18th day of the month of the gray dragon (March) 2.30 PM

  Within hours of the battle, the two armies were already deployed on their respective fronts: on one side of the swamp stood the twelve thousand soldiers of the lizardmen army, equipped with clubs and incomplete armor; on the other stood the thirty thousand undead serving Almodeus. Most were low-level skeletons. Only a few undead exceeded level 20, and even fewer the level 10. Their arsenal consisted of simple iron armor and low-quality weapons.

  Knowing that their adversary's goal was to exterminate them, not conquer them, the lizardmen had divided their forces at several strategic points, first and foremost the village of Combust—where over seven thousand soldiers were stationed. Druso' plan was simple enough: force the enemy to attack the secondary villages with smaller forces and have them concentrate the bulk of their army on the fortified village of Combust, which would then withstand the assault until support from the neighboring villages arrived, thus squeezing the undead army in a pincer grip.

  To an outside observer, it might seem that the only difference between the two powers was the number of soldiers deployed, but Almodeus's army actually possessed two additional advantages: first, it was made up of undead, so it did not require sustenance or basic necessities; secondly, such a large presence of negative energy beings allowed the activation of the ability common to all low-level undead, namely Fake Friendship Treaty. Almodeus had noted that, in the new world, undead summoned through spells without the use of corpses would gradually lose health, until they disappeared after a few days. This could be avoided by summoning them en masse, allowing the passive skill Fake Friendship Treaty to ensure that each of them fed on the dark energy of others to remain active. Simply put, each undead became a parasite for the others of its race, being parasitized in turn.

  It was certainly a thorny situation for the lizardmen: the invading army was immune to hunger and fatigue—forcing them to waste resources defending themselves without even having to attack directly—and to make matters worse, it was far larger. Would they be able to repel the undead advance with only twelve thousand soldiers? Would the villages on the front survive this war, or would they be the first to fall to the accursed invader?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Ready for battle?"

  Hardshell, the general of Almodeus's army, asked excitedly. He was sitting in his camp, observing the battlefield through a screen linked to hidden drones. To say he was elated would be an understatement. His metal exoskeleton was vibrating for the ecstasy of battle.

  "Yes, you've asked me this a thousand times..."

  Frederica muttered, not very interested in the battle itself, but fearing the consequences of a possible failure.

  "Sorry to repeat myself, but I'm excited! This is our first war here, and it's a great honor!"

  The girl snorted at those words; how many times had she heard them in those days?

  He has an army of undead, yet he doesn't use it to his advantage...what an idiot.

  The most logical choice for Frederica—if she were in Hardshell's position—would be to wear down the enemy army with small skirmishes and attack during food shortages. It would have been slower, but much more effective than the tactic proposed by the colossus, which was a banal "attack until the last man falls." The robot was confident of his victory, not so much out of pride, but more due to a lack of information about his enemies and their capabilities. Hardshell hadn't even considered the possibility of defeat. He was so elated.

  "The victory I will give to my lord will be one that will remain in history forever!"

  "I think you're too sure of yourself."

  Frederica replied back.

  "Bullshit! My lord knows no defeat! Neither do his armies!"

  Hardshell yelled, banging his fist on the table.

  "If I lose, I'll let you use me as a chair, since you're always on your feet. You should rest a bit once in a while, you know?"

  He continued, confidently.

  "Really? Okay! I'm in! If you win, I'll only compliment you for a month, without any snide remarks or double meanings you can't understand. You in, big guy?"

  Frederica suggested, smiling and showing her fangs.

  "I'm all for it! I can't wait to win!"

  Hardshell responded, showing his metallic fangs in response.

  "If you say so... I'll make lunch. You just keep looking over everything, call me if you need anything!"

  The maid replied, retreating into the kitchen. That little discussion had served to distract her from her internal thoughts. She was absolutely sure.

  “She could try to be more cheerful, every now and then at least.”

