ¡°It is, I mean it is dangerous. Inhabited by those Elves forsaken by the land itself. One wonders why they bothered staying, but I suppose they¡¯d have to deal with the politics of the continent, which is hardly safe,¡± Roderic looked down this time, he didn¡¯t know how to answer the second question, he exhaled a little, ¡°I have been given a directive by high command to go there. Why? I know as much as you unfortunately. The man on the communication crystal didn¡¯t want to tell me anything,¡± he said, ¡°fucking prick,¡± Roderic whispered at the tail end of his explanation, eliciting a few murmurs of laughter.


    Roderic was not a simpleton despite having been a simple sailor only a few years before. His natural talent in water elemental summoning had warded off pirates and had awarded him captaincy of a small ship, which soon became more than one ship, which eventually led to him being an admiral in charge of a fleet of 10.


    ¡°Surely the second fleet could deal with this?¡± One sailor grumbled.


    ¡°Maybe they are,¡± Roderic assured his sailor, ¡°but this is as much a scouting mission as it is an elimination mission. The Second fleet is 50 ships, they don¡¯t wish to risk that many ships on an uncertain future.¡±


    Many people¡¯s eyebrows looked sideways, many others simply rowed or tightened ropes on the galleys; Roderic had given his opinion and tried to settle down the crew at the same time. The heaving of oars and the groaning of some were heard, salt water rolling on their foreheads, some using shoulders to wipe out the sweat from their eyes, others merely letting the drops settle in their eyes, and roll between the nose and the cheeks to be an irritant. People flicked their heads, and others merely gritted their faces, they knew it was pointless to resist for more would fall and drop down. The galleys had sails, wind and water pulling them along at a terrific speed, the rowers heaved as they watched as water and wind pulled them along.


    ¡°They can rest right admiral?¡±


    Roderic looked wistfully into the distance, the natural winds blew away, but Talida¡¯s air elementals pushed them along with far more impetus.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, with a pleasant smile.


    The crew all huffed, they smiled at him. It was Sumar official regulation to always have rowers, but Roderic cared more about getting the job done. The sailors all looked at their captain with a smile for not torturing them with unnecessary work.


    I wonder, who is this dark sorcerer? What is this dark sorcerer? Who knows maybe I shouldn¡¯t make assumptions, Sumar might already know, but why won¡¯t they tell me? All rather mysterious.


    Wooden floorboards creaked, as sailors scrambled around, many merely looked, but there were more scouts than usual, peering in many different directions, all looking for the dark sorcerer, all searching. Roderic crumpled his lips, for perhaps what he was being told wasn¡¯t true to begin with, then he smiled.


    ¡°Who knows what we¡¯ll find out there,¡± he whispered mainly to himself.

 3. (p.3)

    In a temple in the southern Demon Kingdom of Urir; a kingdom of Earth Demons, orange Demons; fire and magma shot out of one of the vents, and some priests scrambled. Orange Demons had their prayers interrupted by an embassy. Wearing metal and demon leather armour, all smelling of sulphur and ashes, these outlander Demons still had the portal open behind them as others clambered out. Their facial expressions screamed of impatience, they were red Demons, Fire Demons, in opposed to the Earth Demons of Urir who were orange in colour.


    ¡°Our spies in this world have alerted us to some danger,¡± the red Demon said, flaring his nostrils.


    ¡°Danger?¡± One of the priests replied looking terrified, ¡°what possible danger?¡¯


    ¡°A¡­ Warlock. A man who can draw infinite magical power,¡± one of the Fire Demons said, drawing a very long red glowing sword.


    Another had a spear, and another still simply held a fireball compressed in his hand; they weren¡¯t particularly friendly looking. One stamped their foot impatiently, and the other rasped two blades together, another still snorted fire out of its nostrils.


    ¡°The Demon Empire of Cahov will send soldiers through here, we wish to negotiate a landing space, where we can portal in and chase this cheeky Warlock,¡± the head ambassador said.


    The King of Urir, and the head priest were both displayed using holograms produced by a magic crystal as they talked to the Cahov Demon ambassador. They looked unimpressed beyond anything else. They were both skinny individuals, not that physically impressive.


    ¡°There is a patch of desolate land on our western shores, you are free to portal in there and pursue this Warlock,¡± the high priest said reluctantly.


    You don¡¯t give us much choice. The High priest thought.


    The King of Urir remained silent. The silence could write volumes about the situation of the Urir kingdom. The Cahov ambassador silently grinned, the King hardly looked imprisoned, but it was extremely apparent who was in charge of the country and who was just window dressing.


    Our intelligence about this place is true, still it pays to be cautious, we can¡¯t trample on their pride. Not without consequences.


    High priest Amalkur nodded assent, and the king kept quiet in a farcical display of authority. The Demon Temples owned most of the land, most of the gold, had most of the soldiers and therefore the High priest was the true person in charge. The Cahov Demon embassy, disappeared and reappeared at the sight of their landing pad. A small piece of useless black ashy soot, the beaches had volcanoes in the backgrounds, unclear if they were natural volcanoes or merely the byproduct of angry Demons shooting fireballs into the ground. The waves were calm, seemingly like a giant lake, the taste of sulphur and salt permeated the air, and the smell of shit as various Demonic mounts suddenly started appearing. Wood. A lot of wood, and shipwrights.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°You are to find this Warlock and kill him,¡± the general said, ¡°we are renting this land from the Urir for free, let us use it efficiently.¡±


    A rider on some lizard like creature carrying the standard of Urir, an orange flag with a red flame, on his back immediately piped up:


    ¡°Who said it was free?¡± The words were cheeky, but they were delivered with an acerbic quality.


    ¡°Are you really going to demand payment from the Cahov Empire?¡± The fearsome general said.


    He unfastened his armour, flexing his muscles before shooting a fireball into the air, the Cahovian officer clearly trying to intimidate the Uriri soldier.


    ¡°Yes we are so scared,¡± the Uriri soldier said with his best sarcasm, ¡°anyway, the high priest wants to focus on war preparations against Arar. Your expedition is not important to us.¡±


    The Urir soldier had a beard like a Human but was a dark orange complexion in opposed to the red complexion of the Cahov Demons, not that any Cahov Demons could grow beards, such things seemed to be indication of the corruption of the Earth Demons; the Fire Demons, the Cahov Demons thought their cousins had degenerated having lived near the Human scum. The Cahov stared and snarled, some of them raising their eyebrows


    ¡°What is that lizard thing?¡± One of the Cahov Demons derisively asked, ¡°why don¡¯t you have a proper mount?¡±


    He pointed to his own Demonic horse, a fiery creature that itself blew fire out its nostrils. The Uriri soldiers winced and sighed at their ignorant cousins, and the Cahov grumbled outright chastising the Uriri.


    ¡°We have those too, but they¡¯re slower,¡± the Uriri soldier said defensively, ¡°anyway well whatever, just don¡¯t burden us with the costs of your expedition.¡±


    The Uriri soldier made the appropriate hand shooing gesture. Other Urir soldiers produced hubbub cacophony of disagreement. Eventually all conversation simmered down, and the verbal hostilities smouldered rather than being resolved. Each side glared at the other, lips pressed tightly in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°I hear there¡¯s a continent out west,¡± one of the Cahov soldiers said.


    ¡°Who gave you permission to speak,¡± A Cahov commander said, clearly touchy at the previous conversation.


    The offending Cahov soldier looked at his commander with shock, but stayed quiet. The Uriri soldier walked away. Big Fire Demons teleported without the main portal, armed with large axes, they were special henchmen, muscly and filled with Demonic mana. Demons could teleport and were adept at making portals, but there were of course limits, they could link their mana together to form long range portals. Nonetheless they laboured on the beaches, preparing for their expedition against the dark sorcerer.

 3. (p.4)

    Evening had set in, Madakos had not fully committed his resources, worried for what might come.


    He had not been idle, he had 131 constructs producing 191 Zira, 11 constructs were scattered in various hidden places, Madakos did not fully understand Zira, but the minute he had 6 lots of 60 constructs, instead of having a 50% bonus in Zira production it doubled; in other words instead of 540 Zira per second, it was 720. The power rushed into him, to the point that even Tamura stared at him with awe and worry.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Gathering my magic,¡± he muttered in reply.


    She got up and observed the 360 constructs as they interlaced, the purple crystals produced an economies of scale that was pretty absurd, it had compressed. He was stunned, the strange feeling of this bizarre magic going into his veins.


    Does it double further?


    NO.


    Madakos fell over, Tamura thought it was something to do with his unnatural magic.


    ¡°Are you going mad?¡± Tamura said, sharpening a knife.


    She threw a knife into the sand, but he was unfazed, tucking his linen shirt into his linen trousers. He shook his head, and laughed a little.


    ¡°No, not yet, it¡¯s hard to explain why I fell down, and-¡± he stopped speaking when he realised she wasn¡¯t listening, then simply sighed and smiled.


    Why do people never listen to what I have to say? People I swear. Well I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter whether they do or not.


    Every 10 seconds he plopped a construct, until after 10 minutes he had another 60. In the corner of his eye, he saw Ildrid and a legion of skeletons. There they rattled toward him, shaking as they crawled forward, plodding along the sand.


    ¡°Target spotted!¡± The skeleton general roared, ¡°kill him.¡±


    Madakos built four towers that each took 100 Zira a second upkeep, he fed them with his magic, the tendrils of his magic siphoned to the towers that blasted purple fireballs. The towers crept a solid 4 metres into the air, spewing fireballs as much as Madakos would deign to feed them. The on fire skeletons burnt into crisp, the black ash falling onto the yellow sand below. The towers punctuated the sky on undulating sand, their construction a simple sand stone made of magic, they shot purple fire down below like a lighthouse as they beamed laser consistent flames, eviscerating what they touched.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°How are you?¡± Tamura whispered.


    He fed his towers no more Zira, he punctuated his attack with flaming boulders into the massed ranks. The skeletons were pulverised, some jangling into ashes as the flames died on the beach. Ildrid had no time to be furious, as he had to retreat, avoiding complete destruction. Madakos ceased his towers activity bar a smaller one, and instantly created 360 more constructs, followed by another 360.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t call for reinforcements?¡± Tamura whispered, ¡°did they?¡±


    Madakos did not hear Tamura, but he had the same thought. He was deep in his thoughts as the power of Zira flowed into him. The flames flickered, the embers of the cascade winking out as Madakos stared into the ether of the night.


    ¡°No, they did not,¡± Madakos said quietly, ¡°they did-n¡¯t,¡± the minor hesitation because of fear, interrupted by his rational sense.


    He turned around and made a small fire and sat next to it, creating a crystal that ate Zira to make heat so that he could simply watch his empire of Zira flow into him. Tamura was astounded, for the magic that was now coming into him was a tsunami of purple magic. The large ants far from being attracted were now repulsed, staying clear of him.


    ¡°I felt the presence of those¡­ things.¡±


    ¡°Skeletons, Undead,¡± Tamura corrected, ¡°is that why you dawdled for so long?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I was wasting my potential. 2160 a second¡­¡± he trailed off.


    The Shadow Elves covered their face¡¯s, but Madakos tripped one up who was about to stab him.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Tamura demanded.


    ¡°You brought Necromancers on our doorstep!¡± A womanly voice said from the shadows.


    Madakos increased the flames, and the faces became more visible, it was the same extremely attractive woman from before; he let go, but pushed her back with a purple wall of magic. The other Shadow Elves merely stayed back, studying him and what he was about. The seconds were brutally effective at producing judgement.


    ¡°They were after me not you,¡± Madakos whispered, ¡°and if I was a threat. Couldn¡¯t I just annihilate you all?¡±


    Tamura looked aghast at Madakos for saying something so tactless. The Shadow Elves exploded with fury and fear, their eyes screaming at him. His eyes glinted with the power he now had; it was even more tactless, but it did scare them into listening.


    ¡°Stay away from me!¡± Madakos growled, ¡°I am a dangerous person absolutely. But I am just trying to protect myself. Now fuck off!¡±


    His fists ignited in purple flames, making the Shadow Elves jolt backwards.


    He dismantled his only tower, and seemingly leashed his 1080 constructs in three large cubes. He went deeper into the Continent of Sand than even the Shadow Elves dared to go. It was their policy to avoid the deeper sands, staying near the shores where they could run away from danger if need be. They also wielded purple flames but theirs were made of mana, using it to ward off danger, Madakos was danger; Madakos in his new-found power could now ward off danger, but also created it.


    ¡°If he goes deeper into the Shadow Lands, he can¡¯t possibly be associated with us,¡± one of the elders said, ¡°it is not our problem.¡±


    One of the Elven women stared into the ground angrily; grumbling something inaudible before sheathing her blades and running after Madakos. Tamura ran after him as well. It would take a while, but he had captured a series of hills 30 kilometres inland, fortifying it with four towers, before creating more constructs.


    No one can complain about me this far away from them. I noticed I used a lot of Zira blipping small distances ahead. That was wasteful. Or was it?

 3. (p.5)

    He still had enough surplus to create another cube. 360 more constructs. This more than fed into his towers. Frankly anyone could probably find him now, the magic emanating would be easy to sense. But he did not care too much. Tamura and a Shadow Elf came panting up the hill. He looked at them, surprised at how quick they were.


    ¡°Damn it, you disappeared into the night,¡± Tamura shouted, ¡°we ran all the way here!¡±


    Madakos made constructs, burying them into the sand. He did not even reply, focusing on his constructs and thinking of where to place towers.


    ¡°You are reckless,¡± the Shadow Elf woman said.


    She trembled on her words, she smelled of fear and her sweat. She wanted to say other things, but a combination of trepidation and breathlessness prevented it. He sized her up, looking at her.


    ¡°I am,¡± he admitted, ¡°anything else?¡± He demanded petulantly.


    ¡°And rude,¡± the Elf said.


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Madakos said, taunting her.


    ¡°And uninvited,¡± she said, ¡°but most of all a coward.¡±


    He turned on her, the magic pulsing into him, distracting him from his anger. Her features were beautiful, she had a body that to Madakos was to die for, and a face that was touched by the sun and yet smooth.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± He paused on those words, ¡°did you come all the way just to chastise me?¡± He said with a cool temper.


    She blushed and stuttered, looking directly at him and then at the ground. Tamura stared indignantly at Madakos, but he did not know what was going on. He was already hard in his trousers from a mere glance, Tamura turned away, but the Shadow Elf was embarrassed.


    ¡°You are a Warlock,¡± the Elvish woman said hesitantly, ¡°I wish to become one.¡±


    1 billion Zira is required.


    The text that Madakos saw was heard by the other two.


    ¡°Who is that?¡± Tamura demanded.


    ¡°The original Warlock,¡± Madakos explained.


    ¡°So how come you get to use magic for free then?¡±


    ¡°Because I was the first in a long while I think. Zira requires those constructs.¡±


    Both women looked at him rather indignantly. He could not assuage the anger, and did not try to, they soon realised it was irrational to be angry with him.


    ¡°Then you better produce more of those constructs,¡± the Elven woman said, ¡°outlander what is your name. I am Hunila of the Ena clan.¡±


    ¡°Madakos¡­¡± he said faintly, ¡°nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Do you promise what you said about the billion¡­ Zira was true?¡± She hesitated as she tried to remember what the magic was called.


    ¡°It is,¡± he said, ¡°I think, unless the first warlock is lying. Which would be interesting,¡± he said half chuckling.


    He lit a small fire as the two women stared at him, hoping for more of an apology, nonetheless Madakos looked at them and chuckled a little.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°Hunila,¡± he repeated, smirking, ¡°you¡­ never mind.¡±


    She exchanged glances with Tamura, Madakos didn¡¯t glance too much at her, though he wanted to. Everything about her entranced him. She was not blind either, noticing his physical reactions to her beauty.


    My first billion will have to be Tamura, but¡­


    Both women stared at him. Realising he had spoken aloud he turned crimson and turned away.


    ¡°I will hurry up as much as I can,¡± he promised.


    The night was young and large ants occasionally attempted to interrupt his production, 880 new constructs in one hour were put into 2 lots of 360 constructs, a giant cube, a singular construct flexed, a silvery metallic stand that held a singular purple crystal, but the constructs welded themselves onto each other, and when 360 glued themselves the value of course doubled. 1780+1440+11+160. Roughly every 3 seconds he could make a construct, and low and behold he did so. His growth rate was exponential 60 constructs every 3 minutes meant that every 18 minutes he had another 360, the numbers kept growing and with it the pace at which the numbers grew. 2160 constructs produced 4320 Zira per second which in turn reduced the creation rate to 1 construct every 2 seconds. The purple energy funnelled into him, the cubes buried into the ground, large ants got even more agitated and now ran away from him. This meant 30 constructs every minute, which meant it only took 12 minutes to get another 360 constructs. The cubes despite pouring energy into him were not too obvious in their lights, they shone exactly the same, but Madakos absolutely felt the difference. In a mere thirty minutes he had 2520 (plus 11 constructs hidden somewhere which he did not count, using that Zira for fires and the occasional water,) with each passing moment magic increased, nearly 42 constructs a minute were created, another 360 being created in a mere 8 and a half minutes, and another 360 in a mere 7.5 minutes, and then in 6. Needless to say by morning he would have thousands upon thousands of constructs if he duly invested, when he produced 1 construct a second, but it was exponential growth, so had he continued at that rate he would have got 28,000 constructs, but it was greater, much greater. He was interrupted in his counting of magical power and the ability to create more constructs by an Elven woman glaring at him.


    ¡°Each of those increases your magic doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered, ¡°and when there are 360 the magical output doubles for each block.¡±


    ¡°Efficient,¡± she said, ¡°Tamura¡¯s asleep, so tell me when will you give me Warlock powers.¡±


    ¡°When I¡¯Il have the Zira to give,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    She got closer and her beauty made him turn away, inch further back.


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked confused, ¡°why aren¡¯t you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°Are you really so confused to not realise your own¡­¡±


    He stopped himself, he was embarrassed, he was hard, she was startled, reflecting on his words.


    ¡°My own?¡±


    ¡°Beauty,¡± he said realising he could not stop the words coming out his mouth before he said them, a conflux of emotions paralysed him, for he did not know whether to condemn and pretend mistake or to double down.


    ¡°Beauty?¡± She said, her pearly purple eyes said, ¡°you really think that?¡±


    ¡°Anyone with¡­ eyes would, should¡­¡± he stopped himself, realising what he was saying.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She said, ¡°do you really think that? Men only see with their eyes.¡±


    ¡°The words were supposed to be thoughts, but yes you are right men are perhaps too surface level.¡±


    She chuckled and stared at him, absorbing the moment, looking at her Shadow Elven blade.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen Humans before, they often leer at me, men from other clans stare at me, you share their lust.¡±


    Well of course they would. Have you seen yourself?


    Her body proportions completely astounded him, her hips were shapely, her butt supple, her tits not too big but big enough to impress, her beautiful lilac hair that seemed to glitter, her eyes and mouth glinted in satisfaction, he realised he had done a complete scan of her. He realised too late that he had been rather transparent about his ogling which got her giggling even more.


    ¡°You need to rest, even a Warlock needs his sleep,¡± her words crept up to him in a giggling seductive manner.


    She put a hand on his chest, pushing him down.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He said, ¡°thanks.¡±


    Her kind eyes looked down on him, a part of her smirked in gleeful satisfaction but another part of her looked down with care; she clasped her trousers and thought about the Human in front of her.


    I should sleep too.


    Madakos closed his eyes, but his chest pounded and his pelvis throbbed.

 3. (p.6)

    By the morrow Madakos had 200,000 constructs. It would not be until afternoon while Madakos stared at the overhead sun, that with perpetual exponential growth of the constructs that he made it to 1 million. No pursuers had found him yet, Ildrid had not sent any extra armies. All the cubes, and there were many of them, buried into and along the sand suddenly combined into one singular construct. In this moment when things were already crazy enough, a ghost army of some 3000 suddenly appeared on the horizon.


    ¡°Madakos!¡±


    ¡°I know, I see it too.¡±


    10 million Zira was flowing into him in a second, he shredded the ghosts with purple arrowheads, a much faster ghost appeared before him and attempted to stab him in the back, Madakos destroyed the ghost with his hands, his tower¡¯s did its work a second later, the fire blazed him from head to toe; Hunila and Tamura stared at the sight of the purple fire tendrils simply crawling up his arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s not burning you?¡± Tamura said.


    ¡°I guess not¡­¡± he whispered and growled.


    He turned his head several times, missing another detail, the 1 construct replaced all the others, and produced 10 million Zira instead of 1 million, or even double that, 10 times the Zira flowed into Madakos as he still looked around, paranoid beyond measure.


    ¡°What is that? Where did all your constructs go¡­¡±


    4 golden crystals pulsated around a purple one, creating rotating light beams, Madakos sprouted ten more towers before flattening the sand and collapsing on his arse; the reality of the multiplier finally being understood by his mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ten times multiplier¡­¡± he whispered, flabbergasted.


    ¡°That is the highest it will get¡­¡± Neridim the first Warlock¡¯s spirit spoke, ¡°ten million Zira a second for the price of only one.¡±


    A ghost general appeared in the distance, a far away distance that Madakos only sensed at first due to instinct and later zoomed in using a lot of Zira to scan ahead, thus able to send thousands of tendrils. The Ghost commander was eliminated mere moments later.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°A foe after me, a commander,¡± his voice quivered, ¡°thank you Neridim, I will not attempt the impossible.¡±


    ¡°No you must, Warlocks and Zira are not supposed to exist, you are unnatural. You will be targeted by everyone, your destiny is to die.¡±


    ¡°I will not¡­ die,¡± Madakos said adamantly.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Neridim left, and Madakos stared at the two woman who had joined him on the hill. Magic filled within him with extreme speed. He looked at the two women and sighed. The sands picked off the ground, and the towers crept into the sky defending his position but hardly his sanity or peace of mind.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to be Warlocks? You heard the perilous nature of it, I¡¯m essentially a dead man walking.¡±


    ¡°My clan could be something else other than fishermen,¡± Hunila smiled, ¡°besides, you need company.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already tied to you one way or another,¡± Tamura said, ¡°so I might as well.¡±


    ¡°In about 30 minutes time, I can make you both Warlocks,¡± Madakos interrupted.


    Hunila smirked and Tamura likewise did much the same. Tamura had left her hair braided, the Shadow Elf woman had a ponytail, lilac hair and face, Tamura noticed how Madakos¡¯s eyes lurked, filled with desire and chuckled silently.


    ¡°You can make Hunila a Warlock first, I allow it,¡± Tamura gave a sideways glance as she said it, a little smirk on her face.


    ¡°But I promised?¡± Madakos said, confused.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Tamura laughed, ¡°you¡­ men.¡±


    Madakos had no idea what she was on about, and then gleaned it, sighing to much mirth from both women.


    Was I that obvious?


    ¡°You¡¯ll both become Warlocks at the same time,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°That¡¯s still a promotion Hunila,¡± Tamura whispered, to much giggles.


    I need to do something about my scent, I smell like a goat.


    Hunila put a jagged knife at his feet. Both sat down on the sand, Hunila crosslegged, Madakos with one hand leaning on his knee, they both stared at each other for an uncomfortable second before Hunila inched closer to his face, with a breathtaking smile.


    ¡°Why are you really here Hunila?¡± Madakos said, ¡°your Shadow Elves live in peace.¡±


    ¡°Peace, but not comfort.¡± Hunila corrected, ¡°we are not wealthy.¡±


    ¡°Wealth will come with a cost,¡± Madakos whispered breathlessly.


    ¡°Everything has a cost,¡± Hunila answered, ¡°everything.¡±


    Even you? He thought breathlessly. It seemed that Hunila could read Madakos¡¯s mind as she smiled as he thought, and perhaps that was more terrifying than Zira.

 4. Glory

    4. Glory


    ¡°What is it Tugut?¡±


    ¡°My spying eye sees a most dangerous thing. We must inform the Ogre council immediately.¡±


    The Ogre council was a large body of higher Ogres. Despite their monstrously large appearance, and their brutish war clubs their system of government reflected higher ideals than mere warfare; they had a council of various clans that decided their policies. Oru, Oran, Rzo and Lra were their four clans, with a special tie breaker chosen each year among one of them in case of a lack of majority which would switch between the four clans each year; the Oru lived in the northwest, the Oran in the southwest, the Rzo in the northeast and the Lra in the southeast. Meanwhile in Oru two spies saw the commotion on the Continent of Sand, and scrambled to report it to their superiors. Three metres tall creme coloured bodies, brutishly strong and powerful creatures, with musculature that could pulverise an average man, tempered by a reconnaissance magic: ¡®Magic eye¡¯, and ¡®reveal.¡¯ The magic eye was a fast flying scout in the shape of an eye; ¡®reveal¡¯ revealed a small window into a corner of the world into the mind of the one who cast the spell. Bordered by the Orcish kingdom of the Amanites to the North, the Human kingdom of Ilar to the west, and the Elvish kingdom of Helva to the south, the Ogre abilities were extremely useful in understanding their situation, and preparing for all eventualities; they could spy on all their neighbours, and scout their troops movements with ease. The city of Ogr a central meeting place for all the clans, was tall stone and full of chimneys and blacksmiths, a magic crystal lit up in the central spire that illuminated the black brick houses that surrounded the building. The two spies immediately reported their findings.


    ¡°Yes,¡± a deep base voice replied to the white see through communication crystal that lit up.


    ¡°We have spotted very strange magic to the far west,¡± Tugut said, ¡°very strange, and possibly dangerous.¡±


    The council member of the Oru wore a robe that was slightly more sophisticated than his more rudimentary Ogre compatriots. He paused in silence for the words meant trouble.


    ¡°I might be the Oru clan leader and representative, but that doesn¡¯t mean-¡±


    ¡°It could really be a problem,¡± the other Ogre scout said simply, ¡°I understand you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°I get it,¡± the representative said, ¡°I will convene the council.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± The spies said in unison.


    Council member of the Oru; Iokhur marched into the large archways, smelling of broth that was made in the kitchens, the stone was smoothed out to be slippery, but to an Ogre¡¯s feet it made little difference, their heavy flat feet easily gripping into the stonework. Two headed Ogres guarded the entrance to the hall. Guarded in plate armour and armed with maces, even experienced mages would have trouble.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°You are wanted Iokhur,¡± the guard said, ¡°state your business.¡±


    Three clan leaders already awaited Iokhur, Erig of the southwestern based ¡®Oran,¡¯ Aeruk of the northeastern based ¡®Rzo,¡¯ and Elrag of the southeastern Lra; Elrag was the largest, his arms crossed, scratching his head. The Oru which Iokhur was leader of was based in the northwest, he looked at his fellow council members, and bowed gracefully before speaking.


    ¡°Strange happenings have been reported to the west,¡± Iokhur began, ¡°something on the Continent of Sand.¡±


    Erig nodded.


    ¡°My mage scouts have spotted strange movements from the Demons, the Cahov have asked permission to use the Urir bays.¡±


    There were lesser figures in the halls from the various clans, and they bayed at this information. Aeruk nodded and added to the conversation.


    ¡°The Necromancers wish to also invade this sand continent, some kind of strange magic is there as Iokhur rightfully said. The Orcs seem painfully unaware though.¡±


    ¡°What about the Elves Elrag? Did your scouts see anything?¡±


    ¡°All is quiet, I take it we won¡¯t need the Rzo¡¯s tiebreaker to make a decision.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t,¡± Iokhur smirked.


    The Ogre council was polite and had good decorum, the tiebreaker was an Ogre woman named Tuzur of the Rzo, the tiebreaker changed every year, on a rotation based off the cardinal directions; so for the year of 943cc it would be the Lra, and then for 944cc the Oran, in 945cc the Oru, and in 946cc it would return to the Rzo; needless to say Tuzur was smart and capable in marshalling Ogre forces to defend the northern border. The Ogres prepared for fighting with the Orcs, bigger than the Orcs, and stronger, they still feared their cunning. They fortified the border forts. An Ogre shouted from one of the communication crystals.


    ¡°The Orcs are attacking!¡±


    ¡°Do not engage them in open battle!¡± Tuzur snarled, ¡°those Orcs need to be smashed against our walls.¡±


    ¡°What she says is wise,¡± Iokhur said, ¡°should we hold the forts, will the central army come to reinforce the northern forts?¡±


    All the Ogres stayed silent, wondering what the best course of action was. The central army was under control of no individual clan, it was sent according to the four clan leader¡¯s wishes and of course the tiebreaker, if parts of it were sent to deal with the Orcs, then other threats could not be dealt with. Aeruk broke the silence.


    ¡°For the Rzo I will lead our clan into pitched battle.¡±


    ¡°Aeruk!¡± Tuzur protested.


    ¡°If I die, it will be with glory behind me. If I fail. Defend the fortresses. Gather the warriors! Today we smash Orcs!¡±


    A raucous cacophony of shouts were heard. The Ogre banner, four black spiky clubs on the periphery of a brown flag, was immediately grabbed by one two headed Ogre, others marched alongside Aeruk. They stomped along on the ground, their marching creating reverberating thuds.


    ¡°Aeruk!¡± Tuzur shouted from the tower, at Aeruk below, ¡°you do your damnest to survive or I will haunt you!¡±


    He clenched his fist, snorted with determination and nodded, he looked at the retinue slowly gathering around him. Seeing some Ogres wearing gauntlets, others carried large studded shields.


    ¡°We put on our armour!¡± Aeruk shouted at them, ¡°quickly.¡±


    They stomped down the main streets, the citizens were told what went on as Aeruk¡¯s Rzo soldiers marched along, resplendent in their enthusiasm.


    ¡°Men and their foolish honour¡­¡± Tuzur seethed, ¡°give me my mace! It is a sister¡¯s duty to look after a foolish brother.¡±


    Iokhur smiled. He went out of the room.


    ¡°The Rzo clan wish to fight the Orcs alone. The Oru will show them how it¡¯s done!¡± he said to a mage scout back in Oru, ¡°leave enough troops to defend the forts and castles. I wish to show them true might!¡± He proclaimed to his retainers.

