"You know, it’s pretty crazy how much better I’m getting to eat out here in the forest than I did in Ruby Village, it was always stuff like stale bread and overripe fruits and vegetables. So, to get to eat fresh food for every single meal is like a dream come true," Remarked Ravella, letting out a content sigh as she munched on a juicy, render piece of meat.
"I know, right? I had that exact same thought after I destroyed the church there and woke up in the forest, I got to eat meat for the first time in years, not to mention fresh fruits and berries," Nodded Raven in agreement. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍
"Yeah, even though we’re living in a forest well away from civilization, we’re living more comfortably than the vast majority of Commoners in the nation. Which is an absolutely insane realization to come to, we’re literally better off in the wild. That’s something we’re going to have to change," Responded Aster with a grimace.
It was the 7th of December, 1918, a couple of days after Raven and Celia attacked the Death Zone and wiped out a fourth of the Undead King’s army.
Of course, they didn’t quite realize just how much of an impact their attack had made and how severely they’d dented his forces, since in their rush to retreat at the end, they hadn’t noticed how effective Raven’s flames mixed with the oil he’d doused had been.
They simply assumed that they’d dealt a small blow to his forces, nothing too significant.
"It’s too bad we’ve had to put our plans on hold thanks to the Undead King...he’ll probably be in a hurry to launch his next attack on the nation after you two wiped out some of his forces. Otherwise, we could just keep attacking him until his army is a fraction of what it currently is," Lexia said to the pair, as she took a bite of an apple.
It was around midday, and The Irregulars were currently relaxing on the grass outside the hideout, having lunch.
"By the way, I forgot to ask...your senses can’t detect the Undead King himself, is it the same with his army?" Inquired Aster curiously.
"No, it isn’t, fortunately enough. My ability to detect Mana doesn’t work on the Undead King, and he doesn’t have a scent either...although, the first time I saw him, I felt this instinctive fear in me. His undead creatures weren’t like that though...while I didn’t sense any Mana in them, they did have scents, and they were unlike anything I’d ever smelled before, so I should be able to detect them pretty easily once they’re within the range of my sense of smell," Replied Raven, as he took a gulp from a glass of fruit juice.
"I see...what do they smell like?" Aster asked him.
"Well, it’s kinda hard to explain. Like I said, I’ve never come across a similar scent before, but if I had to put it into words,well...they kinda smelled like dirt, but with something else in the mix, something really unpleasant. I had to dull my sense of smell when I was flying over the Death Zone because it was so overwhelming and-...hm?" Raven trailed off with a frown, turning his gaze up to the sky.
"Oh, shit," Blurted out Colt as he followed Raven’s gaze, before the others glanced up as well.
"Speak of the devil...it’s a hell of a coincidence that they’d show up right while we’re talking about them," Remarked Aster with a bewildered grimace.
"We, uh...we should probably get out of sight," Said Lexia warily, before the group quickly and quietly made their way towards the entrance of their hideout.
"Come on, already? Damn it...like we feared, I guess the attack on his forces prompted him to make his move sooner, I was hoping for the exact opposite, that it’d delay his plans. Well, either that or he’d intended on launching his attack today to begin with," Remarked Aster, as he stared up at the sky with a grim look on his face.
There were dozens upon dozens of creatures flying above them, the flock surrounded by a dark mist. It was the Undead King’s forces, countless numbers of undead, flying Monsters with several other undead creatures riding or being carried by them.
"I knew there were a lot of them, but this is just insane...they just keep going, with no end in sight to their numbers. And they’re unbelievably fast, it won’t take them long to reach the Capital at that speed," Spoke up Tacitus grimly, as the swarm of undead overhead surrounded by Miasma blotted out the sun.
"Maybe because they’re undead, they can push past their normal physical limits?" Suggested Ravella uncertainly.
"Could be...because they’re definitely much, much faster than normal Monsters are."
"So, uh, what should we do?" Inquired Colt, as he glanced at Aster.
"I had hoped that the Knights would be able to take care of this themselves, but looking at these numbers, I’m not so sure of that anymore. The fastest and surest way to end this is to take out the Undead King himself...otherwise, he’ll just keep growing his forces using the casualties of the battle.
In other words, the more people that die at the hands of him and his forces, the larger his army will grow. Alright, then...we don’t have much of a choice here, so let’s head to the Capital. That’s most likely where he’ll be headed, after all. So, we’ll go there and put a stop to him, once and for all. Any objections?"
Meanwhile, in the Capital...
"Commander! Pardon the intrusion, but we just received word from the southeast border, all of the undead creatures in the Death Zone are flocking into the Kingdom, and at an alarming speed at that!"
"I see...then it seems the time has come. Are they all headed straight for the Capital?" Responded Jules, as she stood up from her desk with a grimace.
"I’m not sure, ma’am...the call we received was abruptly interrupted, we heard a scream of pain before it suddenly cut off, we should assume that our scouts on the wall have been killed," The Knight shook her head in response.
"Hm, did The Irregulars’ assault on his forces a couple of days ago prompt him to act sooner? I suppose I can’t complain too much even if that is the case, since they did wipe out a large number of his forces...I just hope that was enough to shift the odds even slightly more in our favor," Jules thought to herself, before starting to respond, "Alright, we need to-..."
She then trailed off as another Knight burst into the room, an urgent look on his face.
"We’ve just received word from Ruby Village, Garnet City and Malachite Town! All three locations are under siege by hundreds of undead creatures and are urgently requesting back up!"
"Those are the locations closest to the border...I see, then he isn’t just targeting the Capital, he likely intends to attack every populated area in the Kingdom," Surmised Jules, before thinking, "This is really bad. What do we do? There are hardly any high-ranked Knights in the villages, and the locations that are under the jurisdiction of the Third Squad are low in manpower as well. Should I have the First and Second Squads spread out their members? No, it’s too risky to stretch our forces too thin. In which case..."
"Commander? Your orders?"
"Right...contact the outposts in the villages and the locations under the Third Squad’s jurisdiction, tell them to evacuate both the civilians and Knights in those locations to the cities and towns under the First and Second Squad’s jurisdictions! Furthermore, alert every Teleporter capable of using long-range teleportation, their priority will be to aid in those evacuation efforts, and use every Teleport Spell Card we’ve got, if that’s what it takes!
Contact the outposts in the cities and towns under the First and Second Squads’ jurisdiction, tell them to prepare to receive a large number of evacuees. And finally, make an announcement to put the Capital under lockdown, civilians are not to leave their homes, and have our squad members spread out throughout the city, their priority is to make sure that the civilians will be safe in their homes," Instructed Jules, after taking a moment to get her thoughts in order and mull over her options.
"But, Commander...if we completely abandon the villages and areas under the Third Squad’s jurisdiction, won’t those regions be destroyed?"
"It’s fine...we can always rebuild buildings, but the same cannot be said of lives. So long as we protect and save as many lives as possible, I’m more than willing to sacrifice a few towns and villages, even a city, if that’s what it takes. Our priority is to minimize casualties, even at the cost of collateral damage.
Tell the Knights in the areas I ordered to be evacuated, they are to prioritize getting the civilians teleported out first, they must hold off the undead forces until the civilians are safe, they are not to escape themselves under after that. Are we clear?"
"Very well, Commander, I shall relay your instructions right away."