Chapter 23: 23. Surprise

The demons moved cautiously through the dead forest. Most of them had fought in the ferocious battles that had seen the humans nearly exterminated in the region. The piles of bones, the cracking of dead wood, and the stench of death reminded them that the enemy couldn't be underestimated. Still, the instinctive need to kill the humans was strong.

As they got close to the humans their caution was pushed aside, replaced by a fury they had never felt before. The voice of their god spoke to them, filling their brain with a single overwhelming need, 'Kill the necromancer.'

The thousands of demons moved as one, racing towards the human lines from all sides, howling in rage.

Gunfire rang out, dropping some of them. The smaller demons ran ahead, soaking up the bullets, heedless of their own lives, ignoring the pain that would normally send them reeling. God had spoken to them, they couldn't deny their orders, or hold back. They kept running as bullets tore off their limbs, ripped through their bodies, made them screech in agony. They wouldn't be stopped.

The demons began striking back with their own weapons. Rocks flew through the air, blasted like cannonballs from monsters with misshapen mouths. They tore through the barricades of bone and wood, killing anyone unlucky enough to be in their path. Other demons spit fire, arcing their fireballs to hit behind the lines, breaking apart when they hit the ground, setting fire to anything they touched.

Frog-like demons jumped impossible distances, a few fell thanks to lucky shots, most ignored the bullets that pierced their thick hides. They landed along the human lines and opened their mouths, releasing foul smelling gas. Soldiers fell choking and gasping to the poison. The demons were cut down moments later, but the damage was done and hundreds of soldiers lay dead in the dirt.

A few acid spitting demons got close enough to spray acid over the barricades. The humans fled, screaming in pain as the liquid ate into their flesh. The gunfire slackened as the front line collapsed.

The demons roared in glee. Their simple minds seeing an easy victory. The fastest ones reached the barricades and began to tear them down.

Their screeches of bloodlust and rage turned to terror as the barricades of bone erupted into life. The thousands of bones moved like water, flowing over the demons, crushing and stabbing them over and over again. The bone golems didn't have a shape, some moved over the ground like centipedes, seeking the enemy. Others rose high in the air, slamming down on the demons. The smallest demons had no hope of fighting, they were enveloped and slaughtered. The larger demons held firm, snapping and crushing the bones, wearing the golems down even as they were overwhelmed.

Massive, armoured gigantes, stampeded into the fight, their sheer bulk shattering the golems. The bones couldn't pierce their bone and hide, as pieces broke off or were crushed, they fell to the ground dead and unmoving. The golems recoiled from the attack, sacrificing smaller parts of their bodies so the majority could survive. Dodging and flowing around the unstoppable demons, the golems sought easier prey

Ghosts flew out of the sky. They ignored most of the demons, concentrating on the monsters that spit stone, fire and acid. The demons reacted instantly to the new threat. The smallest demons swarmed over top of their larger kin, acting as a living shield, giving their lives so the attack could continue. Still more threw themselves at the ghosts, flying through the ethereal creatures, then doing it again. Dead and dying demons formed small mounds around the living artillery, but still more came, forcing the ghosts to use up their energy, while fire, acid and stone fell on the humans.

With the golems fighting for their lives, demons began to slip past into the camp, they screeched victoriously, ready to slay the humans that had cost them so much.

The humans who had been fleeing turned to face them, their rotten, bony faces twisted with glee. The corpses who had fallen from the poison, flame and acid got to their feet. Ghouls shouted orders, raising their pistols and rifles to shoot the demons, while their mindless soldiers drew knives, swords and clubs, charging the demons.

From hidden trenches and pits more of the dead came. Flesh golems charged the demons, acting in pairs to grab the legs of the armoured giants, struggling to flip them over so their unarmoured stomachs could be reached. Rotten mockeries of the demons tore into their living kin with a ferocity that rivalled the demons own. The seemingly overwhelming tide of demons halted and was pushed back.

Farther back, the living humans stood up in their trenches and wagons and opened fire. Cutting the demons down in swathes. Mages worked together, weaving spells to take out the seemingly impervious armoured demons, setting them on fire from the inside.

The demons didn't stop. They had the numbers and the overwhelming need to kill. Slowly, they pushed the dead back, clambering over their own dead to get closer. Another, larger, wave of demons came from the forest. They'd drown the humans in blood if they had to, the necromancer would die.

Unseen by anyone, four shadowy figures moved through the wild melee, staying low to avoid the bullets. They ignored the death of their kin, the mindless demons were doing their job distracting the humans. The real mission belonged to them.