 4 p.2

    Iokhur secretly gathered his retainers and also headed north. While the world spun, 40,000 Orcs commanded by general Zarfu consisted of wolf riders, infantry and skirmishers; armed with spears, arrows, nets, and axes. Two metres tall, the Orcs were green skinned, strong beasts by any measure, but still smaller than any Ogre. The Amanite kingdom, an Orcish realm was expansionist and cruel to their enemies, but it was their strict hierarchical system, led by their warmongering king that made them such. Marching along the rocky outcrops, the Orcs immediately attempted to seize a village. An Ogre threw a boulder, and a few Orcs were immediately crushed.


    ¡°Surrender now! Or die!¡± An Orcish lieutenant shouted.


    The fortified villages mostly stayed that way, boulders occasionally were chucked at the invaders. The Orcs encircled and waited to slaughter the locals.


    ¡°Kill these insolent wretches!¡±


    Arrows blocked out the sun, the whooshing sound only interrupted by the crackling of flames. The Orcs were merciless, storming into the small village and impaling the women and children, suffering casualties from the Ogres who were nonetheless too disorganised to mount a proper resistance. The circular fortress village had Ogre blood running down the hillocks and down the crags. The livestock were taken, goats, cows, and even some mammoths.


    ¡°Look at this!¡± One Orc said as he took the lead of a mammoth, ¡°these Ogres are ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°We need to eliminate them,¡± Zarfu said, ¡°spare nothing! The King wants the Ogres enslaved. Another army will come after us!¡±


    ¡°The Amanites will conquer!¡± One Orc said, raising his spear, ¡°The Orcs will conquer!¡±


    The Orcs rode special wolves as cavalry, large wolves that could be sat on without complaint,while others herded big oxen that carried their supplies. The weather was dry, but the ground was wet with blood. The other Orcish army poured over the border, attempting to snuff out the Ogres with immediate effect. General Zarzum and Zarfu invaded the shared Ogre lands, lands not belonging to any of the clans. The Orcish axe on a red banner fluttered ominously over Ogre lands. The Orcs went to looting, their plans were quite clearly genocidal. They did not spare a single Ogre they encountered.


    A day at most would pass, when Iokhur of the Oru clan and Aeruk of the Rzo led their retinues to the fight. Iokhur had 1000 men who had surreptitiously joined the clan leader, he had not made his intentions clear to the other clans but he sallied out. The Ogres unlike basically all their counterparts did not use mounts, they were large fearsome creatures, and were large enough to not need them, they ran fast with long strides that thudded along the ground, they were also probably too large for mounts. There was no sheen on the metal that Iokhur wore, nor most of his retinue. They thudded as quietly as they could (which was not quietly at all) heading to the border regions in remarkable time. Ogre roads were clean, but most of all the Ogre communication system was the best on the continent, they knew exactly where they were going and which was the shortest route; and their magic meant they knew where everything was. Aeruk marched with 2000, cheering Ogre crowds had people showing their own weapons. The Ogre honour system was unique to them, they called it ¡®glory,¡¯ they only fought when it would bring them glory, therefore their society was particularly defensive in its art of war, fighting in defence of other Ogres brought much glory, fighting in defence of the weak even more. Ogres refused coin for this service, a tally of glory was collected, the most honourable would amass the larger armies. Likewise dishonour by killing the weak, killing captives or killing other Ogres, could have one disbarred from being clan leader and have other Ogres refuse to fight alongside you.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Seeing the ways the Ogres live. Is truly enlightening, I brought 50 Ilar coins, but no one accepted them, they said it would bring more glory to feed me without coin than to feed me with. I did not understand what they were talking about. We always thought of the Ogres as unenlightened savages. Everything has great thought put into it, their society is nothing like anything else on the continent.


    Kleitomachos studied their society, more like a student than a spy. He was to collect information on the Ogre society and report back to the Ilar capital on what he found out, but no Ogre seemed particularly concerned that he would learn something.


    ¡°Excuse me, what¡¯s going on?¡± Kleitomachos asked.


    ¡°The Orcs have invaded, a clan leader has gone to face them, he seeks great glory,¡± an Ogre explained, a big smile on his big dumb face.


    Kleitomachos was a dark skinned man with wooly hair, and a beard a few days unshaven, he noted in comparison that not one Ogre had facial hair, a curious detail he scribbled in his report, for no reason other than it was fascinating to him.


    ¡°Orcish invasion, that does sound bad. Do you think the Orcs would invade Ilar?¡±


    ¡°Ilar?¡± One Ogre laughed, ¡°the fire and earth mages? Who knows, the Orcs are led by a greedy king, they fight for money, for land, maybe even for hatred and above all because their king told them to. Do you want to know why the Ogres fight?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Kleitomachos asked breathlessly.


    ¡°For glory!¡± A few other Ogres answered, before they laughed raucously.


    Kleitomachos joined in their hearty laughs, never hearing something so absurd, and yet being impressed. His palms were filled with sweat and his heart beat faster.


    ¡°Can I see the fight?¡± He asked, covering his mouth fearing he might have said something offensive.


    A raucous cheer, before two of the largest Ogres picked him up and ran to the battle site. Kleitomachos eyes popped open in shock, trying to stabilise himself, amazed by the speed of the Ogres. The Ogres were both grinning in delight at performing such an honour.


    Fucking hell! Are they quick! I think horses are much slower, and they don¡¯t even look the slightest bit tired.

 4. (p.3)

    Iokhur¡¯s Ogres ran to the most obvious site of battle; there were fields of corn, with rocky outcrops and irrigation canals and of course thousands of Orcs. They were looking for plunder, Iokhur¡¯s 1000 thundered from the west and joined up with Aeruk¡¯s 2000, Tuzur followed close behind with some 200.


    ¡°Did I not say to fortify the castles and wait out the storm?¡±


    ¡°There is more glory to best these plunderers now. Send word to the other clans and to the central authorities to prepare warriors if we fail,¡± Aeruk said, ¡°I don¡¯t want them not knowing.¡±


    ¡°Damn right,¡± Tuzur said, ¡°I will stand here and protect your rear, I have a messenger ready to inform the rest of our armies if anything befalls you.¡±


    ¡°The Rzo fear defeat, do they?¡± Iokhur joked at their expense.


    ¡°We prepare for any eventuality,¡± Aeruk said defensively.


    ¡°We prepare to win much glory today,¡± Iokhur said, ¡°but yes, we must prepare for anything for surely the gods could give anything.¡±


    Ogres were armed with hammers, maces, clubs, and some only gauntlets; the Oru already began their crawl forwards, there they found Zarfu marching and torching some corn fields.


    ¡°For glory we fight today!¡± Iokhur said, ¡°drive them back! They will know an Ogre¡¯s righteous fury!¡±


    Iokhur was incredibly loud and conspicuous, but on the other hand the Oru had excellent morale, and were prepared for the fray.


    That damned idiot Iokhur, my advice was for him as well. Aeruk? Brother! Brother?


    Aeruk marched directly northwards but he had chosen a more direct route.


    ¡°Iokhur, I will win more glory today! Don¡¯t leave a single Orc on our soil!¡± Aeruk screamed, delighting his men.


    Aeruk himself held a spiked club. Charging forward, to the tutting of the women Ogres led by Tuzur who simply observed the impending battle. It was the beginning of spring, the sun beat down, but the air temperature was chilly, running to the battle site had made all sides a bit warmer, and blood would make them warmer still. Despite the running, the Ogres were not even the slightest bit tired, they were not even huffing.


    ¡°They ran all the way here?¡± Kleitomachos asked astounded, ¡°how is that¡­ possible?¡± Kleitomachos asked in a whisper.


    The Ogres didn¡¯t hear him, but it was a mixture of intense physical training and lean healthy diet consisting mainly of soups of various kinds.


    Iokhur¡¯s line crashed into Zarfu¡¯s, blunt weapons maybe, but highly effective against Orcs a metre shorter. Wolf riders attempted to flank, Orcs in general attempted to flank, but the highly armoured Ogres shrugged off the spears and arrows and battered through. The smell of confused Orcs, amplified with fear and then rage, battled the most determined Ogres in the entire world.


    ¡°Where are their lines, their formations? This is a just a mess?¡± Kleitomachos asked, confused, ¡°I can see from here, the Ogres are effectively duelling?¡± There was complete confusion in Kleitomachos¡¯s voice.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Ogres threw Orcs to the ground, other punched, others batted and battered the Orcish invaders; but there was no cohesion, just a thunderous charge, they crashed and continuously crashed. Orcs flew upwards or across, others had split skulls, and others still tried to catch the blunt weapons to no avail. Ogre strength was not a myth, they brutally bloodied Zarfu¡¯s men. Zarzum¡¯s attempted to stem the Ogre¡¯s attack, but were met with a much more blunt attack by Aeruk. Kleitomachos could not believe his eyes, each Ogre soldier was trying to outdo the other, leaping over one another to save one another.


    ¡°Damn it Uruk!¡± One Ogre said as he swatted an Orc down, ¡°pay attention man!¡±


    ¡°What is a person from Ilar doing watching us make war,¡± Tuzur asked Kleitomachos.


    ¡°Spectating,¡± he quipped.


    ¡°Spectate well then,¡± Tuzur said, ¡°you will see the true glory of Ogres.¡±


    Kleitomachos stared at the dust that was now being kicked up, the thundering of the Ogres that smashed into the front. Zarfu tried to rally his soldiers, but found four Ogres came increasingly closer to him. His bodyguards tried to slice the Ogres. One caught the armour but found no traction on his blade, another threw himself in front of a mallet that came his way, the crunch was audible and immediately made a few Orcs wince and be stunned for a fraction of a second, enough to allow more smashing blows. Green bodies, green Orcs attempted to stem the flow, but they became red blood; an Ogre crumpled Zarfu into a mess on the floor, his retinue quickly retreating into the fields. Corn crumpled in the background, as furious Ogres smashed the bodyguard unit, the bodyguards attempted some kind of fighting retreat, but were soon themselves smashed. Zarfu¡¯s soldiers were dropping weapons and loot, lest they become mush on the floor, some attempted to stop the rout. Zarzum screamed something in Orcish, with some overseers whipping and even stabbing people to encourage them to continue to fight. The sounds of feet, confused shouts and of ripped metal filled the air, the smell of blood was an afterthought, the taste of blood being the last sensation of many a Orc. Zarzum positioned himself behind his troops, commanding them with blocking detachments intending to fight to the last. The Orc lines stabilised, and they began reforming somewhat, albeit with shaky morale.


    ¡°Aeruk! Look at how these foul Orcs have no concept of Glory!¡± Iokhur boomed out onto the battlefield.


    The parts of Zarfu¡¯s men that had fled were, astonished to see that the Ogres did not even bother to catch them.


    Why are they not chasing us? Surely they could.


    An Ogre with gauntlets picked up a large stone and chucked it at the Orcs, Iokhur¡¯s band smashed straight through multiple lines of infantry. There was no hint of exhaustion from the Ogres who continuously plowed through, Orcish weapons being broken in two, snapping, bending, armour crumpling and of course deaths all around. Orcs were being strewn across, impaled by their own comrades, morale shattered, but Zarzum killed retreating Orcs, sending them back into the fray. Iokhur shouted at this travesty, shouting in his best Orcish.


    ¡°They are your own soldiers!¡± Outrage ringing in his voice.


    Iokhur was angrier than the Orcs at the injustice, 3000 Ogres smashed into 40,000 Orcs, who despite flanking attempts were being pushed back. Kleitomachos saw flanking cavalry units unhorsed, the wolves were merely pushed back with barehands, tamed in a mere instant, 10 Orcish spearmen having their spears broken, then their armour was bent effortlessly, and shortly afterwards there were dead on the ground; an Orcish axemen attempted to duel Aeruk, only to have a hammer smash his hands to a pulp, the axe clattered and the chest smashed in for a quick mercy. Aeruk and Iokhur¡¯s men, continued with brutish efficiency.


    ¡°Fuck you Zarzum!¡± One man said galloping off on his special wolf mount.


    Missile troops¡¯ projectiles were dealt with like flies, a few swats and were rendered harmless. The first Ogre fell, and the Ogres suddenly moved just a tiny bit faster.


    ¡°No Ogruk¡­ damn it! Damn it!¡±


    Orcish legs were smashed underneath them, the attack continued for another 5 minutes, until the Orcish troops melted away leaving only a half terrified Zarzum. Zarzum tried to fight but was clubbed by three crisscrossing well timed blunt weapons, not much of him was left. Only the sound of blood dripping and Ogres¡¯ breath were heard now. Zarfu¡¯s men scrambled away, completely dissipating into the countryside and back across the border.

 4. (p.4)

    ¡°One of their generals at least died to stop us. The other hid behind his own men,¡± Aeruk said interrupting the silence.


    ¡°Our Oru and your Rzo have crushed them Aeruk. We must pray for Ogruk and for our enemies.¡±


    In total 20,000 Orcs had died, just one singular Ogre had died. They gathered the dead and cremated them with honours. They inspected the various looted villages, and captured some Orcs, who they generously let go.


    ¡°Why would you do that?¡± Kleitomachos asked, ¡°surely you will take slaves to pay for their transgressions?¡±


    ¡°Slaves?¡± Tuzur questioned, ¡°such a thing is forbidden in our land. Glory is won only in battle, and further increased by being generous and hospitable. We are not our enemies, and we shall not emulate them.¡±


    He promptly shut up, astounded, but more than anything impressed. Kleitomachos felt like he was looking at aliens, no one not even the Elves behaved like this.


    ¡°I will go back to Ogrum if you¡¯ll take me.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the two Ogres who took him said.


    Such ferrying for no fee, earned glory in another way, Kleitomachos still did not understand the society he had seen, but he had witnessed it at least. Ultimately Aeruk and Iokhur went back with full honours. The Orcs would immediately send emissaries asking for peace, and the Ogres accepted. The Ogres did not boast, instead merely returning to their communal lives, seeking glory in mundane things.


    The Fire Demons of Cahov had sailed their ships quickly through the ocean currents, ignoring the spit. A day had passed, and they used flyers to locate exactly where Madakos hid from them. Madakos had spent a day not only giving Hunila and Tamura the power of Warlocks, but incorporating the Ena Shadow Elf clan into his plans. Hunila was adamant that the clan move away from the coast, and they did, to a further 50 kilometres inland. Living in a small valley, 4 constructs each one producing 10 million Zira a second, a grand total of 40 million. The Zira was transformed into water, which flowed onto the ground and the Shadow Elves gratefully produced food.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t take much convincing to come here,¡± Tamura quipped.


    Hunila swayed towards Madakos who stared into the distance.


    ¡°I still think I¡¯ve made the wrong decision,¡± he grumbled, ¡°I¡¯ve put you all in danger.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°For the first time ever, we have crops that aren¡¯t just coconut,¡± one of the Shadow Elves said.


    Cahov Fire Demons appeared before him. Madakos erected 40 towers, turning around in panic, as fiery red Demons appeared before him. Five metre monstrosities armed with glowing red swords, two metre Demons armed with big axes, and suddenly legions of imps; their smell of sulphur was overpowering, Demon sweat was supposed to elicit fear but it elicited rage in Madakos, more rage even than what the Demons felt for him.


    ¡°Give up the war¡­Your unnatural magic ends here!¡± A Demon screamed, ¡°you will die now!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡± Thousands screamed.


    ¡°No- you die!¡± Madakos screamed at the Demons, the magic fumbled, but he eviscerated them, with his next breath he screamed: ¡°God damn it you lot! Hide!¡±


    His towers immediately fired at the Demons who attempted to stream in, he attempted to create more, but they were promptly blown asunder. Hunila made a defensive magic barrier attempting to stop any fireballs.


    ¡°Tamura! Hunila focus on defending yourselves and the Shadow Elves. God damn it. I knew some stupid shit like this would happen¡­¡± he shouted frantically, ¡°fuck!¡± He growled.


    Imps, the smallest kind of Demons charged in massive clusters. Madakos was flinging his hands, sending purple fireballs, exploding nearby, then a firewall. More Demons came, he surreptitiously put more towers on the flanks. They began firing down at the ever increasing Demon host. 40 million Zira a second allowed for liberties on how he spent it. A large fireball came at him, red fiery and smelling of sulphur, he repulsed it with much more ferocity, the sender being pushed back across the sand, blown into smithereens. 80 towers shot down at the Demons while Madakos tried his hardest to push the lot of them back. They did not lessen, Tamura and Hunila were shouting something at him. He created more towers, and created meteor like projectiles that blotted out the sun. The sound was astonishing, the explosions kicked up dust, Demons were being burnt to cinders or flat out cut by shockwaves. Demons rushed at Madakos, he shot multiple purple Warlock bolts. Madakos shot through the Demon¡¯s skull and hit other Demons behind it, that also fell promptly to the floor. Hunila stared at him knowingly and with great anger, she had protected all of them with a magic barrier.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said nodding.


    ¡°You are reckless!¡± She hissed.


    Demons roared in the background attempting to gain ground, before they were destroyed in their multitudes. Fire arced downwards, purple fire that even the Fire Demons were confused about.


    ¡°Why¡­ is it burning and hurting us?¡± One large Fire Demon said, writhing on the floor.


    More towers sprouted, but the Demons summoned portals around Madakos. He levelled the Demons, but he was worried about his allies.


    ¡°Get them out of here!¡± He said panicked, throwing his arms around evocatively.


    Two Cahov arrows glided across his face, blood dripped off both cheeks. Hunila rushed to him, moving before her brain demanded it of her body.


    ¡°Tamura! Get my people to safety!¡± Hunila screamed with everything she had in her, ¡°Now!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tamura said confused.


    ¡°Do it!¡± Hunila screamed.


    Sand was being kicked up, bodies were being fried, and every now and then bodies smashed into the sand, as Demons were being thrown about.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Hunila said, ¡°look after yourself!¡±


    She had much less Zira flowing into her, but she nonetheless defended them both flawlessly. Madakos created another firestorm, purple Warlock flames descended and eviscerated all the Demons, the newcomers eviscerated by the tower strikes.


    ¡°We have to get out of here! You have to get out of here!¡± Madakos panicked.

 4. (p.5)

    More Cahov Demons appeared, large and small. Meanwhile the ambassador talked to the Urir leadership with a magic crystal, observing the battle from safety.


    ¡°Dear High priest,¡± the ambassador began.


    His red skin glowed with satisfaction, his eyes red, he bowed before the hologram.


    ¡°What is it ambassador?¡± The High Priest said, ¡°We Earth Demons do not like our peace being disturbed.¡±


    ¡°We no longer need your patch of land,¡± the ambassador said, ¡°we have located what we were looking for.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The High priest grinned, ¡°well good luck in your hunt,¡± he said with a strong dose of sarcasm, acid in his tone.


    There was a pause, the ambassador was not amused, but the conversation had not quite ended yet.


    ¡°One word of advice, if I may,¡± the ambassador said simply.


    ¡°Go on,¡± the High priest said.


    ¡°The Warlock is powerful Amalkur,¡± the ambassador said, ¡°we must contain it before it get¡¯s too much. Warlock sorcery is unnatural and downright dangerous, it must be contained.¡±


    The High priest laughed for a good few moments.


    ¡°In my mind the Cahov Fire Demons are downright dangerous, we have been preparing for war with you in case this was some elaborate ruse, but go enjoy your hunt ambassador,¡± Amalkur was in a better mood this time.


    The call ended, the magic crystal ended the hologram.


    ¡°We will,¡± the ambassador muttered angrily, to nothing but himself.


    The ambassador noticed the fighting up ahead.


    ¡°What happened to general Angria?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead¡­ sir,¡± an adjutant said hesitantly.


    ¡°Right, this Warlock is clearly using his powers¡­ damn it. The High Lords will not be pleased with this.¡±


    Let alone the Devils. God anything but those¡­ oh no.


    It had a ghastly red aura surrounding it, the ambassador immediately prostrated before it.


    ¡°Put your head down idiot!¡± A voice in the background said.


    Everyone was prostrating before the higher being. An arrogant loud being that wanted its will obeyed at all times, with a vicious temper. The thuds of their fiery feet were already filled with anger, their arms pulsating with the fiery chaotic energy, a distorted mana, but mana nonetheless.


    ¡°Thank you devoted worshippers. Inner hell has been worried about this ¡®Warlock,¡¯ and so I have come to investigate.¡±


    ¡°Of course high one,¡± the ambassador said.


    He was not even glancing up at the Devil, hoping that it would not be vengeful. The Devil blipped away towards Madakos. It attempted to summon a massive fireball to kill Madakos, but Hunila sniped the Devil clean, the body limply fell. The Demons who pursued Madakos got mopped up, Hunila pressed her tits on his side, but with all the panic and chaos Madakos had no time to be conscious of his arousal, even though he was, even her sweat was intoxicating.


    ¡°Thank you Hunila!¡± He breathed only for her to hear, ¡°that thing looked dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It is only possible with Zira¡­ with being a Warlock,¡± she admitted.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Tamura had meanwhile evacuated the Shadow Elf Ena clan from the vicinity, braving treacherous deserts, killing large ants and Scorpion-Men, but most of all running with all their might. Tamura had one ten million Zira producing construct, a golden construct, that she lugged in her own arms smothering it in affection.


    ¡°Keep moving! Those Demons will catch up to us, and not for chatting I assure you!¡± Tamura screamed at them.


    The Shadow Elves shuffled along, they turned around to peer at what was chased them, worried faces and lots of exhales as they ran away. Madakos made purple fire descend on the Cahov Demon reinforcements before teleporting into the sand with Hunila, his 4 constructs and Hunila¡¯s 1 came along with them.


    ¡°Something tells me, there are many more Demons,¡± Hunila whispered.


    ¡°Many more.¡± Madakos said, ¡°I have created towers in differing locations to fool them, they will follow a false trail.¡±


    Hunila smirked at him, looking behind her. Madakos blipped through the sands, spending a lot of Zira in the process before they finally caught up with rest of Hunila¡¯s fleeing clan, the Ena clan. With the entire Ena clan Madakos teleported further into the sands thousands of kilometres in fact, in a north westerly direction, arriving at another Shadow Elf clan¡¯s domain, these other Shadow Elves stared incredulously at the sudden immigrants to their land.


    ¡°Halt and state your business!¡± One Shadow Elf said, bandying his knife around.


    The knife was impressive by itself, a lilac purple colour handle, with a clear sheen blade that reflected the sun, it¡¯s only real purpose was the blinding effect using the sun¡¯s rays. Five others already had their bows out, aiming them at the newcomers.


    ¡°We need ships to flee!¡± Tamura said.


    ¡°Demons seek us out,¡± Madakos further explained.


    The Shadow Elf clan they approached numbered some 15 people, and they did the arithmetic to work out more or less what was going on.


    ¡°I am a hardly a scholar, but I guess that the reason has to do with those things you¡¯re carrying,¡± one of the men said, ¡°I hazard a guess that you¡¯re wanted for illicit magic.¡±


    Wasting no time another clan member piped up:


    ¡°We are the Esim clan,¡± one of them said, ¡°why are you here?¡± The words were particularly biting and delivered acidly.


    ¡°Illicit magic is a pretty good description,¡± Hunila said, ¡°running from Demons and the Undead.¡±


    The Esim were immediately flabbergasted by the words said, all their faces curled up in astonishment, some outright got their weapons out. Their eyebrows raised and their eyes twitched, the scent of fear could be smelt by anyone let alone suspicious Shadow Elves, nervous sweat on all parties.


    ¡°Demons and the Undead?¡± One of them nervously repeated, ¡°the ones who can teleport anywhere and the ones who can raise the dead?¡±


    The Ena clan, Madakos and Tamura all simply nodded.


    ¡°We have to hurry, these lands are not safe. We need boats, if you need water, we can make it, we must go and leave these lands and flee the Demons,¡± Hunila exhorted them.


    ¡°Water?¡± One of the elders repeated a bit surprised.


    Madakos produced a lake, which immediately astonished the Esim clan members. A long second followed, a younger man immediately approached the newcomers.


    ¡°We will come with you! I know we will,¡± he said, looking behind him for affirmation, rather emphatically eyeing his clan members to agree.


    The other clan members were skeptical, but bewildered, another joined in the young man.


    ¡°Perhaps it is our destiny to come with you and forge a new path.¡±


    Madakos interrupted the agreement to disagree with the Esim clan member.


    ¡°Zira is about creating your own destiny. This is your choice. We will not force you to do anything, we can probably teleport you to where we are going, or anywhere else you wish to go.¡±


    ¡°You wish to go westwards?¡± Tamura surmised, ¡°damn it Madakos that¡¯s even crazier than fighting the Demons and Undead. They call that Continent of Death for a reason.¡±


    Anger immediately swelled at him at the words.


    ¡°No one¡¯s ever been there!¡± Madakos nearly caught himself shouting, ¡°we have to escape to somewhere safer. At least until we accumulate more Zira.¡±


    ¡°Excuse this Humans lack of manners,¡± Hunila laughed, and then glared up at him.


    Nonetheless, even with a glare to tell him to stop, he tingled almost with happiness.


    ¡°It is ok,¡± one of the Esim clan members said, ¡°forge our own destiny, I¡¯ll do it. For a long time, all we¡¯ve done is fish, grow coconuts, and live peaceful but uneventful lives. We are hardly made for war, but we need to truly be in command of where we¡¯re going¡­¡±


    Madakos and Hunila nodded, growing food, cutting it; corn and wheat and coconuts stacked in two long ships, everything else was trashed by the wayside; burnt into ash, buried in the sand as if nothing ever existed there.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, because of us¡­¡± Hunila said guiltily to one of the men.


    ¡°It is ok, this is a decision we made,¡± a man said, ¡°there are no regrets in such a decision.¡±


    The man extracted both blades from their sheaths tossed them in the air and put them back in, some sort of superstitious ritual, perhaps for luck, perhaps for strength, whatever it did, it certainly made the Shadow Elf feel determined.


    ¡°Let us begin.¡±

 4. (p.6)

    Korax held both scabbards, putting the blade until the very end so that it made a small clicking sound; Korax was an ¨¹ber muscular Shadow Elf, and defacto leader of the Esim clan. Tamura immediately was wary of the young Elf, looking at him with eager eyes and even more eager mannerisms.


    ¡°We must go,¡± he said simply, ¡°you magic users, will lead us to new lands I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°New lands¡­¡± Madakos whispered, ¡°yes I suppose that¡¯s true.¡±


    At least I hope. I don¡¯t want to give this guy false hope, he deserves new lands. I will do everything in my power to live differently. New lands. New life. New.


    The Devil that had been sniped by Hunila was revived by another Devil, the two Devils brandished glowing hot weapons as they looked around.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± The Sniped Devil asked to scared silence, ¡°I asked where the fuck are they!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re¡­ we don¡¯t know, we were too busy dealing with these towers!¡±


    One of the towers shot at them and then another struck the Devil that had just been revived, requiring a further revive. The fury in the surviving Devil, was that of a volcano, an angry volcano.


    ¡°You useless cunts can¡¯t even deal with fortifications!¡± The Devil said, ¡°The Ice and Earth Demons probably laugh at you!¡±


    In this moment, two Necromancer Lords appeared in front of the Devils and Demons. The Devil scratched his big head, and sighed audibly for everyone to hear. The towers still killed Demons in the background as the Devil summoned red fire to destroy at least four of the closest towers. The towers crumpled into their footprint, before a very pernicious Undead warlord showed up. A Spectre Lord, by the name of Maras; he could teleport a kilometre a second and not spend a lick of mana doing so. He had 15 Reapers, a few regular ghost scouts, 40 Ghouls, 10 Bane and a few Spectres and some Wraiths. Reapers were armed like the grim reaper, with a scythe that had blades on both ends, wore a customary black hood that their ethereal bodies complimented; Bane could suck the life force out of the living with their hands and heal allies, luminescent blue shone from their bodies and shone even more distinctly in the act of combat; Ghouls were purple rabid beasts that scratched enemies with poison; Wraiths were outfitted in black jagged armour with throwing knives at their disposal. Spectres were armed with stabbing knives, wearing hoods and robes to hide their skeletal features. Spectres were useful for assassination and were not good at large crowds, therefore Maras in commanding other kinds of ghosts had allies who could make up for his deficiencies. Maras laughed manically at the sight of the Demons and the two Devils.


    ¡°Infernals? Fire Infernals are not welcome here!¡± He said simply.


    ¡°Uther!¡± One of the Devils screamed, ¡°Uther, is it not your job as ambassador to talk to these scum?¡±


    Scum huh? I¡¯ll show you scum.


    Uther merely looked; the Undead in question crossed his arms, skeletal hand in skeletal arm, and created a new Spectre. Not a Lord, so lacking agency, a mere servant of Maras¡¯s will.


    ¡°Cause chaos on my signal¡­¡± he whispered quietly.


    He had no eyebrows or alive eyes, but he scanned along the battlefield for how he would punish the Demons.


    ¡°By the order of the Fire Demon Lord get the fuck out of our way!¡± One Demon said armed with a pike.


    ¡°Fire Devils, Fire Demons. This is not even your world. Who invited you here? Hmmm?¡± Maras said, causing explosive levels of anger in the entire Demon army.


    Both Devil¡¯s blood vessels swelled, writhed like maggots on their faces with unbridled rage, swelling fists that pointed in his general direction before a booming voice said:


    ¡°Kill him!¡±


    ¡°Kill?¡± Maras mused, ¡°ah¡­ but I¡¯m already dead.¡±


    The Reapers sliced through the Demons, and the Spectre minion jumped about stabbing Demons in the back. The Ghouls dealt with thousands, Maras on the other hand jumped backwards, avoiding fireballs and feral enraged Demons. Demons were jumped out of portals as they attempted to catch the Necromancer off guard. They failed. Reapers sliced through emerging Demons, at least a few Reapers being blown up in flames, others being healed by Bane that turned Demons into prunes to heal allies. The Demons popped out of everywhere and anywhere, attempting to flood the Spectre Lord¡¯s position, he hopped about, his ethereal beings slicing and dicing. Maras used his Wraiths as a personal bodyguard, they flanked him, and formed around him when he teleported somewhere else; they threw knives at high speed, high precision and were armoured enough to survive most Demons attacks. The Wraiths could not compare to most missile units in terms of volume shot, they were quick assassins, they lacked crowd control abilities.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Ooh, flyers I have some too.¡±


    The Reapers flew into the sky and began slicing the pursuing flying Demons.


