Devourer

Chapter 157: Rotted Chaff

I continued to circle the army as they readied for the first clash. The line of mages started to channel spells. After a brief channel, the weapons of every soldier lit up with a bright orange flame. Flame enchantments were effective against the undead so it was a natural choice. Not only that, flame enchantments were the most commonly used due to their effectiveness against a large variety of opponents.

The incantations caused the air around the blades to shimmer before the flames flickered to life as they danced along the length of the weapons. All the blades of the army ignited and burst into flickering flames, causing the entire army to look like a sea of dancing fire. The formation caused the entire army to look like a great flaming dragon.

The dead were closing in a giant wave of closely compacted zombies. The first wave alone had more bodies in it than the entire Imperial Army. Their decaying flesh, pallid and disfigured hanging loosely from skeletal frames, limbs jerking in grotesque animation.

The wave surges forward, a writhing mass of necrotic flesh. Limbs flail in twisted contortions, tattered garments fluttering in tatters. Their empty, lifeless eyes fixate on their victims, glowing with a sinister and unholy light. Each step they take, though uncoordinated, propels them forward with mindless determination. The zombies ran in a shambling gait, a few tripped and ended up trampled. But it was clear their fellows didn’t care, the sheer weight of bodies crushing those that fell into mulch.

The Imperial Army however had no intention of meeting a solid wave, if the dead were to meet the line of living they were going to be thinned. Far behind the main army, were the artillery. The dwarves raised enchanted hammers and struck these plates on the ballista. The enchanted hammer emblazoned with a large glowing run completed the arcane circuit running along the frame of the ballista. Blue runes came to life, glowing on the frame in spider web-like patterns.

Then the commanders shouted as one, the gunners pulled the mithril levers and the ballista released their four metre-long bolts. The line of ballista fired a wave of blue glowing bolts that sailed through the sky causing a blue trail in the night sky that looked similar to shooting stars. The bolts flew over the army and hurtled towards the charging mass of zombies.

Suddenly, with a resounding explosion, the bolts shatter mid-flight erupting into a cascading inferno of fiery magic. Flames dance and lick at the surrounding air, transforming the once-normal projectiles into devastating incendiary missiles.

The fiery explosion engulfs the sky, showering the battlefield below with a rain of blazing fireballs. Each flaming ball finds its way into the mass of zombies, descending upon the sea of zombies with explosive force. Upon impact, the bolts detonate, unleashing torrents of scorching flames that engulf the undead horde. 

The fire roared as the zombies charged heedlessly through the flames. Their decaying bodies, immune to pain and oblivious to the searing heat, continue their relentless pursuit of the living. With a single-minded determination, they push through the licking tongues of fire, their flesh crackling and blackening with each step. The zombies though now thinned out turned into burning figures advancing through darkness. Their eerie burning bodies lit up the uncharred zombies around them.

I heard the dwarven commanders shout as they peered through the darkness with enchanted binoculars.

“Adjust three degrees high, traverse one degree right.” the main commander shouted and the crews instantly began to adjust their aim. 

At such a distance just a few degrees of adjustment to the firing angle could mean metres of difference from where the projectile landed. The first barrage had caused this pockmarked pattern of flames with gaps between them for the zombies to rush through. So the gunners aimed up to get the bolts further into the compacted mass and adjusted the aim to the side slightly so as to fill the gaps.

The second barrage flew through the air and landed almost exactly where the gunners wanted them to be. Got to love precision Dwarven engineering…

The barrage kept raining down on the zombies, tens of thousands of zombies were reduced to ash as the hail of bolts rained down. But I knew the vampires didn’t care, as far as the vampires were concerned they were making the imperials waste ammunition.

The zombies were finally approaching the range of the rifles. The riflemen all raised their rifles and patiently waited for the signal. There were only so many shots they could fire and they had to make it every shot count. Attrition was what would decide the outcome of this battle, they needed to conserve their most precious resources while luring out the heavy hitters of the vampires.

The riflemen all train their eyes on the approaching hordes. Then a scattered group of mages fired red-glowing projectiles. The projectiles flew out and over the open field in front of the army. The projectiles went off in a flash of red light and turned to red orbs that hung in the air bathing the sands below in a bright red light.

