Reborn: War's Nightmare (2 page)

12-2

It was two days after attacking the large town that Ash received the bad news. “My lord,” Lath said stepping out of the shadows.

“What is it Lath?” Ash asked irritably. It was late into the night and Ash felt as if he had just been woken from a deep sleep.

“It seems that we have erred,” Lath said with only the slightest hint of worry in his voice. “A decent sized army is about four hours from your current location and is continuing forward.”

“What?” Ash asked, his drowsiness suddenly disappearing. On his side, Mia woke with a startled expression, her hand going directly for her weapon as her eyes darted around the room. “How many and how in the nine hells did you miss an army so close? From the last reports, the nearest army should still be days away.”

“It seems they have a few talented mages with them my lord,” Lath said with a slight twitch of his face. “They were able to conceal themselves. If it had not been for one of our scouts running across them while delivering a message, I fear we would have been taken completely unaware. This is my error my lord. I have underestimated the enemy. As such, any punishment should be mine and mine alone. I ask that you do not take it out on my subordinates.”

Ash rubbed the space between his eyes and let out a long sigh.  “Lath, I would like to say there is nothing to punish, but I don’t think that will work in such a situation. Though for now, it will be postponed until I have a better grasp of the situation,” Ash said before turning to Mia. “Mia wake the others and quietly…And I mean as quietly as possible, wake the officers and tell them a force is a few hours out and to prepare the troops for a night ambush counter attack.”

“At once my lord,” Mia said as she jumped from the bed, not even caring that Lath momentarily could see her exposed body. Throwing on her clothes she ran from the room as if she were moving across hot coals. Though she moved incredibly fast, Ash couldn’t even hear a single footstep as she moved across the ground.

With a smile on his face, Ash turned back to Lath who still had his usual emotionless face. “Back to the topic at hand. What do we know?”

“Due to finding out about the force in such an unexpected way, the messenger couldn’t ascertain their exact numbers. We have since sent a scouting group to check, but it will take time for them to return. From the best estimates we think they have near a thousand well trained troops. From the clothing described I believe that they are the King’s underground force. If that is true then it will be a hard fight, even without numbers.”

“Personal troops?” Ash asked as his eyebrows twitched.

“Yes, just as we have been trained as the Maoh’s personal soldiers, the King of Heluria has similar troops, though we don’t know how many or how they are trained. If they were able to get this close without detection, they must be talented.”

“So all we have to go on is that we have an unknown number of enemies that will soon attack with skills and abilities that we know nothing about?”

“That is correct my lord,” Lath said as the corners of his lips twitched slightly.

“How many men do you have?”

“My lord most of my men are spread out across this country and the others gathering information. It saddens me to admit, but we have less than twenty of your men at hand. Once again this is my error and…”

“Enough,” Ash said interrupting Lath. “While we both know some token punishment must be handed out, we also both know that it won’t be harsh nor will it involve your men. I am well aware that you are skilled in your job, Lath and I have no intention of making you leave it…Especially at the start of a war. Trying to train a new leader would eat into time and only make things worse, so could you drop it. Right now I need solutions, not excuses.”

Ash had thought that Lath would understand him a little more by now since he was the head of his personal troops and skilled in what most people would call darker arts, but when he noticed a slight look of relaxation appear on Lath’s face he started to wonder. “Did he really think I would punish everyone for something like this?” Ash asked himself. “True it would have been devastating had we not learned of the soldiers and were attacked, but still no one can be omnipotent. There are bound to be things that go by unnoticed.”

“My lord?” Lath said after Ash had remained silent staring at the wall for a solid five minutes.

“Any ideas Lath?” Ash asked in a straight forward tone as his own mind was coming up blank.

“Nothing my lord,” Lath admitted. “We could try and make them think that we are still unaware of their existence, but I doubt it will work. They must be highly trained and if we try to play around with them, it could backfire. My best suggestion would be to find the best place for a pitched battle and attack them head on before they can truly prepare for it.”

Ash nodded his head and kept his face calm but inside he was cursing. His first thought was to do just what Lath had warned against. The idea of acting like easy prey and turning the tables seemed like a good idea, but when he thought about it, he could understand Lath’s warning. If the enemy knew they were faking, it could turn deadly fast, especially when they had no ideas about what abilities the group in question might have. “It looks like I can only decide what to do after talking to the different officers and gathering their opinions.”