  Hardshell grumbled, quite annoyed by his personal maid's coldness. However, he couldn't complain about her services; on the contrary, he found her extremely efficient and an excellent company. He found her fangs and tail particularly pleasing to the eye. He'd always wondered what it felt like to have one, and often got lost in watching the girl wag her tail. He'd been accused of being a pervert several times because Frederica thought he was looking at her ass, when Hardshell didn't even know why he'd be looking at her butt in the first place.

  Well...at least I got a nice maid. That's already a lot...

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Despite their apparent disinterest in the impending battle, the situation at the front was being closely monitored even at the Fear Tower, first by C and then by Almodeus himself, once he returned from some assignments as Amon. The ruler of fear sat in his chair, intently scanning the battlefield with his demonic ravens, projecting what they saw through the eye of the top hat he always wore.

  "How's it going, darling?"

  C asked, entering the office and sitting on her husband's lap, observing with him what the hair was projecting. Every now and then she returned to the Fear Tower with Talia, to breathe some fresh air and shed her facade of foreign noblewoman in the Empire.

  "There's no movement at the moment. Hardshell should attack shortly, according to his report..."

  "Wouldn't it be better to wait? We might exhaust the enemy army before delivering the final blow."

  "True, but I gave him the command. I want to see how he manages the forces assigned to him, it's part of the test!"

  "If you say so..."

  The woman concluded, leaning her back against her husband's chest. She wasn't convinced by Hardshell's choices, but decided to wait and watch. She wasn't as expert in battle as she was in economics, so it was best to avoid making comments that might be seen as inappropriate.

  "Have we heard from Shaco?"

  C asked. From what she knew, he had been sent as a spy into the orcs' territory. Something wasn't right between them and the trolls, and the information Almodea had provided was unfortunately incomplete enough to fully understand the situation.

  "No, unfortunately. We just know that he can't find the orcs. I'm not surprised; they're being used as slaves by the trolls, after all..."

  "Will it be safe to let him roam the forest alone?"

  "No, not at all! But would you rather making him go to help our daughter and cause damage to her city?"

  Almodeus's question earned C's silent assent. The further Shaco stayed from inhabited areas, the better. They could have sent one of his subordinates, like Sein, but the chief clown wouldn't have taken it kindly. Especially since he'd have to handle the paperwork the girl was currently dealing with.

  "Changing the subject, how is Almodea doing?"

  "Very good, my dear! It seems you're not so bad at running a small town."

  "I'm surprised! It's the first time we've given her something to command. It's definitely better than her driving skills..."

  Almodeus laughed at the memory his wife had triggered. He'd tried to get his daughter to get her driver's license once; it had been a complete disaster. He was pleased that she was now demonstrating sufficient leadership skills for a basic assignment. A smile spread across the Absolute Lord's face as an idea began to dawn on him.

  "You know, I'm thinking of a little experiment..."

  "Really, darling? Tell me everything! I'm curious!"

  Almodeus placed a hand on C's head and began to gently massage her crimson hair, shaking his head.

  "Maybe later, I still have to sort out some of the details."

  C snorted at that response, but decided not to ask further. She'd use her feigned irritation to get a little pampering.

  "Anyway...I wanted to talk to you about something that has nothing to do with the Dark Jade Forest."

  She began, looking at her husband. He nodded, urging the wife to continue.

  "I met an interesting human while I was in the Empire. Perhaps we could use her to our advantage. What do you think?"

  Almodeus smiled at those words, visibly intrigued. He increased the speed of the massage, always careful not to hurt his beloved. He noticed the slight blush his touch caused and smiled. Besides his daughter, C was the thing Almodeus cared about most.

  "Ohhh! I like it, my love! Tell me everything! I'm a curious one too..."

  “Sure, but go ahead and continue to massage me. I need you to pamper me more. I’m at a loss for attention, you know?”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  As at Fear Tower, the war had passed unnoticed in Almy's town, but only on the surface. The former village still appeared bright and cheerful, but in the governess's dwellings there was much activity. If Almodeus saw the battle between Hardshell and the lizardmen as a learning experience on that world, for his daughter it was like watching a movie at the cinema.

  "Come on! It's starting soon!"

  Almodea muttered, sitting on the floor in front of the sofa. She motioned for Shion to sit next to her and grab some drinks she'd set out on the table, not to mention something special she'd personally ordered.

