Chapter 135: 9 Gaw (Interlude: Rathos):

Rathos, a [General] with an enormous repertoire of skills, sulks over the edge atop Sanoval’s wall. He stares downward, watching as the last of the fires outside the city are dealt with. He also constantly glances out into the distance, expecting the perpetrator to return. It is a possibility, one which he really cannot do much against. Without an army of elites to command, fighting something that more than doubles his level will be nearly impossible.

Over the past hour, he had been thinking about what he could have done differently, and it all really comes down to his decision to attack.

Specifically, on the way that he attacked. His focus was on cutting the target completely in half from the waist. When Rathos had previously attacked [Assassins], it had been effective. Usually they cannot react in time, and even if they can, they are still left severely wounded.

But, this… man, he had seen the movement, even tried to react, but he was far slower than an [Assassin]. His sword sailed quickly, and he felt it slice through flesh with ease… until it struck bone and he had felt the vibrations as though he was striking metal. Clearly, he has some kind of powerful passive skill that affects his skeleton…

Rathos’ eyes widen as he discerns what the man’s class could be.

“It seems as though you’ve realized something, Rathos…”

The [General] turns. Rose dressed in a fitted full body robe walks to him. The [Guards] on the wall look at the [Lady], pointing and talking about her changed appearance.

“They have left, you no longer need to stay in that form,” he chimes while taking a moment to gesture towards the [Guards]. ”You are also causing a bit of a scene.”

The [Lady] shrugs her muscular shoulders. She moves next to Rathos, her own eyes now gazing at the destruction the fires have caused.

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out by now. The problem has always been food.” She smiles and gestures towards the forest of food untouched by flame. “Maintaining this form requires more food than was once safe for us to take, especially during a siege. That is no longer an issue. The [Guards] will grow used to this, and who knows? Maybe I will gain a few suitors.”

The [General] hums. “Yes, we do have food available now, but we still do not understand why. This change is much too drastic.”

The [Lady] sighs. After one battle, the [General] went from being relaxed, back to an annoying worrywart.

“Whatever. I saw your expression on my way here. Did you figure something out? Maybe something about this supposed army you will be leading?”

The [General] nods.

“Yes. He summoned a [Bone Behemoth], an undead monster that was nearly level two hundred. I believe his class is something evolved from [Necromancer].”

Rose raises an eyebrow, “Well, yes. Obviously. So what? He can summon and control the dead. That doesn’t seem dangerous.”

Rathos shakes his head. “One solitary undead of that level can be dealt with, but [Necromancers] rarely summon undead in small numbers. Their skillset always revolves around the many.”

“I don’t get it. So, a [Necromancer] summons hundreds of undead. Still doesn’t seem dangerous.”

Rathos looks at the [Lady] in surprise. Was she never warned about [Necromancers]? Then again, it makes sense since the class is obtained at level one hundred, an extreme rarity in the deep south.

“[Necromancers] don’t stop at hundreds of undead. Many of them can easily raise tens of thousands. On some occasions, that number has reached over a million. If this Quasi is a stronger version of a [Necromancer] then,-”

“An undead horde.” Rose interrupts.

“Yes, I fear this army he wants me to lead will be comprised of undead.”

Rose sighs and shakes her head. “Aren’t undead supposed to be dumb and mindless? How do you lead something like that?”

“Yes, undead are mostly mindless, but I’ve also read stories that they can be intelligent at higher levels. Some are even able to reason and learn, similar to the Golems that protect Camelot.”

Rose straightens her back, gazing into the distance, searching for any sign of an army, but she sees nothing of note. “If an army shows up, will you lead it?”

The [General] frowns. “That all depends. If we can fight off the army, then I would rather not lead it. Even if we can, those two may return to wreak vengeance upon us. If we can do nothing, I will be forced to lead, for the sake of this city… and my daughter.”

Rose goes silent, unsure what to say. She does not want to give up her city, nor does she want to give up Rathos, but she cannot argue against his words. If a force with the power to easily destroy the city came, then what can she really do? The world is led by the powerful, just as history is written by the winners.

Rose crosses her arms. “Let us hope that everything he said was a bluff and all he wanted was the map,” Rose says.

“[General]! [General]! It’s an emergency!”

Rose and Rathos turn towards the sound of yelling and galloping hooves.

“Manos, what are you doing? I thought I told you to rest today.”

Manos rides up to Rathos and quickly dismounts. 

“I’m fine, the [Abbess] was able to regrow my body perfectly. It’s amazing magic, but we have a bigger problem.”

Rathos looks at Manos in surprise. He was told that the [Abbess] healed him. He thought that she reattached his broken limbs. But to regrow them? That requires some very powerful magic.

Though when remembering her previous demonstration, his surprise turns mellow.

“What problem?”

Manos points south. “An army marches to Sanavil.”

_____________________________________

It takes a good half hour for the group to make their way across the city. When they arrive, they find Scarlet, the [Guards], and hundreds of other people atop the walls, staring south.

“This, what is this?” Rose asks as she gains the top of the wall. Most quickly get out of her way, but Scarlet, David, and Garrus don’t move.

Scarlet points. “It’s an army of… monsters, I think.”

Everybody gawks, incredulous and stupefied, as a horde beyond counting marches towards the city.

