The brigadier general received a weird report from his post inside the city. "The camp was raided...?" He frowned. Shyly, the courier that had been designed to take the information to him could only nod. It was something they had already expected, so he couldn't say he was surprised. However, at the same time, it was weird that none of the people standing atop the walls had seen anything similar to enemies moving in the dark of night.

Strategically speaking, the plan had been a success. The enemy must have deployed a large force to raid their camp, and at the same time, the enemy quarters should have relaxed thinking that most of their enemies were outside, sleeping in the middle of the prairie. Of course, all of the soldiers that had been deployed to the camp were not actual infantry from the Pontyan forces, but poor and uneducated people who lived in the outskirts of the city. A few pieces of food were all it took to make them stay in plain sight, ready for the enemy to attack, acting as the perfect fodder.

Then, if the monsters had taken the bait, the company that had been sent to raid the enemy camp at night must have at least commenced a skirmish and gotten a few kills as they spoke. A smile appeared on the general's face as he thought of it. It was only a matter of time until they won such a pointless war. If it was against a handful of monsters with no battle experience, then there was no way under the heavens they would lose.

"So?" The general leaned back and beckoned the courier to return. "Tell the chief to get rid of the trash, quickly."

"Ah... Yes, sir."

As soon as the messager returned, a small group of soldiers was sent out as recognizance, with a sergeant as the lead. They walked for a minute before reaching the camp, where they found a grotesque sight. Covering their noses and eyes they advanced until they reached the very center of the camp. Their steps halted there when they found a strange sight, which made their eyes open like plates.

Surrounding a fireplace there were ten people, their clothes ragged and covered in blood. They wore bandages around their heads and covered them with what looked like torn pieces of cloth, and their bodies were surrounded by sheets.

The soldiers looked at the sergeant with stranged faces. Judging by the words of the man who went before them, there shouldn't have been any survivors. The fact that no one had reported the attack before was just the same.

With a click of his tongue, the sergeant turned his head around. "Surprising... I didn't expect survivors. It looks like we'll have to dirty our hands in this case..." He rested his hand on the sword by his waist. "We can't allow a fistful of dirty garbage-eaters to survive."

Suddenly, the man heard a rustle behind him and turned his head back, only to see a soldier coughing while covering his mouth, accommodating his uniform with one hand. The sergeant narrowed his eyes and eyed the soldier from top to bottom, but in the midst of the snowy darkness, he couldn't find anything off.

"Caught a cold?"

"Aye..." A rough, gargling voice came through. It looked like they were having a really bad time. "It's nothing. May I take care of this issue?"

"..." A small smirk appeared on the sergeant's face. "Go ahead. Bring someone with you."

The soldiers walked up to the small group of survivors, and signaled them towards the forest. With no apparent thought, they strayed off into the night, disappearing from the sight of the camp. A short while later, the sergeant signaled the others to sit beside him around the campfire, and everyone followed suit.

"Huff." He sighed. "Using trash from the outskirts as bait proved to be a pain in the ass. They couldn't even fight back against small hidden enemies. But well... Even those who survived need to be dealt with."

Nods surrounded him as his words ended, and then, gut-wrenching screams came from the forest. Quickly, one after the other, like a last wail been exhaled after a painful strike. The sergeant only scoffed, while the other soldiers took their eyes away from the faraway trees. Only a minute after the screams died, a cold figure emerged from the forest, and walked into the camp. The soldier had returned alone, and their body was covered in so much blood that it was difficult to even distinguish the features of their face. It was more like the soldier had ripped their necks open with his teeth, more than actually used a weapon.

"I trust that eased your cold?" The sergeant asked. A deep nod was all that the soldier gave in return.

They shared supplies around the fire for a short while before making sure that there were no more survivors to be taken care of in the camp, and then promptly turned around and went into the walls to seek warmth.

Back in the forest, a dozen hobgoblins cleaned the deceased bodies of the men they had tied to the trees. They looked at the distant camp with a smile, their hands covered in blood. "Now it's all up to Pulung."

