Chapter 36 Beast Wave
My face went pale.
Demons?
Demons??
The ramifications of that statement alone meant that this thing was much bigger than simply having to fight these Demons. Was there a real portal open to our world? Was the war that Sebastian talked about going to repeat itself? Was–
Deep breath.
"How did the Demon look?" I asked, and forced myself to keep a calm face.
"Green! It was a fucking green! The Demons that destroyed our lands have returned," Marcus screamed wildly, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief. "They are herding these beasts like sheep! They–"
I grabbed the man by the shoulder.
"Marcus," I said. "Let's discuss this somewhere private."
It finally dawned upon the man that people all around us had been staring.
He nodded, and we went towards a big tent we had set up to be our command center.
It was just far enough from the battlefield that we wouldn't have to worry about getting attacked while close enough so we could help in emergencies.
The tent was in a beige color and guarded by two men. Me, Sebastian, and Marcus entered. Gerald and Samuel had other things to do. There were a few other people who had access but not many.
Over the next couple of minutes, Marcus frantically relayed whatever he saw.
It turned out that a group of Goblins led by a couple of Shamans was attacking the Beast Wave.
They weren't really trying to fight these beasts but rather they were just scaring them away and forcing them to stay as one big group.
"How did they do it?" I asked.
"I have no idea," Marcus said. "All I saw was a couple of spells being flung around and Goblins charging the beasts from behind.
The Beast Wave sped up and condensed. This is how we were injured.
We had found a pretty good rhythm. We had already poisoned a couple of food supplies and saw the effects of our poison.
Then that rhythm was broken. I was the only one who saw it and lived.
The others were simply trampled to death.
Luckily...luckily we were just a small group and the main group was away. "
The man looked at the ground with shame.
"Thank you, my Lord," he said. "Without...without your skill, I knew I would have made the wrong decision."
"It's not your fault," I patted him on the shoulder. "Please leave us alone and rest. You need it. The war has just begun."
Marcus left without any words of complaint. Only now did I see the eye bags on his hardened face. Were they always there?
"What do you think?" I asked Sebastian, the man seemingly lost in thoughts.
"I don't think it's much concern for us.
Well, I think we can draw two theories," Sebastian said after a full minute of contemplation.
"First, the beasts don't want to stay together.
Who knows why. But I think your plan with the forest and the fire could work exceptionally well.
Secondly...there must be a reason why these Goblins try to control the Beast Wave.
Ignore the Goblins. Focus on the Shamans.
Shamans are Goblins who can use minimal magic.
They are strong, but most importantly very smart.
Why would multiple very smart beings go and do that?
There has to be a reason. Maybe they know we are here and want to make sure our town gets trampled to death.
That could very well be a possibility or... "
"Or there is something inside the forest they wanted to protect," I finished Sebastian's sentence for him.
"Protect or hide. Whatever it is, considering what we know of the Verdant Expanse, it must be worth a lot." Sebastian nodded.
"What makes you say that?" I asked. "They could just very well target our town."
"Maybe," Sebastian said. "But that's the behavior of Goblins.
Not Shamans. Ivor, you have to stop underestimating those Shamans.
They are as smart as humans. Maybe even smarter.
Whatever they are doing has a reason. Now, tell me, if you were hiding inside a forest, building your forces quietly, would you just suddenly go and expose yourself like that or continue hiding? "
"What if they know that you found out about them?" I retorted.
"They don't," Sebastian said with full confidence. "They had no idea I was there. I made sure of that fact. Back to the point, what would make you expose yourself like that when you could just do nothing and bide your time?"
"Something valuable," I said.
"Something," Sebastian nodded. "It could be whatever. But whatever it is, we could use it to our advantage if we take control of it."
"You aren't thinking of going away now, are you?" A realization dawned upon me. "We need your Bronze Rank Magic! People will die!"
"That's exactly why I need to leave. I can take care of these Goblins from the backlines and occupy their attention as they protect their something inside that forest. I can't be everywhere in this battle.
If I am at the east, and Goblins appear west, the people will die before I come.
I will make sure that none of the Goblins are even going to reach our town.
Those that do, you and Gerald will take care of. "
I wanted to retort but couldn't find any argument against his logic. What Sebastian had planned felt very counterintuitive to me. But in the end, it made sense. I could only reluctantly nod.
Just as Sebastian was about to leave, he turned around and said, "I also think the Beast Wave might arrive a couple of hours earlier."
***
The Beast Wave didn't arrive a couple hours earlier.
It arrived just as we had expected. Well, it wasn't here yet, but it was close enough for us to start our plan.
I was sleeping inside the tent when somebody came barging in.
Only after the grogginess disappeared did I recognize that it was Samuel.
"They are here," he said.
I didn't have to ask who they were.
I stood up, stretched and cursed. This was probably the last time I could sleep in a long, long while.
I moved out of the tent, the crack of dawn greeting me.
The slight cold made my breath misty. The selective rays of sunshine falling upon my body, and warming it up.
It was the contrast of cold and hot that made me appreciate the warmness.
Today I would appreciate life, for death was near.
It was only now that I felt the ground shaking. These weren't slight, barely noticeable tremors anymore. No, the vibrations traveled through my whole body. I couldn't help but get cold feet.
Then I looked to my side.
Hundreds of men and women, armed to the teeth, stood there in formation. Their backs straight and their gazes all upon me. Inside each and every one of their eyes, I could see the fear, the hesitation and the resolution that this might be their last day.