“A wise choice my lord,” Lath said with a nod of his head and what Ash believed was a smile.

“My lord, the officers are awaiting you,” Mia said, grabbing Ash’s attention.

“I will be right there,” Ash said and Lath once again walked into the shadows in the corner of the tent and disappeared as if he were made of nothing but smoke. Ash had wanted to Ask Lath what ability he used to disappear and appear like that, but it was considered bad manners to inquire about others abilities. Of course if he asked, he knew that Lath would tell him, but he didn’t feel that the answer was worth the cost of lowering Lath’s loyalty. Sighing, Ash turned and walked out of the tent where he found his officers awaiting him patiently.

After explaining everything he had learned about the enemy forces, Ash and the officers now stood in the command tent looking over a detailed map of their current position.

“They are currently staying off the main road but still following the same direction. Most likely to keep anyone from seeing them. We should attack with archers from the trees here,” One of the Mala said as he pointed at a position on the map. “After we send a few volleys of arrows, we can charge the main group.”

“Are you daft,” Callen said with a look of disgust on his face.

“We already know they have mages, but not the kind or number. If they have more than two half talented fire mages with as dry as it is right now, our men would be cooked alive. Not to mention as the Lord said, an ambush would be pointless and potentially dangerous at this time. They are elite soldiers who already know our position. Most likely we are being watched by more than one pair of eyes and magic to boot. We should assume every move we make will be known the moment we make it.”

“Then what do you suggest we do Callen?” Ash asked as he felt a dull pain throb in his mind.

“All we can do is gather all the men as quickly as possible and face them in the large open farmland about an hour south. It is mostly flat and the crops are watered so there is little risk of a large fire even with the threat of a fire mage. At the same time, the open area will give us a full view of their movements, making it hard for them to maneuver behind us or attack at an unexpected angle.”

“You are really worried about fire,” One of the lower officers said with a sneer.

“Anyone who has half a brain would be,” Callen said, his hand moving toward the hilt of his sword. “Have you not noticed that all the grass that we have passed lately has been brown and brittle and not a sign of rain? The goddess must really be mad if she is withholding her blessings. With as dry as it is, even a small fire could turn into a raging inferno and I am sure that the enemy is well aware of this.”

After another half an hour of arguing they had decided on Callen’s plan and started to move toward the south.

As soon as they reached the farmland Ash’s men move out to clear the three decent sized houses of inhabitants. This was not done roughly nor out of malice, but because Ash didn’t want the farmers lives to be put at risk during the battle. There was a bit of yelling from one of the farm wives, but they were well on their way once they learned that their home would soon turn into a battlefield.  

   With the farmers gone, the soldiers went into action. Using earth magic, Ash and two others who had talent with earth magic began digging trenches and putting up a small two foot tall wall around the new camp. Ash had a large amount of MP, but even then he quickly found himself running low after two hours of continuous work. He thought about using his reserve sun and soul MP, but he eventually decided against it since there was no telling what would happen in the near future and the MP might be needed elsewhere.

“My lord there is a problem,” Lath said making not only Ash, but two of the demon officers jump.

“What is it now?” Ash asked trying to hide his annoyance.

“The soldiers have stopped about half a mile away and are setting up camp. Though it has not been long since they stopped, they are starting to set up minor fortifications.”

Ash and Callen let out a string of curses. “What now?”

“My lord, we don’t have much in the way of choices,” Callen said with a deep frown. “We can run, fight, or stay. It is that simple.”

“What are the most likely outcomes of each decision?” Ash asked his mood worsening by the second.

“Honestly, it is hard to say,” Callen replied with a sullen expression. “The King’s special forces have not entered a battle in a long time and are normally hidden among the normal troops. He must think you are a real threat to send out so many of them. If we fight them, there is a good chance that we will lose a good number of soldiers, but at the same time as long as we win it will strike fear within the hearts of the nobles. If we run, we could be taken over and forced to fight in a less desirable location at a time we are unprepared or we could not easily escape them. If we stay then they could attack or wait for reinforcements and we are unlikely to hold out until the main army arrives.”

