studiobondurri The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 13, Chapter 4
The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 13, Chapter 4
The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 13, Chapter 4
Chapter 4
“Squads Four and Five, push to meet with Raul’s advance. Squad Six, advance one kilometre straight ahead.”
Ludmila observed silently as Olga directed her forces to isolate the salient forming from Raul’s river assault. The clamour of battle below rolled forward as the two spearheads cut deep into Beastman-controlled territory, obliterating the warbands that thought to stand in their path. Most prudently did not, but that prudence served the Royal Army’s purposes just as well. Within a half hour, the offensive resolved into a solid encirclement that isolated a six-square-kilometre pocket of Beastmen.
“Squads Two and Three,” Olga said, “begin cleanup. Sergeants, make sure your forces don’t get split up.”
Olga’s gaze crossed to the southwest of the encirclement. There, the Beastmen forces had drawn back from her thrust and were locked into a defensive posture by the threatening advance of Squad Six. The apprentice nodded once to herself before looking back at the pocket.
“Raul’s going to keep going,” she said.
“Do you think so?” Ludmila asked.
“He’s always like that, Captain,” Olga answered. “Once he figures out how to make something work, he tries to make it work more. Instead of withdrawing to the river to plan another assault, he’s just going to cut straight across from where he is and make another pocket or something.”
Ludmila’s lips turned up in a slight smile as Olga issued orders in anticipation of Raul’s move. The evaluations of their league matches indicated as much and she supposed that, as Raul’s only opponent for months, Olga would also understand this.
The histories always spoke of famous Commanders in a singularly brilliant light. Things like camaraderie, complementary personalities, and threads of a shared destiny were always attributed to the Great Captains of legend. Realistically, however, she thought it should also be the case for Commanders – especially ones that were raised or trained together. In fact, the Imperial Army undeniably proved this to be the case though they generally blurred the line between the two roles.
Maybe we need some legends of our own to promote the officer corps of the Royal Army...
It seemed more her friends’ field. Maybe they would help if she asked.
“Captain,” Raul said as his Skeletal Dragon settled in beside them, “I’d like to create a second pocket from here. You said we’d be able to do this twice before morning, but, with how slowly information gets around down there, doing it again right away should get us the same results.”
Ludmila exchanged a grin with Olga before replying.
“How far do you plan on going?” Ludmila asked.
“About the same as before,” he answered. “That’s as much as four squads can hold back anyway.”
“Very well,” she said. “Let’s see how far we can take this. Make sure you’re doing it on both ends. Once each pocket is done, keep going and watch for any changes in the Beastmen’s behaviour.”
Raul’s Skeletal Dragon banked away. Ludmila wondered if he noticed that Olga had already prepared in advance for his proposal.
Fifteen minutes later, she watched as the squads under her two apprentices worked in tandem to tighten the encirclement further. Their first attempt had taken roughly three hours, things were steadily getting faster as both Commanders and soldiers became accustomed to the manoeuvre.
“Continued success with this tactic should see us at the walls of Eastwatch by tonight,” Saiko noted.
“I still doubt that will be the case,” Ludmila said. “Does the general staff have anything to say about our progress?”
“There are currently no recommendations or amendments to our operations.”
Maybe any ‘data’ was fine. As for her own ‘studies’, she was still conflicted over the notion that she was gathering wisps of negative energy like some sort of flying spindle. Lady Shalltear only spoke of it as a wonderful thing, but Ludmila still wanted to ask the Sorcerer King about it. She wondered if it was appropriate to place personal questions into his ‘suggestion box’.
One thing was certain even without any answers from His Majesty, however. Using her ‘licence for atrocity’ was making Ludmila stronger. That strength came in the sudden bursts that indicated that she had gained a Racial Class Level. She didn’t have time for thorough testing, never mind the development of anything new, but ‘little things’ here and there could be noticed, as well.
