CHAPTER 13: SALVATION

***Castle Darkmoor***

An elf soldier rushed across the hallways of the palace, heading straight to the private chambers of his master. However, once he arrived, he was barred from entering by his comrades.

“Our master is having his time with his sister,” one of the guards told him.

“But this is an important matter!” the elf answered. “This information has to reach the Lord Haya!”

“Quiet now, child,” the other guard replied. “If that is urgent, then you can tell us. We’d pass it to our master once he allowed us to approach.”

The elf had no choice but to agree to the condition set before him. Once he said what needs to be told, he was sent away, and he returned to his duties. However, the guards were in a dilemma. The Lord Haya never wished to be disturbed whenever he was with his sister, but the news that reached them was important to his own survival. So, after careful deliberation, one of the guards took courage to knock and tell the demon lord what he needed to know.

“What?” was the question of another elf, standing guard inside the chambers, when he heard the knocking of his comrade.

“An extremely important news,” said the first sentry. “Our master should know, even at the pain of my death.”

The elf on the other side of the door initially hesitated, but eventually allowed the first elf in. As he approached the bed of his master, he took note of the scattered clothes of his fellow elves around the room, the naked demon lady chained on the bed, and the Lord Haya himself, who had just wrapped himself with a robe.

“What do you need?” the demon lord asked. “Have I not tell you not to disturb me when I’m with my sister?”

“My apologies, milord,” the elf fell prostrate before him, “but I believe that this news must reach you, even at the cost of my life.”

“Spit it out, then! I don’t have much time!”

“M-Milord, one of the patrols you sent to watch the northern borders of the city came back with an alarming news: an army of Usarveds are marching from the north.”

The creases on the demon lord’s face vanished upon hearing the elf’s words. He stood up, glanced at the naked demon lady, and said, “You must be joking! The northern approaches of Darkmoor is impossible to cross! How is that even possible?”

“Forgive me, milord, but that is the only information I was told!”

The Lord Haya fell silent, and he paced around the room, pondering on his options. He was muttering, “That Shevaun…this must be her doing! I should kill her once I have the chance!”

The elf, however, had a clearer mind, and said, “Milord, pardon for my audacity, but we’ll await for your orders.”

The demon lord then stopped from his walking back and forth, and faced the sentry, “What orders are you waiting for, Kal’Abash? Don’t tell me your elf-brain is affected by the mind-control spell I cast on this palace! What am I paying you and your men for? If you have time to wait for what I’ll say, then go and muster the soldiers loyal to us! Head to the northern borders and defend that region until the last elf, or Usarved, is dead! You got the arms, and you got the money!”

The sentry stood up without looking at his master, and bowed, “Y-Yes, milord!”

“If there is not enough soldiers, then I’m allowing you to press the citizens into service. Kill those who resist.”

Kal’Abash then gave a salute to his master, and turned for the door. While fear engulfed his chest, the elf was wondering why he and his elves agreed to help this demon lord in the first place. The Lord Haya was only concerned of ‘playing’ with his sister, and not governing properly.

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***The desert route between the Blighted Lands, Darkmoor and Fangborough…***

A long column of malformed, twisted and hideous creatures could be seen streaming out of the Blighted Lands and into the ‘dark’ region of Cherflammen, to the direction of the city of Darkmoor. While they may looked like ‘mindless’ monsters to someone who had just seen them for the first time, these demons who called themselves ‘Knights’ still kept a sliver of their sentience, enough for many of them to recognize the authority of their most powerful leader, the Lord Haya of House Usarved.

“…”

As the route that connected the border crossing of Cherflammen-Chersea to Darkmoor and the rest of the demon realm passed beside the Blighted Lands, it was the road that the army of the ‘Knights’ used on their march to the Lord Haya’s new stronghold. However, this path passed through a narrow valley, with the South Darkmoor Mountains to its eastern side, and a group of unnamed hills to the west.

A perfect site for an ambush.

“!!!” the column’s ‘peaceful’ march was suddenly broken when artillery shells rained on them. Limbs flying, bodies disintegrating, and dark blood spraying through the desert air as the ‘Knights’ were being attacked from both the front and rear.

“Hills!” a deformed creature that served as the commander of one segment of the column pointed towards the nearby hills as the source of the cannon fire. “Attack! Kill!”

At once, his warriors surged to overwhelm their enemies’ positions their leader showed them. However, at that point…

“Fire at will!”

