‘They might be undead, but they are not going to last long against a well-trained army without-‘ The colonel’s train of thought derailed as a wave of Lith’s hand conjured a wave of emerald fire.
All kinds of weapons and armor came out of the mystical blazes. A sea of silver, Orichalcum, and Adamant lay in front of the Demons, but it was far from enough for all of them.
“Those who are the strongest among you, pick one weapon and one armor each.” Lith panted as he consumed two more uses of Invigoration to replenish the golems. “Yours is no privilege. Your duty is to slay the enemy and retrieve their equipment for your brethren.”
A black light flashed through the chains, from each Demon to Lith and from him to the rest of their fellow undead, connecting them all in a mind link so powerful that for a moment their consciousnesses merged into a hive mind.
There was no need for talk or banter. Everyone knew by instinct what the others were capable of and established the hierarchy among the ranks.
It wasn’t the oldest or the strongest of the souls who ended up wearing the enchanted metal bearing the Verhen’s family crest, but those who despite the passing of time still retained their sanity.
With it, they could think, reason, and use the modern magical knowledge they gained through Lith to its fullest.
“First of all, allow me to thank you for answering my call.” Lith said while assuming his full size as a Tiamat now that both he and the golems were back to their full strength.
He could have spoken to his Demons through the chains that bound them to him, but his words weren’t addressed to his troops. Lith knew that somewhere, there had to be a mage recording everything and projecting it in real-time for the Royals.
He wanted people like Meron, Varegrave, and everyone who was afraid of him to know that his Demons weren’t just puppets. They weren’t mindless slaves, bound to his will for no reason and forced to obey his every command.
They were there because they wanted to and did only what they believed it was right. Death had already stripped them of their bodies and names, Lith wouldn’t let them be deprived even of their dignity.
Not after experiencing their lives through the chains and feeling how much pain they had endured both in life and death. Call of the Void let Lith conjure restless souls at will but it also made him share their sufferings.
He knew how each and every one of them had died and why they still walked Mogar.
No matter who they had been or when they had lived. They fought for him to protect the Kingdom and deserved the same respect of every man and woman who that day would do the same.
“Many of you died before the Kingdom was even founded, so this is not your war. The people who loved you are long dead, the lords you had sworn your loyalty to have fallen, and the dreams you’ve fought for have been forgotten by history.
“Yet you have come to me, knowing that I can neither change the past nor give you another shot at life. You have defied fate, choosing to bear my chains and fight so that others could live. For that, you have my gratitude.
“Know then, that today I didn’t call you here to kill, but to protect. To protect the people who I love, the place I call home, and the dreams that I dare to keep alive. I called you here to ask you to fight for them with the same fury you fought for your own!”
While Lith caught his breath, the Demons drummed the ground with their feet, making it quake and producing a boom of thunder that could be heard from kilometers away.
“We are the proof that death isn’t the end and destiny doesn’t exist. It’s ours to make. Others may have chosen for you how you lived and died, but in the end, it’s only by your own will that you are here today.
“No matter the race or the era you belonged to, now you are all Demons. We are born from the primordial Void that marks the beginning and the end of all life. Let’s remind Mogar why the light fears the darkness!”
The Demons roared in unison as those on the first line wore their equipment. The armor disappeared under their black skin, making the shining silver of the enchanted metal turn into a dull black.
The souls of the dead fused with their equipment, shapeshifting the armors in the form of the clothes they wore when they were still alive. Soldiers from past ages stood side by side.
Some had fought for Valeron to conquest the Kellar region. Others had fought against him to protect their homeland. Many of them had lived and died before the First King had been born.
The only thing all the Demons had in common was that they had died fighting to protect that barren, inhospitable piece of land that they called home.
Thrud’s army saw the black mass in front of them, but their advance proceeded unabated.
The invaders were too far away for any kind of spell to be effective and thanks to the Divine Beasts scouting the area in front of them, it would take but a Blink to send back any physical projectile.
The Demons snarled at the approaching enemies, digging the bleak soil with their talons in frustration. Lith had them hold steady until he could see the end of Thrud’s army and assess its numbers.
From the distance, the troops looked like a several hundred meters long silvery snake that slithered from the horizon toward Belius. They raised no dust and made no sound.
The sunlight reflecting on their equipment made it hard to focus the gaze on them, distorting their figures and making them look like mirages.
“Fuck me sideways.” Only then did Lith notice a second snake advancing in the sky.
It was black, comprised of thunderclouds filled with the harsh cold of winter even though spring was already advancing into summer. There were only three Divine Beasts at the head of the army because the others were busy herding the clouds that usually surrounded glaciers.
Thrud’s plan was to bring along a true storm that would produce a barrage of natural bolts of lightning and hail. The clouds were kilometers high, outside the area of effect of Belius’ protective arrays.
Once put into position, the Divine Beasts would unleash the storm’s fury on the city, making it fight for them as they strengthened and controlled it from the sky. To make matters worse, the army advancing on the ground was dozens of thousands strong.
‘We have never faced odds like this, but we have at least to try.’ Solus said via their mind link.
The battle seemed lost before it had even started, but she wasn’t willing to give up. Not only because it would mean breaking Lith’s deal with the Royals but also because she didn’t want to lose the home she had just found.
