Unification of the South

by Hyougetsu

  Compared to me, the viceroy of Ryunheit, Lady Airia, is so much braver. Though the Senate calls her a traitor to Meraldia, she’s a very sincere person. Not only that, even though she wears men’s clothes and wields a saber, she looks so pretty.

  When we’d been running around the city earlier, she hadn’t hesitated at all. She’d even saved the werewolf from the demon army from assassins a few times. Is she used to fierce fighting?

  Lady Airia must have noticed that I’m staring at her, since she gives me a smile.

  “Don’t worry, Lady Shatina. Everything will be alright.”

  “How... How can you be so sure?” I can’t help but ask. Her smile grows wider and she replies, “Sir Veight is a very reliable man. He’s strong, wise, and possesses a virtuous heart.”

  There’s no hesitation or fear in her voice.

  “But Lady Airia, even if he is a werewolf, there’s too many...”

  Before I can finish, Lady Airia puts a finger to her lips. I instantly fall silent, and Lady Airia covers our lamp. It seems our enemies have arrived. I’m about to draw my sword when I remember we need to stay quiet, and I stop. Now I wish I’d drawn it earlier.

  We’re hiding in a secret room hidden behind a bookshelf. I can hear people on the other side. The noises are faint, since they’re professionals, but they can’t erase the sounds they’re making entirely. There’s a faint swishing noise as one of them waves their hands. If we make even the slightest sound, they’ll find us. I don’t know how many of them there are, but I hope that werewolf general, Sir Veight, can handle them.

  Overcome by worry, I look up at Lady Airia. But it’s pitch black, and I can’t see her face even though she’s inches away from me. Suddenly, something soft envelops my palm. Lady Airia’s holding my hand. I can feel the kindness in that gesture. Even though I only met her moments ago, I feel safe with her.

  After a while, I notice something strange. I can’t hear any sounds anymore. It’s so quiet it hurts... No, that’s not quite right. It’s not quiet, my ears just can’t pick up any sound. What’s going on? I’m scared.

  I try to stand up, but Lady Airia pushes me back down. There’s still no sign that anyone’s found the hidden entrance to this room. I suppose it would be wiser to remain here. After a while, sound returns to the world. I can hear the faint sounds of Lady Airia’s breath and the rustling of clothes again. Lady Airia quietly gets to her feet and places her ear against the wall. A few seconds pass. She comes back and uncovers the lamp. Dim light illuminates the tiny room we’re in.

  “Sir Veight defeated the enemies near us. Let’s keep hiding here for a while longer.”

  “O-Okay.”

  How is she able to trust Sir Veight so completely? Though I can’t deny the only reason we’re still alive is thanks to his efforts. Dozens of assassins came after us, but we’re still safe. Now that I think about it, it’s obvious he wasn’t the one who assassinated my father. He really is an amazing person... or werewolf, I suppose. I’m sure someone with his abilities will be able to make the Senate pay for killing my father. I slump back down into my seat and look up at Lady Airia, who’s smiling confidently.

  ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

  I chased after a pair of assassins who’d happened upon the correct route to the hidden room. They were dressed as merchants, but considering their speed and skill, they were obviously not merchants. Damn, that was a close one. By the time I reached them they were in front of the hidden room. While the bookshelf disguised its entrance pretty well, I still didn’t want them anywhere close to it.

  I jumped down and crushed the first assassin’s skull and collarbone with a dropkick. Enveloped in my silence magic, he fell soundlessly to the ground. However, his companion sensed something was off, and turned around. Before he could even register what he was seeing, I sliced his head off.

  Around the time I’d finished off half of the assassins, they finally realized that there was someone attacking them. However, it seems they’d expected retaliation, as they weren’t surprised even when they found their comrades’ corpses. Rather than panic, they simply called in the men they’d stationed outside on standby. From the looks of it, they were planning on overwhelming us with numbers. They reorganized into small squads and began verbally signaling each other. It looked like they’d abandoned stealth and were relying entirely on their numerical superiority.

