The Empire of the Moon. Fort Perseverance.

Fort Perseverance was the last stronghold that belonged to the people of the Moon. Since two weeks ago, after the disastrous invasion of the Empire of the Sun, the rest of the Empire started receiving news about multiple settlements being destroyed. There was never any warning. One day everything was fine. The next day, all news from that settlement ceased. There was no cry for help, nor any survivor that could relay what happened. When people realize something was wrong and move to investigate, they find the settlement destroyed and the inhabitants brutally slaughtered.

At first, it was treated as bandit attacks. Stupid, but the Empire had more problematic things to deal with. For one thing, both Commander Erik and Jean disappeared, leaving a huge power vacuum in Throne’s City. Plus, the failed invasion cost the Empire of the Sun the last of its central forces. The survivors from the invasion were too scared to form an effective fighting group. As the central government became a toothless beast, many regional commanders started expanding their forces and evaluated their possibility of climbing further up the ladder.

None of that mattered when Throne’s City came under attack.

No one knew what happened, or at least no one in Fort Perseverance knew what happened. The reason was clear. Anyone who saw the battle unfold didn't live long enough to pass on the tale. All the men at Perseverance knew was that within just one day, the capital city of the Empire of the Moon was burnt to the ground. Its walls reduced to rubbles. Its defenders forever relieved of their duty. Its inhabitants...brutalized.

Legend says the attackers made a tower with the skulls of the men they killed.

For the following days, more and more settlements were destroyed. As far as Perseverance knew, the mysterious attackers were on an extermination mission. Settlements were attacked whether they were heavily fortified cities or small towns with wooden walls. Those who fled the city were never heard from again, but legend says the beasts that circle the area grew a lot fatter.

Of course, legend also says those exact beasts were the next to suffer the same unfortunate fate.

The people of Perseverance knew what was coming for them, but all they could do was try to pile up as many defenses as possible. In the bottom of their heart, they understood the futility of their actions. If the capital with walls designed to last through a decade of siege couldn’t hold the mysterious goes off, then what could a small fort do? Sure, Fort Perseverance was designed to fend off enemies, but it was built decades ago. Its soldiers haven’t seen war in years.

The commander of the Fort was Commander Daynes. He was the typical soldier. Fierce. Loyal. Even at a time like this where invisible walls were closing in at all fronts, he tried his best to do whatever he could.

A rider approached from a distance away. The legs of the horse kicked up a wave of dust. Commander Daynes nodded at his men, who lowered the bridge over the moat and allowed the rider inside the fortress.

As soon as the rider got in, he dismounted. Without a moment of break, the man ran to Daynes.

His face was full of dread. Daynes almost knew the answer to his question before he even asked in.

“What is it?”

“The Iron Fort. It is no more.”

Daynes sighed. The Iron Fort was a castle not far away from here. Like Fort Perseverance, Iron Fort was the home to tens of thousands of refugees, as well as a standard battalion of 2,000 soldiers.

“And the people…”

“Those monsters forged a mountain with their corpses. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Daynes nodded solemnly. He waved his hand and ordered the scout to leave him alone. Slowly, the commander walked to the edge of the wall. He looked down. The wall was ten meters tall. Not bad, but certainly not enough to stop the inevitable.

Suddenly, he tilted his head, as if hearing something. He closed his eyes, praying that he heard it incorrectly, but the louder and louder noise slapped him awake from his prayers.

A distance away, at the horizon, a black sea came pouring in toward the fort.

“Incoming!” The Commander screamed, leaning over the inner side of the wall and looking down at the inside of the fort. “Everyone! To arms!”

It was as if an explosion happened. The entire city was tossed into motion. Thousands of men ran out of their residence. They grabbed onto the swords and spears rested on the weapon stands in the armory before rushing to the walls. These men knew what was coming. All the defensive measures the city had were loaded on the walls. All they needed was soldiers to use them.

The question is, will that be enough?

As all 2,000 men went onto the walls, the tens of thousands of refugees that sought shelter in the fort gathered together. While some, crushed by the fear and despair, decided to let themselves go and drink all the alcohol and have all the sex they could, most did whatever they could do help with the defenses. A few prayed while others asked to see if there was anything they could help with.

Commander Daynes watched as the horde got closer and closer. Slowly, he could see what it was. The entire horde consisted of giants. Their swords and armors were covered by red blood. His stomach turned when he saw countless skulls stuck on the spikes of the armors. Most of them were covered by red blood and white brain fluids.

Some of them still had their helmets on. They belonged to the defenders of the cities previously conquered.

Across the wall, men started trembling uncontrollably in fear. They envisioned themselves following the steps of their fallen comrades. They would die in pain, but death wouldn’t be the end. Their heads would be reaped and used as trophies by these monsters.

