I formed a line with the Settlers behind in the middle surrounded by Volcanic Predators. Seeing as how the Settler unit was weaker despite also being made of Volcano Hounds, I wanted to protect them if I could. They didn’t need to throw their lives away when the Volcanic Predators would be good enough on their own.

Then again, it might actually be better to send all three units at once. Attacking all together would wipe them out faster and potentially result in even fewer of our units’ number dying.

It was a hard choice to make. Ultimately, it didn’t matter too much, but I really did want to protect our units if possible. I wanted as little death as possible even if the ones I was sending into battle were all battle hungry and had no problem with death.

Yeah. Sending them all together is probably the better option. Send in the Settler unit since it has higher defense and more members to tank while the others flank. Also, I don’t think any of those Volcano Hounds would be happy about not getting to participate in the fight, even if it means being safe.

Using a Settler or any unit like it in 4X games to fight wasn’t exactly a common tactic, but it was going to be supported by two units that would surely rip the guards to shreds in no time at all.

So, I gave them my orders.

The Settlers would engage first while the Volcanic Predators moved in to flank the enemy.

As soon as the order was in, Kaila grinned and cheered, “Let the hunt begin!”

And so, the hunt began.

The enemy’s guards immediately moved backward onto their flag with the main tent, and that looked like it gave them a small percentage boost to their defense. It wasn’t going to be enough, though. It would likely guarantee that they kill at least some of the Volcano Hounds, but it was impossible for them to win.

And with our Volcano Hounds’ speed, it didn’t take long for our units to meet them on the grassy hills. Speaking of which, it was my first time getting to see the Sleeping Hills with my own eyes. I only got to read the description of it before. They weren’t too hilly, instead just having some small mounds here and there that didn’t even slow down the movement of our units, but there was definitely something strange with them. The mounds moved in a way that looked as if they were gently breathing. Even so, our units ran right over the “breathing” hills without issue until they reached our opponent, charging straight through their camp.

It must have been a terrifying sight for the guards to see three groups of Volcano Hounds with their massive, deadly claws rushing at them on all fours running faster than any human ever could.

We surrounded them.

The guard unit was composed of those Viking Elves with only light, cloth armor and some basic weapons to defend themselves with. There was no way that they were going to withstand the combined assault of our units.

The Settlers went in first just to engage them and get their backs turned to the others.

Even with their boosted defense from the tile they were on and the defense level of the settlement, the guards went down in no time at all even to our Settler unit. Their numbers began to drop even faster once the Volcanic Predators charged in to flank them together.

I got to watch how the Volcano Hounds fight for the first time, and it was brutal.

Very brutal.

They didn’t just use their sharp claws, either. They used their fangs. They would pounce onto the Viking Elves, dig their claws into their bodies, and then latch onto their necks with their fangs to tear them apart. Some of the Viking Elves were lucky and would get torn in half from the hounds’ claws in the opening attack. Others weren’t and had to suffer through having their throats torn out while claws impaled their torsos.

It didn’t take long for their morale, or “loyalty” as the game called it, to break. The moment it break, a victory screen popped up, but the battle raged on behind it. Or rather, the slaughter raged on. The Viking Elves tried to run away, but they couldn’t due to the surrounding Volcano Hounds. All they could do was try and break through only to get cut down by claws until not a single one was left.

The battle went even more smoothly than I thought it would. The Settler unit dropped from having seventeen members to only having thirteen members, so some of them did die.

I just had to remind myself that they didn’t care. It was all fun and games to them and they knew what they were getting into.

I would still honor them later in the evening but, for now, all that mattered was our victory.

We won.

And because we won, we earned ourselves a new settlement to do whatever we wanted with.

“How about that, Thad?” I asked.

Thad sighed and shook his head. “I won’t get excited. This wasn’t a battle, it was a massacre. Once we go against their actual forces—”

“We’ll massacre them, too.” Our murder hobo fire puppies weren’t going to roll over and let some Viking Elves beat them.

Another sigh left Thad’s lips. “I hope so.”

As for Kaila, she actually looked upset. I was worried that she might have been upset due to some of the Volcano Hounds dying, but… “It’s not fair. I want to fight, too! Recruit another unit and let me be in it! Come on! Let me fight! Let me hunt! My claws itch!” She was only upset because she wasn’t there to fight, too.

“Good work,” Zira said, speaking up next. “All we have to do now is hope that they do not have an entire legion of ranged units waiting in the next region over that we can’t see.”

“We’ll be fine,” I said, trying to reassure both of us.

As for Enna, she let out the deepest sigh out of everybody. Even though the battle was practically decided before it even began, she was still worried the most out of everybody.

And that was really saying something considering that I was the one who needed medication to deal with my anxiety.

“We won, Enna,” I said. “And we’ll win the next battles, too.”

Enna smiled for the first time of the day and nodded.

Now, time to decide what to do with our new settlement.