  Unfortunately for them, this was a cramped place. Whenever a group found a dead end and attempted to backtrack, they had to shuffle around. And at that moment, they were vulnerable.

  “Squad five reporting! It’s another dead end!”

  “Squad two here! We’ve discovered Yajim’s squads’ corpses! The werewolf got to them!”

  “Squad three, come in! What’s your status!?”

  Every squad I attacked attempted to hail their comrades. But so long as I was in the vicinity, their screams were nullified. As time passed, the assassins began to panic.

  “This is squad one! Are there any squads left alive!?”

  “Squad six is still alive! We’re looking for squad four’s—”

  Their voices cut off.

  “Hey, what’s wrong!? Hello!? Anyone there!?”

  No matter how many times the first squad called out, there was no response. Nor would there be, since I’d just killed them all.

  “A-At this rate we’ll be wiped out! Retreat!”

  “We can’t, this mission is—”

  The library went silent.

  I hopped up onto one of the bookshelves and surveyed the carnage I’d caused. Forty-odd assassins lay in pools of their own blood. You reap what you sow. Despite that, I still prayed for the souls of these pawns of the Senate. I then put my ear to the wall and listened. As far as I could tell, there was no one inside the library or outside nearby. I returned to the hidden room where Airia and Shatina were waiting.

  “We’re the only living people left here. So for now, I think it’s safe.”

  Shatina crawled out of the hidden passage and sucked in a deep breath.

  “D-Does this mean... you killed them all!?”

  “Yeah. Sorry I got your library drenched in blood.”

  “That’s fine, it’s just...”

  Since becoming a werewolf I’d become pretty inured to gore, but this might have been too shocking a sight for a young girl. Shatina’s expression grew grim and she hung her head.

  “If I’d been as strong as you, I could have protected my father.”

  “You’re overthinking things.”

  I guess my actions had left her shocked, but not in the way I was thinking. Rather than terrifying her, they’d made her frustrated at her own weakness. In some ways, her personality was rather extreme. Thinking about it, since she’s a viceroy’s daughter, she’s probably seen a few corpses already anyway.

  I heard a howl in the distance. That voice sounded like Fahn.

  “Wh-What now?”

  Shatina gave me a worried look.

  “Don’t worry, that’s one of my comrades’ howls. She’s on her way here.”

  Thank God, Fahn should be able to help me figure out how to act around Shatina. And I’d be freed from escorting her and Airia.

  “Veight, are you in here?”

  Fahn stepped into the library a few minutes later. She was together with Pia, a young werewolf who was her squad partner. However, I didn’t see Monza or her squad partner anywhere.

  “Yeah, I’m with Lady Airia and Zaria’s viceroy’s daughter. Where’s Monza?”

  Fahn swept her gaze across the sea of corpses as she replied.

  “She spotted a group of suspicious people leaving the city so she’s tailing them. They were marking walls with circles or Xs, and that got her curious.”

  That definitely sounded like they were assassins. Locals would have the topography memorized.

  “Those marks are probably to guide Meraldia’s army when they come to invade. If we have the time, we should record them and erase them.”

 
Fahn gave me a blank look, then clapped her hands together in realization.

  “Oh, I get it. Humans can’t just remember routes by their smell.”

  To be honest, I wasn’t very good at that either. But other werewolves seemed to have no problems recording things via smell. According to Fahn, the group that had fled the city had consisted of maybe ten people at most. I turned to Pia and said, “Let the rest of the werewolves into the city. We can’t move from here as long as there are still assassins around, so have all the squad leaders secure the area.”

  “Aye-aye, sir!”

  Until the city was safe, I had no intention of leaving the library. Though I was worried about sending Pia off on her own, I needed Fahn to help guard Shatina and Airia. I couldn’t guarantee their safety on my own.

  After Pia left, Fahn took up a lookout position at the entrance. Thanks to that, I could finally talk to Shatina uninterrupted.