They were as afraid as me.
The least I could do for these men and women who were going to be fighting a war they had been forced into was to show a strong front.
I confidently strode in front of them. For a few seconds I just stood there and observed them. Then I gathered my Mana inside my throat.
"Why the hell do I see fear in your gazes?
!" I shouted, my voice growing louder with each passing sentence.
"Remember who you are doing this for! Your families!
Your children, spouses, siblings and parents!
Hell, some of you are doing it for your friends or simply because you love this town!
So why are you afraid of dying? I won't give you any bullshit about glory and honor!
We are risking our lives so they can live!
So they can enjoy a peaceful life! That's why we are here in the cold, grasping our weapons tightly with our hearts leaping out of our chests.
Death will be a worthwhile sacrifice for what we are doing!
Our deaths will have meaning because the living will continue living!
Do not buckle or yield! Charge! Set the forest aflame and initiate Phase One! "
The soldiers cheered and yelled. Then everyone moved out at once. Their rhythmic steps reverberated through the whole ground, overshadowing the pounding of the incoming Beast Wave.
There was a reason why we had cut a lot of trees inside the forest. We even burned a few patches of grass we didn't like.
It was for the riskiest part of the plan, and also for the most important one.
Each and every member knew what they had to do.
We had been preparing for weeks, training and drilling full time.
That was our life. So it came as no surprise to me that the members of my small army all moved into position smoothly.
A few of the archers walked up the earth mounds that held the wood and stone walls in place and waited.
Below them, a couple groups of close-range fighters positioned themselves.
They were right at the edge of the Verdant Expanse.
They were going to meet the Beast Wave first. It also meant they would be at the highest risk of dying during this encounter.
I stepped next to them. To my surprise, Gerald, Ben, and Ren were right behind me.
"You don't think we would allow you to have all the fun yourself, right, my Lord?" Gerald grinned at me.
"Right," I grinned back.
Then all of us turned quiet and looked ahead.
Most of the army was already inside the forest. I could see them moving between trees, torches in hand despite the obvious light.
Each of them held a small pouch full of very, very flammable herbs and plants—a mix of something similar to hay and bark cut into tiny pieces coated in oil.
As each member arrived at their designated tree, marked by a bright red mark on them, they poured out the contents of the pouch next to the trees.
Then, once everyone was in position, I heard Samuel scream from the watchtower.
"Fire!"
The torches were dropped into the mixture of herbs and plants. They caught fire immediately, and a large flame burst upward. These were the herbs. A few seconds later, the trees the mixture had been placed upon caught fire too, and with that, the soldiers began running back.
Within seconds, the forest changed from a peaceful, if slightly trembling, piece of art to a hell that was burning in bright orange flames. And if I was being honest, I found this much more beautiful.
Of course, we weren't dumb enough to just set the whole forest ablaze. No. We thought about it very carefully and even ran a few tests next to the small river. We had cut away trees in a way that made sure that only the patch of forest we chose would burn.
The goal of the fire was twofold. First, we hoped it would drive a good chunk of beasts away from our town, which is why the fire was so wide.
Secondly, we hoped to use the fire in a similar way to our walls.
The beasts might be really fearful and frantic right now, charging mindlessly ahead, but they still fear fire.
So, the remaining beasts would have to run around a maze of fire before we funneled them towards a couple of choke points. Then our walls could take over.
As dizzying black smoke rose out of the forest, my soldiers returned.
Now it was simply a waiting game. Hours passed quickly as we watched the trees burn, and the horn resounded two times.
This meant the animals reached the wall of fire.
I squinted my eyes, and indeed, I spotted a couple of dark spots among those flames.
With each passing minute, these marks grew bigger and bigger.
Some of them diverted to the sides and ran along the flames.
They would never reach our town. However, a good chunk simply ran through the wall of fire, or rather, the path we had created.
Here and there, I could see the outline of animals through the flames. Sometimes they would be forced to slow down and turn around to avoid the fires. Another time, they would simply be swallowed by the ground. Our traps were working fine.
It was then that the horn was blasted three times.
The beasts had breached the wall of fire and reached the edge of the forest. I looked to my side and immediately spotted the cause for the alarm.
A bull-like creature charged through the fire.
It was massive. It had giant hind legs and sharp horns.
The bull snorted loudly. Disoriented, it simply charged ahead and slammed into the wall right in front of it rather than the maze we had built.
I could see the structure shake and prayed it would hold.
It did, and without problems. A moment later, a rain of arrows pierced the bull's thick hide.
Droplets of blood dripped down its body, and it roared angrily.
A second volley of arrows drilled themselves into its body, and the bull discarded its second charge against the wall.
Instead, it spotted the path we had built for it to take.
But it was already too late. The soldiers on the ground arrived in front of the bull.
With spears, axes, and other polearms, the bull was kept at a distance.
Within a few strikes, it started limping, and a second later, it dropped to the ground.
Once it was down, a singular spear strike pierced it through its eye, into its brain, and out of its skull again.
I was worried for nothing.
The bull might have been well into Wood Rank.
But so were my soldiers.
When I turned my attention away from the singular fight going on, I noticed that most of the walls already had corpses around them. None were from my people. I couldn't help but cheer despite knowing this would change. We outnumbered the beasts for now, but they wouldn't be slowed down for long.
And it seemed that my theory was proven right as I spotted a mix of bulls, deer, rats, and hares appear through the wall of fire in front of me.
"It's time for us to show off a little!" I yelled.