Daynes gulped.

“Sir,” An officer walked up to him, trying to look away from the incoming horde.

“What is it?”

“The civilians are asking if they can get on the walls and help with the defenses.”

Daynes’ eyes still trained on the horizon, where the horde kept on pouring in.

“No. They will only disrupt our positions.”

As a professiona soldier, Daynes frowned upon the notion of consripting civilians to fight. As short handed as he was, he believed bringing in untrained, inexperienced combatants will only make things worse. Thousands of men running across the battlefield in fear will only help the enemies.

“Yes sir.”

As the officer left to relay the order, Daynes gulped. He glanced across the Moon ranks and realized some of them were already getting way too anxious. Archers were lifting their bows before the enemies were even close to the range. Some even forgot to charge the runes. Spearmen could hardly hold onto their weapons without shaking. He saw a few men running to the corner and throwing up. Too much adrenaline could cause this.

The entire time, the horde kept on pouring in through the horizon. Daynes didn't know how many enemies there were. Just the enemies he could see have reached two thousand. Even worse, the fort had three walls, and reports have came in from all three other walls that they were under attack as well.

The 2,000 Moon soldiers were spread across all four sides. 500 men against thousand of intruders. It was problematic even with the wall and the moat on their side. The Moon soldiers weren’t Emperor Guard elites either. They were no more than standard Moon soldiers. Still professional, but not exactly elite.

The tidal wave kept on moving forward until eventually, it reached within arrow range. Daynes watched as one of the creatures tripped and fell onto the ground. Within the five seconds that he was down, dozens of other demons, all heavily armed and armored, have stepped over him with absolutely no regard for the health and safety of their comrade. Just as Daynes thought the unfortunate demon was dead, he got back up with nothing but a few bruises.

Daynes watched as he moved back to the front of the charge, knocking over multiple other demons on the way.

What sort of warrior would be so eager for a fight? If it was a defenseless farm, then most would fight for a chance to be in the front. But these demons were facing a relatively durable wall, a steep moat, and hundreds of armed men with nowhere to retreat to. Being in the front meant almost certain death, yet instead of sneaking to the back for a higher probability to survive the initial onslaught, all of these demons were literally fighting for a chance to die first.

Then again, he realized he wasn’t exactly fighting an army of humans. Treating these three meter tall giants the same way as treating human fighters was stupid.

It suddenly occurred to Daynes that these demons didn't bring any siege equipment. There wasn’t a single ladder or siege tower.

“Sir?” One of his lieutenants asked.

Daynes’ attention returned to the battlefield. He quickly raised his arm.

“Nock!”

Hundreds of archers loaded their shots with trembling arms.

“Loose!”

Whosh! Whosh!

Following the sound of metal piercing through the sky, hundreds of arrows darted toward the demon horde. Daynes frowned when he noticed at least one tenth of the arrows didn't have their runes properly activated.

He quickly turned his attention to the demons. There was always a tiny chance that these seemingly terrifying demons could bark more than they could bite. If that was the case, then maybe the fort could stay standing for just another day.

The result was…disappointing.

A dozen demons in the front took the most beating. All of them had a dozen arrows stuck on their armor, but none of them were fatal. One of the demons yanked the arrows out one by one before looking at the archers with a bloodthirsty smile.

“Nock!”

“Loose!”

Another round of arrows disappeared among the demon ranks, accomplishing next to nothing. This time, a few demons were hit in their eyes or necks, but they didn't care. Growling in a mixture of pain and satisfaction, they pulled the shots out the same way they did to the other arrows. As soon as the arrows were out, the bleeding has stopped. Within seconds, the wound was covered by regenerated skin.

At this point, the demons have already reached the moat. Daynes made sure to cover the bottom of the moat with sharp wooden spikes. Anyone who stepped inside would find themselves painfully impaled. In a battle between humans, the attacker would need to cross the moat with wooden planks or ladders under the storms of arrows. It would be a gruesomely long process that would fill the battlefield with corpses and screams.

The demons tried a slightly different approach.

The first line of demons let out a war cry and leaped off the ground. The archers were so shocked they stopped firing as they watched the three meter tall giants form a perfect parabola and land on the other side of the moat. The moat was 4 meters wide, but…

“Nock! Nock your arrows and unload on those bastards!”

Commander Daynes’ eyes went wide as half the archers lowered their bows in shock. What the hell? This is a battlefield, not an Olympics game! So what if every single one of the enemies can get a medal for long jump?

The archers quickly realized their mistakes and started unloading again. A handful of demons were hit while in the air. They fell into the moat, and seconds later pained roars came out. Unfortunately, much to Daynes’ dismay, the army of demons didn't fall back. If anything, the suffering of their comrades only made their blood boil.