  “Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the Demon Lord Gomoviroa’s Vice-Commander, Veight. I’d wished to meet with Lord Melgio, so it’s a shame he passed away. You have my condolences.”

  Shatina responded in kind, and gave a formal introduction.

  “My name is Shatina Stahl, daughter of Melgio Yewm Stahl. My father...”

  Shatina tried to keep herself together, but when she mentioned the word father she broke down and started crying. She covered her face with her hands and slumped to her knees.

  “F-Father... Why... Why did this happen...”

  She kept bawling for a few minutes. If I recall correctly, she has no other family. Not only did she lose her only parent, now she has to bear the burden of Zaria’s future. I don’t blame her for crying. I looked over at Airia and saw her wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She must be remembering the time her own dad died. Like Shatina, Airia had been forced to become viceroy after her father’s sudden death. Airia squatted down next to Shatina and gently laid her hands on Shatina’s shoulders.

  “Lady Shatina, we are your allies. If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask.”

  Still crying, Shatina nodded a few times. She was still in her mid-teens. While she’d be considered an adult in this society, that was still far too young to bear such a heavy burden. After she’d cried her heart out, Shatina muttered, “Father always used to say that Zaria was stuck in a difficult position. He wanted to improve the city’s defenses, but he knew doing so would earn the Senate’s wrath.”

  Airia nodded and rubbed Shatina’s shoulders.

  “The north sees Zaria as a dagger pressed against their throats. Lord Melgio did well to protect the city until now.”

  The cities closer to Meraldia’s northern section, Bernheinen, Thuvan, Zaria, and Veira, had always been worried about their relationship with the Senate. Bernheinen had tried to pass itself off as a harmless city which only preserved old relics, while Thuvan had developed its industry and sold its tools to the north. Veira did something similar, and sold its exceptionally high-quality handicrafts to the north and built economic and cultural ties with the north’s residents.

  However, Zaria had been devastated by the unification war, which had hampered its development. Merchants didn’t want to do business in a city without walls, and the area around it was too barren to harvest resources from. But because it had fought the hardest during the unification war, the north was wary of it. I could imagine just how precarious a position Zaria’s viceroy must have been in.

  As I was trying to figure out how to console Shatina, Monza popped into the library.

  “Is the boss here?”

  “Yeah. Everyone’s safe too.”

  To my surprise, Monza sounded nervous.

  “Boss, we’ve got bad news. When I was trailing those guys who ran, I spotted a huge army heading to Zaria.”

  “What!?”

  “Oh, but don’t worry. I wiped out all those assassins before they made it back to their army.”

  Monza flashed me a wicked grin. I knew I could count on the werewolves’ best hunter. If the assassins were heading toward the army, it meant that force was under the direct control of the Senate. During wartime, Meraldia could conscript the garrison or militia into the regular army, at any time, and place them under their chain of command.

  “They have about two thousand infantry, of which half are spearmen and bowmen. And they’ve brought about seven or eight catapults disguised as wagons.”

  “Did you say they brought catapults!?” Shatina screamed. “What do they intend to do with those!?”

  Monza shrugged in response.

  “I’m guessing they think your tall brick buildings won’t be too hard to smash with catapults.”

  As all of the upper floors of Zaria’s buildings were made with baked bricks, they weren’t very sturdy. Even the famed city of labyrinths stood no chance against the power engineering and physics. I smacked Monza’s head, admonishing her.

  “Don’t be rude. But you’re right, they’re likely after Zaria. It’s not like catapults would be any use against werewolves.”

  Shatina already knew it was the Senate who had assassinated Zaria’s viceroy. So now it was only a matter of time before Zaria left the Meraldian Federation. Since none of the assassins had returned to the army Meraldia had stationed outside, the Senate was probably aware that their covert operation had failed. Which was why they were planning on launching a preemptive strike against Zaria before the city could rally. While their tactics were a little sloppy, it was clear they’d been planning this for a while now. It was for this reason they hadn’t let Zaria rebuild its walls, after all. Even without a watertight strategy, they had more than enough firepower to take down the city. Airia’s expression grew grave.