  "Here I am, Lady Almodea!"

  "Did you bring them?"

  "Certainly! They were produced according to the directives of Sir Sergio!"

  The secretary pulled a bag of popcorn from her jacket. The sight made the younger girl's eyes sparkle, so much so that her pupils transformed into beating hearts. Dragon wings sprouted from her back and began to beat rapidly—that normally happened when Almodea was excited or happy.

  "You're the best, Shion! I adore you!"

  Almodea exulted, hugging the horned woman and taking the package, passing it to Ryu. The troll wasn't among the original guests, but he was allowed to participate in the war viewing under Hirashi's direction. She argued that an experienced warrior like Ryu could provide Almodea with valuable information and perhaps even give her experience in guerrilla tactics. Hirashi herself was skilled in that context, but she wanted her sister to be able to learn from subordinates as well, not just her supposed peers. Just because you're at the top of the chain of command doesn't mean you can view others as inferior.

  "Put those in the microwave!"

  "The...microwave?"

  The troll asked in confusion, looking at the bag in his hand. If he barely understood what a photo was, how could he possibly understand what a microwave could even be?

  "Yes! That white box next to the sink! Put them in and turn the dial until the number three comes up!"

  Ryu nodded and followed Almodea's directions, being careful not to break anything with his large hands.

  "Hey, it's not that hard after all! Much easier than using that big, weird box you call a washing machine!"

  He laughed, proud of his success in making popcorn.

  "Let's not talk about it, for goodness sake!"

  Almodea declared, remembering how much the troll had messed up the appliances. Not to mention that he was having trouble opening the microwave to get the cooked popcorn. Not everyone had adapted well to the new technologies introduced by the young demoness.

  "Here we are..."

  At that moment, Hirashi and Huna entered through the front door, carrying drinks and snacks. The two sat on the sofa behind Almodea and Shion, setting everything on the coffee table beside it. Now all the guests were there.

  "There you are! I'm surprised you took the day off, Hirashi. You're always so busy!"

  Almodea teased, laughing along with her bodyguard. The white giantess was always busy in the city, whether training recruits or building new homes. Mindless undead were certainly impressive, but why not use a mountain of muscle that actually had practical sense?

  "I left the training of the recruits to Hattori, and Yor is helping with the construction of the Dojo. So I'm free."

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  The stoic woman replied, completely immune to the other girl's barbs.

  "The fact is, it's not like you to entrust your work to others, big sis. Are you finally starting to enjoy life?"

  "Actually, Hattori and Yor insisted. Besides, it was Huna who begged me to agree to come."

  "It wouldn't hurt to say you're excited to see the war too! It'll be a great show!"

  Unusual as it may seem, Almodea had thrown a party at her house so she could watch the war remotely via a far-sight spell, complete with drinks and treats, treating the whole thing as if it were some sort of sporting event.

  "Lady Almodea, do you think it's right to take a war so lightly? Just a few kilometers from us, moreover?"

  Huna asked, using a tone that almost clashed with the rest of the audience: Almodea was excited; Shion had the usual smug—almost dazed—expression on her face; Hirashi remained stoic as usual, and Ryu was arguing with the microwave in the background, hurling insults left and right. The little priestess seemed the only one opposed to the idea of watching a war as if it were just a simple brawl between children.

  "Nahhh! It's all the lizardmen's fault! They should have submitted! Besides, who doesn't like to see a war that doesn't concern them?"

  Almodea replied confidently. She grabbed a glass and poured a fizzy drink into it, gulping the liquid down like a drunken football fan.

  "Maybe that's what you think, Almodea. You should have asked the others present too, you know? After all, the village of our two Oni here was recently destroyed. That was a war, too..."

  Hirashi stated coldly. Unlike Almodea, who was excited by the conflict, she appeared neutral as always. That was probably why Huna had insisted on her being present. Hirashi was the only one who could understand her point of view, not to mention that she was the only one capable of questioning Almodea's thinking.

  "I didn't force Shion and Huna to come here! I asked for their consent, just so you know!"

