As the sun rose, the citizens of Dragonheart City emerged from their homes, unaware of why they had heard a firefight the night before. They didn’t have time to worry, as they rushed to prepare for the coming festival.

  In the main hall, Alaric sat on his throne with Nienna, Alexander, and Steven seated at the war table before him, the four reviewing their defense plans.

  “Sire, are you sure we should not stop our celebrations now that we know they are for a false cause?” Steven asked Alaric, who leaned back on his throne

  “No, surely Cassian does not intend to attack today, so continue with the celebrations,” Alaric responded, “We will ‘clarify’ that this ceremony was not to celebrate the bombing of that village, but rather the prosperity of the nation. We have already sent a telegram to Nyx and Quinn Emberstone to do the same.”

  Nienna glanced over at her old friend, knowing that his fear clouded his judgment.

  “Alaric, if they do attack during the festival, many of the citizens will be caught in the crossfire.” She said as he turned to her.

  “If we cancel the festivities, then the citizens will worry,” he told her.

  “Perhaps they should be worried, I mean, my liege, for Benevitae’s sake, we are going back to war,” Steven pleaded with Alaric to see reason.

  “Exactly, which is why they need to stay calm. Worried soldiers will only lead to more casualties,” Alexander responded to Choase.

  “So are you saying that right after the festivities, we announce that the men and women are going right back to war?” Nienna asked Alexander with a sneer.

  “Nienna Godric, I do not recall you being a general on this war council. As far as I’m concerned, you are simply hired help,” Alexander taunted her.

  “Excuse me? I was chosen by a god to be his Vassal, yet even I don’t have my head so far up my own arse like you.”

  “Typical, I suppose those born into the barbaric Whisperfang Assassins guild wouldn’t be capable of remaining professional,”

  “I’ll show you how I professionally take care of self-consumed trash like you,” Nienna unsheathed the Whisperfang.

  “Nienna, Alexander, both of you, calm down. We have more pressing matters at hand.” Alaric reminded them, attempting to defuse the situation.

  “Yeah, and clearly you don’t know how to manage them,” Nienna said, standing up. “Alaric, I know you care about your citizens, and you hate seeing them scared, but it’s either seeing them scared or seeing them dead.”

  With that, Nienna left the room via jumping out a window, her grappler latched onto a nearby roof. Alaric was troubled by her words, but perhaps that was because deep down, he knew she and Steven were right.

  “Steven, Alexander, assemble your squadrons and be prepared to initiate a counterattack if necessary. Tell Admiral Reziltov to assemble the seaguard in the case that they do indeed attack during the festival. The worst case is that we will require naval support. Let us see if our new warships are capable of defending our city,” Alaric ordered his generals as he rose, “the festivities will continue as planned.”

  * * *

  Arriving at the northern gate, Morgan and Amara were greeted by two imperial guards crossing their spears. Their armor reflected the national colors

  “State your purpose in the city,” One of the guards said, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet.

  There were more guards stationed atop the wall. The city seemed to be much more guarded compared to the previous times the duo had been here in the past two years.

  Morgan signed their name to the guards and said that they were simply stopping by for the festival. The guard looked over to her partner, not understanding Everstarian Sign Language.

  “Morgan Crosper, do you have a title?” The other guard asked, however, upon saying Morgan’s name, the eyes of the previous guard, who didn’t know ESL, went wide.

  Morgan signed to the guard that they were a knight, to which the guard scoffed.

  “Knight? What nation would ever even consider sponsoring someone in rusty armor?”

  “Jaime, that’s-,” The other guard attempted to stutter out, now white as a ghost, fear evident in her eyes.

  “That’s who?” Jaime asked, staring at Morgan with suspicion.

  The guard moved aside, “Welcome to Dragonheart City, Knight Crosper, please enjoy our hospitality,” She said, her hands shaking.

  Jaime, seeing the fear evident in his partner, followed her lead, albeit confusedly. Morgan and Amara moved forward into the city as the guard explained to her partner who the Nightslayer was.

  The buildings were lined with decorations such as flower drapes and balloons. Along the sidewalk, children ran ahead of their parents, playing with each other. Morgan watched as two kids lost a small ball to the horse carriages treading down the streets, erupting in tears.