Deeper into the woods, Thom and Suu were returning from their small trip, with several hobgoblins in toll. Their bodies were covered in blood, and most hobgoblins' mouths still showed bits and pieces of skin. Many of them had faces of worry and regret, and the ones most bloodied looked at the brink of collapse. As their eyes fell upon the two humans, covered in guts while happily talking to each other, the monsters began pondering who were the real descendants of Aguur-Nilaan. Were all humans this violent and heartless?

As soon as they reached their camp, they were met by a handful of orcs gathering several corpses in the very center of it. Thom and Suu looked at each other with a strange expression, until they saw Valta cleaning her hands beside one of the water barrels. They skipped towards her direction, but before they even got to her, she raised her head to say:

"A raid."

Thom got to her side and asked directly without greetings. "They attacked us from two sides? That sounds like they were risking an awful lot of soldiers for this single mission. Were they counting with the snow for it?"

"Um." Valta nodded. "I guess so."

Suu looked at her side to see the orcs pilling up human bodies one on top of the other. It was a sight that would have made her stomach revolt before, but now only a slight sense of discomfort arose. Had she spent too much time living with the monsters? Or was it simply impossible to grief the death of your enemies?

Erina was standing at a short distance, looking at the bodies being hauled. Suu didn't doubt to approach her, and waved at her with a smile. A grim expression was sitting on the other girl's face.

"You okay there, love?"

"I'm good." Erina sighed. "I understand that this wasn't our fault. We didn't want to get innocent people involved. We got tricked."

"Eh?" Suu raised her eyebrows. "Soldiers must be prepared to die at all times. They came here with the idea to kill us, so it is only normal that they were prepared to die, too."

"No." Erina shook her head. "They were no soldiers. They were poor men and women dressed in the uniform of a soldier. Bait, fodder for us to spend our strengths on."

"Is..." Suu's chest clenched slightly as she heard those words. Her mind returned to that night in Seashore, and her face slightly contorted. "I see... It really is an awful thing. A civilian shouldn't be involved... In the matters of—"

"What's the difference between a soldier and a citizen?" Erina suddenly asked.

"Eh... Well, haha." Suu smiled and placed her hand on her neck. "A soldier has been trained physically and mentally! They know what they're getting into, no? Since they're meant to fight, and there's a chance that they'll die—"

"No one wants to die." Erina looked at the girl, who moved her head back in surprise with a worried face. "No one, Suu. It's not a matter of preparation."

"Ehhh..."

Suu extended her hand as the girl walked away, but failed to catch her shoulder. She was left alone scratching her head with a troubled face, until the black-haired man came by with a somber expression.

"Hey." Thom raised his chin at her. "You should rest. The hobs from Pulung's side came back, it looks like she's already in. We're taking the walls down tomorrow."

"Ah!" She looked back at him with a smile. "Of course!"

"Sorry that the plan had to change so suddenly. We had to make use of the snow. It seems like the entire horde of goldens is willing to help us now."

"Don't worry! Our part of the plan is still the same, no? When the dust sets in, we take the gate down."

"It would be a shame if we don't get to use that sword. Even if the gate falls without your participation, I'm sure we'd need it to take down the walls of the citadel." Thom sighed. "Talking about that, is the girl ready? Erina? She seemed upset before. She always does, but you know..."

"She's just tired of this." Suu smiled back. "This is not a situation she belongs to. The girl would have run by herself after we were caught, but I tied her down. You gotta understand her. At least she's helping here, but she'll probably take off when this is done."

"And who will you go with?" Thom crossed his arms.

"No need to be jealous." She giggled slightly. "I'll be here as long as I can. Don't worry."

Dawn began lurking over the horizon as the camp was cleaned, and the bodies of the poor slum-dwellers were thrown into shallow burial grounds for the soil to make the best out of them. It was not four hours past sunrise when the golden horde was already ready to move, with Hlung and Hulung reluctantly staring at them from afar.

The hobs had been convinced, of course, but the former leaders of the tribes were still somewhat aggressive against the new leader- Hlung especially. That did not stop the plan from moving forward, however. In only an hour, a mass of approximately 800 hobgoblins walked out of the forest.