Goblin legionnaires, orc knights, and Usarved soldiers rose up from their prepared trenches and poured rapid, accurate rifle fire on the ‘Knights’ running to attack their lines. These, combined with artillery, shredded the attackers from long distances, for the allied army that was ambushing them were now equipped with the new ‘Goblinhom Bolt-Heater Rifle’.

“Enemies on the flank!”

The allied soldiers, though they were killing many ‘Knights’, were still in danger of being overwhelmed. While the new gun was doing its wonders, the fact remained that their foes were not ‘sane’ anymore. The instinct to ‘preserve’ their lives was already lost, and they just continued to attack the allied lines like they were expendable. As the corpses piled in front of the trenches, it was getting difficult to pick a target, so some of the soldiers had to drop their weapons, and remove the dead bodies from their line of fire.

Doing so made the front defenses stop on their shooting, and the subsequent reduced gunfire made it possible for the ‘Knights’ to come close to their positions.

“!!!”

But then, just as they were about to pounce on the allied soldiers, the Tambara army made its move. Hidden behind the hills, they sprung to attack, closing in on the deformed creatures for the melee. The lycanthropes had long eschewed firearms and armor for their battle equipment, and thus, they were trained to tear their enemies’ flesh, relying on their speed to maneuver and survive.

Of course, the soldiers in the trenches didn’t just watch their allies in awe. While the Tambaras took care of the enemies close to their lines, they resumed on pouring fire on the ‘Knights’, moving to reinforce their embattled members. Then, the signal for the lycanthropes to retreat was sounded.

The melee did leave casualties, however. A few of the Tambara soldiers were caught off-guard and was either killed by their enemy, or injured by friendly fire. Some of those were carried by their comrades back to safety, while there were those who fell on spots that were difficult to reach.

And for those lycanthropes, the ghouls went to their work. Braving the enemy attack, running and crawling amidst their allies’ gunfire, the ghouls did their best to rescue the Tambaras that were still alive. The soldiers from the hill trenches gave them cover, as the ‘Medevac Corps’ made their way to their own lines.

The bloodbath raged for a few more hours, before the ‘Knights’ realized they were being massacred and tried to retreat to their hideouts inside the Blighted Lands. However, the Lord Vitalis was determined that, once they came out, he won’t accept them again. As he had his own army of undead for the defense of their territory, he had them positioned on the routes used by their enemy before, effectively blocking the latter’s escape.

There were no prisoners. More than the others, the Lord Vitalis knew well the effects of prolonged stay in his lands, and—while he could be a chivalrous leader to his foes—the ‘Knights’ twisted minds was enough for him to kill them all, in a final act of mercy.

“…”

Meanwhile, high up in the skies of Cherflammen and circling over the battlefield, was the undead dragon, Rosita. Her pilot, Giraud, was flying her, and beside him was the newly-commissioned general of the Goblin Legion, the Lord Greg ‘Kuro’ Santos of Arles. He had a spyglass on his hand, watching the fight as it unfolded. Then, once the battle ended, he smiled, and said to the undead pilot…

“And that concludes the actual battlefield tests for the ‘Bolt-Heater’ and the ‘Medevac Corps’. Now we move to the next phase, the ‘Jägers’.”

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**Greg**

Just like my old world’s militaries, the demons required testing their weapons before actually adopting those to their armies. The ‘Bolt-Heater’ had already endured a lot of tests, for ever since the goblins got a working prototype, they massed produced it in their factories and slowly armed their regiments—as well as their allies—facing the Biorno forces.

And this last battle proved the potential of our gun, as well as the results of my first-aid trainings with the ghouls. The Medevac Corps performed well under fire, just like how I envisioned them.

“…”

Now, with our firepower and battlefield medical care upgrades secured, we’re moving on to the next—and I’d say, crucial—part of the tests for the new tactics and equipment for the allied armies: the shock troops tactic. Well, as I remembered before, it was successfully used by ‘Kuro’ when he and two Beastman elite regiments called the ‘Black Feathers’ stormed and captured the Black Tower castle in the city of Malvette. And, as Greg Santos, I wanted to repeat that feat.

Though, of course, we won’t simply go in, kill those who resisted, rescue the Princess Noir and bail out before anyone realized we just murdered the elves. The maid, Lady Angelli, told us that the Lord Haya was so fixated on his younger sister, that he was willing to damn everyone just to have her beside him.

