Dora Tribelands, Kirkcour Woods.
2:45 pm. 14 th Banem, 1092.
Boom!
Loud explosions continuously rang out from the midst of the monster army west of Dora’s walls. The centaurs that manned Dora’s west wall gulped hard as they watched a daeben and his horse continually blast their way through the monster army with alarming force. The centaurs clenched their fists until their knuckles turned white. Win! Win! Win! The centaurs, who until then had been staring death in the face, felt a surge of adrenaline rush through their blood as they watched the monsters they feared get slaughtered by the daeben.
“Win Kashi-dono!” A sudden shout erupted from the wall, and the soldiers looked in shock at an old centaur whose intense gaze watched the battle below. Only at this mont did the centaurs realize that dozens of civilians had left their hiding places to join the soldiers on the wall.
“Nubar-san, please, it’s dangerous here! Return to the shelter.” A group of soldiers tried to convince the old man, but he was having none of it.
“Hmph! We know our fate lies in these battles. What use it is to hide at this point?” The old man retorted with a huff. “Let this old stallion see his fate with his own eyes.”
The captain on the wall felt a little awkward, but in the end, he acceded when the old man promised he would leave if the situation took a turn for the worse. Just as the captain was about to turn to the wall, a child broke out of the cluster of civilians and eagerly galloped over to the battlents.
The filly propped herself over the battlents, eyes gleaming as she caught sight of the daeben within the sea of monsters. Just as a rough hand grabbed her shoulder, she cupped her hands over her mouth and scread at the top of her lungs, “Kashi-Sama! WIIIIIIIN!”
Silence descended on the wall as everyone instinctively looked over to that battlefield. At that mont, even though he should have had no way of hearing her call, Kashi suddenly raised his right hand into the sky and flashed a thumbs up!
A sudden charge, like an electric spark, flashed through the warriors on the wall, and raucous cheers soon erupted.
“Win Kashi-dono!”
“Kill them all Kashi-sama!”
“Kashi!” “Kashi!” Kashi!”
Buoyed by the chanting on the wall, Kashi continuously wreaked havoc among the monster lines. Unfortunately, the daeben’s initial montum carried over from the north side had been significantly whittled down over ti, so despite the fact he was still winning, the battle took longer than anticipated.
Kashi had originally estimated he would wipe out the beast army with a few strategic [Gilgash] strikes. Unfortunately, the monsters quickly adapted to the OP skill. The monsters used the ti delay between Gilgash’s portal opening and the arrows shooting out to defend themselves. The blights manipulated large roots to shoot out from the earth and block the arrows.
The blights also attempted to use these roots to lay traps for the daeben, but his eyesight was far too sharp. Just before the roots shot out of the earth, there would be a slight bulge as the earth above gave way. It was very subtle and almost invisible to the regular human eye, but Kashi caught it every ti.
Not only that, but Drixlia outperford itself by nimbly changing directions even at high speed. The way it rapidly decelerated, veered off, then accelerated was more akin to nimbler species like leopards or lions than horses. This was a clear sign of its rapid improvent from continuously leveling up.
Kashi, anwhile, did not lose hope despite losing his trump card. If he couldn’t take them out en masse, all he had to do was kill them individually, right? The daeben shot arrow after arrow, rapidly taking down every enemy he ca across. He lost count of how many monsters he had killed and how many tis he’d strung the bow.
Kashi could only follow this arduous path, even as the monsters ford a sea around him. His arms ached, and his eyes had begun to grow tired from searching out hidden attacks. He could feel the onset of a pounding headache, but he stubbornly continued fighting. There was no other option. If he fell here, the monsters would reinforce their friends at the east wall and decimate the centaurs.
Puchi! Puchi!
And so Kashi persevered, while his arrows rained down on his enemies. Kashi gritted his teeth and winced as another piercing headache pounded his skull. He knew he had begun to feel the stress of ntal fatigue. While things like Ki, Mana, and Health could recover quickly over ti, Stamina could not. Summoned needed rest to restore their Stamina.