    ¡°Kill that fucker! Put his head on a pike!¡± One of the Devil¡¯s screamed.


    ¡°Oh but my head does not go on a pike?¡± Maras laughed maniacally.


    Maras deftly drew his forces back, as the Demons pushed forwards determined to ¡®kill¡¯ him. Many thousands of Demons poured and Maras¡¯s meanwhile grinned internally beneath his black hue robe.


    Fools.


    Skeletons and Ghouls emerged form the sand, hacking and slashing with poisonous claws at the Demon army, the ethereal beings turned around to further cement the slaughter. Maras had 500 Ghouls poisoning the Demons, which turned into a bloody maw for the Demons who did not retreat or surrender. The two Devils began resurrecting some of the Demons and sending them back, the dark mana that the Necromancer collected was still collected, but it now had to kill the same people once more. Maras stared over the massacre he so cunningly created, his ethereal beings cutting Demon after Demon to pieces, summoning more ethereal beings to fill the vacancies, and to continue the battle. Large fiery boulders were now being chucked in his general direction, with Reapers cutting many of the boulders.


    ¡°Someone is angry huh¡­¡± Maras chuckled, ¡°well can¡¯t blame them.¡±


    Thousands of Demons lay dead, but the Demons continued their attack with reckless abandon, wave after wave of fiery Demon lay dead, skeletons easily felled, but Ghouls with their poison inflicted many deaths and allowed Maras to summon more Ghouls and inflict casualties in perpetuity. Fireballs, flew in his general direction, but the problem was his general direction could be anywhere depending on where he teleported. His other coup was more cunning, he summoned a Spectre which he made to pretend was him, and he slowly wheeled behind the Demon lines, the battle raged in the background; dark energy, or death mana slowly accumulated, Ghouls and skeletons appeared behind the Demons; the carnage was absolutely astonishing, there were dead everywhere, ambassador Uther survived by being next to the two Devils who blasted scorching sun hot beams of pure rage. Maras withdrew his forces, the Ghouls stayed behind to inflict casualties, while the rest of their force withdrew somewhere.


    ¡°Damn those Undead!¡± One Devil said smashing his foot into the ground, ¡°the rulers of Dina must explain themselves!¡±


    ¡°Explain themselves?¡± Maras said to the two Devils, appearing right in front of their noses, ¡°go back to your lava.¡±


    And then he disappeared. Uther interrupted the anger of the Devils, running up to them with a small squadron of impish pikemen. The Devils were bubbling with rage, spittle escaping their mouths, their fists clenching.


    ¡°We should be chasing the Warlock!¡±


    ¡°We have no idea where he got to,¡± one of the Devil¡¯s said, ¡°besides I am itching for a fight.¡±


    I think Devils technically rank higher than the Fire Demon Emperor, but still, what am I going to tell him? This Devil is sabotaging my mission for his own personal vendettas, then again, those Necromancers really fucked with us huh. But even so the Demon Lord won''t be happy. Can I keep my head, if I die because of these Devils¡¯ stupidity I hope to become a ghost and haunt them.


    Maras had retreated and had rearranged Ildrid to stand in location.


    ¡°I hear you were done in by a Warlock,¡± Maras whispered, ¡°the Demons are currently chasing us, so I would be wary.¡±


    ¡°Demons?¡± Ildrid said, ¡°my skeletal armies will be torched, what the fuck are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Growing my power?¡± Maras laughed, ¡°why not do the same.¡±


    ¡°Damn it Maras. Thank you for raising me from death, but I wonder what for, I am going to get absolutely torched by those¡­¡± Ildrid turned around and the ghost had disappeared, ¡°oh you have to be kidding me¡­¡±


    Ildrid crouched his entire army of skeletons and immediately went northwards in hope of avoiding the angry Demons. He failed. Miserably. The Demons not only found him, they all began attacking his forces. Imps, large Demons, regular Demon soldiers, shields, shieldless, pikes, swords, claws. Ildrid summoned skeletons to hack and kill, and summoned more skeletons afterwards, he was fighting an endless horde, and just when it seemed Ildrid would be destroyed, when it all seemed hopeless, Maras appeared. Outwitting the Demons for a third time, the Fire Demons were set upon by a horde of 1000 Ghouls, Demons writhed in agony with the onset of poison as Maras teleported around surrounding the Demons and finishing off the Devils at the same time.


    ¡°So unfortunate,¡± Maras whispered in a low murmur.


    Wraiths protected his person, they threw knives at any Demon that got too close, but others were merely scratched or sliced into pieces.


    ¡°Ildrid?¡± Maras said giving him a knowing look.


    The skeletal Lord threw himself into action, summoning thousands of skeletons which immediately slammed into the Demon line, Uther would have died had massive five metre Demons not arrived to save him from imminent death; the large Demons armed with giant flaming swords and spewing fire, you could see how Uther avoided becoming a corpse. The Demons fled the battle site, Uther leading them up northwards through the winding deserts trying to find where the Warlocks went. Maras did not leave them alone, instead choosing to harass them. Uther having to summon Demon reinforcements to deal with the Undead threat that tailed him.

 5. Refuge

    5. Refuge


    Madakos had fled on the open sea heading towardsthe ¡®Continent of Death¡¯ to the west. The seas were choppy and generally awful, but the two ships were powered through the air and sea through Zira, hurtling through the waves, now they could go even faster, but Madakos made sure the voyage was stable as well as quick, not daring to go too much faster than his voyage to the desert continent had been.


    ¡°These ships are made of wood!¡± Hunila said, ¡°remember that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the reminder,¡± Madakos said quietly and sarcastically, receiving a few stares, he knew she was right, it was a spontaneous remark without much thought behind it.


    He had added another construct to a total of 5, 4 golden crystals pulsated around a purple one on each construct, generating 10 million Zira a second. The Ena clan members all looked astounded at the thing of power, whispering; but the Esim clan, all 15 of them were outright stunned into silence.


    ¡°Hunila?¡± Korax asked, ¡°is he your boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± she replied quietly, ¡°Why you asking?¡±


    Korax gave her a good grin, wiping laughter from his eyes, chuckling again at the words she just said. Hunila looked at him discerningly and he shook his head, the nonverbal communication finally ended, Madakos was somewhat oblivious to what was going on, having not heard it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, I like the other woman,¡± Korax finally said.


    Hunila immediately chuckled and lifted her eyebrows.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re in luck,¡± she smirked.


    Korax smirked, kissing the hilt of his sword and swaggering over to Tamura, who was surprised to see him, impressed by his physicality and even more impressed by his confidence. Madakos looked behind him, only seeing sea monsters, immediately zapping them in purple flames.


    ¡°Madakos,¡± Hunila said putting a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He said, a bit confused, but eroticised by the whole affair.


    She stared at him, smirking and then coming closer.


    ¡°I can take some of the sea monsters out next time, you don¡¯t always have to do everything.¡±


    Madakos stared at the woman with a wry grin. He could smell attraction, but more importantly he could smell perfume of some sort, or was it pheromones?


    ¡°Oh why is that Hunila?¡±


    Her features were godly, wide hips, glittering lilac hair, tits that were now being pressed on his shoulder big enough to be shapely and yet not too big, her butt was worked out, and she was generally toned and muscular. She smirked at his ogling, he was obvious in his affections not just to Hunila but everyone else on the ship.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Am I making myself clear?¡± She asked, smirking at him.


    ¡°Loud and clear,¡± Madakos whispered back, ¡°do you want to do this in front of everyone though?¡±


    She gave a small glance and then looked back at the man. Her sharp eyes glinting in satisfaction and anticipation.


    ¡°I think I should begin marking you,¡± she said, ¡°I see many leering eyes.¡±


    He took some time to formulate a reply also looking ahead to see what was ahead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for vapid flings, you said before you were almost forced to marry other men. I could have married a village wife and been happy I suppose, but I yearned for more,¡± Madakos realised he was rambling slightly, Hunila interrupting him with a step back, ¡°I am yours if you are mine. There is no value in many women for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She said, ¡°and how do I know that? Hmmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in survival mode for a long time woman, I can¡¯t prove anything,¡± he said.


    She tutted and walked away. Ultimately other shadow Elf women eyed him up, hunger in their eyes. There were only two Esim women, looking up at him, but he politely refused them. He focused on the task ahead of him. Breaking through waves, and outright manipulating the ocean currents they braved through, ploughing through the most atrocious weather conditions. Up ahead there was a storm that looked like it would dissect both boats into tiny pieces; Madakos glided through, giant rogue waves were ploughed through without much trouble, the Shadow Elves all stood agape at him. Muscly women paid him attention, attempting to touch him, but he extricated himself from the situation politely. Storms and rocky waves made some crew fall over, stormy seas produced ocean spray that would have almost certainly killed most other adventurers that went this way.


    ¡°The Continent of Death, is more accessible from the north,¡± one of the Elders said, ¡°I hear that¡¯s how some Necromancers venture there, but we¡¯re going from the southern route.¡±


    An elder of the Ena clan noticed the interested women, but zeroed in on Madakos. Madakos smiled and nodded, he was indeed heading toward the southern route, over treacherous waters precisely because they were treacherous.


    ¡°If only we can venture past these waters, then it will mean less likelihood of people or worse following us.¡±


    Madakos filled a flask full of water and drank it, quenching his parched throat.


    ¡°I see,¡± the elder said, ¡°tell me, do you like any of the women?¡±


    Madakos coughed a little, looking at the discerning elder with surprise at the direction of his questioning.


    What a wily old man, he is adept at reading my facial expressions. Am I that obvious? Or is he that good? Or did someone tell him?


    The truth was that it was that Hunila was the most obvious but with Madakos second guessing he didn¡¯t quite realise.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Madakos smirked at the old man, the old man smirking back at him.


    Madakos choosing to be honest made the man give a wry chuckle as he sat back down, and talked with his wife; no doubt about the direction of the Shadow Elves, Zira and intermarriage between Shadow Elf and a human. After probably 100s of kilometres of diabolically treacherous waters, the water¡¯s became calm. It was night time, and the two ships slowed down and docked at a small island. Mooring the two ships on the little land mass was common sense, they had spent a whole day of travelling and it was best if the three Zira users could get some sleep and restock their supplies for the following day. With the Zira they could produce all the fresh water they could need or want, which they did. Immediately a few huts were constructed. Hunila not only made a house, but also made a large hot tub, looking eagerly at him. His 5 super constructs were augmented to 6, her 1 became 2, the super constructs that produced 10 million Zira a second were put in a safe place at the centre of their makeshift village. The infinite magic had allowed Hunila to make silks while they journeyed; silk like bedding, clothing, a secret Shadow Elf technique which apparently used fresh water, all tucked neatly in a corner in their small house. The island had been segmented, and even augmented by magic, earth created by felling trees, burning and growing trees again. Food, water, juice was created, they created a lot of supplies for their future journey, for now they rested. Hunila eagerly approached Madakos, her shirt covered in her own sweat, his too. Near their new hot tub.

 5. (p.2)

    ¡°You¡¯ve been running away a lot,¡± Hunila said, putting a hand on his chest, ¡°will you run away now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said, breath increasing in pace,¡°I will not.¡±


    She outright grabbed his dick and he winced in the unaccustomed pleasure, she smirked at the reaction. She pressed her chest into his looking only slightly upwards, as it turned out she was relatively tall for a woman, again she smirked as his breathing became haggard and his dick began pressing at her. Her eyes glowed at him.


    ¡°Not used to this?¡± She said obviously goading him.


    He cupped her face and kissed her, hair done in a ponytail, her eyes that usually had a sharp quality suddenly mellowed out, returning to that quality when spinning her around. Kissing her shoulders before gently kneading them, he caressed but first undressed her and then himself before he went into the circular bath that Hunila had so effortlessly created. She sat on his dick, without insertion, letting the folds of her vulva glide on him, while he massaged her back. The water was steaming hot, perhaps on purpose, the outside air was relatively cool, 15 degrees celsius, so the water had to be hot to stay warm; steam blew upwards in a lovely effect as he kneaded her back, making sure to dig into her muscles. She chuckled and relaxed backwards, the smell of her hair and body tantalising in his nostrils. He attempted to relax, while pressing his fingers in her, but she merely exhaled and he felt his muscles and lower half stand to attention in response. Her head turned, she chuckled, he leaned to her lips and she kissed him, she had sufficiently blocked off the view through fencing before hand, but everyone must have known what she was up to. After a while of massaging her back, he grabbed her tits and brushed her front, massaging her legs and breathing into her ear.


    ¡°Are you mine?¡± He said breathlessly.


    The blood flow to his penis throbbed, she stood up briefly and clamped back down on his dick, her vaginal walls squeezed tightly around him.


    ¡°You are mine,¡± she whispered, ¡°and I am yours.¡±


    He grabbed her butt that he had always been staring at. He felt along the traces of her back.


    That tingles. Are all Humans so aware of the nerves of a Human body, and muscles. He must. Holy.


    She had unconsciously bobbed her body up and down, the wet slapping was rhythmical and hypnotising.


    ¡°So much journeying, I want to just pour everything into you,¡± he said impatiently.


    Madakos grabbed a tit, put his chest on her back and kissed her shoulders, she moaned, but she moaned more when he put strength into his hips, smacking upwards at her, he grunted spasming his blood vessels, attempting to dilate his penis as much as could, her vagina grew wetter and wetter, he grabbed her thighs and realised that despite his best efforts.


    ¡°Inside,¡± she demanded.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She tightened and she did not move upwards, only cementing herself on top of him and put downward pressure, he jolted in ejaculation.


    ¡°Wait are you sure?¡± He said a little bit too late.


    ¡°Unfortunately it¡¯s a safe day, I¡¯m pretty sure this magic gives me access to birth control, but also I want it.¡±


    She turned around, his dick was totally upright, he was quite horny given the fact that he was stressed, having been chased half around the world, she took the air out of his mouth in a kiss, before inserting him once more. Both chests pressed onto each other, her nipples getting sensitive after each thrust.


    ¡°Mine,¡± he growled, ¡°mine, mine, mine.¡±


    ¡°Mine,¡± she likewise purred.


    She licked his neck, her purple eyes locked onto his and hypnotised him into a deep lust.


    That¡¯s the fucking spot. Keep going like that. She thought, grinning ear to ear. Now keep fucking.


    His hands massaged what they could, but he was overwhelmed by the strong lust and a possessive nature he did not know he had; the eyes made him hornier, but even then he used his natural instincts to brush against her lower belly and to feel her clitoris, again he ejaculated and it was a strong one, a jolt like eruption inside of her. The effect of her eyes really kicked in, in truth he was already horny and had a lot of pent up energy but this magic had him even more raring to go. This time, she exposed her behind. Holding onto the ledge, making a silk like velvet cloth to hold while her rear was exposed. Her pussy dripped, the folds of her vulva wet, tanned and hot, seductive beyond measure.


    ¡°Again,¡± she demanded meekly.


    He realised she was not really meek at all, this was planned, in fact deep inside herself she was smirking. Feeling up her hips, brushing up against her clit and her pussy, her grabbed and brushed everything, kissing her pussy, wet and his own cum was coming back, he finally stuck himself deep inside of her. Not all judgement had been robbed from him, but his horniness was amplified. He grunted, his balls slapping her, the heat of the water just a notch higher as the steam not only hid them but also kept them warm for his intense pounding.


    ¡°Madakos darling, are you getting tired?¡± She said as she shook her arse.


    This significantly goaded him to go even faster; his dick nestled in a warm wet environment, clutching her butt and tits made her clench harder, tugging at her ponytail and tracing along her back made her outright moan.


    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m keeping you Human, I¡¯m definitely keeping you, oh god¡­¡± she said.


    He ejaculated once more, and she was obviously cumming, every bit of her body was touched up, her tits and butt, she immediately went to kissing him, her eyes glowing into his once more.


    ¡°Shit that might be too much,¡± she said, ¡°oh what am I saying?¡±


    She got two flasks and filled them with water, giving them to him, which he happily chugged down, one had water and the other coconut water, she filled the same ones and did much the same. Following this most basic of nourishment she licked his penis, it was already hard, but she put the whole thing in her mouth and shook it around a bit; she proceeded to give him a vigorous blowjob, her mouth going up and down, dabbing it on and inside her cheek before he ejaculated into her mouth. She licked around the base, completely cleansing it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out, I¡¯ll treat you some more, I promise,¡± she said.


    His dick was still hard, and he followed her out with no trouble. They dried, the smell of semen, his semen now stuck to her, alongside her natural pheromones which were something else and seemed to only target him; her natural scent was sweet, tantalising in and of itself. She had dressed in her silk like clothing and was going to cook fish and vegetables. He grabbed her arse and she chuckled in amusement and pride.


    Humans don¡¯t know anything about this magic do they? Maybe it¡¯s unfair, but he will be mine. Only mine.

 5. (p.3)

    He cooked pressing his clothed genitals on her arse, she reciprocated and frankly purred, his arm slinked around her waist, hips and bust, he touched her all over. They cooked the fish, adding a variety of vegetables from corn, to beans to broccoli, coconuts, carrots and others. Eating on two plates, at some point her butt just sat directly on top of his pelvis, and she would spoon feed him, she then changed her attack to be from the side, her breasts squishing into his side to give different sensations. The food eating took longer than it needed to, and she recommended they brush their teeth which she did. Pomegranates and garlic had been fed to him to be all that more horny, her eyes stared into his, the glow giving him extra virility. Hunila lay him down, putting dick between breasts and squeezed them, going up and down with perfect pressure. She smiled just to make the effect more tantalising.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± he said, spasming as nerve endings produced electrical signals all across his body.


    He shot his load all over her chest, and she licked the mess, giggling gorgeously. She laughed again, as she felt the smooth shaved pelvis while she slotted her pelvis on top of his. He noticed the pubic hairs now, some of them stained in his cum. His virility was like that of a barbarian, and she became more elaborate in her wavy riding methods, determined to squeeze everything out of him. She rode him in the reverse cowgirl and he couldn¡¯t get enough of it. He shot his semen inside of her again. And that would continue again, and again in various positions. Finishing with him cumming inside of her on their bedsheets, rubbing his penis on her vulva for his ultimate time of the night, finishing in a missionary. Despite all the excitement, Hunila had the last laugh standing up and giving his penis a good night kiss and suck, before the both of them washed off the sweat and fluids, cleaned their bedsheets and went to sleep. He slept like a man who had been knocked out, she kissed his head, sleeping by his masculine body, pressing up against him, and puckering him with kisses, giving him a hickey on the back of his neck. Giggling internally with a smile as she hugged him.


    That way they¡¯ll know you¡¯re mine.


    She slept self satisfied, comfortably, with the most self assured smile possible.


    He woke up the next morning, utterly relaxed feeling a head bobbing up and down, she smirked when she saw him awake, her eyes did not glow, but they were glittery purple. Her tongue rolled around his penis, and she increased the pace, Madakos noticed her smooth hair going back and forth as she continuously sucked and licked. She paused.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.¡°I¡¯m sorry for glowing my eyes at you,¡± she said, ¡°I hope you¡¯re not mad.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he said stroking her hair.


    His balls were a sperm factory, she purposefully licked and sucked them before she carefully and caressingly extracted the cum from the end of his dick. His eyes rolled at the sweet sensation, she showed the sperm in her mouth, smiling satisfied, she swallowed, and very shortly after took a swig of water before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Hunila looked deep into Madakos¡¯s eyes, and he likewise stared back.


    ¡°That magic was something else, care to explain?¡± He said, scaring her a little, but he then softened, ¡°I mean it made me awesome, and I felt godly levels of relaxation, but what is that?¡±


    ¡°Us Shadow Elves have that ability, it¡¯s a charm ability, it takes a few things into consideration, like mutual feelings and magic strength and makes the affected go berserk with lust, I wanted to cement our relationshi-¡±


    He exchanged the longest kiss, hugging her tightly before picking her up and putting her down again.


    ¡°It¡¯s cemented, I am yours and you are mine,¡± he whispered, ¡°You have glued me to you, and not just sexually.¡±


    ¡°And me you,¡± she said.


    She gave a proud smile, he kissed her head, and she blushed, she blushed further when she noticed the hickey on the back of his neck. Patting his bottom and then hugging him frontally, pressing her body without regard.


    This is the best. She thought.


    They made a simple breakfast, Madakos realised his magic was all over the place. He doubled his magic abilities to include 10 super constructs, Hunila got 5 in total as did Tamura. The morning was chilly, Madakos provided for fires.


    ¡°We will be making all of you Warlocks!¡± Madakos said, ¡°every single one of you.¡±


    There was an awed public. Whispering hubbub that bubbled over into more excited cheers. Many of the Shadow Elves looked at Madakos with excitement. Korax smirked at Hunila for multiple reasons. In the meanwhile, an elder volunteered to take Zira, forgoing mana and being inundated with the new magic system, he was given extra Zira just to test whether he could still grow things like before; and he could, with that he nodded, and others mere seconds later opted for the same. Like a mass baptism, people queued up to get their Zira, receiving donations to build up constructs, until eventually, there was not one Esim or Ena clan member who did not have Zira. The island was small, and Madakos looked at everyone and wondered something very basic.


    Should we just stay here? It¡¯s not like anyone will harm us. But I suppose after a while we¡¯ll inbreed too much. What should the Warlocks do?


    Hunila used abundant Zira magic to make a velvety sofa, which they both sat on.


    ¡°What about the other Shadow Elves?¡± Korax asked Madakos and Hunila.


    Tamura pressed the same question, echoing her man¡¯s concern. Madakos scratched his head and looked to the calm ocean before him.


    Is it wise to doom the other¡¯s? What if I am truly a calamity and they die with me, surely I should spare the others from my effects. But if I¡¯m not, if I am their saviour, dooming them to live without Zira could lead to other terrible consequences. Either way by making a decision, or being indecisive, I irrevocably change their fate.

 5. (p.4)

    Korax squinted his eyes, purple eyes stared at Madakos. The others waited for an answer from Madakos, but he was clearly in his own head. The only answer, was the endless ocean, crashing on the shore, a small refuge in an enormous expanse.


    ¡°As great as this place is, we will probably have to find other settlers,¡± Madakos whispered, ¡°demographically, we can¡¯t breed endlessly with so few people,¡± he said, perhaps an answer to what Korax had asked.


    ¡°Breed?¡± Tamura smirked.


    The others also joined in laughing at Tamura¡¯s quip.


    ¡°Have kids with,¡± Hunila defended Madakos, charming him.


    Korax raised his eyebrows and chuckled a little; others likewise looked with mild amusement, but ultimately Koreax settled down and said:


    ¡°Yes that seems reasonable, I can hardly argue with that,¡± he said. I guess that sort of answers my question. Perhaps he will accept the other Shadow Elves.


    ¡°Right,¡± Madakos said.


    Neither side told each other that they were romantically attached, but both couples worked it out, probably because Tamura and Hunila were clutched the sides of the men they had claimed, both women smirked knowingly. Supplies were loaded onto the boats, for the sake of being efficient, the others were prohibited from stacking regular constructs and would be gifted one super construct each that produced 10 million zira. The two ships effortlessly glided along until the soft calm seas met yet another turbulent sea. There on what seemed like the edge of the world, the Continent of Death stood. An imperious sight, green beings interlocked on each other were as high as the clouds, two metres tall they duplicated, some falling into the sea. Both ships halted, attempting to be stable in the environment.


    ¡°What the fuck is that¡­¡± Korax whispered breathlessly, ¡°I thought this was a land of Necromancers.¡±


    ¡°Bacterium,¡± the elder whispered breathlessly, ¡°that is the name of the continent, I thought it was a myth. Bacteria are supposed to double every 20 minutes.¡±


    It was witnessed by all just a moment later, of course with so many, it was truly astounding to witness, no one blinked for a minute.


    ¡°Is that true elder? Are you sure?¡± Hunila asked breathlessly, the question, revealing she doubted her own eyes.


    Everyone doubted their eyes, their jaws wide open, their eyes even more open.


    ¡°Quite sure, especially now. It is said in 304cc a Human went there and it was only a tiny portal in the middle of the sea. But the Bacteria, they die in the presence of salt water and create earth, I think. Of course it¡¯s hard to tell fact from legend, maybe the land was always here.They are supposed to create green crystals too. He gave some to the Shadow Elves. He went back to the Western continent and vanished¡­¡± the elder said, coughing afterwards producing an astonished silence.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.¡°That¡¯s some old history,¡± Madakos muttered.


    ¡°It was in our clan library, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s true¡­¡± the elder said, with only a bit of surety, ¡°are you sure you can deal with this?¡± The elder asked a little bit irritated, his tone full of doubt, wishing to change the subject quickly.


    ¡°If we augment the Zira power of some of the clan members, we will land on the coast and do our business. Then we can cleanse the land of these foul beasts,¡± Madakos said, nodding, but not entirely sure himself.


    Every 20 minutes they doubled, some fell into the ocean, but they were remarkably sturdy, they often clambered back onto the shore, they extended beyond the clouds higher than towers, higher than mountains. Green creatures, 2 metre tall as a singular entity but of course in their multitudes they were absurdly tall and fat. A cloud of Bacteria had one mind, imitating the ocean in their undulating movements. Madakos¡¯s companions waited a few minutes. Giving super constructs to a few of the elders and instructions.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t make a beachhead return to the island, at least you¡¯ll be safe there. Otherwise only land behind us when it is safe!¡± Hunila instructed, ¡°do I make myself clear?¡±


    ¡°Crystal,¡± Korax said, ¡°but I wish to go with.¡± He paused a moment and looked at Tamura, ¡°Bestow me with more Zira. I must. I will protect Tamura.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Madakos said, beckoning him to go on the rowboat.


    They rowed forwards, and the Bacteria before them were infinite and also angry. They had given Korax 1 super construct (10 million Zira), and Madakos in turn instructed him to be defensive.


    ¡°Prioritise your own and Tamura¡¯s life, please don¡¯t die needlessly. Just save your own skin please.¡±


    Madakos first summoned a cascade of purple flames, then he put towers up, the Bacteria immediately flocked to the towers and attempted to storm them. There were more than trillions. Hunila put towers next to Madakos¡¯s flames which burnt and destroyed them as they approached, light green crystals were falling to the ground like rain would patter on the ground. Tamura and Korax joined in the defence, sturdier and sturdier towers slowly encroached on this continent. 5000 towers shot fireballs everywhere, Madakos teleported the lot of them onto the shore and immediately began shooting machine gun rate of fireballs and meteors.


    ¡°Push them back!¡± Madakos screamed.


    The Bacteria¡¯s behaviour resembled ants more than Humanoids despite their features, they rushed forwards and attempted to surmount the obstacles, swarms of Bacteria crumpled into mere crystals as endless hordes of Bacteria attempted to kill them. Fortunately Madakos burnt many to a crisp, 10 kilometre¡¯s square was cleared in an hour. Hunila innovated, creating purple fire elementals, producing thousands of them that were effectively walking flamethrowers. Despite numerical superiority, the Zira users could easily fortify a beachhead, and Hunila created underlings that went about torching the landscape. There were probably decillions of Bacteria, but they were highly vulnerable to flames. A chaotic battle that was impossible to win, but provided they did not die, that was enough of a victory. The two ships slowly docked in the new harbour, the Shadow Elves cautiously looked at the defences. Hunila, Tamura, Korax and Madakos spent all their surplus zira on destroying the Bacteria before them. The dark skies were turned crimson with flame, and the ground that lacked any vegetation was now full of ash and or crystals.

 5. (p.5)

    Thousands of kilometres away, Roderic had failed in his mission. He had politely asked various Shadow Elves if there had ever been a dark sorcerer, instead of finding them, all he saw was various confused Shadow Elven clans, a whole lot of shrugs and dismissals. Finally one said something interesting, a young shadow Elf who wore binoculars of sorts on his neck.


    ¡°Necromancers and Demons were fighting each other not that long ago, a large battle took place. It is hard to say who came out on top, although I suppose the Undead probably.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Roderic said slowly as he tried to process what he just heard.


    Stocky and short, he looked up at the Shadow Elf with a degree of skepticism, he did not particularly trust the nonhuman. The nonhuman sensed the suspicion and shrugged, as if to tell Roderic he could choose to believe him or not, after a long moment, Roderic shrugged himself and continued the questioning.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Roderic finally asked, fishing for more information.


    ¡°Both went on their separate ways, but they left a considerable stain on the environment, umm, yeah.¡±


    Roderic glared at the non human, again the Elf was not confident due to the glares, but nonetheless told Roderic what he knew.


    ¡°They did?¡± Roderic asked a little confused.


    ¡°Ashen soot, Demon corpses.¡±


    ¡°Talida,¡± Roderic said, looking at the wiry woman.


    ¡°On it,¡± she mused.


    She sent her air elementals, sending them to scout ahead in the sands. They whooshed past, kicking up dust, before sighting Maras and Ildrid, both of which were fighting Demons again.


    ¡°Again?¡± Roderic said, repeating the words Talida mumbled.


    ¡°Wait seriously?¡± The Shadow Elf said, ¡°if it wasn¡¯t terrifying to have them here, I¡¯d be laughing.¡±


    ¡°Should we fight them?¡± Nina said, ¡°I can summon some gryphons if you like.¡±


    ¡°No, give me the communication crystal. I need to contact HQ,¡± Roderic instructed, he tutted impatiently, he knew it was irrational and yet there was frustration in his voice, ¡°send me on a goose chase, don¡¯t give me any details. What a country¡­¡± he muttered to himself.