  The crimson-haired girl replied, puffing out her cheeks like a child and flapping her wings, looking offended. She leaned even more against her bodyguard, continuing to use her as a pillow.

  "We both know they could never say no to you..."

  The two Oni nodded slightly at Hirashi's harsh truth. They were too loyal and obsessed with the demoness's attentions, especially Shion.

  "Oh...I didn't think of that."

  Almodea's excitement abruptly collapsed. She hadn't even considered that her two friends might not enjoy the show as much as she did. She felt like an idiot and a terrible person for having indirectly forced them. Almodea suddenly turned and took her bodyguard's hands in her own, intertwining their fingers.

  "Shion...you're okay with watching the war, right? Be honest, please!"

  With a sad look, the demon girl approached her best friend, leaving practically no space between the two.

  "Oh, I don't mind! I love spending time with you, Lady Almodea! Whatever you want to do!"

  To everyone's surprise—even Hirashi's—Shion's answer seemed sincere. This revived Almodea's enthusiasm, and she hugged the secretary tightly. It was like watching a koala cling to its tree.

  "That's great! Anyway, forgive me for not taking your opinion into account a little earlier. You're my best friend! There's no point in doing all this if we're not both having fun!"

  "Okay, Lady Almodea!"

  "And what about you, Huna? Tell me what you think..."

  Called into question, the little priestess covered part of her face with her kimono. Her reaction was different, almost opposite, to Shion's.

  "I'm not very happy to witness a massacre, but the presence of you and Lady Hirashi gives me the strength to bear this burden. I only ask permission to look away if there's blood..."

  "Of course! In case it makes you feel too uncomfortable, you have Hirashi next to you! Think of her as a big pillow! I can tell you it's just as comfortable as Shion!"

  Almodea suggested jokingly, smiling at the little Oni, who blushed at the mere thought of leaning on her superior for support. It was an extremely embarrassing thing to do, especially for her, who wasn't at all accustomed to physical contact with other people.

  "B-But, that would be disrespectful! I-I can't be so direct towards Lady Hirashi!"

  Huna stammered, trying to hide her blush.

  "It is fine for me."

  Hirashi commented frankly, completely indifferent.

  "B-But, Lady Hirashi! It's not proper etiquette, and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable!"

  The blush on Huna's face deepened further as she heard the colossus seem to agree with the idea. Did no one in their family know shame or social distancing?

  "I'm used to it. You don't know how many Almodea T-shirts she's soaked in tears..."

  Hirashi replied, with a very slight mocking tone directed at the her sister who, however, was too busy cuddling with Shion to answer her.

  "O-Okay...then thank you for your help, Lady Hirashi!"

  Huna concluded, trying to calm herself. It was all so straightforward for her; her culture involved many more rules and distance between people of different ranks. Shion, on the other hand, had no problem being clingy with Almodea, despite following the same culture as the Sacred Priestess. It was in those moments that the pink-haired Oni envied the frivolous and immature nature of the woman with the light purple hairdo.

  "I'm glad you're not having any problems."

  Almodea admitted, smiling.

  "Don't worry, I can handle it with Lady Hirashi's help...And Shion is too stupid to develop a trauma."

  Huna commented ironically, expecting a response from the other Oni. Instead, Shion smiled and nodded happily, slapping her fist on her chest as if trying to demonstrate her strength.

  "True! I have no problems, Lady Almodea!"

  The demoness had to use all her strength to hold back her laughter, while Shion began to think about the sentence and realized what she had just said or- rather- confirmed.

  "Hey! I'm not stupid, Huna! I'm strong!"

  Shion muttered, blushing with embarrassment and puffing out her cheeks in a similar way to Almodea's earlier. The two were indeed very similar. If in the previous scenario it had been Shion who supported Almodea's feigned insult, now it was the other way around.

  "But you admitted it, eh eh !"

  Huna teased her, laughing at her friend's childish reaction, which contradicted her mature appearance, accentuated by her secretary clothes.

  "Calm down, you two..."

