The Red Hand

Day in and day out, the ferocious fighting between Alice's monster army and the Dwarven Kingdom's soldiers continued in a battle that shook the mountains to their very roots. Despite her best efforts, Alice was slowly but surely driven back by the Dwarven technology, which, when combined with Camilla's raw power, proved more than a match for her summons. That was not to say that the culling of her forces was an easy task, it was just the opposite, but the full power of a Lich alongside a technologically advanced army was far more than Alice's comparatively weak creatures could handle. Though, despite this, she hadn't given up. In fact, Alice was more determined to defeat Camilla and prove to both Akagi and, more importantly, herself that she was capable.

Fighting with everything she had and summoning countless more beasts, Alice managed to slow the Dwarven advance to a crawl, inflicting heavy casualties while losing a great number of creatures herself. Camillia was a fierce combatant, and anything less than one of Alice's fake 'Valukar' couldn't stop the Lich for very long. Unfortunately, Alice lacked the numbers when it came to creatures of such a level, with most of her summons far weaker, and the ban on Puppers made actually defeating the Lich quite the challenge.

*SCHRLOSH*

"Hah! At this rate, I'll be meeting the Monster Queen in no time." Camilla laughed as she pulled her scissors from the corpse of a monster. She'd long since come to the conclusion that someone was leading the monsters given some context clues, though she didn't quite know who it was. "Ain't you got anything better? Or were those Valukar from earlier your trump card?" She said as she stood atop the creature's body, yelling into the air to taunt the one she presumed was listening in. "If this is all you've got, you should've just stayed in your little hole and saved us all the hassle!" She yelled before throwing her scissors toward a group of monsters, which were mowed down as it swung like a boomerang before returning. "But then again, I'm having fun, so I think it all works out!" She smirked before leaping back into battle.

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<Bogram POV>

"Sir." A Dwarven Officer saluted as after entering Commander Bogram's tent. The man in question and a small group of officers were hunched over a large map, discussing their next plans; their faces twisted in typical Dwarven scowls. "I've been sent to report by Major Kel'rith. The creatures have been driven back along the main highway; our forces have them in a rout and are advancing toward Edur'al."

"Ooooh!" The Dwarven Officers gasped in astonishment.

"Then it would seem Lady Camillia was as powerful as we were told." An officer commented as he rubbed his beard.

"At this rate, we'll be at Dol'Kitrun and drive these creatures back into the darkness from whence they came!" Another officer cheered. “The ancestors have truly smiled upon us!”

"Where is Lady Camilla now?" Bogram asked the officer, not swept up by the enthusiastic mood.

"With the vanguard, sir. She insisted on pushing forward to keep up the pressure on the creatures. We've assigned the Second Armored Division to aid her by acting as a hammer to smash through any secondary lines the creatures may have prepared." The officer explained that a large armored thrust was being used to back her up as she cleared out some of the toughest monsters.

"Very good. Have them continue forward as long as they can, but if resistance becomes too great, they're to wait for the rest of the army to catch up." Bogram nodded as he turned his attention back to the map. If the monsters truly were routed, the Dwarven Army was only a day's march from Edur'al. It was a medium-sized Dwarven mining colony that specialized in Mithril, and the main highway ran straight alongside it. Retaking the mines would not only return the Mithril back to the Dwarves but would also place them in a perfect position to retake Barththold and Kaz'Thume. If the Dwarves could secure both of those Holds, then Dol'Kitrun would effectively be surrounded, as while the monsters could technically escape out the main entrance that would lead them to the surface, where the Dwarven Air Corps would annihilate them. If that happened, clearing out the remaining pockets of monsters within other settlements and Holds would be easy, as they would no longer have reinforcements.

"Yes, sir." The officer saluted before leaving the tent.

"Well, it would seem we finally have these beasts on the ropes!" One of the Dwarven officers laughed heartily.

"I knew it was only a matter of time." Another Officer agreed. "Once the initial surprise factor wore off, the creatures would stand no chance against our Army. At the end of the day, they're just mindless beasts. They know nothing of waging war." He said, the other officers cheering in agreement.

"The war is not yet won." Bogram interrupted their celebrations with a stern warning. "Save the drinking of ale for when the last of these creatures is vanquished." He grumbled, which caused the officers to nod in respect. As enthusiastic as they were they'd all seen the devastation the creatures had wrought upon their homeland and none were keen to lower their guards until the final victory. "There are still countless Holds that must be liberated, and I fear that the closer we push to Dol'Kitrun, the harder this fight will get."

