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Time for the next chapter of Dawn of Courage. (Warning: contains mild language, mild violence, sexual suggestions)
It had been a few days since the party had encountered Dominic again and saved Nova from the unexpected curse he got inflicted with. They were back on the road, heading to their next destination. Sir Reginald was in the lead, going over the map as they traveled.
“Okay, if we’re where I think we are, and if Kettu’s notes are right, our next fight against Muu’s forces will be General Zombiestein,” he said. “We also should be approaching one of our larger allied forces that are fighting against Muu, as their base and training grounds are not far from where General Zombiestein has set up shop.”
“So we might actually have an entire army’s help this time, Sir Reginald?” Nova asked.
“Yes. And a good thing, too, as General Zombiestein has one of the larger platoons in Muu’s army. Even with Elora and Thundervolt we’d be heavily outgunned and outnumbered. He is one of Muu’s best Generals, so expect a tough fight.”
Zeeker nodded, “Yeah, he’s up in Muu’s Top Five Generals if I’m not mistaken, ranked either fourth of fifth. So he’ll be a tough nut to crack, no doubt about it.”
Kettu added, “Indeed. However, he does possess two weaknesses that we can exploit. One is, obviously, an elemental weakness. He can’t stand Earth magic. Secondly, he’s got a very strange weakness to, and you’re not going to believe this, attractive women. Nina might need to use her feminine wiles to give us an advantage.”
Nina looked shocked, “You… You’re kidding me, right? This Undead General has a weakness for women!? And you expect ME to use that to our advantage!?”
Kettu turned to her, “Strange as it is, yes. For some reason he can’t fight against an attractive female. And you’re the only bombshell babe we’ve got, so, yeah, you’re gonna have to keep him ‘occupied’ while the rest of us destroy him.”
The winged woman gained a look of dread, “Damn… I never thought something like this could happen… And it feels especially cruel now since I’m in a relationship with Nova… Do I really have to use my sex appeal to charm an Undead General?”
Sir Reginald gave her a weak smile, “Sadly, you will, Lady Nina. We need to take advantage of any weakness in Muu’s forces as possible. Even if it’s rather demeaning like needing to seduce them. And you’re the only female we can count on for this task. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to use your prowess as a beautiful woman to our advantage.”
Nina looked like she just died a bit inside, her face going pale, her eyes becoming dull, and gaining an expression of misery and disgust.
Nova placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, “I understand how you feel, Nina. I’d rather you not do it, either, but if it keeps our enemy at bay so we can find a way to destroy him then it has to be done. I promise I won’t judge you or see you any differently after this. You’ll still be my woman. I won’t hold anything against you for needing to resort to such a tactic in order for our side to get the advantage.” He then gained an idea, “I know what might motivate you to do this task.”
He then whispered something in her ear, confusing the rest of the group. Nina’s eyes lit up as Nova told her his idea.
“Would you really do that, Nova?” she asked.
“If it motivates you to perform this tactic then yes, I will,” he replied.
She took a deep breath before saying, “Okay, I’ll do it. I’m not gonna like it, but considering you hate every minute of these battles with Muu I suppose I could take one for the team if it helps us win this 3,000+ year war. Okay, okay, but I expect you to keep your end of the bargain, Nova.”
He nodded, “Don’t worry, I will. Even if it hurts me I’m a man of my word.”
“Okay, I’m glad to hear that. Fine, I’ll use my feminine wiles to distract this Undead General so we can score another win against Muu. I won’t like it, but I’ll do it.”
Angelo asked, “Nova, what did you offer to Nina in exchange for her complying to this task?”
Nova replied, “That’s between her and me. But let’s just say it’ll make her very happy. And before you all even think of it, no, it’s not sex. Neither of us are ready for such a step. We’ve only been a couple for not even a month yet, after all. Plus this is neither the time nor place for such stuff, as the mood and setting need to be perfect for such an event. But it will be something that’ll make her very happy. That’s all I’ll say.”
Nina fluttered her wings a bit, smiling, “You sound like bit of a romantic, Nova. Wanting the mood and setting to be perfect for us when the time comes for us to express our love to each other? Quite romantic. But enough of this, let’s see if we can find the army that’ll help us overcome General Zombiestein.”
The party continued on their way. However, once they crossed over a hill they were greeted with quite the sight. There was a large camp of soldiers, all of whom looked like they had their courage and confidence sucked out of them. There were also nurses going around, tending to them.
“What happened here?” Kettu asked.
Sir Reginald narrowed his eyes, “I dunno. But let’s find out, as these are the people who are going to help us.”
The party approached the demoralized army while the various nurses tried their hardest to not only heal them but motivate them. The soldiers looked up to see the party approach them.
“I hope you’re the ones who will defeat General Zombiestein…” one said.
“What happened here?” Angelo asked.
Another soldier, who looked like a higher ranked one, stepped up, “We tried to take down General Zombiestein. Our platoon was led by General Kain. However, he was killed by General Zombiestein, demoralizing our army and forcing us to flee. As you can see we’re still licking our wounds after that fight and our moral hasn’t returned yet. In fact, I think at least half of our army doesn’t want to get back into the fight at all even though they know they have to. I don’t suppose you could help us, can you?”