    He looked at the sand, seeing Demons with his naked eye, then he saw Talida. Her air elementals went to the Demons, but they had seemingly fled through a portal to somewhere else. The air elementals whooshed back to base, Nina came back with a communication crystal.


    ¡°Who is this?¡± The agent on the other end said.


    ¡°Can I get in touch with naval command?¡± Roderic said.


    Strangely no one replied, and it didn¡¯t sound like his call had been redirected, he pursed his lips nervously. He smelled of nervous sweat, coupled with the desert sweat that was normal with being in such a climate in the day. His two lieutenants looked at him, and he looked at them. He deliberately put the crystal on loudspeaker, there had been no mistaking that no voice was coming from the other end. 10 ships parked in the harbour, the sailors and marines getting rowdy, as a few of them had seen the Demons.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°They were no ordinary Demons,¡± a soldier yelled as he waded ashore.


    ¡°Explain yourself,¡± Roderic said.


    ¡°They are not Uriri or Teutona Demons, they are not Earth or Ice Demons, they are Fire Demons. Cahov.¡±


    ¡°We have treaty with Urir¡­¡± Roderic said, before immediately staring agape.


    He summoned water elementals as fast as he could then craned his neck and head around, desperately rushing back. Another message immediately was heard loud and clear on the communication crystal.


    ¡°Hello this is the garrison of Suno! Cahov Fire Demons are attacking us. Some of the local forts have already surrendered. Please send assistance!¡±


    ¡°This is Roderic of the third fleet. I am coming to your assistance. Hold on soldier.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the commander said, ¡°please hurry.¡±


    ¡°Talida!¡± He screamed, ¡°lets use air and water to get there as fast as possible.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take too long. Cahov had apparently not been idle, having won a few footholds on the desert continent, they had built a fleet on the great sea. Roderic''s fleet that had scrambled desperately sailed straight into the Demon fleet. The sight would have paralysed a lesser man and commander, but Roderic immediately thought of a plan.


    Arrogance leads to mistakes, still I doubt they have that much experience sailing.


    ¡°Sir there¡¯s far too many!¡±


    I know that, you moron.


    His crew stared at Roderic, as he had said it aloud, he waved his arm to shut them up for a little bit. A fleet of 400, against 10 were not good odds. Roderic scanned the battlefield to be, and for a long 30 seconds he thought. Following quiet contemplation Roderic screamed commands to his summoners.


    ¡°We are to sink as many of these scallywags as Humanly possible! Avoid the flames, douse them, save your comrades. Kill these fuckers!¡± He bellowed to much roaring from his crew.


    Roderic¡¯s water elementals emerged violently up from the water and punctured and ruptured ships, bringing others into the depths. Talida used air elementals to tear sails, ships quickly stopped moving, which allowed another summoner who used earth elementals to tear through deck, as the earth elemental smashed through each level of wood until the ship ends folded, water engulfed the Demons affected. Within 5 minutes 50 ships had been sunk, the Demons rallied, and their admiral shot fireball after fireball in attempt to chase off the attackers. Roderic quenched the flames and sunk more ships; Roderic¡¯s fleet did advanced manoeuvres, snuffed fireballs before chucking the mages responsible overboard, eventually however Roderic screamed again:


    ¡°Talida! Nina! Finish this, Suno needs us!¡±


    Gryphons descended from the sky smashing their beaks onto the decks of the Demon ships, their talons sinking into the wooden boards, their bird like cries shrieking in a resounding chorus, the vessels soon croaked into the deep seas, the Demons appropriately shouted in panic, their ships soon glugged down below the water before they vanished. The only thing left were Demons who had clung onto driftwood, staring agape at the sheer might of the third fleet. Demon flyers soon came to harass but were bit and scratched, nonetheless it made the gryphons operationally useless, as they could not assist in sinking the Sumari fleet. Talida would finish the day, her air elementals made the Demon vessels crash into each other, she partnered up with other air elemental users who did much the same, and the result was a completely marooned fleet, crunched up into each other, operationally useless. The Demons could not even retreat, those who were not sunk were on rowboats or driftwood, the coup de grace was a wave which devastated any remaining ships, and left the Demon crew deflated. Roderic upon inflicting this terrible punishment turned toward Suno. His crew were somewhat astonished. Everyone stared at him and themselves with awe.

 5. (p.6)

    ¡°How did we win?¡± One man mumbled.


    Nina walked up to the sailor and merely stood next to him, her usually angry eyes, mellow, she was awestruck by Roderic. Talida likewise stood next to the short woman, wiry looking, thin features, she was suspicious of the victory, she was the only one who bothered to look if they had truly won; everyone else cheered, some even got alcohol out, Roderic did not demand discipline, Talida¡¯s air elementals fanned out in various directions checking for an attacker. Talida did not find any enemy vessels, but still she tutted and hissed at the lack of proper vigilance.


    ¡°Amateurs¡­¡± she whispered.


    Roderic looked at his lieutenant.


    ¡°Anything?¡±


    Talida stumbled a little bit backwards, surprised at the sudden turn around in manners.


    ¡°They can celebrate, it was a feat,¡± he said, ¡°I was checking too, you can never be too sure.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it was,¡± she mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m glad admiral.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long and we¡¯ll be at Suno. I pray it hasn¡¯t fallen yet,¡± he said, his voice quivering and his fists clenching.


    Talida stayed silent and pushed the ship along with her elementals, the wind catching the sails as they glided along the waves; Roderic did much the same with his water elementals, the fleet racing through the ocean and with full stability.


    Roderic had arrived that evening, Nina¡¯s gryphons assisted the defence immediately even slightly before he fully arrived. The morale was restored and aerial attackers bested, the ground defenders assisted. The squawking of said birds, drowned out the confused Demons, the humans were awed by the reinforcements, staring at the flapping wings and sound of the large birds. The Third fleet noticed a distinct absence of enemy vessel ships, not sure if a ruse or simply the effectiveness of their operations against Cahov, they nonetheless approached the harbour cautiously. Roderic¡¯s fleet docked in, the regular troops joined the garrison, and the summoners not only repelled but obliterated the Cahov Demon attackers after a short battle. Demon infantry littered the various stairs up to the governors palace, the battlements ran red with blood, the stench was palpable, there was a quiet as soldiers and citizens waited. Roderic was near the city walls made of cobblestone; charred and chipped, creaking wooden buildings, half destroyed, some completely charred, dead on the wall, outside the wall and inside the city, the dead of both sides. Roderic shook his head, a peaceful city that he had been garrisoned in, subject to such ruthless carnage. He clenched his hand unconsciously; the air was still, blood and smoke could be smelt, what were once dry patches of dirt, now wet with blood. Roderic¡¯s water elementals were still summoned, awaiting a surprise attack of any sort, like an unsheathed sword it was ready to strike. A man was running up to Roderic, and Roderic breathed in.


    ¡°Damn bastards,¡± the commander of the garrison said, cautiously wandering up to Roderic, ¡°admiral Roderic!¡± He exclaimed his face lighting up with hope in his eyes as he said it.


    The man outright hugged the short stocky admiral. He would have kissed him, but Roderic merely patted the man on the back. Roderic could understand the friendliness, even if he wasn¡¯t entirely comfortable. Roderic smiled bemused at the garrison commander, and the cheers of his soldiers. The garrison commander was old and haggard, but he was not hiding his happiness. Some soldiers were outright crying in the background.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°I thought we were going to die,¡± one man said collapsing on his knees, ¡°I thought we were goners.¡±


    ¡°Is his name Roderic?¡± One soldier on the ramparts asked another.


    ¡°Yes it is.¡±


    ¡°Glory to Admiral Roderic! Glory to Roderic! Roderic! Roderic!¡±


    The whole battlements, practically the entire city was screaming his name. The cries for the Admiral started as a smoulder and were soon so loud they silenced anything else. Roderic took in the scene, he looked bewildered and broke into a smile. There was still a sadness about Roderic.


    I was too late, we could have avoided this. Well I had my orders I suppose. Find a dark sorcerer, was it a conspiracy? Did someone deliberately put me off course and out of the way to do an invasion? No high command probably had their reasons. I hope.


    Roderic nodded, and then said:


    ¡°Glad I could help.¡±


    Roderic laughed nervously. He did not know what to think, and just concentrated on the present.


    ¡°Help? You did more than help lad. You saved the city!¡± The garrison commander said adamantly.


    ¡°Nina?!¡± Roderic shouted.


    ¡°Already on it,¡± she said, bringing him the communication crystal.


    The stench of blood, Demon and Human was quite something, but at least Suno had been secured. The city was still elated at his presence, blue flags with white dots, the flag of Sumar were hoisted on the roofs of houses, many flags had holes in them from the Demonic flames, they fluttered slowly, as the air was near still.


    ¡°Excuse me HQ! HQ!¡± Roderic said frantically.


    The communication crystal on the other end turned on and a growl was heard followed by a terrified scream as a man was blatantly butchered. The splat of blood audible from the other side, Roderic winced at the sound. He closed his eyes, and scratched his head.


    ¡°Your pathetic Kingdom has been conquered! The royal family has been slaughtered, surrender or die!¡± The growling voice said.


    Do you think he would spare us even if we did surrender? Somehow I doubt it. Roderic thought soberly.


    Roderic turned it off slowly, looking at his lieutenants with a mixture of negative emotions. The garrison commander fell to his knees, looking up at Roderic, his face drooped and full despair had set in.


    ¡°We are doomed¡­¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Roderic said, ¡°I am admiral of the third fleet, I will Marshall Suno¡¯s resources to continue the war effort, do you understand me? Sumar lives. Sumar is not some king, it is its people. I will fight. Will you?¡± He trembled, exhaled, and shook his fist to make the point, ¡°even if it is only me. I will fight¡­¡± he said quietly, but the words produced tears in those who heard it.


    The sailors and marines all looked at him first, the words were their own kind of magic, they looked with such hope which soon turned to pure elation, they all looked with inspired eyes and ready hearts. Roderic full of righteous fury, bellowed at his troops fully and without hesitation. He stamped on the ground with his feet.


    ¡°Our kingdom has been invaded! We must kill all these Demons and send them a clear message! Suno has not been conquered! Sumar lives! I live and will fight! What will you do?¡±


    ¡°We will fight!¡± One immediately said, followed by five others, followed by everyone.


    The sailors, marines and soldiers were all cheering, chanting, and lifting their swords, and spears in the air as they psyched themselves up. Roderic took the moment in, the air trembled with the cries of so many, Roderic wiped a tear from his eye. Roderic tried to find other summoners. Then he received a call from his communication crystal.


    ¡°Yes what is it?¡±


    ¡°This is Elana of the fourth fleet, the Cahov Demons have surprised us to the extent that the royal family have been killed. Sumar city is in their control as is much of the countryside. I have dutifully held Fortus from capture, slaughtering many foes. I do not require assistance.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Roderic said, ¡°I am Roderic of the third fleet, It is a honour to defend. No. Retake Sumar.¡±


    ¡°Yes it is,¡± Elana said, seriously without getting emotional.


    ¡°I hold Suno,¡± Roderic explained, ¡°we should rendezvous and discuss strategy for the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°As you wish,¡± she said quietly and sternly.


    The call ended, but the Kingdom hadn¡¯t.

 5. (p.7)

    Madakos and Hunila had cleared hundreds of kilometres of Bacteria, night had hit the world once more. Tamura and Korax fortified more and more ground, other Shadow Elves slowly expanded their Zira production meanwhile. They could create water and then crops, but they already had a fair few supplies, eating fish and vegetable soup. The crackling of so many Bacteria was beyond combat. The crystals were largely useless to the Warlocks for Madakos could create plant and water relatively easily. The green crystals had horrifying implications for the world, Madakos sensed the danger in them; the bacteria themselves were dangerous of course, if the full weight of them were brought to bare on the continent it would ravage everything.


    The crystals will be like honey to flies, even with the Bacteria.


    Madakos felt a chill down his spine. He looked at the Bacteria in the distance with distaste in his mouth.


    ¡°They could kill everyone, but their crystals could feed everyone,¡± Madakos said, sighing and laughing in the same breath, ¡°I could kill everyone or feed everyone¡­¡± he whispered.


    ¡°It is precisely that,¡± Hunila said, ¡°but what about you? What is your plan exactly?¡±


    ¡°We could defeat them all, I guess. For now we bunker down. We clear them up in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s make housing again,¡± Korax said.


    Hunila did as much, making a small shack and a bath. Soon night hit their part of the world, and they went to rest. She was content to lay in his arms, the towers shot at oncoming Bacteria, and they merely reflected on life.


    ¡°I want to have sex with you,¡± Hunila began, shushing him with her finger, ¡°but first I want to simply soak in the water with you.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said kissing her head.


    That produced a quiet as they sat in a circular wooden tub with some hot water. She gave him her hand, and he clenched it tightly, they both sat in the tub, soaking in the hot water, she sat on his pelvis. The stress of before, soon melted away, the thoughts of worry replaced with lust.


    ¡°Soap me up, you¡¯re already hard,¡± she said, chuckling a little.


    She was soaped up, his hands moved up and down, cleaning her skin, she wagged her butt at him, and he soaped up that as well, smoothing down her thighs. He kneaded her back.


    ¡°You¡¯re good at this,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Perhaps if I wasn¡¯t a Warlock, I¡¯d enter my true vocation,¡± he whispered to a laugh.


    She smelled of the soap, he lathered it down both legs, which relaxed her, until he grabbed a cheek and waited for permission.


    ¡°Can I?¡± He said.


    ¡°Sure,¡± she quivered.


    He started fingering, sliding his finger on her vulva and sticking fingers inside her vaginal hole, then he licked, her fluids going directly onto him before he started properly eating her out. This continued for quite some time, until eventually after at least three times cumming on his face she lay down on him. For his services to her body, she bounced on top of him, producing an ejaculation that she cradled inside of her. She stared at him with glowing eyes, and she went to work, they cummed in each others arms in multiple positions, first she pinned him, then he pinned her, in a cowgirl, then a reverse cowgirl and after all that she fell into his arms, full of exhales kissing each other in a lovers embrace.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    I want to settle down. If I lose her.


    I will make babies with this man.


    They went to bed, to eventually sleep. They were in each other¡¯s arms, feeling each other¡¯s chests, the breath of each other, the mere heat of each other, they soon hypnotised each other into deep sleep. There was a sound that was soon ignored, which was the Bacteria being killed by towers and fire elementals, but that became a mere surround sound, the crackles of flames, the ash of the burned creatures and the droppings of green crystals pattered on the ground like hail on a stormy night.


    Some time later in the late morning, they ate breakfast, the Bacteria had not been allowed to grow thanks to the summons of Hunila. They continued their assaults, burning more and more Bacteria, the wind picked up and the fires spread endlessly. The Warlocks soon came across an unfamiliar sight. Three Necromancers faced them.


    ¡°How did you get here?¡± One of them said, ¡°surely you should have died¡­¡±


    A Lich Lord with skeletal hands and dexterous spells. Death coil, a death spell that killed what it touched, millions of skeletons led by another Lich, and a Reaper Lord.


    ¡°Those are the Warlocks!¡± The Reaper said, ¡°we must kill them!¡±


    ¡°Arnold¡­¡± the lich said, ¡°this is very serious. We are farming here.¡±


    Madakos breathed in and out and immediately annihilated all three with a long range shot.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Korax breathed, ¡°seriously?¡±


    Hunila mopped up the leaderless Undead, and the various Bacteria that surrounded them. Only a small trek revealed the portal. The Warlocks had fortified themselves along the trail, now Hunila sent some fire elementals into the portal, she could see beyond it, frightened by the sheer volume of Bacteria.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where it began, but there are a lot of them there,¡± she said, ¡°but who knows, maybe in that world. We¡¯ll be safe from pursuers.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± one of the elders said.


    ¡°We must go!¡±


    There was fear and apprehension, a nervousness that extended to the lot of them, for they really had conflicting emotions. To go where no one had gone was nerve wracking, but they couldn¡¯t exactly stay where they were either. There were still Bacteria on the continent of Bacterium, the continent they were standing on. Hunila cleared a path in the other world, Madakos dismantled his old towers and put towers in this other world. They immediately fried Bacteria as green crystals dropped off the dead. The Warlocks ventured into the new world, immediately firing desperately at the Bacteria; towers were erected and the Warlocks made a basecamp; purple bricks, shooting purple flames, wielded by purple magic users. Madakos stared at the endless continent.


    ¡°A city?¡± Korax whispered in awe.


    ¡°The ocean,¡± Tamura also whispered, ¡°are those ships?¡±


    Metal ships, they had advanced weaponry that shot into the beaches and shot again, after which they raked the crystals in nets. The city had walls like Madakos was accustomed to, but had strange devices shooting downwards, metal bushes designed to slow down besiegers, as well as ditches.


    ¡°It¡¯s unclear how trustworthy those Humans are,¡± Madakos said, ¡°we should fortify that hill over there and think about what we want to do.¡±


    They did as much, it was some seven kilometres away from the city, but they did exactly as intended. Built a small fortress and thought about their next moves. The terrain was a complete desert, but they used their magic to created a little oasis. The sound of poured water and collected crops were soon heard in this locale, an oasis in a sea of Bacteria.


    ¡°If anything tries to come out the portal, they will be inundated with Bacteria,¡± Hunila said out loud, ¡°I wonder if those Demons are following us.¡±


    ¡°Undead or Demons would certainly not be welcome,¡± Madakos said.

 5. (p.8)

    The smell of sweat was ameliorated by everyone making their own baths. Hunila made purple fire elementals that patrolled, as the lot of them built a lot of towers, to guard the perimeter of their little village. It was absurdly safe despite the Bacteria¡¯s ability to duplicate every 20 minutes. The treacherous landscape was noted from the other side.


    ¡°Sir, we have spotted some strange fortifications yonder!¡±


    ¡°You have?¡± The superior said cautiously, ¡°wait fortifications?¡±


    He stole the binoculars and looked at the towers that flashed purple light, purple flames that eviscerated the Bacteria, he rubbed his eyes and looked again. He smelled himself and looked again.


    ¡°You did, I shall report this to the garrison.¡±


    The walls were something found in the great world, the weapons were not. The flags were a metallic silver colour, fluttering in the wind as soldiers armed with guns ran about, shooting at the Bacteria that would approach, stakes would catch the occasional Bacteria and prevent other¡¯s from being able to mass too deeply. Nets and large brushes every now and then would extend from the walls and collect the green crystals from the Bacteria. Water, food, metal, wood, a lot came from these crystals, it was the only currency of Technonim, the people finding other forms of money superfluous, both life and death were determined by the Bacteria, and wealth. Various parts of the wall spotted the Warlocks in the distance. This got reported to the head of intelligence in his office.


    ¡°Intelligence chief sir. There¡¯s been a strange report on the walls.¡±


    His office had polished wood finish with glass cabinets that stored all his fine whisky, leather couches and satin curtains, the head of intelligence could not help glance at his own largess, rather pleased with himself while he heard the report.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He asked.


    He clicked his pen, and got the sheet of paper.


    ¡°By all accounts, it is magic users who have come from another world,¡± the soldier said.


    Stiff back, he looked straight ahead barely looking at the intelligence chief.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a general soldier, there¡¯s no real reason to be so uptight,¡± the intelligence chief said.


    ¡°Of course not sir,¡± the soldier replied, conscious of his rank.


    The intelligence chief had grey hair and blue eyes, the young soldier was notably darker complexion, with dark hair, and darker brown eyes. The racial differences between Arala and Technonim were visible, of course there was mixing now, but the Arala ethnicity was darker and more adept at dealing with the heat, the Technonim migrated to this desert from somewhere cold, many of them blonde and fairer skinned. There was a trend of the Technonim newcomers being higher up in the social strata than their Arala counterparts. The young soldier was still nervous, the yellow sand coloured uniform matched the terrain of the outside quite well, the intelligence chief wore a silver uniform like the flag.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°We are all Technonim soldier, some were Arala and others were Technonim, we share everything, it is a country for both.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s to your honour, we Arala owe you an eternal debt.¡±


    The Intelligence Chief smiled, humming quietly as he looked over the city outside his window. The metal and glass buildings surrounded the more rustic older parts of the city made of sandstone brick. Arala had been a Human kingdom that had lived in the Shadow of the Bacteria, they had no magic instead using a system of moats and salt walls, salt being a semi competent repellent of these creatures. In the end the Technonim came with advanced technology and ended their seclusion, choosing instead to blast as many Bacteria as possible and collect the resources. For 50 years that had been the case; people practicing strange magic now had established themselves beyond the protection of the city which was odd and concerning to the Technonim, the Technonim had heard from the Arala about magic, even if the Arala had not wielded it, they had fled to this world partly due to their lack of it. In another part of Aralum, looking through a spyglass soldiers looked at the Warlocks with growing suspicion.


    ¡°They must have entered through one of the portals, why they would though? Only god knows.¡±


    ¡°This place is both heaven and hell,¡± one man whispered, ¡°I suppose that makes it equal. One cancels the other.¡±


    The strong could profit from the Bacteria, but the weak very readily perished. The walls were crenelated stone, but everyone heard the constant gunfire, the flamethrowers, bombs, and more efficient machine gun fire. Verandas of brick houses, with wooden laminated porches and railings, tiles and more modernistic buildings of steel and glass were curious to look at. Those who fought and killed more Bacteria certainly did live better and there was hardly a person who didn¡¯t take part; you didn¡¯t need to be a big brawn to do so, that was the beauty of the Technonim technology, that was what they had brought the Arala. Guns and bombs could do far more damage than swords and arrows, with magic it was debatable; but everyone could have a gun, not everyone could have magic. Meanwhile hordes of Bacteria surrounded the Warlocks in the distance, no longer preoccupied with the city of Aralum. Green crystals were spent throughout markets, but even then, the society spent it on bullets and food, a militarised society where even the children held weapons. There were no inefficiencies, paving stones were barely if ever used, armoured vehicles and tanks rolled down one of the bigger avenues.


    ¡°We¡¯re going on a sally outside the walls. Open the gates!¡± A soldier cried.


    ¡°Open the gates!¡± Guards shouted echoing the orders.


    The soldiers hands flapped up and down to mimic opening as the gates cranked and groaned, the treads pressed downwards on the road. Kids gawked, and volunteers swarmed on the flanks.


    ¡°Volunteers will be limited to 50 per vehicle. Not a man more on the flanks!¡± A captain said.


    Shiny gleamy silver metallic coloured armour. They sallied out and began shooting almost immediately, rifles shooting with intense firepower, being careful to not hit each other, machine guns emanating from the vehicles also firing with great enthusiasm.

 6. Offensive

    6. Offensive


    The Cahov Demons had taken the city of Sumar and pressed the Urir Earth Demons to help the invasion from the south.


    ¡°Urir can control Fortus.¡±


    ¡°How generous ambassador,¡± Amalkur the high priest said, ¡°you offer us one city, that is very well defended.¡±


    It was a different ambassador, as it turned out Cahov had designs for the entire continent, for the entire world. They already sent a fleet toward the perilous sea in the west; troops awaited to attack Arar and Lin and Ilar. The ambassador in question pursed his lips and tutted, the smell of sulphur.


    ¡°I hate how you Earth Demons have become so cautious and bookish, you are against everything Demons stand for.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes we are grounded and reasonable¡­¡± Amalkur said aloud, perhaps taking things too far, ¡°and you are ambitious. You will not get our aid. Sorry. The prize of Fortus is all yours to take.¡±


    The mocking voice was followed by a slam by the Cahov ambassador.


    ¡°You will regret this!¡±


    Amalkur shut off the transmission, and then sat down; he was a skinny orange coloured gentleman, his eyes shared his kinsmen¡¯s for being rugged like any other earth Demon. They could portal just as much as the Cahov, and yet they focused on defending themselves.


    ¡°Regret?¡± Amalkur whispered, ¡°Ibal, do you know why we came to these lands?¡±


    ¡°No sir,¡± the other orange Demon answered honestly.


    ¡°Fleeing their tyranny.¡±


    ¡°Their sir?¡± Ibal asked.


    Amalkur stared at his servant to be a little more understanding, and the servant nodded. Amalkur stared ahead of him, not looking at Ibal, before speaking. Ibal looked at Amalkur with captivation, wanting to hear this story.


    "Perhaps it should be taught more, the kings always wanted us to be closer to the Cahov, to our fellow Demons. But like Humans or anything, different ideas, makes different societies. We can always create our own destiny. Don¡¯t you think?¡± Amalkur explained carefully, staring down as he did so.


    ¡°Earth Demons are grounded, cautious and perhaps even stubborn. Did our society make us like that, or were Earth Demons always like that?¡± Ibal asked, ¡°we have always been different, isn¡¯t that why we separated from the Fire Demons.¡±


    ¡°There is always a choice Ibal. Always¡­¡± Amalkur said softly.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°And yet so many don¡¯t choose.¡±


    ¡°And yet so many don¡¯t,¡± Amalkur repeated.


    They both sat down wistfully, a butler brought tea. The butler was dressed smartly, a tight dark orange robe befitting an Uriri official, laced with perfume, a pampered servant by all accounts.


    ¡°The King has formally abdicated,¡± the butler said, ¡°the monarchy is abolished.¡±


    ¡°I thought he would be a bit more subtle about this,¡± Amalkur muttered, ¡°but fine as he wishes.¡±


    ¡°What do you plan to do with him?¡±


    ¡°He can retire and live a peaceful life, now the priests of Urir will rule,¡± Amalkur said, he tapped the tabletops after what he said, shaking in his voice.


    Amalkur sat on the polished marble temple steps, looking down at the city. The temple was shaped like a pyramid with steps on all four sides leading to a flat top. Amalkur unlike his temple was humble, his actual living space was a simple place; a small house with few furnishings, simple amenities to cook and wash. He went down the stairs, and soon into a public street, he knew the consequences of what he was about to do. Different shades of orange all the way to almost brown, that was the ethnic composition of Earth Demons.


    ¡°The high priest is here?¡± Was the murmured hubbub that many repeated.


    Amalkur alongside other Uriri priests stood on a platform to address the market crowd. Amalkur stared at the citizens before him, now his citizens. Parents held their children, regular citizens ate pretzels, artisans worked on their goods.


    ¡°Great citizens of Demona, for many years the King wanted to protect you from the truth. The truth of our origin,¡± confused faces absorbed the voice of the high priest, nearly drowning him out. Other priests calmed the masses as all paid attention now, ¡°he was not a bad man, we left because they were controlling, ever expansionist and maniacal. Cahov, our fire Demon cousins, they want war and conquest. So we fled to these lands, fortified ourselves and waited. Cahov did not come. Until now.¡±


    ¡°The King betrayed us!¡± A voice bellowed from the crowd.


    ¡°No he did not,¡± Amalkur said graciously and angrily, ¡°we didn¡¯t tell people so they wouldn¡¯t be scared. And yet we prepared anyway. Hatred is often a pointless emotion, but fear, well fear can be extremely rational. I¡¯m not telling you this to be scared. Urir is preparing for defence. Many eons ago we fled the Cahov, but they are back, and who knows what they¡¯ll do. I will fight. But what about all of you, will you fight with me?¡±


    It was soft spoken, but it echoed in all the spectators heads, one man on a lizard was the first to scream for Urir, but soon it spread to another and then like one big infection everyone was shouting for Urir. Amalkur wiped tears from what his words had created.


    ¡°They can beat me. They can beat you,¡± Amalkur said pointing at a soldier, ¡°but they can¡¯t beat all of us! As one spirit, we can fight!¡± Amalkur paused, a loud silence pervaded as his words sinked in, ¡°we will make them bleed for every town, for every fortress, for every house, we can make them bleed for every pebble! You, all of you, have the power to punish them for ever setting foot in our country! Every centimetre is a battlefield. We will chase them away with whatever we have, and they will be so tired of us that they will beg us to let them leave. You have that power! You all have that power! Fight and keep fighting, and don¡¯t stop! And Cahov. No. The entire world wouldn¡¯t be able to invade Urir! You have that power!¡± The last words were said in a tremble, but it was the spectators who trembled in delight.


    For a brief second, there was silence. Tears welled up in every eye. The crowd had a current running through it, roaring electrically. The whole thing had been recorded, soldiers and agents themselves moved to tears, moved beyond emotions. The local market vibrated. Amalkur walked down from the platform and was immediately talked to by a soldier.


    ¡°There is a large battle at Fortus. A spy has shared his vision with us.¡±


    ¡°Not here,¡± Amalkur said, ¡°let¡¯s not scare the people.¡±

 6. (p.2)

    They went to a barracks, soldiers immediately crowded around, word of what Amalkur had said had been propagated endlessly throughout Urir, they all stared, a humble skinny man who had done little politicking. Many faces were shocked at the man they saw, wondering how he in particular had managed to animate the crowds. They unconsciously clutched their weapons, whispering, and making faces that showed obvious doubts.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to fight too you know,¡± he said softly.


    That produced even more awe.


    ¡°Say that again?¡± One soldier said, recording what was to be said with a magic crystal, he was not obvious with it, but perhaps his tone betrayed his intentions.


    ¡°I will fight too you know,¡± Amalkur repeated, more resolutely, ¡°I know I am not strong, but it¡¯s not because of strength that we fight, is it? Fight for each other, and never give up hope.¡±


    The soldiers were almost wailing, Amalkur calmed them down with soft words. An intelligence officer calmly surmised his leader in his head.


    He leads with softness in a way that is most unusual, and yet every person in the country is touched by it. A thousand edicts, ten thousand laws would not have produced the result he just accomplished.


    The soldiers faces were full of quiet respect and admiration. One of the spy chiefs with great respect and newfound admiration, showed their latest intelligence gathering operation.


    ¡°This is the attack on Fortus¡­¡±


    The magic crystal had four men putting magic into it, and the image was clear as it was incredible. A blonde woman commanded metal Golems that were slicing through the hordes of Cahov Demons, hissing Fire Demons that swarmed her citadel were being butchered by the lady commander. The Golems varied in size, but they were sturdy 1.5 metre or even 2 metre tall models that feared nothing, and so were fully suited for combat against Cahov Demons.


