NOVEL WEB 1. Once the war ends
For centuries, the human race struggled to maintain its place in the world among other races. None of the other races were ever willing to cooperate with humans on anything. As they were seen as weak insects to various degrees by the other races, That was the eternal fate of humanity, until recently.
"Sir! The reinforcements from the elves have just arrived."
"They here already? Let their commander in."
"YES, MY LORD!"
A young man clad in armor engraved with a golden pattern was looking over maps laid on top of a wooden table in his tent. Besides him, there were other men. Each one of them was wearing a set of decorated armor, proof of their status as nobles. Before they were interrupted by a young knight from outside the tent, each one of them was engaged in a heated debate about their forces best course of action. Their tense expressions softened slightly when they learned that reinforcement had arrived and that it had come from the elves, of all. None of the noble men presented had ever thought, even in their wildest dreams, that elves would fight on the human side. Except for their young leader after all he….
"I am here and have brought 400 warriors with me. Unfortunately, mother wasn’t able to gather more this quickly, sorry darling."
"Don’t worry, this is more than we could hope for. Anyway, I'm glad you’re here, Olia."
The young leader of the human coalition forces decided, thanks to humanity’s dire situation, to seek the help of the other races. His greatest success was establishing an alliance with the elves. After that, other intelligent races reluctantly agreed to hear his plea and came to human aid. That would have been impossible under normal circumstances, but humans and other races shared a common enemy, the Vampires.
"The Beastman arrived with us but…"
"Their commander doesn’t want to listen what ‘mere human’ has to say, right?"
She silently nodded her head as he flashed her a knowing smile. This was to be expected; even when they faced a common enemy, there were still some that could not look past racial differences. It didn’t matter much as long as they were able to coordinate, which should be relatively easy. The leader of the human coalition’s army, Julian Beleng, the adopted son of the count of Belengen, miraculously not only convinced the Queen of the elves to ally herself and her nation with the humans, but he managed to impress her with the determination of humans to overcome their natural weaknesses and fight a seemingly futile war against the world's strongest race. Even the trolls, known for their fearlessness and enormous strength, had avoided any confrontation with vampires for past decades. The queen was impressed to the point of marrying her eldest daughter, Olia Visele, to the young human hero. This engagement between a human hero and an elven princess convinced other races to send some of their warriors to humans as observers.
"Since their commander does not wish to talk with humans, then I will have to ask you to coordinate our forces with them. Sorry to pile these bothersome things on you right after you just arrived."
"It’s okay dear, they are the ones being difficult. It’s not your fault… Also, I know it’s not the right time now, but... My mother was rather vocal about our engagement before I left. She wants us to get married as soon as possible."
"This again? You are right, it is really not the right time now, but... I believe that I have said to your esteemed mother that we will get married once we have peace, didn’t I?"
Olia looked at her feet in an attempt to hide her red cheeks from her fiancée. But she failed and he noticed anyway. With a chuckle, he pulled her into his embrace. She yelped from surprise as her face turned a darker shade of red as they kissed. The other nobles present in the tent politely and silently left the two youngsters to their flirting and returned to their respective tents.
"Fu〜aa"
When their lips separated, the two kept enjoying each other’s embrace for a few more minutes. Both of them were breathing heavily as they looked into each other’s eyes.
"I love you, Olia. You know that right? There is just one small fortress right behind Liden forest, and within it is their queen. You know what that means, right? Just one more push and this war will end."
"…Yea, just a little bit longer, then finally we can…"
"Then we will be able to marry as peace finally returns. I can’t wait to see you in your wedding dress, Olia."
"Chuckle And I can’t wait to see you wearing something that isn’t armor."
The couple dived into the realm of flirting, interrupted only as they reminisced about the past and plans for the future. In this matter, they continued deep into the night. When fatigue arrived, they simply fell asleep in each other's embraces peaceful expressions on their faces.
…
In the depths of Liden forest, an army was marching forth. An army of 20,000 humans allied with 3,500 soldiers from the Beastmen, elves, and dwarfs. a multiracial army of 23,500 soldiers in total. This combined force’s goal was the vampire-held fortress that lay just behind this forest.
"It’s finally happening, huh? After 25 years... 25 long years... we will finally reclaim our land back."
"Just as you said, Lord Refel, but I hope that you would not mind letting me handle the queen once we got her. After all, my own domain was destroyed by that bitch personally."
"Sure, I don’t mind, but I believe that our heroic commander over there has some personal grievances with her. You know the rumor of him being the son of one of the nobles from the old kingdom of Ittel, don’t you?"
Old Duke Refel smirked at his younger comrade and motioned with his head toward young Julian Beleng.
"Huh? Yea, I did hear about it. Do you think he would be opposed to me ravaging that vampiric bitch before we kill her?"
Julian shook his head as he overheard the laughter-filled conversation of the two nobles behind him. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand their feelings. Based on what he heard from his adoptive father, his homeland was destroyed by the vampires at the beginning of the war, just a few days after he was born 25 years ago.
"It has been that long, huh? So, this is the border of my homeland…"
I heard that the kingdom of Itten… my homeland, was once a beautiful and rich nation, second only to the sacred empire of Grien. Even the king was said to be an extraordinarily wise and skilled diplomat who had managed to establish trade routes with vampires, which granted his nation great profits. As for the vampires... just what has happened? In the old texts the queen of vampires…what was her name again? Lire.... Loa? ...whatever. Regardless of the source, she is said to be a wise ruler that isn’t interested in something like conquest; instead she focuses on developing her nation’s economy and warming up relations with other nations.
But then, out of nowhere, 25 years ago, she sent ultimatums to all neighboring nations and demanded that her guards be granted access to every city and village for an extended period of time under the pretext of investigation. When she was denied, according to some escaped slaves, she succumbed to rage and attacked all of the neighboring nations at once. The slaves claimed that they had never seen the queen this angry before. The only ones who were spared were the tribes up north and east, as well as the trolls, since they complied with her demands…
Julian let his mind wander since the Beastmen were providing scouting and he trusted their sharp senses to guide them safely through the forest. However…
Boom
"It’s an enemy!"
"Where the hell did they come from?!"
As humans and their allies marched through the forest, a series of explosions ravaged their ranks. As if using explosions as a signal, hundreds of arrows flew from the deep forest.
Most of the coalition soldiers were still dumbfounded and didn’t manage to get into defensive formations in time. As a result, hundreds of warriors fell with arrows piercing their bodies. At the same time, dozens of humanoid figures clad in armor appeared, bearing slightly curved swords and spears in their hands. There was no mistaking it; this was a trap laid down by the vampires.
"Regroup! Shield man, provide cover! Olia! Take some of your elves and heal the wounded if possible. Tell the rest of them to help our archers with support fire!"
"On it!"