Ash pondered for a moment. None of the choices sounded very appealing. There was no way they could stay in place for a long time with so many armies moving. That would just be asking to be killed. Running also didn’t sound very promising, but a head on fight with unknown enemies…Nothing sounded good. “What is the longest we can stay before they receive reinforcements?”

“Two maybe three days,” Lath replied quickly.

“Then for now we stay. Lath, I want every person you have scouting the enemy. Learn everything you can, but don’t have them take any unneeded risks. Callen have the soldiers rest as much as possible in the next few days since we will have to either fight or run, but also have it look like we plan to bunker down.”

“Understood.”

“At once my lord.”

With the decision made, the soldiers started to move. Nothing else happened and night quickly fell. Ash had spent the whole day moving around the camp checking every little detail. He talked to the soldiers while trying to think of anything that might help the situation, but his mind kept coming up blank.

As he sat on the edge of his bed staring at the blank canvas of the tent, Ash wished he had paid more attention in history class. Maybe there was a battle that he could draw from. Then again his original world didn’t have magic and unique abilities so he doubted there would be much he could have used.

“Who the hell would want to be a King?” Ash asked himself. From what he had learned so far, the benefits of the position didn’t come close to making up for the demerits.

“Lord Ash, I have an idea,” Lena said stepping forward nervously.

Out of all his wives, Lena was the most mysterious. She didn’t seem shy like Li yet neither was she outgoing like Celina and Seia. From what Ash could tell, she spent most of her time observing. “Go on.”

“We could use the poison powder,” Lena said as her hands fidgeted with the corners of her ashen wings.

12-3

Two days passed by quickly, but not idly within the camp of the demon army. Since there was a shortage of trees, the soldiers broke down one of the barns belonging to the farmers to make stakes for the border of the camp. More pits were also dug, but mostly by hand.

From anyone looking from the outside, it looked as if the soldiers were working hard all day long, but in truth that was not the case. The pits dug were shallow and the mages stayed in their tents. Most the real work was happening in three tents that were situated in the center of the camp out of the way of prying eyes.

Sweating in a small tent Ash and Seia expended nearly all of their magical energy. Seia was making a series of different poisons and coating them on arrows that the army had brought with them while Ash was making the sealing poison and mixing with fine dirt that had been dug out of the ground. It wouldn’t work as well as the poison mixed with the powder, but it was the best they had and since they only had a few dozen pouches of the powder, they were forced to make due.

Ash and Seia were not the only ones working hard. Four of the strongest mages, along with Mia were working hard to make a wooden golem. Ash had read about golems but didn’t know that they could be used and in most cases he was right. It was impractical since they required a large amount of MP just to move for a short period of time. It was only thank to Mia and one of the other skilled mages this was possible.

Mia has an ability called “Bestow Life,” Which allowed the golem to move and follow simple commands. The other mage named Gilhan has an ability called, “Soul Bind,” which allows him to allow an object to store MP. Though the item used will affect how much MP it can store. Thankfully it seemed that many common items would work. That was why while Mia made the golem, the other mages were charging a number of items so that the golem could be used during the coming battle.

In the last tent, the officers were working over the strategy while looking over every single point time and time again to make sure that nothing was missed.

In this way, two days quickly passed and soon Ash found himself standing at the front of the army as night was only a few hours away. At Ash’s side was a nine foot tall creature that had been made out of thick vines, each one which was nearly as thick as one of Ash’s arms.

The march toward the enemy was intense, but passed by all too quickly for Ash. In what felt like moments, Ash found himself looking across a large field at the staked lines of the enemy who were currently lined up awaiting them with their bows drawn.

After countless hours, the plan of attack had been decided, though it seemed far too simple for so many hours of work. Ash raised his hand and four eagle mounts soared into action. Once they were over the enemy encampment, they dropped their payload and the air was covered in a dusty tan cloud. Before the dust could settle, at Mia’s command, the golem rushed the field. The wooden stakes that had been placed to obstruct movement were like twigs bending and breaking easily as the golem charged into the camp. The normal screams of panic one would expect didn’t fill the air. Instead behind the cloud of dust, Ash could hear the composed call to arms one would expect from an elite unit.

Ash raised his hand one more time and a last volley of arrows filled the air. “Charge,” Ash yelled as he lowered his arm fully.