Sir Reginald’s eyes narrowed, stating, “I have every intention of getting this army back up to speed. It may not be a Galvatar Kingdom platoon but I WILL find a way to bring back this army’s moral and get them back in the fight. It would be what General Kain would want. I knew General Kain, back during our academy days, he was a good man, sharp as a knife, and a good friend. I won’t stand to see his army fall apart because of his untimely death. Leave this to me. Nova, help boost moral with one of your good meals. A good General knows when to feed their troops. Beef and potato stew should be a good start. The rest of you help the nurses. Leave the planning and strategizing to me.”
Everyone nodded and went to work. Using ingredients that the army already had Nova started to whip up a very large pot of beef and potato stew, much to the army’s eagerness, while Sir Reginald gathered up the higher ranked soldiers and started to strategize for the next battle with General Zombiestein. The rest of the party went around to tend to the wounded and help raise their spirits. As they did Zeeker’s eyes widened as he saw a familiar face.
“Kathy!” he called out.
A figured turned to him, revealing herself to be a leopard Beastman wearing medic clothes. She smiled as she saw Zeeker.
“Hey, Zeeker!” she said cheerfully. “It’s good to see you again. I’m glad to see you well… especially after all that chaos a while back. How have you been?”
Zeeker replied, “Doing better, thanks. I’m now part of the Demon King’s champion party in hopes of stopping Muu once and for all. But I’m glad I finally found you, as we’ve been trying to find you. Do you have any new dirt on Muu? Stan said you might.”
She replied, “I do but it’ll have to wait, as we have troops to tend. I’ll give you the notes that I have regarding Muu later. Hopefully your party can revitalize the spirits of these soldiers.”
They all then heard a bell, turning to see Nova ringing it.
“Okay, gather up!” he stated. “Piping hot stew, ready to eat!”
The various soldiers quickly got in line, holding bowls and ready for a good meal. Nova served them generous helpings of stew one-by-one. The soldiers graciously ate their food, clearly feeling better as they did, while the party and medics continued to help boost their spirits further. After a while Sir Reginald stepped up in front of all the soldiers.
“Men, we have ironed out a battleplan that’ll allow us to take down General Zombiestein and his Undead Army!” he stated strongly. “I know I’m no replacement for your beloved General Kain but I intend to avenge him and stop Muu once and for all. Thus I need you to comply to my orders. Our plan is very straightforward but speed is key. First off, dealing with the bread and butter Undead Soldiers will be easy enough, as they don’t pack a significant punch. They might have a numbers advantage but we’ve got an extra special piece of backup on our side. Belzebuth’s champion, Nova, possesses a rare and very powerful familiar: a Gorgon Viper, which, as you all know, is an Undead hunter. She will be able to give us extra firepower, pun intended, in dealing with Muu’s generic soldiers. Lady Nina has volunteered to use her feminine charms to woo General Zombiestein so his contribution to the fight will be more limited, as thanks to Kettu’s information on him, he is very vulnerable to attractive women. That’ll allow us to deal with his troops and at least deal some damage to Zombiestein before he finally realizes the truth. With this combination of familiars, female charms, and all of you, we will be able to avenge General Kain and bring down another Undead Army platoon and its base. We will begin our attack in one hour, so eat your stew and steel your nerves for battle! We will fight and we WILL win!”
The troops cheered, clearly feeling more confident from Sir Reginald’s words. They quickly ate their food, knowing they had a big battle ahead of them.
Nova said silently, “Sir Reginald was able to restore hope to these soldiers even after they lost their beloved leader. They may not be troops from his kingdom but he’s able to motivate them like they were his own. It takes a really good leader to do something like that. No wonder he’s got such a reputation, as he completely revitalized these soldiers’ hope and confidence even after such a devastating loss. Gotta give him props for it, as he knows his way around a battlefield. And around the hearts of soldiers.”
After a short time the troops were ready for battle. Sir Reginald looked everyone over, ensuring that they were all present and accounted for. He then bit his thumb, causing it to bleed.
“Thundervolt, come forth!”
A summoning circle appeared, followed by flashes of lightning, and soon Thundervolt was standing beside Sir Reginald. He jumped onto the back of his Thunderclap Stallion familiar, drew his sword, and held it high.
“Soldiers and allies, prepare for battle!” he stated strongly. “Today we will ensure that General Kain’s death will not be in vain! We will take down those Undead Soldiers and their leader! And soon Muu himself will fall! Together we will stand and fight! And we will win! Move out!”
The soldiers all cheered and followed Sir Reginald as he rode Thundervolt. It wasn’t long before the army arrived at the Undead Base. It was a larger Undead Base compared to most of them and was more heavily guarded. Sir Reginald stopped everyone just a bit shy of it.
“Thundervolt, if you would be so kind?” he asked his familiar.