  Stopping by a stall, Morgan bought a new ball for the pair and knelt to give it. The two kids thanked Morgan cheerfully and gave them a rose that had already begun to wilt. Morgan appreciated the sentiment nonetheless, patting the children on their heads before mounting Amara and continuing down the road.

  Enjoying the festivities, the city was lively, and laughter was audible no matter where they were in the city. Confetti littered the streets as the city’s poor janitorial staff swept it all away, though they also seemed to be enjoying themselves. Along the walls, soldiers were letting their guards down, engaging in card games, and receiving gifts from the civilians.

  Only a handful of people were on alert, those being Nienna, Steven, and Alaric, along with a few guards and soldiers. Alexander was also slightly wary, ready to give the command to engage in combat despite urging the king to continue with the festivities.

  Everything seemed to be going perfectly; the sun was bright, with only a few clouds in the sky. The Autumn breeze felt nice due to the townsfolk donning coats made of leather and fur. Morgan eventually found a public horse pen near the eastern wall of Dragonheart City and paid for Amara’s housing and feeding for the day. They then ventured into a pub they had been hearing about for months, which supposedly sold the best beer across all eight nations.

  * * *

  At roughly noon, a guard who was stationed over the southern gate noticed something strange. In the distance, a large shape was moving through the sky, parting the clouds which had begun to form into a sandstorm over the Drylands. Looking through her spyglass, she could just barely make out the colors, and the second she did, she immediately ran to sound the bells. However, before she could set off the alert system, an arrow was shot, entering through her right temple. She dropped to the ground as the other six guards were shot down as well.

  None of the other guards had even noticed the Kamakarutian soldiers scaling the walls due to being caught up in their own festivities. However, their ignorance did not last long, as the three purple and black zeppelins finally reached the city. Only when they were only a mile out did the northern guards notice and ring the alarms. However, by then, the interior guards of the southern wall had already engaged in a battle with the invaders.

  The civilians stopped their festivities when they heard the first shots and looked up when the city was shrouded in darkness. For a few seconds, it felt as though time stood still, but then the screaming began. People ran into buildings for cover as the zeppelins opened fire upon the city. The roofs of many buildings were destroyed as bombs rained down from above. By now, all four sides of the walls were engaged in fierce combat, gunfire and arrows zipping through the air.

  The city’s streets were defiled as debris flew into the air, small stone shards raining down on civilians. The turrets on the zeppelins’ designs were still a work-in-progress. Due to this, they did not pose nearly as much of a threat as the Kamakarutian soldiers who were skydiving into the city. Parachutes were still a new creation, and as such, many soldiers simply fell to their deaths. However, most landed on roofs and balconies, smashing through the windows and doors.

  Innocents were being slaughtered, yet in the pub sat Morgan, minding their own business. By now, all of the patrons and even the bartender had run, but Morgan was completely unfazed. They knew that Amara would be fine, as she would simply escape and run to safety, awaiting Morgan’s call.

  In the eastern wall’s interior, Alaric cut through the Kamakarutians with ease using the Demonslayer, the blade slicing through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter. Mortal meat was of no challenge to the offspring of a sword that was forged to kill gods. On top of that, Alaric was trained in sword-fighting with his siblings since the ripe age of four years. Parrying the arrows of the enemy, Alaric slashed through waves, sending fear into the hearts of the Kamakarutians.

  Nienna was running across the rooftops, throwing daggers at descending soldiers, sending them plummeting to their demise. A rather bulky enemy crashed into the roof, nearing twice her height. This did not deter the last Whisperfang, as she slid underneath the giant, slashing his ankles and sending him crashing to his knees.

  “ARGH!” The soldier screamed in pain as he swiped for Nienna, who easily dodged the weak attempt.

  Using the Whisperfang, she cut off his right hand before plunging the dagger into the right side of his throat, just barely hitting his neck. With a swift motion, she swept the dagger right, causing his entire head to lean left from her point of view, and tear off. With a thud, it hit the roof before rolling off into the street below, where it splattered like a melon.