Kashi had been fighting ever since he entered Kirkcour Woods. His battle against the marilith, while seemingly simple, required a ton of ntal calculation to predict and dodge her attacks accurately. Furthermore, he continued fighting once he reached Dora.
Worse yet, Kashi was fighting multiple feral beasts who had no set attack patterns. He had to keep an eye on every corner of the battlefield while simultaneously attacking and counterattacking.
Kashi sighed as he was forced to admit that Syel was better than him at fighting hordes of monsters. After all, as a mage, the vampire didn’t need too many calculations. Keep a distance and bombard the enemy with AoE skills. Kashi, on the other hand, excelled at combat against a single enemy.
Still, despite his internal grumblings and misgivings, Kashi managed to wipe out the monsters on the west wall within an hour.
The warriors and civilians on the wall wept as they stared at that lonely figure bathed in blood. The daeben’s back stood straight, but they could see the fatigue in his eyes and the way his bow dragged down his left arm.
“KASHI-SAMA!”
No one knew who led the shout, but soon enough, thousands of roars shook the earth as the excited centaurs scread out the na of the brave warrior who risked his life to save them. The centaurs raised their fists and pounded their chests as they called out to the indomitable daeben.
On the blood-soaked fields, Kashi panted with a weary smile on his face. “Not so loud,” the daeben jokingly scolded under his breath. Despite his pounding headache, the daeben looked up at the cheering centaurs with a triumphant grin and pumped his fist to the sky. “Hey, Suzuki, you feel that? Doesn’t feel so bad to be appreciated, does it?” Kashi chuckled as he felt a presence snort within him. “Ah, hell. Who am I kidding?”
“Ti to clean up the other side,” Kashi said and spurred Drixlia into a gallop. They traveled along the shallow portion of the stream that bordered the southern wall until they reached the eastern front. Kashi’s eyes glead as he saw the battle unfolding before him.
The centaurs fought like proper cavalry troops. The massive troop ford a gigantic arrow that pierced through the monster horde. They would charge in, wreak havoc in the monster horde, then charge out before the monsters killed their forward montum.
While effective, Kashi could see that the centaurs were not used to large-scale battles. There was no formula or tactic to their charge. Everyone simply added ki to the arrow and burst into the army. Whenever it seed the montum was dying, they would quickly force their way out.
Just looking at them, Kashi could already picture several ways to utilize their skills better. Bla all the manga and ani Suzuki’d read, but so fundantal war tactics were ingrained in Kashi’s head, and if it wasn’t for the fact that they were in the midst of battle, and the centaurs lacked the required training, he might have already implented so of those tactics.
The daeben suddenly wished Absalon was around. There was no one more adept at training soldiers than he was. Besides, Kashi knew his ani acquired tactics could not compare to that man’s. Be it the Battle for Riven or the Battle for Aygorzi, Absalon had proven himself to be a man who thought outside the box and was adept at commanding troops.
Kashi, however, did not have ti for hopes and dreams. He took advantage of the fact that he ca upon the monster army’s rear to imdiately launch as many [Gilgash] strikes as his mana allowed.
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By this point, the centaurs had considerably whittled down the monster army’s numbers. In fact, they might have been done already, were it not for Kashi’s weird request to leave so animals alive. Because of this request, they had to pay special care to only injure so direwolves, slowing down their overall progress. How could they have expected that the daeben would be the one to run out of patience?
Gelarios’ eyes widened as thousands of ki infused arrows tear the remnant troops to pieces. He looked over the corpses to the daeben, who nonchalantly galloped towards them amidst loud cheers with a bitter smile. “You are quite efficient, Kashi-dono,” he said as Kashi ca up next to him.
“Too bad it only works as a surprise attack,” Kashi lanted as he drew abreast of the chief. “I’m glad to see you are unhard.”