Which I find creepy, by the way…

So, in line with this information, I’m guessing that once he realized we took Her Highness away from him, he would send armies after us. The demon brother’s insane, so he might do the impulsive and unthinkable, see? And, as a commander, I won’t miss the chance to weaken his grip on the Usarved throne. My idea was to—if he did try to run after Princess Noir—wait for his soldiers to come to a prepared line of defense outside the Darkmoor region, and rain death and destruction on his forces. Not only would his power be broken, it would also guarantee Her Highness’ safe escape to freedom.

Well, not that we can’t transport her out of Darkmoor via Rosita, which is the plan anyway.

As the allied force of goblins, orcs, Usarveds, and Tambaras moved into their positions outside the borders of Darkmoor, we took off to assault its castle.

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The ‘Jägers’ company only had 24 members, including me. It was small, as it was an ‘experimental’ unit, for if our results here were ‘not convincing’ or lackluster, the goblins would never adopt this in battle. Well, I’m aware of the potential of ‘assault tactics’, but to prove to the demons its value, it’s better to show them than just to argue by theory.

There were three orc knights with us, seven Usarved soldiers, two Tambaras and eleven goblin legionnaires, divided into three squads. As Rosita couldn’t take us all in one flight, we arranged for two—the maximum we could do based on her ‘capacity’, before losing the element of surprise.

For Castle Darkmoor, we identified a ‘landing zone’ from Lady Angelli’s information. The plan of action was, a squad and a half would initially come in, and eliminate the resistance. Then, the full first squad would enter the palace in search for Princess Noir, while the half-squad would secure the ‘landing zone’ for the second batch to land. Once complete, the two squads outside would wreak havoc to distract the Lord Haya’s reinforcements, while Rosita and Giraud would fly over the Castle Darkmoor on standby.

After securing the Usarved princess, we’d signal the undead dragon, and she’d fly Her Highness out to safety. Two more return flights, and we’d be out of Darkmoor before anyone could say ‘knife’.

As we have no way of telling the exact time, we only have to rely on our instincts to estimate that this ‘operation’ will last for a short while. Hopefully.

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***The Northern Approaches to the City of Darkmoor…***

For many weeks now, the army under the leadership of Shevaun Ilkes had received equipment and instructions from their allies in Goblinhom, particularly the new ‘crack horn’ they called ‘Bolt-Heater’. It was a great weapon, with a faster fire rate than the old crack horn, and an accuracy that could make an ordinary demon soldier match the elves’ skills in a shooting battle. The clan leaders in Goblinhom also sent in a few ‘instructors’ that taught her forces on the efficient use of it, with the tactics devised by the Lord Greg himself.

And she is to send information back to the allies in Goblinhom, including the casualty rate for both sides, and the success rate as well.

“…”

As such, the data she sent helped the allied clans in Goblinhom to revise and reorganized their armies. However, Shevaun believed that the true ‘effectiveness’ of the new weapon and tactics would be tested in the upcoming offensive she was now heading to: the Battle for Darkmoor. The demon chamberlain suspected that the skirmishes she fought against the Biorno forces were just the ‘half-hearted’ efforts of their enemies to disrupt their communications with the other cities, or a possible test to see which city was the weakest, and focus their attack there.

Otherwise, Shevaun couldn’t see the purpose of those attacks in Helfan, when their objectives were the capture of the Conclave (which already happened), and punish the Tambara student who assassinated the Biorno lord, who was now in Fangborough.

The Lord Castrio Sargdhenerri isn’t a bumbling buffoon, he is one of Emile Biorno’s respected generals.

In any case, Shevaun had to stop thinking about the ‘what ifs’ for a while and focus on the battle ahead of her. Her skillful handling of her forces’ logistics enabled them to cross the ‘hostile’ land between Helfan and Darkmoor, and she knew she couldn’t fail in this endeavor. The Princess Noir’s life depended on it, and as her faithful servant, Her Highness waited on her to save her.

Only the ‘wall’ of the Lord Haya’s soldiers separates her from her beloved mistress, so the excitement in her heart is overflowing. Nevertheless, it is not Shevaun’s role to rescue Her Highness in Castle Darkmoor; her part is only to distract their enemies, so the Lord Greg can save the Usarved Princess.

The demon chamberlain asked a nearby aide, “How’s the enemy’s reconnaissance?”

