The Emperor Class

“This isn’t the Right Arm of Xemir.” Eupoos shook his head at the suggestion. “He would have stayed in the capital to defend the king, their most valuable asset.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to crush the coalition and send most of the human forces from Torpin Stronghold back to reinforce the capital.”

Everyone turned to the centaur who spoke up. Covered in scars, the centaur easily towered over all the other centaurs. Konstite was a veteran centaur who had served three centaur chieftains in his lifetime. His low voice, while not loud, carried a certain amount of authority. When he spoke, other centaurs listened. This was evident when the Magus had the floor a moment ago.

“I agree that’s a possibility,” said the Magus. “However, it’s rather unlikely as the demons have made incredible progress advancing into human territory. As impressive as the Right Arm of Xemir is, he cannot teleport to our knowledge and even a victory here would take time. That being isn’t known to take unnecessary risks and wouldn't risk leaving the human king unprotected.”

“As long as it’s not the Right Arm of Xemir, we can win here.”

Konstite’s announcement brought out a cheer from most of the centaurs in the tent. As the leader of the centaur shieldbreakers, the veteran centaur was used to raising the morale of fellow centaurs. The shieldbreakers, like Konstite, were veterans in combat and were known to be feared by all who have heard their name. As their name suggested, no armor or shields could halt them. Being a very offensively orientated group, the shieldbreakers were generally assigned to break through an enemy formation or engage with the elite enemy soldiers. One could argue that their offensive contribution was only second to the spellcasters. In the civil war, they played a pivotal role in Colet's victory. The only thing that rivaled their ferocity was their loyalty towards the chieftain.

Colet frowned at the confidence in Konstite’s words but he said nothing. Once everyone calmed down, he directed everyone’s attention to the big centaur next to Konstite.

“Are the ax wielders ready, Actolio?”

Actolio was large for a centaur but he was noticeably smaller than Konstite. The centaur also boasted a lot less scars and, in terms of centaur years, he was more of a young adult. Actolio wore a gray bracelet with a hand ax engraving on his right arm. All ax wielders wore the bracelet to indicate the ax as their most proficient weapon. Unlike those under Konstite, the ax wielders saw a lot less combat on the battlefield and served as the main cavalry component of the centaur army similar to the main infantry core for the humans.

“Chieftain, the ax wielders are ready for your command.” Actolio’s expression turned serious as soon as Colet addressed him.

The centaur chieftain turned to the smallest centaur in the group. Despite being small by centaur standards, the centaur was still larger than the tallest humans. However, the size of these centaurs was the main reason for their gray bracelets with a spear engraved on them.

“The spear wielders are ready for battle, chieftain.”

The leader of the spear wielders was Tolien, an insignificant looking centaur. For much of his life, the small centaur was looked down upon by the other centaurs. Not only was he lacking proficiency in bows and axes but Tolien also showed no adeptness in magic. He served as a lowly laborer back home with no chance of moving up the social ladder. The centaur then had a fateful encounter with Colet during the civil war. Colet, then a mere upstart in the conflict, shared stories of his travels and, during one of those moments, he spoke of the javelins used by the lizard-like races. Tolien replicated the javelins and spears which he used in the civil war. Having played a critical role in the civil war, the small centaur proved that even centaurs of his stature could contribute on the battlefield.

Before Colet could address the other two centaurs and Ides, a centaur barged into the tent.

“My chieftain! We spotted a medium size human force marching towards our camp. Our scouts estimate a few thousand soldiers.”

Konstite ordered the centaur to repeat what he said. Then, the tent fell silent as everyone absorbed the news. Ides was the first to speak.

“I will take a few hundred centaurs to skirmish with those humans.”

Colet pondered on the proposal briefly and nodded his head.

“Don’t pursue them if they withdraw. I still don’t know why they are going on the offensive.”

With permission, Ides exited the tent to gather the centaurs he needed. The chieftain then turned to the only female centaur in the tent.

“Kallosa, please have a few healers on standby should we need them.”

Kallosa nodded her head and exited the tent.

“Eupoos and Konstite, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

While Eupoos didn’t give an answer immediately, Konstite didn’t hesitate with his response.

“Those humans are arrogant and think they could send us packing with their small force. We will teach them not to underestimate us.” Konstite paused for a moment. “If that brat Ides wasn’t so quick, I’d happily bring the shieldbreakers to warm up against those humans.”

Colet then gestured Eupoos to share his thoughts.

“The human forces have always been cautious,” started Eupoos. “They have restrained themselves from coming out to attack us since we settled our camp knowing that they have the advantage on the defensive. To send out forces better used for defense is unfathomable to me.”

Colet was about to share his thoughts but he stopped when Eupoos continued his observation.

“The timing of all this coincided with that dangerous human I mentioned. It’s possible there are no connections here. However, I do think the arrival of that small contingent is related somehow. The humans wouldn’t send reinforcements so late unless they have something planned. At this point, I cannot say what that is. We must be on the lookout.”

Colet agreed with the Magus’ assessment and ordered Actolio to put his centaurs on high alert. He didn’t want a sneak attack when their focus was on the human force out in the open. Actolio immediately headed out to relay the order to his centaurs.