  Nienna continued her journey across the city, making her way to the Capitol building, where Alaric, Steven, Alexander, and Martinez would be regrouping. Entering through Alaric’s window yet again, she ran down the halls, which were littered with corpses. Unsurprisingly, they were mostly Kamakarutian ones, and in the main hall stood Martinez Reziltov, her scabbard slick with blood.

  “Admiral Reziltov, you’re alive,” Nienna greeted her, walking over a Kamakarutian that was missing the left side of his head.

  “It’ll take about, I’d say,” She looked up in thought, her thick accent making her voice sound naturally commanding, “fifty stabs from a sword and one-hundred-and-fifty arrows to put me down.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “She’s most likely not joking either,” Alexander said as he emerged from a hallway. He was covered in blood, the metallic parts of his auto-crossbow covered in blood from being used to bludgeon enemies.

  “Oh, General Zhou, you’re alive,” Nienna greeted him as well.

  “I can’t help but feel like that was disappointment in your tone, Godric,” The general said with a scoff.

  Steven Choase entered the room behind Zhou, seemingly unscathed, as though he had not engaged in combat. His hair was still slicked back, and his clothes weren’t in a state of disarray like the other three. His musket was still smoking, however, and he had a look of rage in his usually doe-like eyes.

  Alaric was the last to enter, his crown somehow completely untouched, but the rest of his outfit was a different case. Similar to Reziltov and Zhou, Draco had blood on his red and golden ceremonial robes.

  “Good, everyone’s her-"

  SMACK!

  Nienna slapped Alaric across the face, prompting the other three to step back in shock.

  “I warned you that this would happen.”

  “Yes, yes you did, and my hubris is my own sin,” Alaric said, admitting his own mistake, “but I’ll face judgement once this is all over. We must defend the city,”

  “And how do you suggest we do that? Those zeppelins are indestructible,” Neinna waved to the windows at the flying behemoths outside.

  Alaric looked over to Steven, whose eyes went wide, “My king, we haven’t even tested them yet.”

  “Good, then this can serve as their first rodeo,” Alaric said as he walked to the other three, “Thankfully, there are only three zeppelins, and we have three anti-airship cannons.”

  “What?” Nienna turned to Alaric in confusion, “Those were the cannons you were talking about?”

  “Three months ago, when we attacked that village, we saw firsthand how destructive airships could be. After that, I ordered Steven to begin the construction of the cannons in case Gearspring ever turned against us.”

  “Then when you unveiled them today, you did so knowing full well you were threatening our closest and most reliable ally?”

  “Nyx and Quinn Emberstone are my dear friends; I even attended their wedding,” Alaric turned to face his friend, “But even then, the safety of my nation comes first.”

  “You can’t protect your nation in a war without any allies,” Nienna argued.

  “Alaric, Nienna, we have no time for this,” Alexander said, stepping between them whilst side-eyeing Nienna, “where are the cannons located?"

  “One is right atop this building, the other two are located above the gates.”

  “Alright, Choase, me, and our soldiers will go to the northern cannon. Reziltov and her Naval soldiers will take the southern cannon.”

  “Then my soldiers and I will defend the Capitol,” Alaric said as he turned to enter the eastern wall, where the rest of his soldiers were.

  “Wait, Alaric, I’m coming with you,” Nienna stated as she followed, “I need to make sure you don’t make any more stupid decisions.”

  “You must take me for a fool,” Alaric sighed, but did not argue against her decision.

  * * *

  The pub was still somehow intact as Morgan took a sip from their beer, unbothered by the chaos outside. They were still wearing their armor and had lifted up their visor slightly to drink. Suddenly, the doors burst open as a family of four rushed in to take cover. The parents were comforting the kids until they noticed Morgan at the bar, confused as to how they were so unfazed.

  Just as the father was about to call out, Kamakarutians charged in, aiming their bows and muskets at the family and Morgan.

  “KNEEL!” One of them ordered as she slammed the father with the butt of her musket.

  They lined the family against the wall, but noticed Morgan hadn’t moved an inch.

  “HEY!” The soldier marched up to them and smacked the beer out of their hand. It fell to the counter, spilling everywhere, “ARE YOU DEAF?”

  Morgan simply turned to the soldier, pushing their visor down. The soldier aimed at their head and was about to pull the trigger. In one smooth motion, Morgan pushed the musket aside and shoved a dagger hidden in their sleeve right through the soldier’s helmet and into her eyesocket.

