A cheer unlike Vir had ever expected burst forth, deafening the ears of all those present.
And, to Vir, Malik, and Balagra’s immense satisfaction, more than one Chitran guard pissed their pants.
Vir looked over his future troops with feigned pride. If only it works out that way…
45UNSEEN BATTLES AND UNSUNG HEROES
As it turned out, marshaling the prisoners towards the mountains proved exceedingly difficult, though not for the reasons Vir expected. While the demons seemed happy to follow his leadership, their cooperation lasted only until a horde of Ash Beasts broke through the Boundary, scrambling down the jagged mountains on a collision course.
It had taken the combined efforts of Vir, Balagra, and Malik to keep them from routing—Vir and Balagra to drive off the enemies, and Malik to keep the demons from running for the hills. Advancing seemed like a lost cause until Vir Leaped ahead, chopping up Ash Wolves, Shredders, Phantomblades, and Ash Biters before they ever threatened the group.
He knew such actions were precisely what he’d been hoping to avoid. That the more extraordinary the skills he displayed, the more questions it would raise. Questions that would be difficult to answer without revealing who he truly was. At the same time, Vir was more joyous than he’d ever been since entering the Demon Realm.
During Samar Patag’s defense, Vir not only had to conceal his true strength, but the safety of an entire city also hung in the balance. Here, close to the Ash where the prana was denser, and where he needed only to protect two hundred instead of twenty-thousand, he could truly revel in the thrill of battle.
Vir lost himself in the fight, flowing from one enemy to another like water, sapping their Ash prana as he ended them. Years of preparing for the Demon Realm whilst inside the Ash had honed his prana efficiency to the limit. As he fought, he actually ended up gaining prana, despite relying heavily on his abilities to dispatch foes.
It didn’t take long for the horde to tuck tail. Vir allowed them to flee—hunting down Ash Beasts would force him to expend too much prana.
“Follow me!” Vir roared. “Hurry! Before more arrive!”
The demons didn’t need any further coaxing, especially when a fresh group of beasts began charging after the group from behind.
Vir moved swiftly around the prisoners, covering for the stragglers and killing any beasts that drew too close.
It took an hour for the group to finally make it to the relative protection of the mountains, and another to scout an appropriate location for the group to hunker down.
Once there, Vir and Balagra’s task became much easier. With only one direction to protect, they had a far easier time of it. The Ash Beasts soon gave up, seeking softer prey.
Vir found it somewhat ironic that the most secure location was worryingly closer to the shimmering Boundary, just a few hundred paces away. Part of him worried the location put the prisoners at risk of being suddenly yanked into the Ash. When Balagra pointed out that it was either this or being constantly harassed by Ash Beasts, Vir concluded the crescent-shaped piece of flat ground was the better option.
Here, at the base of the jagged mountain range, steep slopes surrounded them on three sides. Slopes that rose hundreds of paces—too high for most Ash Beasts to survive, especially without the full prana of the Ashen Realm bolstering their strength.
Thanks to the natural barriers, there was just one entrance and exit to the camp. An exit the prisoners were already working to shrink under Malik’s watchful supervision. Vir was unsure what arts the demon possessed, but his leadership skills were second only to Balagra’s. The prisoners hefted rocks and rolled boulders without uttering a single complaint, moving with both speed and efficiency, and betraying none of the exhaustion they all felt.
While demons boasted stronger bodies than the average human, the physical toil of running for an hour was nothing to scoff at—to say nothing of the mental stress of continuous Ash Beast attacks. Even with Vir protecting them, they’d reached their limits long ago.
So it was of little surprise that they began keeling over the moment their camp had been staked out, falling flat upon the ash in some cases.
As a leader, Vir unfortunately couldn’t afford that luxury. Neither could his commanders.
“Malik?” Vir asked, approaching the gray demon. “What are you doing?”
“Assigning berths to our troops, sir,” Malik replied with his usual deference. “Though it’s well that we made it here safely, I’m afraid there is yet much work to be done. I find it’s always the mundane matters that get overlooked. Tallying rations, partitioning the companies, tending to the Ash’va, establishing watch details. The drudgery. Important drudgery, but drudgery all the same.”
“Thanks,” Vir said with genuine gratitude. “To tell you the truth, I’d been putting that off.”
Vir had never organized logistics before—not on such a scale. If Malik wasn’t around, Vir knew that he’d be struggling to keep the camp from devolving into confused chaos. For his help, Vir was eternally grateful.
“Understandable,” Malik said, gesturing to a group of demons who were guiding a supply Ash’va to a makeshift corral they’d assembled from volcanic rock. “This is nobody’s most-loved business, I assure you.”
“Why separate Balagra’s soldiers from mine, though?” Vir asked. “Do you think they’ll have issues getting along?”
“Nothing of the sort,” Malik said. “Merely that when asked to muster, I don’t want demons tripping over one another. Keeping them separate ensures we minimize the chaos when Ash Beasts are breathing down our necks.”
Vir couldn’t help but be impressed. “Have experience at this sort of thing, I’m guessing?”
Malik shrugged. “Not in a military sense, but yes. I was officially a bodyguard for a merchant network, but the job often devolved into logistics management as they traveled between villages. Coordination is largely the same, I find, no matter where you go.”
“I see,” Vir said, feeling like he’d only scratched the surface of Malik’s vast experience. “Mind joining me for a moment? I’d like to check in on Balagra.”
“Of course,” Malik replied, barking some orders before falling into step behind Vir.
The Naga warrior had consistently healed himself along the ride back, so Vir had expected to see the demon to be resting with a stump for a leg. He’d been coming up with several options to help the demon recover—if not physically, at least mentally.
Balagra possessed vast battle prowess, and as such would be invaluable in training up their warriors. As for what came after… Vir was hoping Cirayus could whisk him away to safety. Somewhere remote, where he’d be able to live out the rest of his days in peace.
So when Vir walked into the makeshift infirmary tent and found the Naga’s limb regrowing before his very eyes, he couldn’t help but gape.
“Your leg,” Vir whispered. Where he’d expected to see a stump was instead a brand-new limb. Not yet fully grown, but nearly halfway. Like a child’s.
“Another day and I should be good to go,” Balagra said. He was sweating profusely, evidencing just how arduous the process must have been for him. “Ironic how the very prana that empowered those beasts will allow me to heal faster than ever before.”
“So the Panav can regrow limbs,” Vir muttered, transfixed at the sight of the fresh flesh. It was grotesque in a way, though also marvelous.
“I admit it is my first time seeing this as well,” Malik said. “Quite the impressive magic.”
“Lies! If by impressive you mean, repulsive, then I’ll believe you,” Balagra said with a wry chuckle. “Not often we Nagas have to heal our own bodies—what with most of us being back-line noncombatants. Though I’ll admit it is certainly handy. Or perhaps the proper term here is leggy?”