Normally in sieges, the attacker would be at a disadvantage. The wall and the moat and the arrows would obviously be one thing, but what was more important was the morale of the men. Sometimes it would take days and multiple feasts and promises just to get the men to make a move toward the walls. As arrows come flying down and men drop like flies, the survivors would seek to turn around. In the field of battle, these cowards would only disturb the rank of the attackers and give the defenders more time to unload. That was why it usually takes ten times the attacker to take a city.

But the demons...their morale rose with their casualties. While most armies would collapse with a 10% casualty, the demons would gladly fight until the last man.

The first demon that reached the wall looked up at the top. The horde has wiped out dozens of cities like this one, and demons were known for their adaptability in war. The demon quickly rose his blade and jammed it into the wall, carefully piercing through a gap between the stones. Using the weapon was a pivot, he pulled himself up and stuck his left hand into another higher gap. Like this, he moved up the wall without a single ladder.

Those who were at the wall seconds later did a similar thing while screaming at the first demon in jealousy.

“Archers, prepare for melee!” Daynes screamed as he drew his sword. Fifty of his personal guards gathered behind him. Artillery support was always good, but 500 men could barely cover the entire side of the wall in melee. He couldn’t afford to have a single less spear.

The first demon popped his head up the wall. Immediately, three spears went for his head, but the demon was fast, especially for his size. He tilted his head to the side before reaching up and grabbing onto one of the spears and pulled it over the wall. The Moon soldier refused to let it go, and before long, he found himself falling down the wrong side of the barrier.

His ear piercing scream came to a halt when one of the demons on the ground decided to place his blade on the man’s trajectory.

Before the two other spearmen could strike again, the demon popped himself onto the wall. A giant, two meter long sword in hand, he sliced the two other spearmen into two in one strike. Their wooden spears snapped like, well, wood.

Several other defenders moved forward, but they were cut open one by one. The demon barely needed a second strike. The blade, shining in green, punched through Moon defensive runes like paper.

Commander Daynes’ face turned pale. He expected the demons to be mighty, but he didn't expect hundreds of defenders to not be able to handle a single one of their foot soldiers. The demon already had a dozen corpses underneath his feet, and the rest of the Moon soldiers decided maybe they didn't want to end in two pieces. The commander knew he had to do something.

“For our families! For our people!”

With a war cry, he charged forward at the demon. His guards following tight behind. The demon made a disgusting smile as he swiped his blade horizontally. The commander’s face turned pale as he knelt down, barely missing the strike.

His men weren’t as lucky. Two guards had their stomach sliced open. Their guts fell on the ground as they screamed in extreme agony.

Daynes pushed on. The demon’s blade’s size made it unstoppable, but it also made it clumsy. Before the demon could pull his weapon back, Daynes moved forward and jammed his sword into a part of the demon’s stomach where it wasn’t clad by armor.

The demon smirked. It was obvious that blade didn't do any real damage, but that smirk was suddenly wiped off when explosive blue energy expanded from the blade and blew half his body away.

This time, it was Daynes that was smirking. The blade he was using, the Silence Guardian, was gifted to his ancestor by an Emperor of the Moon in the past. Supposedly, it was a relic from a gone golden age. It broke through the demon’s defenses with ease.

But it turned out that smirking was a sign of bad luck, because the fatally wounded demon suddenly roared and grabbed onto Daynes, who thought the demon was incapacitated and stepped a bit too close. The Moon commander struggled, and his armor’s runes put in the work, but it was futile. The demon used all his strength to throw Daynes at the demon horde before being stabbed multiple times by the furious guards.

Following the death of Commander Daynes, an endless horde of demons poured over the wall and into the city. The 500 men on that side of the wall were the first to die. The rest of the 2,000 defenders quickly followed the path of their fallen comrades. The refugees tried to run. They tried to fight. They even tried to surrender. But the demons accepted none of that. They killed every single human being inside the city walls and let the river run dry with the blood of the innocent. When that was done, they turned their attention to the buildings. The walls were torn down. The houses were lit on fire. In the end, when the demons were done left, the fort was no more than a mountain of rubbles.

The commander’s abrupt death might have accelerated the process, but the result of the battle was decided from the very beginning.

Fort Perseverance never stood a chance.

Fort Perseverance was the last Moon settlement to fall. With it destroyed, so was the Empire of the Moon and all it stood for.

It took them two weeks, but Violet’s demonic army has finally accomplished its task.

On the other hand, it took Jean’s Wardens merely three days to wipe out the Empire the Sun. It was unsurprising. There was a not so insignificant difference between work and hobby.

As the fort fell, both Jean and Violet realized something.

Their job here was done. There was nothing more to be gained. It was time to leave.