The Emperor Class

“Take the unconscious centaurs and run!” Colet shouted.

The centaur chieftain wasn’t about to sacrifice everyone in a fight they couldn’t possibly win. If some of the beastmen and centaurs could get away, they might be able to survive on the plains. He, Zulgar and a few beastmen would stay behind to give them a chance to do so.

“How do we kill the undead?” asked Zulgar.

“By cutting the link between the undead and its master,” announced a voice behind the undead creatures.

The tension left the chamber as soon as Kagarath stepped out into the light. The sight of the demon leader brought some reassurance following the last turbulent hour.

“Why are you beside the undead creatures then?” pointed out Zulgar. “Unless you have made a deal with the humans and have betrayed us.”

From his conversations with the beastman leader, Colet knew Zulgar didn’t trust the demons very much. Despite them supplying his beastmen with excellent weapons and armor, Zulgar questioned the motives of the demons of staying behind when Ides took over Orisa. The centaur chieftain understood his friend’s concern because it did appear easier for the demons to simply return home where they likely had a better chance of survival. The plains were growing more and more hostile towards them as their allies and their own numbers grew fewer and fewer. The demons must have realized the situation.

“The humans want us dead and there’s no negotiating ourselves out of that.” Kagarath stepped forward a few more steps, showing a slight limp. “As for these creatures, they aren’t the undead. They are actually puppets.”

“Puppets?” asked Colet and Zulgar in unison.

Puppets weren’t completely foreign to Colet. During his travels, he came across puppetry as a form of storytelling where the puppets resembling characters were controlled through strings. Those puppets, however, were inanimate objects made from materials like wood and cloth. The idea of puppets made from corpses didn’t seem all that different from what the Soul of Xemir was doing. Instead of the link made by the necromancer and the undead, the puppet master was manipulating the puppets through some sort of magical string. As he was pondering on what Kagarath meant, the bear-like creature they encountered on the plains suddenly showed up beside the demon leader.

“According to her, this isn’t the first time you all met here.”

Colet shared his side of the story about encountering the creature and beastmen trying to hunt it for food. He then listened to Kagarath who shared that the creature was unexpectedly teleported from the demon realm and had been searching for a way back home. The demon stated that he offered to help the creature get back home if it helped them survive against their enemies. Once they were in agreement, the creature used a puppetry-like spell to make corpses fight for it.

“What’s the difference between puppetry and undead powers?” asked Zulgar.

The demon stated that he intended on keeping the explanation brief given that they had to find a way to flee. Undead powers used by necromancers turned corpses into undead servants and the servants of powerful necromancers could have access to all the abilities they had prior to death. Meanwhile, puppetry wasn’t limited to corpses as inanimate objects, like the golems built by the dwarves, could be used to. Unlike necromancy, corpses controlled through puppetry couldn't tap into powers available to the owners when they were alive.

“We can discuss the matter further at a later date,” said Kagarath. “We must now fight our way up to the surface before we attempt to flee.”

The puppets led the way up the tunnel meant to be their escape route. For the two tunnels designated for the demons, one went directly to the battlefield where the demons created chaos while the other served as a way out of the valley. No one knew what dangers awaited them at the end of the tunnel but they weren’t given much of a choice. According to the demons, the battle aboveground was fierce as the undead forces were engaged with Ides’ forces. Both sides were ready for a long drawn out battle. One would be foolish to get involved in such a battle.

“Based on what you shared,” said Colet to Kagarath, “it sounded like the two sides were ready to destroy each other. I didn’t know they would make our lives that much easier.”

“It’s all due to politics,” replied Kagarath simply.

Colet gestured to the demon to elaborate.

“You all know both sides use dark powers to achieve their goals. Dark powers originate from either the underworld or hell. Creatures from those two realms don’t get along with one another. Within those two realms, there are numerous factions with their own politics and, in general, they don’t get along with each other unless there’s a common interest. While both sides find satisfaction crushing us, their masters likely demand their servants to weaken the other side to further their agendas.”

“We got lucky then?” asked Colet.

“We can say that if we escape and see another sunrise. We have some unexpected guests.”

Hearing Kagarath’s words, the group turned to face the undead creatures standing between them and their freedom. Following a roar from the bear-like creature, the puppets charged at the undead. The resulting battle was one of the brutalist Colet had ever seen. Since both the undead and puppets weren’t living beings, they lacked emotions like fear or limitations like exhaustion and death. He watched as the beings from the two sides fought until their limbs were completely hacked away. At times, the beings used their teeth when only their heads remained until the heads were smashed apart. Against such foes, the centaur couldn’t see how he could win against large hordes of them.

“Now, Ogmoth!” shouted Kagarath.

While the puppets put up a decent fight, they were outnumbered and were eventually overwhelmed. The undead then charged at the group but the charge was halted by Ogmoth who casted a spell. The undead at the front of the enemy simply stopped in their tracks. Moments later, they turned around and attacked the other undead. Once again, another brutal battle ensued leaving body parts and limbs scattered all over the tunnel.