  She screamed before Morgan took the back of her head and slammed her face-first into the counter, shoving the blade into her brain. The others took aim and fired, but Morgan lifted the corpse up and used it as a shield. Fishing the dagger out, they flung it at one of the soldiers’ muskets, embedding it in the barrel. The musket exploded, obliterating the soldier’s hands as he fell to his knees, screaming.

  “MY HANDS! MY HANDS!” The soldier shrieked as Morgan focused on the other three soldiers.

  They threw the body at the other Kamakarutians, sending them toppling. The three soldiers quickly recovered and pulled out their short-swords, but Morgan lifted their arm and fired their wrist-mounted copper grappling hook straight through the head of one of the soldiers. Yanking their arm back, Morgan drew their sword and beheaded the body as it flew towards them, sending the headless corpse crashing into the shelves behind the bar.

  Using the head as a make-shift flail, Morgan slammed it against another soldier’s head, causing him to accidentally stab his own comrade’s leg.

  As the Kamakarutian cried in agony, Morgan took the chance to close the gap. Dropping the sword, Morgan clutched both sides of the disoriented soldier's head and twisted. The soldier's neck cracked, causing his limbs to go limp as he fell.

  The soldier to the side with a sword still in his leg scrambled away from Morgan on the ground, raising his arms in terror. Morgan walked up, grabbing both of the soldiers' hands, crushing them with great strength. Morgan then pulled as hard as he could, causing the Harvester's mark to bleed with a whistle-like sound.

  The soldier let out an excruciating shriek as Morgan ripped the soldier's arms away from his torso, spewing blood everywhere. Morgan then broke off a chair leg, walking back to the armless soldier who was barely alive. Taking the broken chair leg, Morgan jammed it straight through his chest, as if it were a wooden pike going through a vampire.

  The last soldier whose arms were burned to a crisp watched in horror as Morgan turned towards him. The soldier attempted to climb up to his knees and run away, but Morgan managed to beat him to it. Morgan grabbed his right leg with both hands and lifted him into the air. Morgan then slammed the soldier's back into a burning beam, breaking it. The soldier slumped to the ground as Morgan raised their leg and drove it down into the soldier's head with lethal force, finishing the job.

  Blood sprayed everywhere as it was turned into a red mist, coating the terrified family in blood and bone fragments.

  Morgan turned to the family, but although they had already gone berserk, they had just enough sentience to throw a dagger at the family. Barely missing the mother’s head, Morgan aggressively grunted at them, sounding more animalistic than human.

  The mother and father gathered their kids and ran upstairs, and just as Morgan was about to exit the bar, gunshots rang out. The screams of the family were quickly silenced, followed by four loud thuds as corpses hit the ground.

  Morgan’s blood boiled as they realized what had happened, and, picking up their sword, they headed upstairs.

  * * *

  Gunfire echoed through the city, replacing the laughter from only a few hours earlier. Steven and Alexander arrived at the northern cannon, but they were not unresisted. Upon arrival at the gate, they had to take immediate cover in and behind the buildings as enemies guarded the walls. They didn’t seem to have noticed the cloaked cannons, which worked to the two generals’ advantage.

  Slowly, but surely, Alexander’s forces moved through the buildings within the city, getting close enough to place small explosives at the base of the walls. This would cause minimal damage but would also disorient the enemies within the walls and allow the reactionary forces to enter the interiors. At the same time, soldiers, led by Steven, who were regaining the walls from the interiors, were moving from the western wall to the eastern wall, flanking the enemy.

  “CHARGE!” Alexander commanded as his soldiers ignited the explosives and entered the walls.

  The plan worked as expected, and the Dragonspearians successfully recaptured the northern gate. Atop the entrance, Steven mounted the cannon, aiming directly at one of the zeppelins.

  “CANNON PRIMED, FIRING IN THREE, TWO, ONE!”

  The cannon went off with a loud BOOM! The sound was deafening, as the Dragonspear soldiers covered their ears in pain. The side of one of the zeppelins erupted into flames, as the large airship was engulfed in flames, crashing into the river that ran right in front of the northern entrance.

