“Wah! Wah! Mommy, where is Daddy? I want Daddy.” Sky cried before her naptime.

Before he left for war, Wolf used to tuck her in, retelling his adventures with Archibald.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Shh, shh, baby. Daddy will return, don’t cry.” Mandy cradled her little girl, gently swaying. “Sleep. Sleep. In the afternoon, we can go play with William and aunt Frida.”

“Daddy!” Sky wailed.

While Sky cried for her father, in the distant Northshield, people cried for gods to save them. This incursion devastated their duchy. The incursion’s first month claimed Lord of Hail. Thankfully, a joint intervention of three True-Namers annihilated the assailing demon horde. During the following four months, they lost yet another man, bringing the pitiful ten to abysmal eight defenders.

Why don’t those fuckers send reinforcements? Lord of Vine cursed while soaring in his cloud form. We are all humans, and Silverhound could’ve spared at least three True-Namers to aid us. We’re all going to die if this continues.

Adamantfort’s patrol failed to return while exploring the nearby forest, and following procedure, the Ninth Order Mage in charge notified his superior after two hours. The town-fortress was an hour’s flight from Lord of Vine’s outpost. Considering his duchy’s poor luck so far, the True-Namer immediately assumed the worst. He merged with the wind and stormed off.

And that blasted Darius! He made such a mess! Populace flooded towns and cities, and now forests cover the abandoned countryside. You can’t see a damn thing from above. Lord of Vine materialized in front of a dense woodland, his face sour.

He was supposed to profit from the terrain’s change. Vines grew everywhere. However, given the decreased visibility, his power boost came at an enormous price.

The True-Namer watched the thicket as his lips moved. When he stopped chanting, several thick creepers shot out of the forest, formed a cot behind his back, then launched him into the forest. Vines created cradles throughout the forest, throwing the True-Namer from one to another.

Whizzing through the air, flying dozens of meters while getting catapulted from vine-bed to vine-bed meant death or maiming for everyone save Lord of Vine. After three ricochets, his speed grew faster than under Merge With Wind. Sadly, he couldn’t use it for travel, burning so much Soul Force to maintain his awakened senses taxed his mind and the route he took was random, depending on the surrounding flora.

At least Adamantfort still stands. Did the patrol lose their way in the thicket? Even I’m having trouble navigating it. But they are locals, they should know the beaten paths. While Lord of Vine considered his current situation, a faint sensation of hatred pricked his mind.

Demons! He retreated without hesitation and began chanting Commune.

Lord Headmaster, Demons spotted south-south-east of Adamantfort, about an hour’s worth of walking. I will eradicate them. We can assume the local militia sent to patrol has fallen.

Be careful, young man. Run if you believe you’re in danger.

Lord of Vine delivered his report, then carefully approached the extermination. By awakening his senses, he perceived Demons long before they noticed him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t developed Wolf’s technique to estimate numbers and the Order of his enemies, meaning the elderly True-Namer walked around blind.

I should’ve improved Vine-sight more. Lord of Vine regretted his past laziness, but he never dreamed five hundred meters wouldn’t be enough for his needs. Besides, his faculties struggled to process everything happening within the spell’s radius. No. It’s already at its limits. I could’ve made a new spell for linear perception, but that might have wasted another three years of my life…

It was too late for regret. He could only clench his teeth and move forward with this job. Just as Headmaster Whitford said, this was why the Empire fed them.

Lord of Vine followed a distant faint prick. The manual claims we detect Demons from a kilometer away, increased by a fold or two when we awaken our senses.

For a moment, he hesitated.

I have little choice. Lord of Vine’s mouth twisted. I’ll use the brute approach, and I can’t use my True-Name, otherwise I won’t have Soul Force in case of danger.

The True-Namer cast another self-made spell, Heart of Vine. Surrounding creepers shuffled and squirmed towards him. They latched onto his body, forming a green giant with a human at the heart.

The manmade monstrosity lumbered through the forest, approaching the Demons until bestial battle-cries filled the air. Lord of Vine’s heart thumped madly.

They are coming. Twenty to thirty. He analyzed the sounds and rustles while his heart quivered. He had exterminated five bands of Demons so far, but still felt nervous. Relax. They are just mindless beasts. Your war form can crush them while you are safe. There’s nothing to fear.