  Almodea interrupted them, clapping her hands. They were here to watch a war, not to argue. Besides, the conflict was about to begin, and she wanted to enjoy it as much as possible in Shion's arms, using his thick chest as a pillow—it did wonders for her wings.

  "But, Lady Almodea! She called me stupid!"

  The older Oni moaned, puffing out her cheeks further.

  "Shion, you're not stupid..."

  Almodea resources, taking her with one arm at her side and holding her close.

  "...You're just different, and I like you that way! You're not my gorgeous bodyguard for nothing!"

  The girl concluded, giving Shion a kiss on the cheek and slightly increasing her grip until she felt the other woman's large chest against her own, more contained one.

  "L-Lady Almodea...I don't know what to say! No one has ever treated me like this! I'm honored to serve you!"

  Shion commented, blushing and returning the hug. Being with Almodea made her feel strange, especially since she'd never met anyone who appreciated her so much.

  "What a cute thing."

  Commented Hirashi, remaining stoic. The girl next to her, however, disagreed.

  “Lucky one! The kisses of Lady Almodea always go to her! Umpf!"

  Huna wasn't jealous of Shion, but she didn't like being the only one left out of the praise right now. Deep down, she was truly happy that her friend had found someone who loved her so deeply.

  "Ohhh! Is starting! Is starting! Pass me the popcorn and the coke!"

  Almodea commented, pointing to the magically created screen in front of them; there seemed to be some movement. However, no one noticed that Ryu was still having trouble opening the microwave...

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  18th day of the month of the gray dragon (March) 3:30 PM

  Black clouds began to darken the sky above Combust village, signaling the advance of the undead army. As the lizardmen had predicted, the enemy had deployed approximately eighteen thousand soldiers to assault the village, dividing the remaining forces into three sub-armies of four thousand soldiers each, which were directed at the villages below.

  The invaders' plan was all too obvious: attack head-on and destroy everything. Unfortunately for them, it was easily foreseen by Druso, who prepared countermeasures, such as further fortifying the villages and dividing the soldiers so that—even if one front fell—the remaining ones would not be overwhelmed by enemy troops arriving from the defeated outposts.

  "Brother, are they coming?"

  Tiberio asked, looking into the distance and scrutinizing unclear movements. A strange fog surrounded the enemy army's position, as if to prevent anyone from immediately spotting them.

  "Yes! There are a lot of them! Gather the rest of the hero team!"

  The major didn't need to be told twice and called all the remaining members of the Six Heroes to assemble, who climbed the walls and joined Druso on the watchtower. By now, the nearby soldiers had emerged into the open and were advancing in a compact force. The enemy commander was still nowhere to be seen, for some reason.

  "My men, listen!"

  Tiberio began, turning to the lizard-man army behind him, made up of the bravest young men in the Kingdom, and also many veterans who had bravely returned from retirement.

  "It's true, they outnumber us, but we have nothing to fear! For the first time in history, the lizardmen are united in a common front! We will dedicate this war to the Crimson Dragon, who will serve it to our ancestors in the afterlife! Enter the battlefield and bring glory to their name! For Lizard Magnus and Prince Gabiru! For the Lizardmen!"

  All the soldiers began to applaud in acclamation at those words. With a single speech, Tiberio had raised the army's morale to an unprecedented level.

  "Charge up!"

  He shouted, drawing his BF Sword and pointing it at the enemy army, ordering his soldiers to attack. Hundreds of them poured out of the fort and advanced fearlessly toward the enemy ranks, who, however, advanced more slowly and with less vigor, given their undead nature.

  The war for the survival of the lizardman race had just begun.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The battle heated up from the first moments. Despite their enormous numerical disadvantage, the lizardmen charged like furious lions, breaking through and annihilating the first two enemy lines; they encountered resistance only at the third one. The soldiers had been ordered to attack, destroy as many enemies as possible, and then retreat once covering fire began from the rear. This prevented the enemy from surrounding and exterminating them, thus lessening the impact of the undead army's numerical advantage.

