The natives couldn’t be underestimated.

Our last encounter with their warrior elite had proven that they could pose a significant danger to both me and mine, even in seemingly small numbers, calling for a much greater effort put into finding a more secure location, providing a territorial advantage I didn’t really have at the moment.

Despite everything, it didn’t change that much on the overall plan, merely accelerating its execution.

I would be forced to do something about the castle, and its occupants, either way, sooner or later.

That much was certain.

I wasn’t entirely certain about taking a more aggressive approach, as it would go against everything I tried to achieve so far, but the last battle was too close of a call for me to feel at ease letting issues come to me.

As annoying as the unceasing hostility of the locals was, more mundane humans weren’t as big of an issue as they originally appeared to be. Instead, the true problem came in the form of their supernaturally gifted warriors.

Whether I called them ‘ninjas’ or ‘elites’ didn’t really matter.

While it was possible that the local humans were simply an extremely xenophobic bunch, attacking everyone and everything different from them, I couldn’t rule out that it was their superpowered ‘elites’ driving them to fight, and they may cease the hostilities after their governing body had been decapitated.

I didn’t know.

It frustrated me greatly.

I didn’t know how to effectively handle the situation, but I couldn’t abstain from further decision-making anymore, which gave me no small deal of anxiety as well.

One thing was, however, certain, the ‘caster’ was a problem.

She held my precious girls captive, unwilling to release the torturous ‘sealing’ and a mere thought of this ability made the unseen, and generally unexplained, flare with an outburst of emotions. The power behind me and my companions was notably revulsed by the idea of this ‘sealing’ and considered an unforgivable provocation that had to be answered with extreme aggression.

I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to go down that path, and although the constant conflict and the growing affection towards my girls slowly eroded away my hesitation to commit further violence, it didn’t remove the pressure I felt when making quick decisions about important matters.

Either way, the ‘caster’ had to be dealt with - and that meant the fort sheltering her was in our way.

The problem was, I didn’t have any proficiency in organising the siege of a castle, or any other combat operation for what mattered, with only a vague idea of what would be required, ranging from numerical advantage, a large number of supplies, some siege engines to either destroy the gates, or bring down the walls, or least but not last - entirely surrounding our target.

It was easier said than done.

My monsters were numerous, but not infinite, and we certainly didn’t accumulate enough food and resources for a prolonged siege, discounting our ability to sustain our forces on life energies from the magically regrown plants. The necessity to prey on the wildlife, or to magically process vegetation, only drew us away from the enemy’s fort forcing us to spread our resources far too thin to profit from overwhelming numbers, making an actual lockdown very difficult to achieve.

Our control over the area was nebulous as well.

None of the abilities we had contributed to the overall mobility of the horde.

Aside from the numbers, the river also prevented us from surrounding the fort from all sides, especially since it oversaw the bridge allowing them to receive help from the nearby city, further decreasing our chance to win this by depleting the enemy’s resources quickly. The castle, and the city it protected, could have vast stores of food, and be well-prepared for this very occasion, or they could be on the brink of starvation. I didn’t know, and I had no way of finding out.

In fact, I didn’t even know what season it was.

I didn’t have to concern myself with something like this before, but I had to now.

It wasn’t winter, obviously. The climate seemed quite warm and mild, although definitely not tropical, that was just about everything I could say about their abilities to grow the food. I didn’t have an idea how many harvests they had around here - a single one, or multiple?

I didn’t really know.

As for the means of breaching the walls…

There were some options, and I opted to focus on this first, while the ‘Eviscertors’ continued with their chase for the fleeing ‘elite’.

We already controlled the local sawmill, which would hopefully provide us with some tools and materials to build some equipment, ranging from the simple barriers to shield us from arrows, to battering rams, and with some primitive engineering, even a catapult or two.

At least, I hoped so.

I didn’t really see the place.

Brave took it over, driving the humans away, but the whole disaster with the five ‘elites’ prevented me from investigating the possibilities it gave us.

It was about time I did so. At the very least, the humans had to have left behind some tools.

I spent just enough time in contemplation to allow the rest of my companions to respawn.

For a brief moment, the surrounding area was filled with red fog, quickly forming into more and more of my monsters, one after another, a sharp reminder about the scale of the danger the more powerful combatants pose.

It was more than a hundred of those who returned, atop of the two ‘Alphas’ that perished in the fight twice to be brought back now.

Helmy hugged me immediately, as obsessive as ever before, though her grown ‘Alpha’ form was less small and cute, and more womanly, like Tama was.