“Milady, I believe they already saw us,” the soldier answered. “While the elves’ eyes were less-effective in this darkness, the Usarveds of the Lord Haya may have informed them of our movement. For several days now, our scouts have seen the enemy reinforcing their defensive lines, which is not the usual. I guess they are well-prepared and entrenched for our attack.”

“Good. The more they send people against us, the better,” the demon chamberlain quipped. “Alright then, tell the artillery to begin their bombardment.”

Her aide then signaled for their artillery to fire on the defenses of the Lord Haya’s forces. Within several minutes, about a hundred cannon rounds fell on their positions.

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The Battle for Darkmoor began with a massive artillery fire from Shevaun’s army, stationed on a higher ground overlooking the Usarved’s main city from a distance. Facing her forces were the entrenched soldiers of the Lord Haya, led by his elf guards and pressed into service on the pain of death. As the demon chamberlain was the first to arrive in that area, they had the luxury of constructing elaborate trench networks that supported the frontline while being protected from the enemy counter-barrage.

The elves were renowned for their eyes and their skill to hit their targets with unearthly precision. However, in contrast to the city of Darkmoor—which was illuminated by candlelight posts—the northern borders of the region were pitch black, as it lay on the ‘night’ parts of Cherflammen. While the elves could use their instincts to look for their enemies, its distance was limited, and they had to rely on the Usarved soldiers—who had no problems looking into the dark—to determine where to fire.

And the Usarveds, just like any other demon individual, didn’t like elves lording over them. They deliberately positioned and aimed their cannons away from the attacking army of their own people, fooling their elf leaders for a time.

So, the devastating barrage from Shevaun’s forces continued. When the elves realized that they were being duped by the Usarved officers, they executed them on the spot, and ordered the ordinary soldiers to ‘fix bayonets’ and charge.

The result was a massacre. The Usarved army of the Lord Haya was still the ‘old’ one, used to marching across the battlefield lined like a wall of mortal flesh and in steady, slow paces, ready to bulldoze a similar force with their matchlock crack horns, swords and bayonets. Against the ‘new’ Usarved army led by Shevaun and trained according to the tactics devised by the Lord Greg, however, they were hopelessly outgunned, outmaneuvered and outgeneraled.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!” came the order across the lines of the demon chamberlain’s forces. They couldn’t take the slaughter against their hapless ‘enemy’ any longer; there was not even a fight! As the Usarved soldiers of the Lord Haya marched to reach Shevaun’s positions, they threw their crack horns to surrender en masse to their own people.

When the elves, hiding in the trenches, saw what was happening, they tried to spur the ‘cowardly’ Usarveds into fighting by shooting at them, which killed scores. As their fire was focused on the surrendering regiments, the sharpshooters from Shevaun’s army sniped on the long-ears, much to the latter’s shock, for they were confident of the safety in their distance.

As the Usarved soldiers on the Lord Haya’s side switched loyalties, the demon chamberlain noticed that the enemy defenses were already undermanned. An aide rushed to her and excitedly said, “Milady! Darkmoor is open for an assault! Would you order it?”

Looking at the nearly defenseless demon city, Shevaun smirked and said, “Order the general advance. We shall get the Lord Haya’s head before the long sleep!”

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***Castle Darkmoor***

As the sounds of battle from the northern side of the city echoed, the elves guarding the Usarved palace were restless. The cannon fire could be heard from where they stood, and they listened as it slowly went louder with every minute passing.

“…”

And then everything went silent. The elves readied their guns, with some silently uttering prayers to their saint, as they realized that they were isolated in the middle of a hostile city with no hope of escape in case the approaching army of demons broke through from the north. Their commanders ordered their stores of bullets be brought out in the courtyard, and they take defensive positions in the walls of Castle Darkmoor.

“…”

In the middle of their preparation, however, a wind blew that snuffed out the candles they use for light. The elves, tensed and scared, initially panicked, but somehow got their spells to rekindle their candles. And when the light returned…

“!!!”

Several of their comrades lay dead on the courtyard ground, necks slit or broken. But, before the elves got to know what was happening, goblins, orcs, and Usarved soldiers were already pointing their short crack horns at them. One move, and they would be riddled with bullets.

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**Greg**

The courtyard of Castle Darkmoor was taken without a shot fired. Lady Shevaun’s offensive from the north was a resounding success, as we observed from the skies, and she was now marching to capture the city itself. There was sporadic resistance, but I guess, this battle was already lost for the Lord Haya.

