Chapter 139

Chapter 139: Chapter 139

The trainings involved weapons although Hellhounds were most powerful in their Hound forms, they would use everything at their arsenal.

The army of Fiends from Ibaeron didn’t hide their march, brazenly marching out of their city and into an array of portals.

The Deep Woods was an endless forest, so large it had several terrains. Such as the crystal caves, there were also murky swamps, swathes of large fungal forests, and tall cragged mountains with tall summits and even deeper gulleys.

But the vines were constant, growing inside the caves and up the side of mountains, running in the shallow waters of the swamps and underneath the unsettling mushrooms - keeping the entire forest connected.

Avalan was located at the heart of the woods, surrounded by tall trees and favorable terrain, it was the best place for survival.

On the day of the attack, portals opened up into the Deep Woods, spitting out Fiend after Fiend, their numbers endless. They spread out over the woods, hacking at vines and roots and startling away the wild life.

King Morkoth didn’t lead the charge himself, confident that the Hellhounds would be completely wiped out. Instead, the manor lords stood in front, decked in livery and fine clothing, not a weapon in sight.

They were standing in for King Morkoth, a few of them brazenly wearing extravagant coats made from the fur of Hellhounds.

Captain Ardan led the charge to meet them, standing tall in his uniform despite only having a meager amount of two hundred men behind him.

One of the manor lords stepped forward, he was squat and round, a chubby hand weighed down with gold rings placed on his protruding stomach. "There’s no sense in an insect going up against gods." He began haughtily, "I’m not an unreasonable man, if you surrender now, this can be resolved amicably."

Ardan said nothing, standing still as a statue, the soldiers behind him doing the same. The tall ears above his light brown hair were even lighter, almost a golden brown.

The manor lords stepped back, too drunk on power to bother negotiating further. If anything, it was almost like he hoped they would refuse his offer of peace, wanting some retribution for the burned stables.

"You have made your choice," He said grandly as he gingerly made his way back to his previous position, stumbling over the roots. "It’s only right that I act accordingly."

Ardan didn’t even grace the manor lords with his attention, focused on the battle hardened General standing next to the manor lords. Despite the manor lords pompous attitude, the Demon who held true power was the General.

Their task was a potentially dangerous one but he knew well of the greed Fiends possessed, King Morkoth would get his choice share of the captured Hellhounds, the last royal Hellhound undoubtedly belonging to him.

But there would still be several hundreds left over, the manor lords could barely hide the greedy gleam in their eyes.

Ardan held still even after the General gave the word, watching the distance between both armies grow closer and closer. He needed to make sure that they would be too focused on him to do otherwise.

At the last moment, the small army of Hellhounds scattered. It seemed like they were separating to escape the enemy but each Hound knew the Deep Woods like the veins crisscrossing their arms. It was merely a ploy to lure them in a single direction.

"Put down your arrows and spears!" The manor lords shouted exuberantly, falling back even as the soldiers ran forward, on the hunt.

"If even a single prime Hound is damaged, it will come out of your pay!"

The General who had also fallen back while supervising his men charge forward, lifted a brow. He had better things to do than to be sent to capture dogs, but it was an order from the King, he couldn’t refuse.

He had no worries about the Hellhounds’ battle tactics, they could simply be overwhelmed by numbers. This was a task that was far beneath him, it made his scarred lips twist in disdain as he watched the dogs take to the trees, moving with lithe dexterity.

His men weren’t acrobats, they mowed down the shrubbery in their way, felling large trees with ease, the sound of the numbers deafening.

Flying in the Deep Woods was useless, the branches and trunks would only snag one’s wings and the dense tree cover would only obscure your view if you flew over it.

It limited his knowledge of the battle but it didn’t impact much, turning to the side when one of his Captains shouldered his way over to him.

"General Drakk, the scouts on the edges have caught sight of fleeing Hounds. They look to be civilians."

General Drakk recieved this news with a faint smile, so the purpose of the distraction was to create an opportunity for the weak to escape. Such bravado, it would have almost been entertaining if it still wasn’t such a menial task.

"Take two hundred thousand to hunt them down. I would like to sit at my table for lunch." He ordered coldly.

"Remind them not to harm any of the Hounds," A tall and severe manor lord spoke up, he was covered in leaf stains, having fallen prey to the uneven terrain multiple times.

"I don’t tell you how to do you job." General Drakk said coldly, turning away from them to watch the army split cleanly and go in the opposite direction.

He sought out another Captain and had them take fifty thousand soldiers to Avalan. He had no interest in combing through the entirety of the Deep Woods, searching for them like lost chickens.

Then he followed along with the majority chasing down what few soldiers the dogs claimed to have. His sword remained in his sheath, and he knew it was unlikely that he would have a reason to draw it.

General Drakk stifled a yawn and looked above him to see not a single celestial body, nothing but a thick cover of bioluminescent leaves.