The Red Hand

Chapter 375 – The Pieces are in Place.

"That arrogant fool." Penelope clicked her tongue in irritation as she watched Akagi's force slowly pile out of the Dumetor base and form up for battle. "I thought she'd at least use those walls to her advantage, but she instead decided to sally forth and engage us head-on!"

{I feel insulted! Who does she think she is?!?} (Penelope)

"Good. Smashing them in open combat is preferable to some stupid siege." Bathrumd laughed as he dismounted from his horse. "Though with so few forces, it's looking like I won't even get the fight I was promised. So much for this Demon Lord. I was hoping for a large army of some kind, but I see nothing more than a rag-tag force of beastkin, elves, and humans. This shouldn't take long at all.”

{That she chose to come out rather than use those metal walls to her advantage has me more worried than relieved. It means that she's either insane, desperate, or believes full well that her forces can crush an army of this size in pitched combat, and I'm not certain that the last notion isn't impossible...} (Ariel)

"Regardless of her stupidity, the plan remains the same." Penelope said as she turned called up Phima. "Prepare your casters for combat. Once everything is ready, we're going to attack using the plans we've drafted up and I want you to open up with a large blast." The Demi-God had over one hundred thousand men at her back, with a variety of forces ranging from aerial to cavalry. She expected this to turn into a slaughter, and her mind was more focused on Akagi and Halifax than the Ninja that stood before her.

{We'll massacre the stooges and then I'll take you down, traitor. You'll watch as I destroy your new master before I slowly end your miserable life! That's what you get for betraying us! Betraying all that we stood for! Betraying all that we did! Betraying all those who died!} (Penelope)

"It will only take a few minutes, Lady Penelope." Phima replied. "I'd already gathered up the mages and started the incantations. Once their ready we can activate the formation at your order."

"Excellent. At least someone here is thinking ahead." Penelope said, her smart-ass tone getting under the others' skin. “Burning Light, once we directly engage that force, I want you to find and wipe out whatever leadership they have within the base. Leave the Demon Lord to me. I'll end her once I've dealt with Halifax, so just focus on causing havoc and while your at it see if you can discern where they came from." Their job basically came down to infiltration and assassination, something they'd done before. “If they really are from some other world then we'll need to find and destroy that connection.”

"We can do that, but..." Nier wanted to voice his concern about the situation but chose not to. "No, we'll get the job done without fail, Lady Penelope."

"Yes, I'm sure that Lady Esquire's divine power will protect us." Miz'ri said as she clasped her hands in prayer. "She tasked me with supporting this mission, and I know that we'll see it through to the end."

"Back to the main point, I hope you don't mean to have our forces clump up and charge that small contingent directly." Ariel commented as she watched the Ninja started unpacking gear and equipping other items. "I'm sure you realize that's an easy way for countless men to die to magical attacks. I'd advise keeping our forces spread out and enveloping the entire area in a slow and methodical attack, mostly keeping at range if possible to ensure our shields are effective." Armies rarely grouped up in large columns without anti-magic protections since one mage could easily wipe out hundreds or even thousands if they did. The Demons had brought several magical shield generators from one of the forts they gathered, and they were quite effective at keeping both physical and magical ranged attacks at bay.

"Bah! If we send everything in at once, they'll be overwhelmed by our might. There are less than fifty opponents against our hundred thousand soldiers! I doubt they can do enough damage with magic to cause anything more than a minor inconvenience." Bathrumd said with complete confidence and a lack of regard for casualties.

{Hence why you CANNOT be allowed to take the throne. A King should never sacrifice his people so foolishly! My father would never allow such a thing! Our people's lives are never something to just cast away at a whim!} (Ariel)

"I concur. We should open by sending in the cavalry to break them apart, then allow the mages and archers to reign down fire support from afar. The infantry can mop up anything that's left, and, if we're lucky, they'll break the moment they see five thousand war beasts crashing toward them!" Melifous said as he rode up to the group on a large twin horned beast that resembled an anteater. He was going to command the initial charge and was looking forward to crushing the small force with his own troops.

{And if all goes well, we won't need to call HER out.} (Melifous)

"Let's see how they react to our magical bombardment first, we can determine what order to send in our troops after that." Ariel commented. She'd had a bad feeling in her stomach since they left Targul, and seeing the Dumetorians so eagerly and brazenly meet them on the field of battle only made her more worried.

{If it was feasible I'd advocate for falling back, this whole thing feels like one big trap. But I'm no longer in command and at this point the troops would mutiny if given that order.} (Ariel)

"I'll leave the exact timing to you." Penelope said to Ariel, allowing her to command the order of battle. "I'll be dealing with Halifax and the Demon Lord, so I don't have time to command the army after the battle starts anyway."

{For once, I actually agree with a decision you've made.} (Ariel)

"Look alive! It looks like another group's approaching from the base!" Arcus said, breaking up their discussion. Akagi and a few others had walked out of the base and joined the ninja to prepare for battle. "The orange-haired girl is Halifax, there's no doubt about that." He said with a bit of despair in his voice.

