In another place and at another time in the distant north west, a very similar scene was about to play out.

A mellow moon hung somberly amidst the peaceful evening sky. Its light gently bore down, glistening upon a rising mist which gave off an eerie air. A lone citadel stood among a brazen mountain pass with unsuspecting soldiers going about their daily patrols. They were far removed from the chaos of battle which had come upon the kingdoms to the east and south and were unaware of the danger approaching.

It was difficult for Humans to see in the darkness. Torches had been lit along pathways leading out of the citadel as well as along the ground around the walls. This created an area of light around the fortress but only in the immediate vicinity. Even with the light of the torches, it was still difficult to see anything from on top the high 50 meter walls.

Normally, this wasn’t a major concern because any invading army of Humans would have long been noticed and the defenders would have sufficient time to prepare. It would be very difficult for an enemy army to approach the walls in the dead of night without sufficient light.

Not only that, but siege weapons and large scale magic spells would be needed in order to attack the immense and powerful walls. This was not a fortress which could be easily taken and so the defenders were ignorant in their confidence of the strength of their walls.

That was because none of this applied to an army of Demihumans who could see easily in the dark and which was supported by a dragon.

This grand and mighty fortress had been constructed by the four great northern kingdoms as a last line of defense against an imperial invasion of the north. The first line of defense was the Dun’al citadel on the southern border of the kingdom of La’gun.

None of the Humans ever expected that an army of Demihuman warriors would invade the northern kingdoms and in fact it was only because of the chaos going on in the kingdoms to the south and their swift marching by moonlight that the Demihumans were able to catch these defenders completely unaware.

“Bring us in closer, the Humans won’t be able to see us in the dark and your scales are as black as night.” Grunted Accadeas riding atop Nes as he glided through the night sky.

“I am not your personal mount.” Replied Nes awkwardly but with a hint of frustration.

“You’re right, you are a prisoner. Now shut it and follow orders.” Said Accadeas before turning to Rajal Khan who was behind him.

“Prepare yourself, we will jump and land on the wall there.”

Accadeas pointed to the area of the wall he was referring before continuing.

“With the three of us here, we should be able to easily take down the soldiers defending this portion of the wall. Rajal, you and I will attack the soldiers while Rikkard places the hooks along the walls and lets down the ropes. Once the soldiers we tasked with climbing the walls reach the top, we will move to secure the gate. My Demonkin heavy infantry will then rush in through the main gate. Meanwhile, Nes, it is your job to wreak as much havoc as possible on the citadel. Does everyone understand their role?”

Seated on Nes behind Accadeas were two other Demihumans. One was the Khan of the Tigerkin, who was a fierce and powerful warrior only slightly weaker than Accadeas. The other was the most powerful spearman and champion of the Rabbitkin tribe, Rikkard.

“Enough Accadeas, you’ve explained the plan several times already, we get it!” Growled Rajal Khan with some annoyance.

Rikkard on the other hand remained silent, he had a serious personality and didn’t speak much. Despite the fact that one would think a rabbit to be timid, the Rabbitkin tribe were in fact fearsome and powerful warriors. Their specialty was the spear and they were extremely agile with sturdy lower bodies allowing them to put great strength behind their spear thrusts.

“Heh, fine. Since you are so confident, let’s make a bet.” Said Accadeas with playful grin.

“What bet?”

“Let’s see who can take down the most enemy soldiers!”

“Hah! You’re on! I will definitely win this. Your individual strength might be greater than mine but my range and area of attack is superior!”

“We’ll see about that!”

Accadeas and Rajal Khan pumped themselves up, giving each other an evil looking grin as they anticipated the battle to come.

“If only I had a dragon when I was fighting against the empire! How much easier things might have been….”

Nes grunted at Accadeas’ comment in anger before suddenly swooping downward angrily in the hope of jilting those on his back. The motion didn’t upset the balance of the riders and they chuckled teasingly at Nes’s action.

Nes didn’t truly wish to throw them off and continued his downward descent. He no longer beat his wings and instead glided through the air in a smooth downward arc heading straight toward the section of the wall they had planned for.

The top of the wall was very wide and the walls were extremely thick. If they had to fight in a more traditional sense, with siege equipment and spells, it would most likely be impossible to break even a small section of the wall without considerable effort and power. The wall was not only immeasurably strong, but it would definitely be imbued with defensive spells. It was a good thing that their plan didn’t require them to actually assault the walls.

Accadeas chuckled with excitement as Nes made his way closer to their destination. With the wind at their back, the three riders on Nes’s back jumped off his side as he passed a section of the wall swiftly. It happened suddenly and with extreme accuracy. The guards atop that section of the wall hadn’t even noticed the three before they landed with a slight thump.

However, before they could even get over their shock of seeing three relatively large and burly figures land, they were silenced. Their actions did not go unnoticed by other guards along the section of the wall. There were pockets of them spaced out across the entire wall and it would be impossible for them not to notice considering the wall was excessively lit with torches and they were after all professional soldiers.