“Likewise, Kashi-dono,” Gelarios frankly stated as he clasped the daeben’s forearm. He then looked over his shoulder to the fields where several injured direwolves lay listlessly on the ground. “What do you want with those? I’m afraid they are not long for the world.”
“You’ll see,” Kashi said with a mysterious grin. “More importantly, I implore you to have your n escort your tribe to Lymar and spare a few warriors to follow
to Tulpar.”
Gelarios frowned. “Why?”
“I understand it’s a big ask,” Kashi stated. “However, it is impossible to face this foe on so many fronts. We’ve already seen what happens when your forces are divided. I cannot promise I’ll be around to thwart another such attack. If we want to rout this enemy, we have to be certain our people are safe.”
“Defeat?” Gelarios’ eyes widened in shock. They had never considered defeating the enemy. Surviving alone took up all the ti they had. Yet this daeben was talking about defeat? “Can you defeat them? We don’t even know where the enemy is!?”
Kashi gestured at Darian. “Darian-san already found their headquarters.”
Gelarios turned to face the young warrior. “Is this true? You found their main camp?”
“I swear on my honor,” Darian solemnly swore.
Gelarios looked at the youth, then back at the daeben. “What exactly is your plan?”
“Lure the tiger out of the cave,” Kashi stated. “From this person’s actions so far and Darian’s intel, we can tell they have a massive army at their disposal. If we were to attack the camp under normal conditions, we would have to contend against their army. Even if we win, it’ll be a hard victory, and there’ll be plenty of ti for them to escape long before the battle is over.”
Kashi looked at Darian. “That’s why we need to bait them.”
Gelarios’ eyes widened. “Bait?”
“Yes, bait,” Kashi confird. “We need a bait they can’t resist to either lure them or the massive army out of their camp.”
“Are my people the bait in this scenario?” Gelarios’ face hardened, and he glared at the daeben with a steely gaze. “You would put the lives of innocents in harm’s way?”
Kashi’s aura suddenly turned cold as he glared at Gelarios. “Do not fool yourself. Everyone’s life is already at risk.” The pressure relaxed as Kahi’s eyes ward. “However, don’t worry, I’m not so maniacal that I would throw away innocent lives for the sake of victory. I aim to consolidate the forces of all the villages if in one location. This way, you can fortify and defend yourselves from any attack.”
“Also, we’ll force the enemy to attack us with full-force,” Gelarios supplented with a thoughtful expression.
“Yes,” Kashi confird. “If we can draw out the main army, we can send a strike team to infiltrate and cut down the mastermind.”
Darian noticed Gelarios’ hesitation and quickly added, “I support Kashi-dono’s strategy. We cannot afford to keep waiting for a miracle to happen. Right now, the enemy is still underestimating us, and we have Kashi-dono here. There is no better ti to launch a counterattack. In the and pass worst-case scenario, we perish, but at least it will only be after we have exhausted every option to live! Please, Chief Gelarios, consider this!” Darian hastily bowed as he implored the old stallion.
Gelarios’ brows scrunched together, but Kashi did not give him any ti to ponder further.
“We have to get moving to reach Tulpar before nightfall,” Kashi said. “My apologies, but I need you to make your decision now.”
Gelarios’ eyes twitched. “And if I disagree?”
Kashi shrugged. “I will still go ahead to rescue as many villages as I can because I need the shamans alive to help
with a ritual. Once that’s done, I’ll leave. While I want to help you guys, I’m not suicidal enough to fight for people who are not prepared to risk their own lives.”
“Shamans?” Gelarios’ eyes twitched. “What do you want with our shaman?”
“Kashi-dono wants to improve his stallion’s bloodline,” Darian explained. “The chief already confird it has a superior bloodline locked away in its blood.”
Gelarios looked at the daeben. “If that’s what you’re after, why are you helping us further?”