    ¡°She is a brave woman,¡± Amalkur whispered, ¡°and?¡±


    ¡°Our spies report that said woman is Elana of the fourth fleet, apparently the third fleet commander Roderic has returned and taken the city of Suno, or rather prevented it from being taken by Cahov.¡±


    ¡°The nation of Sumar is left with two coastal cities,¡± Amalkur summarised the situation, ¡°prepare all the fortresses, everyone should be on maximum alert!¡±


    A soldier burst through the wooden door, making the entire barracks stare. Sweat crinkled down the man¡¯s face, his lip ends thawed by cold weather, his eyes stared at Amalkur and the barracks.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.¡°We are under attack!¡±


    ¡°For fucks sake,¡± Amalkur winced, ¡°get the soldiers together, Cahov must pay!¡±


    He got his magic crystal communicator and immediately began screaming orders to anyone who would listen.


    ¡°Mobilise everyone, do not let them enter our country. And if they do, fight.¡±


    Cahov had already done that, Devils not just any old Demons had invaded, stormed border fortresses, and killed scores of Uriri soldiers, and many civilians; Cahov had no mercy for the Uriri Demons, their fellow Demons were mercilessly butchered, burning with no regard.


    ¡°Burn the traitors! Extinguish their bloodlines!¡± One distinct raspy Cahov officer shouted.


    Imps swarmed beleaguered Earth Demon soldiers, who tried their best to survive, large Fire Demons summoned meteorite sized flaming boulders to outright demolish defensive fortifications. Some Earth Demons chucked boulders back, but others were merely slaughtered, burnt to a crisp by the ravenous Cahov horde. Devil¡¯s reviving dead Cahov soldiers to throw them back into the fray.


    ¡°The Warlock isn¡¯t here? So why are we?¡± An imp asked aloud, the imp asking a question most profound, but it was lost in the cries of other imps, subsumed by the mass of infantry.


    The other little imps carried pitchforks, hatchets, knives; short and tenacious but ultimately cannon fodder. Cahov¡¯s red crimson flags were carried by enthusiastic Fire Demons. They created portals throughout the realms. Cahov Hordes burned crop fields and they fought Earth Demons who rallied to mustering stations, who built massive earthen walls and pushed back the Fire Demons at many points. Amalkur had successfully rallied many Earthen Demons in Demona to fight, his words recorded by some patriots; echoed across the whole of Urir. Futile defences were made, men, women and even children partook in the defence of their land, of their people; fanatical charges, ambushes. The massacres were everywhere, and yet the Demons of Urir fought against their Imperialist cousins. Earth mages tore up the ground, for every centimetre transgressed there was punishment inflicted upon them. The land of Urir was wet with blood, Demon steel clanged in every corner of Urir, children and women wailed, men groaned and choked with blood. An image of a more than regal figure. High Priest Amalkur, a thin man, armed with crossbow, pressed forward, albeit guarded by elite Uriri infantry, the Earth Demon galvanised every soul of Urir into action; Amalkur¡¯s face was seen on communication crystals, his words rang from pockets of the dead. What seemed like dead Earth Demon soldiers rose up like the Undead to stab and kill their Cahov cousins; Devils were felled in this suicidal manner, and Cahov tasted Urir¡¯s resolve. Urir would not surrender. Urir¡¯s orange flag with a red flame would flutter still.


    Across the ocean, 50 Devils teleported themselves to the western continent.


    ¡°This must be it,¡± One of them said hissing in flames.


    It had angular features, claw like fingers, teeth like razors and magma hot hands.


    ¡°Cahov is getting ahead of themselves trying to conquer this world,¡± another said, ¡°I think the Warlock went that way.¡±


    They teleported onto the continent, summoned Demons, and immediately began battling the Bacteria that infested the continent. Oceans crashed into oceans, Bacteria slashed and bit into Demon flesh, the chaotic melee accruing many casualties, both sides jostled for victory in a stalemate. Maras the Spectre Lord observed the nonsense battle from afar and squinted to observe what he was truly looking at.


    ¡°Why are those fools¡­ why wouldn¡¯t they use the big units? They invade the continent and now they¡¯re here grinding themselves into dust. Devils?¡± Maras muttered to no one in particular.

 6. (p.3)

    Three ghost messengers appeared before Maras as he looked at them with disdain.


    ¡°The Dark council knows of your reckless actions, they wish to inform you that the Angels and the Demons have made an accord. As have we. Dina has signed a treaty with the Demons.¡±


    ¡°An accord?¡± Maras echoed indignantly, ¡°what do you mean an accord?¡±


    If his skeletal face could make expressions it would have, because every fibre of his soul was shocked. The Ghosts simply stared at him, hoping for the Spectre Lord to calm down.


    ¡°Why are Dina so passive? Explain to me what¡¯s going on?¡± Maras growled at them.


    ¡°Dina wanted to kill the Warlock, but the Demons have emphatically said they will do so. Cahov noted your skirmish and if you don¡¯t stop fighting them, you will be unaffiliated.¡±


    Maras looked at them again with shock. One carried a communication crystal that lit up with the face of a Dina general, a Lich Lord.


    ¡°We have made deals with the Demons child. Unless you feel like leaving the fold of Dina Necromancers, do what is wisest.¡± The threat delivered in a most cold demanding manner.


    The Spectre Lord clutched his skeletal nose bridge and chuckled.


    These cowardly pricks.


    Ildrid had commanded his skeletons to battle the Bacteria in the background, slowly he grew his forces while he observed the situation.


    ¡°I will do as you do Maras.¡±


    Maras had a dilemma, he could follow the Dark Council of Dina and sit on the sidelines while momentous things happened, or he could act. Clutching his skeletal face, squeezing his skeletal hands, until he finally announced his decision.


    ¡°Ildrid!¡± He screamed, ¡°how does the life of an outlaw feel?¡±


    ¡°So be it,¡± the ghost messengers said, ¡°Dina will hunt you like a dog.¡±


    ¡°Rather that, then live like one¡­¡± Maras snarled.


    The ghosts promptly left, seemingly not willing to talk with the rebel Undead any longer, leaving Ildrid and Maras alone.


    ¡°And I shall bark at my own discretion!¡± Maras said, clasping his cloak, turning to Ildrid ¡°never have we been more alone, I became Undead to enact true justice, not be some dog. Now Ildrid, here. We will need these to better coordinate our forces.¡±


    Maras gave a communication crystal, white see through crystal, this one in particular even had the option of a primitive hologram to see the face of the person talking to you. Ildrid nodded. They both began a ferocious attack on the Bacteria, now more than ever they needed to gather resources in order to fight. Maras got his Ghouls together and put them to collect death mana, they flayed and tore the Bacteria in front of them to pieces, which would allow Maras to grow his Undead army. Ildrid produced phalanxes of spearmen, axemen and archer skeletons which soon disappeared into a din of battle. Maras summoned five more Spectres.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Ildrid gather your forces, you can survive against these bastard Bacteria right?¡±


    ¡°Most probably,¡± the skeleton said.


    ¡°Then do so, I will go after the Demons. Stay away from the coast, Dina will likely try send units to hunt us down,¡± his voice had the ominous tone of a Spectre and the kindness of a comrade.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Ildrid said.


    The ghosts had left likely to give news to Dina about the intransigence of Maras. A bodyguard unit of Wraiths chucked knives at fantastic rates, while ravenous Ghouls bludgeoned and behaved like animals. Maras moved forward, he saw Demons 50 kilometres away from him. He slaughtered and slaughtered, 100 Reapers twirled their blades forward, Bane worked as mobile healing stations. Ildrid crept deeper into the landscape of the continent, there he fought pitched battles all by himself. The din of battle was all that could be heard, as blades hacked, and stabbed, arrows constantly flew overhead; battle raged and Ildrid¡¯s endless spear walls protected him from endless hordes of self replicating Bacteria. He gathered the death mana and raised more forces, the perfect battleground for his Undead army.


    Meanwhile a continent away, Uther had established a military port for the Cahov. There were umpteen different kinds of ships. Thousands of Cahov soldiers in orderly ranks, and monstrously large Demons armed with long glowing blades and axes, and of course imps armed with pikes and spears. Supplies had been teleported in, but their future plans were to use the western continen: ¡®Bacterium,¡¯ for resources. The port had metal buildings, otherworldly wood that was darker and more menacing. The smell of Demon sweat, Demon food, Demon fornication and Demon shit.


    ¡°The most important element in controlling this world, is having lots of places to station our troops. The western continent is rich and we can use this land to send our troops for resources and to eliminate our rivals,¡± Uther said ominously, ¡°the Demon Lord could fall over or something.¡±


    Cahov soldiers and officials stared at Uther¡¯s obviously seditious words. Spies lurked behind, noting down what was being said, taking stock of the obvious factions forming, but not necessarily reporting anything; the spies eyes glanced from underneath cloaks, their faces glinted in grins, or kept completely expressionless.


    ¡°Uther, your designs in Cahov politics are foolish, but loudly proclaiming them is even more foolish,¡± a Demon officer said, ¡°wagging your tongue like this has to be some special kind of stupid.¡± The officer seethed so much that magma hot spittle flew out his mouth, "I am not part of your moronic plots. Even if I were, I don¡¯t know if you remember-¡± the officer was suddenly interrupted by an admiral.


    ¡°Uther, many of our ships were destroyed, unfortunately we can¡¯t portal ships into this world. We need to avoid these kind of naval battles where we get destroyed, the officer is correct.¡±


    ¡°Yes concentrate on what you can control you big fucking moron,¡± the officer said.


    Uther stared at the officer, and eventually the officer lifted his arms and walked away.


    ¡°Correct admiral, but the most important thing is that we eliminate the Warlocks, if they are around they can hold our invasion at bay,¡± Uther mused, ¡°we need utter elimination of them, and subjugation of the continent.¡± Only then can my other plans take shape.


    Shipwrights hammered wooden planks into place, others put sails up, others carried barrels, crates of food, hemp turned into sinews of rope. What was transpiring both east and west was familiar yet unknown.

 6. (p4)

    Maras finally caught up to the Demons. Grinning internally, he said the fateful words.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Some Spectres assassinated some of the more prominent Demons, and even killed one Devil before Ghouls and Reapers rushed forward ready to do battle. The Demons faces quivered in rage and confusion. One Demon general managed to blast through a Ghoul only to have his head sliced off.


    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Another general said, ¡°weren¡¯t we supposed to have peace with Dina? What is this madness?¡±


    A Demon in the back, unaffected by the commotion, watched the madness as his communication crystal lit up and began sparkling in front of him.


    ¡°I was just about to call you and ask you what¡¯s happening. This transgression of the treaty is so blatant it¡¯s comical.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t us¡­¡± the Undead voice on the other end said.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t¡­ you?¡± The general said, flabbergasted not understanding anything.


    The slaughter still visible to the Demon, he truly did wonder if this was some sophisticated psi-ops, incredulity was in the Demon¡¯s every facial expression, he tightened his grip on his blade, readying for battle.


    ¡°He has been excommunicated and we will hunt him. That is Maras, a Spectre Lord, he also has a skeletal ally.¡±


    ¡°He does?¡± The general said, looking around, but not seeing Ildrid anywhere, ¡°So?¡± The tone demanded answers even if he didn¡¯t outright say it.


    ¡°I am, not going to dally with you Demon. But suffice to say, he¡¯s a traitor who has deliberately disobeyed orders. He is not affiliated with Dina,¡± the Undead voice said coldly.


    ¡°Ok,¡± the general said with slightly lighter spirits, he hung up and then addressed his compatriots, ¡°kill these Undead scum! That traitor is wanted by the rest of the Undead!¡±


    Fire followed, fire magic burning some Undead fighters, but nonetheless Reapers were remarkably adept at dodging, dancing away from the flames and parting flames as well as parting heads from shoulders. Maras hopped around the battlefield, Bacteria interspersing the battle with their own savage battle they seemed to be having with everything. Maras noted a Lich Lord and a Zombie Lord carrying the Dina banner.


    Damn it, of course they have a small base on this continent don¡¯t they. This is where they harvest death magic, using the Bacteria as a resource. I should withdraw northwards. There is no profit facing Undead soldiers.


    Maras headed northwards, the Zombie Lord slowly plodded away, but the Lich Lord and his underlings were casting long range attacks, which after about the fifth time missing him, Maras decided he had enough.


    ¡°Ah no, no more Dina,¡± he muttered.


    His Spectres hopped and hopped, destroying both Lords, and making the underlings devolve to aimlessly fight the Bacteria.


    ¡°The Undead are fighting each other!¡± One overly naive and hopeful Demon shouted.


    ¡°Were,¡± Maras whispered in correction.


    The Black flag with orange stripes that the Dina commanders held flopped to the floor. Maras nonetheless headed northwards, conscious of the fact that he could not actually slaughter the entire Demon army, nonetheless he used Spectres to hop and take out commanders while his Reaper¡¯s engaged the bulk of the army.


    ¡°Die Necromancer! Die! Die! Die!¡± A more proficient Devil screamed.


    50 Devil¡¯s revived their comrades, but this didn¡¯t stop Maras raising more Ghouls and creating an endless stalemate, which was only broken when three portals opened and thousands upon thousands of Cahov Demons came from their realm and pushed him back. One of the Devils had found where Madakos had gotten to. So excited he merely waltzed through a portal.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°We found the Warlock!¡± The Demon screamed, before being hushed by their superiors.


    They went through a portal, unwittingly being fried by towers on the other side. Maras clasped his head.


    Why was I even? I was just a pawn. For so so long, I was nothing but a pawn for other¡¯s designs. But I can become so much more. So much more.


    Ghouls and Reapers pounced on the exposed flanks, and they won the reward of dead Demon flesh, but soon Maras withdrew into the endless sea of Bacteria.


    ¡°Ildrid, are you alright?¡± Maras said frantically.


    ¡°Yes, just collecting.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Maras sighed in relief, ¡°good, good. Stay where you are, I¡¯m coming to you.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Maras fled from the Demons, who crossed their arms in frustration and anger. Some even screaming their damnations at him, others just staring angrily.


    ¡°Bastard,¡± one seethed, fire coming out of his mouth.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we give chase!¡± A soldier said, clutching his spear.


    ¡°Do you think you will kill him?¡± An officer said, ¡°besides look at all those Bacteria, I¡¯m not going on some goose chase in that!¡± The officer said pointing at the immense horde of Bacteria.


    The soldier pursed his lips and halted, nodding, realising his folly. They went through the portal, thousands at a time, when Madakos¡¯s address was found, other Demons opened other portals into his world. It was afternoon, and the Demons made it all that much brighter with their flames. The Demons were immediately spotted by the camped Warlocks who instinctively shot purple flames. Towers shot rapidly, and Demon soldiers and beasts collapsed even more rapidly. The Demons gathered more and more intel, Devils teleporting into a sea of hostile Bacteria, but nonetheless began their assault on the set of fortifications the Warlocks had so diligently erected. Towers arced purple flames, fire should not have burnt Demons, and yet this fire did, frequently and without mercy. Hunila and Madakos arced shots at any Demon who dared to show themselves. The Bacteria bit into Demons who wailed and screamed.


    ¡°Damn it, this is fucking chaos,¡± one Demon winced, ¡°all this to destroy the Warlocks.¡±


    ¡°They must be eliminated!¡± A Devil screamed, ¡°kill them all!¡±


    Meanwhile on the walls, the entire Technonim garrison was agitated. Guns prepared, artillery loaded, snipers readying, commanders frantically talking into radios, shouting over one another.


    ¡°Demons! Demons have invaded!¡±


    ¡°What are you on about soldier¡­¡± the officer said, clattering his gun as he looked at the chaos.


    Demons were killing Bacteria, Bacteria killed Demons, towers and Warlock purple flames killed both with relative ease. The bells of Arala rang, but not even that was paid the slightest bit of attention to by the Demons or Warlocks, too busy killing one another to pay attention to anything else. Demons poured in from hell, some in organised marching columns, others in hordes ready to bore into the fortifications. Hunila immediately doubled the amount of towers, the towers killed thousands at a time. In this moment of sheer carnage five Devils disappeared, and then reappeared grabbing Madakos¡¯s wrists and then disappeared again. Madakos killed all five, attempting to teleport back to the fortifications, but another set of Devils used some kind of anti magic spell, and whisked him away.


    ¡°The Warlocks are too powerful, let¡¯s have them come to us!¡± A Devil said, in taunt.


    It was destroyed by Hunila, Hunila still couldn¡¯t see him.


    In a fury she destroyed all the Demons on the field, and when more came, they too were obliterated. Her eyes lit up, but this was not lust, this was pure fury, the lilac colour beamed out as she massacred all the Demons who dared face her.


    ¡°My man!¡± She screamed, ¡°give me back Madakos!¡±


    ¡°Calm down,¡± Korax attempted.


    She swivelled her head the intensity of the purple flames all that much more seething.


    ¡°Calm? Down. Well of course. Aren¡¯t I perfectly calm!¡± She said, still having time to do sarcasm, albeit in pure fury.


    The bowls of hell were something. Cahov had their own continent, their own world to themselves, ruled by their Demon Lord. Madakos had chains on his arms and legs, bound like a convict and yet he did not struggle, he tried to play it smart. He saw the great Demonic realm. He had 15 super constructs funnelling Zira into him from afar, and he waited, worrying about his woman, and the consequences of all this. Grinning Demons and Devils carried him, battering him around with little care. The sky was orange red, the ground was molten, and Madakos could have been forgiven for giving into despair. The Technonim meanwhile stared aghast, seeing the true terror of Warlocks, only the sea of Bacteria were left, but even they were clearly dented by the magic of Warlocks.


    ¡°Where are these Demons?¡± A commanding officer said, ¡°if this is a prank I will have the lot of you cleaning latrines.¡±


    Instead of explaining, they simply handed him binoculars, not that it was truly needed. The corpses of Demons and Bacteria were visible even with the naked eye, they were spotted all around the Warlocks base.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± he whispered, ¡°never ever antagonise them. I¡¯ll tell all the generals.¡±


    The Technonim were beyond shocked, they were all secretly impressed, scared, their hairs standing up on their arms and legs. They exchanged awed whispers telling each other to never mess with the Warlocks. Corpses turned to ashes in many cases, but even then, there were corpses left, corpses that could prove what seemed impossible, corpses showing who to never mess with.


    ¡°Yes sir, do tell the generals, they need to know¡­ urgently,¡± a soldier said, awed into silence.

 7. Hell

    7. Hell


    Cahovia, the royal capital of the Cahov Demons was splendid if one only looked at the quarters for the wealthy, there were palaces and rich gardens for the various nobility, a Devil¡¯s quarter, specifically for them; ornate, and tidy; all kinds of demonic plants, beautiful to demons perhaps, but to humans probably disturbing, cut into all sorts of shapes and sizes. Imps and soldiers on the other hand lived in barracks like conditions with little hope of social advancement. There were thousands of soldiers looking at the Human being dragged, his feet seared on the lava pools, he attempted to heal himself as the vast majority of his Zira was somehow sealed off. He felt more super constructs being connected to him somehow, the energy however faint eking out of him.


    ¡°Beat him, he needs to learn his place. His friends will soon be executed.¡±


    ¡°Executed? I guess he¡¯s just a rag doll until then.¡±


    Needless to say they hit him and singed him, pouring salt water over his wounds. Dark stone surrounded him, he was kept in a public square for prisoners, his feet placed on scalding stone, the walls flanked him, guards stationed on the walls, and on the paths leading to the square. The amount of light fluctuated, between harrowing darkness, and blinding flaming light. Large Demons guarded some intersections. Hunila meanwhile took the time to breathe in, rigging herself up to 20 super constructs.


    ¡°200 million¡­¡± some of her kinsmen said breathlessly.


    ¡°Stop this madness, you can¡¯t be serious!¡± Korax said breathlessly.


    ¡°I can and will,¡± she uttered, ¡°this is more than just a simple rescue. This is vengeance,¡± she seethed.


    Hunila teleported into the Demonic realm of Cahov, she had been redirected to the southern realms. Why she was redirected she could not discern, but as she did so she was met by hell minions which she soon promptly dispatched. Towers sprouted in the landscape, and her own minions, soulless purple fire elementals soon scoured the countryside. Marching along what passed for country roads, dark cobblestone in the red background of an eerie looking hell. She teleported along in short bursts. Seeing a Demon fortress guarding a crossroads, she surrounded it with ten towers as they rained down purple flames, a white flag was raised and she appeared before the beleaguered garrison commander.


    ¡°So?¡± She asked, ¡°where is this? Where would they keep prisoners?¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Prisoners?¡± The moderately sized Demon repeated, ¡°I have no idea, I just keep guard of this stretch of road.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, I followed those damn bastards through their portal, but it must have redirected me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the Demon admitted, gulping audibly, ¡°Cahov redirects people here if they come uninvited.¡±


    A horde of Demons had noticed her, large and small they flocked to kill her, and she immediately directed her fire elementals, they were unconcerned with moving fire, thinking themselves invulnerable, but soon found themselves writhing and turning to ash, to much shock among them.


    ¡°How?¡± The Demons of the fortress whispered breathlessly.


    Purple flames shot out of her hands and destroyed Demons instantly. She stood over the corpses of thousands of large Demons, towers sprouted and shot at thousands more. She rotated her head like a guardsman, and wondered where to wander, she shot a purple plume that destroyed so many Demons, that the Demons on the tower merely gawked at her mesmerised by her sheer power.


    Damn it, where is he?


    She saw a sign in Demon script, she had no idea what it said, until through mere gleaning and spending of Zira, she knew exactly what it said.


    ¡°Goblina, 500 leagues, Carson 60 Leagues, Cahovia 1000,¡± she growled. Which one is he at?


    She teleported in front of Goblina, it seemed they couldn¡¯t redirect her as long as she was already within the Demon realm. She put her towers in front of the city walls, blowing apart stretches of walls before quite quickly overwhelming the garrison. Demon armies followed her from all over the place intending to kill or capture her, they failed. Millions of Demons lived in Goblina, but what was quite striking was the sheer number of slaves inside the city. Everywhere. Chains around the necks of these green and orange looking Goblins. Thin emaciated, some bigger than others, some stronger than others, they ranged from 1.5 metres to a mere half a metre. The information overloaded into Hunila¡¯s brain, she intended to look for Madakos, help find him in this mess, but instead she saw endless slave after slave, most living in abject squalor. They were controlled through slave collars that stopped them disobeying their masters, she broke them from afar, shattering them instantly; that already had the goblins attention, they looked at the figure who had done so, shocked and in awe. Hunila then prepared her speech voice, her lilac eyes glowed in a fury that could be seen from down below.


    ¡°I have come to find my man, kidnapped by these foul Demons. He is not here, whatever you are, whatever your story, you deserve better than this. So in light of our mutual enemies I give you this!¡±


    When a Demon tried to snipe her with a crossbow, she in turn sniped the crossbowman, audibly shocking slave and Demon alike. Goblins picked up spears, and given the large casualties of the garrison already, Demon soldiers were easily overwhelmed and then gutted. Hunila precipitated a slave revolt like no other in Demon history; Goblins shrieked in appreciation, lifted arms into the air, absorbing the god like figure who had saved them. The annals of Goblin history, would have this moment immortalised forever.


    Wait for me my dear. I hope I am not too late.

 7. (p2)

    Madakos was being beaten with sticks and having the skin of his feet burned off for fun. Zira eked into him, and he tried his hardest to make it count. He memorised the faces of the Demons around him.


    Will I torture you when I am free? Or will I kill you? So many questions. Let¡¯s focus on staying alive.


    ¡°Sir! There¡¯s been a rebellion in Goblina!¡± A soldier hurriedly reported.


    ¡°Rebellion?¡± The Demon turned confused.


    A Devil appeared, leaving red flames and immediately stuck a red crystal into Madakos¡¯s brain. It did not kill him.


    ¡°Change of plans, we will make him a Devil. His magic system will become a weapon for the Demons. For Cahov.¡±


    Madakos lost all sense of reality. Collapsing onto the ground, as Demonic laughter rattled inside his head. He writhed on the floor, the beatings were impossible to feel, confused anxious mad laughter erupted from Madakos, as he was in his own world now; the faces mixed inside his head; it was unclear who the torturers were, what reality even was, madness ensued.


    Hunila besieged the next city of Carson. She was brutal with the guards, piercing their guts, city walls a sea of purple flames, large Demons came out of sewers, an esteemed elite unit that was immediately torched, turned into dust. Hunila prowled the city¡¯s streets, in reality looking for Madakos, all she found were vengeful Demons who she defeated. She put towers all over, but she could see no Human anywhere. The towers spared the innocents, but soldiers were fair game, torched, imps were also torched, their impish screams being banished into the ether. The city walls, a black brick that the Cahovians loved so much was aflame with purple. She teleported into the governor¡¯s palace, a confused and scared governor, hid behind his leather office chair. Marble inside, a more pristine and polished look than anything she had seen before. An elite noble, he waited with a sceptre, an ornament of his power as a governor, he pointed at the threat and shouted:


    ¡°Die Elven wretch!¡±


    Two magic wielding Demons charged attempting to end the threat, Hunila didn¡¯t even turn her head piercing them with thick Zira shots, leaving two corpses.


    ¡°What do you want? Who are you?¡± The Governor said, ¡°kill her!¡±


    There was no one to carry out such an order, instead Hunila used her fire elementals to block off the corridors, her eyes glowed in pure fury, glaring at the governor. She clasped her fist making an audible cracking sound.


    ¡°Stand up! Where is he?¡± She demanded.


    He did so, not understanding what was happening.


    ¡°Man? I don¡¯t¡­ prisoners would be kept at Cahovia, probably,¡± he said desperately trying to save his life.


    She slammed the man into the wall.


    ¡°Fuck, what the?¡± Hell was that for. The Governor said and then thought breathlessly. Is that a Warlock? Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°You see the others,¡± Hunila said, ¡°I¡¯m doing you a mercy stupid.¡±


    She broke down the ornate door leading into his mansion for no particular reason, torched guards who attempted to attack her, and teleported in the general direction of Cahovia. The Demon Empire was vast, and there were signs to all kinds of places, she scanned the scenery, not caring for anything but vengeance and rescuing Madakos as quickly as possible; she tutted, and clasped her sweaty palms, she was beyond furious, every fortress was beamed with thick Zira magic, the soldiers often dropping out of the fortifications to take cover; she was not quite so merciful with soldiers in the field that were sent to stop her, not even cinders were left. She teleported and teleported, and scanned the magma fields and charred landscape, but eventually she found what she was looking for. There she stood before the walls of Cahovia, a mixture of excitement, extreme fear and rage at the Cahov Demons for putting her through this. Her Shadow Elven fists were clenched ready to absolutely annihilate anything that got in her way. Three large walls, the inner sanctum being 100 metres tall, the other two were 50 and 20 respectively. Breaching the first, then the second was risky, for she didn¡¯t bother to subdue it, she reached the inner wall and shouted for Madakos. The man caught in a state of delirium having Demons and Devils inside his head; immediately broke all constraints within a mere instant, obliterating the Demon crystal inside of him, and torched the guards who had been torturing him. Zira flowed into him like a burst dam.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he muttered, ¡°these fucks have no manners.¡±


    A Demon attempted to clobber him, but had its hands and legs sliced off in a mere instant, the wispy purple flame enveloping the corpse. The Demon writhed in front of him.


    ¡°Using me as bait. Damn you all!¡± He said, unwittingly killing two Devil¡¯s next to him.


    Madakos saw a figure, standing on the inner wall, visible from the square he was tortured on; eyes that softened with every look at him. Madakos teleported to her.


    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± He said, incredulous and happy, ¡°tell me this isn¡¯t a dream?¡±


    He had tears in his eyes, and infinite gratitude. He was hugging her with full force.


    ¡°Of course not. You idiot! You moron! You had me so worrie-¡±


    He kissed her and put her out of her mind, out of her shouting.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, his head on her shoulder, ¡°the fact you came for me, is something I will never ever forget,¡± Madakos whispered in sheer gratitude.


    She shot two Demons behind him, and then erected towers out of spite.


    ¡°We should get out of here, we can certainly whittle them down, but there are many of them. Far too many,¡± Madakos said breathlessly.


    ¡°I assure you, I would and could annihilate every last one of them. They hurt you, I will never forgive them!¡±


    ¡°Thank you Hunila,¡± he whispered, holding her waist tight, ¡°there are innocents among them, I forgive them.¡±


    She looked down at his tattered self, evidence of scars from the Demon torture, grimacing at them, staring at them more intensely and then at his face.


    ¡°If that is your wish,¡± she said. I will never forgive them. But if you do. Then I will¡­ sort of.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get the fuck out of here,¡± Madakos whispered with a tired smile.


    Both blipped back to their fort they had in the land of Bacteria. Madakos healed himself somewhat, but Hunila helped a lot. Although with near infinite Zira, there was still residual pain, shock and trauma from being tortured, and from having Demon crystals stuck in his brain.


    ¡°Refortify this place!¡± Madakos ordered, ¡°there are far more Demons than I imagined.¡±


    ¡°Something tells me we¡¯ll be alright,¡± Hunila mused.


    Many powers on the continent feared what a warlock could do, but Cahov had discovered exactlyexactly what they were so afraid of and why it was so foolish to antagonise one. Madakos¡¯s fears of reprisals would never come, Hunila would become a folk story for aeons into the future, a story to scare Demon children if they misbehaved; what she did was so outlandish, it seemed unreal to many, but everyone who witnessed it and was lucky to survive said she was a force of nature. Some even recounted Hunila in troubadour tales, a she wolf; but Madakos was regretful, his she wolf had risked a lot to come rescue him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Hunila, had I not been so¡­¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Hunila laughed, ¡°you did nothing wrong, nothing at all.¡±

 7. (p.3)

    She soothed him, putting her hand on his front and back, but he had suffered psychologically, a nagging feeling that he had been too weak, Hunila disabused him from that notion. Placing her hand on his feet, on his chest, on his arms and legs. He decided to quickly heat up some soup. The rest of the village was informed of his rescue and were happy for it, most smiled knowingly. Hunila put healing salves on where his wounds were, even though they had healed already, having a calming effect if not a healing effect. Her eyes lit up, and he felt the hypnotic light, they were filled with lust, he brushed her face and kissed deeply. She kissed his chest multiple times; holding his dick in her hands,


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what I¡¯d do if they¡¯d damaged this,¡± she purred.