Thundervolt neighed and summoned a thundercloud. The cloud boomed with thunder before a massive lightning bolt struck the base, damaging it. This caused the front gates to open and reveal several Undead Soldiers. They saw the army standing before them, drew their weapons, and charged out to fight.
“Nova, now!”
Nova nodded and placed a Summoning Sticker on the back of his right hand.
“Elora, come forth!” he stated strongly.
The Summoning Sticker glowed, followed by a summoning circle appearing, then a burst of smoke and fire and before long Elora was standing alongside Nova. Her sudden arrival caused the Undead Soldiers to come to a screeching halt, clearly surprised to see a Gorgon Viper. Elora gave a hiss, ignited her tail, and began spewing hellfire at the Undead Soldiers, burning several to ashes. Just then something large emerged from the Undead Base.
“That’s him!” a soldier said. “That’s General Zombiestein!”
General Zombiestein was much larger than past Undead Captains and Generals. He looked like a patchwork Undead monster, composed of various different body parts, with glowing yellow eyes, and was wearing evil-looking armor with a tattered cloak. He took a moment to observe the situation before giving a gesture, commanding the Undead Soldiers to attack, which they did.
“Lady Nina!” Sir Reginald stated. “Your turn!”
Nina gave a resigned sigh before flying over toward General Zombiestein. The massive Undead General’s eyes lit up as he saw Nina approach. While still hovering in the air Nina struck a sexy pose.
“Hey, big boy?” she said in a seductive tone. “Like what you see? Keep watching this birdie and I’ll give you quite the show.”
She continued to strike various sexy poses, making sure to use her large breasts to great effect. This strategy completely mesmerized General Zombiestein, who was too busy paying attention to the winged woman to even notice his troops getting decimated by the party and other soldiers. It also caused some of the soldiers on the heroes’ side to stop and gawk at her. It wasn’t long before the last Undead Soldier had been slain.
Sir Reginald stated to channel energy, “It’s time we finished the big guy off! Earth Power!”
He released the energy, causing an eruption of Earth energy to blast General Zombiestein from below. However, despite the direct hit he was still too busy gawking at Nina.
Nova turned to Elora, “Elora, use Gorgon Glare to petrify his lower body!”
Elora nodded and turned to the massive Undead General. Her eyes glowed and within seconds the Undead General’s lower body from the waist down was turned to stone. This attack got his attention, and he became enraged as his lower body become stone, completely snapping him out of his trance. He tried to lash out at Nina but she had already retreated to a safer distance, landing next to Nova.
Sir Reginald stated, “Good work, Lady Nina! Now, any and all Earth magic users attack while he’s immobilized!” He started to channel energy again, “Earth Power!”
He fired his spell, causing another eruption of Earth energy to blast the Undead General from underneath, making him roar in a fury.
“Rock Blast!” some soldiers stated.
General Zombiestein was struck by several small earthquakes that caused him to topple over. He was now completely enraged as he tried to strike anyone who got within range of his arms.
Sir Reginald turned to Nova, “Nova, strike my sword with Wind Cutter Arrow when I summon Flame Slash! That way we can finish him off with a combo skill!”
Nova nodded and primed an arrow.
“Ifrit Mode!” he stated.
The Demon King Ring adjusted itself, now set to Ifrit Mode.
“Flame Slash!” Sir Reginald stated.
“Wind Cutter Arrow!” Nova shouted.
Sir Reginald’s sword became coated in flames. Nova fired the Wind-enhanced arrow at the flaming sword, striking it. This caused the flames to become a massive blazing tornado.
“Combo skill: Firestorm Slash!” he stated.
Sir Reginald had Thundervolt charge toward the Undead General. He stood on top of Thundervolt’s back, got into a crouching position, and jumped off the familiar. He raised his sword up high before coming down, bisecting the Undead General with the combo’s might, killing General Zombiestein, ending the battle. The soldiers were stunned at both the combo skill and the fact that they had defeated General Zombiestein. After a minute of processing this they all erupted into cheers.
“Sir Reginald! Sir Reginald!” they chanted happily.
Elora then noticed something and slithered partway into the base before coming back out with something in her mouth.
“What do you have there, Elora?” Nova asked.
She presented it to him, revealing it to be a crystal with something swirling inside of it.
One of the higher ranked soldiers gasped, “That’s the crystal that Zombiestein put General Kain’s soul in!”
Sir Reginald picked up the crystal, observing, “So, it appears that Zombiestein didn’t have enough time to deliver General Kain’s soul to Muu. This is fortunate, as we can free his soul and allow him to rest in peace instead of becoming a guinea pig for Muu. Nova, Van, destroy this crystal with Meteor Strike, as it seems pretty durable.”
Nova and Van nodded, priming their weapons. Sir Reginald then threw the crystal into the air.
“Dragon Strike!” Nova stated.
“Meteor Throw!” Van said strongly.
They launched their respective skills, causing them to combine into one.
“Combo skill: Meteor Strike!” both said in unison.
The combo skill slammed into the crystal, exploding, causing the crystal to shatter like glass, releasing a glowing orb. The orb floated down to the ground, where it took shape into a handsome knight.
