Chapter 19: Unexpected Invasions Are So Fun

"WHAT?!WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WE HAVE HAD OUR NOBLES PURGED?!"

The message that he was given was so out of touch with reality that he didn't want to believe it, it was a nightmare scenario that it was a joke to his face. How could the nobles who had only just tightened their defenses be already dead?!

"WAS THERE A RAT?!WHO IS THE SPY?!"

"We couldn't find the spy or any traces of such a person...."

"I do not understand how such a thing is even possible!!You must be joking me right?!The nobles are not dead right?!"

"......."

The messenger let out a struggling breath which made Keith realize this wasn't the case, images of the deceased nobles were flashed right before his eyes with the surveillance orb that had been placed within the plaza of each noble's city or town. He grabs his already thinning hair and groans as he watches what has been done to those nobles, not all of them had died but the ones who were left were all beastkin apologists who wanted to free them and make them first class citizens just like the humans. He was disgusted by the bunch really, he didn't want to gather them together to form a group of people who would protect the city states together because they had the chance of.......wait wasn't this their fault?How else would the nobles he trusted be slaughtered in their sleep like this? A rebellion that was occurring in the secret, he only had his armies and knew where the beastkin apologists were. To Keith this was the right moment to purge them as well and start over again but the main issue he was afraid of was the beastkin nation that would be on the verge of becoming an empire again. It was something that scared him especially knowing that they had something up their sleeve. A nightmare he couldn't shake off by waking up and seeing reality for what it was, the room felt cold and intense. All of the beautiful paintings of begone battlefields he passed through were nothing compared to this, the tea in his cup had grown to become cold as well he pushed it to the side and stared into the orb once more to see the dead nobles in their plazas with people celebrating at their deaths.

"Give my army a day's notice that we will begin marching to the territories where the beastkin apologist nobles are. We are going to kill them just like they killed their brothers and sisters. Then after that we will invade the beastkin kingdom and finally bring their filthy beastly necks under our heels."

"Yes Sir!"

The knight left the room and began to run to fulfill the message.

"I know I am being ambitious but now's not a time to be cautious I have to pull through for the future"

If he couldn't at least do this then what could he do?Keith needed to also inform Peterson about his plans, he would willingly leave the brat out of the loop because he felt like things would go awry if he included him in it. He would place his own son as the next lord after killing that incompetent idiot. It had to be done. For now all he had to do was mentally prepare himself for the war that was about to hit his doors.

☆

"Okay then I will now give out the layout of the plan that will be played out tomorrow at dusk"

"Why dusk?"

The Queen, Cimeria asked with a tone of curiosity as to why I had chosen dusk of all times. And my answer would be very simple.

"For a theatrical reasons"

"Theatrical reasons?"

"An army of beasts and darkness appearing from nowhere at dusk has the effect that I need. Will your armies be ready by then?"

"Yes. I'll inform them all using my recent skill Empress' Command Skill"

"Wynter, Odin"

Wynter had been staring intently at me whilst Odin had been staring at the map that was spread out with a focused eye as the flame inside of his eye was dimmed down in pure concentration.

"Yes My Lord?"

"Speak and I will do as you wish"

"You will be attacking the capital cities of the Lords Keith and Peterson. Keith for Odin who is an old general you might even gain some strategist skills from the old man."

"Oh?I am pleased that you made this choice for me Mother"

"Peterson for Wynter because the bastard has a long reputation of using beastkin women for his own horrendous entertainment I don't need to tell you what kind of entertainment it is"

"Understood I will make sure he is thoroughly tortured"

"Great then. Let's end this party once after all at dusk, by nightfall the Beastkin Empire of Grimsvile will be born"

"Heh"

"Indeed"

"Let's work hard and surprise these motherfuckers who are new to broken common sense"

"She actually acknowledges it"

Shen says whilst sipping tea in the corner staring at the rising morning sun.