    He chuckled.


    ¡°Thankfully not,¡± he whispered, ¡°they were too busy beating me everywhere else.¡±


    ¡°Good, I mean.¡±


    He laughed again, kissed her forehead and she looked kindly at him. He clasped her butt with lust, but was overcome with relief in another sense.


    ¡°Thank you for coming for me,¡± he said, in a tight embrace.


    ¡°Your dick is poking at me,¡± she said interrupting, ¡°but I would do it a thousand times. Save you I mean. But we can try that as well.¡±


    ¡°More than that surely? The saving I mean.¡±


    They both laughed, interrupting their mirth with lust. She kissed him, and he kissed her.


    ¡°Stay still, I will help you.¡±


    She removed his trousers before deciding to suck his lust out of him. She looked up at him, and he exhaled desperately, as she did not let him. She put her hands on his thighs, slobbering on him before he exploded inside her mouth. She swallowed his seed calmly before she tugged at him, and led them to the baths outside. The walls to protect from leering eyes were still there, although Hunila checked in an almost paranoid fashion to see if it was still there. She kissed him and she erupted into crying.


    ¡°I was so scared,¡± she blubbered into his shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, truthfully I was too, I was so glad to see you,¡± he said pressing her tightly.


    ¡°We¡¯re having a moment here,¡± she growled at his physical self rubbing on her, ¡°but I¡¯m just the same.¡±


    She was soaked, her face dripping, and her pussy too.


    ¡°Sorry there¡¯s too many differing emotions, but they all blend, I assure you,¡± he said nuzzling her breast.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°I know,¡± she said softly.


    She clasped his head with a gentle feminine touch. The mixture of the pure with the illicit provided a dizzying mess, one he broke with.


    ¡°I love you,¡± he said.


    ¡°You know that means less when you say it now,¡± she said to him, half grinning.


    ¡°Maybe but it feels more,¡± he said huskily, caressing her.


    Her muscular body was leaned up against his, her chest, her pussy, everything about her filled him with vigour and desire. He clasped her voluptuous body before they both comforted themselves for the evening.


    While Madakos enjoyed his evening, the great Goblin insurrection continued in the Demon realm, Goblins had impaled Demons, and organised roaming bands to fight and clash with Demon regiments. They fought across Goblina and its environs; Demons and Devils came to restore order and they did in the city centre, but many Goblins had fled into the nearby hills and caverns, some retreating into the sewers, others dying like dogs on the street. Many more Goblins were being freed, hiding in the caves, some outright taking over villages, while others fought pitched battles and were promptly defeated, the survivors executed. Jubilation at gaining freedom, fear of losing it, the smell of blood everywhere. Despite Hunila¡¯s ravaging of the fortresses and forts, there was little doubt that the Demons would restore order, even among the Goblins. Some threw away their arms, but others exhorted all to fight.


    ¡°We have been given this chance, and so we can either die in freedom or live as slaves forever! Choose!¡±


    ¡°I choose the third option!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The Goblin rabble rouser asked.


    ¡°Kill them and live free!¡± The interjector Goblin screamed, to absolute jubilation.


    The shrieks, the shouts, the collective eye wetting as thousands screamed. They scribbledmessages, on walls, cliff sides and buildings; written with blades, blood or ink.


    Izuk will live in our hearts.


    You can only kill us.


    These words be my testimonial, I chose freedom.


    Many behaved like rabid dogs: one pack in particular managed to catch a Devil, the Devil was prowling, readying flame spells in his hands, before sharpened sticks struck through his hands, and then his legs. The ringing pain was less deafening than the sheer confusion at having been hit, pierced like a pig on a spit, and by what a Devil would consider a completely lesser being, for in their eyes, Demons were lesser beings, let alone Goblins.


    ¡°What?¡± The Devil uttered, baffled by its situation.


    The Devil in question managed to burn one Goblin to a crisp, and crush another one¡¯s head like a grape, but even then he bled out, even a Devil could be killed by a Goblin, and it soon slumped to the floor, lifeless.


    ¡°Those rascals! Kill them!¡±


    Poison gas out of nowhere was used on the Demons, the Goblins immediately masked up. Coughing before slumping to the floor. This was the state of Goblina, sheer rebellion. Sweat on everyone¡¯s faces, blood on everyone¡¯s clothes, death on every street. The most unfortunate were perhaps the common Demons, even those who did not own slaves, who did not directly oppress the Goblins who would still be caught up in Goblin reprisals. They were not enlightened freedom fighters by any stretch of the imagination, but only a fool couldn¡¯t understand them. Some left over fortresses had been taken by the Goblins, these ones were particularly foolish, for the forts were designed with teleportation in mind, Devils and large Demons could appear and easily overwhelm the garrison. This was how the Goblins lost their independence to begin with, again these Goblins did not have a full grasp of their own history, and most were illiterate with all the dangers that came with.

 7. (p.4)

    Admiral of the Fourth fleet Elana was a beautiful blonde and any other time she would have had men flocking to marry her, if they could deal with her; but at that particular moment, she was drenched in Demon blood alongside some of her own, she screamed her head off as she fought what seemed like endless hordes. Her own troops had a few scrapes, but most were simply awed by the bloody figure who fought the Demons, beautiful even in the ugliest situation, brave, daring, making the hearts of her soldiers beat harder, as their commander dived into danger.


    ¡°Casper! Get back here Casper! Amalric, come back and fight! Damn you all!¡± She shouted, gesticulating with every shout.


    Her metal Golems, sliced necks, and in some cases outright saved her troops; bludgeoning Demons and catching fatal blows that were meant for flesh havers. The Golems an extension of her will, dense metallic beings that even if not as big as a Demon, could take any hit and continue the fight with intensity.


    ¡°Other summoners! Gather around the admiral!¡± One of her lieutenants shouted shrilly.


    ¡°I am going to break their siege! I am going to break their control of our country! Whose with me?¡± She screamed, to much enthusiasm.


    Soaked in blood, others did indeed join her, two other summoners who had earth elementals bolstered her forces, immediately pushed the Demon forces back, large rock Golems wrestled and grappled Demon soldiers, stopping them from harming their summoners.


    ¡°Admiral, we are the last summoners connected to army command here! Allow us to join you.¡±


    She nodded, her hair done in a ponytail, soaked like a quill in blood, her steel blade sheen with hot crimson too. Her two lieutenants were a water elemental user Jafar, her lead navigator, and an Ice mage Izotz, a silver haired gentleman, whose height of two metres was almost as impressive as his magic. Izotz summoned ice elementals, which were used like mobile artillery, shrill sounds of salvos left his summoned creatures which were followed by the sounds of Demons croaking in their blood as these projectiles hurtled, pierced and impaled. Izotz single handedly routed an entire section of Demon infantry, who were promptly slaughtered by their own side to enforce discipline however brutally; he had a devastating impact on the Demon¡¯s morale, the Golems were already something, but ice falling in arcs toward the enemies, with never-ending vigour left the Demons totally bereft of initiative. Elana pressed on. She ran down some slopes and up others, her Golems and her allies¡¯ Golems fanned out to catch and alert the summoners to any ambuscades. Cahov Demons had headed south to invade Urir and had formed a massive camp, in fact there were at least four; Izotz laid waste to one, the Golems concentrating on defending the summoners. The camp belonged to Grand General Costros, a Devil who promptly summoned reinforcements. Elana did not have many men with her, she had 10 crossbowmen, a few summoners, and all the summoned creatures; the rest were guarding Fortus and would tell her if the city was under attack, and if reinforcement was needed. Millions of Demons descended on their position, Izotz and Jafar produced a torrent of water and ice and blood. Lakes of blood. Demons slumped to their knees, impaled to trees, outright shot in the head. The metallic blood was everywhere, everything was red, blood trickling off of tree stumps, the metal Golems which were a mix of shiny and matt steel coloured, were now also covered in a red hue. The Ice and water diluted the blood somewhat, but made the ground boggy. Elana in the midst of the fighting managed to rescue 50 crossbowmen stuck in a tower, her steel Golems sliced Demons in half, but quite often were destroyed in the process. Large meteorites hit and killed 15 crossbowmen, but the rest managed to be rescued, scrambling, falling over, hitting rocks or scraping elbows and knees on sticks and dirt. The crossbowmen were weary, bloody, and running behind cover; Izotz provided thousands of icicles a second successfully covering their flanks, Demon soldiers were hit and the projectiles melted into puddles alongside the Demon blood. Half an hour and Elana had destroyed three of the four camps, and had unwittingly derailed the Cahov invasion of Urir, Earth Demons lizard riders could be seen riding through Cahov imps, then cheering their victory. The Urir army neatly on their side of their border, their orange uniforms likewise covered in red blood.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Glory to Amalkur! Glory to Urir!¡± An Urir soldier screamed, getting a raucous response from his comrades.


    ¡°There are Sumar soldiers there, they must be responsible for this,¡± the lizard rider said, ¡°thanks be to you!¡± He shouted.


    Elana stared at them with a snarl, and spat on the ground. The Earth Demons were intimidated and awe struck by the woman. They all stared unblinking at this beast, scarier than any monster, their orange complexions covered in dread, covered in the blood of the dead, sweat crinkled their shirts, lamellar leather armour having dents and cuts; in truth they were exhausted. Tears in their eyes, and elation at having won.


    We did it. They collectively thought.


    The Uriri cheered, Elana scowled at them.


    ¡°No doubt they¡¯d wage war on us if they weren¡¯t invaded,¡± she muttered.


    Is that a human? My god and a woman. And what a woman too.


    A she-wolf by personality and achievement, her blue eyes sharp and vengeful. She advanced eastwards and took two smouldered fortifications, rescuing one beleaguered spearman who was promptly sent to Fortus to reinforce the defence.


    ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am!¡±


    She glared at the man she saved and continued her march eastwards, she took two more forts, but there were no men alive, only corpses. Men strewn on the battlements, the bricks broken, towers laid on the floor, smouldering smoke and recently killed.


    ¡°Those bastards¡­¡± Izotz muttered angrily, ¡°we must kill more of them. I will kill more of them.¡¯


    Elana glanced at her loyal mobile artillery maker, giving a brief curt nod to indicate she agreed with him. She scanned the battlefield, a mess that she couldn¡¯t help feel a little sad about.


    ¡°We will need to make camp eventually,¡± Elana said, ¡°these pricks,¡± she muttered.


    A Demon scratched her back, she tumbled it and sliced it in half, the sound of claws had been audible to all, the pain imagined by all. Elana turned her head to her comrades.


    ¡°Pour brine on me!¡± She demanded, ¡°fuck¡­¡± she seethed.


    A man stood with a staff, scraggly, thin but muscly, going for functional use.


    ¡°Death to Sumar!¡±


    Golems tried to cut him down but the staff destroyed a Golem, when Demons appeared he destroyed them too.


    ¡°Demons, Sumar, they¡¯re all the same,¡± he said, ¡°all they want is our taxes, all they give is our lives.¡±


    ¡°I am liberating the Kingdom from the Demon invaders,¡± Elana said, ¡°get the fuck out of the way!¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± The figure said, gesticulations even more aggressive.


    Demons tried to attack the scraggly peasant, their heads lopped off. Straight blades on each end of his staff.


    ¡°Izotz!¡± Elana shouted.


    The warrior peasant disappeared running into the countryside, icicles fell on the battlefield killing only Demons. Elana scowled, she unsheathed her sword and looked at the countryside, much of it burnt to ash, but there was fighting up ahead. It snowed ash in many places, the falling dry cinders producing gasps from awe struck soldiers.

 7. (p.5)

    ¡°Are those Uriri?¡± Izotz asked.


    ¡°No they¡¯re the same breed as that guy.¡±


    ¡°Are we even friends with Uriri?¡± Jafar asked.


    ¡°Are we even friends with the peasantry?¡± Izotz said half sarcastically.


    Everyone turned to Jafar first, admonishing his stupid question, they looked at Izotz with doubt, for the loyalty to Sumar in the countryside seemed dubious.


    ¡°We are only temporarily at peace due to the advent of the Cahov invasion, everything is temporary,¡± Elana explained angrily.


    ¡°I see,¡± Jafar muttered, ¡°such a shame.¡±


    ¡°No it isn¡¯t.¡± Elana whispered breathlessly, ¡°let¡¯s take back our kingdom!¡± She shouted for all to hear.


    Elana marched through the Demon corpses, but what she saw were countless destroyed villages, dry fields that didn¡¯t seem to have much going on, tax collectors and Lord¡¯s retinues slaughtered by Human hands not Demon.


    ¡°Now!¡± A voice was heard screaming.


    Elana braced, the Golems fanned out to find the commotion, but it was followed by the groans of slaughtered Demons. Some impaled, some merely decapitated, others alive and fighting, but Elana killed those ones. Nonetheless the land was charred, scarred, and had few survivors. They marched along, and it seemed Cahov had encountered resistance, other camps were found absolutely trashed, their supplies taken, angry Human eyes looked at Elana, not a shred of thanks to give her.


    ¡°The army was defeated or ran away, the Lord was a coward. What are you doing here?¡± A peasant woman growled.


    ¡°I am admiral Elana of the fourth fleet, I have come to liberate the- kingdom¡­¡±


    The peasants hissed at her, some even throwing things, and so she moved on. The devastation was palpable, but some peasants looked at her with just as much hostility as they would the Demons. Elana marched along, seeing few Cahov Demons, the next village had grilled a bunch of them on spits, eating the flesh. Elana¡¯s retinue twitched in horror, some clasping each other¡¯s shoulders, other¡¯s merely looked away.


    ¡°They have nothing to eat Elana,¡± a crossbowman explained.


    In that moment Demons poured out of portals, Elana¡¯s metal Golems sliced them open, other¡¯s came out, Izotz ice elementals gunned them down. The villager¡¯s still seethed at the Sumar retinue, but were at least a little bit more forgiving.


    ¡°Take that field and leave us alone!¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    A ¡®field¡¯ was being extremely generous; it was a scorched wasteland, ashen soil, small sprouts of grass here and there, and wooden stumps where trees once stood, some scorched corpses and some skeletons. Not even the carrion bird squawked for they feared what lurked down below, instead flying abroad to have their meals. Humans feasted on Demon flesh, looking with hostile eyes at the countrymen who came to ¡®save¡¯ them from the Cahov army. Elana elected to continue marching, going across the ravaged country.


    ¡°I am from the coast, but I didn¡¯t realise so many rural people hated the Kingdom, and this much,¡± Elana said entirely to herself.


    A loyalist appeared from nowhere, very happy to see Elana and her small retinue.


    ¡°Someone to save the kingdom. Finally! The King sent someone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sent by the King,¡± Elana said, ¡°I decided myself on this.¡±


    The loyalist was enthralled, a chubby man whose clothes had smouldered with all the flames that had flown past him courtesy of the Demons.


    ¡°A true patriot!¡± The man said excitedly, ¡°I wish you luck. My house was burnt down by the Demons. If I could merely accompany you.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you wish,¡± Jafar answered for his commander.


    ¡°As he said,¡± Elana said, ¡°you will receive the same rations as everyone else.¡±


    The chubby man¡¯s enthusiasm was quite the thing, untouched by Elana¡¯s biting comment, he pointed to a supply depot run by the Demons. Elana immediately pounced on the badly defended Demon supplies, metal and earth Golems slicing and crushing the Demons before they even had the opportunity to strike back.


    ¡°Jafar, Izotz, get ready, that seemed to be too easy.¡±


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you use the summoned creatures to help us!¡± A villager said, ¡°our farms could have used the help!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    The loyalist began berating the angry peasants. They were having none of it, shouting aspersions back at him, some even throwing rocks.


    ¡°Admiral Elana!¡± The loyalist said, ¡°ow, ow, ow!¡±


    Getting in the way of the rocks, he glared at the peasants.


    ¡°She could have sat in the harbour you know!¡± The loyalist hit true, his words reducing their hatred to mere glares.


    Elana shared the bounty she had plundered with the local villagers, again there was only less hate, but they were at least willing to listen now. Thousands of Demon soldiers descended on their position trying to destroy them. Izotz slaughtered them, gunning them down, before an eery silence permeated the land. The hostile peasants looked at Izotz like a god, gaping despite the hostility.


    ¡°We should move,¡± Elana muttered, ¡°let¡¯s fortify a hill or something, and rest for the day.¡±


    They found the right target, fortifying a hill before sleeping. Jafar helped wash Elana¡¯s hair that was full of Demon blood.


    ¡°Well done for today.¡±


    ¡°You too ma¡¯am,¡± Jafar said, ¡°you fought like a wolverine. Even those villagers, their emotions were complicated, but deep down the fact an admiral decided to fight on land is already something.¡±


    "Thank you Jafar,¡± she murmured, ¡°it¡¯s nice of you to say.¡±


    All of them collapsed for the day. Izotz and Jafar were in state¡¯s of semi consciousness, only controlling their summons in their dreams, while their bodies rested. They were not needed, the night was calm, too calm.


    ¡°They were right though,¡± Elana muttered, referring to the peasants earlier comments, ¡°I am not a great person.¡±


    The loyalist turned and looked introspectively, tutting. The loyalist began speaking:


    ¡°You are more than that,¡± he whispered, ¡°I know the kingdom is not perfect, but when someone is trying to make it better¡­¡± he left his words unsaid, biting them down.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered softly, ¡°thank you.¡±


    Izotz laid back on a tree, his silver hair shining in the moonlight, smiling at the encouraging words.


    Emotionally a wolf, the way she fights for kin and against enemies; and perhaps martially a wolverine in her shear ferocity. And I am perhaps far more than that.

 7. (p.6)

    The air smelt of pollen somehow, some trees not turned to cinder had bees buzzing in the night time, collecting the plant material to synthesise into honey. The smell was pleasant, a pleasant smell to forget the unpleasant ones. Pleasant thoughts to forget the unpleasant ones.


    Admiral of the third fleet, Admiral Roderic had sailed his fleet away from Suno toward the military port of the Cahov Demons that was on the Continent of Sand. He sailed at tip top speeds, he found and sunk 300 ships with the mere power of water; water elementals punctured holes in hulls, the ships croaked into the sea, the crew scrambling overboard. The sailors mostly survived, putting themselves on drift wood, they had abysmal morale, and other ships merely surrendered, leaving Roderic confused. His fleet had raced into their harbour of the Cahov Demons, and he was going to sink the ships in the harbour, but they surrendered too.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Roderic asked bewildered, scanning for possible traps.


    His lieutenants scoured the area, but the Demon surrender, seemed to be genuine; there was clear evidence of infighting, some Demons having stabbed others, Nina stared with bird eyed concentration, and could see evidence of Demon blades having stabbed Demon bodies, claw marks from Devils and larger Demons, she audibly gasped.


    ¡°Something very strange is going on¡­¡± she uttered with little confidence, not sure herself of what to think let alone say.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The Demon soldiers and sailors they encountered also surrendered, raising white flags. Large Scorpion-Men and ants descended on the makeshift city; the Cahov Demons managed to hold them at bay, but they were a beleaguered lot. Much of the harbour was in tatters already, even before Roderic came by, and the sailors and soldiers had low supplies.


    ¡°Please admiral, spare our ships, so we can fish for food!¡± One captain of a ship begged Roderic.


    Talida¡¯s air elementals scouted the area in case this was some sort of trick. There was not a single structure left standing, and many corpses littered the sand, turning the otherwise fine and orange sand rouge. The carrion bird had a feast, some of the bodies washed into the sea as the constant sound of the tides was heard over squawking birds.


    ¡°Nina? What have your gryphons spotted?¡± Roderic asked.


    ¡°Destruction.¡± Nina said solemnly, ¡°a lot have fled.¡±


    ¡°Fled?¡± The admiral said, ¡°why? How?¡±


    ¡°I think they can portal away. As for why, there are many reasons why a war could end.¡±


    The boards of his ship creaked and Admiral Roderic turned his head, staring over the bay, in that moment a Demon appeared before him and bowed his head.


    ¡°On behalf of all Cahov forces in this world, we surrender and will withdraw from your lands. Our empire is in strife, we shall disband now.¡±


    Lord Agelas a Devil had started a civil war, and as such many Cahov Demons stayed in the world they had attempted to conquer, these exiles formed a civilian port where the military port used to be, situated on the edge of the sand continent. Goblins, traitors and defeat had forced the Cahov Empire to flee the continent, the world, and had thus retreated back to their own realm: Cahovia. The omnipotent Cahovian armies were defeated, whether they could have won if they were united at home would be a question many would wrangle with for some time to come.

 8. Death vs death

    8. Death vs death


    Across the ocean, Maras fought with incessant haste and determination, every second was a burst of activity. Struggling with Bacteria, Maras and Ildrid slaughtered them, harvesting them for their armies, having veered off in a south westerly direction. Thirteen Necromancer Lords chased him, determined to put an end to the rogue Necromancers; Ildrid formed a vanguard to try and stop them, and Maras thought of strategies to end the pursuit, swivelling his head around, using his ghosts as scouts to survey the terrain, all the while Bacteria hampered them.


    ¡°Ildrid? Where have the Demons gone?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve gone sir.¡±


    ¡°Stop begging the question. That¡¯s what I¡¯m asking, where?¡±


    ¡°Their realm,¡± Ildrid muttered.


    ¡°I see, well that¡¯s less trouble I guess, but we still have Dina charging against us,¡± he growled, ¡°damn it.¡±


    Maras flicked the knife in his hand, thinking of where to teleport if need be. His Reapers and Ghouls suddenly came across someone else¡¯s Spectres. Blue ethereal sparks clashed, some purple; the ghosts which usually floated now being pushed and dragged on the dirt, Maras clenched his teeth, urging his ethereal beings forward.


    ¡°Oh great,¡± Maras muttered, ¡°just what we need.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ildrid said.


    ¡°Someone just like me,¡± Maras said with a grimace in his tone, for he was only bone.


    ¡°Oh shit, a ghost summoner,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°archers! No, axemen form tight ranks and keep your¡­ senses ready!¡±


    Maras was hopping around the battlefield, his Reapers and Ghouls making quick work of any Spectre, Maras¡¯s Spectres duelling a Dina Necromancer¡¯s. Three other skeletal armies, one Zombie army, a few Lichs, and even a Vampire were on their way. Ready to finish the renegade Necromancer. The fissures between Maras and Dina formed because of the Cahov invasion, and yet Cahov¡¯s invasion had finished and Maras and Ildrid were still outlaws. They ran and yet not nearly fast enough to evade everyone. Bats flew overhead and long distance shots could be seen arcing toward them.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Maras seethed, ¡°Ildrid, you run into the mass of Bacteria, I¡¯ll catch up with you later.¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? That¡¯s 13 Lords.¡±


    ¡°Soon to be former¡­¡± he muttered, grinning in his voice, ¡°our Undead faction will be made today!¡±


    ¡°Make history,¡± Ildrid whispered.


    Vampires flew overhead, and Spectres stabbed them. Clashing with other ghost Lords. Ghouls harvested Bacteria, while his Reapers cut a Vampire in half. It glued itself back together, in the meanwhile Maras hopped around making sure he fought off any pursuers of his ally. Wraiths threw knives, Reapers clashed with other Reapers and skeletons.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Surrender outlaw, and we might not turn you into mush!¡±


    ¡°Dina made a literal deal with the Devils. You are traitors to Undeath!¡± Maras immediately retorted, chastising them with no fear.


    ¡°They¡¯re out now, but your loyalty was obvious, you don¡¯t deserve to be Undead!¡± A Vampire Lord said.


    The Vampire Lord carried a green glowing sword, swiping endlessly to end Maras¡¯s existence; other Vampire brethren swarmed the Undead warlord with equal vigour. Bacteria were being harvested in the background and yet the Undead were exchanging blows in the forefront. Maras hopped from place to place, his Spectres being deployed to take out leadership, his Spectres assassinating one Lich Lord. Vampires were rebuffed with Reapers, skeletons and Zombies attempted to make Maras history; Maras also had to deal with Bacteria, suffering horrendous losses, half his Ghouls rejoining the fight, fighting Dina¡¯s Ghouls and all other Undead creatures levied against him. His Wraiths racked quite a few kills but it was his Spectres hopping from place to place, that silently and cunningly stabbed a few Lords dead. The Lichs were smarter, put bigger guards and attacked him personally with more force and frequency; the Bacteria aggressiveness dialled up and the fighting went from an aggressive skirmish to a chaotic total war. Other Dina Lords appeared and Maras methodically eliminated them; his Spectres all returned next to him, having done their work flawlessly.


    ¡°Good work,¡± he whispered.


    Leaderless armies still organised against him, but in the end when he faced the other Ghost Lord he defeated the Lord and took control of his flock. The Vampire Lord was bested, his minions dissipated, not known exactly where to. He looked at the customary knife of Spectres that he was equipped with, musing on mortality, destruction and Undeath.


    I did what I had to do, it¡¯s a fate I wish they wouldn¡¯t have to suffer.


    ¡°Dina betrayed the Undead, I will make my own faction,¡± he said over the destroyed Dina Lords.


    Reapers, Ghouls and Wraiths quickly flocked to him and he destroyed the remnant skeletons and Zombies and Lichs before wading through the endless sea of Bacteria. Maras looked around him, seeing nothing but Bacteria, he summoned a Ghoul Lord.


    ¡°Basara, that is your name,¡± Maras whispered.


    The purple beast, the ghoul got its claws ready, ready to fight the beasts that were Bacteria, and grow their forces.


    ¡°What would you wish of me master?¡± The Ghoul Lord asked.


    ¡°Summon Ghouls and harvest the Bacteria. I will contact you,¡± Maras told it, ¡°grow stronger here.¡±


    Maras ran after Ildrid.


    ¡°It¡¯s an endless sea, I couldn¡¯t- wait you¡¯re done?¡± The skeleton jangled in confusion, ¡°fucking hell.¡±


    ¡°I dispatched with them, yes.¡±


    ¡°Dispatched?¡± He said, immediately internalising his dialogue, You demolished them, and how? How did you manage it you crazy bastard, he thought, ¡°anyway what¡¯s the plan?¡± Ildrid asked surprised and eager.


    Maras you are so crazy, the risks you put yourself in. Why are you like this?


    ¡°Cahov is dealing with civil strife,¡± Maras whispered, scared someone might overhear, ¡°those Demons are boundless, so are Bacteria of course, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡± Ildrid listened.


    ¡°We have made lots of enemies here Ildrid, or rather I have I guess.¡±


    ¡°It is brave to seek independence from Dina. Knowing what you know,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°even if it is dangerous¡­¡± Ildrid said wistfully, ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, it was the right thing to do.¡±


    The two skeletal figures both turned their skeletal heads, looking at the sight of zounds of Bacteria in their vicinity.


    An endless farm for our activities. Maras thought.


    ¡°They are not the ones to accept forgiveness, but I do not seek it. Enough of Dina, I will bring war to Cahov.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure Maras?¡±


    The skeleton and the skeletal ghost both advanced forward, one silently, the other not so silently.


    It¡¯s all a chore, death is as much a chore as life. Maras chuckled at his own witticisms.


    Ildrid turned his skeletal head and looked at his companion, opting to not ask in the end.


    ¡°Surely it was easier to simply be at peace,¡± Ildrid asked prodding for a greater answer, ¡°what is it you truly seek Maras?¡±

 8 (p2)

    Years passed by in his end; how many years was it now, it¡¯s always so hard to tell?


    150 years ago. 892 CC in the depths of summer; it was a bright summer¡¯s day in the Kingdom of Arar, in a small village tending to crops with his family. His father was a lightning mage, Arari citizens wielded lightning at their fingertips, they caught fish, they grew crops, some even automated production like in Sumar, controlling Golems with electricity. Life was peaceful, calm, the smells of honeycomb, of mead, of sweet pollen fragrances, of sweat in the fields, the sounds of laughter, women¡¯s laughter, and the occasional shrieking of the little ones who were outside playing who were too innocent. The grounds were tilled, the water hit the ground from pumps, the splatters too soft on the pavement, ox groaned and men huffed. Then the ground shook, the crops burned, Demon soldiers came out of nowhere cut women in half, outright put children on spits.


    ¡°Athamar you have to run!¡±


    Zaps of electricity killed the two biggest Demons, but the thunderous footsteps followed Athamar. Athamar ran to the local villages mage library. Lightning could be heard outside, searing the insides or simply overloading the nervous systems of the Demons leaving them dead. The flesh smelled; the grunts of Demons, the screams of Humans. Athamar picked up a book with a warning sign.


    ¡°To be destroyed,¡± he read.


    Black hair and blue eyes, the blue eyes staring at the forbidden text.


    Bind your soul to your own skeleton to be a Spectre Lord, accept the your death of your body is only the beginning. Say I accept.


    ¡°I accept¡­¡±


    Athamar rushed outside and spun lightning. Perhaps it was the bind he had made on himself, the mark of the damned that allowed him to fight like a lunatic. His family torn to shreds were avenged, but there was nothing left, imps and Demons, and Devils appeared, and after hours of fighting in the village, the Arari military showed up. Athamar was dead. Maras arose in his place as a Spectre he wrought sweet revenge, he barely knew what he was doing, hopping from place to place, summoning other Spectres to fight with him, and they whittled down the Demons killing them all. Maras turned his head, seeing the Arari army cast lightning bolts at him.


    No. You¡¯ve got it all wrong.


    He couldn¡¯t speak, he did not know how to speak through his new skeletal body.


