Amazel's army marched northeast, bound for Seb-ath's territory. Their first trial was the Forest of Echoing Sorrows, a place where gnarled, black trees grew so close together they blotted out the hellish sky, casting the path into a perpetual, choking twilight. An unnatural silence hung over the woods, broken only by the distant, mournful wails of wandering ghosts and the skittering of unseen things in the undergrowth. Every soldier moved with painstaking caution, knowing the forest's peaceful facade was a lethal lie.
The soldiers advanced cautiously, weapons drawn, shields raised.
On a low branch above them, a small, bat-sized monster tore into the corpse of a giant rat. It had a wyrm-like body covered in matted grey fur, with enormous, veiny ears that twitched at every sound, a twitching rat-like snout, and sharp bone spurs jutting from its spine.
Before anyone could react, Elfir flicked his wrist, conjuring a small fireball. The flame struck true, burning the monster to ash. But as it died, it unleashed a final, piercing shriek that cut through the silent woods like a knife.
"SCREEEEEE!!!"
Amazel's head snapped around, her eyes wide with fury. "You fool! What have you done?" she hissed, her voice low and venomous.
Elfir jumped, turning to her with an annoyed scowl. "What!? I just killed a small monster! It was an eyesore."
Her fury doubled. "A monster? That was a chiroswyrm! Alone, they are weak. But in swarms, they've slain jungle tyrants far stronger than you. And that was its death call."
Elfir's face paled, his annoyance evaporating into pure dread. A strange silence covered the forest, but soon it broke.
"SCREEEEE!!! SCREEEEE!!! SCREEEEE!!!"
The sound came from everywhere at once, a chorus of hellish shrieks. The sky darkened as thousands of chiroswyrms swarmed above, blotting out the light.
Amazel raised her wand instantly. "Everyone! Defensive stance! NOW!"
The soldiers closed ranks, shields locking together.
The swarm's screeches intensified, drilling into the soldiers' skulls, disorienting them. Men and women clutched their helmets, crying out as the sound induced splitting headaches and a piercing tinnitus.
Amazel's gemmed wand flared. 'Aegis.'
A dome of shimmering silence expanded outward. The shrieks were dulled to nothing. Soldiers gasped in relief as the shield protected their hearing.
"Hold your ground!" Amazel's voice rang clear inside the dome. "Form groups! Three vanguards to two mages or scouts!"
The dome of energy shimmered around the company, but the relief was short-lived. The seething, living cloud of chiroswyrms descended upon the shield, a relentless wave of claws and teeth. Each impact was small, but collectively, they were a torrent against a dam. Hairline fractures spiderwebbed across the dome's surface.
Shhhrrk!
The shield shattered. The swarm poured in like a living storm.
"Loose spells!" Amazel commanded.
Chaos erupted. A barrage of fireballs, wind blades, and thrown knives met the swarm. It was like trying to stop a sandstorm. The creatures were viciously clever. Those in front took the spells, their bodies becoming shields for the ranks behind, who then plunged into the soldiers. Vanguards roared, meeting the onslaught with raised shields and sweeping swords, but the creatures were everywhere. Screams and the clash of steel filled the forest.
Amazel's wand gem pulsed with light. She raised her wand high. "Crimson Flower!"
A ball of fire shot skyward and detonated. A gigantic, blazing flower bloomed across the heavens, its petals raining flames. The swarm shrieked as fire incinerated hundreds of chiroswyrms.
Julie's sharp eyes caught something strange. The chiroswyrms closest to the explosion squeezed their eyes shut, their flight staggering. "Wait… their weakness…!"
She sprinted to Amazel's side, shouting, "General! They're vulnerable to intense light and shockwaves!"
Amazel's eyes widened, then narrowed with determination. She fired a flare into the sky. It exploded in a burst of dazzling white light and a thunderous shockwave. Dozens of chiroswyrms panicked, slamming into each other midair, blinded.
Amazel seized the moment. "Mages! Fire bombs and light bombs, now!"
The battlefield erupted. Explosions of fire and light disoriented the swarm, forcing them into chaos. Blinded and deafened, the chiroswyrms turned on one another, crashing and clawing wildly. The soldiers struck them down with ruthless efficiency.
