"…Those magic bulls lowered their heads, eyes blazing red, the curved horns atop their skulls glinting with cold light. They bellowed savagely and charged, slamming into the ramparts of mud and packed snow. Ice and snow erupted in all directions, the mud walls shook, and the soldiers desperately drove their spears into the maddened beasts. One bull fell, but more surged forward… From the elevated position, all you could see was an endless ocean of magic bulls—tens of thousands stampeding toward you. That overwhelming, suffocating force would only make people feel breathless, powerless, and consumed by despair…"
Count Kemis took a hearty sip of the amber fruit wine in his silver cup and continued to vividly recount his imagined battle between the
"… A colossal magic bull slammed into a sturdy shield. The shield shattered into pieces, and the soldier holding it was hurled high into the air, landing severely wounded and unconscious. Several soldiers beside him managed to hold off the bull's charge with their spears, but the bull spun around, snapping the spears embedded in its body clean off… Then a horn sounded, and the soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief—it was the order to retreat to the second line of defense. The battered soldiers, carrying their wounded comrades, fought off the bulls as they fell back to the towering stone rampart…"
"This stone rampart was taller and sturdier than the first line of defense, and it was bristling with wagon ballistae. 'Fire!' At the command, bolts as long as lances shot forth, and the magic bulls at the forefront fell in droves. The soldiers cheered thunderously. But just then, another round of howls echoed from the distance, and through the wind and snow charged a host of enormous creatures. They stood five or six meters tall, their bodies covered in thick, shaggy fur, with two massive curved tusks protruding from the corners of their mouths. They also had long, powerful trunks, and every step they took left a deep footprint in the snow…"
This was the former Grand Duke's Palace in Gildusk, now claimed by the
Today was the last day of the year 1770 on the Galentea Common Calendar. The Second Prince and his Queen would ring in the New Year here alongside the nobles of Iblia Kingdom, hosting a grand banquet and an all-night ball to celebrate the occasion.
Outside, wind and snow raged, but inside the Grand Duke's Palace, it was warm as spring. Fireplaces were everywhere, and copper heating pipes hidden beneath the floor tiles radiated constant warmth. Nobles in lavish gowns and elegant ladies filled the halls, some gathered in small clusters chatting quietly, others introducing one another to new acquaintances. Everyone was waiting for the New Year's bells to chime.
And Count Kemis, true to his agreement with
"… Those colossal mammoth beast-elephants, with crossbow bolts lodged in their bodies, furiously lashed their trunks at the stone rampart. The wagon ballistae were smashed to splinters, and soldiers were flung skyward like straw dolls. Everyone broke and fled in every direction. But those mammoth beast-elephants—those towering demons—effortlessly caught up to them, and when their massive feet came down, the snow turned into puddles of red pulp…"
"Th-that's terrifying…" Several pale-faced young ladies huddled together, trembling.
"My dear Count Kemis, what horrible stories are you telling to frighten these lovely young ladies?" A voice rose from behind the crowd.
Count Kemis quickly stood and set down his silver cup. He bowed with deep respect: "Your Royal Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen, and the goddess of my heart, Her Highness Princess Sylvivia—your humble servant pays his respects…"
The noble ladies and misses gathered around Count Kemis promptly stepped aside, bowing and greeting the newcomers.
The Second Prince, at the forefront, wore an amiable smile, gesturing for everyone to dispense with formalities. The Queen at his side merely pressed her lips together and gave the crowd a cold nod. Princess Sylvivia, standing beside the Queen, smiled and offered a half-curtsy to the assembled ladies.
"Just now, I thought I heard you describing some legendary battle. Was it about an epic, my lord Count?" the Second Prince asked casually.
"Oh, no, Your Majesty. What I was recounting was reality, happening at this very moment. While I and these beautiful ladies enjoy this peaceful evening, the soldiers of the Norton Family are locked in a desperate, bloody battle against the beast tide that has swept across their territory…" Count Kemis replied.
"The beast tide? The Norton Family? Can you tell me what this is about?" The Second Prince's gaze sharpened.
The Queen interjected: "You mean that Baron Norton who has repeatedly declined His Majesty's gracious invitations and never once come to pay his respects? It seems he doesn't hold our Most Gracious King in very high regard…"
The Second Prince's face twitched slightly, but he replied with a smile: "If his territory is truly under threat from something as serious as a beast tide, then declining my invitation was simply unavoidable. I'm sure that once peace returns to the Norton Family's lands, Baron Norton will naturally come to show his respect. Isn't that right, Count Kemis?"