“Master!”

She was quite insistent, and as one vixen hung on me, I looked at the other one. I almost expected a quip from Tama, possibly accompanied by some innuendo, said in a sultry tone, but the vulpine girl didn’t object against very, very affectionate Helmy.

It was not like Tama and Miwah kept any distance either. It was overwhelming, but not unwelcome.

Only Narita didn’t seem to be that keen to participate. She had never been.

“A lot of our equipment. Seem lost, in the blast. Master.” She reported, her speech was full of pauses as always. Despite this, her smaller kin still managed to find her an outfit and the weapon.

“I know. It’s on the list...” I sighed, still briefly holding Helmy. I waved to Narita close to join the group hug, and surprisingly enough, she did, giving me a brief glance at a shyness beneath her politely distant bearing.

She was right in her assessment. The equipment was scarce as were the general supplies.

“I am glad to have you back,” I said. After all, my rat girl hadn’t hesitated in protecting me back in that fight, and I owed her as much I owed most - all, I corrected myself - of my furry horde.

“I am here. For you, Master.” Narita said. Despite her reservation, she wasn’t opposed to some closeness in the end, and I wasn’t as nervous about my fluffy companions as I used to be. If anything, it felt like it was always supposed to be.

Only Mai and Kuma weren’t as touchy-feely, though in the case of the huge ursine, she was likely busy figuring out how to use the absorbed metal to properly armour herself through the use of her magic.

“Mai, take half of your kin to the village,” I said once I freed myself from the bundle.

“Yes, my Master,” Mai answered without hesitation, while I pondered if our scaly anthropomorphic lizard girl did expect to be shown some tenderness too. She looked down and blinked furiously.

It wasn’t the place and time, I supposed.

We had to get out of the forest. Despite our numbers and the growing influence of plant magic on the surrounding environment, the collateral of the fight didn’t make it an advantageous area for us.

The work called. I gave my girls a few tender touches, while the lizard girl kept a few step distance. Her little, kobold-like kin seemed enthusiastic, some still loitering about, but their leader didn’t look like she was in the mood.

I couldn’t blame her.

“Still want you around, Mai,” I added. After all, I needed her to effectively command the ‘Corruptors’. Although she apparently could hear through her little reptilian sisters, her presence was simply indispensable - I needed someone to talk back.

“Yes, my Master.”

“Miwah?” I directed my attention elsewhere, “Could you direct us to the sawmill? Brave and her group should be still occupying it.”

“Yes, Master.” The white werewolf acknowledged, and my mind was immediately flooded with the myriad of tasks I would have to organise without really knowing what I was doing, ranging from construction to crafting, to finding ways to prepare for the siege.

“Thank you, Miwah,” I said, “Let’s go then.”

“This way, Master.” The werewolf gestured towards a random direction, “We would avoid the range of the castle by going off the road.”

I freed myself from the embrace of my loving company and set out towards the destination.

Amusingly enough, Helmy wasn’t the only one overly clingy, and I had to turn away the ‘Ravager’ - the ursine girl had the idea she would carry me, it seemed.

Still, it mattered a little, as other monsters simply refused to risk leaving me up in the open.

They soon surrounded me, slightly closer than they usually did, seemingly even more determined to keep the humans, if not the entire world, away. They even appeared to have a hierarchy established for this.

As unfamiliar as I was with being guarded, my plans had a tendency to blow back and having dedicated protectors to pull me away from the worst was more than welcome.

At least, my companions did the actual navigation, allowing me to focus on the overall strategy I didn’t really have. My sense of direction was currently worse than my already dubious ability to lead the furry horde.

If it wasn’t for them, I would still struggle with finding my way around the woods, relying either on following the road or on seeing the familiar pagoda in the distance rising above the treetops.

We left the road behind, and the pagoda wasn’t visible from this angle.

It wasn’t an issue for my girls though.

They were able to tell where their kin was at any time, leading us through the difficult terrain instead of following the road that would bring us too close to the very fortress we wanted to attack. We were hard to miss, the mob like this rolling through the forested area wasn’t exactly stealthy.

For a while, there wasn’t anything but the trees around us, only occasional, odd plants bearing the marks of the ‘Corruptors’ magical powers suggested that my monsters came through there before the majority of the horde arrived. I didn’t quite understand their purpose, perhaps the scattered lizard girls marked their territory.

