Paul had had an inkling of this too. If the ghouls were part of a larger tactical plan, things could easily have been dire for the First Allied Legion. The reason they were still just holding the creatures at bay was of course in part the result of Cornelius’s leadership, but more importantly it was the lack of any order to the attacks. Despite being gifted this excellent opportunity, Rosenmarie and her soldiers had immediately abandoned their game and retreated back to Kier Fortress—something that only made sense if the imperial forces stationed at the fortress had been unaware of the ghouls’ existence.
“Ghouls or not, it’s impossible not to see that they used to be people. Do you think the empire has been working in secrecy to develop this godsforsaken atrocity?”
“The empire’s technological innovation is advanced, but even then, I doubt they are capable of this. Look at it from another angle altogether, however, and you realize there is a power known to us since long ago that could have brought this about.”
“You mean mages...” Paul said at length, his face clouding over. Cornelius nodded gravely.
There was an outbreak of excited muttering from everyone around them. Back in the age of warlords, Paul had fought a mage from a minor nation who could manipulate clumps of earth. After a grueling battle he had fought them off, but to this day he bore a great scar on his back from that battle.
“I agree, the so-called hands of the gods are a real possibility,” Paul went on. “Only that would mean a powerful mage has allied themselves with the empire.”
“There’ll be time to give the matter due consideration once we get through this.”
“If we get through this...” Paul looked over at where Hermann’s forces fought, repeating the same words over in his heart.
The First Allied Legion, Hermann’s Camp
With the main camp half in ruins after being overrun by ghouls, it could no longer function as the center of command.
“Alma’s unit of fifteen hundred troops has been destroyed. We can no longer hold the front line. General Hermann, you at least...ought to flee...” The soldier fell face down in the dirt, already gone. Hermann, breathing heavily, could say nothing back. His attention was focused on driving his sword through the right side of the chests of the attacking ghouls. He dodged, occasionally taking a step forward. In the course of stabbing so many ghouls that he’d dulled the edge of his blade, his suspicion had solidified into certainty.
I knew it. He shook hard to dislodge the ocher fluid that clung to his blade like a bad grudge, then, without pausing to catch his breath, he looked at Louis. “Their weak point is—?!” Right in front of his eyes, a ghoul tore out Louis’s throat, following him down to the ground in a great spray of blood.
“Gene...I don...wa...die...” Ghouls climbed over each other to swarm over Louis. Slipping out in between their hideous groans, Hermann could hear a mixture of screams and sobs. But Louis was beyond his help now. No one could escape their fate once it was sealed.
“Damn it all!” With the shreds of Louis’s dying screams filling his ears, Hermann found himself momentarily rooted to the spot.
“Ng...gah!” Pain cascaded through him like lightning. He looked down and saw a ghoul that was only a torso with its teeth buried in his left ankle.
“To hell with you!” He shifted his sword grip, then stabbed straight down through the right side of the ghoul’s chest. Straightaway, another jumped on his back. He threw himself backward, slamming it into the ground beneath him. There was an unpleasant, sticky sound, followed a few seconds later by a stench that turned his stomach. Hermann rolled along the ground until he reached what remained of Louis after the ghouls’ teeth had torn him apart and devoured him. Then he started. As though to take advantage of his momentary opening, a ghoul, its gaping mouth stretching still wider, came scuttling toward him on all fours with unbelievable speed. Hermann roared at the top of his lungs—then, without even reaching for his sword, he drove his clenched fist into the ghoul’s open mouth.
“Suck on that!” he bellowed. The sound of screaming bone rang in his ears as his fist struck the ground. Without pausing for breath, he drew his knife and stabbed it into the creature’s chest. Once he was sure it wasn’t moving, he slowly drew back his fist, then sat back heavily. Didn’t think I’d be caught off guard twice... he thought. I suppose this is the end of the road for me. Forgive me, Marshal Cornelius, General Paul, for giving out here.
His consciousness was fading when a young soldier came dashing over and heaved him to his feet.
“General Hermann! Get on my back!”
“Don’t bother...” Hermann murmured. “What’s left of my life is about to burn away...and I have vital orders... Your ear...”
“But ser...”
“Quick...ly...”
The soldier hesitated, then put his ear to Hermann’s mouth. After a moment, he said, “Understood, ser. I will make sure this reaches the lord marshal.” But Hermann could no longer answer him.
Hermann Hack, determined to remain a commoner to the last, was steadfast in his refusal to inherit the name of a noble house. Even many years after, in the village where it is said he grew up, a magnificent bronze statue in his likeness still stood.
First Allied Legion, Main Camp
Hermann’s forces had fought like lions until, when around half of the soldiers had successfully withdrawn, the units fell apart. Each of them had been balanced on the brink, and when one collapsed, the others followed one after another. In the midst of this, one of Lieutenant General Hermann’s soldiers appeared in the main camp.
“Lieutenant General Hermann was slain in battle.” With the soldier’s words, it was as though a great, icy shadow had fallen over the camp. “He entrusted me with one last message.”
“His last...” Cornelius paused. “Tell me.”
“Yes ser. The ghouls’ weak point is in the right side of their chest. Stab them there, and they stop moving.”
“Is that so...” Cornelius said thoughtfully. “You did well to bring this to me.”