Sir Reginald gave a polite bow, “General Kain, it’s good to see you again, even if the circumstances aren’t ideal.”
General Kain smiled, “It’s good to see you, too, Sir Reginald. You look well. Thank you for saving my soul before it could be delivered to Muu’s claws. I can see you led my men to victory over the foe who defeated me. You have my deepest thanks. Hopefully now with General Zombiestein dead my men can regroup and find a new leader to guide them. I wish it would be you but you obviously have a more important task to tend to, Sir Reginald. I wish you the best of luck and thank you once again for saving my soul.”
He turned into a sphere of light and began ascending to the heavens. Everyone stood and saluted as a final farewell to the fallen soldier. When his soul vanished from sight everyone lowered their hands.
Sir Reginald said, “We’re not quite done yet, troops. First we need to see if there is anything valuable within the Undead Base. Stay sharp, as it could have booby traps.” He turned to Thundervolt, “Thank you for your help once again, old friend. To the Spirit Plane!”
Thundervolt gave a neigh before vanishing in a flurry of sparkles.
Nova turn to Elora, “Thank you as well, Elora. You proved to be invaluable once again. You deserve a rest. To the Spirit Plane!”
Elora gave a happy hiss before vanishing in a flurry of sparkles. Nova then took the Summoning Sticker off his hand and put it into his Digi-Pack.
“Okay, let’s see what we can find inside the base,” Sir Reginald said. “Anything that might be valuable or too dangerous to leave in the hands of Muu’s army we will take. But beware of items that are cursed.”
Everyone nodded and entered the base to see if there was anything worth salvaging. They took extra caution while being in the base in case there was security in place. After a quick scan of the main section they came to the storage room. Van pried open one of the crates and looked inside.
“Here are some standard weapons,” he said. “But I sense they are cursed so they’ll have to remain here.”
Nova said, “I found some bows and arrows over here. The bows are cursed but the arrows aren’t, so we can take the arrows and their quivers. Since there are a handful of archers in this army I suggest you take them.”
The few archers in the army nodded and helped themselves to all but one quiver of arrows, which they gave to Nova instead. Van removed another crate lid, revealing new items.
“We’ve got rare crafting materials here,” he said. “Stuff like Dark Matter, Zulu Ore, Platinum Ore, various Elemental Crystals, and other stuff.”
“Should we take it or give it to the soldiers?” Nina asked.
One of the head soldiers said, “You should take it. We cannot make use of any of that stuff so it would be better in your hands over ours.”
Nova nodded and stored the items into his Digi-Pack. After a few more minutes they came to the core of the base.
“Okay, I’ll overload the Magna Crystal by using the control panel,” Nova said. “The rest of you go back outside and get behind Sir Reginald so he can erect a barrier to protect you from the resulting explosion.”
“But what about you?” a soldier asked.
Nina said, “I’ll stay with him and use Teleport to get us out of the base before it can blow up. I’ve managed to master it so we’ll be fine. We’ll give you five minutes to get out of the base and to a safe range. Starting now!”
Sir Reginald nodded, “Yes, let’s move!”
Everyone except Nova and Nina quickly fled, heading back outside to safety. After five minutes Nova started to type away at the control panel. The Magna Crystal started to shake and hum as the machines it was connected to started to overload it.
“Teleport!” Nina stated.
Both she and Nova vanished. They reappeared outside, just in front of Sir Reginald’s barrier. He adjusted it slightly to open a hole for them, allowing them to enter into its safety before closing the hole up. No more than a minute later the base exploded, taking everything inside of it with it, sending debris everywhere. When the dust had settled all that was left of the Undead Base was a smoldering crater and various chunks of debris. Sir Reginald lowered his barrier now that it was safe to do so.
“Okay, that’s another Undead Base and its occupants destroyed,” he said. “And we avenged General Kain’s death and helped him move on peacefully. We all did good today.”
One of the head knights said, “Only because you took the reins and helped get our troops back on our feet after General Kain’s death, Sir Reginald. You may not be a knight from our kingdom but you know how to properly motivate troops. We were honored to follow you into battle. Thank you for everything. Hopefully we can find someone to fill General Kain’s shoes soon so we’re not running around like headless chickens. Please, return with us to our base since the next town is a half-day hike from here and there’s no magical campsite between here and there. Plus it’s getting late. We have room for all of you so we’d be honored to house you for a night.”
Sir Reginald nodded, “We’ll take you up on that. And hopefully Kathy has found the notes she was looking for that Zeeker requested by now. Let us return to your base and call it a day.”
Nina then whispered to Nova, “I guess my ‘reward’ for using my feminine charms on an Undead General will have to wait until the next town, right, Nova?”
He replied in a hushed tone, “Yes, sorry, it will have to wait until then. But I promise I’ll grant you the reward I said I’d give you then. Just hang on until then.”
She nodded in agreement. The party then followed the soldiers back to their base to have a celebration for their victory and to rest.
Next Chapter: Crafting Bonds
That's all for today. I wonder what Nova promised Nina in exchange for her using her feminine wiles in battle today? Tune in next time to find out.
