Chapter 473
As soon as I looked west, a pillar of lighting fell, and as the crack of lighting echoed over Nievtra, Saharliard cheers filled the air. Percral raised his fists high where he stood on the walls, and though it took me a moment to see clearly, it was obvious that he’d sustained a few smaller wounds, but was largely unharmed. To the east, Took thrashed against a spawn that attempted to flee, and flashes of fire surrounded her as she dismembered the beast with a guttural roar. Thick hunks of flesh slapped to the ground, where they began to disintegrate into smoke.
Then, turning my attention to the inside of the walls, I could hear Arwa’s howls, the rest of her offspring and the other wolfstags evidently having been victorious in their part of the fight. Joral’s voice cut through the din, and the wolfstags grouped up into individual packs, each under the command of one of the Voltaic. They trotted off, and I slowly allowed myself to feel some measure of comfort, until I turned my attention to the northern walls.
The last remnants of battle there were only dying now, and it was obvious that the Misti Hawar had committed more of their fighting force to the northern wall than anywhere else. Dozens of dead, furry corpses lay everywhere, and at least 100 of my people’s bodies joined them. It was difficult to tell how many of the spawn had been a part of that fight, but it couldn’t have been a small number. Only at that moment did I realize that I had been so focused on eradicating the spawn that I hadn’t noticed any of the shadow wyrms around. Their bodies lay here and there, but not nearly so many as I’d seen approaching the walls.
“Nievtala burn the egg destroyers,” I cursed as I took note of several bodies obviously killed by the wyrms’ venom.
A faint sense of disappointment swelled inside of me as I saw so many of my own that had died, that they’d been a failure to have been defeated so easily, but I tamped down that unreasonable reaction. They were weaker than others, and these battles were becoming more and more decided by the Keel than anything else, but I wanted to see the Empire thrive, and its formation necessitated more than just Keel. Instead of continuing to think about the worthiness of those who’d died, I looked for any familiar corpses among the bodies. I couldn’t see any from a distance, but while I glanced dispassionately over them, I saw a surprisingly large body laying unmoving, I didn’t have to force myself to force myself from feeling scornful to real fear.
Which Keel had been on the north wall? Sybil was, of course, the first to come to mind. But she wouldn’t have been on the front lines, right? Despite the comfort it would have brought, I knew that she would have fought. Did I think that she would stand back and watch while her children huddled in danger behind her? Farahlia and Shemira both also fought there, making the main body of those who’d fought in the north who came from my elites, though another half dozen would have been nearby.
Looking around myself, I saw Ytte and commanded, “You’re in charge. Ensure no more of the furry bastards approach.”
I didn’t wait for a response before I bolted off towards my single minded goal. My people celebrated around me, and I forced myself to slow just enough to acknowledge their excitement as I continued on my path. Before I arrived, though, my nervousness was replaced with relief. The huddled body on the ground jolted and got up, revealing Shemira rolling her shoulders, flexing her scales, and grinning at those who surrounded her. Evidently, there was something I’d missed, and I slowed my approach while I pulled some of the sound to myself to hear what she said.
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