Jackal Among Snakes

“Grimalt, Bastel, Rasten—you have a very simple goal. I don’t want you to even think about advancing outside of the ranks. All that I want you to focus on is taking care of whatever slips past the front. My Brumesingers will be helping, too—I’ll demonstrate their power before the fight begins so there’s no confusion,” Argrave told the Veidimen officers. “Still, remember this: protect the Magisters above all.” He looked at the lone wood elf among them. “And you, Ganbaatar—I trust you to act independently in defense.”

All of the people that had come with him in this journey stood arrayed before him. Though the results of his scouring for traitors had disappointed him back then, now he felt content with an absolute trust in all of them. The Magisters, the Veidimen officers, Ganbaatar, Orion and Anneliese… the only people absent were Nikoletta and Mina, and they had gone in search of Duke Enrico.

He decided to send Artur with the ducal heir and Mina. The escort that Myriarch Purev sent was formidable—Anneliese had scrutinized all of them to watch for traitors, and one of them was an A-rank mage. Even still, he wanted one of his own men with his cousin, and Artur was still minorly depleted from protecting Argrave back then alongside maintaining his enchanted gear. If Rovostar proved trouble… Artur would stop that.

“Orion, Anneliese, and I are going to be standing at the front of the action,” Argrave said, tapping his chest. “We have more endurance and power, combat-wise, than anyone else. Even still, I need to receive an immediate response if I call upon your magic,” he informed the Magisters. “If I yell your name, and then ‘S-rank spell, right side,’ I need an immediate action. Inform me about how much magic you have left after so I can make a judgment about who to call upon.”

“Done,” Vasilisa assured him.

“I’m a little spent. Can manage two S-rank spells at best,” Moriatran shrugged. “But… done, certainly. Let’s hope you’re not forgetful. And that we live through this…”

Argrave looked at Anneliese and Orion in turn. Objectively speaking, they were the perfect fits for the front of the action. Argrave now had power in spades, and had earned some endurance in the elven realm by creating hundreds of blood echoes—plus, he had a backlog of magic in the Blessing of Supersession. He hoped to preserve it, however. Anneliese would gain some magic back for every spell he cast near her, meaning her endurance was near as high as his. And Orion… he’d already proved his monstrous capability. That still didn’t put him at ease.

Argrave suppressed a sigh before those he led and focused back. “We get one small benefit, being at the rear of the formation… we don’t have to join the initial fighting. Instead, the elves have to do the complicated retreat.” He looked around at the redwood trees above them. “We wait here for their arrival. In time, all the forces in the northern Bloodwoods will be stirred, engaged in a life-or-death struggle.”

He looked back down at his men. The Veidimen honor guard remained ready and able, as ever, but he wanted them to be more than that.

the realm he came from. And since you’re

elicited laughter from a

near seemed to have more depth to them. And

#####

They were a disorganized legion of monsters, uniform in

orb with eight white wings on its center and one eye on its front flapped up and down, sagging and then rising like a jellyfish in water. Everywhere it went, black winged creatures poured from its bottom like sand from a cut bag. Though they

tremendous speed, digging in deep enough to sever limbs or pierce heads. They seemed to

the creature that spawned these dive bombers. The purple orb took the blows one and all, seeming to exist without pain. Finally, a mage swung out from the high branches by a wire, a spell prepared that created a mana ripple as it finished. A single forked

of wind in hand and plucked the white feathers from its wings to use as arrows. It was a master marksman, pulling its bow

ape-like feet, soaring through the sky and showing prowess with that weapon far beyond what seemed possible. They were Kirel Qircassia’s servants, and befitting the god

canopies of the redwoods did not begrudgingly retreat. Indeed, if this invasion were given time to progress, this would be no feigned

creatures swarmed the ground, their bodies thick carapaces that resembled shards of pottery. They acted in complete unity, and whenever resistance was met their bodies came together to form giants of earthenware. Some of these giants were ten feet tall, while others were one hundred. These constructs rained blows powerful enough to punch through steel. Any attacks against them killed one or two ants out of hundreds, and soon enough more took their

very particular manner. If the elven forces were a line holding against the forces of Kirel Qircassia, that line seemed to come into

seemed to become wind tore apart the winged monstrosities. Felines with tails fifty feet long swept at the earthenware giants, killing the ants by the dozen. Giants acted in reckless defense of their children, throwing logs and rocks big enough to

puzzle piece fitting just right, Tumens took their place in both the canopies and the ground. Elven wire traps, though absent in the retreat,

caution—redwoods falling could be a devastating event, killing any no matter how large. Many looked to the source of the noise. A redwood tree was cracking, though instead of horizontally… this tree split vertically. A gash suddenly split the tree down from the top