{So, you really did swap sides... Damn...} (Arcus)

"I'd wager the black and green-haired woman in that strange dress is the Demon Lord?" Katlyn commented on Akagi's appearance, noting that she looked strange. "She's got an exotic look, I'll say that. But she doesn't..." The cat paused as her entire body froze as Akagi's gaze seemed to pass over the group. The others, barring Penelope, Arcus and Bathrumd, felt the same thing for a brief moment and found themselves momentarily unable to breathe.

{That bitch is bad news...} (Katlyn)

"It's only six more people. Do they really think that's going to make a difference?" Bathrumd scoffed at such small numbers. "I don't care how powerful that woman claims to be, we'll crush her and this puny force."

"Hey... Nier..." Katlyn pulled her husband aside and whispered into his ear. "Isn't that... That one girl, the black-haired one with the red outfit."

"Yeah, there's no mistaking it. She's Amdamell's Hero, Shiroe Amakusa." Nier gulped. He'd crossed blades with her once years prior and thought himself lucky not

{Things just got a whole lot more complicated.} (Nier)

"Shit! But why the hell is a Hero here and working for a fucking Demon Lord?!?" Katlyn was getting more antsy at the thought of fighting one of the four Heroes on top of the many other powerful members of the opposing force.

"How should I know? But this just means things have gotten a lot more dangerous." Nier said as he shook his head.

“Perhaps she was captured and brainwashed?” Miz'ri commented.

{Maybe. ButI thought the Heroes were sent to another world to hunt down and destroy the remaining Spirits, so why is she here? Did that Demon Lord some how get a hold of her while she was there? If we have to fight Shiroe Amakusa on top of everything else then things are going to get difficult. She was the most powerful of the four Heroes by a long shot and her blade can cleave through dozens of men in seconds. An army like this may be able to bring her down, but if we've got those other people to deal with...} (Nier)

"Shiroe Amakusa isn't the only dangerous one in that group. That silver-haired woman, she's a Vampire." Miz'ri said, breaking his train of thought. “And a powerful one at that.”@@novelbin@@

"Standing out in the daylight?!?" Katlyn squeaked in suprise. "Vampires can't do that! They burn to ash!"

{I've seen it like eleven times! Vampys and sunlight are not friends!} (Katlyn)

"I'm certain that she is one..." Miz'ri paused as she scanned Silfana with her eyes. "And not just any Vampire. Something about her... She's not normal... She's dangerous."

{She reminds me of the Demi-Gods in a way, though perhaps a bit more twisted. Her power is strangely calm, but unmistakably dark, and not in the same way that my magic is.} (Miz'ri)

"One Vampire that doesn't burn won't make a difference to the battle." Penelope waived off her concerns. "We'll defeat her like the rest, and besides, Vampires are notoriously cowards. The second she realizes this battle is lost, I'll bet she comes to us begging to swap sides." She smirked.

“Yeah...” Nier rolled his eyes as Penelope looked away, and as the leadership of the Demon Army continued to discuss their plans, they were interrupted by Akagi's booming voice and a projection of her sitting on a lavish throne that she'd projected high into the sky above the battlefield.

"Greetings, fools. My name is Akagi Dumetor, a Demon Lord."

{She's definitely knows how to suck all the air out of a room, I'll give her that...} (Nier)

“We didn't get paid enough for this...” Katlyn said as she grabbed her husband's hand, trembling slightly.

“There isn't enough money in the world to make this worth it...” Nier said with a chuckle as he tightened his grip on her hand. “But its too late to back down now.”

“Are we gonna die?” (Soldier 1)

“She said she wanted peace? Is that true?” (Soldier 2)

“No way man, Cultists are liars! My Gran-Gran said never to trust them!” (Soldier 3)

“You saw what they did to Riftwood! My best friend's former Academy roommates' uncle died there!” (Soldier 4)

“Maybe we should just go home... That woman a Demon Lord right? You heard the stories about Vikes...” (Soldier 5)

“Cowards.” Penelope scoffed at the soldiers words. “Perhaps we should cull them a bit before the battle begins? Can't have fools trying to run away at the first sign of trouble.

{Pen...} (Arcus)

"Do not falter men!" Ariel, sensing the discord in the army, quickly got on her horse to rouse the shaken troops and prevent a collapse of moral. "It is our sacred duty as children of the Demon Kingdom to right the wrongs of our ancestors! This Demon threatens you all with death, but not from a position of strength, but from one of desperation! Know that the Gods are out our side and that through our combined power no one, not even a Demon Lord can stop us! Today will mark the end of a dark chapter in our people's history and the beginning of a bright new future for everyone on Enoris! So what is our answer when she demands our submission?!? What is our response when she threatens to destroy our home?!? What is our answer when she threatens our world?!?" She said as she pulled on the horse's reins causing it to rear up on its back legs as she pumped a fist into the air. At first, nothing happened but then slowly but surely a wave of energy erupted from the surrounding army as they cheered for her.

"DEATH TO THE DEMON LORD! ALL HAIL LADY ARIEL! DEATH TO THE DEMON LORD! ALL HAIL LADY ARIEL! DEATH TO THE DEMON LORD! ALL HAIL LADY ARIEL! DEATH TO THE DEMON LORD! ALL HAIL LADY ARIEL! DEATH TO THE DEMON LORD! ALL HAIL LADY ARIEL!" (The Army)