  However, the undead did not stand idly by. From the flanks of their ranks, soldiers astride steeds also made of bone began to advance. These were Skeleton Knights, level 22 monsters with base stats superior to those of normal skeletons, and armed with long spears for ramming and short swords for close combat. There were about a hundred of them, and they traversed and approached from the rear, uniting in a single triangular formation. Although the lizardmen had anticipated the possibility of enemy knights, their speed of action was greater than expected. This allowed the Skeleton Knights to reap numerous victims among the lizardmen ranks.

  "Looks like they've deployed their secret weapon!"

  Tiberio commented, watching his companions' formation crumble under the heavy attack of the undead knights. He had to admit, those troops were truly prodigious, as well as powerful; a single one of those skeletal knights could easily eliminate dozens of lizardmen without taking any damage during the charge.

  "True. Their plan seems to be to surround us with cavalry and exterminate us. Simple, but effective!"

  Sakka retorted, ordering the allied rearguard to fire, trying to inflict as many casualties as possible on the rapidly approaching mounted enemy. As the best sniper, he had been tasked with managing the archers. There were few of them, but their speed of reloading and accuracy allowed to unleash a hail of arrows on the enemy. Unfortunately, the enemy infantry were skeletons, so the bullets had little effect. Knowing this, Sakka had the druids infuse some of the arrows with magic, allowing them to inflict greater damage.

  "Grrr! I want to fight! I'm feeling like fighting!"

  Kan grumbled, before being approached by Shark.

  "Patience Kan...patience! The time...will come!"

  Despite struggling to speak, the old hero made himself understood by the monk, who sat on the wall, waiting. It was then that he saw the enemy knights halt, held back by their troops thanks to the use of the swamp water, which had concealed some previously prepared sticky traps. Druso had thought of everything, and Sakka's reconnaissance had been essential in preparing countermoves for almost every eventuality.

  "Here we go! I say we activate our countermove!"

  Tiberio intervened, ordering some soldiers to use a crude catapult. It was an unreliable weapon, but now the enemy knights were perfectly positioned: stationary exactly where they wanted them. The catapult hurled a huge boulder at the undead mounted soldiers, instantly killing more than half the troop and knocking the rest off their horses. The lizard troops in the front line immediately moved to eliminate the fallen knights, taking advantage of the fact that they were still equipped with lances and had not had time to switch to the swords for close combat.

  "Attack!"

  One of the front-line soldiers shouted, leading a powerful charge toward the enemy troops, but was quickly killed by a hail of flaming arrows. The undead army was changing tactics. After the cavalry's failure, it seemed to be opting for a ranged attack with longbowmen, supported by the remaining unshielded infantry.

  "Shit! They've locked themselves in defense! Cowards!"

  Kan complained. He didn't really think his enemies were cowards, but since they were undead, they should have fought with less brains and more brawn, as the monk liked to do.

  "It's not a bad thing, actually. It means we're winning..."

  Sakka pointed out, licking his lips. His arm was raised, ready to lower it to order his men to fire a second wave of arrows. He couldn't do that now, otherwise he would risk hitting his own allies, still trying to retreat from the enemy's hail of fire.

  "I do not understand..."

  Druso muttered doubtfully.

  "Me too! I can't understand what's happening! Where is their commander? Do they think just having a numerical advantage can defeat us?"

  Tiberio added.

  "Waste their forces! As long as...you can..."

  Though delivered with difficulty, Shark's words were clear to everyone.

  "You're right, Shark! There has to be a general somewhere! No one would be so stupid as to send mindless undead alone! We must be ready!"

  Druso retorted. He was absolutely certain that Almodeus had sent an extremely powerful unit to serve as general, probably on par with Hirashi. It was the least he expected from the enemy army.

  "I agree with you, brother! Hey! Does anyone know how things are going in the other villages?"

  Tiberio asked, moving toward some hunters, Sakka's subordinates. From what he was told, it seemed that the other villages had also managed to contain the enemy armies, who no longer enjoyed of the numerical advantage.

  "Hey! Look over there!"

  Lulu shouted, pointing to three huge mud monsters emerging from the swamp.

  "What the hell are those things?!"

  Kan asked, scratching his head in confusion.

  "Mud Elementals, and they're on our side!"