The Second Prince addressed Count Kemis, but his eyes were fixed coldly on his Queen. The Queen, however, merely sniffed, lifted her gaze to the ceiling, and completely ignored his stare.
"[His] lands are perpetually under assault from beast tides, so he is unable to get away—it is not that he intentionally slighted Your Majesty's invitation…
I once read accounts of beast tides in Count Fogelan's Travels in the Northland. It described how every winter, magical beasts from the Barbarian Plains would sweep across the Northland. After our families settled in the Northland, we never heard any mention of beast tides—we assumed those days were long gone.
Only now do I realize it was the Norton Family that held back the beast tide from invading the Northland. I spoke with some of the old Northlanders who remembered them, and they said the magical beasts sweeping through the Norton Family's territory numbered close to a million each year—an unstoppable force…" Count Kemis first defended Lorist a few words, then went on to explain the origins of the beast tide in detail.
"So that's how it is. My lord Count, please send my regards to Baron Norton and his brave soldiers, and convey my respect for their fight against the beast tide. It's almost time—we should head to the main hall to await the New Year's bells. I hope all you beautiful ladies and misses have a wonderful evening. We shall take our leave—see you at the ball…" The Second Prince addressed the crowd with polished courtesy.
But Princess Sylvivia stepped forward and said: "Lord Count Kemis, may I make a request?"
"Of course, Your Highness. Your wish is my mission. If it is within my power, I shall certainly fulfill it." Count Kemis bowed deeply, and the assembled ladies watched Princess Sylvivia with great curiosity.
Princess Sylvivia's cheeks flushed slightly: "The thing is, just now hearing you describe the Norton Family's desperate battle against the magical beasts—please forgive my boldness, but I have never witnessed a beast tide, nor do I know what those magical beasts look like. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you perhaps send a message to Baron Norton and ask him to send over a few of the fallen beasts? I simply wish to satisfy my curiosity. I understand those are spoils of war for his family, so I am willing to pay one hundred gold Forde as a token of appreciation for those brave soldiers. I hope my request isn't too presumptuous…"
"Oh, no, my goddess, dear Princess—your request is but a trifle. I am certain Baron Norton would be delighted to send you those spoils as a New Year's gift. Rest assured, I shall dispatch a messenger to him first thing tomorrow, to fulfill your wish as soon as possible." Count Kemis readily agreed.
"Then I thank you for your help, Lord Count. I shall take my leave." Princess Sylvivia curtsied again and turned to go.
"We should be heading to the hall as well. The bells are about to ring—the New Year is almost here," Count Kemis said to a few of the beautiful ladies and misses beside him.
"Shouldn't you be following your goddess? Why are you mixing with us mortals?" A voluptuous noble lady pouted, clearly displeased—her expression betraying jealousy over Count Kemis's enthusiastic attention to Princess Sylvivia.
Count Kemis wrapped an arm around her waist and laughed: "A goddess belongs on a pedestal, but you are my treasures. How could a lofty goddess possibly hold a candle to the warmth of my treasures, hmm? You see, I'm a mortal too, and mortals should stick together to find happiness…"
The bells rang, echoing through the heavens and earth as snowflakes danced. The New Year had arrived.
…
As the nobles in the Grand Duke's Palace of Gildusk raised their silver cups to toast the arrival of the New Year, the miserable Lorist was lying with his men on a snow-covered hillside, watching the tail end of the beast tide.
"My lord, this year's beast tide looks to be about half the size of last year's. The magic bull herd we lured into the Kulu Circle Isthmus is only about sixty to seventy thousand—not even half of last year's number…" The speaker was Jiosk. As a master archer, his eyes were sharper and more discerning than most.
Lorist nodded: "We should be moving out too, or the winter wolves and snow leopards wandering the area will start hassling us. There are only about four to five hundred thousand beasts left. Order Dolles to take three chariot battalions and finish off the magic bulls in the Kulu Circle Isthmus as quickly as possible, then march to Sector Four. We'll rendezvous there. This year, we're leaving every last beast on the Fengle Plains—then maybe next winter there won't be a beast tide…"
Fifteen days later, Lorist led over thirty thousand Family soldiers to build three ice-and-snow ramparts around the central town in Sector Four of the Fengle Plains, preparing to annihilate the remainder of the beast tide at this location.
The garrison duty at Bedrock Castle had rotated to Knight Vasmus, who sent several soldiers along with a messenger to Lorist's position.
"You're the messenger Count Kemis sent? You came all the way from Gildusk?" Lorist looked curiously at the man before him, whose face was bruised and swollen—whether from falls or frostbite, it was hard to tell. He wondered what could be so important that Count Kemis would send someone through such bitter cold and heavy snow to deliver a letter.