Even though he raised his morale, Lord of Vine still winced when berserk Demons jumped out of the shrubbery. The first one was a woman, most Demons were. She appeared human, twenty-odd years old. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she screamed, jumping straight at the creepy monstrosity before her.

Lord of Vine expected her, as well as the ones who followed. Controlling the green hulk reduced Vine-sight’s radius to one hundred meters, but within this area, he was nearly omniscient.

That was enough for him to swipe barbed tentacles at the incoming enemies before they appeared. The woman watched as a mass of spiked wood, thicker than a man’s torso, smashed towards her skull. At the last moment, she instinctively formed a Qi shield, but the force-field failed to block the amalgamation of creepers. The ward burst, followed shortly by her head.

Men and women yelled in hatred while the green aberration smashed or squeezed them to death.

They didn’t even scratch my armor. Lord of Vine smiled, his heart racing. There’s more of them.

He sensed no hatred. Instead, he heard distant screams. Well, your numbers don’t matter. By the time I reach you, I will become a fortress. Lord of Vine lumbered forward. Where he passed, creepers stretched towards him, merging into his armor. He didn’t sense enemies for ten whole minutes before a veritable sea of hatred flooded towards him.

There’s a horde of them. Hatred flared in Lord of Vine’s heart, but remained manageable. Numbers don’t matter. They can’t cut their way to me in half an hour. By then, I’ll squish them dead.

Several minutes later, waves of deranged savages swarmed Lord of Vine. However, by the time he killed the tenth one, he felt his head spin. Kill! Kill! Kill the Demons!

A wave of madness consumed him. Thick clumps of creepers smashed men and women apart, turning them into a pulp, but it wasn’t enough to sate the True-Namer’s hatred. No! I must flee! He struggled, realizing in his lucid moments someone terrifying approached.

Kill!

He failed. He smashed a giant tentacle at a woman, but she yelled and severed the clump thicker than a man’s waist with a sweep of her falchion. Four others appeared next to her, blocking and hacking at the plant abomination.

“Raaaaah!” With a roar, a burly woman rushed out of the forest, bounding towards the monster. She ducked under a thick tendril, which smashed at her and leaped. The barbarian commander soared through the air.

“Sunder the Mountains!” she cried and earthen light coated her ax. With a single swing, she cleaved the green monster in half. A tsunami of energy crashed into the terrified Lord of Vine, blasting him to pieces.

The mass of creepers fell apart, and everyone regained their sanity.

Gara looked at her honor guard and smiled. They suffered no wounds. Then she turned and observed the scene of slaughter. Two hundred dead. Morale will plummet if I leave it at that…

“I Gara the Grizzly have slain a Greater Fiend!” Gara shouted. “Nothing stands in the way of our Bear Tribe’s conquest! Find the Fiend’s Ring of Holding and let our year of bounty begin with the riches it guarded with its life!”

Gara slapped her chest, which resounded like a war-drum.

“Ua! Gara! Gara! Gara!” The surrounding warriors cheered for their leader, who cursed deep inside.

I have ten thousand fighters, but I had to leave five thousand to guard the Treasure Rift against other tribes.

Gara glanced and saw people mourning the dead. We can’t stop. Grab everything we can in a week, then return home to regroup and prepare for a second expedition.

“Sisters and brothers!” Gara rallied her party. “I will collect the fallen, you press on! Bring prosperity to our mothers and fathers, to our husbands and wives back home! Bear Tribe was lucky to have a Treasure Rift open in our territory. We can’t waste that opportunity! Press on! Loot! Loot!”

“Loot! Loot! Loot!” warriors hooted, picking up the chant.

Gara, a first stage Blood Saturating expert, watched them and smiled. She restored their morale. Nothing like riches and greed to light up wavering battle spirit.

She wanted to warn them about not bunching up. One Greater Fiend wiped out around two hundred and fifty of her troops. But warning them about danger might reduce their confidence. After a moment, she found her words.

“Fan out! Find their settlements, but don’t act alone! Return with the news and then we hit them hard with our full force. Remember not to get too close, or the Haze will make you mindless.”