"Hey!At least I know I am an irregular being!!"

"Yeah...."

"What shall we call this military operation Yukiyo-sama?"

"Sorry about that, we'll call it Dusk Fall"

"Sounds excellent"

"I am good with names I know"

"So who would be attacking the final lord?"

"Me of course. I have some unfinished business with the guy and boy do I have some treats for him"

"I feel sorry for the guy"

"Same here"

"Mama do your best!"

"Mother make sure you hit him where it hurts, preferably the groin."

"Thank you Kuro and Shiro!I will make sure I live up to your expectations"

💀 Keith Gresval / Death By Hanging

Something was wrong, he could feel it in his gut. Today was the day he would write a speech that would encourage his army to begin a march of honorable slaughter and then a battle for the beastkin kingdom. Gathering them all would take a week at most and marching to each of the territories would take about 2 weeks or so. The march to the beastkin kingdom along with Peterson's men would take an entire month and from there he wouldn't know how long would the beasts hold up. The royal family back in the empire would be glad that he finally got the strength to fight the beastkin kingdom and put them under their control, it was a simple matter to him and yet there it was, the feeling he couldn't shake off. He was doing well and had thought out his plan in a way that there wouldn't be any problems. He checked out the papers laid out on the table once more and began to read them, these were his thoughts laid out in full view.

Each and everyone of the papers detailing the kind of strategy he would use against which noble and beast fort, he thought ahead of time and knew that his men would be hungry so he stationed supply carriages near the border where they could resupply their rations and rest for a while. His thought process was very vivid and he still had the strength to cleave an ogre in half if he pushed himself to his limits, the emotion had still remained however.

"I will rest maybe its just me being stressed out by the events that have been occurring for the past week or so"

First was the fact the beastkin slaves were taken away from them by enormous god like wolves, then their elite forces slaughtered with ease inside of a dungeon that those wolves that created and finally the nobles he trusted would help him in tough times being killed immediately right after he issued a decree for them to stay safe in their own homes. One would not believe him if he said that this happened within a week, they were all important events that would make a nation shiver and quake in pure terror.

He knew they were abnormal in the fullest sense of the word, his reality was nonsense to those Fenrirs but maybe he could actually do something about them. He just needed time and once he had it he would capture them and bring them true despair. He drinks a cold glass of water which was poured in by the beastkin slave maid who looked pitiful just as he liked. Keith throws the glass across the wall and laughs loudly at visions he had for the beastkin. He walks into his bedroom suddenly he was hit by a bout of dizziness that made him drop down onto his bed, the last thing he could see was the twisted smile of the maid whose eyes swirled in pure darkness her face almost seemed like a mask that he didn't want to stare at all. He fades into a vortex of sleep as he could feel it in his soul this was the thing that was wrong.

☆

"MY LORD!!MY LORD WAKE UP!!PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF OUR LAND!!WAKE UP!!"

A loud voice shook him out of the spell of sleep that he had fallen into and with a confused face, one of his personal knights Henry had come all the way to his bedroom. His face was distorted with fear and he didn't know why but it seemed urgent, his gut was telling him that something was utterly wrong. He got up on his feet and began walking towards the highest point of the castle where he could see the entire city and landscape that was before it. His face twisted in despair as an army was marching as the sun was setting on them, the beastkin had arrived on their doorstep along with the demons and undead.

"C-CALL THE EMPIRE!!TELL THEM WE ARE BEING INVADED BY THE DEMONS!!!"

"Sir, our magic communication devices have been scrambled!!We cannot contact anyone at all!!"

"......That is why she was smiling so evilly she wanted me to see this sight and fall into despair."

The maid who was the incarnation of evil itself had smirked to such an extent he could understand where it came from, an army coming from the depths of hell as the beasts truly seemed like monsters with the demons roaring in anticipation as the undead laughed madly at the sight of the castle.