"Y-yes, my lord. This is a personal letter from the Count." The messenger shivered as he fumbled to pull a letter from inside his coat.
Lorist felt like cursing. Here he was, fighting for his life against magical beasts, and this Kemis fellow was surrounded by beautiful women yet still wanted him to send beast corpses for show—claiming they were New Year's gifts for Princess Sylvivia, and the more the better. The man clearly had nothing better to do…
Wait. Lorist reconsidered, and a wicked grin curled at the corner of his lips.
"I'm afraid I simply can't spare anyone to fulfill Count Kemis's request. Tell you what—why don't you make the trip back to your family's territory and bring some people over? I'll have the Family soldiers transport the beast corpses to the open ground in front of Bedrock Castle for easy pickup. How does that sound?" Lorist said to the messenger with a wry smile.
"Oh…" The messenger's face fell. It normally took only five or six days by fast horse to travel from Gildusk to Bedrock Castle, but in this weather, it had taken them fourteen. Every one of them had suffered terribly, and the last thing they wanted was to make another trip back to the family's territory.
Lorist observed his expression and understood exactly what was troubling him.
"How many of you came altogether?" Lorist asked.
"Seven, with ten horses. The rest are waiting at Bedrock Castle for a reply," the messenger answered.
"How many days did it take to get here?"
"Fourteen. We also lost a horse along the way."
"I appreciate the trouble you've gone through, delivering letters in this weather. But as you can see, we truly have no one to spare. The Count's letter states that you are to cooperate with us unconditionally and deliver the beast corpses to Gildusk as quickly as possible. The fastest way is for you to send manpower from your family's territory. Here's what I'll do—I'll have my men prepare a sled for you, so your horses can pull you back to your territory. I'm sure the journey will be quick and smooth. Reidi, take this messenger back to Bedrock Castle, prepare the sleds for them, and give each man two gold Forde. Give this gentleman five. It's been a hard trip delivering letters in this weather."
Lorist's generosity delighted the messenger beyond expectation—he suddenly felt warm again, his body buzzing with energy. But before leaving, he asked one more question: "My lord, how many men and horses should we send for the transport?"
Lorist held up a finger: "At least a thousand. There are a great many beast corpses, and I intend to send your Count a selection of each type."
Five days later, the beast tide arrived on schedule at the central town of Sector Four and launched its suicidal assault against the three lines of ice wall defenses Lorist had set up. Unfortunately for them, under the concentrated fire of over three thousand steel wagon ballistae and thousands of longbowmen, the beasts fell in heaps. Even the nearly one-hundred mammoth beast-elephants—fearsome and unstoppable as they were—could only collapse in reluctant defeat before the steel wagon ballistae…
When the last one-horned beast-rhino toppled onto the muddy snow, every Family soldier cast aside his weapon and let out a thunderous cheer. Lorist and all the Family knights wore broad smiles—the winter beast tide had been destroyed here, and from this moment on, the beast tide that had plagued the Family's territory for centuries would become a thing of the past.
"Dolles, get your chariot battalions in order, replace any wagon ballistae that are out of commission, and immediately begin clearing and sweeping up the carnivorous beasts roaming around the edges of the beast tide."
"Ross the Tiger, take the Ironclad Lance Cavalry to provide security for the chariot battalions and assist in clearing those carnivorous beasts.
"Jiosk, take the Mounted Archer Battalion and seal off the area from Reclining Bull Ridge to Maple Forest Manor. I don't want a single escaped beast making it back to the Barbarian Plains."
"Bog, set up camp right here with your two Heavy Infantry Battalions. You're responsible for security in this area—protect the men collecting the beast corpses from attacks by those carnivorous beasts."
"Brother Shi, the beast corpses in this area are all yours to handle."
"
Lorist, brimming with energy, issued a string of orders in rapid succession.
Then, remembering Count Kemis's letter, he called Ail over: "Ail, go pick out some beast corpses. Remove the crossbow bolts from them and replace the wounds with sword cuts and spear gashes—don't let anyone tell they were killed by steel crossbow bolts. Stick some broken spears and snapped swords into them to make it look like we spent tremendous effort taking these beasts down. Then transport them to the open ground in front of Bedrock Castle and hand them over when Count Kemis's people arrive…"
Ail laughed: "Locke, are you up to something again? Fine—leave this sort of underhanded business to me. I'll make sure it's done so perfectly that no one will suspect a thing…"
…(To be continued.)