***

Von

Once more Von watched in awe as monsters fought.

Weaving a spell with his partner, they sent a spear of air into the throat of a particularly large and well armoured four armed demon. Working with a partner slowed their spells down a little, but sharing the work would help save their strength.

A fireball flew through the sky, landing on a wagon. Soldiers howled in agony, jumping to the ground trying to put out the flames. Someone cast a spell causing water to drench the wagon and soldiers. Civilians came running, moving the wounded to the centre of their camp.

“There,” he said, pointing at the flame spewing demon. It was almost impossible to see under a mound of dead and dying imps and dark hounds. Only it's head was visible, lit by flames that clung to its blackened beak.

He and his partner threw a spear at it, guiding it to its target. They couldn't hear its death cry, but the flames died and the mound sagged. They didn't rejoice at their kill, there were more demons to kill.

“SHIELD!” he shouted, acting purely on instinct to create a magical wall in the air.

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Dead trees fell from the sky all around the camp. Some shattered on the hastily formed shields, too many hit the ground, crushing people, living and dead alike. From the edge of the forest, enormous demons ripped more trees from the ground and sent them flying.

A new wave of demons charged into the battle. In the dim twilight they looked like a mass of insects, so numerous they hid the ground.

Casting a quick look back at the tent where Keir and three other mages were chanting. He had to shield his eyes at the ungodly amount of magic that made the tent glow like a sun. “Where is that spell Keir?” Von whispered.

***

As the demons tore through the dead forest they smelled the blood of their kin ahead of them. They heard the gunshots and shrieks of battle, blood lust roared to life, lashing them into a run. The smartest ones wondered how the humans could have held out for as long as they had. This wasn't one of their walled cities, there was no booming of artillery. The humans should be dead by now.

The rest didn't care. The first wave hadn't killed the humans, the second one would, or the third, or the fourth. They had come from all over the region, splitting into two armies. The majority were testing the human fortress, the rest were here destroying the humans foolish enough to enter their territory. They would crush the humans, just like they always had.

A tiny imp bounded through the dead trees to avoid the crush of demons on the ground. It chittered with joy at the coming battle, having never fought a human before. It had only been born a month ago, and its instincts cried out to slay a human and feast on their flesh.

It felt something tingle in its blood. In its short life, the imp had never felt anything like it before. For a moment it felt energized, full of life. Roaring it sped up, trying to reach the head of the horde. Then the feeling turned to a bitter cold, seemingly sapping its very life. It stopped its mad rush, clinging to the tree trunk, gasping, trying to understand what was happening.

The tree shook and cracked.

The imp shrieked in fear as the world moved.

Black tendrils wrapped around the dead wood, splitting it apart, and holding it together.

All around it the forest came to life.

Branches moved jerkily, reaching down to snatch up howling demons, smashing them together, throwing them high into the air, or piercing them with splintered, jagged wood.

Roots ripped free of the ground. The largest roots dug into the earth, dragging the tree forward. Smaller ones wrapped themselves around the necks of confused and frightened demons, strangling them.

The dead bushes and saplings gripped the demons legs holding them in place for the larger trees to crush and break them.

Claws and teeth tore at the wood. Blackness filled the gouges, keeping the undead plants upright and moving. Acid flew from some demons, melting some of the smaller plants into uselessness, demons caught in the spray screeched in pain.

Flames erupted from panicked demons, turning the dead and dry trees into flaming pyres of death. The fire spread burning plants and demons alike. The burning trees ripped their own branches off, throwing them far into the forest, spreading the flames.

Minutes after the surprise attack the forest was a wildfire of shrieking, dying demons, and undead trees using the last of their power to kill and burn anything that moved.

At the edge of the human lines the fighting was still going strong. The dead moved in groups struggling to hold back the demons while magic and bullets filled the air. Back-lit by the forest fire the demons, while numerous, were easy prey.

The shadow demon saw the faltering attack. It silently hissed in anger, the attack should not have been stopped so easily. Taking a risk, it sped up, it needed to kill the necromancer or the death of its kin would be for nothing.

“What!” a human said, seeing it move.

With inhuman speed, the shadow struck, slicing the head off the human and dragging it into the shadows in a matter of seconds. As it placed the body and head on the ground, it took a moment to hide the body under a cloak of shadows. No one would notice it for several minutes, long enough for it to complete its task.

The tent with the necromancer was just ahead.

It felt its three brothers circling the tent. Reaching out with its mind, it gave a single command, 'Kill.'

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