INTERLUDE: THE BATTLE AT THE RIDGES

***The 1st Black Feathers Wing***

After the battle at the trenches concluded below their current positions, Sir Loin and Rumia’s army continued their march towards their objectives. This time, they already knew where to go, since all they had to do was to move away from the sounds of the fighting. After all, no sane leader would leave their civilians stranded in the middle of a battlefield…even if their homes were there.

“If we go further up, we’ll reach the ridges of the caldera,” Rumia consulted her map. “Hopefully, we find some populated villages there as well.”

“Haaa…for fuck’s sake, are we still going to march?” Sir Loin could barely breathe.

The dog-girl just shot him a bored stare, commenting, “For someone who always keep his nerves during battles, your stamina is surprisingly low.”

“This, and that, are two different things, haaa!”

“Well, no matter,” Rumia chuckled. “If you can’t continue further, you can always ride me.”

“Err…”

“What?”

“Don’t you think it sounded wrong?”

The dog-girl then realized her mistake and her cheeks were flushed, “I-I mean…y-you can…err…I c-can carry you on my back!”

“Heh, you will? Okay then; it’s nice to have my cute subordinate turn to my slave sometimes,” the parka guy smirked.

“You could at least refuse for some decency, you know?”

Sir Loin only laughed. However, Rumia continued…

“By the way, I also sent some scouts ahead of our column to check the route. They should return by now.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for the report here,” the parka guy sat on a stone to catch his breath. “These rickety bones are not good in supporting my sexy body when my exo-suit’s damaged…”

----------

Moments later, Rumia returned in a hurry, her face flushed.

“We found the missing Black Feathers, Sir Loin!” she told him.

“Huh? Where are they?”

“The scouts reported a battle raging at the island across the crater lake, several distances away from here! It must be the others!”

Sir Loin then grabbed Buttfriar and fixed his parka, before looking at his own map, “Island across the crater lake? It must be the place of the Saint’s palace.”

“We should hurry and reinforce them!”

“True. Time to give these foxes a kick in the ass!”

Soon, the 1st Black Feathers were on the move once again. The ridges were at their sight, and beyond that, the crater lake. However, Sir Loin remained cautious. Though there was a sense of urgency among them, he made them march on a normal pace, with scouts going ahead of their main column. True enough, just as they were about to reach the ridges, they heard sounds of clashing metals, screams of pain, and some small explosions.

“…”

However, Sir Loin heard another sound, this time coming from the forests below them. It’s as if there were hundreds of feet marching after them. He turned to Rumia, who had a sharper sense of hearing, and she gave him a nod, showing that what his ears picked up was true.

“Defensive positions!” the parka guy whispered his orders, to which, the dog-girl passed it on to others. The Black Feathers quickly hid on every bush, tree or rock that could provide them with good cover, and made sure their muskets were loaded.

“Sir Loin, you think they’re trying to reinforce their friends at the Saint’s palace?” Rumia asked.

“Maybe. Or they just happen to see us and they’re moving in for the kill,” Sir Loin answered. “In any case, we can’t let these foxes get to the crater lake before us, or our own friends will surely die there.”

By then, the sounds were loud enough to confirm that it was real. The ground also trembled, which Sir Loin surmised was because of a huge army coming to their direction.

“!!!”

And then, a blast of a war-horn. The Black Feathers braced for an attack, which came a few seconds after that.

“Here they come, chickies!” Sir Loin shouted. “Fire at will!”

The leading warriors of the foxes were shredded by the musketry of the Black Feathers. And then, when the distance between the former and the latter were closed, Sir Loin’s soldiers switched to their melee.

“Time for some fox hunting! Charge!”

“Raaaargh!”

Leading the counter-charge with his Buttfriar, the parka guy, along with Rumia and the rest of their men, carved a path of death and destruction downwards. The foxes fought back with the same ferocity, though they were the ones who were marching upwards. With their numbers, they tried to overwhelm the Black Feathers; however, some of the chicken tribesmen used the fallen tree trunks to literally ‘sweep’ their enemies to the sides, often with lethal results.

“We’re kicking their butts!” Sir Loin encouraged everyone to step up their game, “Don’t let these fuckers reach the crater lake!”

“Long live the king! Long live the queen!”

----------

***The Fox Army***

Demoralized by the news of their kins’ defeat at the battle of the trenches below, the fox commanders of the third column go to the direction of the Saint’s palace to reinforce their forces there fighting the ‘enemies that came from the skies’. The reports suggest it was only a small force, and their relative isolation from the Human king’s main army made them a suitable target for the foxes seeking to ‘avenge’ their defeat and raise the morale of everyone.

However, just as they were about to reach the ridges, they were surprised to find another, slightly larger, enemy force waiting for them at the top.

“Should we give battle?” one of the commanders asked his colleagues.

“Why are you putting up that question? Of course we should!” his fellow replied. “Can’t you see? They are few; only a fool can lose a battle with our numbers against them!”

“I don’t know but, I’m wary. It could be a trap.”

“Well, trap or not, I won’t let this opportunity to avenge our defeat go to waste! Are you with me or not?”

And with that, the commanders sealed their fate in the ensuing battle. Several minutes later after that argument, the fox army was retreating in disorder, their spirits broken and everyone afraid of fighting those ‘mad chickens led by a dog and a human’.

With only a few ‘holdouts’ remaining after that engagement, the Battle for the Cauldron came to a close.