However, this war won’t be won without Princess Noir, and it’s our job to rescue her.

So, taking advantage of the panic, we swooped in the Usarved palace, finding the remaining elves setting up their defenses along the walls of Castle Darkmoor. As I was told before that they would have difficulty in looking at the dark, I had a wind blow their candles out. Once darkness enveloped them, the ‘Jägers’ moved in.

There was no contest, as the elves were stunned and were easily killed or captured and disarmed. However, this applied to those who were outside the palace itself. For those who were still inside, they still had few precious seconds to prepare for our assault.

“!!!”

The ‘Jägers’ began the attack by lobbing grenades through the door and windows of the palace. The explosions happened almost simultaneously, and we didn’t even wait for the smoke and dust to settle. The elf guards who were caught in the blast were instantly killed, while those who survived tried to fight back.

“Shit!” I immediately ducked as the bullets flew. Based from the weapons we captured at the courtyard, I was shocked to see that these elves were carrying modern guns—M4A1s, high-powered assault rifles from my world. We didn’t have time to interrogate our prisoners, but I’d like to know where they got those.

Meanwhile, my companions were also taking cover, as per our training. The elves’ weakness in the dark was compensated by their highly-developed instincts, so they could still shoot at us, though not as accurate as I assumed it to be. As for me, I couldn’t see well, too, so I just remained in my spot ’till one of our demons took advantage of it and shot back at our foes, felling them.

“Sir, they’re easy to shoot!” the soldier told me in jest. “They are just standing there firing their guns!”

“Well, I’m human and I can’t see properly in the dark, mind you!” I countered. “So, if you’re that confident in your skills, you better carry us, hotshot!”

My companions laughed, which somehow made the tense situation a bit lighter. But soon, we returned to our serious faces as we searched the castle for our goals. The maid, Angelli, gave us a good information on where we should expect resistance, including where the guards were usually positioned. The method I taught the ‘Jägers’: ‘Throw a grenade’, wait for the boom, close in to kill’ worked smoothly, and soon the entire palace was littered with elf corpses.

We also had the chance to pick up our enemies’ weapons, which was significantly better than the ‘Bolt-Heater’ revolver we’re using. However, as we were not trained to use it, we just left those on the spot where it fell.

Besides, I don’t like the proliferation of these kinds of arms in the aftermath of this conflict, so I’m planning to have it all destroyed.

Our progress went unimpeded. Those who tried to resist were killed, while those who surrendered were disarmed, restrained and taken out to the courtyard. And then, finally, we stood outside the doors of the Lord Haya’s private chambers, with the elves standing guard surrendering their weapons. They also informed us that it was locked, with the Lord Haya, a demon lady, and three of their comrades inside.

Yes, that’s Princess Noir, alright.

“…”

Of course, we expected it to be locked—even barricaded—from the other side. The Lord Haya had time to prepare, after all. Now the problem was, if we threw a grenade, we might end up killing everyone inside, including Her Highness. But, if we tried to force the doors open, the risk of his guards shooting at us were high, and we might sustain fatalities, which—up to this point—was still a possibility.

“!!!”

As we slowed down to rethink of our strategy, however, three huge monsters broke out of the demon lord’s room and fought against us. We were all surprised, for we had no idea that there were those creatures inside the private chambers.

“How the fuck did these monsters get in?” the orc who was with us blurted out, as he desperately fought back with his pistol. He was quickly overwhelmed though and was thrown towards the wall, suffering injuries.

One of my companions then uttered a fire spell, and threw it on our enemies, setting them alight. To my horror, I recognized that the monsters we’re dealing with were minotaurs, and they went berserk even when they were burning.

As I was a general of the Goblin Legion, the members of the ‘Jägers’ immediately moved to protect me. However, I won’t allow it; though I’m their leader, I preferred leading on the front, rather than commanding from the rear. So, without delay, I grabbed one of the captured M4A1s, kneeled and aimed at the heads of the minotaurs. Our bullets won’t simply kill them, as shown by the orc earlier, but disabling these creatures could help.

“!!!”

A couple of shots, and the first minotaur was blinded. I followed it with more, and took out the sight of the other two monsters. When the ‘Jägers’ saw what I was doing, they opened fire as well. I think even a leviathan from Cherwind wouldn’t survive the hail of bullets that rained on the creatures. Soon, we got three smoldering minotaur corpses, and an open door to Princess Noir…