When the last creature fell, the forest was once again silent, now carpeted with twitching corpses. Thirty-six soldiers bore minor injuries, but by some miracle, there were no fatalities. The healers moved quickly, their hands glowing as they tended to wounds.
Elfir stood panting, his knuckles white around his wand, watching the medics work. The initial, defensive anger he felt at Amazel's rebuke evaporated, replaced by a cold knot of dread in his stomach. He saw a soldier wince as a healer sealed a deep wound on her arm—a wound from a creature he had summoned.
Amazel turned her fierce gaze to Elfir, who stood amidst the gore, looking utterly shattered. "Elfir. Look around you. This is the cost of your impatience. That 'small monster' nearly got our people killed."
Elfir's eyes swept over the injured again. He looked away, his jaw tightening. He could not meet her gaze. After a long, tense silence, his shoulders slumped slightly. "...I didn't know," he muttered, the words thick with a mixture of shame and frustration.
"Not knowing is not an excuse for a commander," Amazel stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You acted without thinking. That cannot happen again. As punishment, you will personally carry the luggage of five injured soldiers and take their place on guard duty for the remainder of this march. Their comfort is your responsibility. Do you understand?"
This time, there was no argument. He gave a single, sharp nod, his eyes still fixed on the ground. "Understood, General."
From the shade of a tree, Julie watched quietly. That's all? She's too soft. A general's kindness can be dangerous… weakness on the battlefield is unforgivable.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden prickle. She turned sharply toward the deeper forest, eyes narrowing.
Sylphy flinched at her movement. "Julie? What is it?"
Julie smiled brightly, masking her unease. "…Nothing. Probably just another small beast." She smiled, but her grip on her dagger tightened. Something isn't right. That shadow was definitely not a small creature.
---
Deep within the forest, three hooded demons sprinted silently through the undergrowth.
They stopped in a clearing.
"Did she notice us?" one whispered.
The second shook his head. "No."
The third, their leader, took out two vials of crimson fluid and gave one to each of them.
"Take it. Today, the plan begins. You two flank them from the sides. I'll strike from the rear."
With synchronized nods, the two assassins melted into the gloom. The leader stood alone for a moment, his unseen gaze fixed in the direction of the army, before he too vanished without a sound.
---
Meanwhile, in Seb-ath's palace.
In the office, Seb-ath, a giant, raptor-like monster clad in ornate green armour, stood overlooking a map carved into his obsidian table. A knock echoed at the door.
"Enter."
A hooded demon entered and knelt low.
"What news?" Seb-ath asked.
"The Central Land has split its forces," the demon reported. "Five hundred soldiers: three hundred vanguard, one hundred mages, fifty healers, fifty scouts led by the former duchess Amazel. Another five hundred march toward Lord Armaror, led by the former duke Druvak. His force has one hundred fifty cavalry, one hundred archers, and one hundred fifty mages. But no vanguard."
Seb-ath's claws tapped against the table. Amazel's army formation is classically balanced… but Druvak's army? Strange. Why leave him without a frontline? Is it division, a dispute among them… or some hidden design?
"What of Dracula and Siscil?"
"No movements within their territories."
Seb-ath's eyes narrowed. Hmm… if my prediction is correct, then the King and the Witch must be moving in secret.
"Very well," he said aloud. "Summon the Sword Ghost."
The demon bowed and departed.
Seb-ath rose and strode to a large chest in the corner of the chamber. He opened it, revealing smaller locked boxes within. He drew one out, opening it carefully.
Inside gleamed dozens of crimson pearls, the same pearls that had bathed the Central Lands in fire and blood.
Knock.
Seb-ath closed the chest with a low growl. "Enter."
The air grew cold as a black, spectral form floated in—a wispy spirit with no lower body. Its face was a smooth, featureless grey mask, and in place of arms were two long, cruelly curved swords. This was the Sword Ghost, Seb-ath's right hand.
His androgynous voice cut through the silence. "You summon me, Lord Seb-ath?"
Seb-ath tapped the chest. "This is filled with red pearls. Take them. Our plan begins now."
The spectre bowed. Both blade-arms lifted slightly, and the chest levitated into the air, following him as he vanished into the shadows.
Seb-ath returned to his chair, eyes glowing with cold malice. Let them march. The forest itself will become their grave.