The Devouring Dragon

"The day has finally come, aye, Valon?" Vargan grinned, the dwarven king standing next to me. 

"It has," I replied simply.

We were standing deep within the forest, positioned only a few miles away from where the Meadow of Love began. That line marking her territory was obvious, as far ahead of us I could see the change in scenery - the tree leaves became pink, the bright green grass looked like it was growing, and a deep mist filled the air.

We were on a small hill, standing a couple dozen feet above the flat ground around us. Beside me stood Raya, Ragnat, Ragnot, Ragno, and Podo. To Vargan's side stood his generals.

Behind us, a large mass of bodies stood - a collection of dwarves, cyclops, and dire wolves. The mass of subordinates stretched for as far as my eyes could see - an army of roughly 40,000 troops split into battionlions that were led by Pack Leaders and Commanders.

It was less of a joint army and more of two armies standing next to each other - the huge collection of dwarves and cyclops numbered roughly 15,000, all standing in organized lines with glinting armor.

My army was both more and less impressive - standing next to the dwarves and cyclopses was a disorganized and messy collection of 25,000 dire wolves. Compared to the organized and professional-looking army of Vargan's, my mostly mindless collection of beasts was much less intimidating.

However, the number of my troops still exceeded his - even with me massacreing much of the dire wolf population. Compared to the intelligent creatures from the Land of Iron, who were relatively normal with families, my mindless wolves were mating machines. 

Shera, Runa, and Layna weren't just outliers amongst the wolves - all dire wolves loved to mate, and the pups grew up rather quickly. As a result, the dire wolf population still far exceeded the Land of Iron's, even with it being cut practically in half by my hands.

Along with the numerous wolves, there was also a mixture of other monsters that I forced under my rule, such as trolls and demon birds - though their numbers were much less than the dire wolf count.

On each of the dire wolves was there own set of armor - being much smaller than normal armor, but big enough to cover their torsos and heads. The gear wasn't anywhere near as impressive as mine was, but it was still enchanted armor nonetheless.

"I don't mean to try and order you around or anythin'," Vargan said gruffly, looking over at me with serious eyes, "But ensure you're careful! The enchantments I put on your armor are strong enough for regular succubi, but the Queen herself is a whole different matter. For my own sake, I'd rather not have to fight against you."

His concern for me was a bit touching, as over the past few weeks Vargan had become one of the few people in this world that I'd consider a friend.

The list of people I felt close enough to truly trust was small - Raya, of course, was number one on that list, and Chippy was second (even if he couldn't talk). I'd also grown somewhat close to Shera, Runa, and Layna - that was no surprise, considering I had spent numerous nights with them.

Beyond that, it was less-so trust and more-so obedience. The three princes and Podo had become pretty loyal at this point, but they were far from friends. 

Vargan, on the other hand, had turned out to be a pretty good guy. I had stayed in contact with him and met him a couple more times after our initial meeting, and it was hard not to like the rather jovial man.

I had also met with Thrain more than a few more times to discuss plans for the war, and I was starting to consider him in that friend bracket as well. Though, the man was still a bit nervous around me even if I wasn't wearing my armor.

So, beyond Raya and my three 'mates,' the Dwarven King and General had somehow wormed their way into being my only somewhat friends in this world. 

As I glanced over at Vargan's grinning face, I felt what could only be described as true guilt.

It was strange - I hadn't felt any guilt since I had entered this world, even when I massacred countless creatures for my own selfish growth. But, when thinking about how I'd have kill Vargan for the quest, I felt a sense of sadness.

Enough so that I was willing to give the man a chance - something that was very rare in such a ruthless forest.

Once the Succubus Queen is dead, I'll give him one opportunity. One opportunity to bend the knee.

Because, as kind as he was, this was still a kill-or-be-killed world. I had to look out for number one - that being me, who needed to complete the quest to avoid the failure condition of 'eventual death.'

If Vargan refuses, then my first real friend will have his head separated from his body.

But, hopefully I could avoid that. Having a literal Dwarven King as my subordinate would be a big boon.

The man had been incredibly helpful as well - beyond just making my armor.

Both from my own scouts and from Vargan's information, I had managed to discover a lot of information about the Meadow of Love. 

Similarly to the Land of Iron, it was home to two primary races - Fairies and Succubi. 

Fairies weren't too concerning - from the small skirmishes my scouts had with them it seemed that they utilized rather basic magic. They used 'light magic' - rather ironic for a species living in the underworld - that allowed them to buff each other and do small-scale attacks.

The real problem wasn't the fairies but the succubi. 

They were about exactly what you'd expect - beautiful demon women with overly lustful bodies. I hadn't seen one personally yet, but even Raya had been a blushing mess trying to describe the scout's reports.

They also utilized a much more dangerous type of magic - what Vargan aptly dubbed 'love magic.' Essentially, it attacked you mentally instead of physically.

The mental attacks varied in their strength and effects - from what the scouts had seen, some succubi could only influence their opponents a little, doing things such as making the dire wolves see them as allies or friends.

But, some also wielded much stronger magic - Raya had told me about a pack of scouts, consisting of over 25 dire wolves, who had shamefully reported that they lost to just one succubi. Apparently, they had literally rolled over, offering their bellies to her like actual dogs and then retreating with their tails between their legs.

Vargan's description of their magic was much harsher, as the man had been in the forest for a long time and knew more about the Succubus Queen and her generals. According to him, the Succubus Generals could turn even his own Generals into 'love-slaves' with their spells, turning them against their previous king, if they weren't cautious. 

"I will be," I merely grunted. After hearing about how the succubus operated, I had spent countless hours searching for imps in the forest. At this point I might've sent them to near extinction, but as a result my [Mental Resistance] skill was at level 20 - making it my highest level skill besides [Devour].

