Herma tore his eyes from her and returned his attention to the battle. “Soon Friedhof will be ours again,” he murmured. “Perhaps that will go some way to restoring the honor of our house.”
Driving the monsters from the Spirit Wall would not undo the catastrophe in the north. House Brommel’s rebellion, the fall of Friedhof, the Lebering invasion... Had Emperor Greiheit still been alive, such failures would have cost someone their head. As it was, they had certainly moved Second Prince Selene out of reach of the throne.
“Not that he will mind, I’m sure. By all accounts, he always meant to give up his claim to the throne.”
Regardless, Herma wanted to put up a showing worthy of House Heimdall. The thought of his lord being disparaged was too shameful to bear. He would recapture Friedhof and restore the honor of the north—and as such, he would have to accomplish his mission with the north’s own soldiers.
“Crush their center,” he ordered. “These pests think they can occupy our hometown. Exterminate them.”
As the words left his mouth, he saw the task force begin to move. At their head rode Phroditus, her sword held out before her. They surged toward Friedhof, one with their steeds as they bore down on the empire’s greatest bastion. He could hear their battle cries from where he stood.
A dust cloud whipped up as they plowed into the waiting monsters, and his sister was lost from sight. He felt no fear for her well-being. He trusted her, both to complete her mission and to return alive.
“Remember our duty!” he cried. “Let them see what the guardians of Friedhof are made of!”
His thoughts were with Selene in the central territories, but his task was to retake the Spirit Wall, and he would do it to the best of his ability.
＊＊＊＊＊
“Look at it. Grass as far as the eye can see.” Skadi’s grin broadened as she gazed at the verdant plains from atop her horse.
“Damn well stretches from horizon to horizon,” her aide agreed. “Looks perfect for rearing horses too. Even the senate won’t be able to say no to this.”
Skadi nodded. The Free Folk who ruled these lands were a nomadic people, migrating with the seasons. They did not call any one place home, and as such, their lands were mostly untouched.
“Any sight of their fighters yet?”
“Neither hide nor hair, chief. We checked their camps, but there were only women, children, and old folks. Anyone who can wield a bow must be away in the empire.”
“Can’t complain, I suppose. Still, I was hoping for a little more fun...”
The Free Folk were born horse-warriors. That was one of the reasons they had held out for so long against Steissen despite being much smaller in size, and they were especially formidable on their home terrain. Skadi had embarked on this campaign prepared to take significant losses. Indeed, she had been looking forward to enjoying mortal combat again, so it was somewhat disappointing to have encountered no resistance.
“A few tribes have surrendered already,” the aide said. “Not that it’s much of a surprise.”
“Tell ’em we accept. No glory in slaughtering old men and children.”
In the distant past, the Free Folk had been allies, not foes. Most of their tribes were made up of beastfolk, albeit half-bloods who had settled there to escape persecution. The discriminatory attitudes of the empire did exist in Steissen too, but Skadi herself regarded such things as nonsense.
“You don’t have to kiss ’em on the lips,” she added, “but try to be nice.”
A positive first impression was important in building trust. In the long term, treating the people well would make them far easier to rule. Aside from anything else, it would blunt the tribal riders’ willingness to resist once they returned in defeat from the empire.
“I’ll see to it, chief.”
“Tell you what, though,” Skadi sighed, “this is fine soil.”
She had been looking forward to claiming this land. Galloping across these plains to her heart’s content seemed like the perfect respite from her duties. Not only that, the grasslands would produce hardy warhorses, further adding to Steissen’s strength. She wanted to preserve them, not lay waste to them with needless warfare, and being magnanimous in victory was key to that goal.
“At this rate, we might just take Kwasir too.”
From here, it was a straight shot to the holy city of the Vanir Triumvirate. It would have access to ample resources, its coastal location meant thriving trade, and there would undoubtedly be endless riches squirreled away within its walls. Skadi was itching to plunder it, but dishonorable conduct could have unforeseen consequences.
“This is why you gotta win your battles,” she said. “Or you wind up dissatisfied.”
Every decision she had made in recent days, from opting against attacking the empire to invading the Free Folk instead, stemmed from her loss to Surtr. Their duel had been a fair one, and she had no intention of questioning its outcome. She had only herself to blame for her defeat. Yet while she owed Surtr a debt for claiming her loyalty when he could easily have claimed her life, she did not mean to spend the rest of her life in servitude. Like all beastfolk, she was proud and given to rivalry. She would not renege on her promise, but she would challenge him a second time and force him to undo their agreement.
“Nothing for it but to press on, I suppose. I’m bound to find a worthy fight eventually.”
She sighed, a little regretfully. There was no telling when the empire’s war with the Demiurgos would end. Sooner or later, she would run out of time. That said, she doubted her army would encounter more resistance than it already had. If imperial intelligence was to be believed, the Vanir Triumvirate was currently under siege by Six Kingdoms. Most of their defenses had probably been scattered to the winds.
It was a shame she wouldn’t get the fight she wanted, but she couldn’t complain too much. She had claimed a whole new swath of land for Steissen with little effort and at no cost to her own forces. By all rights, she should be celebrating. The only question now was whether the empire would prevail. If it did not, there would be nothing left to stop the monsters pouring south, and her conquests would come to nothing. It had to survive if Steissen was to prosper.
Someday, there would be a reckoning between the empire and Steissen—a pure contest of might, free of the influence of the Lords of Heaven. For better or for worse, the empire had existed for as long as it had by the grace of the Lords. How much of its power it would retain after they were gone, none could say, but no nation lasted forever.
Skadi grinned. “Just a shame it won’t happen in my time.”
That was a matter for future generations. Defeating the Lords would usher in an unprecedented golden age for the empire. Afterward, it would gently decline as all empires did, but the decay would take many years to truly set in.
“But enough of that. The real question is how ambitious Queen Lucia’s feeling.”
Skadi had barely spoken to the woman beyond exchanging formalities, but that had been enough to recognize the unctuous eyes of a born schemer. If she was not careful, she would find herself stabbed in the back, and the Vanir Triumvirate would become the stage of a three-way war.
“Come to think of it, I never promised not to kill any Dharmic Blade wielders...”
She was itching for a good fight, and scattering Lucia’s armies and pouring into Six Kingdoms might be just what she needed. She licked her lips. The idea was starting to sound very tempting indeed.