The battle is swift, our victory already assured. The Cinari alive, however, are too stubborn to give up as they continue fighting a losing battle. Annoying, I want to sit back and eat something. However, tonight is a good night. After spending almost a week in the desert, we are finally rewarded for our efforts. We shall fight them, and we shall kill them.

  ‘Keep formation!’ I shout before tapping the shoulder of one of my soldiers to signal that we need to advance as we march across the trench line in search of their command centre. Killing any stragglers along the way while the main force holds their position in case of a counterattack.

  A young Cinari jumps out from the corner with a strange hammer in hand. All I need to do is raise my small crossbow to their head and pull the trigger. Blasting a hole through their stupid face and killing them before they can dent my armour. The fool isn’t alone as more Cinari join in the assault against me and my five warriors, all too wielding hammers. An ambush, but pointless.

  After latching my crossbow to my belt. My sword hisses as I pull it out of its scabbard. It is thirsty for their blood, and so am I. One by one, I cut them down. Slicing them into pieces and ensuring their blood coats my black armour. Surprisingly, they manage to kill a few of my men by hitting them over the head or directly at the chest. Pathetic! With the best weapons in our arsenal, my soldiers can’t even use their crossbows to their full potential. But it doesn’t matter, knife-eared bastards made the mistake of going against me!

  The last surviving Cinari whimpers after I slash at their stomach to disembowel them. She falls to their knees, holding her entrails and doing everything in her power to put them back in. With a smile, I flatten her large intestine with a single stomp. That’ll kill the bitch slowly.

  ‘Leave her, she is already dead.’ I order my two surviving soldiers. A shame the other two died, but I can live.

  I should’ve chosen better candidates who can survive longer than two seconds. Though I suppose that is the nature of war. Not everyone is going to be lucky or capable enough to hold off on their own. Yet they were with their king. They should know better than dying without my permission.

  Sheathing my sword to grab my crossbow and racking it to load a second bolt. Resting the crossbow on top of my shield before continuing my advance through their trench line. Stepping over the bodies of my comrades and Cinari alike. Even making sure not to accidentally step on a trap.

  The trench system seems sophisticated; they have ballistas set up and ready to take us on. But it is still pitiful; their traps were obvious and barely effective. If they have their sky beast with them, they might actually have a chance of beating us. I might even have to apologise to my reserves for not joining in on the fun. The battle for this line is too easy, even for me.

  Eventually, I enter the command centre of sorts to see Karl being tended to by his own men. He lets out a sharp groan as they pull out a crossbow bolt from his abdomen; some idiot must’ve shot him by mistake. If he didn’t wear his armour, the bolt would’ve gone through him.

  ‘Damn, I thought you’d get shot as well.’ He jokes with a pained grunt.

  I ignore him as I look over the map on the table. Scanning for any details on where some mines are, towns, and even nearby fortifications. Nailed to the wall of the command centre is the body of a dark-skinned Cinari, next to him is a strange row of bells. The trench where I was has fewer bells than this. A bizarre decoration to say at least. Perhaps they installed it as a competition to see who had the most bells in their trench.

  ‘Is the area secured?’ I ask Karl.

  ‘Most of it should be, I’ve sent scouts out…’ he grunts as a nurse touches a bolt. ‘I think we have the area under control.’

  Good, the first phase of the invasion is complete. I know Midrax will be alive. If there is anything I can say about him, it is that he is impossible to kill. Though I am unsure about Karl, he is seriously injured. A lieutenant we now have to carry around and waste our resources on.

  ‘Can he fight?’ I question the nurse.

  ‘Well, yes, I…’

  ‘I wasn’t talking to you.’ I cut Karl off. The idiot got shot by his own men. He is in no position to speak on his own health.

  The nurse examines Karl’s wound after they slide the metal plate off the bolt. ‘It didn’t hit anything important, I think he’ll be fine. The bolt will be removed, and he should be back in action in a few days.’

  ‘Good.’ I apathetically say, it seems he won’t go to waste.

  Karl bites on a stick as the nurse pulls the bolt out of him. He screams and groans in agony, but he’ll live. I can give the young man some credit; he did advance through the trenches quicker than I have. Perhaps with fewer casualties as well. We’ll make sure to count our losses in the morning, but I am satisfied with how things turned out.

  Some Dogs, starving from their walk through the desert, have already cut off the limbs of the Cinari and are roasting their flesh over their fires. One even cheers that they found their supply cellar. I’ll make sure to raid it myself to grab anything tasty at some point.

  Jackle enters the command centre soon after, his hood covered in foliage and mud, while his crossbow is loaded and cocked back. I’ve sent him out to go around the trenches, to scout ahead if there might be any Cinari reinforcements or anything of interest. If he is here, then we must be ready for more of those knife-eared bastards.

  ‘Anything to report?’ I say to him.

  ‘Nothing to note, there are no Cinari forces coming here or nearby and the ones here are holding the line, however, barely. Those pockets of resistance will not pose a problem. But, one of them wants to deliver you a message.’

  Two Dogs carry a tanned Cinari into the command centre the moment Jackle clicks his fingers. His eyes are strange, being narrower than the other Cinari I have fought. He doesn’t have the typical violet eyes except his are brown. With a wave of my hand, the Dogs throw the beasts to the ground before me with a loud thud.

  I point my sword at the creature, ‘what is the message?’

  He tries to stand, but I make sure to put my sword on his shoulder to tell him he shouldn’t do that unless he wants to find out what the consequences are.

  ‘I came under the orders of General Volas Regali, to request you participate in discussing our terms of war.’

  Terms of war? Others and I laugh in his face, a clearly made-up term just to save his own skin. However, that name, Volas Regali, sounds familiar. ‘Tell me, why should I keep you alive?’