Her sensory perception – which had already been boosted to that of an Adamantite Ranger by her equipment – was getting even better. She didn’t have to fly as low as before to observe the battlefield, which in turn offered her a greater field of view. Her ability to track had similarly improved, as had her natural insights as a Ranger. That was something she wanted to keep Liane from finding out, or she’d hear no end to her calling her a ‘Death Ranger’.
Beyond that, ‘Ranger’ things weren’t the only thing she was getting better at. The range of her ‘Voice of Authority’ continued to grow, as was her ability at managing people or troops, implying that she was also growing as a Commander, Captain or Noble. The effect that Tira noticed in Rivergarden was probably some form of battlefield aura.
It was all a bit strange, as Lord Mare’s continued work with the Adventurer Guild showed that level gains for Humans didn’t work that way. Back when she was still a Human, growing stronger as a Commander didn’t improve her abilities as a Ranger, though it was proven that she was some sort of ‘Noble Fighter’ that improved as a Commander, Fighter and administrator – the last part was only a guess on her part as the Adventurer Guild didn’t measure administrative ability – at the same time.
The only thing she could think of to explain it was what some had suggested, which was that she had ‘become what she was’. Her Undead self was the ‘concept’ of Ludmila Zahradnik, or the ‘Noble-Commander-Ranger’ that Lady Shalltear and Lady Aura had decided she was about a year previous. All packaged into something called a ‘Revenant’.
Level-wise, a quick check proved that she now could reserve five Focus Levels for Martial Arts without harming herself. Studies from the Adventurer Guild pointed to warriors gaining one Focus Level every five ‘warrior levels’, and the increase in strength she had experienced after discovering this placed her total warrior levels at twenty-six. As Heteromorphs were much stronger than Humanoids and Demihumans at what Lord Mare considered ‘low levels’, that meant that she was also much stronger than her level suggested.
Once she accounted for her equipment, she effectively ended up in the Realm of Heroes. Not that she felt very heroic overseeing an ‘Undead horde’ as it overran a whole country.
Her new source of strength also served as an uncomfortable reminder of how inhuman she had become. Or just how Undead she had become. Instead of a living thing that matured and grew in strength, she ‘matured’ through a process similar to how Elder Liches were speculated to gain in power.
Ludmila didn’t disagree with the notion that she might exist to regulate the generation of negative energy and thus make whatever necessary conflicts that the Sorcerous Kingdom had to engage in ‘clean’, but something told her that being able to was no excuse to commit an endless string of atrocities. Knowing Lady Shalltear, she was heavily biased by her nature as a Vampire when it came to her interpretation of Ludmila ‘feeding’ on negative energy. Consuming as much as one could was a good thing, from her point of view.
I should really ask the Katze Cabal about that at some point...
There was a growing list of ‘at some points’ that Ludmila never had the time to get around to. Hopefully, the end of the Draconic Kingdom campaign and its residual tasks would leave her with some free time to take care of it.
A flash of brilliant light came from the direction of Eastwatch, and she turned her head to find four bright columns rising from the city to illuminate the countryside.
『Olga; Raul: withdraw into the clouds, now!』
Ludmila rose alongside Olga’s Skeletal Dragon. Raul joined them a few minutes later. Even from their distance, the light was bright enough for Humans to see at night with.
“What is that?” Olga asked.
“I have no idea,” Ludmila answered. “Saiko, do you know anything about this?”
“This one has not been briefed on any such phenomena, Captain,” the Elder Lich replied. “Queries from the sergeants are being submitted. Your orders?”
“Have them maintain their defensive stance, for now. The squads on offensive manoeuvres are to continue what they’re doing. Analyse servitor performance and identify any debilitating effects against the Undead.”
She turned her attention to Saiko, who was turning its open hand in front of its skeletal face. Revenants were immune to turning, holy water and other similar effects, so she wouldn’t be able to feel anything of the sort. The Life Essence and Mana Essence enchantments from her ear clip didn’t indicate any damage or mana loss.