As the relentless horde draws closer, the soldiers remain steadfast, their fingers lightly resting upon the triggers of their enchanted rifles. Then when the zombies closed to a hundred metres. The riflemen started to fire independently. The instructions were for the riflemen to pick their targets carefully. The blue lasers flashed outwards striking the zombies and each shot set one on fire thanks to the special enchantments on the Focii crystals.

The dwarves in unison lowered their pikes forming three rows of flaming points. I heard an officer amongst the dwarves roar out a steadying cry.

“Stout as the mountain, unbreakable as stone!” the officer roared and his kin answered as one.

We face the darkness together, never alone!

Then the crash, the pikes flashed forward catching the zombies in the chest. The flames burning away the tethers of unlife that animated their bodies. The zombies piled onto the shield wall but the dwarves held fast. The pikes constantly thrust forward impaling the zombies, the rifles behind flashed burying their shots in the mass of rotting flesh. All of this is just to take the pressure off the front line of shields. 

The circles of mages did nothing but watch, it was simply not worth it to waste mana on these chaff. This was but the first clash, the constant onslaught of zombies was easily repelled. The centre held well, the dwarves becoming the rock against the tide Montis wanted them to be.

On the flanks, the Wardens and the Knight Enchanters were easily able to cut down whatever came their way. Each of them was individually as powerful as several dwarves on the front line. The blades of the Elysian elites danced in a flaming dervish as they dispatched the wailing hordes of the dead. A single swing of a Warden’s blade was enough to decapitate several zombies. Each of the Wardens was almost a head taller than the average man and the zombies were shrivelled emancipated things. They cut through them as easily as a farmer harvests wheat.

Soon the entire field in front of the army was a burning inferno of corpses. The stench of burning flesh covered the battlefield in a thick miasma. I was sure the records would describe it as a scene right out of hell. The dancing flames in the distance lighting up the night sky, the glow of the flames mixing with the shadows caused by the thick acrid smoke. The smog covered the battlefield reducing visibility to almost unmanageable levels.

An hour later I saw the dead start to split off into three groups. The main force in the centre continued to pressure the Imperial Army, pinning the formation in place as the two other groups attempted a flanking maneuver. The Knight Enchanters on the edges moved quickly to intercept but still, their loose formation limited their ability to fully counter this flanking manoeuvre. I watched as the central reserves began to move to the flanks and formed up to wall off the tide of dead.

However, the mages still held fire. Although the formation was becoming pressured it seems Montis still wanted to preserve the strength of his mages. It was the right decision, all things considered, better to expend some soldiers than drain your hardest hitters on chaff.

Well, I suppose I should help them out, at the end of the day this was still my army and I don’t want them to get too banged up.

Nafas, the flanks

I said into the hive mind and I received confirmation of the order. Before this within the hive mind was an almost eerie silence as the countless minds all silently waited for the order to join the fray. The moment I gave the order a symphony of thoughts and voices echoed out into the expanse that was the hive mind. The thoughts were laser-focused on the order as I felt Nafas’s oppressive presence blanket the mind space. Her thoughts and intentions penetrate the collective consciousness of the lower castes, leaving no room for dissent. A hive does not fear, it does not question, it only obeys.

On the flanks, the sands shifted as thousands of the lesser soldiers emerged. Their screeches and howls echo over the sands. I sensed the Imperial army flinch at first from the cacophony of screeches but they then calmed when they realised that this was the call of the Hive.

My soldiers shot forward right at the mass of dead that was hammering away at the flanks. My basic front line soldiers have been modified to suit the terrain and this battle against the dead. Their bodies were elongated and slender with four insectoid legs, the narrow frame allowing them to quickly burrow through the soft sand.

Their front appendages once tipped with smooth curved blades for slicing through metal if needed were replaced with serrated edges, perfect for carving through necrotic flesh. I changed their jaws as well to one similar to a snapping turtle with extra mandibles on the side so they could better grab the heads of the dead and crush it like a walnut.