  The cannon itself was severely damaged, the entire barrel having been morphed into a shape resembling that of a blossoming flower.

  * * *

  Across the city, on top of the southern entrance, Kamakarutian soldiers watched as the zeppelin fell from the clouds. The scene was interrupted as whirring sounds became more audible, and turning around, the Kamakarutians watched as metallic birds came into view, flying in from Roger’s Bay.

  Within seconds, the entire wall was riddled with holes as Steven and Martinez’s newest creations, the “biplanes,” opened fire upon the invaders. The Kamakarutians dove for cover, but to no avail as Dragonspearians leapt off the aircrafts once they were low enough. The Kamakarutians had no time to react as they were mowed down by the soldiers’ auto-crossbows and muskets.

  So far, only five biplanes had been invented, and it would stay that way for now due to the blueprints having been destroyed at the beginning of the invasion, when Steven’s apartment was blown to bits.

  Martinez took control of the cannon and, following Choase’s directions, aimed directly at the helm of the second zeppelin. The explosion shattered the cannon once again, but also sent the zeppelin crashing down onto the eastern wall.

  * * *

  Nienna and Alaric were basically a two-man army, cutting down the enemy with ease. They reached the cannon with almost no difficulty until they were swept aside by a Minotaur. A devil from the Grimdeep, the Minotaur was a monstrosity with a muscular human-like torso and arms, but with bull-like legs and hooves. Its head was a bull’s skull, with two ominous red orbs acting as eyes. It dual-wielded two huge blades, slicing through multiple of Alaric’s soldiers. It kicked right through the chest of one soldier, drenching its furry leg in blood.

  Nienna ran at it, jumping on its left blade as it slashed at her. She ran along the length of the oversized sword and hopped over the behemoth, sticking the Whisperfang in its left thigh once she landed. The Minotaur roared in pain, as Alaric rolled under its right arm and cut its armpit. It dropped one of its swords as Nienna tore her dagger through the length of its left arm, splitting its flesh.

  The minotaur slammed its arm into Nienna, causing her to go flying, as Alaric parried an attack from the creature. The force sent him to his knees as he grunted in pain, struggling beneath the blade-lock. He rolled to the left, sending the minotaur’s blade crashing down where he had just been. He slashed at the minotaur’s left thigh and deepened the gash Nienna had inflicted upon it earlier.

  Nienna came up from behind the two and drove her dagger into the nape of the monster, causing it to straighten its body as it reached for her. Alaric came up from underneath it and drove the Demonslayer right through the bottom of its skull, delivering the finishing blow. The pair leapt back as the Minotaur’s corpse came crashing to the ground.

  Wasting no time, Alaric mounted the cannon as Nienna and the other Dragonspearians fought off more attackers. Firing the cannon, the loud boom sent Nienna and the soldiers to the ground as they clutched their ears. The explosion tore through the final zeppelin, causing it to crash directly into the town square in front of the Capitol building.

  * * *

  With that, the Dragonspearians picked off the remaining Kamakarutians, marking the invasion as a complete and utter failure on Kamakarut’s part.

  “Now, we can finally talk about why the hell these were made for allied aircraft,” Nienna approached Alaric, sheathing her dagger.

  “Nienna, after witnessing the destructi-” Alaric was cut off halfway through his sentence as the sound of sudden screams and gunfire ripped through the now-quiet city.

  On the roof of a building only about a block away, a single figure in armor from an unidentifiable kingdom was cutting down Kamakarutians as they attempted to run away. The figure grabbed one of the stragglers by their legs and pulled, ripping them apart with their bare strength. They chokeslammed another invader, before squeezing until the Kamakarutian’s head popped off.

  A Kamakarutian approached with a morningstar, but the figure whirled around and cut off the soldier’s hand. The figure stole the morningstar, hand still holding it, and swung down. The spiked ball came crashing down onto the soldier’s head, crushing it like an apple under a hammer. The figure then threw the morningstar at another victim with terrifying strength, tearing a hole right through their torso.

  The sight was brutal to watch, shocking even the king and the assassin. They had heard of them before, but had never seen them in action. The Nightslayer was in Dragonheart City, and all of the rumors about them seemed to be true.