It might've been overkill, but I wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. I wasn't keen on finding out what being a 'love-slave' felt like.

"Then, let us begin!" Vargan shouted, spinning around to face the large army. He raised his fist, stepping forward as his voice boomed throughout the forest.

"Men! Today, we will finally pay back the Succubus Queen for all the pain she has caused us!" Vargan's voice resonated, causing every troops eyes to turn to him, "When you face down those monsters, remember what they took from us! Remember your brothers who were enslaved! Your husbands who were stolen away! Your wives who were turned to evil! Today, we will avenge all of them!"

Yes, his 'wives' comment wasn't incorrect. Despite all the monsters being succubi, and not incubi, they could turn even women into 'love-slaves.'

At Vargan's words, a huge roar rang out from his troops. They cheered, the sound of shields being slammed ringing out as their weapons rose into the air.

I turned around as well, looking over my own troops as Vargan's continued to cheer. I simply raised my helmet, placing it over my head. Then, I raised my sword, holding it into the air as the sunlight reflected off of it.

"My wolves…" I shouted, slashing my sword through the air to point at the Land of Meadow in front of us, "Kill them all!"

A chorus of howls greeted my words, ringing through the forest in the thousands. They roared, drowning out even the clashing of steel from Vargan's men.

"Get to your positions," I nodded at the three princes, who nodded in agreement. They quickly dashed down the hill, going to their assigned battalions.

"Keep an eye out for my signals," Vargan ordered his own generals, "With that mist it'll be hard to see the command station. I'll flash the commands using the sun and a shield."

"Yes, Your Highness!" The generals replied in unison, nodding as they turned to walk to their own battalions.

"I suggest you do the same, Valon," Vargan grunted, turning to me, "That mist is thick, and their magic is tricky. Once we're pushing deeper into the territory, it'll be hard to give verbal orders from up here."

"Up here?" I hummed, "Why would I be up here?"

Vargan might've been the 'sit back and shout orders' type of leader, but I wasn't.

Vargan blinked in surprise. I ignored him, turning back to my troops again. The dire wolves were drooling, their fangs bared as they itched to charge into battle.

So, I'll give them what they want.

"I respect your type of leadership. An organized and well-manned army is the most efficient, but…" I silently activated [King's Aura], causing Vargan to instinctively take a step back as his eyes went wide, "I do things a bit differently."

While having an organized, cohesive fighting-machine of an army was optimal, it wasn't what I had. I didn't have intelligent soldiers who could carry out orders, make plans on the fly, and adapt to the situation.

Even my smartest soldiers, the Pack Commanders and Leaders, were rather stupid. They were still just wolves, after all. So, we had a stupid way of fighting.

"MY WOLVES!" I shouted again, [King's Command] activating.

I tensed my legs, holding my sword at my side. Then, I slashed forward, swinging the massive sword with all my might.

Nothing happened for a moment, the world being still as my sword slashed into the air and seemingly did nothing. 

…

Then, the force of the swing registered in the world around us. A shockwave shot outward, the air around us being flung outward at a high speed from the pure power in my arms. 

The air sliced outwards, slamming into all the trees around us. As it did, it ripped them clean from the ground, while some were torn completely in half.

In the end, the area around me was left barren - a collection of tumbled, broken trees and bark left lying on the floor. 

Where there had once been a flourishing section of trees, there was now just a bare plains separating us from the Meadow of Love.

"ENJOY YOURSELVES!" I finished, pointing my sword towards the now-clear Meadow of Love. In response, a chorus of howls rang out, and the stampede started.

The ground around us shook as if an earthquake was forming. Thousands upon thousands of wolves charged forward recklessly, sprinting into the misty terrain with their fangs bared. 

When you had an army of bloodthirsty beasts this was the best approach. 

There was no training the dire wolves - there was no coordinating them into an organized army. 

There were no tactics - no trying to outsmart the enemy or maneuver my troops into advantageous positions.

These were dire wolves - mindless beasts who acted on pure instincts. When they were faced with an enemy, it was everything they could do not to lunge at them wildly, much less follow orders. 

And so, with an army of beasts, you must fight like a beast. 

And, to tell you the truth? As I watched my hoards of dire wolves stream forward, the ground shaking under their feet, I thought…

I'd much rather fight Vargan's forces than mine.

Intelligent creatures can be reasoned with - they can be tricked, persuaded, and convinced. With intelligent creatures, losing doesn't mean death.

With mindless beasts, there was no reasoning. Any succubi or fairy that found themselves in the jaws of my men would meet their bloody end.

"W-What?" Vargan balked, staring in shock at the stampede of wolves that poured around us into the meadow.

"I'll see you after the battle, Vargan," I grinned, tensing my legs as I readied my sword.

"W-Where are you going?" Vargan asked, stuttering slightly from both shock and the effects of [King's Aura].

"To fight, of course," I said bluntly.

"Fight?" Vargan said incredulously, "You're going to charge in there recklessly with them?! What if you die?! You must lead your troops!"

"I'm sending my men to their deaths. I'm sending my men to fight for their very lives," I grinned in response, my teeth bared at the Dwarven King, though he couldn't see it through my intimidating helmet, "They will die so that I can win. They will sacrifice their lives so that my selfish ambitions will succeed, and you want me to sit back here and watch?"

I pointed my blade forward.

In the words of a man much wiser than me…

"If the King does not lead, then how can he expect his subordinates to follow?" 

My feet pushed off the ground, the dirt under me crumpling and denting as I lunged forward. My body disappeared from Vargan's view in an instant.

The world around me blitzed by - bright sunlight turning to dark, misty terrain with uneven footing.

In a single instant, I was alone - deep within the Meadow of Love.

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