Other than that, the woods were eerily silent, there wasn’t any sign of life other than us. There was vegetation, but not even a single bird dared to chirp. My monsters, especially the ‘Purifiers’ were noisy, possibly scaring away all the wildlife, but there was the serious consideration that we already hunted down most of the local fauna. It would also be an issue worth addressing.

I couldn’t do much about overhunting though, not without the means to cross large distances.

Though, the hostility of the humans still felt like the most pressing, major concern. As much as inept I felt in learning the languages, there was only so much I was able to do in our circumstances. It wasn’t as easy as movies let one believe, and I didn’t have much of an alternative.

“Girls?” I said, to nobody in particular, “Send someone to bring the prisoners over. Each of our species in the group, even if Ravagers have to carry them.”

“Yes, Master.”

It was also going to assure that all ‘Alphas’ had eyes and ears on the ground, allowing some cooperation, though I hesitated to send Narita in person. Even if she turned out to be the most capable amateur linguist among us and knew more about the local language than I did.

I didn’t pay much attention to how many departed to carry out the order. Not only were there too many of us, but the consideration about Narita learning the language also nudged me towards the alternate solution to this communication issue - an entire species of my followers dedicated to communication.

That, however, demanded hunting down humans only to fill up the requirement for levelling up. I refused to do that. Although there was almost nothing nice to be said about the constantly belligerent natives, with me even starting to despise them for harming my people, I still wasn’t able to look at them as mere fuel for my power.

With a brief glance at Miwah, aware that her ‘Eviscerators’ still pursued the last of the five ‘Elites’ I simply left that to fate.

“Narita, could you go with the group too?” I said, “You caught up the most on the local language, and your magic can prevent you and your group from getting too tired by going back and forth.”

“Yes-yes, Master.” She confirmed, showing no signs she questioned the decision, and split from the group, without asking further questions.

As long as there wasn’t any other workaround, my healer would be my spokeswoman as well.

I had to worry about the greater strategy instead.

Soon after, we emerged from the cover of the forest into the open and had to descend downhill to the riverbank where another settlement was situated. It was nothing more than a couple of houses in the very typical local style, and a handful of fields stretching across what I thought were floodplains.

The castle was barely visible from this place, and I realised we must have gone up and around. It served more as a reminder of how tired I should feel since the effect of the energy infusion still lingered on me.

There was still a trace of exhaustion.

Either way, this place wasn’t a way to start a fort of my own.

Though many trees on the slope of the hill rolling down towards the river have been cut, the logging wasn’t as excessive as I had originally imagined, leaving only a handful of trunks to be processed and cut into squared timber and planks.

Some were freshly felled trees too, perhaps even as a result of my girls’ labour as there were some burn marks suggesting that at least one of those was burned to ease the work - signature ‘Purifiers’ work.

It was all haphazardly scattered, almost as workers left everything as it were and ran.

Only a couple of my monsters were there, a couple of ‘Eviscerators’ and a ‘Ravager’ waving at me as my horde came closer. I was sure there was more movement among the houses, and none of it was from humans, there was even smoke rising suggesting burning campfires.

I didn’t remember how many girls Brave had taken with her group yesterday, but it was of no concern now we were reunited.

The only place of interest was the actual sawmill - a simple construction of wood and stone, complete with a water wheel to power some quite simple mechanism, mostly made of wood discounting the occasional components made of iron, primitive, but useful.

I wasn’t entirely certain this contraption fit the overall East Asian styling this land often had, as I assumed that woodwork out there had been mostly done by hand. At least, it had been so in the time period this world resembled, but the existence of the nearly magical powers already threw resemblance of the historical accuracy out of the metaphorical window.

It may not be impossible, even ancient Romans could build those, it inspired me to ponder how much knowledge of mechanical engineering I actually possessed.

After all, I came there to have things built.

It wasn’t working right now, though it rattled slightly, and I hope it wasn’t destroyed.

There was a pool of blood there, almost like someone fell to what was once moving sawblades, and hopefully, it wasn’t one of my girls. The reminder that their blood evaporated when the red fog claimed them somewhat eased my mind.

I took some time to look around, trying to remember even the basics about engineering, while a few ‘Eviscerators’, most likely from Brave’s detachment, tried to show me around.

“They tried to do some work, though it halted when you decided to engage the five humans, Master.” Miwah helpfully translated, while I still contemplated my option.

“Brave directed the smaller group she had to hunt down the humans trying to sneak away from the fortress again when we engaged the stronger ones.” The white werewolf continued.

It explained why Brave wasn’t around to welcome us, but I didn’t question the information as much, struggling to recall something useful about construction in general.