The screeching tide of white smashed into the zombies, their blades flashing as they tore into the mass of dead. The zombies quickly buckled under the weight of my hive’s onslaught. The zombies just didn’t have the tools to do any meaningful damage to the hive soldiers. I covered them in a white chitin carapace that was explicitly designed to be smooth like a waxed marble floor. The zombies' claws and blunted weapons would find it almost impossible to bite into the armour and do any meaningful damage.

From my bird's eye view, I saw my wave of white slowly encircle the flanking zombies and then they pressed the zombies against the line of Imperial soldiers. The two sides slowly closed on the mass of squirming dead. The mass of white cut through the black mass of dead like a hot knife through butter and soon the flanks were completely free of undead. My Hive started counterattacking and soon they were on the flanks of the centre mass of zombies.

I should probably just break this wave of undead, The Imperials are starting to tire and I need to give them a break. Fighting in a melee in full armour was very exhausting. So it would be best to let them rest for a bit. My two waves of soldiers converged and began beating the dead back, buying the Imperials some respite. 

My soldiers didn’t have to fight for long though as just a few minutes into the counter attack, the Vampires retreated. I guess they realised that their trash troops couldn’t do anything to my forces. Which means that they will have to send out some more heavy hitters.

I focused my mind on the Adjutant who was following Montis around.

Montis was barking orders to his soldiers and asking for a casualty report. 

“Casualty report!” Montis barked at one of his aides.

“Have scouts ride out beyond the flames, I want to know if the Vampires have backed off for the night.” Montis ordered another aide who gave him a crisp salute before running off.

Montis strode forward his great red cape billowing in the desert wind, his expression hard but also relieved. He scanned the army and he nodded at the sight. He must be pleased, from where I was looking the army only suffered superficial damage.

“Have troops hold formation until the scouts confirm the dead’s withdrawal. Also have water brought to those amongst the line. I don’t want any of them passing out in the event the vampires reengage.” Montis said and another aide rushed off.

An hour passed with Montis just staring at the flames ahead, the reports came in saying that the Vampires have retreated for now. However, they are reorganising for another attack. 

Montis nodded calmly in response, clearly expecting this response.

“Have the soldiers take a seat in formation, bring them some light food and refreshment. Scouts are to continue maintaining the perimeter. The frontline can take a nap in their armour once they are done eating.” Montis ordered.

“What is the situation with the Hive?” He asked as he turned to the Adjutant.

In response I replied through the Adjutant.

“I’m going to have them hold position beyond the fires, give you lot some beauty sleep.” I said with a grin. Montis paused as he realised he wasn’t talking to a minion anymore.

“Your help is appreciated, your counter attack on the flanks minimised our casualties. I am happy to report that the army has suffered negligible casualties. As for the Empress…” Montis said as he turned an ornate tent was set up in the middle of the army.

“She’s asleep. No need for her to be awake for such a trifling matter.” I replied with a grin.

“Don’t worry she’ll be up when things get more interesting.” I said with a laugh and Montis just gave me a calm impassive look.

“Her potent magical powers would be very useful. It is good to see confidence in one’s leader.” Montis said, although that sounded vaguely like a coy jab it was actually true. The morale was high, the army had just repelled the first wave of zombies easily. The casualties were in the double digits with most of them just needing a healing potion to be back to full fighting strength.

The only reason Cecilia just decided to go to sleep was because a wave of zombies would do nothing other than tire out the army. There was no conceivable way that the tide of trash would do any significant damage. With my intervention the light casualties they were supposed to suffer ended up being negligible casualties. 

The vampire's first attack ended up doing nothing more than using up some of the artillery’s ammunition.

The difference between the Imperial Army and the Zarimans in the fort was like night and day. 

All that remained now was for the Vampires to attack again. This time with something that was hopefully more challenging than drooling pathetic zombies. It kind of goes to show that even if the Vampires retained their ancient strength better than most they still weakened over time since their opponents got a lot shitter. They would never use zombies like this in the old world. At the very least the zombies would explode when they die.

Well, all that was history. I exited the Adjutant’s mind and asked him to leave a message for Montis since I had lost interest in the conversation.

The king says you should get some sleep while you can