In the lead of the army are countless monsters of various types, all of which gleam purely white. The creatures behind the pearl infantry are at first what appear to be mighty stallions, but with another quick glimpse it leaves you with enough confusion to make you take a third to confirm. The head and necks of the steeds are connected at the waist to men and women, girded in heavy steel plating. Their trot is immaculate, and that is nothing to say of the ones pulling what seemed to be carriages, who are dressed in far more decadent and elaborate armors, every part well embroidered. Rows upon rows of great and intricate carriages that many nobles would even be jealous of are pulled with extraordinary vigor, and is done so in a perfect manner, not even a bit of deviation.

To Rathos, those pulling the carriages look to be far stronger than those not. If they were closer, he could then tell their levels.

As for the carriages, they are massive in size, most wider than three meters and all over four meters in height. Their sheer weight would require at least a dozen horses to even move. 

Alongside and on top of the carriages are armored scaly humanoids in conjunction with larger bipedal… hairy bulls. The ones who appear reptilian give off the sense of a combat veteran, and show discipline and ferocity in each of their actions. While the bulls still have discipline… even a buffoon could tell that they don’t appear to be the brightest off the bunch.

“Wyverns!” someone yells, causing all to look up into the sky. A swarm of thousands of various colored wyverns have taken flight over the city, some of which have riders upon their backs, sitting on well made and custom saddles for their mounts. Rathos cannot help but gulp as he sees a metallic looking wyvern as tall as the wall fly casually through the sky.

“HOLD, MEN! HOLD!” the [General] calls out, dearly hoping that no idiot thinks it would be a good idea to shoot an arrow and anger the swarm.

He then turns back towards the incoming army as he hears and feels the vibrations of sound. A constant and powerful boom that matches the footsteps.

His eyes quickly find the source. Dozens of flat wagons are being pulled, and on top of those carriages are several of those hairy bulls. In their hands are two Mallets, which are used to slam the drums in perfectly trained rhythm, one which the entire army travels to. The fact he can hear them from such a distance shows that the drums are most likely enchanted.

“They do not look like undead to me,” Rose says after a while.

Rathos cannot even comprehend a reply. An army of monsters coming from the south was not something he was expecting.

“Something’s coming! It's coming fast!” Scarlet yells.

“[Tactical Retreat],” Rathos quickly exclaims.

Everyone on the wall quickly runs away from the edge overlooking the army.

Not a moment too soon, a flaming circular orb slams at the location they were previously standing. The top of the wall cracks, but the wall itself holds. A moment after, the flame disperses to reveal what most would immediately think to be some form of fox-kin, but Rathos immediately recognizes.

“Kitsune.”

The woman’s ears twitch as her eyes focus on the one who spoke. She gazes at him not like a predator staring at prey, but like a dragon staring at an ant.

“Ah, and you are the [General]. Good, the army needs one. Tell me, where is our [King]?”

The woman gazes at them, her tails glowing various colors as her mere presence thickens the mana so that even non-[Mages] can sense it.

No one answers, all staring at her in wonder, both at her power and her sheer beauty. 

“Well?” she asks again.

Rose frowns as she steps forward. “What [King]?”

Before the woman can answer, another dozen females land on top of the wall. A woman wreathed in lightning lands with a deafening explosion. Another wreathed in stone. A third lands with a miniature tornado. Women, each of them kitsune, make entrances one by one, each additional landing further damaging the wall they stand upon.

The woman that was covered in stone frowns as she looks at the cracks on the ground. “Weak stone,” she says, slowly raising her heeled leg, and then drops it with an explosion of mana. Before everyone's eyes, the damaged wall fixes itself, repairing it in mere seconds.

With the wall fixed, the new Kitsune arrivals, all of which have four to six tails, turn towards the one with nine.

“Matriarch, have you found him yet? Only half our number are pregnant. He must do his duty.”

The Kitsune, the one which is called the Matriarch, frowns as she turns towards Rathos.

“[General], my [King] and Patriarch informed me that he has spoken to you that this city is now his and that you are now to guide our army. So, I ask again. Where is Quasi?”

Rathos gazes at the extremely powerful woman, one which truly fills him with fear. He can sense her and her power, and it even exceeds the one which he fought earlier today.

Still, even if he feels fear, he is still a [General], and a [General] must not show weakness.

With a mental command, he releases his aura, helping him and those around him deal with the situation before them.

“If you speak of the masked man with a cane, he left Sanavil over an hour ago on his horseless cart.”

“Damn him!” the Matriarch curses. “How are we to revive our species? He must fulfill his duty!”

“Maybe we can catch up to him. He couldn't have gone far,” one of the other Ktisune speaks up.

The matriarch shakes her head, her tails flickering out in annoyance “No, he’s long gone, and his track will have been covered up. It seems he has escaped again and we will have to await his return.”

The other Kitsune groan in annoyance, voicing their displeasure. Each one of them wants a child, some even a second. 

The Matriarch sighs, “Sisters, all we can do is wait and follow his orders. We may as well begin without him.”

“Begin what?” Rathos asks, interrupting the Matriarch.

The beautiful woman wearing high heels and a very revealing dress smiles viciously at the human.

“Building his Empire.”