Another Attempt

The morning after the battle of Oblivion left the human army battered but not in bad spirits. Their plans had mostly worked, repelling the horde of abominations from infiltrating the city.

Only the single wolf in the first assault had managed to make it to the ground alive. All others perished without reaching their goal.

Renat's scientific tricks had worked wonders for them. Devrim had to admit that his son-in-law might not be a great warrior, but he was still very valuable to have in a battle.

Cunning killed more than brute strength ever could. Overall the skirmish had ended in their favor. The wolves had retreated back to a safe distance, and for now did not seem keen on trying an assault in the daylight.

The only thing that had not worked as expected was the catapult. At first when the wolves had begun to retreat, Devrim thought that he had hit his mark and the ranks were falling apart.

Alas, when the sun rose, Livie was spotted by one of the scouts as being in the company of the tan wolf who had urged them to fall back and a previously unseen silver wolf. It had been a tactical retreat, but not a permanent one.

But a win was a win, and Devrim would happily take it.

That was not to say things had been perfect. The creatures had killed many of the imperial army on the north battlement and others on both the north and south walls had been scratched or bitten.

Devrim had seen the last of the gruesome transformations. The poor soldier had fought the wild rage so much that he had passed out, but in the end he had survived, so some part of him had submitted to the vile corruption.

'Is this what Renat went through?' the Emperor wondered grimly. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

More than a hundred people had been infected and a little over half survived. Those that had were now mercurial in nature and set off by any intense emotion.

It was like having a bunch of burst balls ready to go off but not knowing when or where they would be thrown. It put the entire city on edge.

Leaving the prison chamber of the most recent transformation, Devrim heaved a heavy sigh. He had checked in mid-morning to see if things had improved from his last visit. They had not.

The Emperor took off his helmet, which he had been wearing to protect himself and headed down the hall to find a moment of peace. It had been a long night.

A general followed him out of the room. "Your Majesty, what shall we do with him?"

Devrim scrunched his face, and answered with a heavy heart. "Wait until he is back in his right mind and then escort him to be with the rest. For now, we must keep them contained."

The general bowed and then saluted his understanding. "Yes, Sire."

For a moment the Emperor was left alone to process his thoughts. They had warded off a good number of the wolves, but more still stood out there taunting him. Each was ready to kill or create others like them.

Which was the deeper concern of the Emperor. The creatures out there could alter all of humanity forever.

Or worse, wipe humanity as they knew it off of the face of the earth. Either the abominations would have to be eliminated or humans would forever have to be concerned that they could unwillingly be turned into these horrors.

The only comfort Devrim has is that Livie had let the women and children leave without turning them into horrid creatures like her minions. Her goal, at least for now, was not to annihilate all of humanity.

But how long would it be before someone else decided to go on a rampage. The Valiant Empire was in a perilous game of tug of war. If the abominations won, it would alter history forever.

'I cannot let that happen...' Devrim resolved that if he could not thoroughly beat the abominations here and now, then he would keep the monstrous army focused on him as long as possible. Once the battle was over, any remaining forces of Livie would likely return to wherever Taran was hiding.

That would prove additional trouble for Mairwen and her little band. They needed as few obstacles as possible to hope to find and rescue Dania.

It would be easier to engage Taran with Devrim's army backing the twins, but the grey-eyed man had an inkling that they would do better at least at first without his help. A small smile came to his face.

"Those four are a force to be reckoned with. Taran won't see them coming."

A scout came running down the hall. Devrim winced. 'Running is never good...'

"Sire!" he said, falling to his knees. He had obviously run a great distance.

"Has Junayd been found?" Devrim was willing to forego sleep if one of his closest friends had been found.

The advisor had not been seen since leaving the battlement the night before, and the Emperor was understandably concerned. His heart sank as the scout shook his head.

"At the gate, there is a problem," the soldier huffed, barely able to get out more.

"What kind of problem?" Devrim was already on the move. Replacing his helmet, he rushed to Ashleigh's stable to borrow a horse for himself and the winded messenger.

"There are monsters at the gate. They are trying to get in." The soldier finally explained.

"Those doors have been standing for hundreds of years. They are far too thick for anything to breach. Those wolves and lizards are going to fail." Devrim was confident that not even the sharp claws, which he had witnessed at close range, could penetrate the indomitable wood and metal of the city gates.

There was a reason they had tried to climb the walls the night before. The gate was a dead end.

"It isn't the wolves or the lizards. These things are....something else entirely." The soldier looked ahead as they approached the gate. A rumbling sound echoed down the road toward them.

Devrim's eyes opened wide. 'What could cause such a tremor?'

A sharp crack broke through the momentary silence followed by another shaking of the ground. There was a rhythm to the interchanging sounds and shaking. It was like some terrifying drummer had begun to wreak havoc on the world.

Devrim soon realized he wasn't that far off.

After dismounting and reaching the top of the battlement, the Emperor could barely believe his eyes. Renat had mentioned bear-like creatures, but Devrim had not really understood what he had meant.

The monsters were much larger than either the wolves or the lizards. The giants were nearly twice as tall as a normal human and their girth was nearly as massive.

The four beasts held with them a battering ram attached to a large structure with a set of pulleys. It took all of their muscle to pull back the ram and let it hit the door with its full force.

'Did they just build this or have they been holding this in reserve,' Devrim wondered. He realized that trying to use it the night before would have given away the element of surprise, but why bother using it now? Livie was up to something.

"Why did no one come to find me when they were getting it into position?!" Devrim hollered at no one in particular. "We could have hit it with the catapult."

Those around him would not meet his eye. The one who finally spoke gave an apologetic bow. "They distracted us by making us think they would attack elsewhere then used the cover of the forest to come up from the west. We sent a messenger as soon as we knew what was happening, but they were already too close."

So Livie hadn't exactly run away with her tail between her legs. She still had some plans. The question is what were they.

The monsters were covered in thick fabric, making the archers' arrows unable to penetrate to their skin. The few shafts which had slipped past the protection seemed to be stopped by the creatures' thick white fur. Or if they hadn't the cuts were having no effect.

Another boom caused the battlement to shiver. Devrim stepped to one side to keep from falling over. It took them about a minute for the large creatures to crank back the impossibly large stump and release it into the Oblivion's gate.

The thick door rattled, and bowed slightly. The sight made Devrim sick to his stomach. With enough time, they might actually be successful.

"Build a barricade! Use anything and everything you can to stop the gates from breaking," he yelled down to the men on the ground nearby. Word spread among the citizens, and soon a steady stream of furniture was being carried out into the street and strategically piled against the gate.

It was good to see the people inside the town were not giving into their fear. They were still ready to protect themselves.

The question was...

Would it be enough?

If Devrim didn't think fast, he was sure it would not be.