On the wall, the faces of the soldiers clenched tightly at just the sight of the sudden army. A messenger was quickly sent rushing towards the generals, but it was late for reinforcements to come in time. The monsters raced the traces of the camp that was previously set up in the middle of the prairie, and suddenly, they formed an arch-like formation that spanned almost a mile of space in front of the wall, only a mile away from them.

"Fuck..." Bill couldn't help but curse out loud. "Are they all a different color now...? Or are you telling me they've got... This many soldiers? No wonder they swiped our camp yesterday..."

"They look weaker. Don't fret. Their frames are short and their arms frail. Compared to the ones we've faced, these could very well be children!" The chief yelled out loud to encourage his post. However, many of the soldiers were already shivering as they remembered the last time they encountered the horde of monsters.

Preparations began, and the formation atop the wall became solid. Just like before, the archers were placed at the front to deter the enemy from faraway, and the foot soldiers carried the polearms. Given the situation, they would have to kill trespassers with their own weapons.

After a few minutes had passed, no movement could be seen from high up. The hobs had stopped their movements at a far range. Nobody had moved in about five minutes, making every soldier uneasy. Had the enemy really given such a random order? Was becoming a blank for arrows part of their general's plan?

"Hey... Look. From the middle..."

"Is that... a woman?"

"Gods. Not this nonsense again."

Suddenly, from between the lines of monsters, a woman came out as if strolling through her living room. She looked back at the lines of soldiers, talked to them shortly, and then walked a few meters more towards the wall. She was only ten meters in front of the army of soldiers. She looked up and shouted something, and out of nowhere, a pair of tendrils erupted from beneath her feet and elevated her body up high.

Everyone stared at the scene unfold while deeply confused. Was it magic that woman had just used? The Kuulkiam soldiers, who were all extremely alien to all things magic, couldn't even suspect what the reasoning was behind those actions. It wasn't until a few seconds later that the same woman shouted again, and yet another pair of tendrils were summoned from the ground. They coiled around themselves and halted a few seconds later, aiming towards the wall.

There was silence for a short while. And then, an ominous chant began to spread across the prairie as all the hobgoblins reunited in front of them started singing in unison, lifting their arms at the height of their chest.

"What are they...?"

"Just what we were missing. A ritualistic tribe." One of the soldiers jeered as he clicked his tongue. "Better ready the arrows, it's gonna–"

"Everyone run back to the city!! Run, go inside the walls if you might, but get down!!"

A voice suddenly broke out. Everyone looked at the person that had suddenly shouted, only to find a woman with a very sweaty face as she grasped her chest. Bill remembered seeing that woman before. Wasn't she that girl who failed at becoming a mage, so she had defaulted to being an officer? Why was she there?

"They're casting!" She yelled, already running towards the stairs. "You're about to see why no country has declared war to Wenders, dumbasses!"

As soon as she said that, everyone's heart fell to the ground and soldiers dropped their weapons to the ground, running towards the stairs of the wall. Some of them fell flat-down to the ground and others pushed to get to the bottom of the wall, making a mess out of every possible formation that had been created before. Even the chief, staring at the horizon with a perplexed look, felt undoubtedly afraid.

"Chanting... So it's at least first tier, huh?" The chief smiled. "Humans really are..."

The prairie lit up like a lantern at night, blocking the little light that filtered through the dark clouds. From red it turned white, and in a second, the snow-covered prairie melted away with the passing of nearly one thousand fireballs hurled towards the wall, which impacted against the rock one after the other like a storm, breaking off bricks and wood, turning the ground into hundreds of craters that kept opening up as if struck by a hammer.

The dust swallowed the light that kept assaulting the crumbling walls, sending sparks into the air and making the fire roar even stronger. The gate was swallowed by the roaring fire, and soon, from the skies came rushing a red thread of light. A girl unfurled her massive blade from her back and dropped down from the skies, enveloping her sword in a silvery aura.

With a thunderous sound, the blade pierced through the gate and crushed it into splinters, lifting up an even bigger cloud of dust. She was caught by a pair of earthly hands that slowly broke her fall, and as soon as she touched the ground, a warcry echoed throughout the entire prairie.

A horde of multi-colored hobgoblins and orcs suddenly rushed out of the forest, their faces filled with bloodlust as they approached even faster towards the city.