AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

“I don’t think they’re gonna show up…”

Samia kept her eyes on the locator, but her perception was also focused on the hoodied boy standing beside her. Although he had sworn an oath, she didn’t trust it. After all, they could have missed a loophole, and though Akino had never shown any hostility, a month ago, he was part of the enemy forces. Even so, she felt relieved after freeing him.

As the boy recovered, it became more uncomfortable and dangerous to maintain him restrained. The bubble retrains weren’t that reliable, at least not for prolonged use. According to the Ministry of Defense's tests, a Mage or a Fighter could break it with enough force once it was weakened, which would happen after some time of use.

Fortunately, a few days ago, command sent an oath binder through the bat messenger. Even though altering the soul was dangerous, the oath had become common amongst those who worked for AK’s government, especially in the Ministry of Defense. All agents, soldiers, watchers, and even helpers, were required to take the oath.

Of course, her orders were to offer the oath as an option to the restrains, and Akino accepted it once he understood how it worked. Thankfully, his former army slave status wasn’t soul binding, like the private-owned slaves. In fact, this was the standard procedure since the soulbond would require a singular master, and an army slave wouldn’t be worth the price of the bond. On the other hand, if he were a bonded slave, the consequences of the oath would be unpredictable.

So, Akino had sworn an oath to never go against AK’s interests, which Samia clearly stated to avoid any “misunderstandings”.

The shadow turned to the bored Fighter and answered:

“They’re here.”

Aside from the oath, she had received another mission. To observe the Sandine attack, which would probably happen in the next few days. Though they knew the capabilities of the enhanced weapons, they still had to discover how efficient they would be in the hands of the Beastkin. Additionally, command wanted to estimate their strength, both Kingdom’s and the Sandine’s.

***

The dark cover of the night extended through the arid southernmost lands of the Kingdom. On this moonless night, hidden figures moved silently towards the Oasis. This auspicious night had been chosen both by convenience and luck. Though the rage had been overflowing the Sandines ever since they lost the Oasis, the means for revenge only arrived three days ago. Since then, they were eager for payback, and now, it was finally time.

Instead of attacking with their entire army, which would definitely spoil any surprise attempt, they decided to attack with a small team. The plan was to surprise the enemy at night and hit them hard before retreating. They didn’t plan to reconquer the Oasis right now as it would be unrealistic, at least until they got enough enhanced weapons.

After training with them, they realized the enhancements were even stronger than they initially estimated. The bull tribe had only brought 50 weapons (machetes, axes, and hammers), but the Beastkin Commander deemed it enough to give the Serions a good beating. So, he chose 150 Beastkin to launch an attack the next day.

Soon, the unfinished stone walls appeared, and the Beastkin warriors slowed their pace. The fortifications were another reason for their haste. Once the Kingdom finished building the walls, it would be too difficult to take the Oasis back. The shadows stopped 50 meters from the walls, but the night wouldn’t protect them for long.

However, before the soldiers had a chance of finding anything, flying figures dived from the sky and silenced them. Muffled screams echoed through the night, and though they weren’t too loud, the Sandines wouldn’t risk wasting the surprise. So, they dashed at the wall opening, ready to claim the lives of their enemies.

Suddenly, a faint green mist appeared around every Beastkin. The strange effect could be traced back to an old Beastman holding a bone staff. The shaman was using the soul power of deceased Beastkin to boost their strength. Shamanism was an ancient and primitive craft that kept their ancestors’ souls on the material dimension to use their energy to cast protection, boost strength, curse, and a few other effects.

Actually, the green mist would only give a small advantage to the warriors, but any help would be welcomed. At this point, they threw away any hope of approaching unnoticed. In less than two minutes, they reached the camp. The black wolf commander led the charge, but twenty weaker soldiers formed the first line of warriors following him.

Breaching through the tents, the wolf left the weaker Beastkin to deal with the army slaves, who slowly exited their tents just to be slaughtered. Like in battle, the coward Kingdom army would put the slaves in the outer tents to delay the enemy, but the attacking squad wanted nothing with them. Their true target waited deep into the camp. Seen from afar, the invasion looked like a spear piercing the camp. The surprise earned them free reign to slaughter, but that only last until they reached the Guards’ barracks.

Though unprepared and not fully geared, the Guards welcomed the invaders with sharp metal. The leading wolf was the first to meet the enemy, who failed to block his attack. The machete cut right through the sword before leaving a fatal wound on the soldier’s chest. Without sparing a second glance to the fallen Guard, the Beastman moved forward to slash another man while his warriors spread around to dispatch unlucky soldiers.