Ash rushed forward with the rest of the army, but he was not allowed at the forefront of the battle though he was in the second row. It wasn’t hard to find someone to fight, but it was hard for Ash to have a real battle that allowed his blood to boil. The second a fight would start, if he didn’t kill the opponent quickly one of his wives would step in.

Ash knew that if they hadn’t used the poison that sealed the enemies’ abilities and skills that things would be much different and a part of him started to wish they hadn’t. Ash’s blood was calling for a true battle, not this one sided slaughter. Though Ash called it a slaughter, there were a number of knights that using only their skill with a blade were able to push back their attackers, but as soon as two demons joined forces they were quickly brought down.

Soon Ash could hear the call to retreat from within the chaos. The knights were well trained and knew that retreating in a formation would only allow them to be hunted down so they scattered like dust. The sounds of battle quickly quieted down and Ash was left standing looking over the aftermath of the carnage.

Bodies were strewn across the ground and what had once been green land was now dyed red with the blood belonging to both human and demon. It was too hard to say how many the humans had lost but from a cursory look Ash guessed about 80% of their force had been left on the battlefield. The demons on the other hand had lost only a few dozen, though many more had suffered wounds some of the major. Ash had to hand it to the elite soldiers, even when they were in a dire situation, they were able to cause damage. If they had to fight them without their abilities sealed, Ash was sure that the mass of bodies would most likely be their own.

“My lord, we are awaiting your orders,” One of the demon commanders said coming up beside Ash.

“Build a pyre,” Ash said as he surveyed the battlefield once again. “Burn all the bodies together.

“At once my lord,” The demon said bowing his head.

“Lord Ash,” Li said coming up beside him with a prideful look on her face. “Did you order them to be burned together to show that in death all are the same?”

“No,” Ash said shaking his head and Li’s face fell slightly. “I do believe that we are all the same in the eyes of the gods, but that is not the reason for my actions. The King has forced this war on the idea that demons are evil and must be destroyed. The knights are honored warriors. The King would wish to give them honor even in death. I wanted to make it impossible for him to tell the difference between the ashes of his enemies and that of his own forces.”

“That sounds quite evil my lord,” Li said frowning.

Ash’s shoulders slumped, but he couldn’t find the words to dispute Li’s claim. “It is what it is,” Ash said after taking a few deep breaths.

Though there were numerous bodies, it didn’t take long for a large orange glow to fill the air as the bodies began to burn. After saying a silent prayer and bowing his head toward the fallen warriors, Ash turned back to the demon army that was awaiting his orders.

“Time to march,” Ash said as he climbed upon one of the horses that had been taken from the enemy camp. They had already delayed their marching and with enemy forces coming quickly, they were in a dangerous situation. Thankfully they had a good idea about what abilities and skills the regular army soldiers had, though there was always the chance of a dark horse hidden as long as they didn’t allow themselves to be surrounded they had a good chance of meeting with their main forces.

After being delayed, the demon army had no choice but to march throughout the night and next day, only resting once the sun had sat once again. Everyone was tired, including Ash, even though he had spent most of the day on horseback. No tents were pitched, no one had the energy for it. Thankfully it was a clear night and the air was comfortable so all that was needed was a soft blanket to cover the hard ground.

Ash had taken a place near the center of the camp, though not by his own choice. As he sat in front of a small glowing fire, he couldn’t help but curse his place as the demon lord. He didn’t mind the obligations and duties, but it was the fact many of the choices were taken from his hands. He could object and fight. In truth there was no one who could tell him what to do, but if he did so it would only bring more troubles on those around him and that was something that Ash couldn’t bring himself to do that.

“Lord Ash, what is bothering you?” Tolarea asked in her normal straight forward attitude.

“Nothing,” Ash replied looking up at the tall woman.

Tolarea slightly frowned and knitted her brows. “Lord Ash, I know I am not the…Easiest person to talk to, but even I can tell something is bothering you.” When Tolarea spoke, Ash could noticed a slightly bothered expression appear on her face that he had not seen before. Seeing the massive woman look slightly out of sorts, Ash couldn’t help but find it slightly cute.

“I just don’t like the idea of being restricted,” Ash said, not holding back his complaints anymore. “I thought that the demon lord was supposed to stand at the front of the battle. Instead everyone seems to think I should stay at the back and be watched over like some kind of invalid.”