The three weren’t so arrogant that they thought they would be able to wreak havoc on top of the wall without being noticed but before the guards could even sound an alarm, the fortress was suddenly lit up with the light of flames.

A loud dragon’s roar broke the serenity of the night’s silence and the excessive heat of dragon’s flames warmed the cool night air. This caused havoc amidst the slumbering fortress making the arrival of the three Demihumans atop the wall seem as if it were a minor occurrence. The sound of ringing bells resounded throughout the fortress and chaos ensued as Nes rained fire on the fortress from the sky. His movements were quick as he set flames to the walls throughout the entirety of the fortress.

“Haha! Now this is what I call a night raid! Rikkard, quickly attach the hooks and let down the ropes. Make sure to guard the area, don’t let any soldiers get close. Let’s kill us some Humans!!”

Rajal and Accadeas did not hesitate and roared while quickly moving into action. Accadeas ran along the wall in one direction while Rajal ran in the other. Their battle cries were barely discernible above the chaos of Nes’s attack and the sound of alarm bells ringing. Only soldiers in the immediate vicinity were aware of their attack upon the wall but their efforts were fruitless as Accadeas and Rajal plowed through them.

Their powerful attacks and overwhelming strength made quick work of the Human soldiers they faced.

“22… 23… 24!” Shouted Accadeas happily while steamrolling several Human soldiers at once.

The competition between Accadeas and Rajal was in full force as the two shouted the number of soldiers they defeated. Meanwhile, the Human soldiers within the fortress were chaotically running around attempting to put out fires started by the dragon’s flames. Human officers shouted orders and soon ballistas and other long rage siege equipment were being aimed towards the sky in an effort to fire at Nes.

However, due to the dark of night and Nes’s black scales, it was difficult to target him and most shots were fired aimlessly into the night. Nes deftly maneuvered above the fortress, easily dodging projectiles fired from the siege equipment as he rained down fire on their heads.

He had nothing to fear from the bows and arrows of the soldiers and didn’t bother to dodge the arrows fired from them. Only the large bolts fired from ballistas posed any sort of danger to him and even those weren’t enough for him to fear for his life. This was also not to mention how difficult it was for the soldiers to even hit him in the dead of night.

Outside the wall, dozens of shadowy figures in all black clothing made their way up the lengthy ropes which had been dropped down from on top of the high walls. Due to the length of the rope, they were only able to bring a few along, but it was enough for the dozens of Demihuman assassins to climb the walls.

Among their number were a variety of Demihuman tribesman known for their agility and deft movements. Members of the Rabbitkin, Tigerkin, and Catkin made up the bulk of the assassins currently assigned to the mission. They were extremely agile and had no issues climbing the high wall with the aid of the rope. This would have been an impossible feat if not for the aid of a dragon and the three powerful Demihumans wreaking havoc atop the wall.

While the soldiers were certainly professionals, they had never faced anything like this which led to an initial panic and considerable chaos. The officers organized pockets of resistance against Nes’s bombardment but it was ineffective. They began ordering their men to fire thousands of flaming arrows into the sky to provide some light. This caused Nes to focus his flame attacks on the archers along the walls as well as those manning the siege ballistas.

One of the Human officers led an organized attack on the walls where Accadeas was fighting. He led hundreds of soldiers in an attempt to surround him. The walls were wide enough that there was plenty of room for them all to maneuver but it didn’t matter how many soldiers surrounded him as he blasted his way through with sheer physical might.

Rajal was having a much easier time of it but still was engaged with dozens of enemy soldiers. The assassins finally beginning to arrive upon the walls relieved some of the pressure off of the two and they began to push the soldiers back.

“All of our warriors are accounted for!” Yelled Rikkard when the last of the assassins made his way up the wall.

Accadeas was busily fighting while roaring in in excitement, “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time! Haha!”

“Tch, look at that fool. Did he already forget the mission?” Yelled Rajal after noticing Accadeas berserking behavior.

“Let’s go! Rikkard, lead the assassins to the gatehouse. I will go and support Accadeas until he has had his full. Once he starts raging like this, it will be a while until he regains his senses.”

Rikkard nodded and called out to the assassins leading them towards the gatehouse. They met stiff resistance at the gates despite their preparation but all of the members of this particular force were elite warriors among the tribes and they fought fiercely slaying many Human soldiers.

Rajal noticing that the gates had still not opened despite some time having passed, glanced worryingly towards Accadeas who was still in berserk mode, “Dammit, Accadeas knock out of it! I need you to come back to your senses now!”

Despite Rajal’s urging, Accadeas continued with his berserk behavior until there were no more soldiers left in that section of the wall. He finally calmed down realizing what had happened.

His eyes having returned from crimson to his normal hue, he looked around gloomily. There were many soldiers dead or unconscious around him while others had fled.

“Oops…”

Rajal almost punched him.