Knight of Thunder
It had been a few days since the party had encountered Dominic again and saved Nova from the unexpected curse he got inflicted with. They were back on the road, heading to their next destination. Sir Reginald was in the lead, going over the map as they traveled.
“Okay, if we’re where I think we are, and if Kettu’s notes are right, our next fight against Muu’s forces will be General Zombiestein,” he said. “We also should be approaching one of our larger allied forces that are fighting against Muu, as their base and training grounds are not far from where General Zombiestein has set up shop.”
“So we might actually have an entire army’s help this time, Sir Reginald?” Nova asked.
“Yes. And a good thing, too, as General Zombiestein has one of the larger platoons in Muu’s army. Even with Elora and Thundervolt we’d be heavily outgunned and outnumbered. He is one of Muu’s best Generals, so expect a tough fight.”
Zeeker nodded, “Yeah, he’s up in Muu’s Top Five Generals if I’m not mistaken, ranked either fourth of fifth. So he’ll be a tough nut to crack, no doubt about it.”
Kettu added, “Indeed. However, he does possess two weaknesses that we can exploit. One is, obviously, an elemental weakness. He can’t stand Earth magic. Secondly, he’s got a very strange weakness to, and you’re not going to believe this, attractive women. Nina might need to use her feminine wiles to give us an advantage.”
Nina looked shocked, “You… You’re kidding me, right? This Undead General has a weakness for women!? And you expect ME to use that to our advantage!?”
Kettu turned to her, “Strange as it is, yes. For some reason he can’t fight against an attractive female. And you’re the only bombshell babe we’ve got, so, yeah, you’re gonna have to keep him ‘occupied’ while the rest of us destroy him.”
The winged woman gained a look of dread, “Damn… I never thought something like this could happen… And it feels especially cruel now since I’m in a relationship with Nova… Do I really have to use my sex appeal to charm an Undead General?”
Sir Reginald gave her a weak smile, “Sadly, you will, Lady Nina. We need to take advantage of any weakness in Muu’s forces as possible. Even if it’s rather demeaning like needing to seduce them. And you’re the only female we can count on for this task. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to use your prowess as a beautiful woman to our advantage.”
Nina looked like she just died a bit inside, her face going pale, her eyes becoming dull, and gaining an expression of misery and disgust.
Nova placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, “I understand how you feel, Nina. I’d rather you not do it, either, but if it keeps our enemy at bay so we can find a way to destroy him then it has to be done. I promise I won’t judge you or see you any differently after this. You’ll still be my woman. I won’t hold anything against you for needing to resort to such a tactic in order for our side to get the advantage.” He then gained an idea, “I know what might motivate you to do this task.”
He then whispered something in her ear, confusing the rest of the group. Nina’s eyes lit up as Nova told her his idea.
“Would you really do that, Nova?” she asked.
“If it motivates you to perform this tactic then yes, I will,” he replied.
She took a deep breath before saying, “Okay, I’ll do it. I’m not gonna like it, but considering you hate every minute of these battles with Muu I suppose I could take one for the team if it helps us win this 3,000+ year war. Okay, okay, but I expect you to keep your end of the bargain, Nova.”
He nodded, “Don’t worry, I will. Even if it hurts me I’m a man of my word.”
“Okay, I’m glad to hear that. Fine, I’ll use my feminine wiles to distract this Undead General so we can score another win against Muu. I won’t like it, but I’ll do it.”
Angelo asked, “Nova, what did you offer to Nina in exchange for her complying to this task?”
Nova replied, “That’s between her and me. But let’s just say it’ll make her very happy. And before you all even think of it, no, it’s not sex. Neither of us are ready for such a step. We’ve only been a couple for not even a month yet, after all. Plus this is neither the time nor place for such stuff, as the mood and setting need to be perfect for such an event. But it will be something that’ll make her very happy. That’s all I’ll say.”
Nina fluttered her wings a bit, smiling, “You sound like bit of a romantic, Nova. Wanting the mood and setting to be perfect for us when the time comes for us to express our love to each other? Quite romantic. But enough of this, let’s see if we can find the army that’ll help us overcome General Zombiestein.”
The party continued on their way. However, once they crossed over a hill they were greeted with quite the sight. There was a large camp of soldiers, all of whom looked like they had their courage and confidence sucked out of them. There were also nurses going around, tending to them.
“What happened here?” Kettu asked.
Sir Reginald narrowed his eyes, “I dunno. But let’s find out, as these are the people who are going to help us.”
The party approached the demoralized army while the various nurses tried their hardest to not only heal them but motivate them. The soldiers looked up to see the party approach them.
“I hope you’re the ones who will defeat General Zombiestein…” one said.
“What happened here?” Angelo asked.
Another soldier, who looked like a higher ranked one, stepped up, “We tried to take down General Zombiestein. Our platoon was led by General Kain. However, he was killed by General Zombiestein, demoralizing our army and forcing us to flee. As you can see we’re still licking our wounds after that fight and our moral hasn’t returned yet. In fact, I think at least half of our army doesn’t want to get back into the fight at all even though they know they have to. I don’t suppose you could help us, can you?”
