Depthless Hunger

Kai had hoped they would have at least a day to decompress and talk over everything, but the elves seemed to be impatient. They'd barely had time to eat before they were being called to the front and teleportation was being set up by that evening. Soon they were standing on the great Rosemount range between the Elven Wilds and the Commonwealth, overlooking the war as a sunset bled in the background.

"This is the front," Ceryyn said, but her voice was almost drowned out by the chaos.

At first Kai could only see the violence as forces threw themselves at one another in the pass below. He could make out the general sides, since it was bands of elves against the white and gold Commonwealth soldiers, but the constant deaths were overwhelming. Imagining that each one of the figures was a real person... it was too much, he had to retreat to colder logic.

Looking at the war in terms of numbers and tactics was more comprehensible. The majority of the soldiers seemed to be trying to take and hold ground for their most powerful warriors to use as they fought one another. He saw a group of elves overtake a cluster of soldiers holding a hill, then have a demon land on it later. The demon tore through them, but that distraction cost time and a more equal warrior struck him with an arrow through the arm.

The rank-and-file soldiers had 50 or so Power, which was a grim realization for someone from Monskon City. What struck him even more was that warriors with 200 or 300 Power weren't heroes in a battle like this - he saw them going down left and right to stronger combatants. Kai knew he could play a larger role in a battle like this, but he would be facing so much competition...

As he watched, a horn sounded over the valley, summoning a new charge. Elven cavalry swept forward on their desert-bred horses and the elves at the front actually built up a wave of chakra that swept aside their enemies. They slaughtered deep into the Commonwealth army... until a true demon with over 1000 Power arrived.

He landed in front of the cavalry charge and swept his hand to the side. The arc of crimson power that left his hand was silent, but the screams it produced seemed to come straight from hell. Horses collapsed on every side, and even though the elves tried to leap away, their charge was faltering.

A second horn sounded and suddenly pegasus cavalry broke from a hidden position in the trees. They didn't try to charge directly, just swept parallel to the elven lines, unleashing javelins. The demon knocked a few aside contemptuously, but his allies were falling back. He could probably have taken on hundreds of the enemy himself, but thousands? After a final snarl the demon retreated along with the main body of forces and the elves cheered.

It seemed like the battle was done for the day, both sides spent. Kai stared at the chaos left in its wake, almost oblivious to the others until Ceryyn spoke.