  Lulu explained, turning to some druids behind them, who were still reciting the summoning ritual. Here was the secret weapon of her faction, a high-level monster capable of tireless combat. The creature's only real drawback, besides the exorbitant mana cost to summon, was that its attack power diminished as the monster itself lost energy. Simply put, it was a creature that needed to be exploited in the short term.

  "Joining forces is truly wonderful!"

  The druid continued, smiling.

  "Yes, this war has given me many ideas for improving our lives. I hope I live long enough to propose them to the King."

  Druso replied, moving his tail and twisting it around Lulu's, who blushed suddenly.

  "I hope so too..."

  She finished, returning to her observation of the battlefield, leaning on the lizard man who in that short space of time had become her lover.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Impossible!

  Hardshell was stunned, to say the least. He was losing across all the board, and the situation was only getting worse. The Mud Elementals were joined by support from the other attacked villages, who had managed to repel the mini-undead armies. At first he couldn't believe it, yet the images he was seeing through the far-sight spells were all real, unfortunately.

  "Damn!"

  The robot complained, slamming his fist on the table and making it flip like a tortilla.

  "I didn't expect that they would be able to keep their spirits so high and push us back so easily."

  He declared out loud, holding back from destroying everything within reach.

  “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What can I do? I can't afford to lose!”

  Despite his irritated tone, Hardshell felt only respect and admiration for the lizardmen warriors. He burned with the desire to take to the battlefield and face them personally, but the robot had been forbidden to do so and could not disobey his master's orders—especially in front of a subordinate like Frederica. Hardshell was her superior; he had to set an example. That's what the she-wolf in question had told him, at least.

  "I only have one choice left..."

  He eyed a small suitcase sitting on a cabinet in the room and had Frederica bring it to him, after having tidied up the overturned table.

  "What's in here, Hardshell?"

  The she-wolf asked, placing the suitcase in front of the colossus.

  "Lord Almodeus has provided me with yet another weapon to use in this war..."

  The robot replied, opening the box and revealing three playing cards, each depicting a different creature. They were experimental monsters that Almodeus had given Hardshell as potential generals to use in battle. He hadn't summoned any yet, believing it unnecessary to waste a gift from his sovereign on a war he believed was already won. Unfortunately, he was soon proven wrong.

  He told me to use at least one...maybe it's already too late, but I can't allow the name of the Absolute Almodeus to be covered up!

  After a moment of hesitation, he decided what to do. Defeat was absolutely intolerable, and he would have to do everything he could to win, while still staying within the limits imposed on him. He picked up the card on the right and center, depicting a red creature and a black one respectively and threw them into the air. A furious, bestial battle cry followed.

  "General Scratcher! General Darkbright! Step forward and show your loyalty to our Absolute Lord! Repay the new life he has offered you!"

  The cards spontaneously caught fire and burned to ashes, a sign that the creature connected to it had been successfully summoned.

  Let's see how you fare against some monsters empowered by my brother, Shockwave! Show Lord Almodeus what you've got before your inevitable demise, lizardmen...

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  The battle for Combust Village was nearly over. Only a few thousand undead remained to be eliminated, and with support from nearby fronts, the lizardmen now had the numerical advantage.

  "Move forward! They're exhausted!"

  One of the soldiers on the front lines shouted, after reducing yet another skeleton to a pile of broken bones. It was well known that, to completely eliminate an undead of that lowly level, one had to completely break it to pieces, to prevent it from reassembling itself.

  "Take the wounded to the druids! We—"

  A sound, like a bang or a gunshot, interrupted the young man. The lizard soldier felt a pang in his chest. He looked down and saw a large hole near his heart position. He had been hit. Although the wound was tiny in diameter, it hurt so much that he couldn't move easily.

  "W-What? H-How-"

  A second shot, this time aimed at the head, silenced him forever. Before dying, the soldier could only hear ghostly laughter, more roars similar to those that had preceded his wounds, and a shrill, evil voice screaming in the distance.

  "You are just inferior beings! Prepare to be destroyed by the endless might of the Absolute Lord!"