Sir Reginald’s eyes narrowed, stating, “I have every intention of getting this army back up to speed. It may not be a Galvatar Kingdom platoon but I WILL find a way to bring back this army’s moral and get them back in the fight. It would be what General Kain would want. I knew General Kain, back during our academy days, he was a good man, sharp as a knife, and a good friend. I won’t stand to see his army fall apart because of his untimely death. Leave this to me. Nova, help boost moral with one of your good meals. A good General knows when to feed their troops. Beef and potato stew should be a good start. The rest of you help the nurses. Leave the planning and strategizing to me.”
Everyone nodded and went to work. Using ingredients that the army already had Nova started to whip up a very large pot of beef and potato stew, much to the army’s eagerness, while Sir Reginald gathered up the higher ranked soldiers and started to strategize for the next battle with General Zombiestein. The rest of the party went around to tend to the wounded and help raise their spirits. As they did Zeeker’s eyes widened as he saw a familiar face.
“Kathy!” he called out.
A figured turned to him, revealing herself to be a leopard Beastman wearing medic clothes. She smiled as she saw Zeeker.
“Hey, Zeeker!” she said cheerfully. “It’s good to see you again. I’m glad to see you well… especially after all that chaos a while back. How have you been?”
Zeeker replied, “Doing better, thanks. I’m now part of the Demon King’s champion party in hopes of stopping Muu once and for all. But I’m glad I finally found you, as we’ve been trying to find you. Do you have any new dirt on Muu? Stan said you might.”
She replied, “I do but it’ll have to wait, as we have troops to tend. I’ll give you the notes that I have regarding Muu later. Hopefully your party can revitalize the spirits of these soldiers.”
They all then heard a bell, turning to see Nova ringing it.
“Okay, gather up!” he stated. “Piping hot stew, ready to eat!”
The various soldiers quickly got in line, holding bowls and ready for a good meal. Nova served them generous helpings of stew one-by-one. The soldiers graciously ate their food, clearly feeling better as they did, while the party and medics continued to help boost their spirits further. After a while Sir Reginald stepped up in front of all the soldiers.
“Men, we have ironed out a battleplan that’ll allow us to take down General Zombiestein and his Undead Army!” he stated strongly. “I know I’m no replacement for your beloved General Kain but I intend to avenge him and stop Muu once and for all. Thus I need you to comply to my orders. Our plan is very straightforward but speed is key. First off, dealing with the bread and butter Undead Soldiers will be easy enough, as they don’t pack a significant punch. They might have a numbers advantage but we’ve got an extra special piece of backup on our side. Belzebuth’s champion, Nova, possesses a rare and very powerful familiar: a Gorgon Viper, which, as you all know, is an Undead hunter. She will be able to give us extra firepower, pun intended, in dealing with Muu’s generic soldiers. Lady Nina has volunteered to use her feminine charms to woo General Zombiestein so his contribution to the fight will be more limited, as thanks to Kettu’s information on him, he is very vulnerable to attractive women. That’ll allow us to deal with his troops and at least deal some damage to Zombiestein before he finally realizes the truth. With this combination of familiars, female charms, and all of you, we will be able to avenge General Kain and bring down another Undead Army platoon and its base. We will begin our attack in one hour, so eat your stew and steel your nerves for battle! We will fight and we WILL win!”
The troops cheered, clearly feeling more confident from Sir Reginald’s words. They quickly ate their food, knowing they had a big battle ahead of them.
Nova said silently, “Sir Reginald was able to restore hope to these soldiers even after they lost their beloved leader. They may not be troops from his kingdom but he’s able to motivate them like they were his own. It takes a really good leader to do something like that. No wonder he’s got such a reputation, as he completely revitalized these soldiers’ hope and confidence even after such a devastating loss. Gotta give him props for it, as he knows his way around a battlefield. And around the hearts of soldiers.”
After a short time the troops were ready for battle. Sir Reginald looked everyone over, ensuring that they were all present and accounted for. He then bit his thumb, causing it to bleed.
“Thundervolt, come forth!”
A summoning circle appeared, followed by flashes of lightning, and soon Thundervolt was standing beside Sir Reginald. He jumped onto the back of his Thunderclap Stallion familiar, drew his sword, and held it high.
“Soldiers and allies, prepare for battle!” he stated strongly. “Today we will ensure that General Kain’s death will not be in vain! We will take down those Undead Soldiers and their leader! And soon Muu himself will fall! Together we will stand and fight! And we will win! Move out!”
The soldiers all cheered and followed Sir Reginald as he rode Thundervolt. It wasn’t long before the army arrived at the Undead Base. It was a larger Undead Base compared to most of them and was more heavily guarded. Sir Reginald stopped everyone just a bit shy of it.
“Thundervolt, if you would be so kind?” he asked his familiar.
Thundervolt neighed and summoned a thundercloud. The cloud boomed with thunder before a massive lightning bolt struck the base, damaging it. This caused the front gates to open and reveal several Undead Soldiers. They saw the army standing before them, drew their weapons, and charged out to fight.