Kashi shook his head. “I like to finish what I’ve started. Besides, my conscience will bite
if I leave after seeing such a situation without lending my assistance. Of course, in the event you don’t do your part, my conscience will understand and let
be when I leave.”
Gelarios eventually sighed and nodded. “Fine, I get your point. I’ll send one-thousand soldiers with you to Tulpar. The rest will escort my people to Lymar.” Gelarios took out a wooden token that had two golden winged horses facing opposite directions carved on it. He handed it to Darian and stated, “Show this to Odiss when you get there. It’ll make negotiations easier.”
“Thank you, Chief!” Darian saluted and tucked the token into his bag. “Kashi-dono. Just a mont while we sort out who will accompany us on this journey.”
“Alright,” Kashi agreed and spurred Drixlia to canter over to the battlefield where he caught sight of several severely injured direwolves. The daeben dismounted and walked over to one such monster. He looked at the rage and hatred in the beast’s eyes and revealed a slight smile. “Well, now, I know you hate , but you’re just gonna have to obediently lie there and be my test subject.”
Kashi did not wait for the direwolf’s reply. He placed his hand on the wolf’s injured abdon, and green light shot out of his hand and shrouded the beast’s form. Monts later, the light disappeared along with the direwolf.
Kashi waited, and when he did not feel any adverse effects, he ‘looked’ into his inner world. He found the direwolf, fully healed, aimlessly wandering about the field. With a thought, the daeben appeared in front of the beast.
The direwolf sprang back as the strange figure appeared in front of it. It stared at Kashi for a few seconds, then approached the daeben with its head down. To Kashi’s shock, it laid on the grass and rolled over, exposing its belly. It had wholly surrendered to him.
Kashi glanced at Yggdrasil in shock. “What’s going on?”
A light breeze caressed the daeben, and his eyes widened as new information flowed into his brain. Apparently, this was a phenonon called [World Suppression]. His world automatically suppressed any living being to accept his rule. This suppression would not be used on the daeben’s friends or people he explicitly stated it should not be used on.
This was the reason the eggs had rebelled so strongly.
Fortunately for Kashi, now that the eggs were suppressed, they would forever see him as their master, sa as this beast. It was the sa authority held by Ferulic and Aethir in Destia. However, Yggdrasil made sure to point out that this suppression would most likely fail on intelligent species because their guards were up.
The only way to successfully suppress an intelligent being was to first destroy its ntal state. This required more than just beating the person, but also the systematic destruction of their psyche. At the very least, it was not sothing that could be achieved in a short period.
Kashi was not as interested in the ability to suppress intelligent beings as he was the first. What would happen if he amassed a large number of powerful monsters and placed them in his world? Wouldn’t he beco a walking beastmaster? Kashi had already begun to imagine great things when Yggdrasil dropped cold water on his plan.
First, Kashi did not have enough mana to support too many life forms. Second, those lifeforms needed to feed, so Kashi had to provide them with food. This ant that Kashi needed to find so herbivores to populate his world quickly.
Finally, until all the elents were complete in his world, it could not support the birth of new life. aning Kashi could not just hunt a couple of rabbits and let them breed.
The daeben ‘returned’ to the real world with a lot of thoughts in his head. He would find a way to fix these problems in ti.
Until then, however…
Kashi walked around and placed the injured direwolves in his world. Whenever his mana ran out, he would sit and wait a few minutes before continuing his search. As fate would have it, he managed to find two badly injured Eagles that survived his initial attack. He placed those two in his world and finally stopped. In the end, he had acquired 34 Direwolfs and 2 Eagles.
Kashi’s world still had enough mana to support many more, but he stopped regardless because there was sothing else he wanted to try later. And he was not sure just how much space that would require.
“Darian asked
to tell you he’s ready.”
Kashi’s eyelids jumped, but he managed to retain his composure as he turned around to face the cold-faced assassin that seemingly appeared behind him. The daeben smiled and patted Shadow’s shoulder. “Alright, let’s get going…”
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