Even in normal circumstances, a Guard would be hardly a match for seasoned Beastkin warriors, and with the introduction of the enhanced weapons, they become moving targets. Although spreading havoc amongst the lower and bulk forces of the Kingdom was very enjoyable and would weaken their troops quite a bit, their targets were still deeper. So, they kept piercing through the camp, leaving a line of bodies to mark their trajectory.

The Guards performed better than the slaves but also failed to organize any coordinated defense. Even so, the Beatkin took another ten minutes to reach the Fighters’ squad. The wild warriors didn’t hesitate to dash against the armed and organized soldiers. Five Fighters fell screaming with throwing axes embedded into their armor and body, marking the opening of the real battle.

Even though they didn’t expect the barbarians’ weapons to be capable of going through their armor, the trained Fighters didn’t panic. The commander’s orders were simple enough, so another five soldiers replaced the fallen even before the Beastkin got to them.

Glowings of different intensities could be seen through the Fighters’ formation. The soldiers were trying to absorb as much energy as they could to reinforce their bodies. Usually, a Beastkin warrior would be stronger than Humans, so the priority was strengthening their muscles to meet the attacks and counter with speed and technique.

Baring a wicked grim, the black wolf met the Fighters with the same enthusiasm, but this time, his attack was blocked. The soldier’s sword was left with a superficial mark but didn’t show any other signs of damage. The soldier and Beastman continued to trade blows while the others around also started to fight. For a moment, it looked like their tactic of baring the Beastkin had worked, but then, the first bloodied scream appeared.

A soldier was smashed by a bear Beastman carrying a war hammer. It wasn’t uncommon for bigger and stronger Beastkin to use heavy weapons, but when facing a Fighter, the slow Beastman would receive some injuries before hitting the target. However, the soldier miscalculated the speed of the attack and ended up receiving the weight at once. Similar scenes happen all around the camp. Unexpectedly, the Beastkin warriors had broken the balance of the weapons’ dynamic, dismissing the mobility limitations and keeping the heavy hammer's force.

After a dozen exchanges, the Serions’ weapons started to crack, and more Fighters fell. Even so, the formation held and the Beastkin didn’t advance, but not without a hefty cost in soldiers' lives. The enhanced weapons had given an excellent edge to Sandines, but this was a battle against thousands. Soon, the Beastkin warriors also started to receive wounds and die.

Once a Beastman died, another one appeared behind and took the enhanced weapon. But the difference in numbers started to become more evident. Almost half of the Sandine warriors were occupied holding the Guards and slaves on their rear, while fifty enhanced weapon users clashed against the Fighters. The carnage compelled the invaders to keep going, but their numbers started to stretch too thin.

The wolf commander was submerged in the heat of the battle, though every time he finished an opponent, he stepped back to analyze the situation. So, when he realized how many warriors fell, he reluctantly ordered a retreat.

Piercing the camp until they were entirely surrounded by enemies was a bold plan. If the commander didn’t have the confidence of breaking through the enemies on the rear when they had to retreat, he wouldn’t be so reckless. Seeing the overall situation, the camp’s commander was sure that the Beastkin wouldn’t be able to escape.

However, the battle scene changed quickly. The Sandine warriors started to retreat, and one by one, the Beastkin holding the enhanced weapons, moved to the rear to slaughter anyone who tried to bar their retreat. The other warriors took their place, trying block the Fighters. In a few minutes, more Beastkin fell, but the retreat led by the forty-one Sandines with enhanced weapons couldn’t be stopped or even delayed, at least not by the Guards and slaves.

Ten minutes later, 48 shadows escaped from the Serion camp. Even though they lost most of their numbers, more than a thousand enemies perished under their weapons. Surprisingly, the roughly 500 slaves and 300 Guards who died weren’t the most significant losses in the Kingdom’s army. The almost 200 dead Fighters could be considered a heavy blow to the military.

Of course, the dead only represented a tiny fraction of the army, but this result was unacceptable considering the circumstances. From now on, the Serions would set up a better watch during the night.

The Sandines, on the other hand, considered the attack a success. Though they lost many warriors, they made the Kingdom bleed and confirmed the efficiency of the enhanced weapons. As for a bigger and proper counterattack, they would wait after getting more weapons. They would, however, keep harassing the Serions with smaller attacks.