"PREPARE THE MEN WE SHALL HOLD THEM BACK UNTIL WE GET THE COMMUNICATION BACK ON!!"

He had to fight, to protect the city, to protect his future. Keith ran down the stairs with a sense of urgency and quickly opened the room where he kept his armor and began to wear it taking the sword which he had abandoned all those years ago to retire to become a lord of the region. His logical mind was telling him to run and he will live as long as he made his escape but his warrior's pride and honor told him that he wouldn't live this down and would die from the guilt, his instincts told him the hopelessness of the situation that he wouldn't escape this even if he tried. It was something that was hidden in the very backend of his mind, he didn't want to acknowledge that he might actually die on the battlefield when he had so much to do. He walks out in his armor preparing to ride his horse. His face that was already filled with wrinkles of age doubled due to the stress he was enduring and desperately trying to hide.

"Report what you saw on the battlefield"

"Yes!There's about 200 beasts, 50 demons and 100 undead. They've surrounded the city too so there is no way we can make an escape for you My Lord"

"As for the secret passages?"

"........It seems by some sort of magic they knew where they were and sealed them off"

"What kind of enemy are we dealing with?"

"My honest opinion Sir, is an abnormal enemy with the blessings from an evil god"

"Makes sense, since they sold their souls to the demons and their pagan gods. Men we have to fight for our lives here, this is a trial from the gods if we do not do anything about it we will not be going back to our families tonight."

The soldiers nodded as this was going to go down in history, if they managed to push back evil they would be known as heroes who persevered through a trial from the gods. This was something that gave them the hearts of lions, Keith was forced to give a speech that he had half written.

"Dear men, I have to give my apologies because we have been thrusted into the fires of war so early by an enemy who doesn't know the common senses of our world. I thought we could bring the fight to them but instead they brought it to us. Please do not lose heart however because we are certainly going to use Our Lord's blessing to punish these devils and beasts. You all have lovers, families and most importantly a land to protect do not allow them to steal and destroy these things from you. BY OUR LORD WE WILL CONQUER THIS TRIAL!!"

"BY OUR LORD WE WILL CONQUER THIS TRIAL!!"

They all shouted in unison and morale was up in the air, there was no way they could feel despair at the hands of the enemies and then . The army of beastkin, demons and undead were marching towards them but something was different, their eyes were glowing crimson it was the same as the sky that was behind them: a dusk red sky. Fear had penetrated their hearts in such a manner they didn't want to move a step forward as the unified roar of the enemy forces could be heard all around them as the slow march turned into a sprint towards them. As if striking a chord inside of their hearts, fear had caused them to sprint towards the monsters in unison. Those with horses had to wait until the infantry made their way to the rushing madness that was roaring to slaughter them. The expected clash had happened but it wasn't what they anticipated.

Like a swarm of rats being crushed by a stampede of horses they were torn to pieces by the enemy forces who were more far more vicious than they had anticipated, it was something that was straight out of a nightmare as the beastkin transformed into literal beasts of the forest, their forms were of the following: wolves, dogs, lions, tigers, and bears. Their fangs and claws ripped them to shreds as they screamed for help upon being overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Their fur was as tough as highly conducted magic steel and broke upon them trying to slash them, the demons cast spells that set them on fire, drowned them on land and covered in needles all over. The most unfortunate ones were the ones who encountered the undead who were devoured by them, had their bones torn out from their bones, had their intestines ripped out from their bodies and used to hang them. The cavalry was no better as undead on spectral horses rode to joust them off of their horses causing them to fall off with them standing up to get impaled by the same undead with thorn covered lances that dug into their flesh with the sadistic undead twist their injuries. Keith froze as he watched the chaos that was happening all around him, he had been spared for some reason despite taking down some undead.

"MY LORD RUN FOR YOUR LIFE THIS IS NO BATTLEFIELD!!THIS IS A KILLING FLOOR SAVE YOURSEL-?!"