“How are you feeling, Saiko?”
“No debilitating effects have been identified,” the Elder Lich told her. “What were your concerns?”
“It was just unexpected, I suppose. Usually, light is attributed with anti-Undead properties. Maybe we’re outside the effective radius of whatever it does. Did any of the squads on interdiction duty say anything?”
Those squads were operating within a few kilometres of the city, so if the light did do something, they would be the ones most likely subjected to its effects.
“There have been no–”
Saiko cut itself off. Ludmila frowned.
“Correction,” the Elder Lich said. “Squad Twenty-Six has lost one Death Knight.”
“What?!” Raul nearly shouted.
“Squad Twenty-Six has lost one Death Knight.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Do they know what happened?” Ludmila asked.
“Shortly before the appearance of the light,” Saiko said, “Squad Twenty-Six encountered resistance near the harbour. Attempts were made to recover one of the disabled vessels. An engagement with an unknown assailant ensued.”Rread latest chapters at
An unknown assailant in the water...
“A Water Elemental?”
“One of a few possibilities,” Saiko said. “The engagement was inconclusive and the squad withdrew after destroying the vessel and taking the crew.”
Fighting an Elemental in its native element was generally a bad idea, as it conferred tremendous advantages to the Elemental. A Water Elemental in the water was just as invisible as an Air Elemental flying around in the sky. The Death-series Servitors weren’t suited for underwater combat, either. They were fine for destroying helpless vessels and dealing with next-to-helpless Beastmen in the water, but there hadn’t been any precedent established in regards to aquatic combat from what had happened so far.
“...”
“...what? You aiming for him, too?”
“Almost every woman, some of the men, and a bunch of the Demihumans in E-Rantel see him as a desirable partner, but no. Also, I consider myself Nabe’s friend, so I can’t in good conscience assist you in your venture.”
“I see. Oh – looks like our guest of honour has arrived.”
It took Ludmila several moments to spot the barge coming from downriver. Evidently, Tira’s detection was superior to hers even with the equipment bestowed upon Ludmila by His Majesty.
“Tira,” Ludmila asked, “do you have any equipment that aids with detection?”
“Nope,” Tira replied. “Barely anyone can beat me in stealth and detection without any of that. Dragons and other crazy things don’t count. Figured it’d be better to use items that helped with other aspects of work.”
Ludmila detached the cowl from her mantle, holding it out toward Tira.
“Perform another check of the surroundings using this. Make sure our guest has a safe path from their landing.”
The Ninja used a Trooper’s Towel before taking the cowl in hand. She put it on and peered at the approaching vessel.
“Ooh...I can count all the buttons on Lord Tian’s shirt now. I always wondered how your detection was so good despite being a Noble.”
“It improves general stealth ability as well,” Ludmila said.
“That explains that part, too. Maybe having something like this isn’t such a bad idea now that I’ve got a way to carry extra gear around...”
Tira dashed off, completely vanishing at twenty metres. Ludmila cleaned up the table, putting away the remains of the Ninja’s breakfast. She left the table and chair where they were just in case Queen Oriculus needed them. Tira returned just before the Queen arrived.
“Find anything?” Ludmila asked.
“Not a soul,” Tira removed the cowl and handed it back to her. “The Queen’s lookin’ pretty ominous, though.”
Queen Oriculus came into view, walking up the trail on the western side of the hill with Lord Tian at her shoulder. She was in the same dark garb as Ludmila had last seen her in, and her demeanour was relatively unchanged from that time.
“Your Majesty,” Ludmila nodded in greeting. “Lord Tian.”
Lord Tian nodded in reply, but his eyes quickly left her to sweep over the landscape. Queen Oriculus cupped her chin in hand, leaning forward as she peered at Tira.
“Have We seen you somewhere before?”
“Uh...I don’t think so?”