“Is there any danger?” I asked, almost absentmindedly, only paying half attention to what was being said, trying to focus on how one would build something sturdy enough to not collapse on someone’s head.

The realisation of how little I knew, despite my modern upbringing, made me nearly ignore the report that should have made me worried.

“No, Master. The fleeing warrior is no longer capable of running.” She explained, “Brave dealt with humans locally.”

I continued forward, my mind preoccupied with making up the best way to utilise this infrastructure, while the rest of my horde spilt over towards the huts where most of the people had lived, likely to pilfer through whatever was left behind.

The ‘Eviscerators’ were, out of nowhere, more restless, and more focused, distracted, but I didn’t pay them that much attention. They were the least numerous of my companions now, as many joined on that chase after the fleeing ‘elite’ while others were likely accompanying Brave.

It seems I would have to spend the night in one of the local houses and allow my retinue to rest before we committed to more lasting endeavours.

I, certainly, felt a little tired, perhaps more in mind than body, and attention was slipping.

We were not going to build a fort of our own around the castle in the foreseeable future, not with what we actually had, but barriers against arrows were doable.

Rome wasn’t built in the day, I thought.

Though, Roman legions supposedly managed to build a palisade around their camp overnight.

Would it help against the ‘elites’ though? Would the stone fortification do anything?

The ‘elites’ would be able to scale the walls without any issue, considering their extraordinary abilities, they were seen running up vertical surfaces.

Yet, locals, more familiar with those abilities than I could ever have even been, still decided to have their castle.

It somehow mattered.

We needed to control the fort because it was an obstacle for us, one our enemies were able to use if nothing else. We just couldn’t hope it wouldn’t be more than a speed bump once the other, extraordinarily enhanced fighters arrived, but perhaps it was all we needed. To delay and distract them.

My thoughts were, however, soon to be pulled elsewhere.

“Master?” Brave, the black werewolf, showed herself as well, “We are about to engage the last of the five combatants.”

She spaced out. I observed her, but then before I could answer her, my brain finally catching up on the situation, my unspoken line was interrupted by a puff of ruby smoke from which a little, werewolf-like creature emerged.

“For Master!” The ‘Eviscerator’ announced, and I jerked as my distracted mind finally caught up on what was happening, while both Miwah and Brave directed their gaze towards the horizon, directing their attention towards some remote place.

Another little canine appeared.

“For Master!”

Then another, and I was just about to demand an explanation.

“For Master!”

There was one more rebirth, and then, as unexpectedly as it began, it stopped, almost unceremoniously without the scream or explosion, just a simple, monochromatic announcement popping out in my field vision with yet another of those notification windows.

Here, from the distance, it was almost heartless, and unimportant, in stark contrast to how dramatic, and terrifying it was being blinded in the heart of battle.

Skill “Slayer of Men lvl.27” gained.

Major Enemy killed. Level 6 achieved. Unit cap doubles.

I was almost going to berate myself for spacing out at the wrong moment when they told me they were about to engage, but the power didn’t let me have any second for such a thing.

I didn’t get to know how the last ‘elite’ swordsman meet his end, pursued by my “Eviscerators’, but the system didn’t care either. It only cared that the ‘major enemy’ was no more, his demise to fuel the engine of destruction even more.

The ruby-red fog came out of nowhere, massive as the storm of centuries swept us over, completely silent yet twice as sinister.

An explosion of life that was going to bring death.

It was there, and then, it wasn’t.

Instead of the fog, I swam in the raging tide of fur, scales, and claws, that one death was the last drop that burst the floodgates open.

“For Master! For Master!” The furry horde chanted, and I looked around.

As much time I had spent thinking, I wasn’t really prepared for this, but still, I spoke out, almost automatically, without much thought:

“Select skill.”

My voice disappeared in the road of the horde, but the system reacted just the same.

Select your sixth element

Skill: “Instruments of Destruction”

Element: Arcane

Skill: “Mind Over Matter”

Element: Force

Skill: “Architect of Fear”

Element: Mind

Skill: “Stalker on the Boundary”

Element: Space

Skill: “Sovereign of Blood”

Element: Flesh

I looked at the window with tired eyes.

Consideration of whether the abilities affecting the minds of others had a precedent over one promising greater mobility or possibly more exotic skills, was the legitimate choice to make.

Was any of it a solution?

Even with the one less ‘elite’ to worry about, there wasn’t any shortage of problems ahead of us. There was no telling which threat would show up next.

Only one thing was certain.

It was time to choose.