  “We don’t have enough soldiers to fend off two thousand men. Zaria’s garrison is exhausted from eliminating the traitors in its midst, and it’s possible Meraldia still has a few spies in the city.”

  “All I brought with me were my werewolves. Two thousand is more than we can handle.”

  The army was practically at Zaria’s gates. While there were 500 kentauros stationed in nearby Thuvan, they wouldn’t make it in time. Nor was 500 enough to handle an army this size. And while undead soldiers were perfect for defending cities, their slow speed made them unsuited as reinforcements. Shatina bit her lip in frustration.

  “If only we could do something about the catapults, Zaria could withstand an assault from just two thousand soldiers.”

  Uhh, I know your maze is good and all, but I don’t think even the labyrinth city can handle 2,000 professional soldiers. However, Shatina had a point. Removing those catapults was of paramount importance. While my werewolves might be able to hold the streets, they wouldn’t last long if catapults were bombarding the nearby buildings. I put a hand to my chin and weighed my options.

  “Alright, send a request for reinforcements to Ryunheit, Thuvan, and Shardier. Until then, we’ll have to hold out on our own.”

  Airia turned toward to me in surprise.

  “Do you have a plan to survive that long?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be heading out for a bit.”

  “Huh?”

  Airia, Shatina, Fahn, and Monza all gave me an incredulous look. A moment later, Airia shouted, “Someone, stop him!”

  “On it!”

  “Gotcha!”

  Fahn and Monza grabbed me by the shoulders and held me in place. Shatina watched them both with a confused look on her face.

  “U-Umm, Lady Airia, what are you doing?”

  Airia replied in a threatening voice, “I’m aware that you’ve achieved more heroic feats on the battlefield than any of us can count, Sir Veight, but without fail, you’ve recklessly put yourself in mortal danger each time. So I’m restraining you.”

  Now that’s just not fair.

  “Name one time I acted recklessly, Lady Airia.”

  “Every single battle so far!” Fahn, Monza, and Airia yelled simultaneously. I still didn’t buy it, but now wasn’t the time to be ar
guing.

  “It’s fine, I promise I won’t do anything dangerous this time.”

  “You say that every time, too.”

  Fahn was pretty tough, and with her pinning me down I couldn’t escape.

  “Just calm down and listen. I’m one of Demon Lord Gomoviroa’s best disciples, and have learned many of her secret spells. So long as I use deflection magic, I should be able to repel the catapult shots. I’ll buy us some time, so evacuate the citizens. I promise I won’t be in any danger.”

  Frowning suspiciously, Monza brought her face close to mine. Holy crap, that’s way too close.

  “You mean it?”

  “I mean it.”

  I didn’t mean it. The most deflection magic could repel were crossbow bolts. It was practically useless against large stones. But right now, I needed to convince everyone to let me go.

  “We don’t have much time. Shatina, get me the most impressive-looking Zarian outfit you have. Also, some food.”

  “D-Did you say food?”

  There was more I needed to prepare, so I didn’t have time to explain.

  “Also, have the werewolves congregate on the northern buildings’ rooftops in squads once they’ve finished securing the city.”

  This time Fahn gave me a confused look.

  “What’s the point of putting us on the rooftops? We can’t fight from there.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Oh yeah, it doesn’t matter if it belongs to Zaria or the demon army, but hoist every single flag you can find.”

  Looks like things are about to get busy.

  I returned to the viceroy’s manor and scarfed down every dish Shatina brought me. While it looked like I was slacking, that wasn’t the case at all. I was planning on sortieing alone for the upcoming conflict. Once I headed to the battlefield, I wouldn’t be able to refuel until this fight was over. While I could replenish my stamina using magic, that didn’t change one fundamental fact: Both stamina regeneration and healing required nutrients.