“Nova, now!”
Nova nodded and placed a Summoning Sticker on the back of his right hand.
“Elora, come forth!” he stated strongly.
The Summoning Sticker glowed, followed by a summoning circle appearing, then a burst of smoke and fire and before long Elora was standing alongside Nova. Her sudden arrival caused the Undead Soldiers to come to a screeching halt, clearly surprised to see a Gorgon Viper. Elora gave a hiss, ignited her tail, and began spewing hellfire at the Undead Soldiers, burning several to ashes. Just then something large emerged from the Undead Base.
“That’s him!” a soldier said. “That’s General Zombiestein!”
General Zombiestein was much larger than past Undead Captains and Generals. He looked like a patchwork Undead monster, composed of various different body parts, with glowing yellow eyes, and was wearing evil-looking armor with a tattered cloak. He took a moment to observe the situation before giving a gesture, commanding the Undead Soldiers to attack, which they did.
“Lady Nina!” Sir Reginald stated. “Your turn!”
Nina gave a resigned sigh before flying over toward General Zombiestein. The massive Undead General’s eyes lit up as he saw Nina approach. While still hovering in the air Nina struck a sexy pose.
“Hey, big boy?” she said in a seductive tone. “Like what you see? Keep watching this birdie and I’ll give you quite the show.”
She continued to strike various sexy poses, making sure to use her large breasts to great effect. This strategy completely mesmerized General Zombiestein, who was too busy paying attention to the winged woman to even notice his troops getting decimated by the party and other soldiers. It also caused some of the soldiers on the heroes’ side to stop and gawk at her. It wasn’t long before the last Undead Soldier had been slain.
Sir Reginald stated to channel energy, “It’s time we finished the big guy off! Earth Power!”
He released the energy, causing an eruption of Earth energy to blast General Zombiestein from below. However, despite the direct hit he was still too busy gawking at Nina.
Nova turned to Elora, “Elora, use Gorgon Glare to petrify his lower body!”
Elora nodded and turned to the massive Undead General. Her eyes glowed and within seconds the Undead General’s lower body from the waist down was turned to stone. This attack got his attention, and he became enraged as his lower body become stone, completely snapping him out of his trance. He tried to lash out at Nina but she had already retreated to a safer distance, landing next to Nova.
Sir Reginald stated, “Good work, Lady Nina! Now, any and all Earth magic users attack while he’s immobilized!” He started to channel energy again, “Earth Power!”
He fired his spell, causing another eruption of Earth energy to blast the Undead General from underneath, making him roar in a fury.
“Rock Blast!” some soldiers stated.
General Zombiestein was struck by several small earthquakes that caused him to topple over. He was now completely enraged as he tried to strike anyone who got within range of his arms.
Sir Reginald turned to Nova, “Nova, strike my sword with Wind Cutter Arrow when I summon Flame Slash! That way we can finish him off with a combo skill!”
Nova nodded and primed an arrow.
“Ifrit Mode!” he stated.
The Demon King Ring adjusted itself, now set to Ifrit Mode.
“Flame Slash!” Sir Reginald stated.
“Wind Cutter Arrow!” Nova shouted.
Sir Reginald’s sword became coated in flames. Nova fired the Wind-enhanced arrow at the flaming sword, striking it. This caused the flames to become a massive blazing tornado.
“Combo skill: Firestorm Slash!” he stated.
Sir Reginald had Thundervolt charge toward the Undead General. He stood on top of Thundervolt’s back, got into a crouching position, and jumped off the familiar. He raised his sword up high before coming down, bisecting the Undead General with the combo’s might, killing General Zombiestein, ending the battle. The soldiers were stunned at both the combo skill and the fact that they had defeated General Zombiestein. After a minute of processing this they all erupted into cheers.
“Sir Reginald! Sir Reginald!” they chanted happily.
Elora then noticed something and slithered partway into the base before coming back out with something in her mouth.
“What do you have there, Elora?” Nova asked.
She presented it to him, revealing it to be a crystal with something swirling inside of it.
One of the higher ranked soldiers gasped, “That’s the crystal that Zombiestein put General Kain’s soul in!”
Sir Reginald picked up the crystal, observing, “So, it appears that Zombiestein didn’t have enough time to deliver General Kain’s soul to Muu. This is fortunate, as we can free his soul and allow him to rest in peace instead of becoming a guinea pig for Muu. Nova, Van, destroy this crystal with Meteor Strike, as it seems pretty durable.”
Nova and Van nodded, priming their weapons. Sir Reginald then threw the crystal into the air.
“Dragon Strike!” Nova stated.
“Meteor Throw!” Van said strongly.
They launched their respective skills, causing them to combine into one.
“Combo skill: Meteor Strike!” both said in unison.
The combo skill slammed into the crystal, exploding, causing the crystal to shatter like glass, releasing a glowing orb. The orb floated down to the ground, where it took shape into a handsome knight.