“Your Majesty,” Ludmila said, “this is–”
“A scion of Ijaniya,” Queen Oriculus said. “We remember now. Over two generations ago, your ancestor appeared in Our chambers to market your organisation’s services. You bear a striking resemblance to her.”
“M-market? Well, I guess it was around the time when we were still getting our name out there...”
“It pleases Us to once again meet one of Ijaniya’s line. Yours is a cherished heritage, and We hope you’ll do everything you can to see that it endures.”
Tira didn’t seem to have anything to say in reply, but she shot Ludmila a suspicious look.
“A coincidence,” Ludmila said.
“A coincidence?” Queen Oriculus tilted her head curiously.
“We were just talking about family,” Ludmila replied. “That probably seems strange in these circumstances.”
“Not at all,” the Queen said. “It is not strange for one’s thoughts to turn to family on the battlefield.”
I suppose I’m the strange one, then...
Her thoughts rarely strayed from her duties. When they did, it wasn’t for long. Ludmila cleared her throat.
“Tira and her subordinates participated in the liberation of Helama and Phelegia. After that, they infiltrated occupied territory to gather information. Tira is the one that first discovered that Laira was being used on your subjects. With our eastward advance, Ijaniya has switched to ensuring that liberated villages, towns and cities are completely free of Beastmen.”
“You have Our utmost gratitude for your role in the liberation of the Draconic Kingdom,” Queen Oriculus said. “Will you be staying to help with security?”
“Nah, I gotta get back to work. Nice meeting ya, though.”
With that, Tira vanished into her shadow. Queen Oriculus cast a bemused look at the spot where the Ninja once stood.
“Her ancestor did that as well,” she said. “We suppose some things never change.”
“Did she really ‘market’ Ijaniya’s services?” Ludmila asked.
“Something like that,” the Queen smiled at some distant memory. “She popped up in Our chambers and seemed shocked to discover that the Queen was but a child. Then she tried to impress Us with all sorts of tricks while looking extraordinarily guilty all the while. We felt so bad for her that We never hired them. We do believe that good people make the best Assassins, however. In many ways, We admire them. They understand the difference between can and should, and they are willing to do all of the necessary things that most good people would baulk at.”
“May I let Tira know that Your Majesty said so?”
“Of course. She might even need it at some point. Now, how are things in Eastwatch?”
Ludmila turned her attention to the fields around the city.
“As you can see, Your Majesty...actually, what is that?”
“A great big magic light.”
She stared at the Queen. The Queen stared back. Her lip twitched.
“Don’t tell Us that you thought it was some sort of anti-Undead weapon?”
“...yes, Your Majesty.”
The Royal Army of the Sorcerous Kingdom; held back by magical lighting.
Queen Oriculus let out a laugh. The gloom that seemed to shroud her lifted for a moment.
“We suppose you wouldn’t have seen one before,” she said. “It is a navigational beacon – a waypoint for traffic, so to speak.”
“But why is it so bright? It seems like overkill for river traffic.”
“Because their function demands it,” Queen Oriculus said. “Decades ago, a much more fanciful Queen Oriculus added it to Eastwatch. We had hoped to bring in travellers from afar. With it, We optimistically thought, would come prosperity and succour against the Beastmen.”
“What kind of travellers would something like this bring?”
“Other Dragon Lords. The vast air fleets of a mighty merchant empire. Valiant sky pirates. Visitors from the moon or perhaps beyond.”
The Queen plopped herself down on the chair made available with decidedly less-than-queenly grace.
“In the end,” she sighed, “no one came. As a consolation, it helps the people around here see at night. We never gave up, though. No more than Our people would give up. We kept improving things through endless setbacks, hoping that, one day, visitors would come and see that Our home was worth investing in.”
“Well,” Ludmila looked up at the column of light, “that effort may still very well pay off.”
“That is Our hope,” Queen Oriculus said, “but time and experience have proven that there are certain things that I alone must do.”