Henry's head was sent flying within an instant as Death incarnate had arrived as it bore the title of the commander of this army of monsters, the undead general had an aura that emitted the souls of the dead themselves. He zoomed forwards toward the royal guard that were beside him stabbing the first within the joints lifting him before sending his sundered body flying across the battlefield, his burning crimson eye turned to the royal guard who were running towards him as soon as he had dealt with one of them in such a manner. He avoided both of their weapons respectively, the sword and the halberd. The shaft of the halberd was broken quickly before its wielder could pull back, with the axe being left to drop to the ground but before such a thing could happen it was kicked into air and sent flying into the heads of the wielder and the royal guard behind him. With a punch to the face the skull of the royal knight caves as the undead general grabs his sword midst whilst it was falling with his body being covered by a crimson air as he lets out a black breath before leaping backwards. His crimson eye turns black as he moves forward. In a rapid motion he slices and dices all of the knights within his way before the second sword which isn't his breaks, several other knights come in place of the fallen royal guard. The undead general laughs as he takes the crossbow hanging on his left side walking steadily as it reloads itself before shooting arrows that explode in the faces and bodies of the knights causing them to scream whilst on the ground before more arrows send them into a deathly silence. Everyone around him is dead and rises once more as undead to fight against their brethren.

"He who presides over death itself, a Death Lord"

Keith says as he watches the Death Lord kill everyone who would protect him and now they were left alone. His armor was covered in the blood and souls of those he had killed. He points his sword at him. He knew he was going to die here, his instincts were right and it was all for naught.

"Will you run or fight like a man?"

"I will fight, even if I know I will die by your hand"

"Well spoken I commend your fighting spirit, come hit me with your best shot. I will give myself a handicap"

He stabs his sword into the nearby rock and imbues it with mana that it wouldn't be pulled out by anyone. He picks off a dagger from one of the soldiers and goes into a stance.

"FOR THE GLORY OF THE EMPIRE!!!OOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

He ran despite being an old man, he felt like all his life's experience with the sword was for this moment alone. He swung possibly his best at the Death Lord before a single flash occurs as the dagger which was supposed to break under the weight of his magic sword was pushed back, within the blink of an eye the Death Lord had cut off all of his tendons and made him fall down to the ground.

"That was an excellent swing, I Odin approve. However you will die a dog's death, had you been more virtuous you would have had your head sent flying but you were not. As punishment for the sins you have committed against the beastkin you will watch your men die, have your eyes blotted out and then hung"

Keith's face dyed in despair as his head was grabbed by the Death Lord who forced him to watch his men be slaughtered like sheep in a butchery, their screams were all that he heard, he even begged to spare their lives but the Death Lord was equal in killing them all, none of them survived.

"Now that their deaths and screams has imprinted itself in your mind, that will be your final sight."

"no no no no no NOOOO STOP DO NOT DO THIS I WILL TURN OVER A NEW LEAF PLEASE DO NOT-AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"

With a hot red rod his sight was taken away from him and he was now being dragged across the battlefield, into the city where he could hear the cries of the people, across the plaza where silence rode in triumph where he was publicly stripped naked as everyone in the capital couldn't say a word.

"All of you follow me"

With a single command he could hear the collected footsteps of the people as he was dragged out like a slave. He could feel the fear of the slaves, the sorrow of those captured and the hopelessness of those beastkin without power. He didn't know where he was taken and a rope tied around his neck Keith began to sob in fear.

"You are right outside of the capital, a place where mutts are hung. A place where the nameless die. You shall be nameless, your son died honorably in battle and he will live amongst warriors but you shall die like a dog. Enjoy the last moments of your life."

The rope tightened right before he could scream out in terror and then a snap, the final moment he saw of his men dying was all he ever witnessed and now it was repeating into a thousand sights of brutality until the image resembled hell. Then pitch black abyss. Keith Gresval was no more.

💀Peterson Melnia/ Death by Mastication