The Red Hand

Chapter 378 – The Blood Rose Dancer.

The carnage that Akagi's forces had unleashed temporarily stunned the Demon Army's leadership. Those who were either unable or unwilling to flee were faced with the realization that they might truly be marching to their death. However, despite the panic, fear and anxiety Ariel didn't allow herself to fall into despair and moved to once again rally the troops.

"Quickly! Activate the crystal and get the barrier up! Rally the men! We need to keep the troops together and focused! We can still win this!" Ariel reared up her horse as she began making her way around the panicked and terrified army in an attempt to give out order. Watching thousands of men and horses be slaughtered in an instant struck terror into the soldiers' hearts, and even she felt sick in her stomach after watching such a gruesome display.

{They died without honor, glory, or anything! They were nothing more than cattle sent to the slaughter! We have to do something, or we're all going to end up like them, and I refuse to let that happen! I refuse!} (Ariel)

"Phima!" Bathrumd growled at the two women who'd gone even paler. "Why didn't you stop that shadow magic? Why did you allow our men to die?!? I know you well enough to understand that countering other's magic is your specialty!" He pulled one of them up by the collar and began to shake her..

"I-I... W-We..." The other Phima tried to speak but found her entire body trembling, causing her words to s sputter. "W-We couldn't..."

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<Silfana POV>

"Such weak forces." Silfana smirked as she drew the Night Blade and allowed it to hang at her side. "My own cavalry would've never made such a foolish mistake as charging into the world's most obvious trap. I'd like to know who on there side thought that was a good idea. I'm sure they'd be worthy of the world's stupidest commander award."

"Their numbers have made them arrogant and overconfident." Kira said as she watched Halifax and Penelope's battle out of the corner of her eye. "I suppose they thought we were fools for meeting them head-on. Though such a swift destruction of their main cavalry force seems to have dispelled any such notion. Their moral has hit rock bottom and many seem prone to fleeing even after watching Lady Akagi rip those who tried to shreds."

"Let's not give them time to recover." Silfana said as she turned back to Akagi, who wore no expression on her shadowy face. “Shall we?”

"Kill them, and bring me the ones I told you about." Akagi said from her throne. "Spare no one else, and use this opportunity to set our plan in motion. This will mark the beginning of your march to the Imperial Capital, Silfana, so don't go disappointing me, Vampire Empress." Her words electrified the Vampire, whose lips curved into a wicked smile.

"I would never dream of it." Silfana laughed as she turned to back to the Ninja. "Alright, draw your weapons and ready yourself for battle! Let us spill the blood of those who would dare defy our Master and make them rue the day they stood against us!" The Vampire said to a sea of cheers from the Ninja as they drew their magic rifles, ready for war. "Thin out the ranks with ranged attacks before charging in. There are over seventy thousand combat personnel on the enemy side, so take care not to get overwhelmed by such large numbers! Stick in groups of five and use your superior skill and equipment to rip them apart!"

"RIGHT!" (Ninja)

{This is it... The day I've been working too for so long... Today will mark the first step in reclaiming my birthright... Today... Today I will prove myself to Akagi... Prove that her faith in me is well placed... And prove to my mother that I was always worthy of the faith she had in me.} (Silfana)

"Then, open fire!" Silfana lifted her blade, thrusting it into the air, and a moment later, the Ninja opened fire with magic rifles. Such weapons had been refined since the early prototypes that Imp had created nearly a year prior, and now they worked more like modern Semi-Automatic military weapons than clumsy muskets.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*@@novelbin@@

A deafening cacophony of magical shots flashed across the plains cutting down scores of Demon soldiers that stood in tight groups. They'd mostly gathered up in a line formation, standing shoulder to shoulder with their shields up spears at the ready. Naturally, the magic weapons provided by Imp made short work of armor, and in moments hundreds of Demon soldiers dropped to the ground, dead.

"At this rate, it will be too easy. They can't even fight back at this range." Silfana said as she watched the carnage with both delight and boredom.

{Though it's a matter of time until they charge in. They vastly outnumber our meager force, and they surely understand the value of surrounding us. At a minimum, they could probably use human wave tactics to make things irritating.} (Silfana)

*ZAP* *CRACKLE* *BLORP*

"Hm?" Silfana looked on as a large pillar of magical energy shot into the sky before expanding and forming a large bubble that covered the Demon Army, protecting it from further ranged attacks. "I see. The object they took from the Fort was a portable barrier generator. Unfortunately, it looks like Imp's weapons aren't strong enough to penetrate it, hold fire. You're just wasting energy." She gave the order to stop shooting ready for close combat.

"Too bad. It looks like you'll have to do this the hard way, Silfana." Kira commented.