Sir Reginald gave a polite bow, “General Kain, it’s good to see you again, even if the circumstances aren’t ideal.”
General Kain smiled, “It’s good to see you, too, Sir Reginald. You look well. Thank you for saving my soul before it could be delivered to Muu’s claws. I can see you led my men to victory over the foe who defeated me. You have my deepest thanks. Hopefully now with General Zombiestein dead my men can regroup and find a new leader to guide them. I wish it would be you but you obviously have a more important task to tend to, Sir Reginald. I wish you the best of luck and thank you once again for saving my soul.”
He turned into a sphere of light and began ascending to the heavens. Everyone stood and saluted as a final farewell to the fallen soldier. When his soul vanished from sight everyone lowered their hands.
Sir Reginald said, “We’re not quite done yet, troops. First we need to see if there is anything valuable within the Undead Base. Stay sharp, as it could have booby traps.” He turned to Thundervolt, “Thank you for your help once again, old friend. To the Spirit Plane!”
Thundervolt gave a neigh before vanishing in a flurry of sparkles.
Nova turn to Elora, “Thank you as well, Elora. You proved to be invaluable once again. You deserve a rest. To the Spirit Plane!”
Elora gave a happy hiss before vanishing in a flurry of sparkles. Nova then took the Summoning Sticker off his hand and put it into his Digi-Pack.
“Okay, let’s see what we can find inside the base,” Sir Reginald said. “Anything that might be valuable or too dangerous to leave in the hands of Muu’s army we will take. But beware of items that are cursed.”
Everyone nodded and entered the base to see if there was anything worth salvaging. They took extra caution while being in the base in case there was security in place. After a quick scan of the main section they came to the storage room. Van pried open one of the crates and looked inside.
“Here are some standard weapons,” he said. “But I sense they are cursed so they’ll have to remain here.”
Nova said, “I found some bows and arrows over here. The bows are cursed but the arrows aren’t, so we can take the arrows and their quivers. Since there are a handful of archers in this army I suggest you take them.”
The few archers in the army nodded and helped themselves to all but one quiver of arrows, which they gave to Nova instead. Van removed another crate lid, revealing new items.
“We’ve got rare crafting materials here,” he said. “Stuff like Dark Matter, Zulu Ore, Platinum Ore, various Elemental Crystals, and other stuff.”
“Should we take it or give it to the soldiers?” Nina asked.
One of the head soldiers said, “You should take it. We cannot make use of any of that stuff so it would be better in your hands over ours.”
Nova nodded and stored the items into his Digi-Pack. After a few more minutes they came to the core of the base.
“Okay, I’ll overload the Magna Crystal by using the control panel,” Nova said. “The rest of you go back outside and get behind Sir Reginald so he can erect a barrier to protect you from the resulting explosion.”
“But what about you?” a soldier asked.
Nina said, “I’ll stay with him and use Teleport to get us out of the base before it can blow up. I’ve managed to master it so we’ll be fine. We’ll give you five minutes to get out of the base and to a safe range. Starting now!”
Sir Reginald nodded, “Yes, let’s move!”
Everyone except Nova and Nina quickly fled, heading back outside to safety. After five minutes Nova started to type away at the control panel. The Magna Crystal started to shake and hum as the machines it was connected to started to overload it.
“Teleport!” Nina stated.
Both she and Nova vanished. They reappeared outside, just in front of Sir Reginald’s barrier. He adjusted it slightly to open a hole for them, allowing them to enter into its safety before closing the hole up. No more than a minute later the base exploded, taking everything inside of it with it, sending debris everywhere. When the dust had settled all that was left of the Undead Base was a smoldering crater and various chunks of debris. Sir Reginald lowered his barrier now that it was safe to do so.
“Okay, that’s another Undead Base and its occupants destroyed,” he said. “And we avenged General Kain’s death and helped him move on peacefully. We all did good today.”
One of the head knights said, “Only because you took the reins and helped get our troops back on our feet after General Kain’s death, Sir Reginald. You may not be a knight from our kingdom but you know how to properly motivate troops. We were honored to follow you into battle. Thank you for everything. Hopefully we can find someone to fill General Kain’s shoes soon so we’re not running around like headless chickens. Please, return with us to our base since the next town is a half-day hike from here and there’s no magical campsite between here and there. Plus it’s getting late. We have room for all of you so we’d be honored to house you for a night.”
Sir Reginald nodded, “We’ll take you up on that. And hopefully Kathy has found the notes she was looking for that Zeeker requested by now. Let us return to your base and call it a day.”
Nina then whispered to Nova, “I guess my ‘reward’ for using my feminine charms on an Undead General will have to wait until the next town, right, Nova?”
He replied in a hushed tone, “Yes, sorry, it will have to wait until then. But I promise I’ll grant you the reward I said I’d give you then. Just hang on until then.”
She nodded in agreement. The party then followed the soldiers back to their base to have a celebration for their victory and to rest.
Next Chapter: Crafting Bonds
That's all for today. I wonder what Nova promised Nina in exchange for her using her feminine wiles in battle today? Tune in next time to find out.
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