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The man doesn’t flinch, except he stares me down like he has some leverage. ‘Failure to respond to the terms will have dire consequences.’

  ‘Such as?’ I mockingly reply. There is nothing that they can do to threaten me. They are grasping at straws at this point. Trying their best to prevent their eventual downfall.

  ‘We have authority and control of all the mines and plantations. If we don’t discuss terms, well, let’s just say nothing is stopping us from executing every Dog there. As it is strategically advantageous to kill any potential reinforcements before they can be used by you.’

  Clever, how clever of them to pull that on me. In truth, it won’t matter. I have enough soldiers to butcher his army and enslave his people. Them killing the Dogs of the North won’t hurt my advances. Instead, it will only motivate my soldiers to fight harder and faster just to save their comrades.

  However, it makes me wonder what else these terms will consist of? Regardless of whether it is a joke or not, I might as well discuss it with their leader. Just to see who I am dealing with.

  ‘Alright, I’ll accept to discuss your terms. But on one condition, we’ll meet on neutral ground, unarmed, and both of us will have a bodyguard of our choice.’ I emphasise the last part, not because it is necessary, but so I can make the whole meeting as inconvenient for them as possible. Unarmed but with a guard? Can’t think of a funnier joke myself.

  ‘I’ll see them on Brolda Hill during sunrise.’ I say after glancing at the map on the wall to pick a meeting location that is convenient to me.

  The creature nods, ‘okay, may I go now? I need to relay the message to my General.’ I gesture at the two Dogs to escort him out of my sight. Though I’ll need to catch some rest for tomorrow, being sluggish for a meeting will only cause further problems. How can I appreciate my joke if I am tired?

  ‘Karl! Notify Midrax to get here and that we will meet with the Cinari leadership in the morning. Bring the reserves here and start setting up camp. Wake me up if we are under attack.’

  I leave the room before Karl can respond to my command. For now, I’ll be more occupied with getting a meal.

  The journey to camp is uneventful. It seems all the Cinari either retreated or were killed off during my assault. Only a few hours of proper fighting, and it is all over. A shame, though it is the reality of war. I can’t expect the first battle to be the most difficult or eventful. No, they will have something up their sleeves that will cause me some trouble. They always do.

  My soldiers patrol around the trench system, seeing if the area is safe for us to rest in for the night. Others are hauling equipment and supplies, turning this once fortified trench line into our new base of operations. I will need to change up the trenches in case the Cinari decide to charge in for a counterattack in the days to come. With how the crossbows performed, I’m sure we can hold them off before reinforcements from the South can arrive to continue our war against their wretched kind.

  I find an unattended fire still burning in what seems to be the cooking area, though it is struggling to stay alight. I’m in no rush to rest, but I am rather hungry.

  The wood cracks and sizzles as I place a log into the fire before sitting down. A chilling breeze rushes over me. It is a familiar one as well. There will be snow soon, and the frost will also come alongside it. From one extreme to another, we faced the scourging desert sun, and soon we must face winter's cold embrace. A story worth telling to our future generations, and showing the world that we are not to be underestimated.

  A large, bulking figure approaches me with the body of a Cinari on one hand, with its head missing. Midrax, no one can mistake him for anyone else. Though for a large man, he came here as fast as he could.

  ‘Not a big fan of the head?’ I say to him.

  Midrax sits down in front of me and begins removing the clothes and armour and throwing them to the side. ‘Never did, always hated the texture.’

  I can’t help but chuckle, a man with his appetite having a preference based on texture. ‘You're sharing?’

  Using his axe, Midrax taps at which part I want to feast on. Feeling a bit excited, I gesture to the right leg and feet. Even though it is a bit bony, the meat is the most tender.

  He cuts up the meat and chucks it near the coals of the fire. ‘I got news about tomorrow morning. Why do we have to talk to them?’

  ‘I want to know who is in charge, maybe have a laugh as well.’

  Midrax chuckles, ‘and let me guess. You want me there to scare them?’

  ‘Well, the biggest Dog on the island being there will most likely make them cower. Especially their new General. If this is their defence plan against me. They clearly never fought a Dog in their life.’

  Midrax and I joke with each other on what the Cinari will do in the negotiations, how they will do when they shit themselves when Midrax speaks. He believes they will surrender on the spot. Personally, I think the Cinari will do the right thing and try to fight me to the last man. Them giving up after we attacked the trench will make the whole journey meaningless if the end result is so easy. In truth, I only half paid attention to him while I gorge on Cinari flesh. Who would’ve imagined feet will be this succulent at this time of the year?

  ‘Marak,’ Midrax says before he calms himself down from laughing. ‘Any plans after the war?’

  A foolish question, the war won’t realistically be over as long as the Cinari live. ‘Do what I always do, lead our people. Us winning won’t change anything.’

  ‘Well, I want to have a place of my own. Fuck every magnificent cunt and ass I see, eat good food, and grow fat from happiness.’

  I raise a brow, ‘so you want to live a gluttonous life?’

  ‘No point to continue fighting if we win, besides, I love the idea of being entertained by my own pets. I’ll tell you, when I capture my own Verns, I’ll make sure to put them into good use.’ He proudly announces, ignoring the fact that Verns have a use besides being his personal entertainment. They can give us information, even teach us valuable things that can help us survive in the long run.

  ‘I won’t object if you have your own pets, but make sure that if you capture anyone of importance, you’ll deliver them to me.’

  ‘Always.’ Without anything more to add, I make my leave to find a decent place to sleep. Now that my stomach is full and happy, I can rest easy knowing that the rest of my army will be the same.