"Hard way? No, I'd say that this more like the fun way." Silfana cackled. "I must confess that I would've been disappointed if we could pick them off from afar with such ease. I'd like to get a chance to test out this new power of mine in a real battle and sitting here and watching them get gunned down would be a waste." She said as she slung the Night Blade over her shoulder. "Men, form up! We're going in hot!" She said as she leaped over the ninja, charging toward the army at high speed, followed closely by the Ninja who had various weapons at the ready ranging from Kunai to explosives that they readied as they approached. "SHOW THEM NO MERCY!" Silfana roared as she passed through the barrier, carving her way through scores of terrified infantry in seconds with the Night Blade. One of its special abilities was to drink blood, and the more it drank, the more powerful it and its wielder became. It did have a cap on how much power it would provide, but the boost was substantial regardless, and it was part of the reason why Silfana was able to kill so many players in FWO. She had a nasty habit of sacrificing her own minions to fuel the blade's thirst, though in this case there were plenty of enemies to kill so such cannibalistic tactics would be unnecessary.

"Drink Night Blade! Drink!" Silfana cackled as she sliced a group of thirty men to ribbons with the blade, using the scattered blood to create razor sharp spikes that took off into the air and rained down impaling and killing even more soldiers. "Tonight, neither of us shall hunger, for there is so much prey to satiate ourselves with!" She smiled as her fangs flashed for a moment. Akagi had lifted the ban on blood drinking during this battle, and Silfana, despite enjoying regular food so much, was still a Vampire and thirsted for blood. Beyond tasting good it gave Vampires a power boost for a short time, so that combined with the Night Blade's ability made her a nearly unstoppable force, especially when faced with a literal army of chaff to slaughter and drink.

*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*

Silfana carved a bloody path through the center of the army, obliterating any who got in her way. Her primary targets were Ariel and the other Elector-Kings, but for now, she wanted to thin out the ranks and provide the Ninja a bit of backup. Her form seemed to glide through the army, and her use of a such a thin blade made it easy to essentially filet her foes. The Vampire moved from soldier to soldier, carving her way through them like a hot knife though butter, and a light sheen could be seen as she slashed the Night Blade, drawing a pattern that one could use to follow her as she danced around the battlefield.

"Are there none of who you can provide a challenge?!?" Silfana laughed as she finished sinking her teeth into a soldier's neck, draining him of blood and causing him to wither. "Are you all nothing but a bunch of weaklings?!? You call yourselves soldiers of the Demon Army, but all I see before me are cattle!" Her taunt angered many of the nearby soldiers who poured in to fight her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! KILL THAT MONSTER!" The soldiers charged with their spears at the ready, trying desperately to land a single blow on the Vampire, but failing each time. Silfana was far too agile to be harmed by such weak attacks, and she easily maneuvered between the soldiers, cutting them down one by one in such a way that one could only describe it as a Danse Macabre. The Vampire had been thrown into a blood frenzy by the carnage, and with her senses at their absolute peak and a fire in her heart, she turned whole sections of the Demon Army to mincemeat in seconds.

Of course, the Ninja had their own success and was equally as terrifying for the average soldier to face head-on, but something about the Vampire made all who witnessed her carnage freeze. The officers who had the displeasure of watching her attack from afar regarded her as a monster, and soon the name "Blood Rose Dancer" swept across the Army, a horrific yet quaint nickname that matched Silfana's double sided nature. Those who saw Silfana and lived long enough to tell the tale described the horrifying sight of a beautiful silver-haired woman dancing around the battlefield, covered in the blood of her enemies. She was truly the embodiment of chaos, destruction, beauty, grace, and authority, all traits that she'd refined during her long life.

"Such carnage." Akagi said with a small laugh as she watched the battle unfold. "Silfana is truly going all out. I suppose she wants me to praise her for her hard work, so perhaps I will." She laughed demonically as a group of wyvern riders were ripped from the sky by Silfana's blood spikes and eviscerated by her blade. "Oh, how I do love loyal little dogs like her. They're so cute when they pine for attention from their master." She said as Her eyes slowly moved to Amakusa, whose entire body had turned pale as she watched what was happening. “A little bit like a certain someone else I know.”

"Y-You... T-This... This isn't a battle..." Amakusa said as her body trembled. Akagi had spared her from taking part in the battle, but she wasn't so nice as to allow her to look away from the bloodshed. "It's a slaughter..." She slowly turned at Akagi, fear clearly visible on her face. This was the first time she'd seen Akagi drop the human guise she normally used, and the Demon was internally taking bets with Yumi, who was currently enjoying herself within the Demon's shadow, on how long it would be until Amakusa broke since the uninitiated didn't tend to enjoy seeing this form or the slaughter that was unfolding. "You... You really are a monster."

"No, pet, I'm not A monster..." Akagi said as her mouth curved into a nasty grin, revealing her razor-sharp teeth. "I'm THE monster."