    ¡°It!¡±


    ¡°Kill the monster.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t me!¡±


    ¡°Enough excuses. Die!¡±


    Maras hopped away, and fled northwards to Dina. He knew that was where he could learn about his new self.


    All the thoughts brought him back to the present, his ghostly army tearing through the Bacteria, clasping his light blue skeleton frame, thinking of how it all came to this. I sure learnt how to be a Necromancer. But these skills I feel I could have picked them up from a book just as well. Demons. Men. Necromancers, the Undead. Nothing is perfect I suppose. I¡¯ve seen it all. Men kill just as much. And yet. I hate the Demons, and yet I know that my purpose now is much more than that. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°What is it I seek Ildrid? Perhaps it¡¯s vengeance, but I am beyond that kind of petty Human justification. I haven¡¯t existed for this amount of time to be so trivial¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ildrid said, ¡°what are you harping on about?¡± Was what Ildrid said, but he wanted to hear more.


    Maras didn¡¯t have any nerves but he jumped a little, clasping his skeletal face with a groan.


    ¡°We are fighting for so much more, for our own justice, but you know what?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ildrid asked, not knowing what would be said next.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do what we want, we¡¯re already dead right?¡± The Spectre Lord said simply.


    Ildrid stared at the ghostly skeletal figure, Ildrid¡¯s skeleton pale white, Maras had a pale blue glow to his skeletal visage.


    ¡°What are you suggesting?¡±


    ¡°We can do anything Ildrid, change everything that¡¯s the long term plan,¡± he paused, ¡°but for the short term perhaps the Demon realm, maybe they need help? At the very least we can threaten them so they never declare war on our world.¡±


    ¡°Help?¡± Ildrid asked confused, ¡°are you trying to intimidate them?¡±


    ¡®Help¡¯ is hardly the right word Maras. I know you don¡¯t want to help.


    ¡°Yeah, not just the Demons, all of them. Everything,¡± he whispered, ¡°for 150 years I¡¯ve been a dog Ildrid, let¡¯s change history.¡±


    ¡°And now you¡¯re a wolf is that what you¡¯re trying to tell me?¡±


    Maras thought about the implications of the word. Hovering over the ground.


    ¡°Ildrid, some fight for causes, some fight for love, some fight for ideologies, others revenge and others for mere profit,¡± Maras paused, ¡°There is so much injustice in this world, particularly among the living. We are not cursed by the flesh, so maybe we can change things in a way they can¡¯t.¡±


    Ildrid chuckled a bit and stared at his friend, Maras merely contemplated existence.


    ¡°Were you not trying to kill that Warlock? Changing things is not so simple. Even the Undead have a nature Maras, you will find yourself in a situation you did not intend, doing things you did not plan, and perhaps that¡¯s more of a true definition of fate than any.¡±


    The words stung and Maras chuckled lightly.


    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re probably right, The Warlock, yes, but for what?¡± Maras wistfully said, ¡°purely based on orders. I am pretty sure the Warlock fled this world because of it. All because they were afraid of his power,¡± he paused, ¡°perhaps I can¡¯t escape what is in store for me, I can at least make sure those Demons don¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°Can you?¡± Ildrid said simply, ¡°Their fear of the Warlock is reasonable, who knows what he could do,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°but the Warlock is gone now. I don¡¯t know if you can actually stop them coming here.¡±


    ¡°It might be,¡± Maras mumbled, ¡°but we forced him out of the world, and all the chaos that ensued because of it.¡±


    ¡°Necromancers discussing morality,¡± Ildrid laughed, the irony, ¡°but yeah, the world¡¯s fucked up.¡±


    Maras looked at Ildrid and nodded.


    ¡°Without necromancy I would be dead in Arar,¡± Maras said melancholically.


    ¡°You died in Arari,¡± Ildrid quickly retorted.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Maras snapped back.


    The two of them chuckled a little, and then went to work clearing Bacteria, hours later they appeared before the rough ocean. Basara the Ghoul Lord marched endlessly through endless Bacteria hordes, his own horde of ravenous beasts poisoned and ripped apart those beasts.


    ¡°Basara continue growing in strength,¡± Maras communicated with his Ghoul Lord telepathically.


    The skeleton and the skeletal ghost stared into the precipice of a cliff, then went onto some more gentle rolling beach slopes. In the end they turned around, Maras used green crystals to open up a portal to the Demon world, carefully storing some for his return journey. The ocean rhythmically chopped at the shores, a soothing sound. Maras and Ildrid sat down, their minions fought in the background against the ravenous hordes.

 8. (p.3)

    ¡°So you wish to fight for ideology?¡± Ildrid said, ¡°an ideological Undead who seeks to be moral.¡±


    ¡°Are we less moral than your average Demon or Human?¡± Maras retorted defensively.


    Ildrid chuckled, and stared in a skeletal stare, perhaps if he had eyebrows he would twitch them, if he had pupils they would dilate, he nonetheless shook his head. Ildrid produced a shield and thudded it into the ground.


    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, now it truly begins?¡±


    ¡°Now it truly begins.¡±


    The two Necromancers stepped out of a portal into the bowls of the Cahovian realm. Red, fiery hell with the occasional dark rock to add to the atmosphere.


    ¡°The red glow really gives it the atmospheric look.¡±


    Maras stared at the Demon realm. Illogical rage filled him. I already killed those who killed my parents.


    ¡°Just what I¡¯d expect from the Cahov,¡± Maras whispered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, Ildrid, we are better than them remember, don¡¯t kill the innocents.¡±


    I am not like them. I will never become like my enemies.


    Ildrid nodded, not very enthusiastically, but he nodded. He glanced and looked around the hellish red landscape. They marched into a village, where terrified Demon villagers gave them information. Ildrid kept a portal open and used skeletons to carry green crystals.


    ¡°Who are you? Lord?¡±


    ¡°I am Lord Maras.¡±


    ¡°Are you from Dina? Is Dina invading now?¡± The Demon imp asked impertinently, immediately creating panicked faces.


    ¡°I am my own faction of Undead,¡± Maras explained, ¡°I am Maras, this is Ildrid. We have come to make a true treaty of peace.¡±


    So you are invading? The imp thought. It¡¯s little face scrunched up trying to glean what Maras was really about.


    ¡°Some Warlock came and freed all the Goblins, there¡¯s a general marching on our capital. We can¡¯t possibly make war on your world.¡±


    ¡°Treaties are usually just written pieces of paper or verbal agreements, they¡¯re usually nothing more than a glorified promise,¡± Ildrid agreed with the Demon townsfolk.


    ¡°Ildrid,¡± Maras said, ¡°even if it is a mere promise, I want them to make it. I want Demons to understand they made a promise.¡±


    ¡°A promise under duress?¡± A courageous Demon said, ¡°is hardly a promise, it¡¯s more of a threat.¡±


    ¡°We want them to not invade our world,¡± Maras whispered, ¡°that will be our legacy.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    And you do this by invading our world? The imp thought, snarling furiously.


    They left the village, taking a nearby fort, looking over the lava and charred landscape. Ildrid stood on top of the tower, his skeletons standing guard over captured Demon grunts.


    ¡°No wonder they wanted to invade our world,¡± Ildrid mused.


    ¡°It has its own beauty,¡± Maras muttered.


    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± Ildrid said, pointing with an axe with much worry.


    Ildrid noticed the landscape of battle, some mere after effects of battle and war; and other very present fighting.


    ¡°Chaos¡­¡± a Devil peasant said, ¡°Lord Agelas a Devil is probably going to take over. Those Devils are extreme.¡±


    ¡°Are they not like Demi gods to you?¡± Ildrid asked candidly.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been a sort of uninvolved elite,¡± the Demon explained, ¡°Demons are less powerful, but our monarch was always a Demon, we had and have Demon elites as well. But if the Devil¡¯s rule. I have no idea what¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there are at least less of them?¡± Maras asked.


    ¡°Well yeah, I guess there are, but they¡¯re powerful, they can revive each other, and Demons of course.¡±


    The villagers were thankful to not be turned into Undead, but it was not with elation that they waved to the Undead. Maras did not need supplies, crystals were only to placate local Demon villagers, it was not necessary for his troops. He surrounded a fortress, which promptly fired at him, his Spectres swooped in, threw the garrison off the battlements, and the rest promptly surrendered; not before literally soiling themselves.


    ¡°Any news?¡± Maras asked the two guards.


    ¡°News?¡±


    The red ambient air, the lava, bubbled behind the fortress¡¯s guards, the Demon world was terrifying, and yet Maras was the one who terrified the Demons, they shrugged in fear and confusion. Turning to one another in attempts to glean information of what to say.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± One said hesitantly.


    ¡°Sir, the Demon Lord has¡­¡± the messenger said a bit aghast at the Undead.


    The messenger came out of the bowels of the fort. Staring at the shrouded Spectre and his army of ethereal beings. The Demon audibly gulped, staring at Maras who stared at him with full intention of hearing the report.


    ¡°What did the Demon Lord do?¡± Maras asked carefully, quietly and calmly.


    ¡°Die, he died.¡± The Demon corrected, hiccuping in fear.


    Cold sweat fell off his brow, the skeletal figure stared at the Demon who was all sweaty and shrugged, the cold unrelenting stare of Maras unnerved the Demon who awaited a reply.


    ¡°So this Agelas is running the show now?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Demon said shaking his head and terrified out of his mind.


    Maras stared off into the distance. Looking down at the Demon.


    ¡°I see,¡± Maras simply said.


    Agelas a Devil had killed the previous royal family. The Cahrin clan¡¯s heirs had apparently been involved in several palace coups, the reigning dynasty was now completely rooted out. Agelas was surrounded by Devil bodyguards, ministers and generals.


    ¡°We must reinvigorate the Cahov Empire, we must crush the Goblins. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s even worth enslaving them, perhaps we need rid of them,¡± Agelas said to his advisor.


    ¡°That is an extreme decision, the mining in Goblina is dependent on them,¡± the advisor explained, his hand shaking, his voice quivering.


    The advisor stared at the fierce Agelas, his sharp features, his musculature were all impressive, sharp arms, and sharp fingers, and perhaps an even sharper stare.


    ¡°Can¡¯t imps do the mining instead? Aren¡¯t most of those peasants a resource we can use?¡±


    A resource? Peasants? This is a Devil talking but even so, what a thing to say. Regular Demons are mere ants, and Imps are ¡®a resource,¡¯ a foul beast to be sure.


    The minister was a Demon, minister to the previous Emperor, finance minister, Lord Cathlor, he had lands in the north, growing Demon wheat he managed to still get a budget surplus for Cahov even despite the lavishness of the royal family. Lord Cathlor was a thin Demon with no beard and a kempt uniform. Uther sat in the corner, growling silently.


    A Devil beat me to it. I was too slow. Too weak, well I still have time, but how the hell can I kill a Devil. Those things are naturally stronger. I can¡¯t arouse suspicion.

 8. (p.4)

    Lord Agelas was a big creature, red skin, muscly arms and legs, large shoulders a well developed chest. He wore a resplendent shiny crimson armour. He caught Uther in his voice and boomed at him saying:


    ¡°Uther I trust you can keep the Demon Lords in line!¡± Agelas said, ¡°we need order in Cahov. I will annex the other Demons once I bring Cahov into order.¡±


    Uther was slightly bigger than Cathlor but much smaller than Agelas. Agelas was three metres tall, he was a strong being, able to teleport, able to revive Demons and other Devils. The halls of the palace had scurrying servants, most too scared to even glance at the new Emperor, the new Lord of Cahov.


    ¡°The Cahrin clan has ruled 400 years¡­ and Devil¡¯s merely obeyed the imperial family. Why did we ever do that I wonder?¡±


    Uther nodded.


    ¡°Tradition,¡± Uther posited.


    And loyalty. Something you apparently lack. Uther thought, knowing he couldn¡¯t be too honest.


    Agelas nodded, it was not the answer he was fishing for, but Agelas deemed it acceptable, he turned in a more authoritative manner, speaking to Uther with gravitas, Agelas probably used magic to make his voice resonate that bit more.


    ¡°Uther!¡± Agelas said, making the Demon jump, ¡°you are in charge of internal security. Make sure the Demons are loyal.¡±


    ¡°Yes your majesty,¡± Uther nodded, half shuddering.


    Uther relayed orders to lieutenants who organised security forces to restore order. All cities soon had jackboots armed with pikes, halberds and maces. Uther¡¯s communication crystal glowed and a rather panicked voice was heard on the other end, Agelas stood next to him.


    ¡°Lord¡­ Agelas was it?¡± The voice quivered.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Agelas answered impatiently, ¡°fucking¡­¡± he muttered inaudibly.


    ¡°Umm¡­ a Necromancer has appeared outside of Goblina. He has defeated an army sent to dispatch him,¡± the voice was clearly nervous, ¡°we require assistance¡­¡± the panicked soldier blurted finally.


    Agelas turned to his counsel, everyone looked confused, not least the generals who pretended to be busy, some looked at Agelas in fright while others turned away, not daring to meet his fiery red eyes. Uther just stood there perfectly still, ready to be dispatched wherever.


    ¡°Destroy this fucking filth,¡± Agelas said, his diction perfect, ¡°do you understand me?¡± Spittle flying out of his mouth, ¡°Undead in the land of Demons? Has our border security always been this lax?¡±


    ¡°We will deal with it,¡± one of his general¡¯s said, nervous beyond belief.


    Agelas shot a stare at the general and snarled, shooting a fireball into the ceiling and making the courtiers and soldiers jump.


    Ildrid had amassed a skeletal army at a plateau, they were gentle rolling hills, various fortresses and millions of Demon soldiers. Many of these forts and fortresses had been speedily built to crush any Goblin resistance. It was doubtful any Goblins would rise up in these circumstances or if any were even alive. Maras and Ildrid had entered the plain having taken small forts and marching through villages but clearly some of the villagers had narked on them, and with terrifying effect. Millions of Demons were behind them, millions more were in front of them, and to the side of them; they were completely surrounded. Maras snarled at the sight of so many, swivelling his head before preparing his voice.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t retreat you will all die!!¡± Maras said in the loudest voice he could.


    Only so many Demons heard him, and even they ignored him, taking it as a small yapping dog; the majority heard something but didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°Ildrid, I will protect you.¡±


    ¡°Yes Maras, and perhaps I will protect you.¡±


    If Maras could, he would have smiled at Ildrid¡¯s comment, any good feelings were first interrupted by large Demons that rampaged at them. 5 metre tall axe wielding Demons alongside others carrying large glowing swords. Reapers sliced their throats, and their blood dampened the ground. Large meteorites fell from the sky, taking out Demon and Undead; Ildrid was knocked upwards, and Maras caught him and put him back down. The battlefield devolved into chaos as Demons could be heard roaring as they charged down at them from all directions. Maras was at a severe disadvantage, without Ildrid he could simply flee and strike at the Demons from the hills. He chose to stay.


    ¡°Leave me¡­¡± Ildrid whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve caused enough trouble.¡±


    ¡°Damn it! No!¡±


    Reapers sliced and Wraiths flung knives at high velocity and frequency. Maras saved Ildrid from imminent destruction and stood next to his comrade in arms, his forces blunting the attack.


    ¡°We can both retreat to those hills, I can cover the retreat!¡± Ildrid said, changing his tune significantly.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s fight here, it will be messy, but we can win.¡±


    100s of Ghouls ripped into the Demons as they cascaded downwards. They felt the poison on their flesh, and collapsed upon being scratched, some tumbled down the slope, others attempted to pike the rabid creatures. Bane formed a protective shield, healing allies while absorbing the impact, ethereal beings vanished, skeletons used spears, pikes, arrows and axes. Both sides shot missiles, the Demons had larger heavier units that quite often bulldozed their way through, only to be sliced open. With death came more Undead, more skeletons poured out of the dead, not quite raised but summoned, the mana acquired from killing, allowed new skeletons to be summoned from the ether, the same was true for the ethereal beings. Maras was nearly destroyed, three Bane shielded him and revitalised his blue skeletal figure.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Maras whispered, ¡°I can¡¯t die here. Not like this.¡± I am dead already.


    Maras would grimace if he could.


    The Demons sent wave after wave, catapult shots, mages shot fireballs which fried many a skeleton and left many a Demon unaffected. Nonetheless Maras teleported Ildrid out of harms way, his Undead created enough death mana for Ildrid to create a whole formation of pikes. The Demons could be heard shouting, the pikes were not particularly pleasant to any kind of soldier, pikes were pikes.


    ¡°Archers Ildrid. They will increase casualties, more casualties, more Undead.¡±


    Ildrid nodded, he was nearly destroyed by the comet sized boulders, again Bane healed him.


    ¡°Those Bane¡­¡± Ildrid whispered.


    Maras stayed quiet, he knew exactly what his ally meant, and agreed wholeheartedly. The Undead advanced up the slope, it was gruelling bloody work, for the Demons charged down and up the slope. The Demons surrounded them. Skeleton pikes kept multiplying, Demons kept trying to fry them, and Maras sent some of his Spectres to assassinate the mages to get some stability.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to die¡­¡± Ildrid whispered.


    ¡°We are already dead remember?¡± Maras chuckled, he paused and then said, ¡°I have a contingency!¡±


    Ildrid sighed, and then turned to Maras wondering what Maras¡¯s plan could even be. Hours of combat it seemed, but it only had been thirty minutes; total utter carnage with slashes, stabs, fireballs, large boulders flying from the sky and the dead rising endlessly. The Demons nonetheless were ruthless and seemingly gaining the upper hand, pushing the Undead back and into a smaller space.

 8. (p.5)

    Ildrid could not maintain his skeletons, but it did not matter for Maras¡¯s Ghouls crashed into the flank of some of the Demons, they were heard screaming, they immediately attempted to blunt the attack. Pikes, swords and fire were used against the Undead, but it was the Demons whose fleshy exteriors were ripped into; Ghoul claws poisoned the Demons they scratched, the Demons were pushed back, the Demons tried their hardest to stabilise their lines. Maras¡¯s Ghouls were one thing, but it would be the newly promoted Ghoul Lord who would save Maras and Ildrid from certain doom. Large Demons heard nothing until they were swamped from behind; the beasts barrelled into their rear with animalistic scratching. Basara did not attack for too long, even 30,000 Ghouls could only fight the battle for so long against so many Demons, for they were being reinforced constantly. Maras despite being dead could smell, he could smell all the corpses. Demon anguish was not that different from Human anguish. He closed his eyes and turned toward Basara.


    ¡°Thank you Basara,¡± Maras said inaudibly to anyone but Basara, ¡°you must save yourself now.¡±


    Basara extricated the Ghouls expertly, while Maras and Ildrid retreated from the plains in defeat, the double envelopment was too much for Maras, instead they teleported to hills, crags and mountains. Spectres assassinated the Demons down below as the Demons furiously searched for the location of their foe. Basara fled the battlefield back to Bacterium to gather resources. Skeleton archers, crossbowmen and bowmen formed on the ridges, Ildrid readied himself to re-engage the Demons. It was an endless haze in the Demon world, not that the Undead needed sleep, but it was hard to tell how much time had passed, but it was at least three Human days. Spectres slowly whittled and attacked the Demons, before they sent some of their forces into the mountain passes. In the end Maras found that there were already a lot of Demon forces in these mountains. Flying Demons paradropped forces in, Devil commandos appeared.


    ¡°Time to die bonehead! Permanently!¡±


    Reapers battled them, upward, downward and sideways, scythe slices were blocked, held by the flesh like it was armour, for the metal could not penetrate far enough. Maras¡¯s Ghouls pushed the Devils down, scratching and ultimately killing the three that had tried to surprise them. Maras¡¯s operations against the Demons in the area had invited 10 armies to try and quash him. Maras smelled blood, but mostly he smelled the anger on the Demons tongues, even from afar it was hard to not notice such intense bloodlust. In himself he was a quiet brooding commander, understood by few.


    ¡°Thanks for saving me out there, if it wasn¡¯t for you, I would have been ground into powder,¡± Ildrid said breathlessly, albeit he had no breath, but he clearly felt the pressure of combat.


    ¡°Always Ildrid. Always. I¡¯ll save you every time. Even if the world is against us, no one will know of that glory, but that doesn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t happen,¡± there was something soft in Maras¡¯s voice.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Ildrid was quiet for a moment, a skeleton could not cry, but it looked again at the other skeletal figure. Ildrid had deep respect for his compatriot in arms, deeper than he would express in words.


    ¡°Humans won¡¯t even know our names,¡± Ildrid said.


    ¡°And yet, here we are.¡±


    Maras launched a brutal attack, it was chaotic, it was insane, it was bloody. Reapers and Spectres came out of nowhere to attack Demon reconnaissance parties, the plains that led to the forts below, they were now being peppered with arrows and bolts. The skeletons got their full revenge on the Demons. Goblins watched the carnage below, watching as Undead sliced, and ripped. It was suicidal but it was effective.


    ¡°They¡¯re over there! We can kill the Undead commanders!¡± One Demon soldier said pointing them out.


    A peasant stock Demon promoted above his station had command over 1000 imps and 1000 regulars, looked with awe at the carnage wrought on troops some kilometres ahead.


    ¡°What do we do commander?¡±


    If we just charge in we will be slaughtered. But if I delay too long I could be charged with treason, demoted.


    ¡°Advance forward!¡± He screamed, trying to inspire himself as much as he was his men.


    Thousands were already dead, spearmen sliced in half by reapers that carried their twirling scythes; Spectres hopped from place to place killing commander and common soldier alike. Ghouls rushed them from many directions, it seemed they had been summoned on the spot, and they had been, causing much carnage to the Demons.


    ¡°I will give you a show,¡± Maras whispered.


    He gave them an orchestra of death. Ghouls, Spectres and Reapers killed most spectacularly, at some point the randomness of Spectres faded, and Ghouls and Reapers ripped apart the Demons. Large Demon soldiers, magic wielding soldiers and mere infantry were crushed with utmost ferocity. Pools of blood, became lakes, in some places people had to hop; of course to Ghouls and Reapers this was nothing. Reapers floated around, Ghouls outright emerged from the lake to add to it. The low born Demon commander was in the fray, his soldiers ripped apart.


    ¡°No! Erez! Fuck. Damn you Undead!¡±


    His head was cut off, his achievements ended there. Maras checked up on Ildrid, skeletons poured down the mountain, axe wielding and spear wielding, the Spectres and Ghouls merely continued their killing while the crimson stained skeletons plunged their weapons into Demon bodies. A horde of imps charged at the skeletons for they intended to blunt the Undead advance, but it was futile. Ghouls scratched at anything like wolverines, and with each death that only added to the cascade of Undead. Goblins watched from atop the neighbouring mountains.


    ¡°That is a Necromancer¡­¡± a father said to a son, ¡°a person who wields death, who is death.¡±


    ¡°Death¡­¡± the son said.


    Green skin, hooked nose, claw like hands, boils in some places, leathery skin, and short statures.


    ¡°Why is he here?¡± The son asked in a questioning tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know son, I wonder does it even know?¡± The Goblin father trembled.


    Both trembled at the thought, to them it was creepy, but it was not the target of the Undead¡¯s ire.


    The battle progressed to where Maras was before, he fully integrated his Undead army to the location, fully committing Ghouls and Reapers.


    ¡°I am Maras! I have come to make sure you never wage war on Humans, to make sure you never wage on our lands ever again!¡± The Undead Lord boomed across the valley, ¡°your Demon Lord will be killed by me.¡±

 8. (p.6)

    The Demons took it as an insult, and all across the valley they shot fire balls, shot meteorites, charged soldiers at him, shot arrows, the whole slew of their arsenal came to utterly crush Maras for uttering such words. Devils duelled his Reapers, Demons were sliced, and more of the valley ran red with the blood of the Demon soldiers. Maras spent an entire week on this battlefield. He had rushed back and forth, saved Ildrid, and collected death mana through the dead; Ildrid now emerged from the mountains with millions and could not be contained, his army rolling up all the Demons on the plain, so many stomping skeletons; stabbing, cutting, killing; whatever was left of the Demon army ran, the rest were slaughtered which only increased the Undead. Ildrid annihilated any resistance and promptly took nearby fortresses. Some Demons dropped to their knees and raised their hands and surrendered, which Ildrid accepted; they had soiled themselves, and bawled for mercy, the Demons watched the Undead army march across with astonishment. Maras had acquired 100,000 Ghouls in the course of the battle. Ildrid and Maras had killed 50 million, such a cataclysmic defeat for the Demons left no chance at stopping Maras.


    ¡°I¡¯m a monster¡­¡± Maras whispered, ¡°even if they are Demons. I may have caused war for a thousand years.¡±


    ¡°You might have,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°you might have scared them for 2000. They chose to fight us.¡±


    ¡°Even so¡­¡± Maras said clutching his face, ¡°many mothers will be sad over the coming days, weeks, months.¡± Years.


    ¡°This is what they wanted for others,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°but yes. Perhaps you should rule the Demons.¡±


    Maras balked at the suggestion. They marched on Goblina, taking it without any more of a fight. Fortress garrisons outright ran away from him. The scourge of the Demons. Basara supplied him with green crystals, which he used in his administration of the city, crops, water, food and supplies soon entered the greatly destroyed mining city. The Goblins were made into regular citizens. He saw Demons cursing him. Some refused his charity, glaring at the butcher of so many Demons, others accepted it, but with glares, some acted, and others still accepted it for what it was, a bribe. Maras and Ildrid slowly crawled towards Carson. Unlike Warlocks they could not teleport so flagrantly or defeat Demon forces so easily, but they could walk eternally without rest. They marched to the city of Carson, it was the closest target, and the Undead marched without tiring as the Demon soldiers formed a massive army before them. General Ismor a Devil, had built ditches, towers, marshalled millions of Demon footmen many millions more of imps. Devil noblemen, Demon noblemen, large Demons armed with axes and large swords, millions of troops armed and ready.


    ¡°General Ismor, high Devil Agelas has given you supreme authority over Carson. You are to put down this Undead scum and return to Cahovia when you are done,¡± Ismor had received his orders from high command through a communication crystal with no equivocation.


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    Maras and Ildrid had taken over villages, and some forts, he had no supply lines, he did not need food, or rest, but he did need supplies for the villages, bribes to keep rebellion to a minimum and to make sure the Demons respected him, which they did not. Maras could smell future blood, he could smell the Demon sweat, the anxiousness from afar, the triumphalism, the innate anger, overwhelming emotions that could only be trouble.


    ¡°Ildrid they are waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°What do you wish to do?¡± Ildrid said, a little bit worried, his voice shook in trepidation.


    ¡°Do not fret my friend, there may be a lot of them. But they do not have an Ildrid among them.¡±


    Ildrid laughed, perhaps for the first time in a while. He still stared at the blue ethereal figure, making his own quip.


    ¡°That is true, but a Maras is far more terrifying.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is,¡± Maras whispered, ¡°we are here to make sure the Demons never again invade our world. That means overthrowing Agelas and ensuring a true peace,¡± he said much louder.


    His example was a bad one, for the Demons opinion of Undead was now quite beyond hatred.


    ¡°There is no such thing as peace,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°there is only preparation for war, has your long life not proved that.¡±


    ¡°We must do better than our ancestors, Ildrid, has your-¡±


    ¡°Enough already, I get it, I understand,¡± Ildrid said, ¡°although both can be true.¡±


    Both indeed can be true. Maras thought.


    Maras and Ildrid faced the massive Demon army. Maras decided to at least attempt a negotiation.


    ¡°If the Demons promise to not invade our world and Agelas promises to step down. We will leave!¡± Maras said, throwing a knife into the ground for extra effect.


    ¡°Agelas is the rightful Demon Lord. It¡¯s time to sleep Necromancer. Permanently! Mages!¡± One Demon officer said, and something like it was repeated by many other officers.


    Fire rained down on the Necromancers, and Maras gave them ethereal blade and claw to taste. Ghouls ravaged the front lines, soldiers screamed, Demon commanders created an immense fire wall that annihilated everything not Demonic.


    ¡°Ildrid!¡± Maras said in a commanding tone.


    Ildrid fired many arrows into the Demon lines, and the Demon lines fired many arrows back, alongside fiery walls of destruction intended to knock out the the Undead from the battle. Spectres teleported behind the mages, sorcerers and archers gutted them.


    ¡°Now Ildrid!¡±


    More skeletal archers began hailing down on the Demon lines, inflicting casualties with no way of returning fire. Maras continued for 5 minutes. Ildrid increased the amount of archers as the volleys became even more devastating. When the Demons faltered, the fire stopped and Ghouls embedded with skeletal axemen took out the front lines. It was a complete blood bath, Wraiths took the first line of trenches. Demon pikemen and maces attempted to take the trench back, large Demons caused tremors in the ground, attempting to wrestle the ground from the Undead. The roars of the large Demons added to the ambience of battle; slashing, hacking, and the clanging of metal, and of course the groans of the dying, slit throats, slit arms, the gurgling of blood of the dying. Ildrid led from the rear, Maras teleported to new locations, and summoned his troops.


    ¡°Hold the line!¡± Demon officers screamed and regular soldiers repeated.

 8. (p.7)

    General Ismor towers did a good job at whittling down the Undead, protecting his base camp, not allowing them to gain much of a foothold, but when everything seemed to be stable, the Demons and their Devil overlords delivered something to crush the Necromancer; Demon cavalry charged with thunderous hooves, allaying the Demons¡¯ fears of defeat, they rode through much of the Undead. Undead spears on the other hand were seriously hampered by fire, the Undead crackled under Demon attack. Imps rolled down the hills, forward and onward, Maras looked like he was about to be heavily flanked, surrounded, if not outright destroyed. Large Demons smashed the lines, Devils joined in the fray, more pikes came to their aid; Maras¡¯s force were pushed back, an impish army came at their rear. Skeletal pikes held a formation to keep them at bay, and Ildrid¡¯s archers opened more devastating salvos; Maras¡¯s Wraiths slowed the momentum of the flanking manoeuvre, their constant slinging of knives devastating the charge. Demon riders were unhorsed, the elite troops were being rinsed from the front. As time went on, more archers produced more salvos, more Ghouls tore the belly out of the Demon flanks, Wraiths took out elite units, and the momentum began to turn, as Maras¡¯s units began to churn. Maras¡¯s Reapers smashed into the front, lopping off heads, Ildrid produced more axemen and sent them after the imps, but focused most of his attention on creating an ever increasing hail of arrows. A slow and bloody maul ensued, the cavalry¡¯s momentum was stopped completely, the elites began slowly falling, and regular rank and file began cracking in certain places. Demonic towers fired down at the now advancing Undead forces, but Spectres soon took over said towers.