“I see,” Tolarea said frowning. “It is true that the other demon lords were seen as nearly immortal gods, but they trained for years and sometimes centuries before taking on the title of the Maoh. We are all just worried about losing you. I know that I am one of those guilty of such a sin.”

Seeing Tolarea’s bothered face, Ash couldn’t help but give her a warm smile. “I don’t mind being held back a bit. It is also slightly refreshing to have so many women worried about me, but it just seems like too much. You even make me ride in the middle of the forces when we march. I can see it for when we are in an area that could be easily ambushed, but even when we are in a wide open area it is too much.”

“I understand my lord,” Tolarea said returning to her soldier form, though she had a small hint of a smile on her face. “For now on, I will try my best to hold some of my more overprotective urges in check and will see that the others do as well.”

“Thank you,” Ash said as he felt a warmth spread through his chest as some of the weight lifted from his heart. Grabbing Tolarea’s hand, he pulled her down to sit beside him. As soon as she was seated, Ash laid his head against her arm. It didn’t take long before he drifted off to sleep.

After the large battle with the unexpected force that the King had sent, little more had happened over the next eight days. Lath had been more vigilant and reported to Ash twice a day about the advancement of the other forces.

Over the past few days, they had only came across three places that were large enough to raid. Ash saw no profit to attack a village of less than a hundred as the burden on the people would far outweigh the small gain so it was better to bypass them. Of the ones they did attack, only one really fought. It was a settlement of around seven thousand people with almost two thousand able bodied men. After the battle, Ash had only lost around twenty soldiers, but he still felt saddened seeing the massive carnage. He could understand the human’s desire to fight, but it felt like such a loss. After the battle finished and they had cleaned out the storehouses, Ash felt the burning eyes of the remaining people on his neck for the next few days.

Ash lay back on his bed and looked at Eun whose head was quietly resting on his arm. When he was living in his previous world, Ash never thought that he would take a human life. He had watched the news and seen the devastation of war, though it always seemed like something that had little to nothing to do with him. Now he had taken many lives. At first the lives he had taken were few and seemed evil. Even now he tried his best to kill those with the reapers mark, knowing that those people had earned death by evil deeds. The problem was many of the people he had killed were not even soldiers and a few of them were simple farmers.

Since the battle at the farm, Ash had trouble sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes he could see the people he had killed and it was not limited to just the farmers. The young earl’s son whose name Ash couldn’t even recall even appeared in his dreams. It was the first life that he had taken with his own hands. Due to the dreams, Ash had not gotten much sleep lately and his mood had become dark. The only real time Ash felt peaceful was times like this. Sighing, Ash took one more look at his wife before closing his eyes knowing that once again the specters of his past would assault him.

Shortly after Ash’s eyes closed, he found himself standing in an open field covered with death. Laying all around him were the bodies of humans and demons alike. Part of Ash knew that it was a dream, but it was hard for him to hold that knowledge in mind.

Taking a step forward, Ash’s foot stepped on something hard making him look down. What awaited his eyes was Emelia’s pale face with thin red lines of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. All strength left his body as his knees crashed into the ground beside the lifeless body of his wife. Tears streamed down his face as he lifted the body into his arms and grasped it tightly.

“It seems that your heart is having trouble,” A soft voice said. Looking around, Ash couldn’t find the source of the voice. A few moments later, the body in his arms dissipated into smoke and Ash was kneeling on a clear marble floor. “I can give you a moment of solace, but it will not last forever.”

Looking around again, Ash noticed a slender woman with bright golden hair and sparkling blue eyes sitting on a throne of marble no more than ten feet in front of him. “Who are you?” Ash asked his voice clearly carrying the awe he felt at the current situation.

“I am surprised you do not know who I am?” the woman said with a laugh that sounded like chimes. “You have been serving me and have even offered a few prayers up to me. I know you have looked upon my visage a few times when you have visited my temples.”

“Altina,” Ash gasped.

“Well done,” Altina said clapping her hands with a warm smile.

“What is happening? Am I losing my mind?” Ash asked his eyes going wide.

“In a way you are losing your mind,” Altina said, her face taking on a serious look. “Human minds are weak and those with hearts like yours are not meant for battle. With each life you take with your sword, your soul is being torn.”