{Resistance has increased as we push closer, that is to be expected, but its nowhere near as much as I predicted. Its possible the creatures are intentionally buying time by sacrificing just enough of their number to slow us down while building up forces closer to the Fort... But that implies something that I truly dread...} (Bogram)

"Aye, the fortress is where these creatures spawn from." One of the officers said, interrupting the Commander's thoughts. "We'll be fighting them with stretched supply lines while their own will be practically nonexistent. We're already having issues with supplying fuel and ammunition as it is."

"The creatures are smarter than we've given them credit for." Bogram said as he pointed to several sections of the map, drawing a line from the Capital to the fallen fortress. "They've been engaged in a fighting retreat the entire time. Rarely have they given up ground without making us pay for it in blood. Not to mention they've collapsed bypasses and destroyed rail infrastructure the entire way. Whatever these things are, they're smart."

{It leads me to believe that something is leading them. Camilla certainly seems to think so, and I'd be inclined to agree at this point. A casual observer may see the way these creatures fight and believe them to be nothing but mindless beasts, but the way they direct the flow of battle and how they seem to properly assess threats and move forces to deal with them is exactly how an experienced commander would lead their forces. It's not perfect, as we've seen with our ability to surprise them, but if there is an intelligence leading these creatures, it's learning... And that worries me.} (Bogram)

"We should take great care as we move forward..." Bogram said, his thoughts slipping out. "I fear that we've yet to see the full extent of these creatures' power." He said as his eyes drifted to a large expanse labeled on the map that was not that far up the highway. The Dwarves called it the Cave of Stars due to the glowing lichens that covered the walls. There wasn't much else within the Cave, though, unlike most of the Highway, this part opened into a huge chamber. The Highway itself ran straight through its center, but this would mark the first time the battle would take place in something other than a narrow, tight space, and that worried the Commander.

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<Camilla POV>

A few hours later.

"Hold up." Camilla said as she kicked her heel against the side of the tank to get the driver to stop, which he did. "I've heard of this place, but dang. It's pretty, isn't it?" She said she hopped off the tank, looking at the glittering ceiling.

The Cave of Stars was a natural wonder, and the blueish-green light given off by the plant life made it look as if one were staring into the night sky. "You lot need to be on guard, I can sense a lot of monsters in this place." She said she looked into the darkness. The cave was a popular tourist destination for those who were aware of it. As a Lich, Camilla had far better darkvison than even a Dwarf, though with how large the Cave was, she couldn't quite see what was on the other side given that the normal light sources that lit the highway's entrances were not functioning. However, her ability to sense magic told her the number of creatures within the cave far exceeded anything they'd seen until now. "I suppose that makes sense, yeah. This is the one place they can put those numbers to good use." Camilla said as she took her scissors from her back and ignited them with an extremely bright flame. "So let's see just how many beasties we're dealing with!" She said as she swung her scissors and tossed a massive ball of flame into the cave's ceiling, where it embedded itself before bursting with a light so bright that it banished all darkness within the cave.

"By the Ancestors..." The driver of the tank said quietly, unable to believe his eyes.

There were countless creatures of all types within the cave, far more than any of them had ever seen until this point. Quick estimates put the size of the monster horde at nearly a hundred thousand, which, understandably, made the Dwarven soldiers afraid. Fighting that many within the Highway might've been possible, but in what was essentially an open field, dealing with this many creatures was tantamount to suicide.

"Well, well, well." Camilla laughed as a small bead of sweat formed on her forehead due to nerves. "And here I thought things couldn't get any more interesting."

"L-Lady Camilla, w-we should withdraw." A Dwarven officer said as he ran up behind her. "We do not have the forces to face such a horde!" He said, expecting to be rebuffed.

"We cannot withdraw down the highway as that would allow the creatures to chase us. If that happens, we could be overrun even if the men don't break." Camilla said as she stepped forward. "As strong as I am, I'm not foolish enough to think that I can take on so many creatures myself. Undead or not, I still tire." She sighed. "Hold the entrance to the Highway and send back runners to acquire reinforcements. It's going to take far more than a vanguard force to deal with this."

"And what of you, My Lady?" The officer said as he barked at a nearby man to have a runner depart immediately.

"What other choice do I have but to remain here." Camilla said as she lazily slung her scissors over her shoulder. "The creatures are undoubtedly after me. So I think I'll give them what they came for." She smirked.

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