    ¡°Ildrid!¡± Maras screamed, in the thick of the fighting.


    Demon towers were converted into Undead towers, Ildrid stuffing the towers with archers, nonetheless the city of Carson still had Demon archers occasionally that peppered the Undead, but the effect on the Demons was not good. Ismor¡¯s troops were being crunched. He was aghast at the power of the Necromancers, he watched the casualties accumulate.


    Who are these, what are they? Ismor thought


    The numerical superiority did not help, all Ismor could see where his troops dying, and Undead being raised. Elite Devil troops revived Demon troops, but Ghouls continued to push the Demons backwards into the trenches and then out of them, Wraiths helped bring down Devil after Devil, more imps were brought endlessly out from the city, and from Ismor¡¯s reserves to try plug gaps. They were just added to the slaughter; Ildrid¡¯s hail of arrows turned on the imps behind them, more or less finishing them off before turning to the Demon army in front of Maras. Ismor looked at the spectacle of death, paralysed, screaming to his troops to finish the dead, but unable to think of a solution. Skeletal melee units began to reinforce Maras¡¯s units. More Demon mages attempted to create a firewall, Spectres and Ildrid¡¯s archers quickly neutralised them. Demons put wooden barricades, they were quickly knocked over, the second trench fell, imps and Demon regular troops in a panicked state attempted to beat back the Undead. They were unsuccessful. The city of Carson¡¯s walls were taken over, firing at the behinds of the Demons. The walls became a battle ground too, Demon archers tried to take their spot on the walls, skeletons prevented it, skeletal archers were adding to the hail storm that hit the Demons. Ildrid was racking up enemy casualties, which meant he could add more troops to the fray. Skeletons added a consistency to the Undead army, while Maras¡¯s units acted as a more of an elite shock troop; both bludgeoned the Demons and Devils endlessly. Ildrid captured the walls completely, preventing Ismor¡¯s troops from retreating, while skeleton troops circled around the beleaguered Cahov army. Ismor attempted to break out of the encirclement, but it consistently got worse. Every attempt at a breakout lead to more casualties.


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    ¡°Fry them!¡± Ismor screamed defiantly. He swivelled as he said it, trying desperately to inspire a break out, ¡°don¡¯t let him win!¡±


    Troops died at an astonishing rate. Demons hid behind their shields, but the Undead picked them apart. Ismor would die heroically, he would be the last to die through twisted fate; his troops were all killed, all demon would rue the date, Maras stabbed Ismor personally, but it was a Reaper that would lop his arms and legs and then his head. 100 million Demons lay dead, 20,000 Devils, while Maras had lost many, he had replenished much of his forces, Ildrid stormed Carson, but the garrison soon surrendered, hearing that the vast Demon army outside had been bested put them in no mood to resist.


    Just outside the city, the dead bodies littered the view, the trenches were filled, the dirt became a dark red with the blood of the Demons. The decomposing bodies were cremated, a large unavoidable fate after such a massacre. Maras marched on the local forts, Demons surrendered without much of a fight. When Agelas¡¯s bodyguard heard of the defeat, he was butchered, Maras had no knowledge of this, marching his Undead army to take forts and towns along the way. The great city of Volcanar was taken by Spectres as well as Ultremar. No one had the stomach to fight the great Undead army, simply letting it roll through their territory in the vain hope that it would leave.


    ¡°What kind of regime should we leave here?¡± Ildrid mused, ¡°should we rule the Demons?¡±


    ¡°It is best not,¡± Maras said, ¡°our forces took their lands as a show of strength. We cannot hold these lands, not without even more carnage.¡±


    ¡°Which you¡¯re against?¡± Ildrid mused with mirth and skepticism.


    ¡°Ildrid, we fought soldiers and beat them, this is not uncommon in any land. If we fight rebels, it will get ugly. I might be Undead, but that¡¯s not who I am.¡±


    For sure Maras. I will see to it, that I will emulate you. That you live up to those words. Perhaps exist is better words.

 8. (p.8)

    Ildrid rattled with every movement, traders and common Demon kind moved out the way, as the Undead marched along the royal roads. It took one month for Ildrid and Maras to march into Cahovia. They did not take over the administration, instead they negotiated with some of the Demon Lords and Devil Lords to change the regime. The grand fiery city of lava and many kinds of Demons were intrigued by the Necromancer¡¯s proposals, particularly one of them. They entered through the grand plazas and boulevards, the strange Demonic gardens were passed by before the two Undead flanked by a bunch of Spectres and Wraiths entered the royal palaces. Maras was ready to teleport out of the city, and begin war at the slightest bit of intrigue against them. Lord Uther, the ambassador to the Devils, a man who had survived two regimes stood before the two Undead; with neither happiness nor anger, a slithering specimen who could live under any regime. The room was tense, Maras and Ildrid had waged a devastating war on the Demons which had led to another toppled government. Now power brokers stood in front of each other, discussing the future of the Cahov.


    ¡°In exchange for leaving our world alone, we will pay you in Bacterium crystal. As you well know it is highly valuable for it¡¯s ability to make things grow, and to create water,¡± Maras explained.


    Ildrid looked at the Demons, they were all poker faced, not making any discernible expressions, still intrigued on what was going to be said.


    ¡°You will be permitted to enter the continent of Bacterium to hunt them yourselves. But anywhere else with military purposes, and we will fight you,¡± Ildrid said.


    Uther looked at the two of them and chuckled slightly.


    ¡°You want us to be some sort of Republic, you will pay us, and we are allowed to go to Bacterium ourselves, that¡¯s the deal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a better deal than you deserve,¡± Maras said truthfully, ¡°it is also the most profitable deal. The other continents have nothing on them, Bacterium is useful to us for we can harvest death mana, it is useful to you because the resources from Bacteria can help your economy.¡±


    The Demonic Lords could not argue with the Undead ethereal beings logic, he was unequivocally right.


    ¡°We agree to your terms skeleton, now go back to your world,¡± Uther said, clasping his nasal bridge, ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡± he said to the other Demons.


    ¡°I assure you, the Undead remember,¡± Ildrid said, a potent warning, ¡°we have a very long memory.¡±


    The Undead left, a portal opened by Basara using the green crystals led them out back to Bacterium. The Demons now argued with themselves.


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    ¡°Lord Uther are you seriously thinking we should create a republic?¡±


    ¡°A republic seems fine,¡± Uther whispered, nearly tutting in frustration, ¡°Cahrin, then Agelas. Why not calm down, accept the bribes, occasionally take some Bacteria crystal.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± a different Lord, a Lord of Volcanar said, ¡°I agree with Uther, I also agree with Maras. The rest of the Human world is all hassle and no profit.¡±


    ¡°Volcanium, there is another matter we must discuss¡­¡± Uther said, everyone looked at Uther with distrust and anxiety, ¡°apparently some sort of exile port has been established, a city called Aterpea. It consists of deserters on the Continent of Sand.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Volcanium rumbled.


    Volcanium was a large Draconic being that was nearly four metres tall, his whole body was the colour of volcanic obsidian, a dragon like creature, an old Lord, and most importantly quiet.


    ¡°I have seen a few different regimes, the Cahrin, then this Agelas. I let him do whatever, I¡¯ve seen the dynasty before the Cahrin when I was a little boy. Oh the Oldregars. Monarchies are overrated. They work fine if you have a good ruler, but otherwise, they are often as bloody as incompetent. If we are being paid to not invade. It might not be such a bad thing,¡± Volcanium rumbled along, coughing at the end of it all.


    Volcanium¡¯s draconic eyes stared down the room, and soon the others were more a less in agreement. Uther however had been ignited into an explosion of emotions, his true opinions left his mouth.


    ¡°You were the one!¡± Uther leapt up, ¡°you killed Agelas!¡±


    ¡°As he killed Cahrin.¡±


    ¡°They were already killing each other!¡± Uther protested, ¡°everyone knows that Agelas merely cleared up the mess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hardly a Cahrin loyalist, he started a war that cost millions of Demons their lives. He kept slaves which soon enough rebelled and caused chaos,¡± Volcanium explained, ¡°why should I-¡±


    ¡°Damn you Volcanium, Damn you!¡±


    Uther was livid. Uther threw up his arms, and was about to take weapons out.


    ¡°Yes you were part of the subjugation effort, and I hurt your pride,¡± Volcanium rumbled, which soon transformed into a chuckle, ¡°don¡¯t take it so personally.¡±


    ¡°If you were so against the invasion why didn¡¯t you say something?¡± Uther protested, his voice sharp intending to cast aspersions at Volcanium.


    ¡°Lord Cahrin was not one to take disagreement as anything less than treason,¡± Volcanium bluntly and defensively said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not even a true Demon!¡± Uther said, hitting a sore spot, which instead of producing anger produced laughter.


    Volcanium grinned with his canine teeth, his dark igneous rock skin having dark red magma welling up from his mouth. He blew a flame out like a smoker would blow a cigarette.


    ¡°Uh you Demons are so tiresome,¡± Volcanium growled, ¡°my father served the dynasty before the Cahrins. 542cc our family moved from the Drake Isles to the Cahov Empire. We founded Volcanium.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the history lesson, but that still makes you an outsider. Unworthy to even be a Lord.¡±


    ¡°We served Cahov in war and in peace,¡± Volcanium breathed, ¡°Drakes are not popular among Demons but like you Fire Demons, we are very familiar with fire.¡±


    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Uther said slamming his fist onto the table.


    It echoed briefly, the other spectators tensing in these momentous moments. History was being made. Everyone eyed their weapons, some administrative clerks, merely flicked their eyes around, wondering who was going to make the next move.

 8. (p.9)

    If shit goes down, where am I going to hide? A thin clerk thought.


    ¡°Everything,¡± Volcanium said adamantly, ¡°everything. Agelas was a mad power hungry despot who didn¡¯t even know the misery he caused,¡± Volcanium¡¯s voice echoed, booming across the corridors outside.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Uther shouted.


    He clasped his hand and men came rushing through the doorways, spears pointed, at least three Devils came to point their blades at Volcanium. Every entrance and exit was blocked, and anyone who was normal they would be in a panic trying to get out.


    ¡°We will find a monarch to rule this land!¡± Uther said adamantly.


    ¡°Are you sure you wish to do this?¡± Volcanium rumbled.


    ¡°You are not one to make threats. Your bluffs are nothing. We will find a true Demon to rule your land.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Volcanium repeated ominously.


    A soldier attempted to spear him, but Volcanium not only breathed fire but outright threw one Demon into another, when the Devil¡¯s attempted to teleport he shot them with fire through the stomach, clawed the other two and batted one with his tail before he caught another soldier and gutted him as well. The other soldiers, neutral soldiers stared in awe at the martial prowess of the Drake. The soldiers stared at Volcanium, and he stared back growling at them.


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    ¡°The royalist attempt at a coup has failed, Cahov will become a Republic, we will consult Demon kind!¡± Volcanium proclaimed.


    Uther was fleeing in the madness, bumping into a Drake¡¯s stomach and falling over.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    ¡°Who is he?¡± The Drake asked.


    The neutral soldiers saw which way the wind was blowing and crowded around, bringing Uther back to the table.


    ¡°Volcanium?¡± One soldier said, ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Volcanium barked back.


    The soldier shuddered in response, his red eyes stared at the draconic black eyes in front of him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to become king, the new supreme Lord of all Demons?¡±


    Volcanium laughed, then sat down, his breath smelled of cinders, his draconic hands extending claws as he merely scratched the table before him.


    ¡°I am not a man who wishes for power,¡± Volcanium said, ¡°dictators, kings, emperors they are a curse upon us. Let it be known that I stand for a Republic.¡± For now. The time is not right.


    ¡°You pretending to be oh so noble and holier than thou is sickening,¡± Uther said.


    Volcanium stabbed Uther through the chest. The stab audible, the slop of blood that splattered on the floor, both audible and smellable.


    ¡°I¡¯m not holier than thou, I rid of you now, to prevent coups later.¡±


    ¡°Fuck¡­ you.¡± Uther said in his last breath.


    ¡°No one can lambast me for this, he would kill more if I spared him,¡± Volcanium said, to little lament.


    The other Demon Lords merely nodded, there was not much more to them than vassals of the Demon Lord, yet now each Demon Lord had a semi equal say in the new order. For now. This semi Republican system had an obvious flaw, Volcanium was far too powerful. Nonetheless for now, there was a Republic. For now.

 9. Conquests

    9. Conquests


    Madakos spent the next month retrieving the Shadow Elves from the Continent of Sand, and put them in their new city; in another realm, far away from politics, fortified fully with towers, ditches and endless cityscapes. The power of Zira housed, fed and watered Madakos and the Shadow Elves. The Warlocks chose to segregate themselves from the world, the Shadow Elves disappeared from their world to a world crawling with Bacteria. In a sea of Bacteria, no one without great power could follow them, and even then they would think twice. Madakos lived in bliss, having impregnated his wife and simply enjoyed his small estate far from the stresses of the other world. 942 cc late spring/early summer, Madakos the Warlock disappeared from the world he was born from, having already left a vacuum.


    942cc Summer. Months had gone by. The Kingdom of Dina suffered a fatal weakness, their colonies, their life line on the continent of Bacteria were cut off, partly due to fights with Basara and partly because they were overwhelmed by Bacteria themselves. The Kingdom of Lin had in this moment of weakness marshalled their troops to destroy one of their biggest rivals. Soldiers marched northwards. 50,000 troops, alongside many light mages marched northwards, spell casting beams of light that eviscerated the Undead. Dina¡¯s Necromancers tried to put up a fight, killing soldiers in traps and sending their Undead forces to try and take down the Lin army. It was not stopped, light priests marvelled at their work.


    ¡°Why are they so weak?¡± One light mage asked with suspicion, eyeing the surroundings, ¡°it feels like a trap.¡±


    Lin troops flag paraded their white flag, a flag with a golden sun on the top of the banner beaming golden rays down, a flag never seen so deep within Dina; black flags with orange stripes were stripped down at every turn. Undead burned in holy rays, cavalry screened left and right, a little confused at how few Undead there were to face them. The flag of Lin hoisted proudly and without contestation.


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    They had no way of knowing that Dina having lost their bacteria farms were now much weaker and had lost a most precious income of death mana, and therefore had no way to properly summon Undead and resist, Lin marched into their lands and butchered the Undead, and their acolyte Human allies, some of which were spared and forced to repent. Not one fort remained, not one Undead left; the Light mages bathed the ground in holy light. Dina was destroyed. Some of the repenting acolytes, colonists and soldiers settled the northern lands, while the large bulk of Lin¡¯s army marched south. Dina was purified, Dina¡¯s dark ground, twisted and devoid ground was basked in holy light; still the ground wasn¡¯t particularly fertile, much of it dry, but Lin made an attempt at turning Dina green. Future administrators would admit that Dina was poor, but the purpose of eliminating such a rival wasn¡¯t economic, it was a symbolic propaganda victory, the light would triumph over Undeath, ¡®good¡¯ would triumph over ¡®evil,¡¯ or so the propaganda went.


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    A week of marching led them to the borderlands with Sumar. Sumar¡¯s blue flags with white dots were ripped down and the Lin army marched into and across their borders. The city of Sumar itself fell into their hands; the fighting was minimal, the city was a wreck; there were broken walls, smouldered plazas and perhaps some workers who had attempted to repair something, they were no match for Lin¡¯s armies. The countryside was mostly ashes, but there were small villages, awe struck villagers, smelling of dirt and sweat. The villagers saw and felt the rhythmic marching, the ground reverberated at the sight.


    ¡°What is that?¡± One villager said, pointing at the banners, his voice raspy, and his face gaunt.


    The flag of Lin, the white banner with a golden sun with golden beams beaming down, appeared and fluttered triumphantly as soldiers strolled through their villages; a symbol of conquest, this was no mere raid. Villagers stopped digging and plowing their fields, Lin soldiers caused the ground to shake and dust up, held in suspension in the air, as the hooves clanked and the soldiers marched in. The city of Sumar had fallen, and this news quickly spread through Sumar; criers shouted it, peasants repeated it. The countryside was easy for the conquerors, as the peasants had been fed up with Sumar rule, many of them barely blinked an eye as the Lin soldiers in their white golden uniforms rode through their lands. Forts and fortresses that gave any state a degree of defensibility and time to react were not present; they had relied on Lin¡¯s honour which at this moment was nonexistent.


    ¡°These are now lands of Lin!¡± A man said reading off some scroll, ¡°Lin¡¯s laws, Lin¡¯s power shall be felt here.¡±


    Villagers with hardy tanned faces, gruff dirty fingernails and outright tattered clothes looked at the uniformed soldiers with skepticism; they did not say much, scared of reprisals by the new authorities, the peasants cautiously stared at the invaders, and then continued their work.


    ¡°They have a different vibe from that woman,¡± one of the peasants grumbled.


    ¡°Lin has come to restore order! Respect that church. Fear the Angels. They will come back!¡±


    ¡°Angels?¡± Many whispered breathlessly.


    ¡°Archbishop Michael runs this land now! All hail Lin. All hail the Angels! All hail god!¡± The soldier said.


    Peasants mumbled the words, and even when they shouted it, they pretended, and perhaps there were some newfound collaborators, opportunities would always create opportunists, or so it has been said.

 9. (P.2)

    Elana who had liberated Sumar was in Fortus reequipping herself, she had opinions for the new monarchy. She sat in Fortus, enjoying some tea and enjoying the peace that came with not having to work.


    ¡°The old Sumere monarchy was deeply unpopular, I have yet to find anyone who actually liked them,¡± Jafar said softly, ¡°with no monarchy our kingdom is vulnerable, a kingdom without a king is vulnerable¡­¡±


    The swinging tavern doors of the bar flung open, a man immediately bellowed.


    ¡°Lin has invaded, general Utran has swept southwards!¡±


    Izotz summoned an ice elemental, and looked down on everyone with a grim grin, gripping his hand, and cracking his knuckles in nervousness; he breathed out and then deeply in, Izotz¡¯s eyes glanced around the saloon, wondering if there were infiltrators in the room already.


    They could be here already. Lin wouldn¡¯t invade without having spies in Sumar. They must have sniffed our weakness. Treacherous bastards. And possibly assassins. I was careless. Too careless.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am it seems Sumar is being invaded again,¡± another regular soldier repeated, receiving a death glare from Elana, who knew full well what the words she just heard meant.


    Elana opened up a map of the world, eyeing her close companions.


    ¡°Jafar, Izotz, we should be careful to not become isolated in a sea of Lin soldiers. Cahov encountered resistance, there are no forts outside of Suno and Fortus that can offer any resistance to the Lin kingdom. They were all destroyed,¡± she said ominously, ¡°our kingdom is ashes¡­¡± she muttered with a wince.


    Her allies had grim faces, Jafar tapped the table, Izotz tapped his foot on the floor.


    Meanwhile Lin¡¯s troops marched in loose formations through the Sumar countryside. Villages and towns fell rather simply. Flags were hoisted and Lin troops thundered across the roads and ash, meandering through the territory of Sumar before fortifying their camps and starting the next day. What little grass there was treaded, shit from horses and oxen littered the ground, destroyed villages were passed by and the soldiers looked with curiosity at the site.


    ¡°The Demons did a number on them huh?¡± One soldier said quietly.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± another soldier said.


    The Lin army had advanced 80 kilometres in a day, their cavalry squadrons taking villages ahead of the infantry. Elana desperately contacted Roderic through a communication crystal.


    ¡°Roderic, we are being invaded by Lin.¡±


    ¡°Lin?¡± He said, ¡°what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Our northern neighbour has burst through the border,¡± Elana said matter of factly.


    ¡°We still don¡¯t even have a king,¡± Roderic said breathlessly, ¡°what are you going to do? What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°I will do my utmost,¡± Elana said, ¡°honour compels me.¡±


    ¡°We are Sumar now,¡± Roderic whispered, ¡°stay safe out there.¡±


    ¡°Huh what was¡­¡± she said, seeing the transmission had ended, ¡°damn man.¡±


    ¡°Shall we march?¡± Jafar said, ¡°you are the hope of Sumar.¡±


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    ¡°I am a mere commander,¡± Elana said humbly.


    Not to me, not to any of us.


    Her humility made the lot of them grit their teeth with determination. Their hands tightened, their blades rasped from their scabbards, the whole saloon was filled with faces of silent grimness. Alcohol was swigged down by the common man, the summoners awaited orders.


    Nearly a week later, Elana and her small retinue met a Lin army detachment outside of Suno.


    ¡°We are to join up with Roderic in order to bolster our forces,¡± Izotz said, ¡°I can understand the strategy, but if they catch us unawares, we¡¯ll all be destroyed and Sumar will perish.¡±


    Nina a gryphon summoner, and Talida an air elemental summoner joined Roderic. Roderic was short and stocky, despite his height he had clearly worked on his musculature, a specimen of a man, who had worked on himself to become an anchor for Sumar when needed. 10,000 holy warriors put their shields together before Izotz¡¯s ice elementals showered them with ice. Light rays attacked them blinding the entire field. Talida, the wiry air elemental summoner used her elementals to cause a storm, the light encapsulating the field disappeared, and soldiers found it hard to hold onto their positions. Izotz kept his barrage, the ice impaling people¡¯s feet and puncturing shields, and then mere moments later gryphons swooped down and started picking up soldiers, crunching them and breaking up their lines.


    ¡°Charge them!¡±


    Elana summoned metal Golems that immediately smashed into the Lin army. The Lin commander was disorientated, not knowing from where the next attack would come. Jafar and Roderic summoned water elementals that lassoed and ended life in piercing thrusts or tossed people into sharp objects like a shrike would. The summoners did their best to keep the Lin army at bay.


    ¡°For Sumar!¡± Elana said raising a sword.


    A mostly decorative instrument where spells would emanate from, the whooshing sound of the blade nonetheless captivated the hearts of men. Screams from Lin soldiers followed, as they were bludgeoned by 1.5 metre Golems interspersed with 2 metre Golems. The larger Golems dived into the lines, blades not cutting through their armour like skin as much as they smashed skulls. White cloaks soiled with blood and shit, the putrid smell, the horrifying screams of men was not something anyone took lightly. The summoners noticed cavalry, Jafar and Roderic created a muddy bog, and then lassoed soldiers off their horses. Talida¡¯s air elementals made a strong gust of wind that unhorsed even more riders and made Lin projectiles fall far short of their intended targets. General Utran was a distance away with the vast majority of his army, here his army were cut down, the ¡®hills of blood¡¯ a name that would soon go down in infamy. The sub commander had long since been killed his army fighting out of pure spite. Roderic and Elana took turns to wreck their army. 10,000 infantry, joined by 5000 cavalry, which soon became 12,000 corpses.


    ¡°Mom! Save me!¡± A soldier could be heard screaming.


    ¡°By the gods¡­¡± Elana whispered, ¡°put the guy out of his misery.¡±


    A stab in the chest and the screaming stopped, blood oozed out of the man¡¯s mouth, a pit of despair. General Utran¡¯s full army was soon spotted by Nina¡¯s gryphons.


    ¡°They¡¯re very close, there¡¯s no way we can possibly¡­¡± Nina stopped speaking, her face going deathly pale.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Roderic demanded, ¡°what did you see?¡±


    ¡°Angels¡­ Archangels.¡± Nina gulped, ¡°and a fuck tonne of them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Izotz said.


    Izotz¡¯s stare was palpable, he had no idea what they were talking about. Elana gave a brief glance. The figures were illuminated, large beings, carrying glittering blades of light.


    ¡°We can¡¯t beat Angels in a pitched battle!¡± Elana said frantically, ¡°we have made them suffer. But if we fight them now, there may never be a Sumar.¡±


    ¡°Nina! Talida!¡± Roderic began, ¡°your gryphons and air elementals are to delay them while we make a run for it.¡±


    Six of them made delaying actions, sending their summoned creatures to confront the Angels. The Angels flashed before them, their sabres cutting through the summoned creatures, shrugging off damage as they healed each other.


    ¡°Since when?¡± Roderic whispered.


    ¡°Since now!¡± The Angel said.


    Wind elementals blew them away, one singular Angel was felled in their retreat but not more. Angels revived their lost Angel before, they all descended on the summoners. Ice elementals and gryphons kept them at bay as the thundering of Lin¡¯s troops could be heard following them.


    ¡°We can¡¯t beat Angels!¡± Nina said, ¡°we must run.¡±


    In the end, an other Angel was destroyed only to be revived mere moments later. General Utran hissed, as the Sumar remnants sailed off rapidly, 6 of Roderic¡¯s ships had been requisitioned, so he left the harbour of Suno with a mere 4 ships, hurtling through the waters and away from the Lin invaders. The Angels made the Sumar garrison shit themselves, soldiers quickly subdued the guards, making traitors out of the new population before marching down to Fortus. At least 3 metres tall, with freakishly long blades, they stared ominously out to sea at Roderic¡¯s ships. Sumar the state was finished, but Sumar lived.

 9. (p.3)

    Archbishop Michael and Lord archangel William stared at on another, looking over a map of the continent. Michael had black hair, dark eyes but had a soft expression, soft and yet vicious; a tall man of some 1.9 metres, thin and regal. William had a luminescent halo above his head, wings, and a sheathed sword, dark blue dress and uniform with glowing blonde hair.


    ¡°You have done well to crush the Undead, that is why we are helping you. Sumar is nearly cleared out,¡± the Angel paused and swallowed some spit, ¡°do you wish to crush the Orcs or the Demons first?¡±


    ¡°We head south and crush the Demons. Urir and Teutona and then we crush Arar.¡±


    ¡°May I suggest taking Urir first.¡±


    A messenger rushed into the room.


    ¡°The Orcs have invaded on our northern border.¡±


    ¡°New or old?¡±


    ¡°The whole front is being attacked by Orcish warriors,¡± the messenger said, bowing his head, being respectful of the head of Angels and of Lin.


    ¡°William. I want your help in totally crushing these cunts.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the Lord Archangel William said totally unfazed, ¡°with pleasure.¡±


    The Orcs had 40,000 troops total,20,000 wolf riders and 20,000 infantry. They were dressed in customary Orcish uniform, the nobility had more armour, the regular infantry less; regular infantry having chainmail and some plate armour, while nobles had more plate and more body coverage. Spears and axes, Orcish swords, some curved some straight. They were aiming for Lina and would have been successful, had it not been for the army that blocked them. It would not be the crossbows but the Angels appearing before the Orcs that would drive them back. Large glowing swords seared through Orcish flesh, Orcish crossbowmen attempted to pierce the Angels, the Angels appeared before the crossbowmen and ended them in long slashes that killed three or more in each stroke. Heavy cavalry smashed into the Orcish cavalry, light mages blinded the Orcs in dazzling light while the Angels slaughtered the Orcs on the field. The battle of the red fields was nothing short of a slaughter, the giant wolves dispersed fleeing from their fallen riders. The field was filled with Orcish blood. Orcs on occasion killed a man or two, sometimes even succeeding in bringing down an angel, only for the Angel to be resurrected. 2000 Angels turned the battle into a macabre slaughter. 10,000 Lin soldiers, 2000 Angels proceeded to butcher 40,000 Orcs. Leaving nothing but rotting corpses behind.


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    ¡°Army command says we march on Uzal!¡± A communications officer shouted.


    ¡°General Bellador, what about our supplies?¡±


    ¡°We are to take them from our enemies,¡± Bellador proclaimed, ¡°that seems logical enough right?¡±


    The soldiers glanced at their commander with worry. Mirzan, the archangel in command of the Angels on the field, looked behind him at the Human he was liaising with.


    ¡°Is the Human plan¡¯s quite sane?¡± Mirzan said to an angel.


    ¡°We can facilitate them, this is after all a part of William¡¯s plan. The more land, the more followers, the more magic.¡±


    ¡°The more Angels¡­¡± the Angel said quietly.


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    Is that how it works? A human thought as he eavesdropped on the conversation.


    The Orcish bastion of Uzal did not expect an invasion, they had no idea that the Orcish invaders had been butchered. The dark walls suddenly experienced Angels on the battlements demanding surrender. There was some resistance, but a few were simply thrown off the battlements. Bellador got his communication crystal and talked to Michael himself.


    ¡°What are we doing to the Orcs?¡±


    ¡°What are you asking commander?¡± Michael said.


    ¡°I want to hear from the archbishop himself, what are we doing with them? Expelling then, converting them?¡± Bellador asked, clearly begging for an answer.


    ¡°Converting them,¡± Michael said, ¡°take over the city of Uzal and show the Orcs that they will be part of Lin,¡± he said, leaving the way of accomplishing said feat deliberately vague.


    General Bellador marched into Uzal accepting the surrender of the Orcish governor. Hardly a gallant knight, he had a braided ponytail and a shaved front head. A peculiar character, taking out a sword that he made glow, the Orcs gawked at the barbarous man dressed in knights clothes, staring with awe, as the Lin troops marched into their city. Mirzan and his contingent of his Angels simply glided across the ground surveying both sides of the street. Orcs clutched their children, husbands grabbed their wives, craftsmen stopped smacking metal or carving wood, staring at their new overlords.


    ¡°Serve Lin, and there will be no problems!¡± Bellador said lifting his sword, ¡°Lin will conquer all!¡±


    The Orcs stared at the victors with shock but also awe, the victors were not too arrogant in their conquest, they paid for goods and services and did not kill the conquered anymore than necessary.